C r i c H o t L i n e |
- Beating England 3-0 will be big: Misbah
- ‘India must think of including Pathan’: Gavaskar
- India Vs Australia Live Streams 2nd T20 Melbourne Watch Online 2012
- Pakistan Vs England Live Streams 3rd Test Watch Online 2012
- Zimbabwe Vs New Zealand 1st ODI Live Streams Dunedin 2012
- India Vs Australia 2nd T20 Melbourne 2012: Match Preview
- Pakistan Vs England 3rd Test Dubai 2012: Match Preview
- Mohammad Aamer released from jail
| Beating England 3-0 will be big: Misbah Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:24 PM PST
No team has ever registered a clean sweep in the 58 years of Pakistan-England cricket and Misbah's team has a good chance of creating history after their compreshenive ten wicket win in the first Test and by 72 runs in the second. England, who will also be in danger of losing their world's top rankings if they lose here, will have to find a quick solution to counter Pakistani spinners Saeed Ajmal (17 wickets) and left-armer Abdul Rehman who has 12 in two matches. Misbah said Pakistan will look for an encore in the third Test.
"It will be a big achievement for the team (winning 3-0)," said Misbah of the clean sweep which Pakistan last achieved against Bangladesh at home in 2003, while their last against a top Test nation was beating West Indies 3-0 in 1997. "The way the team is performing with consistency, if we play well like we did in the first two games good results will come but we will not take that extra pressure (of clean sweep)," said 37-year-old Misbah. Since taking over as captain in the aftermath of spot-fixing scandal during which Pakistan lost 3-1 to England in 2010, Misbah has led Pakistan to eight wins with one defeat and five draws. Misbah said England were still a good team and winning the last Test will not be easy. "No doubt, England is a good team, they are number one in the world and it will not be easy because they will be more prepared, but we will try our best," said Misbah, who praised Ajmal and Rehman. Ajmal took a career best 7-55 in the first Test here and Rehman registered his best 6-25 in the second in Abu Dhabi, feats which Misbah said were extraordinary. "I think both have been bowling well for quite some time now and they create pressure on the batsmen and never give any opportuinty to let them out of that and on top of that England batsmen were low on confidence," said Misbah. Misbah hinted about keeping the same combination, although Pakistan have the option of using the bench player in paceman Wahab Riaz in place of Junaid Khan. "I am a firm believer in the balance of the team because the first priority is to win and I think we will go with whatever is the best combination for the team," said Misbah, predicting the Dubai stadium pitch will help batsmen more than in the first Test. England captain Andrew Strauss admitted the key would be countering Pakistan's spinners. "That's one of the crucial things about playing spin, you have to adapt your game according to the surfaces you play on. I am very optimistic, you'll see people a bit clearer in what their gameplan is and how they are looking to play, which is a good starting point," said Strauss. "These conditions are slightly different, so it's more about adapting your game to the conditions than going right back to square one and saying 'right, I need to change everything'. That's a dangerous route to go down. "It's a setback (2-0 down) in the sense that we didn't want it to happen, and we didn't want to lose a series. But that's gone, finished – and in some ways, maybe it's a good lesson for us that if you're five percent off your game against the majority of sides you're going to come unstuck." "We desperately want to avoid losing the series 3-0; we desperately want to come back and show we're better than we have shown so far in the series. I think there's a feeling among the whole squad that we can and should come back and do that." Strauss added that middle-order batsman Ian Bell was fit after suffering stomach problem which forced him to miss practice on Wednesday. The only question remaining is whether England will play with two spinners or drop one from Graeme Swann or Monty Panesar. © AFP  |
| ‘India must think of including Pathan’: Gavaskar Posted: 02 Feb 2012 11:15 AM PST
After the 0-4 drubbing in the Test series, the induction of the limited overs specialists didn’t bring about any change in the script as neither the batsmen nor the bowlers could create any sort of impact and India lost the first Twenty20 International by 31 runs against Australia at Sydney on Wednesday. “It is important to look at the all-round options. Twenty20 is harsh on the bowlers. So it is always an advantage if you have bowlers, who can come in handy with the bat and also are good fielders.
