A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
The Pakistan cricket team management has fined fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Wahab Riaz for breach of discipline ahead of the ICC World Cup 2011, which starts from February 19.
Former captain Younis Khan has been left out of Pakistan's Test and One-day squads for the tour of England despite being eligible for international cricket again after having an indefinite ban for ill-discipline overturned.
Unbeaten in the ongoing tournament so far, India will square off against the arch-rivals in Manchester and start overwhelming favourites.
Mazhar Majeed, the UK based bookie who was at the centre of spot-fixing scandal three month back, claimed that four more Pakistani players were involved in fixing international matches besides the suspended trio of Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir.
Misbah insisted that the right decision had been taken keeping in mind past performances and the coming workload of the national team.
Saeed Ajmal captured four wickets on Thursday as Pakistan's spinners combined to reduce West Indies to 209 for nine at the close of the opening day of the first Test.
All-rounder Imad Wasim's unbeaten 49 guided Pakistan to a thrilling three-wicket victory over minnows Afghanistan in Leeds on Saturday, maintaining their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi admitted that following a clash between left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz and England batsman Jonathan Trott, his team had considered not playing the fourth One-Day International at Lord's.
The three Pakistani players, who are at the centre of a spot-fixing scandal, will return home in the next few days, while fast bowler Wahab Riaz will appear before the police on September 14 for questioning in connection with the worst scandal that has rocked the world of cricket.
Statistical highlights of the World Cup match between Pakistan and Canada in Colombo.
West Indies number 11 Jason Holder smashed 14 runs off the final over to earn his side a dramatic tie with Pakistan in the third one-day international at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Friday.
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior dug England out of deep trouble with an unbeaten 84 on the first day of the third Test on Wednesday as Pakistan reversed their terrible form of the first two Tests.
In the bowling chart, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult (722) held on to his top spot, followed by Bumrah (719).
Pakistani cricketers congratulated the World Cup-winning former captain for leading his party to power in the country's general elections.
Batting at No. 9, Wahab Riaz struck a quickfire half-century before he returned to claim four wickets with the ball to lift Pakistan to a narrow 20-run victory.
Coach Waqar Younis said the leg-spinner is being considered as a replacement for injured fast bowler Mohammad Irfan for the World Cup quarter-final match against Australia.
The selectors have also put Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz on standby to cover for any player who fails pre-tour COVID-19 Testing scheduled later this month.
Skipper Kane Williamson and fellow opener Martin Guptill forged the highest partnership in Twenty20 Internationals to secure New Zealand a series-levelling 10-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second match in Hamilton on Sunday.
Pakistan will open their innings in Sunday's World Cup match against India with Younis Khan in an attempt to accommodate leg-spinner Yasir Shah, and also include talented youngsters Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood in the final eleven.
India launched their campaign in the Champions Trophy with a resounding 124-run victory over Pakistan, in Birmingham on Sunday, extending their dominance over the arch-rivals in major International Cricket Council tournaments.
Pakistan will make two changes for the crucial Asia Cup match against India on Wednesday, replacing Wahab Riaz and Mansoor Amjad with Abdul Rauf and off spinner Saeed Ajmal.
Pakistan named Babar Azam as their new captain in one-day internationals, putting the elegant batsman in charge of both their limited-overs teams after a stellar year with the bat. The top order batsman, who took over Twenty20 captaincy earlier this year, succeeds Sarfaraz Ahmed as Pakistan's white-ball leader while Azhar Ali also got an extension as skipper of the Test side for the 2020-21 season.
Light rain delayed the start of the tri-series final between India and Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday.
Mohammad Hafeez scored a scintillating unbeaten 86 as Pakistan held their nerve to defeat England by five runs in the third and final Twenty20 International at Old Trafford on Tuesday to tie the series 1-1.
Players security beefed up after lynching incident in Pakistan
The West Indies' fast bowlers produced a ruthless display to dismiss Pakistan for a disappointing 105 in their World Cup opener at Trent Bridge on Friday. In reply, Chris Gayle led the chase, scoring 50 ff 34 deliveries, as the meagre target was overhauled in 13.4 overs.
Debutant pacemen Abdul Rauf and Wahab Riaz shared five wickets to dismiss Zimbabwe for 181 in 45.4 overs after they had elected to bat first in the fifth and final ODI on Saturday.
Seasoned Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been issued a show cause notice, among five other international players from Pakistan, by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for featuring in a commercial without taking permission from the board.
Six of the 10 Pakistan cricketers bound for England who tested positive for COVID-19 have now registered negative results on re-testing, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday. Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, however, must return a second negative result before they can join the main squad of 20 players who will leave for England on Sunday.
'Someone's got to do it and I might put my hand up. It's part of the game and what happened the other day with Shane (Watson) and Wahab (Riaz) was exceptional'
Australia romped into the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup, trouncing Pakistan by six wickets in the third quarter-final at the Adelaide Oval on Friday. They will meet defending champions India, who beat Bangladesh, in the second semi-final slated for March 26.
England batting mainstay Joe Root has dismissed "trash talk" by Pakistan paceman Wahab Riaz who claimed he has got the batsman's number going into the first Test at Lord's starting on Thursday.
Buoyed by their spectacular win over Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of this season's campaign, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on spirited qualifiers Lahore Lions in their second game of the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis have stepped down from their respective roles, the country's cricket board (PCB) said on Monday.
India went on to maintain its 100 per cent winning rate against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup after defeating them by 29 runs in the semi-final clash at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Pakistan's World Cup winning captain Imran Khan took to a social networking site to console the crestfallen Pakistanis after Sunday's defeat to India in Adelaide.
Alex Hales scored an excellent 109 to lead England to an emphatic 95-run victory over Pakistan in the second One-day international in Abu Dhabi on Friday that levelled the series at 1-1.
Azhar was named Test captain this month in place of Sarfaraz Ahmed whose spot as wicketkeeper has been taken by Mohammad Rizwan.
Sarfaraz says Pak ready for World Test Championship challenge
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances