'Fit again' Kaneria eager to shine for Pak in Sydney

Pakistan leg spinner Danish Kaneria is eager to play the second Test match against Australia at Syndey after missing the first match due to a finger injury.

Declaring himself fully fit, Kaneria said he will give his best to help Pakistan level the three match series 1-1.

“I injured my right ring finger 18 months ago in England, I fractured it, and playing a domestic game in Pakistan once more I got hit on it. And then in the practice I got badly hit taking a catch. But now its okay and I'm ready to play in the Test and hopefully I’ll give my best and will help my team win it,” The News quoted Kaneria, as saying.

The wicket at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is generally helps spinners, which is probably why Kaneria is fancying his chances.

Afridi ready to be recalled to Pak Test side

All-rounder Afridi, who bowled South Australia to victory in their Twenty20 opener in Perth on Tuesday, is willing to front for Pakistan in the second Test starting in Sydney on Sunday or the third Test in Hobart.

"If they need me, I can''t say no to them," Fox Sports quoted Afridi, as saying.

"Definitely I do not want to say no if they need me so definitely I will be able to play for them," he added.

Afridi''s vicious leg spin, super-charged faster balls and genuine off-break variation still confounds limited-overs rivals and would prove a handful for Australia at the spin-friendly SCG.

Afridi''s vastly improved leg spin is now his priority and would prove invaluable in a deadly tandem with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal or champion leggie Danish Kaneria.

Pakistan manager Abdul Raqeeb did not rule out Afridi making a stunning return.

"It is up to the selection committee who take all the decisions. They must decide what to do," Raqeeb said.

Pakistani Pace Bowler threaten to run through New Zealand

Pakistani Pace Bowler threaten to run through New Zealand

Rousing spells from Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif evoked New Zealand's famous second-innings collapses against Pakistan, and the visitors held the momentum going into the final four sessions of the Test. Aamer bowled two superb spells of swing bowling, the conventional variety leaving New Zealand at 0 for 2, and the reverse leaving the middle order befuddled even if it didn't get him a wicket. Asif took 2 for 2 in his spell before tea, which very nearly could have been three. When rain forced an early break New Zealand led by 212 with four wickets in hand.

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New Zealand Vettori, McCullum to 404 for 8

Daniel Vettori displayed immense character and courage in his innings of 99, as he took New Zealand to a competitive 404 for 8 at the end of a rain-marred day-two of the Dunedin Test.

The resolute Kiwi captain walked in to bat when the scorecard read 211 for 6 and along with Brendon McCullum, forged a resolute fight despite struggling with niggles in his left shoulder and right elbow. The pair added a determined 164 for the seventh wicket before the stumper was cleaned up by an Umer Gul yorker for 78 at the stroke of lunch.

But Vettori carried on his resolve and took the Black Caps to 402, before getting caught behind and presenting Gul with his second success of the innings.

The skipper was unfortunate to fall just one short of an extremely deserved fifth Test century. He lost his wicket in what turned out to be the last over of the day owing to the fading lights. Vettori’s fluent 133-ball knock was punctuated with 14 sparkling hits to the fence.

The post-lunch period was hit by rain which resulted in the loss of three hours of play. The match did resume after the rain-interval but only to be stopped prematurely again by bad lights after six overs.

Pakistan bowling was a mixed-bag, as after the Vettori-McCullum duo survived the early string of bouncers thrown in by Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, there was no bite in the attack to hurt the Kiwis. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Yousuf missed a trick or two by resorting to a defensive field when the skipper-stumper pair was forging a calm fight-back.


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Pakistan Won the Toss Elect to Filed 1st Test Against New ZeaLand

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Yousuf won the toss and elected to bowl in the opening Test of the three-match series against New Zealand here Tuesday.

The University Oval wicket has a reputation for favouring the quick bowlers and Yousuf had no hesitation in confirming he would bowl first.

Teams:

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (captain), Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill, Daniel Flynn, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Grant Elliott, Brendon McCullum, Shane Bond, Iain O'Brien, Chris Martin.

Pakistan: Khurram Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Yousuf (captain), Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Saeed Ajmal.

McCullum hopes Vettori gets fit for Pakistan Test

New Zealand's captain Brendon McCullum hoped Daniel Vettori regains full fitness to lead the team in the first Test against Pakistan starting later this month.

McCullum hope Daniel gets fit to lead the team in the Tests, McCullum said of the regular captain who missed team's two Twenty20 matches which finished in Pakistan's 2-0 win here on Friday.

