Asif shines with six on Pakistan's day
Mohammad Asif completed a career-best six-wicket haul as part of Pakistan's broader demolition of Australia that called into question Ricky Ponting's decision to bat first on a Sydney green-top. In union with Mohammad Sami, who dismissed Australia's top three batsmen before the first drinks break, Asif exploited the heavy pitch and atmospheric conditions to full effect to rout Australia for 127 - their second-lowest total batting first at the SCG and worst at home since 1996. Ponting was left to rue the decision to bat first on a green, seaming pitch after rain delayed the coin toss until shortly before 2pm. Not since his infamous decision to send England into bat at Edgbaston in 2005 has Ponting called correctly and opted to bowl. How he must wish to have his time over. Only a 44-run eighth-wicket stand between Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz saved Australia from complete embarassment although, as it stood, the humiliation ran deep enough. Sami, playing his first Test in more than two years following a stint in the unauthorised ICL, scythed through Australia's top order with seven overs of express pace and prodigious movement to account for Phillip Hughes, Ponting and Shane Watson before the first drinks break. Asif then swung into gear in the period leading up to tea with the wickets of Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North and Brad Haddin. He went onto remove Hauritz and Johnson to finish with the career-best figures of 6 for 41 as Australia were rolled inside 45 overs. Pakistan's opening batsmen, Imran Farhat and Salman Butt, added 14 runs without loss before bad light stopped play 4.1 overs into the tourists' innings. Both survived the odd anxious moment, particularly against Doug Bollinger, but their battles paled into insignificance compared to those experienced by the Australian batsmen against a Pakistan attack at its enigmatic best.
Sami was an eleventh-hour inclusion in the Pakistani side after the withdrawal of Mohammad Aamer, one of the heroes of Melbourne, with a groin injury. The move almost paid immediate dividends when Sami had Hughes, a replacement for the injured Simon Katich, dropped by the hard-handed Umar Akmal at backward point from his first delivery. Retribution followed in the next over, however, when Sami lured Hughes into an aggressive push to a straighter, fuller delivery that flew low to Faisal Iqbal at second slip. The inspired paceman then removed Ponting with his very next ball, wafting at a shorter delivery that reared off the surface, and might well have completed a hat-trick had Billy Doctrove ruled Watson out to an excellent lbw appeal that struck him on the front toe. The Pakistanis sent the decision for video review, however Hawk-Eye confirmed Sami's 150kph bolt had struck the batsman outside the line of off stump. Watson successfully dodged that bullet, but was not so lucky in Sami's next over, edging a seaming, straightening delivery to Kamran Akmal. That left Sami with figures of 3 for 5 from his first four overs, and Australia gasping for breath. Clarke rounded out an eventful hour by successfully overturning Asoka de Silva's decision to adjudge him lbw to an Umar Gul delivery that was comfortably clearing the stumps, but his defiance ended shortly after the drinks break when he was bowled through the gate to an Asif delivery that straightened off the pitch.
The task fell to Hussey and North, both well short of peak form, to pull Australia from the mire. Neither looked comfortable repelling Asif's relentlessly probing lines and it came as little surprise when Hussey fell to a top-edged pull-stroke that was accepted by Misbah-ul-Haq in the slips. North followed next ball, waving at a delivery outside his off-stump, and Asif completed the first session rout by removing an attack-minded Haddin. Australia enjoyed a brief period of respite in the final session as Johnson and Hauritz took the attack to the Pakistanis. The hosts showed no nerves through the nineties - a curious twist on an oft-mentioned topic this summer - as the lower-order duo pounded 17 runs from one Danish Kaneria over to guide the team into triple figures. But the wheels fell off thereafter. Hauritz was bowled to an Asif delivery angled back into the right-hander, while Johnson fell attempting to loft over extra-cover. Umar Gul completed the rout with the final wicket of Doug Bollinger - the sixth Australian batsman to post a single-figure total - to close out the hosts' innings in just 44.2 overs. Much will be made of Ponting's "anti-Edgbaston" moment at the coin toss, but few of Pakistan's wickets were the result of exaggerated aerial or surface movement. Disciplined Pakistani bowling and questionable Australian decision-making played as much of a role in the hosts' disintegration as swing or seam. Let the inquest begin.
