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Mohammad Hafeez will miss the third Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele to undergo a test on his bowling action, which was found suspect after the Galle Test

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2015Mohammad Hafeez will miss the third Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele to undergo a test on his bowling action. The offspinner was granted an Indian visa on Wednesday afternoon, and the ICC is expected to confirm a date for the test on Thursday. The PCB had earlier requested the ICC for an extension to the July 4 deadline for the test, on the grounds that Hafeez had not yet been granted an Indian visa to travel to the accredited testing centre in Chennai.Hafeez was reported for a suspect action after the first Test in Galle. According to ICC regulations, he is allowed to bowl until the results of the tests are out and he bowled 14 overs in the second Test in Colombo, which Pakistan lost by seven wickets. He travelled to Pallekele, the venue for the third Test from July 3, to join the squad, but will now travel to Colombo before leaving the country for the test.Hafeez was reported on June 21 and according to ICC regulations he needed to appear for testing within 14 days. He faces a one-year suspension from bowling if his elbow flex is found to be over the permissible 15-degree limit because it would be the second time his action was declared illegal in the last two years.Hafeez had also been reported in November last year and then banned from bowling in December because he was found to have an elbow extension as high as 31 degrees. After a delay due to injury, Hafeez was cleared to bowl only this April following tests in Chennai.1538 GMT, July 1, 2015 This story was updated after Mohammad Hafeez was granted a visa

A wrap of the second day of the eighth round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group C

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2012
ScorecardJaummu and Kashmir’s medium pacer Ram Dayal bowled an incredible spell at the start of the second day picking up Himachal Pradesh’s top-six batsmen and giving away just 14 runs. But Himachal recovered to take a narrow lead and then removed three J&K batsmen to go ahead by the end of the day.Dayal struck with the third ball of the morning, removing Aakash Chopra and from there on, continued to torment the Himachal top-order. Bowling an extended spell, he had reduced Himachal to 58 for 6 at one point. It was Dayal’s third five-for this season and it almost gave a chance to J&K to take a first-innings lead after scoring 175.But a 65-run seventh-wicket stand between Aatish Bhalaik and Karanveer Singh revived Himachal and helped them take a narrow 11-run lead and Himachal’s opening bowlers – Vikramjeet Malik and Rishi Dhawan – struck thrice in the nine overs of J&K innings to help Himachal take control.
ScorecardCenturies by VA Jagadeesh and Robert Fernandez helped Kerala to a big first-innings lead against Jharkhand in Mallappuram. The two batsmen, who were unbeaten yesterday, took the lead past 100 as Kerala looked set to post a big total. But left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem struck twice in two overs to disrupt the progress. After the 230-run second-wicket partnership, Kerala lost their last nine wickets for 95 as Nadeem took four and Samar Qadri picked up three.Still, Kerala had a 205-run lead and they made the most of the day by picking up Jharkhand’s openers before the end of play and will start tomorrow with an innings win in sight.
ScorecardA strong opening partnership between Pallavkumar Das and Sibsankar Roy led Assam’s response which has put them in a strong position to take first-innings lead. Pallavkumar was out one short of his half-century but Roy stayed unbeaten on 72 when stumps were called, with Assam 83 runs behind Andhra Pradesh’s 249.The highlight of the day was veteran Amol Muzumdar’s fourth hundred of the season – his 29th in first-class cricket. Mumzumdar, on 82 overnight, completed his century in time before he ran out of partners. Arup Das was the most successful bowler for Assam with four wickets.
ScorecardAfter losing the first day to rain, Tripura were pulled out of deep trouble, losing their top three wickets for only six runs, by their middle-order batsmen to recover to 170 for 5 at stumps. Saurabh Bandekar and Hanumant Gadekar took two wickets each as Abhijit Dey stitched two crucial partnerships with Abbas Ali (44) and skipper Ajay Ratra (37).