Vettori felt concussion after being hit on the grille of his helmet during the third one-day match at Abu Dhabi last week. He vomitted before CT scans revealed no injury, but doctors advised him two-weeks rest.

That put Vettori in doubt for the first Test against Pakistan starting at Dunedin from November 25.

McCullum reckoned both teams were evenly balanced.

McCullum think that Pakistani spinners Danish Kaneria and Saeed Ajmal are danger bowling hand.

Pakistan has been a dangerous side for a number of years and we have to be at our best to beat them. Pakistan, at times, can do amazing things in batting, bowling and fielding.

New Zealand had to tour Pakistan for three one-day, two Twenty20 and three Test matches but the limited over series was shifted to United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Tests to New Zealand over security fears in Pakistan.

McCullum said The conditions here in the UAE suited Pakistan but back home they will be in our advantage. The real thing is how you play in Tests, which is very different to limited over matches.

New Zealand will also hope opener Jesse Ryder, paceman Daryl Tuffey and all-rounder Grant Elliott, who all missed the UAE tour due to injuries -- get fit for the Tests.

McCullum said New Zealand players have learnt a lot during the UAE tour. 

New Zealand Win the Series 2-1 against Pakistan

New Zealand survived Mohammad Aamir's explosive half-century to clinch the series against Pakistan with a narrow seven-run victory in the third one-day international here on Monday.

Aamir, 17, hit an unbeaten 73 for his maiden half-century -- the highest score by a number ten batsman in a one-day international -- to bring Pakistan, chasing 212, close to an unexpected victory after they were 101-9.

Pakistan were bowled out for 204, giving New Zealand a sensational 2-1 victory in the three-match series.

Younus under pressure in Pakistan-NZealand decider

Pakistan captain Younus Khan finds himself under pressure as his team heads into the series-deciding third and final one-day against New Zealand here on Monday.

Pakistan, who have not won a one-day series since beating the West Indies here last year, achieved a thumping 138-run win in the first match on Tuesday before New Zealand hit back with a 64-run win in the second on Friday.

Moreover, Younis is having a lean patch with the bat, scoring nought and 19 in the two matches -- but coach Intikhab Alam backed his captain to come good when it matters.

"It can happen to any player," said Alam of Younus's wretched form which saw him scoring only two half-centuries in the last 18 matches. "I am sure that he can come good anytime, maybe in this crucial, must-win game."

The 31-year-old replaced Shoaib Malik as captain after Pakistan lost a one-day series against Sri Lanka at home in Januray last year.

Under Younus, Pakistan lost one-day series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates and against Sri Lanka (on tour) earlier this year.

Although Pakistan won the World Twenty20 in England in June and then reached the semi-final of the Champions Trophy, Younus had to offer his resignation over unproven match-fixing allegations last month and questions on his form.

Pakistan Cricket Board rejected his resignation, saying that Younus, if fit and performing, can continue as captain until the 2011 World Cup.

Alam said both Pakistan and New Zealand will be under pressure in the final match.

"Since it's a must win game for both the teams, whoever wins takes the series so both teams will be keen to perform and I hope my players raise their confidence and win this series, it's very important for us."

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said he would try to put more pressure on Pakistan.

"We look for more improvement and make sure that we head into this final game with more confidence and put more pressure on Pakistan," said Vettori, whose team finished runners-up to Australia in the Champions Trophy last month.

"We did well throughout the Champions Trophy as most of the games we played were must win games and we stepped up, so I hope the team does it one more time."

Vettori feared Pakistan can hit back after the loss.

"Pakistan can come back hard on us, so we must be ready for that, but I think there's something left for us as lot of guys who, I suppose, need to perform on this tour and those who have performed need to do that once more."

Middle-order batsman Ross Taylor, who failed to score in both the matches, faces one more test.

After the one-day series both teams move to Dubai where they play two Twenty20 matches on November 12 and 13.

