Posted on 07 February 2012 by Tea Server
I am so happy after tremendous victory of Pakistan against England. We have beaten World’s No. 1 Cricket team in such a humiliating way. We have changed the world cricket history of 105 years. I just want to share the … Continue reading
Posted on 31 January 2012 by Tea Server
For Pakistan this match is a test for themselves. They would want to motivate themselves and play like a team who are on a roll and must not relax. Even a draw here would be a Psychological victory for Pakistan. England are a wounded lion at the moment and they will try to hit back hard. They will try to register their first win of the tour and it will give them some confidence back.
Pakistan will look to make a few changes in the team, for sure Junaid Khan must be dropped after a poor performance. Who will they bring in? There are three choices to be honest.
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| The Temptation of Playing them two together. |
First one is playing Wahab Riaz.. but I doubt Pakistan will play him partially due to ‘not so good’ relations between Wahab and Trott, but most probably because of the fact that England will feel more comfortable facing the left arm fast bowler on a Dubai pitch. The second and the most Interesting option can be of bringing in Umar Akaml, strengthen the batting line up and giving Hafeez a lengthy bowl to make up for the missing fast bowler. Naseer Hussain rightly said that this option could have been availed if Pakistan lost the 2nd test match and they shouldn’t now, but still its an option.. The third and more simpler option can be to bring back Aizaz Cheema if he is fit and play the same team that won the first test match.
England really don’t have much choice. They just have one additional batsman in the squad which is Ravi Bopara who plays in the middle order but they have three batsmen who are struggling.
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| It’s time Bopara comes in?! |
Ian Bell has scored 36 runs at an average of 9.0 and is clueless against Saeed Ajmal, Kevin Pietersen is having a nightmare scoring just 17 runs with average of 4.25 (Saeed Ajmal has scored 29 runs with a better average of 9.66) but they both will survive because dropping Eoin Morgan and playing Bopara looks a certainty as Morgan, the best English player of the spin as the experts say, looks totally out of sorts plus he is young at the test level. He has scored 41 runs in 4 innings with an average of 10.25 ( James Andersen has also scored 41 but at a better average of 13.66 ) and looks confused in the way he plays. Bopara doesn’t have an outstanding record (12 matches, 553 runs, average 34.56) but anything fresh can help England. Their bowling is fine, they are doing an outstanding job and have kept alive every chance for their team to stay in the series.
Toss can be important! Pakistan recently have the habit of winning the toss and bowling first. Out of 14 matches under Misbah Pakistan have bowled first on 10 occasions ( 6 wins, 1 loss, 3 draws) so the decision to bat first in the 2nd test match was something out of the blue. What will Pakistan do if the win the toss?! No idea, maybe bowl again. England will bat first for sure as they wouldn’t want to bat last last. But keep in mind, of the two test matches played on this ground the team that batted first has lost the match. Srilanka won the toss and batted first, England were out into bat by Pakistan and lost by 9 and 10 wickets respectively.
The pitch will be an interesting factor as well, are these pitches flat?! There is something about these pitches which is different, test matches ending in 3 and 4 days respectively tells for sure the pitches weren’t flat. Dubai pitch doesn’t spin as much as the Abu Dhabi one and it gets flatter as the match progresses with less cracks appearing. In the first Test Match It helped the fast and spin bowlers equally.
Keeping everything aside, its the best chance Pakistan will get to whitewash England who look like a team low on confidence and are not sure how to cope up with the spinners. Moreover this Pakistani team looks different, there is something that tells they will fight till the very end. Lets hope we get to see that and win the series 3-0 to add another jewel in our crown.
Posted on 27 January 2012 by Tea Server
Newsline looks back at the biggest events of 2011 and gives them a satirical spin.
Posted on 18 January 2012 by Tea Server
Spats, brawls, scuffles, tiffs and quibbles: call them what you want but 2011 was full of confrontations and Newsline recaps the biggest face-offs of 2011.
Posted on 25 December 2011 by Tea Server
KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket board on Sunday said it has invited former World Cup winning Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore to finalise his appointment as head coach of the national team, an official said.
