‘Spoiler’ Malik vowed to transform into ‘team man’ to make it to national squad: Afridi

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, Jun.4 (ANI): Shoaib Malik’s inclusion in the 15-man squad for the Asia Cup just days after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lifted the one-year ban imposed on him may have surprised many, but he was able to make it to the national squad only after he swore before skipper Shahid Afridi that he would completely transform himself into a ‘team man.’

Rejecting media reports that Malik was included in the squad under pressure from various political and other influential quarters, Afridi said Malik was a talented cricketer whom the team needed.

“I don’t take any pressure from anyone. The thing is that Shoaib Malik is a talented cricketer and there is no doubt about it. The team needs him. But I’ve told him clearly that I’m supporting you and I need your support for the sake of the team,” The News quoted Afridi, as saying.

The swashbuckling all rounder also revealed that he had a ‘heart-to-heart’ with Malik before the meeting with the national selectors and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt to pick the team for the Asia Cup.

“Malik has assured me of his complete support. He sounded really serious about making a successful international return and wants to help me in my efforts to put the team back on track,” Afridi said.

“I have no personal grudges against anybody including Malik. The thing is that I just want players who can contribute towards the team cause. I want to raise our performance graph and that can only happen through a team effort,” he added.

Afridi also rubbished reports regarding pacer Shoaib Akhtar failing a fitness test conducted just a day before the team was to be announced.

“Who said he (Akhtar) failed the fitness test? We have received reports from experts that he is fully fit after which we have decided to recall him,” he said.

Afridi, 30, backed the selectors’ decision to include Akhtar in the Sri Lanka bound 15-man squad, saying the speedster would add more firepower to Pakistan’s bowling line up.

“It’s true that Shoaib has been out of action for some time, but I’m sure that he still has a lot of cricket left in him. We can field him in our big matches which means he will get enough time to recover and maintain his form and fitness. I’m happy that he is back,” said Afridi. (ANI)

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Shoaib Akhtar impresses chief selector at Pentagular Cup

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, April 22 (IANS) Discarded Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has catapulted himself in a perfect position to make yet another international comeback with a lethal spell in a leading domestic cricket tournament here Wednesday night.

Shoaib, 34, bowled at a fiery pace and finished with six for 52 to guide Federal Areas Leopards to devour Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Panthers by 77 runs in the Pentangular Cup at the National Stadium.

His brilliant showing forced Pakistan chief selector Mohsin Hasan Khan to say the selection committee will seriously consider Shoaib for a twin series against Australia and England in England this summer if he continued to bowl like this at the domestic level.

The enigmatic pacer is himself very pleased with his return to form and has declared that he would continue pushing for a recall in the national team.

Shoaib, who hasn’t played in international cricket for quite a while, said that he has regained full fitness and is looking to prove his mettle by continuing doing well on the domestic circuit.

‘I’m hoping to make a comeback during the tour of England,’ he said. ‘There is plenty of domestic cricket left before our teams goes to England which is why I’m confident of proving my form and fitness,’ he stressed.

Shoaib said that playing in the 1999 World Cup final in England remains the most cherished moment of his international career, adding that he wants to help Pakistan win the World Cup next year.

‘I want to play in next year’s World Cup and hope that Pakistan will win it,’ he said.

Shoaib was rejected as a spent force by national selectors after failing to impress much on his last international comeback almost a year ago in a one-dayer against Australia in Abu Dhabi.

Since then, the pacer has shed a lot of weight and has looked pretty sharp in the two Pentangular matches he has played so far. ‘I just want to play for Pakistan and am working hard for it,’ he said.

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Lee still a dangerous weapon for Australian team

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep 14(ANI): Former Australian cricketer Gavin Robertson has said that Australian paceman Brett Lee has lived up to the national selectors’ expectation following his return from a foot and ankle surgery.

Lee has been bowling at a blistering speed and control, and took 5-49 in Australia’s seven-wicket win over England at Lord’s to take an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-match ODI series.

“You can play and hope you’re doing well, or you can be so mentally dominant that selectors have to pick you. That is what Brett is doing,” The Daily Telegraph quoted Robertson, as saying.

