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Pakistan with the help of Asif swingers has beaten New Zealand by 141 runs in the cricket second test on day four at the Basin Reserve today to equal the three-match series. Needing 405 for victory New Zealand were dismissed for 263 in the second session.

Ross Taylor top scored with 97 while Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif took five for 67 to end with a match analysis on nine for 107 and the man-of-the-match award. He was the main difference between two sides.

New Zealand won the first test in Napier by 32 runs; the final test starts in Napier on Friday 11.

Vettori: “Certain aspects of our play have been very disappointing, we lost the Test because we were bowled out for 99 in the first innings. Every one comes under scrutiny apart from Ross Taylor. We’re happy with our bowling, we have been for a long time, hopefully they get a decent rest. Napier is known to be a bowler’s graveyard, so hope the batting comes good there. An excellent wicket here in Wellington.”

Yousuf: “I thank mighty Allah and my team. The bowlers bowled very well, and Kamran Akmal batted well in the first innings. The way Umar Akmal plays sometimes, I find it difficult to stop him. A very good Test wicket, this. We missed catches, we’ll try hard in the practice sessions. We are very happy after this win, it’s come after a long time.”

Asif is the Man of the Match: “I just enjoy my bowling. When we were batting, there was some seam movement. It was a sporting pitch, and if you pitch it in the right areas, it works well for you. We have a few days rest, and we hope to win in Napier.

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The are many speculation about Pakistan performance against New Zealand in the ICC champions trophy semi final. Some saying Pakistan fixed the match, some said there was hidden agenda and few accusing India of influencing the umpires to favour New Zealand.

No such thing actually happened the only factors behind the loss were

1- Broken finger of Younis Khan

2- Some bad decisons by umpires

Younis Khan was playing the ICC champions trophy matches with his broken finger due to which he was not performing well in batting and could not manage to lead the side with his own performance. He did a big mistake of playing ICC matches while he was unfit. It cost Pakistan very dear when he dropped catch at the last moment where Pakistan can turn the match into his favour. It was an easy catch but avoiding ball contact with broken finger leads to drop the ball and drop the match too.

The other valid reason is the lbw decision of Umer Akmal at a crucial stage of the match but if some one see replay very carefully and find that the decision was difficult and Simon Tuffel was at an angle where he cant see the contact of the ball with bat. Only camera catched that thing otherwise the straight angle difficult to judge. There were few appeals which were against Pakistan when Pakistan was fielding and simply it was an unlucky day for Pakistan cricket fans.

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Articles, News icc champions trophy, pakistan-cricket

The series between Pakistan and Srilanka is about to end, the only one Twenty 2o cricket match left leaving behind lot to think for Pakistan cricket think tank. The series was a nightmare for Pakistan cricketers where they lost test series aong with one day, the only prestige which they manage to maintain was the last two wins in ODI and all credit goes to few individuals Umer akmal, Rana Naveed and Amir.

The reasons behind Pakistan loss were lot among which the combination of players and lack of International cricket is at the top. Pakistan cricket board should take seriously into matter and resolve the issues within the team too. There was no harmony among players. All seemed to be busy for individual performance to make sure their presence in the team.

This can be awake up call for Pakistan cricket. The players along with board should formulate the solid plan to bring back the team to right track.

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The first test match between paksitan and Srilanka is in a phase of conclusion and Pakistan is in a postion to take the series lead. The new left arm seamer Mohammad Aamir played a big role in putting Pakistan at top of Srilanka. He grabbed 6 wickets, 3 each in two innings. He manage to swing the ball both way to put batsmen in trouble. In the first innings Pakistan manage to get a lead of 50 valuable runs, the credit goes to Mohammad Yousaf who played a brilliant innings and scored a century.

In the second innings Aamer propelled a collapse in the middle session, grabbing three wickets while conceding two runs.

His first breakthrough came when he dismissed in-form Paranavitana one run short of his second half-century of the match. Paranavitana nicked a ball that shaped away from him to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. His 58-ball innings included five boundaries, complimenting his 72 in the first innings.