Pakistan cricket team is without a full time coach since former paceman Waqar Younis left the post in September citing health problems.
“We are in the process of finalising the appointment and in this regard are in discussions with Whatmore,” Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed told local media on Sunday.
Whatmore is expected to reach Pakistan in second week of January, he added.
Former opening batsman Mohsin Khan has been serving as interim coach and was retained for Pakistan’s series next month against England in the United Arab Emirates.
The 57-year-old Whatmore, who played for Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is regarded as one of the most successful coaches in international cricket, having guided Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996.
He subsequently enjoyed a successful coaching spell with Bangladesh and is currently in charge of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
Posted on 18 December 2011 by Tea Server
“The game is being maligned and the trust of the viewers is dented big time” – Rashid Latif.
Posted on 15 December 2011 by Tea Server
Corruption in cricket has only grown over the years – not just in the subcontinent, but globally.
Posted on 14 November 2011 by Tea Server
Cricket is the most lovable, watchable and cherished game in Pakistan. Our hearts beat with cricket. Our life and death sometimes get associated with cricket. Our day and night belongs to cricket. Though Hockey is our national game but without any doubt cricket is far more popular than hockey in our country. From first day our cricket team has produced numerous heroes and achieved unforgettable milestones that every cricketing nation is proud of us.
Sadly from the day 1st like all other fields cricket is also politically victimized. Unlike any other country of the world in our country the Patron of cricket board is the president of the country and he has the power to appoint chairman of cricket board. Hence the nepotism and favoritism starts. The president selects the person of his own choice without taking into account his cricketing associations and cricketing knowledge and then the chairman awards critical positions to persons of his own choice and hence the chain continues. This has been happening since the very first day and till date this is happening. After taking oath as President, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari nominated Ijaz Butt as Chairman PCB who was close relative of Defense Minister Ch. Mukhtar Ahmed and Mr. Ijaz Butt did everything he could do to destroy cricket in Pakistan. His interference in team matters, non serious attitude destroyed the whole cricketing structure in Pakistan. And as he didn’t destroyed cricket completely so President decided to appoint president of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd Zaka Ashraf as chairman PCB. Zaka brings with him vast experience of destroying public institutions just he did with Zarai Taraqiati Bank and same can be expected from him for PCB.
Zaka Ashraf is not the first person who has been given PCB as a piece of cake by the Patron of cricket board but history of PCB is filled with all such examples. Gen. Zahid Ali Akbar, Justice Naseem Hassan Shah, Mujeeb ur Rehman, Gen. Tauqeer Zia, Dr. Nasim Ashraf, Ijaz Butt and Zaka Ashraf have only one thing in common. And the only visible quality is their close relationship with the rulers. From Zia to Zardari, every ruler imposed chairman at PCB by violating its constitution. The rulers were able to do this because Pakistan is the only country whose president is Chief Patron of cricket and has right to appoint the chairman of PCB.
While many of my friends and analysts are terming this appointment as Last nail in Coffin but I think otherwise. Ijazz Butt was Last nail in coffin and Zaka Ashraf has come to put that coffin in grave. Instead of appointing someone who has cricketing knowledge and who can lead the board a banker has been appointed to run the affairs of cricket. The only reason I see to appoint Zaka Ashraf is to train players on how to convert black money into white money and how match fixing and betting can be done safely as he can only do this job.
On June 30, 2011 ICC banned countries from appointing political figures to national cricket boards, vowing to free the sport from undue government influence. ICC has given 2 years to entire cricket playing nations to implement this. Teams can be banned from playing international cricket otherwise.
The whole cricketing world except Pakistan has appreciated the idea as same ideology is being followed by FIFA. Pakistan has somehow opposed the idea and decided to take a legal action against the decision.”
Instead of going by this decision Pakistan has yet again decided to not to follow it. This will sadly help Pakistan cricket in long run. To save Pakistan cricket President should not only cancel this appointment and should appoint a person of character, cricketing knowledge, wisdom and leadership charisma to run the most important sports board in Pakistan.
