Australia Start with a T20 Win

Shane Watson's stunning 52 off 45 balls helped Australia win over South Africa here at Sahara Park, Newlands, Cape Town. Australia lead the series by 1-0.
After winning the toss, South Africa batted first. With storming innings of JP Duminy's 67 off 60 balls, South Africa hope to clinch victory over Aussies but their bowlers failed to cop up Watson early as after missing a chance of catch at first slip.
South Africa, under the captaincy of Hashim Amla batted first and put a moderate total of 146 for the loss of 7 wickets.. JP Duminy managed to make 67 off 62 balls. PJ Cummins 4-0-25-3
In reply to South Africa's 146, Australia had a shocked at first over when DA Warner was run out by Morkel on 2. Watson was luckily save when Botha dropped him on first slip. He, then slashed 52 on 45 balls.
M Morkel was the only renowned bowler with 4-0-24-1 and a run out too.
Australia won the first match by 5 wickets with 3 balls spare to lead the 2 match series by 1-0. Shane Watson declared player of the match.

Bangladesh "Upset" West Indies in T20 match

41 off 26 balls, innings which he would never forget in his life. Mushfiqur Rahim started his captaincy tenure his stormed innings to win a dramatic win over West Indies. He hit a winning huge six on deep mid-wicket to Ravi Rampal when Bangladesh required 4 runs on 2 balls. The crowd at Bangla Bandu Stadium swung on his six which witnessed that Bangladesh has won the Twenty20 match.
Twenty20 match is a only t20 match as a part of West Indies tour to Bangladesh. Followed by 3 ODIs and 2 Test matches.
 President Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Leader of the Opposition in parliament Khaleda Zia greeted the national cricket team for wining the lone T20 match against WI
Both the teams faced in World T20 match in 2007 when Bangladesh defeated West Indies and sent them out of the tournament.
Match Summary
West Indies 132 for 8
Samuels 58             Shakib 2-25
LMP Simmons 23     Shafiul 2-19


Bangladesh 135 for 7
Rahim 41*              Samuels 2-14
Mohammad Ashraful 24

Zaka Ashraf - New Chairman PCB

Patron-In-Chief, Asif Ali Zardari, on Tuesday October 11th, 2011 appoint Zaka Ashraf as new chairman Pakistan Cricket Board. He will replace Ijaz Butt after a completion of his tenure as Chairman PCB. Earlier today, Asif Zardari requested lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan to perform his duties as chairman PCB but he turned down President's request.
Zaka Ashraf's name as Chairman PCB was indeed a surprise news as his name was not listed in Pros.
Just like the nature of Pakistan's politic, you cannot determine the nature of PCB working system. History tells us that PCB headquarter has witnessed prople as chairman who have "No Knowledge of Cricket" at all. Now again! Zaka Ashraf's name has also been elected as Chairman who has no information about this Gentleman's game.


Muhammad Zaka Ashraf is a Pakistani chief executive who is the president of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL)


Cricket lover's have now put their eyes on Zaka Ashraf how he bring back international cricket into Pakistan and how Pakistan perform within his tenure. Pakistan has a complete home series (in UAE) against Sri Lanka starting from october 18th, 2011

Champions League final today

The Champions League will have a new champion. It won't be a team that won its domestic Twenty20 tournament. It will be an IPL team, but not the one that was being fancied at the start. It will either be a team that we thought would do well to win a match or a team that didn't look like winning anything halfway through the tournament. It is this ability to surprise, and the compact format - the main draw lasts 16 days, features diverse teams, and five-team groups ensure tough contests for semi-final slots - that the Champions League has going for it.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on the Mumbai Indians in the finals of the Champions league T20 on October 9, 2011 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The match will start at 8:00 p.m. India time.

Both team that have reached the finals of the Champions trophy are teams from the Indian Premier League.  Last year’s winners the Chennai Super kings failed to reach the finals this time around and were also the winners of the last IPL season.

Have a look at the Finalist sides

Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh (capt), AN Ahmed, AC Blizzard, YS Chahal, JEC Franklin, S Kanwar, SL Malinga, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu (wk), R Sathish, SA Yadav.

Royal Challengers Bangalore : Daniel Vettori (c), Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammad Kaif, Saurabh Tiwary, Sreenath Aravind, J Syed Mohammad, Arun Karthik (wk), Asad Pathan, Abhimanyu Mithun, Dirk Nannes, Raju Bhatkal.