“Once a guy bowls at 150km/h and is swinging the new ball and old ball, they’ll take notice,” he added.

Former Australian Test keeper Steve Rixon has also lauded Lee’s efforts at the Lord’s and said that he was still one of the most devastating new-ball bowlers in the game.

“I know it was only a one-day game, but if he can produce a five to 10-over spell like that during a Test match, he has the pace and ability to swing the ball that changes the pattern of a game. He can be a dangerous weapon,” Rixon said.

“There aren’t too many bowlers who can hit the base of the stumps that often. I know he was injured before the first Test in the Ashes, but if you take that game where we have 70-odd balls to get a final wicket, Brett would have been that person who can do that something special at the death,” he added. (ANI)

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Pak selectors angry with PCB for ignoring them after T20 World Cup win

June 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, June 29 (ANI): The national selectors, who picked the Pakistan squad that won the Twenty20 World Cup, are angry that they have been completely ignored in the celebrations for the team’s triumph.

Although former chief selector Abdul Qadir has resigned from his job, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not clarified the status of Saleem Jaffer and Shoaib Mohammad who were on the selection committee that picked the World Cup squad.

The board had appointed an interim selection committee headed by former captain Wasim Bari to pick the team for the Test tour of Sri Lanka.

“No one has the decency to even invite us for any celebratory event even though our contribution is clear that we picked the winning side,” one selector said.

Qadir, who resigned from his post in acrimonious circumstances while the team was playing in the Twenty20 World Cup, has also castigated the board for their treatment of the selectors.

“No matter what they do they can’t take away the credit from us that we picked the World Cup winning squad,” the Daily Times quoted Qadir, as saying. (ANI)

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PCB to decide on Yousuf’s inclusion for Sri Lanka tour

May 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, May 28 (IANS) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is weighing options of recalling the country’s premier batsman Mohammad Yousuf for this summer’s tour of Sri Lanka.

PCB sources Thursday said Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, will soon hold a meeting in Lahore to discuss the Yousuf issue with the senior officials.

Butt returned home early Thursday after a tour of South Africa and UAE where he went to garner support for Pakistan’s campaign aimed at regaining its right to host 2011 World Cup matches.

Butt told reporters that the PCB is keeping its options open as far as recalling Yousuf and other Pakistani cricketers, who defected to the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL), is concerned.

Yousuf and other leading ICL rebels from Pakistan, including all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, parted ways with the ICL and submitted ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the Twenty20 League saying the players have terminated their contract with the league.

“Yousuf is one of Pakistan’s leading batsmen and would like to have him back,” said Butt. “But we will have to follow procedures and will take a decision about his inclusion in the national team soon,” he added.

Pakistan team management and national selectors are keen to include Yousuf for the tour to Sri Lanka starying June 27. Pakistan is to play three Tests, five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 game in what will be its first full series in almost 20 months.

The team’s brittle batting line-up is a cause of concern for the Pakistani camp which is hoping that Yousuf will return to bolster it for the tough assignment in Sri Lanka.

Sources said that the PCB is taking its time in making a decision because it fears a backlash from the international cricket community especially from India and the International Cricket Council (ICC) in case Yousuf is recalled without being punished for defecting.

Some senior PCB officials have advised Butt to fine the ICL rebels before taking them back in the fold. Others are calling for the option of a 12-month cooling period as suggested initially by some of the other boards.

Yousuf meanwhile is desperate to find a place in the national side.

“It will be great if I’m allowed to make a comeback in international cricket with the series against Sri Lanka,” said Yousuf.

“I have submitted a no-objection certificate from the ICL and it’s now up to the PCB to clear my way to play international cricket.”

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Lehmann calls for Symonds inclusion in Ashes squad

May 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Cape Town (S. Africa), May 18 (ANI) Former Australian batsman and now manager of the IPL franchisee Deccan Chargers, Darren Lehmann, has called on the national selectors to include all-rounder Andrew Symonds in the Ashes squad.

Though Symonds has been written off by many as a contender for a place in the Test squad to England, due to be named on Wednesday, Lehmann said: “He’s good, he’s in good nick, he’s enjoying cricket and enjoying being with us, and I’m sure he’d enjoy being back with Australia as well.

