Pakistan Team for Asia Cup, England: Something Missing?

I am astonished by the way Pakistan Cricket Board is running the Cricket affairs. PCB has taken back a number of decisions which they made haphazardly. Recently, PCB has announced a 35-member probable Pakistan Cricket squad for Asia Cup and the England Tour.

Shahdi Afridi has been given the charge of Captaincy in all the 3 formats of the game. Many people question his captaincy in the Tests when he has not played the longest form of the game for the last 4 years. However, I think with the limited options PCB has, Afridi may the ideal candidate for the job.

And if you appoint Afridi as Captain in ODIs and T20, then who will lead the side in Test?

A New Beginning for England Cricket, Is it?

England, the Father of Cricket, has finally won an ICC title. The T20 World Cup-2010 played in Caribbean, has brought a new milestone for the English Cricket.

I am a big fan of English Cricket, they have produced a number of legendary players from Alec Bedser to Ian Botham all are Cricket Greats. But this is always shocking to know that England had never won an ICC title before this World T20.

England has been ruling the international cricket from the start. They got to the Finals of Cricket World Cup, in 1979, 1987, and 1992. In 1979, West Indies thrashed England. In 1987 Australia managed to overcome them and in 1992, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan team snatched the final from England. English Cricket team also managed to reach the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004, but West Indies did not allow them to win the trophy.

Was it only ‘bad luck’ that didn’t allow England to win the ICC title before this T20 World Cup-2010? Well, I don’t think so. I believe a lot has to do with the ability of English players to take pressure in the important games. You can label them as ‘Chokers’ too, like the South Africans.

But that’s a history now. I think the way English team played in the 3^rd T20 World Cup, was phenomenal. It’s great to see that the Fathers of Cricket has been able to take their share from the World Cricket.

So, what makes this English Side superior than the previous ones?

Pak V Aus: Was Sydney Test Fixed? ICC Investigates!

Well again the Pandora Box of Match-Fixing in Pakistan Cricket has been opened. I feel very sorry to see Pakistani cricketers been accused of match-fixing. This is not new though. We have already talked about Match-Fixing phenomenon right after the Australian tour of Pakistan Cricket team in the previous post.

So what’s new then? Actually a video is being shown on different news channels and on the web in which Pakistani Cricketers are shown expressing their views in front of the Probing Committee of Pakistan Cricket Board, which was formed to investigate the worst ever tour of Pakistan team to Australia. In this video, team management raised their concerns about the possible involvement of some players in Match-Fixing during the Austrlia-New Zealand tour of the Pakistan team.

In the same video, players like Shahid Afridi and Mohammed Yousaf, who captained the side during the tour have criticized Shoaib Malik for his back-biting, negative behavior, indiscipline and politics. Now these are some serious allegations. But I am surprised that such a player has only got a ban of 1 year and a 20 million rupee fine. And players like Mohammed Yousaf and Younis Khan have been banned for indefinite period, although they were not charge with such severe allegations.

I always wonder, why these ‘great’ heroes of Pakistan Cricket, sell their

T20 World Cup-2010: A Cricket Failure?

The World T20 Cup-2010 has come to end with a historical win of England. Yes, England the land where Cricket was born. But it is shocking for most of the people that this is the first ever ICC title for England in the history of Cricket.

I personally believe England truly deserved to win this title. They have been far much superior than any other team in this tournament. Even Australia had seen some ups and downs. Especially the Semi-final against Pakistan has been termed as the Match of the Tournament. Where Michael Hussy took simply demolished the Pakistan bowling to take his team into the finals.

Many people asked whether Pakistan deserved a place in the Semi-finals. But the way Pakistan played in the Semi-final against Australia all these mouths are shut now. Pakistan was the first team in the World T20 Cup-2010 that troubled Australia. And Pakistan always won the match, had Hussy not showed his powerful display of batting.

The most disappointing efforts came from

T20 World Cup-2010: India Out, Blame IPL

Yes, the negative effects of IPL on Indian Cricket have started to come out. Team India has been thrown out of the ICC T20 World Cup-2010, being played in West Indies. India could not win a single match in the Super-8 round of the World T20 Cup and hence could not qualify for the semi-finals of the mega event.

India Cricket team has been performing outstandingly: Ranked No.1 in Test cricket and No.2 in ODIs. India also has the privilege of winning the first ever T20  World Cup back in 2008. So, what IPL has to do with the exit of Team India in the previous two T20 World Cup tournaments? Let’s try to find!

The biggest factor behind this failure is Indian Premiere League (IPL). Yes, it’s true. Indian Premiere League has taken its toll. The 45 day long cricket league has not only cricket, it included late night parties, hectic travel, extra pressure from franchise owners and a lot of money. Of course, players love all this. They enjoyed every bit of these activities and didn’t bother to keep an eye on their fitness to play the T20 World Cup-2010.

Yes, there are other international players who have played IPL but only Team India has

T20 World Cup-2010: Miracle in Cricket?

Miracles do happen. This can be proved by what happened to Pakistan Cricket team in ICC T20 World Cup-2010 when they eventually booked their seat for the Semi-Final of T20 World Cup-2010.

Pakistan had lost their first 2 matches of Super-8 round. They were almost out of the Semi-Final race. And then we saw that miracle. Pakistan won their last Super-8 match and then on the same day, England beat New Zealand to take Pakistan to the Semi-Finals of T20 World Cup-2010.

Pakistan team is highly fortunate and the other two teams left out of mega tournament were a lot unlucky, especially South Africa who have been labeled ‘Chokers’ due to their habit of losing the important matches.

South Africa were looking very impressive except their defeat to India in the first round. However, they lost important match against England in the Super-8 round and then they were beaten by Pakistan in the final match.

New Zealand, on the other hand also lacks

Can Pakistan Play T20 World Cup Semi Final?

Sluggish - The least one can say about the performance of Pakistan Cricket Team in the match against England.  And after losing a close match to New Zealand, people can only hope Pakistan qualifies for the Semi-finals of the T20 World Cup-2010.

Pakistan were playing the first match of their Super-8 round in the ICC T20 World Cup-2010, being played in West Indies. Pakistan batted first and could only score 147 despite a start. As usual, the poor batting forms of all the batsmen stopped Pakistan from getting a higher score.

In response, Pakistan Fielding was just good enough to help England achieve the target. Not only the batting failed for Pakistan, the bowling was also terrible. And fielding… well don’t ask me.

Saeed Ajmal was truly the hero for England. This man

ICC T20 World Cup-2010: An India-Pakistan Comparison

In Twenty20 Cricket you will find two strongest teams: Pakistan and India. India was the champion of the first T20 World Cup in 2008, while Pakistan was the champion in the 2^nd T20 World Cup in 2009. And this is the third edition of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup-2010. All eyes are again on these two teams, who will win, who will lose in T20 World Cup-2010? India and Pakistan have played both group matches in the ICC T20 World Cup-2010. I thought it’s a good time to compare the performance of both these teams in T20 World Cup-2010 so far.

India and Pakistan are archrivals and when these two play, it’s not easy to sit calmly in front of the TV set, especially, if you are an Indian or a Pakistani. India, Pakistan Cricket rivalry has been adding beauty to the game ever since they played each other for the first time. Especially, their record in Twenty20 World Cup has been outstanding against each other.

India and Pakistan, both have started T20 World Cup-2010 as favorites. However, India has