Reactions from former players and officials on the sentences after the spot-fixing trial

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2011
Michael Vaughan: “More can be done to try and catch more than just the three we’ve seen in court”•Getty Images

For me, there’s still a lot of questions to be answered because they weren’t exposed by any of the cricketing members; they were exposed by the . I still think the ICC could be doing a lot more than they are doing. Unfortunately, the anti-corruption unit is a pretty toothless tiger. They can’t get into the real depth of it all because they haven’t got the resources available to them. I don’t hold it against them; they’re doing the best job they possibly can. They can’t do sting operations like the , they can’t infiltrate these betting networks. They’ve tried their best.
After this case we can say that we are doing something about it and we don’t tolerate any sort of fixing, be it spot or match-fixing, or cheating. From now on, it is a very good deterrent to players, administrators and people who watch the game and try to manipulate it. I would hate to think that I’ve played in any game that we have won because it was fixed. I would rather hope that we won because we had played better.
This is a sad day for Pakistan cricket, a sad day for the cricketers and their families. I can just imagine what the families are going through. In a society where crime pays… Where this sort of thing goes on, an impressionable young man would have got swayed by it. A message has to go that crime does not pay. I feel sad for the cricketers but I feel that you have to punish crime, so that it becomes a punishment for aspirants of the corruption of cricket that crime does not play.
The real possibility of spending time in prison is a further compelling argument for players to distance themselves from those who seek to profit illegally from the game
I hope it sends a shockwave through the game and I’m delighted with the way it’s been handled. I still believe there are more out there and more can be done to try and catch more than just the three we’ve seen in court over the last few weeks.
The sentences could have been harsher. What saddens me is that the ICC didn’t take a stronger line when they had a chance. When they found these players guilty with their own investigation earlier in the year, they were only banned for five years. I don’t understand that kind of logic. If you get caught doing anything like this you should be banned for life and the ICC should get a wake-up call themselves and be more pro-active in rooting out the problem because it won’t go away without pro-active measures. Players are susceptible when they are young to being lured into this kind of thing so [the ICC] has to get the message through when young.
Absolutely the decision is a hard one for the families of the three cricketers. Justice has been done and you’ve got to get rid of the corrupt elements from the game. The verdict will act as a great deterrent for future aspirants. These big fishes need to be taken to task.
We’ve played quite a bit of cricket against them throughout the last two or three years as well, with Test series in Australia as well as over in England and some one-day series as well. I definitely didn’t suspect anything of what’s come out over the last year or so. Whether it’s jail, whether it’s a life sentence, there’s no doubt the punishments are very severe for doing the wrong thing.

Kevin Pietersen has branded John Buchanan, the former Australia coach and occasional advisor to the ECB, as ‘a nobody’

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2010Kevin Pietersen has branded John Buchanan, the former Australia coach and occasional advisor to the ECB, as ‘a nobody’ following comments that Pietersen could be a divisive factor during the Ashes tour.In a recent magazine interview Buchanan, who was brought in by the ECB to offer insight on the Australians before the Ashes, said Pietersen could be “individualist and fragmentary” if his form didn’t improve. Andy Flower, the England coach, responded to the comments by predicting great things from Pietersen during the Ashes and saying that Buchanan wasn’t part of England’s inner circle but the man himself was even more dismissive.”I didn’t react to it because it was strange that he made headlines,” Pietersen said. “I’m not interested in what he has to say. Who is he? He’s a nobody.”He had the best team to coach in the history of cricket. Anyone could have coached that team. He has done nothing else solid so I won’t even take it with a pinch of salt.”Still, Pietersen is under pressure heading into the tour after a lean period where he has only hit one hundred at any level since March 2009. In a quest to regain some touch before facing Australia he arranged to join the Dolphins in South Africa but his short stint was restricted to two innings where he made 36 and 0, so the three warm-up games in Australia are looming as crucial in Pietersen’s preparation.Despite only getting two hits in South Africa, Pietersen believes the time spent with Graham Ford – the Dolphins coach and a long-time mentor – will prove invaluable. “Graham Ford was brilliant for my confidence. He knows how to get the best out of me,” he said at the launch of his latest Brylcreem product in London. “I did some amazing work with him and absolutely loved it. I rekindled some shots out of my old style of play.”I’m really looking forward to the series and I’ll be full of confidence that I’ll do well. I am going to go out there and get some runs. I’d love to post a big score in the first Test. I’ve done it before so why not again? I love playing Australia.”However, Pietersen has admitted being one of the players unhappy with Flower’s decision to ban WAGs for the first five weeks of the tour. The players’ wives and girlfriends will only be allowed to join the trip following the second Test and Pietersen, who has talked in the past about not wanting to be away from his wife and young child, made his opposition clear.”I didn’t react too well to it but it’s not something I’m prepared to get involved in,” he said. “I respect Andy Flower’s decision. I have to respect it.”

