Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Yes, indeed Captain1 bhai. Every batsman wants to open including Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat, and Salman Butt. There is a huge competition for opening among our batsmen and thus Pakistan will only looking for those who can perform better.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Shoaib will be lucky if he plays the last Test - Woolmer
Cricinfo staff
July 22, 2006
[
Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has said that Shoaib Akhtar’s participation in the third Test at Headingley is unlikely and added that he was also doubtful for the fourth Test at The Oval on August 17.
“It is going to take time,” Woolmer told The News. “It is not likely that he would be able to play in the third Test and I would consider Shoaib lucky if he plays in the last Test. People should understand that Shoaib has had serious injury problems and has been out of international cricket for quite a long while. He would need more time to get fit enough to play for Pakistan. We have plans for Shoaib to play in the local league but such games are still at least 14 days away.”
Abbas Zaidi, the Pakistan board director, had earlier told Reuters that Shoaib had had a meeting with the team physiotherapist and trainer in England and they reported he was physically strong now and looking good for a comeback in a week’s time.
Shoaib is currently working with Warwickshire as he continues his rehabilitation and is expected to play a couple of games for them before his international return. He has been sidelined since February when he underwent a knee operation in Australia before a reoccurrence of his ankle problem caused him to miss the first Test at Lord’s.
© Cricinfo](“http://img.cricinfo.com/spacer.gif”)
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Is Monty for the future or not?
Scyld Berry in the Sunday Telegraph suggests that England are sending mixed signals to Monty Panesar, while dampening the myth that Panesar is a genuine No. 11:In the previous Test, the third against Sri Lanka, Monty Panesar scored 26 off only 28 balls at No 11. Panesar swept Muttiah Muralitharan for four and six, and when he eased Lasith Malinga through midwicket for three you could tell he had spent some of last winter at Darren Lehmann’s academy in Adelaide. Now if England had wanted to integrate Panesar into their side, to give him encourage-ment, to tell him he has a long-term future, they would have promoted him in the first Test - his seventh in all - against Pakistan. And they didn’t. Matthew Hoggard batted at No 9, even though he had a right hand with six stitches in it and has passed 20 only three times in his entire career of 55 Tests.
…]
By typecasting Panesar as a No 11, England have made plain that he is in the Test team on a temporary basis, almost on sufferance, a stand-in for Ashley Giles. Giles is the better cricketer, but the Sky commentary team almost to a man said last week that Panesar is the better bowler. Given some promotion, Panesar could turn into a capable tailender; Giles, after all, reached 20 only once in his first nine Tests.
SOURCE: http://blogs.cricinfo.com/surfer/archives/2006/07/is_monty_for_th.php
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Run them out!
Mike Atherton tries hard to find the problem areas of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq.To get an insider's view on the weaknesses of Inzamam and Yousuf I asked Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan opening batsman and now commentator, how best to dismiss these two batsmen. He thought for a while and then said 'run them out'. The problem for England is that I'm sure he was being serious.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
*The tape ball's role in Pakistan cricket
*
"Non first-class cricket in Pakistan has been played with a tape ball in every galli (lane) and rural field for 20 years," writes Osman Samiuddin in The Guardian. "Parallel to this period has been an assembly line of fast bowlers, able to extract reverse swing almost on demand."
Until Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones last summer, old cricket balls were mostly useful in Pakistani hands. Explanations for reverse swing came within quotation marks, accompanied by winks and nods - "working hard on the ball" or "rough outfields help" mostly meant "show me a finger nail/bottle top and I'll show you a collapse". Last summer reverse swing became a science. Vindicated Pakistanis blustered. They might also have pondered the role of the tape ball - a tennis ball covered with electrical tape.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
TrueLies Bhai, thanks for providing the Monty article. Pretty decent read, it was.
Could you also please quote the source for the one excerpted above on the topic of tape ball cricket in Pakistan? I would like to read the entire article, if I may.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
At your service Dhobi Bhai! :Salute:
Hereis the source of this article titled **Pakistan’s quicks get into the swing with tennis balls and electrical tape 
**
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Thank you, once again. Lovely article, this one was especially. Read it with keen interest.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Apart from the return of Younis Khan it is unlikely too many changes will be made after just one Test. If there are any more injuries - and that is hardly unlikely over this summer - who knows. Wasim Bari, chief selector, confirmed to Cricinfo that no requests had been made by the team management for any back-up or replacements. “We have told them just to inform us if they feel they require a certain player but at the moment nothing has been said.”
Arafat to the rescue? (CricInfo)
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!! Shoaib to be ‘yard quicker’
From correspondents in London
July 25, 2006
PAKISTAN paceman Shoaib Akhtar has vowed to bowl faster than ever if he recovers in time for the third Test with England later this month.
Shoaib, who has been sidelined with knee and ankle injuries for months, has been ruled out of the first two Tests, but has been working around the clock in an effort to regain match fitness.
And the Pakistan ace is optimistic that he may be ready to make his return at Headingley on August 3, predicting he will be as quick as ever if he gets the all-clear.
“I’ve worked really hard for this series,” he said. "I wanted to start right against England. I worked hard but I tried to do too much too early and I got a couple of niggles.
“I think I will be a yard quicker when I do come back. I hope to bowl a yard quicker in this series and if I get some good match practice I’ll be right up there. I’m not going to get slower, trust me!”
Shoaib has not played since appearing in the first Test with India at Karachi in February.
He said his long-standing ankle problem is improving steadily.