Soon Jayawardene (0) and captain Kumar Sangakkara (14) departed to Aamer in a similar fashion. Tillakaratne Dilshan (22) and Thilan Samaraweera (34) had good starts but they were unable to convert them into big scores under persistent pressure from the Pakistani bowlers.

Aamer returned 3-38 while Ajmal recorded 3-34.

Alam praised his inexperienced bowling attack that includes three debutantes for giving Pakistan the advantage.

“I must congratulate them for the way they have performed,” Alam said.

“That’s a very good sign to see youngsters coming into the game. They have been given responsibility and they have fulfilled that.”

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The defeat from England put Pakistan into a wary situation where they must have to win its second game against Netherlands with a big margin. There are some calculations below  to recsue Pakistan cricket Position.

If Pakistan is batting first, it has to win by 25 runs or more. So if pakistan makes 180, it

has to force Netherland 155 or below. If Pakistan scores 150, Netherland has to be forced

below 125. Any margin below 25 runs and Netherland goes through the next round.

If netherland batting first Pakistan has to reach Netherland score before end of 20 overs as

follows to go to next round.

If Netherland scores 200 Pakistan has to reach this in 17.3 overs
If Netherland scores 190 Pakistan has to reach this in 17.3 overs
If Netherland scores 180 Pakistan has to reach this in 17.3 overs
If Netherland scores 170 Pakistan has to reach this in 17 overs
If Netherland scores 160 Pakistan has to reach this in 16.4 overs
If Netherland scores 150 Pakistan has to reach this in 16.4 overs

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England crush pakistan by 48 runs to jump to a second step and becomes the first team who confirm the berth. Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first, England start was not good. Ravi Bopara was brilliantly caught by Shoaib malik but later on Pakistan fielding was pathetic which allowed England to post a huge toptal of 185 in which Kevin Peterson was the star batsman for England side. Pakistan dropped four catches along with few miss fieldings in a few over match.

Pakistan batting was never able to follow that big total on a bouncy pitch. Non of the batsman impress and posed danger on opponent. They succumb to defeat by 48 runs which is a big margin win and they will have to struggle for their survival in a next match with Netherlands.

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Pakistan sacked national cricket coach Geoff Lawson on Friday, just 15 months after the former Australian paceman took up the position, the Pakistan Cricket Board said.

The move comes just three days after new PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said Lawson’s contract would not be renewed next April, but that he could not be dismissed immediately for financial reasons.

“Geoff Lawson has been sacked. He has been given three months’ severance pay,” PCB spokesman Raza Rashid told AFP.

Butt insisted the decision to sack Lawson was not abrupt and had been taken after consulting former players and other sources.

“I had a lengthy discussion with him (Lawson) on Friday and did not think that he was a suitable candidate to take Pakistan cricket forward.

“We have been having a downward slide for the last several months and I hope that this positive change will help us take Pakistan cricket forward.”

He said Lawson had wanted the PCB to provide the same level of facilities available to cricketers in Australia, adding, “but I told him we wanted results, which he failed to produce.”

The 50-year-old Lawson was appointed Pakistan coach in July last year after Pakistan’s first-round defeat in the World Cup in the Caribbean in March.

Calls for his removal intensified when Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka in the final of the T20 four-nation event in Canada earlier this month.

Pakistan must now look for a new coach before next month’s three-match one-day series against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi and a Test series against India at home in January next year.

The PCB chief hinted the new coach would be local and could be appointed in the next 10 days.

“I think there is a language problem, there is a communication problem, and a foreigner doesn’t understand the problems our players have, so we must have a coach who is local and knows every player well.”

Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam, who were both formerly Pakistan cricket captains and also coached the national side, were tipped as the leading candidates to succeed Lawson, according to several PCB sources.

In an apparent purge of Lawson’s regime, the PCB has also sacked chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi and given his powers to Salim Altaf, the current director of special operations.

“Altaf has been made the director general of the board with powers of the chief operating officer,” spokesman Rashid said.