Kumar Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 78 off 37 balls – Sri Lanka’s fastest fifty – to lead his team to 215 in Nagpur, a total that proved beyond India’s reach

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera09-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outKumar Sangakkara equalled the record for the fastest fifty by a Sri Lankan•AFP

Kumar Sangakkara starred with his highest Twenty20 score, a serenely-destructive 37-ball 78, as Sri Lanka thumped India by 29 runs in Nagpur. Chamara Kapugedera pitched in with a cameo to charge Sri Lanka to 215, a total that proved too much for India, who fell away after a promising start provided by Gautam Gambhir.Gambhir tried valiantly with a counter-attacking fifty but it was Sangakkara who stole the show. He played only one dot ball till reached his fifty – from 21 deliveries, the quickest for Sri Lanka – but it wasn’t a conventional Twenty20 knock in which the batsman goes hell for leather. There weren’t many ugly swipes or heaves and anything unconventional was designed with the field in mind.Sangakkara’s innings sparked off in the ninth over against Pragyan Ojha’s left-arm spin. He chipped the first delivery he faced from Ojha over mid-on, swept the next to the boundary and lifted the third for a six over long-on. There were more classy strikes, the highlight being a chipped shot over mid-on to a length delivery from the debutant Ashok Dinda. Sangakkara’s predetermined shots also came off perfectly: when he shuffled to the off side, the ball was invariably so full that it was easily lapped around the corner; when he moved outside leg, he flat-batted short-of-length deliveries over mid-on or mid-off.It wasn’t a solo show from him, though. Sangakkara found support from his partners at various points in the innings – Tillakaratne Dilshan at the start, unfurling a couple of on-the-up hits, Chamara Kapugedera in the middle and Angelo Mathews at the very end. Kapugedera was fluent against everyone but he reserved his best for Ashish Nehra, looting 18 runs from the 19th over with four boundaries to all parts of the ground – a punch over cover, a pull, a slice and a cut over point – which reflected the bowler’s poor lines.The run-glut came after India started with four tight overs, only for their bowling and fielding to disintegrate under pressure. Nehra and Ishant Sharma got the ball to skid from short of a length and cramped the openers for room but the fielding gave way first after which the bowling buckled under the assault. Yuvraj Singh dropped a sitter at point off Jayasuriya when he was on 2.After the let-off, Jayasuriya went berserk in the fifth over, bowled by Nehra, taking him for 22 runs with five boundaries, including two lap-shots past the short fine-leg fielder. Dilshan was dropped too, with Ishant missing a straightforward return chance, and he too took full toll. Though the openers didn’t go on to make big scores, they had broken the shackles and set the platform for Sangakkara to play a gem.Despite Virender Sehwag’s fall in the third over, Gambhir helped India take 76 from the Powerplay but their hopes started to sink with his departure. Gambhir’s was a cheeky yet intelligent innings and he peppered the off-side field with his well-timed drives – the highlight being a sequence of seven fours from nine deliveries spread over two overs from Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara. Despite a crowded field – a short point, backward point, cover point and cover were in place – he stole five of those seven boundaries through the off side. However, he fell while trying to paddle sweep Angelo Mathews and India lost four more wickets, including those of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, in three overs as the chase derailed spectacularly. The bowling was disciplined, without ever being threatening, but India were done in by the pressure of the steep run-rate.