“Hence, India must think of including Irfan Pathan as he can not only come in handy as an all-rounder but the fact that he is a left hander, may also prove good for India,” insisted Gavaskar. The former cricketer also emphasised that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who top-scored for India with an unbeaten 48 in the first T20I, must lead from the front. “Dhoni today was so good, he must look to come up the order and as a skipper show the way. It always helps.” Gavaskar also pressed for the inclusion of another specialist spinner into the side as he felt that they can slow things down. “I think the spinners looked better. In this format, the ball comes on to the bat easily. So India must think of including another specialist spinner into the team. We could see that (David) Hussey bowled well and slowed things down.” Gavaskar feels that in huge grounds in Australia, playing big shots at times can invite trouble. “Australia has big grounds, so it is always difficult to play big shots. I think India should look to take 2s and 3s more than going for the big hits,” Gavaskar told NDTV. The 62-year-old insisted that in the shortest version of the game, a team needs athletes and felt India lack in this aspect. “You need athletes. Fitness is very important in T20. The runs you save, are the runs scored for your team. Running on that 22 yards is very crucial. But apart from a few players, the Indians are generally slow. And that is where they lose out. The other teams are more athletic than India,” said Gavaskar. “I would say, fielding wise Indians are not doing anything wrong but as far as running between the wickets is concerned, while Aussies take 2s or 3s, India just stick to ones. So that is where the difference is,” he added. Stating that it was not the end of the road for the opening pair in Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the former skipper said, “They (Sehwag-Gambhir) are going through the horrors at the moment. But this is not an end to their partnership. They still have a lot to contribute. “This (opening slot) is one position in cricket that is hard to find and we must give them some more time. Yes, they have not scored runs off late but in the past they did well.” © PTI  |
| India Vs Australia Live Streams 2nd T20 Melbourne Watch Online 2012 Posted: 02 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST
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Match Timings: Feb 03, 2012 (19:35 local | 08:35 GMT | 14:05 IST)
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| Pakistan Vs England Live Streams 3rd Test Watch Online 2012 Posted: 02 Feb 2012 10:29 AM PST
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| Zimbabwe Vs New Zealand 1st ODI Live Streams Dunedin 2012 Posted: 02 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST
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| India Vs Australia 2nd T20 Melbourne 2012: Match Preview Posted: 02 Feb 2012 09:15 AM PST
Completely outclassed in the humiliating 0-4 Test loss against the hosts, India had hoped for redemption in the limited over format but they again succumbed to a 31-run defeat in the first Twenty20. The young legs did show some energy on the field but at the batting crease, they were no different to their Test seniors and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has to do something to inpsire his team on Friday. In the bowling department too, the Indians failed to make early inroads in the Australian line-up and now that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s card has been shown up to be blank by a rampant David Warner on Wednesday, Zaheer Khan’s return would be crucial to India’s chances.
The wicket at the MCG also might not suit spinners on Friday so overtly as it did in the ANZ Stadium. It’s a batting wicket and the skills of the bowlers would be tested utmost. Dhoni believed it was the uneven surface which did his batsmen in and MCG might reflect their preparedness in a better light. As things stood though, Indians checked in at their hotel in Melbourne this morning and would stay indoors though there was a word that a few youngsters might visit the MCG later in the afternoon. It’s better they do, for if Australia seizes an early momentum, they would be difficult to put down in the one-day internationals. The corresponding effect of despondency in Indian ranks would be palpable too. Australia, on the other hand, have been simply ruthless so far as after mauling India in the Test series, the hosts notched up a convincing victory in Sydney and they would now look to complete a Twenty20 clean sweep against the visitors on Friday. Australia would only go better once Daniel Christian, Mitchell Marsh and Clint McKay get an opportunity to show their wares and chances are they would in front of 90,000 strong fans who are likely to turn up at the MCG, home of Australian cricket. Christian has been on the fringes of selection in the Test side this summer and is viewed as one of the upcoming stars of Australian cricket. He was the top scorer in domestic one-day matches and was also the second highest wicket-taker. A powerful hitter, Christian didn’t get a chance to bat on Wednesday but picked up two for 35 with his fast deliveries. Marsh, younger brother of Shaun, has set the domestic stage ablaze with his powerful hitting. Just 20, Marsh likes expressing his talent both with bat and ball and is one of the many multidimensional cricketers who are coming up through the ranks in Australian cricket. McKay, a 194cm tall right-arm fast bowler, is renowned for his control and economy. The 28-year-old local boy is said to possess enough variety in his armoury. The fast bowler is a handy lower order bat too and has already represented Australia in all three formats – Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals. The variety and the options Australia has in bowling is equally befuddling. George Bailey, the home captain, said as much when he said he has quite a few bowlers who could bowl in the death overs. “It could be Lee, Doherty, Hogg or Faulkner – anyone,” said Bailey. The hosts are well-served by explosive left-handed openers in David Warner and Matthew Wade and the two are likely to be top draw this whole summer. Australia: George Bailey (capt), David Warner, Travis Birt, Daniel Christian, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Matthew Wade and Brad Hogg. India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Rahul Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Manoj Tiwary. Umpires: Bruce Oxenford and Paul Reiffel Match referee: Andy Pycroft. The match will start at 2.05 pm IST. © PTI  |
| Pakistan Vs England 3rd Test Dubai 2012: Match Preview Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:45 AM PST
Andrew Strauss’s men, pulverised by Pakistan spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman, are also in danger of losing their world number one spot after a dismal 10-wicket defeat in Dubai and the 72-run capitulation in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan have never inflicted a Test series whitewash on England, who topped the Test rankings in August last year with an unbeaten nine series sequence, but have seen 34 of their 40 wickets tumble on tour to Pakistan’s spinners.