Lawson took 180 wickets in 46 Tests and 88 in 79 one-day internationals for Australia between 1980-89. He had no experience as an international coach but had coached the New South Wales team in Australia.

Pakistan have had 11 different coaches in the past 10 years, with three stints each for Miandad and Richard Pybus, Pakistan’s first foreign coach.

Lawson succeeded former England batsman Bob Woolmer, who was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica in March 2007, just a day after Pakistan’s upset defeat at the hands of Ireland in the cricket World Cup.

Former Pakistan players welcomed Lawson’s departure.

“His sacking will certainly improve Pakistan cricket as he never had the talent to coach a national team,” former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz told AFP.

“He was completely unaware about the talent and weaknesses of the Pakistani team which is aggressive in nature.”

Nawaz backed Miandad to return as coach “because he is the one who knows the boys and could bring great results.”

Ex-captain Aamir Sohail said Pakistan needed an experienced coach since the national captain, Shoaib Malik, was young and relatively untested.

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President Asif Ali Zardari - PCB`s chief patron - has chosen Ijaz Butt as the new PCB chief, ending weeks of suspense that gripped Pakistan cricket since the resignation of former board chairman Nasim Ashraf in August, sources told IANS.

Ashraf stepped down as the PCB chief just hours after General Pervez Musharraf resigned as Pakistan`s president.

Butt, 70, played eight Tests for Pakistan and has since then occupied several key positions in the national cricket set-up. He served as the secretary of the PCB then known as the Board for Control of Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP). He also served as the manager of the Pakistan team. More recently, he was one of the members of the PCB Governing Board.

He was always the front-runner to take over as the PCB chief as he has the backing of Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, who is Butt`s close relative.

Butt is regarded as a hard task-master and is expected to carry out drastic changes in the Pakistan cricket set-up after taking over as the PCB chairman later this week.

Profile of Ijaz Butt

Ijaz Butt was a dependable batsman and more than capable wicketkeeper who made his Test debut against West Indies in 1958-59 as an opener, scoring 41 not out in a ten-wicket win. The following winter he played twice against Australia, making his only half-century at Karachi. In England in 1962 he struggled for form in the three Tests he played, although overall he scored 1016 runs at 28.22 including a hundred before lunch against Kent.

He served as the secretary of the then Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan between 1984 and 1988. He was also the president of the Lahore City Cricket Association for many years. He toured Australia in 1982-83 as manager of the Pakistan team and twice headed the national selection committee. In 2008, at the age of 70, he was appointed as chairman of the Pakistan board following Nasim Ashraf’s resignation.

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Pakistan cricket was rocked by yet another controversy on Monday when it was confirmed that Pakistan’s young fast bowler Mohammad Asif’s dope test, conducted in the first Indian Premier League (IPL) on May 30, has resulted in the positive.

IPL chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi confirmed on Monday that bowler, who represented Delhi Daredevils in IPL, failed the dope test.

“The news about Mohammad Asif’s dope test has been in the press since the morning but the PCB was officially informed by BCCI at 4.30pm,” PCB Director Cricket Operations (DCO) International, Zakir Khan told reporters in the evening after the shocking news regarding the lanky pacer had been taking rounds for almost seven hours since the morning.

“A lot of technicalities are involved in the case, therefore, it is not appropriate to speak more on the issue. We are expecting the details of the case later tonight,” Zakir said.

“The PCB has informed Asif about his positive dope test with the advice that it is up to him to challenge the B sample and the verdict,” he added. “Asif has replied that he will consult his friends and well wishers and take a decision in next couple of days.”

More at Dawn

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Pakistan cricket management tried another combination and gave a chance to young cricketers. Most of them were sitting outside during the last four one day against India which India manage to win 3. The series was already won by India but the the promising young players gave a message by winning the fifth match that they are better than oldies. The new wicket keeper Sarfraz and Fuad Alam really played impressively. Shoaib Malik the captain of the visiting side also gained his form by a good knock from his bat.

This win is just consolation for Pakistan side but surely it will boost their confidence for coming test series which is now the most important assignment for them.

Popularity: 12% [?]

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