Bangladesh’s decision to bowl first did not earn much rewards early on, but they enjoyed two wickets in the last ten overs of play

Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2024Mikyle Louis and Alick Athanaze both suffered the heartbreak of falling in the nineties on the first day of the Antigua Test against Bangladesh. Otherwise, the West Indies pair did enough to make the opening day of the series theirs. The 140-run fourth wicket stand between the pair revitalised West Indies’ innings, adding pace to the overall scoring. It led to West Indies dominating proceedings for more than two sessions.Louis came agonizingly close to his maiden Test century, but fell on 97. Despite showing great restraint throughout his 218-ball stay, Louis spent 27 balls in the nineties before falling to Bangladesh stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Athanaze fell to Taijul Islam a few overs later, the second time he got out in the nineties in his short Test career.The Bangladesh bowlers would be disappointed that they couldn’t hold back the Louis-Athanaze partnership after keeping West Indies’ scoring rate in check in the first 54 overs. Taskin Ahmed took two wickets, while Taijul and Mehidy took one each, average returns overall despite Bangladesh choosing to bowl first at the toss.After the Louis-Athanaze pair fell to the spinners, Justin Greaves and Joshua Da Silva scored freely against the second new ball towards the end of the day. Play was called off after 84 overs when a drizzle started, while the light was not great either.Bangladesh’s fast-bowling trio of Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam and Taskin challenged West Indies early in the day, but Louis held his own. Hasan kept beating him outside the off stump. Shoriful tested him around the off stump with the delivery always threatening to shape in. Taskin used the wobble seam, sometimes bowled the yorker, and pressed Louis to fish outside off.Shoriful, who got more swing from the Sir Curtly Ambrose end than the Andy Roberts end, was playing his first Test since mid-August. He missed the previous five Tests but looked in tune with the red ball. He roubled Kraigg Brathwaite, who tried to dig in despite the runs not flowing from his bat. Louis meanwhile waited for the short ball, which got him two fours with the pull shot.Taskin then removed Brathwaite, trapping him lbw with a hint of inward movement that beat his bat. Taskin then had Keacy Carty caught at mid-on when he couldn’t keep his wristy whip down, ending up as a tame dismissal. Brathwaite made four runs in 38 balls, while Carty ended on a eight-ball duck.File photo: Alick Athanaze fell in the nineties for the second time in his short Test career•Getty Images

Louis found Kavem Hodge a little more forthcoming as they tried to rebuild the innings. The pair struck four boundaries before the lunch break, but then consolidated in the second session.Louis brought up his fifty when he struck Taskin with a punch down the ground for a boundary. Hodge then slapped Taskin with a square cut, but he wouldn’t last too much longer. Attempting a second run off Mehidy’s bowling, Hodge was run out for 25 after Taijul’s throw from long leg had him well short despite a dive.Athanaze made efforts to push the run-rate but he was met with Bangladesh’s continued discipline. In the afternoon, it was the spinners Mehidy and Taijul, who kept things tight. Athanaze skied a couple of balls that fell slightly away from the fielder’s reach. One of them, a top edge towards mid-on, could have become a catch had Taskin moved slightly faster. Athanaze struck Mehidy with a sweep for four, but couldn’t quite connect with his several reverse sweeps in the second session. Louis, who lifted Taskin for a four over the bowler’s head towards the end of the second session, remained mostly quiet in his approach.Athanaze took the initiative to raise West Indies’ scoring rate after tea. He started the the final session with two square-cut boundaries, before he finally got a four with a reverse sweep off Mehidy.Louis then lofted Mehidy for the first six of the day, which took him into the eighties. Then, Mehidy dropped Louis at slip when he reached 90. Louis picked up Mahmud for his ninth boundary as he edged closer to his maiden century, while Athanaze opened up at the other end too.He swept Taijul before hitting Taskin for consecutive fours in the 71st over, cut and flicked away. Athanaze then slog-swept Taijul for his first six, and then came another reverse-swept boundary.Against the run of play, Mehidy removed Louis, charging at him, caught at slip where Shahadat Hossain took a good catch. Three overs later, Taijul had Athanaze caught behind. In the space of four runs, both batters were gone, allowing for a small opening come day two.