Former players question Umar Akmal's absence in 2nd ODI Against New Zealand

Former Pakistan captains have questioned the manner in which Umar Akmal was omitted from the second ODI against New Zealand, which Pakistan lost to leave the series tied at 1-1. Akmal's name was a surprising omission from the team sheet at the toss - Shoaib Malik took his place - and Younis Khan's explanation for the change was not entirely clear.
Akmal, 19, has had an excellent start to his international career, scoring his maiden ODI century in just his third game and averages 49.83 in the format.
"It can be very discouraging for a young man like Umar since he has been very impressive in recent games for Pakistan and is raring to go against the Kiwis," said Waqar Younis, commentating on the series in the UAE. "It is bound to shake his confidence in the coming games."
Rameez Raja questioned whether the decision was down to Pakistan's rotation policy or something else entirely. "I would like to know the logic behind this and whose decision was it to omit Umar from this game," he said. "This will only hurt Pakistan."
Salahuddin Ahmed, a former national selector, was similarly critical of the decision to drop an in-form player. "I think the ouster will hurt the confidence of Umar to a large extent. This should have not been done with him at this moment," he told the Karachi-based Dawn. "I will also not support the decision of dropping Shoaib Malik from the first ODI, since he is one of the best allrounders for this version of the game. Pakistan should have gone with Kamran Akmal with any of the regular openers to make room for both Shoaib and Umar for all these matches."

New Zealand Terrific Win on Pakistan 2nd ODI

Brendon McCullum hit a return-to-form hundred and Scott Styris took three wickets in two overs as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 64 runs in the second day-night international here on Friday.
McCullum notched 131 to help the Black Caps post a challenging 303-8 on a flat Abu Dhabi Stadium pitch before Styris (3-23) triggered a middle-order collapse which saw Pakistan bowled out for 239, leaving the three-match series level at 1-1
Chasing a daunting target, Pakistan got off to a solid start of 77 with Khalid Latif (45) and Salman Butt (59) setting the tempo. Even after Latif fell leg-before to New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori in the 17th over, Pakistan were well on course.
Butt and Younus (19) added another 47 for the second wicket before Styris struck three times in ten balls to turn the match in his team's favour.
Bowling for the first time in 13 months, Styris had Younus smartly caught at short mid-wicket by a diving Ross Taylor and then next ball induced Shahid Afridi (0) to play into the same fielder's hands.
In his next over, Styris had Kamran Akmal (four) caught at short cover before Butt was run out after being sent back by Mohammad Yousuf.Vettori then trapped Yousuf (18) to push Pakistan to the brink of defeat.
Although Shoaib Malik (26) and Abdul Razzaq (35) resisted, it was too little too late against a professional New Zealand.
 

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Pakistan won the toss elect to bat first against New Zealand

1st ODi in UAE between Pakistan and New Zealand.Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi the straw-colored grass is well rolled into the turf and it should be good for batting. There are some cracks but they haven't opened up and the pitch looks very hard."

Pakistan won the toss and Younis Khan (C) Packistan elect to bat first against New Zealand 1st ODI.

Starting is very Slow and loose two wickets (Salman Butt and Younis Khan (C)) no score 2.1 over.

Bond Clash those wickets 1st two overs. New Zealand some Player injured but Daniel Vettori (c) said all team player will be all efford against Pakistan.

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Shane Bond confidence over pipping Pakistan in Abu Dhabi

New Zealand’s pace bowler Shane Bond is confident of his team’s good performance against Pakistan in the first of the three matches in Abu Dhabi.

New Zealand’s five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Champions Trophy in Johannesburg was reason to believe a series win was within their grasp, although Bond is wary that the environment would suit Pakistan far better.

“We’ll redraw the stuff we had last time on them. It worked pretty well in terms of the bowlers; we knew what we had to do. Obviously this time we''ll have to adapt to the surface which will be flat and slow like Pakistan conditions,” Bond said.

 Bond will be a key figure at the top of the bowling order as he continues his return to the international fold, the New Zealand Herald reports.

 He returned in September’s one-day series in Sri Lanka, followed by the Champions Trophy, where he showed glimpses of his class.

A return to the test stage looms in the three-test home series against Pakistan starting on November 24 in Dunedin.

“It’ll be quite nice to get a full run of cricket in this series and then get back and get into some four-day cricket as well. I’m expecting the more I play the better I’ll get. I haven’t hit top form but it’s not far away,” he said.

“Everyone goes on about the speed, I’m happy with the pace I’m bowling. The more I bowl the more consistent I’ll get. I haven’t put in a consistent performance yet. I’ve been good in the odd spell then I’ve come back and haven’t been as sharp as I’m supposed to be,” he said.

Pak cricketer Akram's wifes untimely death

Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has expressed grief over the sudden death of his former teammate Waseem Akram’s wife, Huma Waseem.

Talking to media persons at Akram’s residence here, Haq said he would pray for the departed soul and to give courage to the grief stricken family members in this moment of sorrow.

Huma, 42, breathed her last at a private hospital in Chennai on Sunday.

She was admitted to the Apollo Hospital last Tuesday after her condition deteriorated on board an air ambulance flying from Lahore to Singapore, where she was due to be treated for multiple organ failure.