Have a chill mood before grand finale!!!

Ijaz Butt's completes his tenure as Chairman PCB

Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman Ijaz Butt is now completing its three year  tenure as Chairman PCB. He was appointed as Chairman PCB on October 8th,  2008 after Naseem Ashraf. Petren In Chief of Pakisatn Cricket Board, Asif Ali  Zardari has not assigned anyone as a chairman PCB yet.

Ijaz Butt's three year tenure is full of controversies and damage to Pakistan  cricket. In fact, his tenure will be remember as the "Black" in Pakistan cricket's  history. Pakistan faced worldwide shame after Sri Lanka cricket team came under  attack by the terrorists in Lahore while they were off to Hotel to Qaddafi stadium  for their test match against Pakistan. Couple of Sri Lankan players were injured  and luckily they all escaped due to the intelligence of Bus Driver.

Soon after this incident, Cricket playing nations refuse to play in Pakistan due to  attack on Sri Lankan team. That results, door of international cricket closed on  Pakistan.

ICC stepped down Pakistan asone of the host of World CUp 2011 due to security  reasons. Ijaz Butt and company failed to convinced them and thus Pakistan lost  the opportunity to host World Cup. After India, Pakistan was the second country  to host most of WC matches. In fact 17. Followed by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Pakistan, itself played its group matches at Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Pakistan lost the Semi Final against India at Mohali by 29 runs.

Ijaz Butt made his place in media  after an inquiry that Ijaz Butt, as chairman PCB  enjoying laverages which does not suit any Third World, Poor and IMF gripped  country.
Ijaz Butt has already requested to Patren in Chief to increase his tenure as Chairman PCB.

South African batsman Vaughn van Jaarsveld Bann for Three Months

DURBAN: South African batsman Vaughn van Jaarsveld has been banned from cricket for three months following an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) said on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Van Jaarsveld, who has played two one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches for South Africa tested positive for the banned stimulant sibutramine in November after taking weight loss medication prescribed by his doctor.

“This is a particularly harsh outcome for Vaughn, given the circumstances of this matter,” SACA’s chief executive Tony Irish said in a statement.

“It seems likely that Vaughn will not be in a position to appeal and so will have to live with this suspension which comes at the worst possible time for him. We, as his player association, will be supporting him through this period.

“The decision does, however, illustrate the dangers for all sports persons unwittingly taking medication, or supplements, which may potentially contain prohibited substances. It has become so important that players and athletes actually check and double check the contents of all medications,” he added.

Courtesy Reuters

ICC warns Sri Lanka over "Poor" Galle's Pitch

 Sri Lanka's cricket board (SLC) has been officially warned for the "poor" quality of the pitch at Galle, which hosted the first Test in their recent series against Australia, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.


The SLC was in line for a sanction after the pitch was criticised as "too dry" by both teams after Australia won the test by 125 runs last month.

Galle hosted the first Test match in the recently concluded three-match series against Australia. Chris Broad, who officiated in the match, put across his concerns regarding the quality of the pitch in his match report.


“We have come to a decision that the pitch prepared for the match should be rated as ‘poor’,” said ICC's General Manager Dave Richardson.


The ICC can either issue a warning and/or fine (for a first offence) or even suspend the international status of the venue in the case of recurring offences.


“It was clear from the video footage of the match that the amount of turn, especially early in the match, was excessive and there were occasions (even on the first day) where the ball went through the surface of the pitch, bouncing unusually steeply from a good length,” he said.


“Whilst it is understandable and acceptable for a pitch to deteriorate over the course of the match, for a pitch to exhibit this type of behaviour at relatively early stages of the match was not acceptable.


“We do not wish to see a pitch that is too heavily weighted in favour of the batsmen, in this instance, the balance was just too much in favour of the bowler,” Richardson said. Australia had won the Test match to by 125 runs.


“Taking into account that it was the first time that a pitch at Galle has been rated as ‘poor’ and given the intention of the curator to prepare a pitch that provided a fair balance between bat and ball, we have decided to impose a warning as the sanction,” Richardson revealed.


The ICC has also called for pitch consultant Andy Atkinson to inspect the Galle pitch and suggest corrective methods to improve the quality of the pitch.


Andy Atkinson will inspect the venue by the end of this month.