Smith needed cortisone injections to get through the final two Tests of the series but is hopeful he will be right for the India ODI series and the World Cup

Alex Malcolm22-Aug-20230:41

Hazlewood: Conditions can change so much in India

Steven Smith has revealed that he carried his left wrist injury through the final three matches of the Ashes series after damaging it at Lord’s while fielding during the second Test.Smith has suffered a small tendon tear in his left wrist which requires him to wear a splint for a short period of time and has ruled him out of Australia’s upcoming limited-overs tour of South Africa.He is hopeful of being fit for Australia’s subsequent three-match ODI series in India which starts on September 22 in Chandigarh but it leaves him just three matches and a warm-up game to prepare for the 50-over World Cup in India beginning in early October.Related

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• Smith ruled out of South Africa tour due to wrist injury

Smith told that he hurt his wrist in the field at Lord’s, after making a match-winning 110 in the first innings, but the full extent of the damage was not revealed until he began training again at home in Sydney in preparation for the South Africa tour.”I did it at Lord’s. I don’t actually know the moment, it was when we were in the field,” Smith said. “It wasn’t until that night I was like, ‘geez, what have I done here, it’s a bit sore’.”I played the next game and then I had a cortisone [injection] before Old Trafford. I got back [to Australia] and I was like, ‘[It’s] still not quite right. I still can’t do a lot of things properly.'”I had another scan. There was a small tear in the tendon as well as a couple of other things.”Smith and Mitchell Starc were late withdrawals from the South Africa tour last Friday. Starc has some residual groin soreness after the Ashes series and needs more time to recover. Pat Cummins also has a fractured left wrist from landing heavily on it in the field in the final Ashes Test at the Oval. Cummins won’t play in the South Africa limited-overs series but will join the group ahead of the fourth ODI in Centurion.Steven Smith hurt his left wrist during the Lord’s Test•PA Images via Getty Images

Marnus Labuschagne has been recalled to Australia’s ODI squad for South Africa in Smith’s absence after being left out of the World Cup squad of 18. Ashton Turner has replaced Smith in the T20I squad for South Africa.Smith’s injury does compromise Australia’s ability to settle their top four ahead of the World Cup. David Warner was absent for the first two matches of Australia’s last ODI series in March in India due to a fractured elbow. Mitchell Marsh opened the batting for the first time in his ODI career alongside Travis Head with extraordinary success, to the point where Warner batted at No. 4 for the first time in his career when he returned for the final game in Chennai, having only once previously not opened in 141 ODIs for Australia.Warner and Head have been a devastating combination for Australia sharing opening stands of 284, 147 and 269 in just seven innings together at the top of the order.But Marsh’s power-hitting ability inside the powerplay, as showcased by his recent form across all formats, makes him an irresistible option in the top three for Australia’s selectors meaning Smith could be forced to slide to No. 4 despite batting at No. 3 in his last 23 ODI innings since the 2019 World Cup and averaging 60.70, striking at 90.05 and scoring four centuries. Eleven of Smith’s 12 ODI centuries have come at No. 3 and he averages 54.56 at first drop compared to 35.61 at No. 4.Smith was also set to open in the T20I series against South Africa while Warner rested with the aim of trying to regain his spot in Australia’s first-choice T20I side after being squeezed out for the last World Cup in Australia in 2022. Smith did play in Australia’s final match of the tournament against Afghanistan, but only in the absence of Aaron Finch and Tim David after carrying the drinks for most of that tournament.Steven Smith made two BBL centuries last summer•Getty Images