Posted on 12 October 2011 by Tea Server
After three tumultuous years, the words “Ijaz”, “Butt”, “good” and “news” were finally used in the same sentence today when the beleaguered nation that is Pakistan learned that Mr. Butt’s tenure as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief ended. Whoever this Mr. Zaka Ashraf is, he surely can do no worse than Ijaz Butt, a man who personified incompetence, pettiness, stubbornness, stupidity, impulsiveness, immaturity, mismanagement, authoritarianism, and megalomania in equal parts.
Don't let the door hit you on your way out, buddy. Pic: AP
Here is a brief rundown of his greatest hits while in office. Read ‘em and weep. And then thank whatever deity you believe in that he is gone, hopefully to be consumed by the dustbin of history.
October 7, 2008: Appointed chairman of the PCB. Our three year national nightmare begins.
October 17, 2008: Ten days into his tenure, we have our first selection committee and management change. Salahuddin is replaced by Saleem Jaffer as chairman of the committee; Talat Ali steps down as team manager. A month later, the interim committee is dismissed, and Abdul Qadir is appointed to head the new committee.
October, 20-24, 2008: Our first coaching change, and beautifully done it was too. On October 20, Butt tells the media he won’t renew Geoff Lawson’s contract, due to expire the next spring. Except no one told Lawson, least of all Butt; Lawson learns of Butt’s feelings through the media. Butt then tracks back slightly, saying that he “fully backs” Lawson. This happens on October 23. On October 24, Lawson is sacked. Intikhab Alam is appointed in his place in November.
January 27, 2009: The first change in captaincy under Ijaz Butt. Shoaib Malik, accused of being a “loner”, is relieved of his duties, and Younis Khan takes over in all formats.
February, 2009: Butt’s tiff with Miandad gets taken up by parliament. Miandad claims he was not given precise duties and responsibilities as Director General of PCB (a purely made up position). In a briefing to the Senate, Butt bizarrely claims that the PCB never actually signed a formal contract with Miandad. “I admit it was our mistake as we didn’t sign a contract with Miandad when he was appointed as DG in December,” he says. Two days later, he is asked to resign by parliament. This is the first but not the last time that particular demand is made at Butt by legislators.
March, 2009: A terrorist attack takes place against the visiting Sri Lankan team. Butt deflects blame from the board, and blames the government. “Nowhere in the world does the cricket board interfere in the security matters – it’s the sole responsibility of the government,” he says. Six months earlier, he had claimed that the government was taking demonstrable steps to improve security (it wasn’t), and that he was glad the Champions Trophy was going to be held in Pakistan in 2009 (it wasn’t).
Days later, Butt accuses match official Chris Broad of lying about the lax security provided to umpires and match officials. Umpire Steve Taufel backs Broad.
One week after the attacks, Butt claims that he expects cricket to be back in Pakistan in “six to nine months”. That was thirty one months ago.
Not one single PCB official resigned his post after the attack.
April, 2009: The World Cup in 2011 is taken away from Pakistan due to security concerns. Butt in turns institutes legal action against the ICC. The case is settled four months later, out of court.
June 8, 2009: Abdul Qadir resigns as chief selector, less than six months after taking the position. Reports indicate it was due to differences with Butt. Wasim Bari takes over as interim head. Less than three weeks later, the Bari-interim committee is sacked, with immediate effect. Iqbal Qasim takes over as chief selector in July.
October, 2009: Younis Khan resigns as captain, largely due to differences with senior players in the team — the so-called Punjabi mafia. Butt hopes to convince him to change his mind. They meet, have a “detailed discussion” but Younis refuses to budge. Two months later, despite being fit and willing to play, and despite the Pakistan team in desperate need of middle order support on a tough tour in Australia, Younis is not called up.
January 9, 2010: Jamshed Dasti, a parliamentarian, calls for Butt to resign. “”He (Butt) has gone too old,” Dasti said. “Mr Butt is physically unfit, he can’t even walk properly, he can’t even see properly.”