Mobilink to sponsor Pakistan Sri Lanka Cricket Series

Mobilink has partened with Pakistan Cricket Board to sponsor the upcoming cricket between Pakistan and Sri Lanka starting from October 16th, 2011. The Series has been titled as Mobilink Jazz Cup 2011.

VP Marketing Mobilink Mr. Jahanzaib Taj and GM Marketing PCB Mr. Tariq Hakim hold a joint press conference at PCB headquarter, Lahore and unveiled the official seriees logo.

This is yet another contribution of Mobilink in the promotion of cricket in Pakistan. Mobilink has offered many international and domestic tournaments.

Remember, the series is schedule to be played at United Arab Emirates as a neutral venue because of security conserns in Pakistan.

I will Try to Bring Afridi back into Intl. Cricket - Dean Jones

Former Australian cricketr has been a candidate for Pakistan cricket team coaching. He has been short listed among Four others candidates. Although PCB has made no official statement but Jones believes that he has his name in short llisted canddates.
He says that it was his wish to coach "Green Caps" and he saw the opportunity when PCB opened the coaching vacancy for Pakistan team. 


He said that if he appointed as a coach of Pakistan, he will try to convienced Afridi to withdraw with his retirement and rejoin the team as he is the need of Pakistan right now. He added that Pakistan team has some weakness in its defence and it will be his one of the priorities to strengtened the defence of team Pakistan.


He said that world knows that Pakistan has produced outclass cricketers in every department of cricket. We have to forget match fixing and security issues with Pakistan and try to improve the culture within the team. Give the players the confidence and responsiblity of what they do and if they manage to do this, Pakistan may have the great potential ot winning next World cup in 2015.

England tour of India - 2011

England tour of India 2011 will begin on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in India as per cricket schedule announced. India vs England 2011 is an international bilateral series to be organized by India. England tour of India 2011 will consist of 5 ODI and 1 T20 match to be hosted by India in October 2011. The England tour of India 2011 bilateral series is a part of Future Tour Programs prepared by International Cricket Council (ICC). India will host this bilateral series, beginning on October 13, 2011. In England tour of India 2011 bilateral series, first ODI match would be between India - England on Oct 14, 2011 at 14:30 local time to be played at Rajiv Gandhi Int. Stadium, Hyderabad. 

After India's tour to England, it will be time for India to host England for a tryst in the 50 over and 20 over format of cricket.  India vs England 2011 will begin from October 13, 2011, and is expected to be a very interesting encounter. This bilateral series will decide the fate of both the teams, as each one of them will try to vouch for the top spot in the ODI rankings. Besides, these teams will fight it out in the shortest format of the game. This series also features in the International Cricket Council's Future Tour Program (FTP).

Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley Engaged

Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley Engaged
The couple has thanked their fans via twitter – with the cricket legend denying earlier reports that he had proposed in a crowded Scottish restaurant.
“I didn’t propose in front of 200 people at dinner. It was done privately and was very romantic if I say so myself. Ps left knee is sore!!!”
Hurley was photographed Saturday wearing a sapphire and diamond ring, which reportedly cost Warne at least nearly $80,000.
They did not hide affection for one another on the historic golf course, where Warne earlier competed in a celebrity pro-am.

Shane Keith Warne (born 13 September 1969) is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatestbowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet and the only one still playing at the time. He is also a cricket commentator and a professional poker player.


Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los Angeles premiere in a plunging black Versace dress held together with gold safety pins, which gained her instant media attention

Abdul Razzak to lead Pakistan in The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes

All rounder Abdul Razzak has been announced to lead Pakistan in The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes. The 31-year-old, dropped from the national side since the World Cup in April, will lead a second-string Pakistan team for the Hong Kong event, which will be held from October 28 to 30.

Umar Akmal and Sohail Tanveer -- two more discarded players from the Test squad which faces Sri Lanka later this month -- were also among the seven-member squad.
Ramiz Raja, Hammad Azam, Yasir Shah and Sharjeel Khan are the others.
The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is an annual 10-team international cricket tournament held at the Kowloon Cricket Club and fully sanctioned by the International Cricket Council. The tournament is made for television, with rules and a venue that encourage aggressive batting and high scoring. Because every player (except the wicket-keeper) is required to bowl one over, the format suits all-rounders.


