Cricket is not Cricket without Shahid Afridi

COLOMBO: The scintillating encounter between Pakistan and Australia, besides being a top-ranked affair in their respective countries, also enthralled the local population of the Sri Lankans here on Saturday as they extended wholehearted support to Shahid Afridi’s team. With a massive turn out of spectators, who came in droves to fill the stadium to capacity, lustily cheered the feats of Pakistan players at various stages of the game. A good number of Pakistani fans who had arrived in Colombo to watch the proceedings were also part of the jubilant crowd. Highlighting the thunderous applause for the Pakistan team from the local population, the Sri Lankan commentators said the enthusiastic support was no strange phenomenon to this part of the world. Giving their views and analysis in local languages, the commentators traced the history and recalled the support of Pakistan’s cricket establishments at different stages for advocating the case of Sri Lanka at the international cricket forums

Michael Yardy, the England allrounder, has been withdrawn from England's World Cup squad after suffering from depression. He returned to the UK ahead of England's quarter-final against Sri Lanka in Colombo on March 26. "Leaving at this stage of a World Cup campaign was a very difficult decision to make but I felt that it was the only sensible option for me and I wanted to be honest about the reason behind that decision," Yardy said. " I would like to wish the squad all the very best ahead of the game on Saturday. I would appreciate some privacy over the coming weeks while I spend time with family and close friends ahead of what I hope will be a successful season for Sussex." Yardy represented England in three games this World Cup, picking up two wickets but proved expensive. With the bat in the lower order, he managed 19 runs in three innings. Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, said: "I would like to offer my full support to Michae

West Indies 112 (Chanderpaul 44*, Afridi 4-30) v Pakistan Pakistan's spinners produced a display of ruthless efficiency to dismantle a feeble West Indies for 112 in the first quarter-final in Dhaka. Shahid Afridi continued his wonderful tournament with four wickets after Mohammad Hafeez impressed with the new ball while Saeed Ajmal was a handful for the lower order. Only three batsmen reached double figures and Shivnarine Chanderpaul's unbeaten 44 was a hollow effort. Between the three of them, Pakistan's slow bowlers had figures of 27.3-5-64-8 and gave another example of how there is a threat from every part of the attack. At no point does Afridi need to fill overs, especially when the weakest link of the bowlers - Hafeez - manages to take 2 for 16 in his full allocation. West Indies' batting, though, was dire after the early life was sucked from them when Chris Gayle fell in the third over and they remained rooted to the crease, managing just seven fours and a solit

NAGPUR: South Africa backed up paceman Dale Steyn’s five-wicket burst with their batting depth to end India’s winning run with a thrilling three-wicket victory in the World Cup on Saturday. Needing 13 to win in the last over off seamer Ashish Nehra, South Africa found an unlikely star in Robin Peterson who plundered 16 runs off the first four balls to help his side achieve a 297-run target. India looked set to post a mammoth total when they reached 267-1 following Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant 111 for his 48th one-day hundred, but lost their last nine wickets for just 29 runs in nine overs to be bowled out for 296. Man of the match Steyn (5-50) played a key role in his team’s fightback to bag his maiden five-wicket haul in one-day internationals. India, who had been hoping to wrap up a quarter-final place, still top Group B with seven points from five matches. They are followed by West Indies (6/4), South Africa (6/4), England (5/5) and Bangladesh (4/4) as the pool heads for a thrillin

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board has awarded struggling wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal the highest category in player contracts. Akmal is among seven players named in category A along with one-day and twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi, test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar. PCB says in a statement that contracts run until the end of June. Each of the contracted players will be given a monthly salary of 250,000 rupees ($2,950). Akmal’s wicketkeeping has already cost Pakistan dearly in the World Cup. He dropped New Zealand’s Ross Taylor on 0 and 4 before the Kiwi batsman went on to hammer a career-best 131 on Tuesday. Kamran’s younger brother Umar Akmal, opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez, spinners Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal and fast bowler Wahab Riaz were named in category B which attracts a monthly salary of 175,000 rupees ($2,050). Category C —in which players are paid monthly salary of 100,000 rupees ($1,200) —includes test opener Taufiq Umar