Sami was an eleventh-hour inclusion in the Pakistani side after the withdrawal of Mohammad Aamer, one of the heroes of Melbourne, with a groin injury. The move almost paid immediate dividends when Sami had Hughes, a replacement for the injured Simon Katich, dropped by the hard-handed Umar Akmal at backward point from his first delivery. Retribution followed in the next over, however, when Sami lured Hughes into an aggressive push to a straighter, fuller delivery that flew low to Faisal Iqbal at second slip. The inspired paceman then removed Ponting with his very next ball, wafting at a shorter delivery that reared off the surface, and might well have completed a hat-trick had Billy Doctrove ruled Watson out to an excellent lbw appeal that struck him on the front toe. The Pakistanis sent the decision for video review, however Hawk-Eye confirmed Sami's 150kph bolt had struck the batsman outside the line of off stump. Watson successfully dodged that bullet, but was not so lucky in Sami's next over, edging a seaming, straightening delivery to Kamran Akmal. That left Sami with figures of 3 for 5 from his first four overs, and Australia gasping for breath. Clarke rounded out an eventful hour by successfully overturning Asoka de Silva's decision to adjudge him lbw to an Umar Gul delivery that was comfortably clearing the stumps, but his defiance ended shortly after the drinks break when he was bowled through the gate to an Asif delivery that straightened off the pitch.
The task fell to Hussey and North, both well short of peak form, to pull Australia from the mire. Neither looked comfortable repelling Asif's relentlessly probing lines and it came as little surprise when Hussey fell to a top-edged pull-stroke that was accepted by Misbah-ul-Haq in the slips. North followed next ball, waving at a delivery outside his off-stump, and Asif completed the first session rout by removing an attack-minded Haddin. Australia enjoyed a brief period of respite in the final session as Johnson and Hauritz took the attack to the Pakistanis. The hosts showed no nerves through the nineties - a curious twist on an oft-mentioned topic this summer - as the lower-order duo pounded 17 runs from one Danish Kaneria over to guide the team into triple figures. But the wheels fell off thereafter. Hauritz was bowled to an Asif delivery angled back into the right-hander, while Johnson fell attempting to loft over extra-cover. Umar Gul completed the rout with the final wicket of Doug Bollinger - the sixth Australian batsman to post a single-figure total - to close out the hosts' innings in just 44.2 overs. Much will be made of Ponting's "anti-Edgbaston" moment at the coin toss, but few of Pakistan's wickets were the result of exaggerated aerial or surface movement. Disciplined Pakistani bowling and questionable Australian decision-making played as much of a role in the hosts' disintegration as swing or seam. Let the inquest begin.
Source: cricinfo.com
Imanae Malik
A 3 year old girl killed due to the negligence of the medical staff at Doctor's Hospital Lahore on 29th November 2009. Raise your voice and show your support for this beautiful child!
Jerome Taylor freed after arrest
Jerome Taylor, the West Indies fast bowler, was freed after arrest for assault at a bar in Kingston, AFP has reported. Taylor, who has represented West Indies in 29 Tests and 62 ODIs, was charged with using indecent language, assaulting a police officer, improper conduct and resisting arrest by local police in his parish, St Elizabeth.
According to police sergeant Clifford Evans, Taylor, who returned from the tour of Australia due to a back injury, was a patron at a bar when the police ordered it to close as required at 11pm. Taylor reportedly became abusive and matters escalated when the police tried to handcuff him.
Taylor was later released and is scheduled to appear in court on January 12.
According to police sergeant Clifford Evans, Taylor, who returned from the tour of Australia due to a back injury, was a patron at a bar when the police ordered it to close as required at 11pm. Taylor reportedly became abusive and matters escalated when the police tried to handcuff him.
Taylor was later released and is scheduled to appear in court on January 12.
Source:cricinfo.com
ICC November inspection slammed pitch
Among the several alerts, official and otherwise, raised about the condition of the Kotla pitch is one from the very highest level: An ICC team inspecting the stadium in connection with the 2011 World Cup passed a scathing indictment of the pitch and said "a considerable improvement of the pitch block" would be required to "make the pitch more acceptable" for Sunday's game.