In five matches Symonds has tallied 174 runs at 43.5 while also pouching three wickets, but given the considerable gap between Twenty20 and Tests the view of a seasoned observer like Lehmann carries as much weight as any mere statistics.

“The Australian side is still a better side with him in it.”

Lehmann and national captain Ricky Ponting have both been in Symonds’ corner over several years, as much for his ability to swing a game as anything else.

The squad to tour England will require a balance between youth, experience, role-players and match winners, and Symonds’ proven capacity to dominate a session or more will weigh heavily in his favour, particularly now he appears to have toned down his behaviour.

Rivals for the allrounder’s spot include Shane Watson and Andrew McDonald. (ANI)

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Lehmann calls for Symonds inclusion in Ashes squad

May 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Cape Town (S. Africa), May 18 (ANI) Former Australian batsman and now manager of the IPL franchisee Deccan Chargers, Darren Lehmann, has called on the national selectors to include all-rounder Andrew Symonds in the Ashes squad.

Though Symonds has been written off by many as a contender for a place in the Test squad to England, due to be named on Wednesday, Lehmann said: “He’s good, he’s in good nick, he’s enjoying cricket and enjoying being with us, and I’m sure he’d enjoy being back with Australia as well.

In five matches Symonds has tallied 174 runs at 43.5 while also pouching three wickets, but given the considerable gap between Twenty20 and Tests the view of a seasoned observer like Lehmann carries as much weight as any mere statistics.

“The Australian side is still a better side with him in it.”

Lehmann and national captain Ricky Ponting have both been in Symonds’ corner over several years, as much for his ability to swing a game as anything else.

The squad to tour England will require a balance between youth, experience, role-players and match winners, and Symonds’ proven capacity to dominate a session or more will weigh heavily in his favour, particularly now he appears to have toned down his behaviour.

Rivals for the allrounder’s spot include Shane Watson and Andrew McDonald. (ANI)

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Symonds has less than a week to force his way into Ashes squad

May 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 14 (ANI): Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has one week and a handful of Indian Premier League games to force his way into the Ashes squad.

Symonds has three Twenty20 matches for the Deccan Chargers to win over the national selectors and unseat fellow all rounders Shane Watson or Andrew McDonald in the touring party to be named next Wednesday.

Symonds, who turns 34 next month, still has that X-factor quality that has allowed him to be easily forgiven for sins that would have ended a lesser cricketer’s career.

His selection for June’s World Twenty20 showed he is still well thought of and skipper Ricky Ponting has shown enormous faith in him in the past.

“He’s coming to the Twenty20 tournament, so I guess that’s another opportunity to stake a claim for the Ashes,” Fox Sports quoted vice-captain Michael Clarke, as saying.

“I’d definitely support him if he was selected,” Clarke added.

Symonds’ path to the Ashes looked to have been cleared when Watson injured his groin in the United Arab Emirates this month. But Cricket Australia medical staff cleared him of a serious injury on Wednesday.

The other piece in the puzzle is Andrew McDonald.

The Victorian won a fan in Ponting by sticking to his role with the ball in Australia’s surprise 2-1 Test series win in South Africa in March.

He also showed signs of finding his feet with the bat with a half century in the final Test in Cape Town although his talents are not of the same calibre as Watson and Symonds.

The rest of the squad looks to be fairly straight forward. (ANI)

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Kallis likely to be included in team for 20-20 World Cup

April 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Cape Town (South Africa), Apr.16 (ANI): South African vice-captain Jacques Kallis, who was omitted from the first Twenty20 World Cup on home soil nearly two years ago, may be a shock inclusion in the South African squad for the second Twenty20 World Cup to be held in England in June.

There are now strong rumours that he may make the Proteas’ squad of 15 for the tournament in England, reports the Die Burger newspaper.

In the past 24 months, Kallis has played in only two of the Proteas’ 14 Twenty20 games and in the past year he was only involved in one of South Africa’s six Twenty20 games.

He was controversially omitted from the South African squad in 2007. It was said then that Kallis’s strengths were not suited to the abbreviated game. The Proteas brains trust also wanted to extend Kallis’s career by omitting him from certain series’.