Smith has never opened in T20I cricket but was dominant for Sydney Sixers in just five innings in last summer’s BBL, plundering two extraordinary centuries and striking at 174.74. The selectors had hoped to give Smith a chance in South Africa with a view to possibly cementing him at the top of the order for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA next year, where his ability against spin on low, spinning pitches could be a major asset given it has generally been a weak point for Australia’s T20 batting line-up.”I did speak to [Australian coach] Andrew McDonald about it,” Smith said. “He said I’d get more opportunities somewhere to press my case. It’s kind of the dream job. Everyone wants to open the batting in T20s.”There’s not much accountability there, you just sort of go out there and play. You’ve got two fielders out for the first six overs, and if you get going then you’re already in when the field goes out, so it’s a nice time to bat.”Australia play five T20Is in India immediately after the ODI World Cup but as with the upcoming South Africa series, some of Australia’s three-format players will likely be rested in order to be ready for the home Test series against Pakistan which begins just 10 days after the fifth T20I in Hyderabad.Following five home Tests against Pakistan and West Indies in December and January, Australia will have three home T20Is against West Indies and three away against New Zealand where they will likely bed down their best side ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.

Unbroken century stand with Nick Welch reels in target as Foxes bowlers share the spoils

ECB Reporters Network17-Jun-2022Leicestershire Foxes at last gave their supporters something to cheer as an eight-wicket win over bottom-of-the-table Worcestershire Rapids ended a run of four consecutive home defeats in the Vitality Blast North Group.Ben Mike, Naveen-ul-Haq and Callum Parkinson shared the wickets with three apiece as the Rapids were restricted to a paltry 116 for 9 after electing to bat first, Kashif Ali’s 24 in his fourth appearance a modest top score.It was a total the Rapids, without Moeen Ali on England duty and Ben Cox ruled out by illness, were never likely to be able to defend and the Foxes cruised home with almost eight overs to spare with Arron Lilley smashing 12 fours and a six in an unbeaten 68 from 39 balls. His unbroken third-wicket stand of 101 with Nick Welch (41 not out) came off just 59 balls.The night had begun with what Rapids fans hoped was a show of intent as Brett D’Oliveira slog-swept and cut Parkinson for six and four in the opening over but that was as good as it got in a dire batting show.The left-arm spinner pushed one through to bowl the Rapids skipper next ball, before Naveen had Ed Pollock brilliantly caught at short third man off a thick edge with his first ball. Jack Haynes heaved Wiaan Mulder over midwicket for six but he holed out to mid-off, the third casualty of a powerplay that saw them 44 for 3.Two more wickets for Parkinson, who bowled Colin Munro and had Ed Barnard stumped off a wide delivery, added to the visitors’ woes and when Gareth Roderick found the fielder at wide long-on the Rapids were 61 for 6 in the 11th.Dwayne Bravo and Kashif stopped the procession of wickets, but while they added 40 for the seventh wicket it took them 38 balls – a snail’s pace in this format. Bravo clumped one six over midwicket off Rehan Ahmed but when he lofted Naveen over the long-off boundary the Afghan bowler gained revenge next ball with his 19th wicket of the campaign, finding the edge as the former West Indies captain drove.Kashif fell victim to a fine, diving catch by Swindells behind the stumps off Mike, whose two overs at the death cost only eight runs and earned him a third wicket when Josh Baker chopped on.Mitchell Stanley, a 21-year-old fast bowler making his debut, yorked Harry Swindells to claim a wicket with his first ball in senior cricket and Rishi Patel swung ambitiously at a ball from Pat Brown that bowled him as the Foxes lost two wickets in the first 14 balls of the powerplay.But Welch – making his first appearance of the season as one of two changes in the Foxes’ line-up – and Lilley made short work of the target, reaching 49 without further loss in the powerplay before getting after a disheartened Rapids attack with a flurry of boundaries, Lilley lofting Bravo over the straight boundary, taking three fours in one over off Stanley, whose evening ended with Lilley cracking the winning boundary over extra cover.