She was put on a ventilator immediately after being admitted to the hospital, but her condition remained critical.

Huma was being treated for ‘fever of unknown origin’. She also suffered from multi-system organ failure, hospital sources said. She was under critical care as her blood pressure dropped considerably and her vital parameters like heart and pulse rate did not stabilise.

Huma is survived by two children, Taimur and Akbar.

A trained medical practitioner herself, she had stints with some of the leading hospitals in Pakistan as a psychologist and a hypnotherapist.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt has also expressed grief over her demise.

 “We are with Wasim and his family at this hour of need and pray to God to give them strength to bear this irreparable loss,” The News quoted Butt, as saying.

Huma’s last rights would be performed today (Monday) in Lahore.

Pakistan selectors face dilemma for UAE series

The Pakistan selectors will meet on October 22 to finalise Pakistan's squad for next month's limited-overs series against New Zealand in the UAE. However, there are two key issues to be sorted out before the final list is announced for the three ODIs and two Twenty20 games in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to be played between November 3-13.

Younis Khan's availability to lead Pakistan in the three ODIs in Abu Dhabi is under a cloud as is fast bowlerMohammad Asif's comeback, and whether he will be cleared by the UAE authorities to play in the series.

"We will have a meeting of the selection committee on October 22 after which we will name the team for the series against New Zealand," Iqbal Qasim, told the News.

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Younis to meet Butt next week

Younis Khan, the Pakistan captain, will meet the national board chairman Ijaz Butt next week to discuss his fitness and availability for the one-dayers against New Zealand in Dubai in November.

Younis had fractured a finger just before the ICC Champions Trophy in September, and missed the first game against West Indies before captaining Pakistan for rest of the campaign despite not fully recovering from the fracture.

"Younis knows best about his injury," Wasim Bari, the PCB chief operating officer, told Pakistan's News. "He would be meeting us next week after which it will be decided whether he would be playing in the series against New Zealand."

Shahid Afridi will lead the team in the Twenty20s, a format from which Younis had retired. There were media reports suggesting Afridi will take over in the ODIs against New Zealand, but Afridi denied he had been offered the captaincy. "There is no truth in such reports," he said. "I had a meeting with the PCB chairman in which a number of issues were discussed but captaincy wasn't one of them."

Afridi also said he expected Younis to be fully fit in time for the New Zealand series. "I'm expecting Younis to get fit in the next two weeks," he said. "It would be great for us because he is really a good captain and we enjoy playing under him."

Pakistan win the toss 2nd Semi Final

Toss Pakistan chose to bat v New Zealand

Pakistan welcomed back Imran Nazir and Mohammad Aamer, and Younis Khan won the toss and asked Nazir to pad up right away to make first use of a pitch that both captains thought good for batting. Nazir took Misbah-ul-Haq's place, and Aamer came in for Mohammad Asif.

Pakistan's formula in big matches has always been to bat first and get runs on the board, which they didn't deviate from, and they also have the bowling to defend slightly below-par totals too.

New Zealand received good news, too, in that Grant Elliott cleared the last-minute fitness test, and kept his place. In their must-win match against England, Elliot had taken four wickets before sustaining a hand injury.

This was the seventh time these teams were meeting in a tournament semi-final: Pakistan were 5 and 1 in the previous encounters.

Vettori determined to 'lead New Zealand in a final'

Having already lost three key players to injury, New Zealand could be without Grant Elliott, Man of the Match against England, for the semi-final against Pakistan. Daniel Vettori, the captain, was confident though that New Zealand could overcome their semi-final jinx [only one final after eight appearances in the last four of global 50-over events] against Pakistan at the Wanderers on Saturday.

"The momentum is with us, I think," he said. "It's a much more preferable to go into the semi-finals, knowing that we've won two big games and qualified top, whereas in the past we have scraped through. We go into the game with confidence. Their [Pakistan's] spin bowling over the last year is very impressive. [Saeed] Ajmal and [Shahid] Afridi combine well, and coupled with a very good seam attack, and no obvious weakness in their batting, we know they can be a very good side. But they can be a little inconsistent like us, I suppose, and I'm hoping we can catch them on an off day."

Having already lost Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey to injury, New Zealand are keeping their fingers crossed over Elliott. "Grant took part in training this morning and had an injection," Vettori said. "It works when he bats but not when he bowls. We'll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision. It's frustrating but we're used to it. We've been through it before with New Zealand, even in the Twenty20 World Cup. It brought the group a little tighter and there was the realisation that the senior players have to step up more."