PALLEKELE: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Wednesday urged his team to learn the lessons of the 110-run defeat against New Zealand. The Black Caps rode on a brilliant unbeaten 131 by Ross Taylor to post a challenging 302-7 before Tim Southee removed the top order with a burst of three early wickets to bowl Pakistan out for 192. “There were quite a few lessons to be learned from the defeat, especially those chances we gave to Taylor and when you give such chances to a player like him he makes you pay,” said Afridi. Wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal let Taylor off twice in the same Shoaib Akhtar over – once when the batsman was on nought and then on eight – allowing two straightforward chances to slip past him. Afridi said his bowlers were poor in the death overs when New Zealand plundered 139 runs off the last 10 overs. “I think the way we started with the ball was good, but then the missed chances maybe demoralised the bowlers and they were very poor in the end,” said Afridi. Afridi hoped h

PALLEKELE: Coach Waqar Younis is not willing to dump struggling wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal even after his woeful performance behind the stumps played a key part in Pakistan suffering one of its worst ever defeats in the World Cup. But all bets are off when the dust settles from the one-day tournament. New Zealander Ross Taylor went onto to score a career-best 131 off 124 balls on Tuesday, with Akmal twice letting the Kiwi batsman off the hook _ on 0 and 4. The 110-run margin of defeat came close to Pakistan’s biggest ever loss in the World Cup when England recorded a 112-run victory in 2003 at Centurion, South Africa. “Without a doubt, he dropped catches which really cost us the game,” Younis said of Akmal’s poor work behind the stumps. “We are in the middle of the tournament, we can’t really sort of kick him out at the moment.” Akmal has had big question marks hanging over his performance for over a year now since Australia whitewashed Pakistan in test, one-day and twenty20 series last

The crowds that travelled through the hills to watch the first one-day international in Pallekele were first treated to cricket's adaptation of The Comedy of Errors, with Kamran Akmal playing the lead and Shoaib Akhtar in a strong supporting role, and then to a gory massacre. Pakistan were so comically incompetent that they allowed New Zealand, who had to endure the tragic struggle of Jamie How, to build a satisfactory platform from which Ross Taylor launched an assault so brutal that Pakistan were gutted and unable to defend themselves by the end of the innings. A stronger opponent would have made Pakistan regret the glut of extras and dropped catches much earlier but New Zealand's batsmen did not dominate the bowling until the end. And then they did so in some style. Martin Guptill was their solitary performer in the first half, and Taylor used massive slices luck to get going. But in the last six overs, Taylor broke free in unprecedented manner, taking 28 off a Shoaib over

PALLEKELE: New Zealand pace spearhead Tim Southee said Sunday that in-form Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq was in his sights for the match between the Group A rivals on Tuesday. The 36-year-old Pakistan batsman was in prime form on his side’s recent tour of New Zealand, making 203 runs in four innings to help Pakistan secure a series win and has continued to score runs at the World Cup. Misbah scored 65 against Kenya, 83 not out against Sri Lanka and 37 against Canada, playing a key role in his team’s three wins in as many matches. “He has obviously been having a great period not just against New Zealand but also in the World Cup,” said Southee. “Hopefully, we have learnt from the way we bowled against him in New Zealand and we can work on a couple of things to try and put an end to the form he is in, also (Shahid) Afridi and a couple of other guys who are standing up in key moments in games.” Southee said his team had put the defeat against Australia earlier in the competition behind t

COLOMBO: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis urged his opening batsmen on Saturday to regain their form in a hurry after failing in all three of their team’s World Cup matches to date Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have only given their side first-wicket starts of 11, 28 and 16 in Pakistan’s victories against Kenya, Sri Lanka and Canada in Group A. With the next game looming on Tuesday against a buoyant New Zealand, Younis said the openers need to give Pakistan some solid starts in the games ahead. ”I am sure they will come good in the remaining three matches because, after that all matches are knockout matches,” Younis said. ”We need openers to fire.” Pakistan has not yet chased a total in this World Cup and has depended heavily on captain Shahid Afridi, who has bagged nearly half of the scalps to top the wicket-takers list with 14. While openers are struggling on the slower pitches of subcontinent, experienced batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and young Umar Akmal have taken on the main