“Legally and constitutionally it’s our right to participate in the tournament and nobody can remove us from it”

Umar Farooq21-Feb-2021Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, has said that Pakistan will demand the T20 World Cup to be shifted out of India if Pakistan do not get written assurances from the host country on the safety and visas of every stakeholder. Mani said that the ICC in its contingency plan made UAE a back-up option, if India failed to host the tournament for any reason later this year in.The upcoming T20 World Cup was originally scheduled to be held in Australia but due to the pandemic, the cycle had been revised giving India rights to host the 2021 event while Australia have been asked to host the 2022 edition. Given the strained relationship between India and Pakistan, the ICC has been working together with the boards to obtain assurances for Pakistan’s participation.”Our government has never told us that we can’t play (in India),” Mani told reporters in Lahore. “We have agreed with the ICC that we are going to participate and we can’t contravene that. At the ICC level, I have clearly said we need a written assurance from the India government that not only our team and squad’s visas, we also need visas for fans, journalists and the board officials, but that’s also all written in the ICC host agreement and according to that we have put our demand.”ICC has also been a bit loose on it as they told us that it will be done by Dec 31, 2020, but it didn’t happen. I again raised it in January and in February directly with the ICC chairman, then I talked to ICC management and I told them that I need a clear decision by March. They are saying that by end of March. If it doesn’t come, I will demand the shifting of the event from India to UAE.”Cricketing ties between India and Pakistan have had their ups and downs since the two countries first met in the Delhi Test of 1952. The relationship over the last seven decades has been impaired with neither side touring the other country for a full series since 2007 when Pakistan last visited India. Bilateral ties between the two countries were snapped after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 until a limited-overs series was played in 2012-13, though India and Pakistan have faced each other in international tournaments. The sides last met at the 2019 World Cup in England.Mani also brought up how the International Olympic Committee had suspended India in 2019 after Pakistani shooters were not issued visas for the World Cup held in New Delhi in February 2019. That sanction, however, was lifted after the union government promised that all participating athletes would be given a visa, and that it wouldn’t be judged politically. Mani called for this issue to be sorted too, and for cricket to stay out of politics.On a separate outstanding issue, the ICC has told the BCCI that it reserves the right to take away the 2021 men’s T20 World Cup from India after the board failed to secure a tax exemption for the tournament from the government.”It’s already been decided that if India can’t hold the event it will be shifted to UAE,” Mani said. “Legally and constitutionally it’s our right to participate in the tournament and nobody can remove us from the tournament and the ICC chairman does realise this.”Unfortunately, it’s unhealthy that especially cricket in India is being linked with politics. On a personal level, I have no problems with Sourav Ganguly and he is quite open about it, he wants to organise the tournament in India and I have no problems with it too if he can convince every stakeholder. But ICC has backup plans and if they (India) can’t do it, it will be held at an alternative venue.”The 2020 edition of the Asia Cup, which was postponed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, is also slotted for June this year. The tournament was originally meant to be played in Pakistan but PCB swapped the hosting rights with Sri Lanka’s 2022 edition as the PCB cannot feasibly host a tournament involving India around the growing tension between two countries. It was to feature the four subcontinent sides along with Afghanistan and an Asian qualifier. “The fate of the tournament hinges upon the qualification of India in the ICC Test championship. If they do (qualify) then its impossible this year and then we have to take it to 2023.”

“If you get good pace behind the ball and just put it in the right areas, you can create chances”

