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