Off-spinner Ajmal has led the destruction with 17 scalps while left-armer Rehman has claimed 12 wickets and Mohammad Hafeez five. England need to win to guarantee their top spot on April 1 — the cut-off date for a $175,000 award to the side sitting at the top of the ICC Test championship table. But their celebrated batting order has so far failed to answer the challenge laid down by Pakistan’s wily spinners. Jonathan Trott (141 in four innings) tops their batting chart, while Andrew Strauss (68) and Alastair Cook (109) have failed to provide strong starts. Key batsmen Kevin Pietersen (17 in four innings), Ian Bell (36) and Eoin Morgan (41) have also struggled to cope with the slower ball as England lost the first Test in three days and the second in four. The tourists will resist the temptation of replacing Morgan with Ravi Bopara whose last Test innings was a 44 not out, against India at The Oval. Speaking after the Abu Dhabi defeat Strauss said his chastened team needed to bounce back after two dismal performances. “Pakistan have thoroughly deserved their victory in the series,” he said. “We’ve been below where we want to be and we need to come back and bounce back strongly from this. “As a batting unit we have to hold our hands up and say we haven’t been good enough, it’s been pretty apparent, we need to be better than that,” said Strauss, whose last hundred came 30 months ago. The defeats have left no doubt about England’s vulnerability to the slow ball on sub continental wickets, a weakness they will need to address before tours to Sri Lanka and India later in the year. “If you take the point of view, which I think you’ve got to, that you learn as much from your defeats as you do from your victories then I think we’ve learned some valuable lessons going forward,” Strauss said. “It’s not easy in these conditions, in these circumstances but we’re good enough players to be able to adjust to the conditions we’ve encountered.” Under Strauss’ stewardship England have won only twice on the subcontinent — both times against minnows Bangladesh. Pakistan are chasing the whitewash as they look to climb the Test rankings and captain Misbah-ul-Haq has vowed his team will be going for the jugular in Dubai. “We will try our level best to do the same we did in the first two Tests, we have the best team up against us so they can come back in the series, but what is in our control we will do,” said Misbah, who has not lost a series since taking over in October 2010. “We need to do our hundred percent and be focused for good cricket.” The Dubai Stadium pitch, which provided help to spinners from the first day of the opening Test, is likely to continue its assistance to slow bowlers. Pakistan may consider replacing left-arm seamer Junaid Khan with Wahab Riaz, who has been part of the squad without taking the field. Teams England (Probable): Andrew Strauss (c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Monty Panesar. Pakistan (Probable): Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal (wk), Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan. Time: (10:00 local | 11:30 IST) © AFP  |
| Mohammad Aamer released from jail Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:22 AM PST
The 19-year-old Aamer was freed from a young offenders’ institution in Weymouth, southwest England. “Aamer is in high spirits and he will meet with his lawyers to decide when to appeal in Court of Arbitration against ICC’s five-year suspension,” Aamer’s mentor, Asif Bajwa, said after speaking to the player. “Now that he has served his punishment, I am very optimistic that ICC will also look into the long term suspension.”
After his release, Aamer released a statement that only referred to Pakistan’s recent victories over England in their first Test matches since the fixing-tainted 2010 series. “I am delighted for the Pakistani cricket team. My thoughts are with them,” Aamer said in a statement. “I wish them every success. I will not be making any further comment.” Aamer pleaded guilty before the trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court last year. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Asif are still serving their sentences after being convicted of also fixing part of a Test against England at Lord’s in August 2010. Butt was jailed for 2 1/2 years and Asif for 1 year after they and Aamer ensured no-balls were bowled at specific times. Agent Mazhar Majeed received the stiffest sentence – 2 years, 8 months – after being secretly filmed by a tabloid journalist accepting 150,000 pounds ($238,000) and saying three players would help fix betting markets. Majeed was said to be the architect of the betting scam, along with Butt. All three players are serving five-year bans from cricket imposed by the International Cricket Council. The scam that forced the authorities into launching its most widespread corruption investigation was uncovered by investigators from the now-defunct News of the World tabloid. Aamer, who had been likened to all-time great Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram, is the youngest player to take 50 wickets in just 14 Test matches. Trial judge Jeremy Cooke described Aamer as “unsophisticated, uneducated and impressionable” and “readily leant on by others,” but said there was evidence that he also discussed rigging an earlier match with a betting contact in Pakistan. © AP  |
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