Daniel Brettig in Brisbane19-Nov-20191:31

‘Totally different, in-form bowlers’ for Tests – Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq knows the secret to getting Steven Smith out, and calls it the batsman’s “blind spot”. It isn’t much of a secret at all: simply hit the same spot, hitting at or near the top of the off stump, that troubles every batsman in international cricket.The first trick, of course, is to get the ball to move off the seam from that spot to force errors. As Smith put it in England this year: “There is no doubt in my mind that the seaming ball is the hardest thing to play in the game. You don’t have time to react, so you have to play the line and if it goes in, you are a chance of hitting the stumps and getting lbw, and if it goes away you are a chance of nicking it.”The other trick, even less of a trick than extracting seam movement, is simply to keep hitting that precise spot, ball after ball, over after over, hour after hour, session after session. Misbah, a past master at the pendulum-like rhythm that brings success whether batting or bowling in Test matches, has done his best to ensure that when Smith walks out to bat in the first Test, starting Thursday, Pakistan’s bowlers will find a way to hit the blind spot near enough to every ball.ALSO READ: Waqar Younis warns against getting ‘carried away’ by bounce“As far as Steve Smith goes, there’s a blind spot for every top batsman in the world; as a bowler you’re always interested in pitching the ball there,” Misbah said. “It’s important that we bowl with consistency there. Our bowlers are executing the plans very well right now, and hopefully we’ll be able to build that kind of a pressure, and stay disciplined especially early in the innings. No matter how good a batsman is batting, it’s about consistency and bowling the maximum balls in those areas that build pressure and the batsman respects you, and you force him to make a mistake.”All the batsmen you talk to, any batsman in the world, that’s the area where you have to defend a ball, and that is a six-to-eight-metre spot where you have to play the top of off stump. That’s the area from where if it’s happening then that creates a great chance. Even if it’s not happening, you have less chances to do anything with the ball.”So it’s about consistency, and top players in the world, if you miss those areas, that special length and line, then they are good enough to just cash in on that. So you have to be very, very disciplined, just keep the ball there, and if it’s happening you are already in the game.”Pakistan’s selection choices seem to be geared to finding not only consistency but also movement, with bounce, off the pitch. Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Musa and the 16-year-old Naseem Shah have the makings of one of the tougher pace-bowling attacks Australia have faced at home.”At the moment, they are doing it, but obviously we’ll see how it goes in these conditions,” Misbah said, “because these pitches are hard.”But I still believe if you get good pace behind the ball and just put it in the right areas, you can create chances. That’s what we are looking for, and I think they can, the way Naseem is bowling at the moment, Shaheen is very important with the new ball especially, he gets some movement in the air and off the seam also. We hope that they can do it, but you need to be very, very disciplined.”Then it comes to plan B and plan C, if it’s not happening then where you’re going to attack him. Let’s see, there are good signs for us that a young bowling attack like this, they start understanding what they need to do here. It’s big pressure when they just go in a Test match, that’s a big learning for them. If they can replicate that in the game scenario then these fast bowlers will be a great asset for Pakistan. The kind of form he is in, there’s no doubt Steve Smith is a batting genius. We will try our best to execute our plans and dismiss him.”Misbah-ul-Haq catches up with Brad Hogg at the Optus Stadium•Getty Images

Among Pakistan’s batsmen, the way Babar Azam has begun this tour gives the strong impression that he may be on the verge of a major breakthrough into the very front rank, currently occupied by Smith and Virat Kohli, among others. Misbah is hopeful that he has been able to add the requisite ice to Babar’s shotmaking fire, as evidenced by the maturity he showed in compiling a masterful century against Australia A in Perth.”It was a very difficult pitch for our three-day game and they bowled very well. We were playing pretty much the top four bowlers from Australia A,” Misbah said. “Babar Azam did both the things there – he punished the poor deliveries and respected the bowlers when it was required. He batted with a lot of maturity there. It’s not just aggression, aggression and aggression, he has a very balanced approach. He puts the short balls away and even respects the good deliveries whenever he had to. He is ready to play that sort of a long innings in Tests.”He is very important. I think the way he is playing these days, the most important thing for a batsman is how confident you are, especially after South Africa and those were difficult pitches when Pakistan played last series. The way he played good and attacking cricket there, he has changed totally as a batsman. He understands conditions and here the conditions for batting are a lot better.”The way he has been batting these days in the warm-up games, in the T20s, and even in the nets, you can see his confidence and he has improved a lot technically, you can see the surety in him. He will be a key [batsman], especially with his confidence. Hopefully he will do well, it will be very important for Pakistan.”As for the World Test Championship, Pakistan will finally make their entry to the contest with India already having streeted away to a 300-point lead. Misbah mentioned the psychological value of winning in Australia or England, before assuming a typically serene attitude to the title race.”These two Test matches are here, whenever you come to Australia and England, if you perform well in these conditions as a team, especially a young team, that gives you huge confidence,” he said. “Then four Test matches at home, if we can do well here and then go there and perform well, then these things will take care of themselves.”