Pakistan captain prays for "two more good days"

Pakistan captain Younus Khan is looking for "two more good days" in the Champions Trophy as his team clash with New Zealand in the semi-final here on Saturday.

Pakistan have never reached the final of this competition, but Younus said Friday the team were capable of breaking the jinx if they played to their potential in the day-night match.

"After winning the Twenty20 World Cup in England this year, we are now in the semi-finals here. We need two more good days," Younus told reporters on the eve of the match.

"If that happens, it will be very nice for me and fantastic for Pakistan. We need a couple of big titles."

Younus said he did not believe the advantage was with New Zealand, who had beaten Sri Lanka and England in league matches at the Wanderers here.

"I don't think any team has an edge over the other, especially in the semi-final or final. There's nothing like that these days," he said.

"If we play our natural game tomorrow and stick to our plans, I think we will be through. It'll be fantastic if we reach the final."

The Pakistan skipper said his team needed to put in a disciplined performance against New Zealand who were in good form.

"They are a good side. They are fantastic, especially their fielding. Whenever they are under pressure they play like a team," said Younus.

"They have a couple of good all-rounders. Their captain is always fantastic with the ball and now he is also batting well. I think it will be a good game."

New Zealand were sweating over the fitness of all-rounder Grant Elliott, who is suffering from a thumb injury. The seamer was named man of the match for taking four wickets in his team's victory over England.

"He took part in training this morning, but we'll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision," said New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori.

New Zealand, who have already lost Jesse Ryder, Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram to injuries, summoned all-rounder Scott Styris as cover for Elliott.

Vettori said his team were not short of confidence going into the big match against Pakistan.

"Momentum is with us, I think. It's a much more preferable way to go into the semi-final knowing we've won two big games. We go into the match with confidence," said Vettori.

"The Wanderers has been good for us. We always felt confident of making the semi-finals and backed our chances. This is a real test for us now.

"Personally, it will be one of the most satisfying things I could achieve in my career if I lead New Zealand in the final and you never know what can happen after that."

New Zealand have often fallen in the semi-finals of big tournaments, like the 2006 Champions Trophy in India and the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

"We want to go past that. We want to change the script a little bit," said Vettori, a day after New Zealand won the International Cricket Council (ICC) Spirit of Cricket award.

"That will be the ultimate if we can couple that with a major tournament. If we win a major tournament, it'll be a great achievement for us.

"We know they (Pakistan) are a very good side and hope we can catch them on an off-day."

Bowlers did a good job to restrict Pak: Ponting

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his bowlers did a fantastic job in restricting Pakistan at a low score in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy clash.
Australia pulled off a last-ball win against Pakistan to reach the semifinals of the Champions Trophy and Ponting said they would have to do some soul-searching before they take on England in the second semifinal on Friday.
"It was quite emotional and chilling to sit there in the dressing room and it really got too close. But we have crossed the line and we will meet England in the semifinals in a couple of days time," Ponting said.
"We had a very good series against England over there but its different conditions here and I think they are playing really good cricket. We have to go back to the drawing board and see what went wrong in the last half an hour and make sure we play well in the next match on Friday," he added.
Ponting praised Pakistan bowlers and also said his team was finding it difficult to face them.
"It was pretty tough to score runs. There was inconsistent bounce and pace for new ballers and it was difficult getting them away," he said.
"But we knew it will be over and spinner will come into play and I think we are very lucky to restrict them to that total because there bowlers really bowled very well and did a good job in the last half an hour," he added. 

Loss against Pakistan cost us: M.S. Dhoni

India ended their Champions Trophy campaign with a win but skipper MS Dhoni said that had the guys played well in the opening encounter against the arch rivals, things would had been better and different.
India crushed the West Indies to end the competition on a high.
"You feel disappointed, but at the same time it's not about where you ranked," captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said in response to a question asked about India entering the competition as one of the favourites. "It's about how good you were in the tournament."
"It's tough for me to decide whether we were too bad in the tournament or not. Because one odd game, the first game that we played (against Pakistan), of course, we were off the boil.
"It's very difficult to say if this performance was bad. We played three games - we won one, lost one and one was a washout so it's tough for me to decide," he added.
Dhoni continued to blame his bowlers for letting the side down in the tournament.
"We made quite a few mistakes in this tournament. Of course, giving width to the batsmen is one of the areas. At the same time, I don't think it's such a serious problem that can't be solved.
"Apart from that, I think the fielding department. We can definitely put in a little more effort with that. Every guy can get better by 10 to 15%," the skipper said.