The chief executive of the ICC Haroon Lorgat, speaking in New Delhi on Monday, did not comment on whether this report would have any bearing on the investigation of Sunday's fiasco but said it would be taken into consideration. "There is an ODI at this venue on 27th December 2009 and considerable improvement of the pitch block will be required by then to make the pitch provided more acceptable" said the report, a copy of which is with Cricinfo. The inspection was carried out on November 4, three days after third ODI of the India-Australia series.
That game, and earlier games during the Champions League Twenty20 where batsmen struggled to counter the low and slow nature of the various pitches on the square, was noted in the November report. "During the Champions League and the India vs Australia ODI series, it was well documented that the performance and condition of the pitches at the stadium were a cause of concern for the players," the report said. The problem with the Kotla pitch - which has already been relaid four times in the last five years under four different curators - stems from the decision, taken immediately after the second IPL was shifted to South Africa, to relay the entire square. During the Champions League Daljit Singh, till Sunday the head of the BCCI's grounds and wickets committee, said it would take about a year for the re-laid pitches to get seasoned. That point of view seems to have been overlooked with the Indian board deciding to stage at Kotla first the Australia ODI and, within two months, the game against Sri Lanka.
The ICC's inspectors, though, were never in doubt about the quality of the surface and their report offered some prescriptions for the longer term. "The pitch block was reconstructed recently and it is clear to see that there are some important issues with the present condition of the pitch surface that it is essential to address prior to CWC 2011." As a remedial measure it suggested that the surface level across the entire square needed to be "readjusted in several areas" to help in growing the grass. The DDCA ground authorities, working with Daljit, had been experimenting with the grass, which resulted in the tufts of green spread across the pitch on which Sri Lanka batted. there has been much talk of differences between local and centralized pitch officials and this was clear to the ICC inspection team. "It was apparent when speaking with the local officials that they are reluctant to openly discuss the problems they are having with the pitch and that they are to some extent in variance with the BCCI Pitch Consultant (Daljit Singh) regarding how they are to move forward to resolve the problems with this surface." According to the ICC team the DDCA were adamant on replanting the pitches with local grass, which they felt would take care of the problem. But that idea was fraught with dangers. "To simply replant without this major renovation of the surface would be a major miscalculation, and would result in inadequate pitches at a later date," the report said. "The dead and the decaying grass and roots left in the soil profile will break down into organic matter and will contribute to the dilution of the clay content of the soil and contribute to the pitches produced in the future being slow in pace, spongy in texture, and would tend to generate slow and inconsistent bounce from the pitches in the future."
The chief executive of the ICC Haroon Lorgat, speaking in New Delhi on Monday, did not comment on whether this report would have any bearing on the investigation of Sunday's fiasco but said it would be taken into consideration. "There is an ODI at this venue on 27th December 2009 and considerable improvement of the pitch block will be required by then to make the pitch provided more acceptable" said the report, a copy of which is with Cricinfo. The inspection was carried out on November 4, three days after third ODI of the India-Australia series.
That game, and earlier games during the Champions League Twenty20 where batsmen struggled to counter the low and slow nature of the various pitches on the square, was noted in the November report. "During the Champions League and the India vs Australia ODI series, it was well documented that the performance and condition of the pitches at the stadium were a cause of concern for the players," the report said. The problem with the Kotla pitch - which has already been relaid four times in the last five years under four different curators - stems from the decision, taken immediately after the second IPL was shifted to South Africa, to relay the entire square. During the Champions League Daljit Singh, till Sunday the head of the BCCI's grounds and wickets committee, said it would take about a year for the re-laid pitches to get seasoned. That point of view seems to have been overlooked with the Indian board deciding to stage at Kotla first the Australia ODI and, within two months, the game against Sri Lanka.