Pakistan have featured regularly in the Hong Kong sixes event which is held annually with teams from all Test playing nations taking part in it. Pakistan have been the champion of the tournament fourth times including three consecutive. I.e. 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2002.
in the last tournament, they were runners up after a thrilling lost against Australia in 2010.

Sialkot Stallions - King of T20 Jungle

Faysal Bank National T20 concludes with Sialkot Stallions thrilling win over Rawalpindi Rams.
National stadium Karachi witnessed the real game of Twenty20 when Sialkot Stallions and Rawalpindi Rams showed great game of cricket.

Shoaib Malik's Sialkot Stallions Sialkot chose to bat on a pitch that produced high scores through the tournament and made a quick start. Imran Nazir and Shakeel Ansar looted 13 runs off Soahil Tanvir's first over, and after Nazir departed Ansar and Qaiser Abbas put together 85 for the second wicket. Rawalpindi's bowlers bowled full lengths, and Qaiser timed his drives sweetly. The pair took the score to 100 for 1 in the 12th over, but both batsmen fell in the space of five balls, to Awais Zia's part-time offspin. Both went attempting big shots: Qaiser was stumped after charging down the track and Ansar chipped in the air to deep midwicket.

That brought Shoaib Malik and Shahid Yousuf together, fresh from a 127-run stand in the semi-finals against Lahore. Yousuf hit the first three balls of Zia's next over into the off side for fours, and Malik continued the form he was in during his 88 not out against Lahore. Rawalpindi did well to concede just 10 runs off the last two overs, but 180 was a tough total to chase.
The aggression from Sialkot Stallions got aggressive reply as The chase got off to an explosive start, with Zia smacking five fours in the first over, and two sixes in the second. Zia's innings was cut short on 32 off 13 balls, when he swept Hasan to deep square leg. While other bowlers struggled to concede fewer than seven runs an over, Hasan had figures of 4-0-11-2. He choked the runs by varying the flight and lengths of his deliveries while maintaining a tight line.

The rest of Sialkot's bowlers weren't as accurate and Rawalpindi's opener Naved Malik picked his moments to attack. Rawalpindi managed to stay abreast of the required-rate for most of the chase but lost wickets regularly. When Naved was caught at deep midwicket for 67, Rawalpindi needed 36 off 23 balls with five wickets in hand. In the 17th over, Hammad Azam smashed a six over long-on and lofted over extra-cover for four off consecutive balls. Nineteen were required off the last two overs, but it was Hasan that had had the final say, bowling a tight over to ensure a Sialkot win.

Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat Ul Ibad Khan was the chief guest of the Prize distribution ceremony. He presented trophy to Sialkot Stallions's captain Shoaib Malik. On this occasion Governor Sindh request Sani Mirza, wife of Shoaib Malik to present the trophy to her husband.

Sialkot Stallions, collectively as a team, announced Rs. 1 Million to the flood victims relief work.

with thanks espncricinfo

Panthers kicks out Dolphins in National T20 Jungle

Boom Boom Afridi's Karachi Dolphins will no longer be a part of Faysal Bank National T20 Tournament as Peshawar Panthers upset win over Khi Dolphins here at National stadium Karachi on 30th September, 2011.
Panthers was captained by Star Umer Gul beated Star equipped Karachi Dolphins comprehensive;y by 29 runs. 
Umer Gul won the toss and choose to bat first, Panthers were looking in aggressive mood from the first ball.
Then the breakthrough gained by KD when Afridi reminded his catch in 2009s World cup T20 match against New Zealand. But PP didnt mind of the wicket and the scoreboard keep on rolling.
Rafatullah Mohmand, Fayyaz and Zohaib Khan all batted aggressively scoring 42, 39 and 43 runs respectively. Rumman Raees, Afridi and Faraz Ahmed took two wickets each.
Batting first, Panthers posted a tough total of 177 for 7.

In reply Karachi batted without a plan and lost wickets upfront to Nauman Habib as they tried to slog out. When Afridi went for 19, many in the crowd started departing, but a late onslaught from wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed rekindled the hopes of the fans for a, brief moment though. He made 37 of 20 balls, as Karachi ended on 148 for 9.


Nauman took 3 wickets, but Zohaib was named the man of the match for his all-round show (43 runs and 2 wickets).


On Saturday, Rawalpindi ill be up against Peshawar and Lahore Eagles will take on Sialkot in the semi-finals.