Kallis did play for the Proteas against Australia in Melbourne in January. However, that was only his fourth Twenty20 game since 2005.

Now he is being spoken of as a possible inclusion as one of the additional batsmen in the squad.

It is believed Kallis’s exceptional batting technique may be a priceless asset on lively pitches.

Kallis and bowlers such as Makhaya Ntini and Morni Morkel, who are not currently in the Proteas’ Twenty20 plans, will get an opportunity to impress the national selectors in the Indian Premier League (IPL). (ANI)

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Change of IPL venue could stand Ashes aspirants in good stead

March 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Mar.27 (ANI): A change of country for the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could benefit Australian cricketers Brett Lee, Ryan Harris, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh, all of whom are fighting to put their names in front of the national selectors ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes series.

Lee in particular has his eyes on an Ashes berth, and his chances of impressing Andrew Hilditch and co will be greatly enhanced by doing so on the pitches of South Africa, as opposed to the dead and dry surfaces so prevalent in India.

With a few overs of T20 bowling, Lee can show he is capable of whizzing the ball around in the right conditions and he may start to win over the relevant observers.

So to get the chance to bowl in South Africa or England instead of India will be a definite tonic.

Harris, Tait, Watson and Marsh will also benefit from the change of country, despite Watson’s obvious affection for India following his tremendous feats for Rajasthan during the tournament’s inaugural edition. (ANI)

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Brett Lee’s return to Oz squad under serious threat

March 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Mar 12 (ANI): Injured fast bowler Brett Lee’s place in the Ashes 2009 squad is under serious threat after the unexpected success of Australia’s pace attack against South Africa.

Lee is slipping further down the queue with each impressive performance from the trio of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus in the on going series against the Proteas.

Only five months ago, Lee was Australia’s main attack bowler, but at present he is arguably the fourth or fifth best fast bowling option, The Herald Sun reported.

On current form, Johnson and Siddle demand to be the first two bowlers picked.

Stuart Clark has recovered from an elbow injury and is itching to return while Hilfenhaus is expected to be a handful in the swing-friendly English conditions.

That leaves Lee, still on the comeback from ankle and foot surgery, at the back of the pack two months out from the selection of the Ashes squad.

Lee, who started running again last week, has limited opportunities to impress national selectors before they choose the touring squad for England.

Not helping his case will be his modest returns in the last two Ashes tours of 29 wickets at 45.45 and having never played a season of county cricket.

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch made sure he used the word “if” when discussing the possibility of both men returning to action later this year.

“Brett and Stuart are coming back from quite serious injuries, so we’ll see how that progresses,” he said.

Former Test seamer Damien Fleming says Lee and Clark deserve their spots in the national side, but only if they are firing. (ANI)

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Ponting demands Symonds inclusion for Proteas tour

February 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Perth, Feb.2 (ANI): Australian cricket skipper Ricky Ponting is reportedly ready to urge the national selectors to pick Andrew Symonds for the tour of South Africa.

Ponting said he wanted the all-rounder in his squad for “all forms of the game” in South Africa after Australia lost the Test and one-day series at home for the first time in 16 years.

A decision on Symonds’ immediate international future, following his infamous radio rant, is an agenda item at Tuesday’s Cricket Australia board meeting. His behavioral problems will be discussed and there will be input from his counselors, reports Fox News.

Ponting has said the “buck stops with him” but wants to go to South Africa with proven talent.

“We are hurting with Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson missing, both those guys would be picked in our first XI,” Ponting said after Australia surrendered the No.1 one-day ranking to South Africa in Perth.

“He (Symonds) has been vital for us over the last three or four seasons in one-day cricket and, in the last two in Tests,” Ponting said.

He was adamant that the team should be selected on quality, not just the potential of rookies such as Phil Hughes and Shaun Marsh, as it started to rebuild after a disastrous summer.

Ponting indicated he wanted an experienced opener such as Phil Jaques in his team, saying “it was great to see him back on the park” following back surgery.

“We have to pick who we see are the most competent and best players around to embark on some big Test series coming up,” Ponting said.