January 31, 2010: Iqbal Qasim resigns as chief selector after the horror Australia tour. Mohsin Khan takes over a couple of months later. By some minor miracle, that is the position he still enjoys today, though he almost resigned in May, 2011.
February, 2010: More pressure from parliament to resign. Javed Miandad throws in a barb for good measure, also claiming that Butt is “too old” for the job.
February 10, 2010: Butt is served legal notice for defamatory comments he made about the cricket board in the U.S. He had called them an “illegal institution”.
February 12, 2010: Patience in Pakistan is running thin. Imran Yusuf pens a column on Butt’s staying power, saying that “Compared to Ijaz Butt, previous Pakistani dictators look lightweight. We got rid of them all, eventually, but it seems nothing can dislodge Mr Butt” and adding that “The 80s autocrat General Zia was eventually assassinated, but nobody would ever touch Butt. There’d be no point. He’d survive a nuclear holocaust.”
March 2010: Not for the last time, the specter of match fixing raises its head, with claims that at least one Pakistani player was involved in throwing games on the previous tour to Australia. Butt brushes aside the concerns, saying that the cases concern episodes from “ten or twelve years” ago. Relatedly, each of Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Amir, Kamran Akmal, and Umar Akmal were on the Australian tour.
In the same month, the PCB drops the hammer on senior players, banning and fining the so-called “seniors” after the disastrous tour to Australia. Two months later, all the punishments are either watered down or dropped entirely.
Intikhab Alam is also set aside as coach, and Waqar Younis takes over. Mohammad Yousuf is dropped as captain, and Shahid Afridi is persuaded to return to test cricket and assume the captaincy.
July 16, 2010: Afridi quits test cricket after one game as captain. Salman Butt takes over.
August 11, 2010: Yet another parliamentarian, Iqbal Mohammad Ali, demands the removal of Butt.
August 17, 2010: A year and a half after the incident, the PCB sends a report to the ICC on the Sri Lankan terrorist attack in Lahore.
September, 2010: After the excrement collides with the fan on spot-fixing, Ijaz Butt steps it up. He first accuses England of also being a bunch of fixers, when leads to English demands that he apologize, which lead Butt to promise that he won’t apologize, which, naturally, leads to him apologizing.
In his formal apology, Butt claims that “I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made that I never intended to question the behaviour and integrity of the England players nor the ECB nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket.” Ten days earlier, he had said “There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players have taken enormous amounts of money to lose the match [the third ODI]. No wonder there was such a collapse.”
October, 2010: For the first time since being appointed, there are rumblings that Butt may be sacked. The same month, the ICC threatens to expel Pakistan if it doesn’t fix its issues.
A full year after his tiff with Younis Khan began, it was settled.
In the same month, Misbah is appointed captain, following Salman Butt’s legal issues. It is the ninth change in captaincy in Butt’s tenure.
March, 2011: After a surprising World Cup performance, which saw Pakistan get into the semi finals of a tournament it had no business contesting, Afridi is dropped as ODI captain. He was confirmed only a few weeks before the tournament in the first place. Misbah takes over as captain in all formats. Butt claims that there are “solid reasons” for deposing Afridi but refuses to elaborate.
June, 2011: Butt takes a one-month leave from his post, quite possibly the best month in Pakistan’s cricketing history.
October, 2011: After having his extension reportedly “under consideration”, Ijaz Butt’s term is not renewed. He is replaced by banker and industrialist Zaka Ashraf.
So, to sum up: 36 months, double-digit changes in captaincy, three coaches, five selection committees, one terrorist attack, one World Cup lost, one spot-fixing scandal, one accusation of fixing in other teams, four separate demands by parliament to resign, and zero shame.
And now, an apposite song.
Posted on 16 December 2010 by Tea Server
Pepsi has always been associated with Cricket in Pakistan and yet again they have shown confidence in Pakistan’s Cricket Team for the World Cup 2011. On 2nd December 2010 Pepsi being the Global ICC sponsor got the World Cup 2011 Trophy in Pakistan and PCB was thankful to Pepsi for achieving such a big task. [...]
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