KARACHI: Though Pakistan have won their first two matches in the World Cup, former captain Imran Khan believes the team would struggle as the tournament progresses as it is playing a specialist bowler short. “I strongly believe that although Pakistan have won against Sri Lanka, they are playing with one specialist bowler short and need to include a bowler in place of a batsman or an all-rounder,” he said. Imran, under whom Pakistan won their first and only World Cup title in 1992, said he would try to speak to captain Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis on the matter. He pointed out that Pakistan’s bowling could struggle against strong opponents and on a good batting pitch. “So far our bowlers have done well in the World Cup but the team could feel the pinch against stronger oppositions. I think they must give Saeed Ajmal a chance or include an extra pace bowler,” he said. The cricketer-turned-politician also maintained that the green-shirts were not utilising all-rounder Abdul Razzaq

KARACHI: Pakistan’s banned pace bowler Mohammad Amir has decided to finish his degree during his forced isolation from cricket. The 18-year-old abandoned his studies when he started globetrotting as his career with Pakistan took off but his promising future was abruptly halted after he was found guilty of corruption by an International Cricket Council tribunal last month. Handed a five-year ban from the sport, Amir said he wanted to use the time productively. “I had to leave my college studies because of my full-time career in cricket once I was selected for Pakistan. But now I am trying privately to get a college degree,” the teenager said on a news channel. “I am passing through the toughest period of my life and I have realised just how important it is to get a good education.” Amir, former test captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, were banned for a minimum of five years after being found guilty of bowling pre-arranged no balls during a test against England last year. They are app

DHAKA: Ruthless West Indies humiliated Bangladesh with the bat and ball in front of their own fans on Friday, skittling the World Cup co-hosts for their lowest ever ODI score of 58 before chasing down the target in 12.2 overs. Left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn claimed four wickets while Kemar Roach and Darren Sammy bagged three scalps each as Bangladesh were flattened in 18.5 overs. The boos around the Shere Bangla National Stadium could still be heard when the West Indian openers Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo came out to bat but Shakib Al Hasan’s men were powerless to stop the visitors winning by nine wickets. A sell-out crowd of 25,000 jeered the home team and threw paper placards on the field after Bangladesh fell below their previous low of 74 against Australia in Darwin in 2008. Bangladesh’s reckless batting on a slow wicket saw them being bowled out for the lowest total in this World Cup after Kenya made 69 against New Zealand. It was also the fourth lowest total in World Cup history

Abdul Razzaq wants to play a bigger role in Pakistan's World Cup campaign. In two matches so far, Razzaq has been a peripheral figure, having played a total of 10 balls and bowled just five overs in each game. Part of the problem has been his low spot in the batting order, way down at number eight. Pakistan's middle order has performed well, so Razzaq has not had the opportunity to do anything after coming in. Compensation has come in the form of opening the bowling, but though he improved in the second game against Sri Lanka, he remains wicketless. "It is my wish to bat up the order but that's up to the team requirement," Razzaq said after a practice session at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. "It is the team's unity that everyone is doing what is needed. Whenever I get a chance I will perform. The main aim is to perform for the team. Our batting line-up is looking long just because it is performing well, otherwise it will look short if it doesn't perfor

“I slept early, so I couldn’t watch the England-India match,” Younis said on Monday, when asked about the Group B match in Bangalore. “I missed it, but scores show that even… 400 runs is gettable in the sub-continent.” England, chasing 339 to win, finished on 338 for eight in a sell-out match featuring 676 runs, with centuries from Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar and England captain Andrew Strauss. Younis said he was happy to take on the responsibility of being a senior player in the team, who have won both of their opening fixtures. “As a senior player, I am happy to put my contribution in the team’s totals,” said Younis, who scored 50 against Kenya and 72 against Sri Lanka. “It is a good feeling and the win against Sri Lanka has put us closer to the quarter-finals.” Younis, who normally bats at number three, said he had no problems batting one place lower. “My job is that whenever there is need, I can play at three and now if the team needs me at four then I am ready to bat there as

COLOMBO: Spearhead Lasith Malinga took his second career World Cup hat-trick when he collected six wickets as Sri Lanka dismissed Kenya for 142 in their World Cup clash on Tuesday. Teams: Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis. Kenya: Jimmy Kamande (captain), Seren Waters, Collins Obuya, Steve Tikolo, Tanmay Mishra, David Obuya, Maurice Ouma, Peter Ongondo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Shem Ngoche.