“South Africa coming up will be a very big test for us and the Ashes is something we all want to be part of. I will be making that point to the selectors if they don’t know that already,” said Ponting. (ANI)

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Thomson compares Oz bowling attack to a ‘third-grade club side’

February 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Feb 1 (ANI): Cricket great Jeff Thomson has compared Australian bowling attack with a “third-grade club side,” and said that South Africa will relish on the pace battery.

Thomson believes Australia will struggle to take the required 20 wickets to win a Test on their tour of South Africa, following Stuart Clark’s injury setback on last Thursday,.

Thomson took particular aim at off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, tour hopeful Shaun Tait and spearhead Mitchell Johnson.

He was dismayed when Australia took just two wickets in their crushing one-day loss last Monday and predicted more pain for Ponting’s bowlers in South Africa. The bowlers fared little better in Perth on Friday night, FOX Sports reported.

“From what I saw of the Australian attack the other day, what they bowled was absolute crap. Every one of them was terrible,” said Thomson.

“It looked like South Africa was playing a third-grade club attack. I’m not the only one who thinks that. What I saw the other night was just gun-barrel bowling. There was no creativity. Nobody likes bowling on a flat wicket with no swing, but that wicket (in Adelaide) the other night showed how wanting our bowling attack is,” he said.

“You have to be able to perform when the wicket isn’t doing too much and South Africa showed them up the other night.

“The South African wickets are very similar to here, but they’d want to have something up their sleeve because at the moment how are they going to take 20 wickets to win a Test? We took two in 50 overs the other day, so maybe if we bowl 250 overs we’ll get 10 wickets,” Thomson said.

National selectors are expected to take one spinner to South Africa, but Thomson insists they can’t pick Hauritz.

He also canned Tait’s selection prospects and said Johnson was showing signs of burnout after a gruelling summer in which he carried Australia’s Test attack. (ANI)

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Symonds’ state of mind is now on trial

January 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Brisbane, Jan.30 (ANI): Though he has cleared one legal hurdle in his quest to be part of the Australia side to tour South Africa next month by pleading guilty to a breach of the player’s code, all rounder Andrew Symonds state of mind is now on trial.

Symonds has apologized to New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum for his on-the-air rant, and been fined 4,000 dollars, the national selectors only have this weekend’s games to judge whether he is fit and available.

Symonds is not, however, in the clear yet, with CA chief executive James Sutherland saying that now the hearing is over he will examine the circumstances of Symonds’s slurred interview with Roy and HG last Friday before deciding if he is fit to rejoin the side.

Symonds was sent away from the squad last year because of player welfare issues and only readmitted after counseling. CA has monitored his progress but the latest incident has brought matters to a head again.

“We clearly have an obligation and duty of care to Andrew as an employee as part of wanting to understand what’s happened,” Sutherland said.

“We also have a responsibility to look after the interests of Australian cricket and the Australia cricket team and all of those things need to be put together and balanced and considered,” he added. (ANI)

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Pacer Stuart Clark to miss Proteas tour due to recurrence of elbow injury

January 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Jan.29 (ANI): Australian fast bowler Stuart Clark has been ruled out of next month’s cricket tour of South Africa following a setback with his troublesome elbow.

National selectors’ chairman Andrew Hilditch said his panel wasn’t prepared to risk Clark’s fitness following recent surgery with such a heavy playing schedule for the national team over the coming 12 months.

The NSW bowler had earlier been forced to pull out of the Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania starting in Newcastle on Friday because of swelling to the elbow he had surgery on last month.

The 33-year-old had surgery six weeks ago to remove bone spurs from his right elbow and took four wickets on his return to action for Sydney University on Sunday.

“Given the schedule of the Australian team over the next 12 months, including an Ashes series, the selection panel will be taking a conservative approach in regards to the management of Stuart’s recovery and his return to cricket,” Hilditch said in a statement.

“Stuart has outlined he hopes to play again for New South Wales at the end of February, a decision that will be made in close consultation with Australian and New South Wales medical staff. Unfortunately due to this Stuart will not be considered for selection in the Test squad for South Africa which will be announced next week and leaves for South Africa on February 16,” he added. (ANI)

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