The ICC's inspectors, though, were never in doubt about the quality of the surface and their report offered some prescriptions for the longer term. "The pitch block was reconstructed recently and it is clear to see that there are some important issues with the present condition of the pitch surface that it is essential to address prior to CWC 2011." As a remedial measure it suggested that the surface level across the entire square needed to be "readjusted in several areas" to help in growing the grass. The DDCA ground authorities, working with Daljit, had been experimenting with the grass, which resulted in the tufts of green spread across the pitch on which Sri Lanka batted. there has been much talk of differences between local and centralized pitch officials and this was clear to the ICC inspection team. "It was apparent when speaking with the local officials that they are reluctant to openly discuss the problems they are having with the pitch and that they are to some extent in variance with the BCCI Pitch Consultant (Daljit Singh) regarding how they are to move forward to resolve the problems with this surface." According to the ICC team the DDCA were adamant on replanting the pitches with local grass, which they felt would take care of the problem. But that idea was fraught with dangers. "To simply replant without this major renovation of the surface would be a major miscalculation, and would result in inadequate pitches at a later date," the report said. "The dead and the decaying grass and roots left in the soil profile will break down into organic matter and will contribute to the dilution of the clay content of the soil and contribute to the pitches produced in the future being slow in pace, spongy in texture, and would tend to generate slow and inconsistent bounce from the pitches in the future."
Source:cricinfo.com
Get free SMS Alerts on ZONG
Earlier we told you about Zong’s email to sms service, today I am going to teach how can you get blogger comments on your mobile through sms notifications. For those who are running their blogs on Blogger, they can get sms alerts with their Zong connection when someone of their readers leaves a comment on their blog. It is free as long as Zong’s email to sms service is free.
Ufone customers may also use their Email to sms service, but Ufone’s email to sms service is not free. With Ufone to get your email to sms id (number@ufone.com) you need to activate your info-services account from Ufone web, which charges 1.Rs+tax/day, where as Zong’s email to sms service is by default activated on all Zong numbers for free.
It is easy to setup Zong sms alerts for blogger comment notifications, that when your blog posts receive any comments, then from blogger a sms notification will be sent to your Zong number.
This trick will only work for those who are using blogger default comments system, will not work with disqus, js-kit etc
Just follow these easy steps:
Login to your Blogger account.
From dashboard go to the settings of your blog for which you want to set up sms alerts.
Go to the comments settings page, at the bottom you will see an option for “Comment Notification Email”, just put your Zong email to sms id there (for example number@zongsms.pk, 031########@zongsms.pk) and Save settings.
Ufone customers may also use their Email to sms service, but Ufone’s email to sms service is not free. With Ufone to get your email to sms id (number@ufone.com) you need to activate your info-services account from Ufone web, which charges 1.Rs+tax/day, where as Zong’s email to sms service is by default activated on all Zong numbers for free.
It is easy to setup Zong sms alerts for blogger comment notifications, that when your blog posts receive any comments, then from blogger a sms notification will be sent to your Zong number.
This trick will only work for those who are using blogger default comments system, will not work with disqus, js-kit etc
Just follow these easy steps:
Login to your Blogger account.
From dashboard go to the settings of your blog for which you want to set up sms alerts.
Go to the comments settings page, at the bottom you will see an option for “Comment Notification Email”, just put your Zong email to sms id there (for example number@zongsms.pk, 031########@zongsms.pk) and Save settings.
Source: propakistani.pk
UK announces $83 million in new aid to Pakistan
LONDON – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he is making 50 million pounds ($83 million) in new funding available to Pakistan to help the country pacify its lawless border with Afghanistan.Brown said the money would go into Pakistan's program to help re-establish its control over the chaotic border region, which he has identified as the source of three-quarters of the terrorist plots that have targeted Britain since 2001.I'm pleased today to confirm my offer of a further 50 million pounds to back your plans for long-term stabilization of the border areas," Brown told his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, at a press conference in central London.Brown said that aid being provided by Britain would go into reconstruction, education and the relocation of people displaced in the fighting.Gilani is in London for talks with the British leader, who has lobbied the country to do more to find the al-Qaida leaders believed to be hiding out in the border region.Brown told the BBC on Sunday that with more troops being sent to Afghanistan, Pakistan needs "to be able to show that it can take on al-Qaida."
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