"The ankle is good, it’s recovering. I’ve bowled around three or four times with the full run-up and that’s been no problem.
“Everything I do is calculated and we’re not taking any chances. We have a long, tough year ahead of us, so we’ve been very sensible.”
Shoaib’s rehabilitation has been assisted by an offer from Warwickshire, where Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer still has contacts, to train with it. He has done that for more than a week and is hopeful of getting some league cricket under his belt.
“If it was up to me than I could play tomorrow for Pakistan,” said Shoaib, who grabbed 17 wickets during England’s 2-0 Test series defeat in Pakistan before Christmas.
“I love playing for my country and I love being out there and it’s very frustrating watching my team play on television.”
SOURCE: http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19904224-23212,00.html
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Will we be able to see him bowl in the current test series? Only time will tell 
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Arafat is not a bad idea, especially given the likes of Sami, Nazir and Rao.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Rao Iftikhar leaves squad after father’s death](http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/engvpak/content/current/story/254387.html)
Rao Iftikhar Anjum, the Pakistan fast bowler, has returned home mid-way through Pakistan’s tour of England after hearing news of his father’s death on Sunday.
Zaheer Abbas, Pakistan team manager, said that the entire Pakistani squad was saddened by the death of Rao’s father and the management made hectic efforts to send the player back to his home town.
Rao came to England as a replacement for the injured Mohammad Asif. He did not play the first Test at Lord’s in which Pakistan played Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul but took two wickets in Pakistan’s seven-wicket win in the tour match against Northamptonshire. Zaheer said that Pakistan would not be asking for any replacement for Rao.
“Almost everybody who can be in the Pakistan team is here and if any such player is not already with us, that means he is injured. I mean, we don’t have anybody left to try out any more,” said Zaheer.
Pakistan decided against net practice at Old Trafford on Monday in a bid to give their players some much-needed rest ahead of the second Test starting on Thursday. “Some of our players needed more rest so we have decided to have the nets tomorrow,” said Zaheer. “The boys have now fully settled down. Players like Younis Khan, who faced injury problems earlier on this tour, are now completely fit and looking forward to play in the next Test.”
Younis did not play in the Lord’s Test because of a knee injury he sustained earlier this month. Zaheer said Abdul Razzaq, who suffered from a minor back problem on the final day of the Lord’s Test, was also almost completely fit and would take part in the nets session on Tuesday.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Sad departure, nobody here wanted him in the team, but surely that wasn’t the desired exit. May Allah swt help him and family overcome the loss.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
I am wondering if we need to open a new thread dedicated to injured players
and news regarding them:hoonh:
OK I am not wasting 3 extra posts for these 3 updates
Plunkett added to England injury list
Liam Plunkett has been ruled out of the second and third Tests against Pakistan after picking up a side strain bowling for Durham against West Indies A last week. There is also a doubt as to whether he will be available for the final Test, at The Oval, but England are hopeful he will be fit for the five-match one-day series.
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/254404.html
Afridi injury scare for Pakistan
Shahid Afridi gave Pakistan a fresh fitness scare after he was injured in the nets at Old Trafford, just 48 hours ahead of the second Test against England.
Afridi, whose hard hitting and handy legspin makes him the premier allrounder in the Pakistan team, was struck on the upper part of his right elbow by a member of the Lancashire groundstaff. He then had ice treatment and strapping applied and didn’t bowl in the nets.
“Afridi has a bruised elbow but he should be OK in the next two days,” said Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach. “It’s a hard ball game and such things often happen. He’s a tough Pathan and he’ll be OK.”
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/254443.html
Naved-ul-Hasan not to undergo surgery
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan fast bowler, is suffering from inflamed bone symphis and not groin injury as was earlier diagnosed when he was forced to return home before the first Test against England at Lord’s got underway.
Dr Meesaq Rizvi, a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Medical Commission, said that Naved-ul-Hasan would not need surgery and was hopeful that he would be fit for either the fourth Test or the start of the one-day series.
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/engvpak/content/current/story/254388.html
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
A very sad news indeed. May Allah bless his soul!
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Pakistan seek killer punch as 2nd Test begins today
MANCHESTER: The first Test between England and Pakistan resembled a bout between slow-moving, soft-punching heavyweights. Neither ever looked likely to land a knock-out blow. Old Trafford may serve up more of the same – plenty of runs and not enough wickets – when the second Test begins on Thursday.
Andrew Strauss’s England certainly look short of the firepower required to twice dislodge Pakistan’s talented batting line-up. English fans spent most of the past week praying for the rapid return of captain and all rounder Andrew Flintoff to add bite to the bark, but he is now heading back for another ankle operation and three more months on the sidelines. To add to Strauss’s problems, fast-medium bowler Liam Plunkett was also ruled out with a side strain on Tuesday.
Pakistan are also hampered by injuries, with strike bowlers Rana Navedul Hasan missing the entire tour (groin) and Shoaib Akhtar still unfit after a stress fracture. All-rounder Abdul Razzaq is also complaining of a sore back though he is expected to play. The return of a batsman rather than a bowler, however, may yet tip the advantage their way in Manchester. Younis Khan, apart from being a perfect foil for Inzamamul Haq and Mohammad Yousuf at the top of the Pakistan batting order, is a specialist slip fielder.
Had he played in the first Test, he would surely have held on to a string of catches that Pakistan shelled in that position to allow England to post 528 for nine declared in the first innings.
Ultimately the Manchester pitch, which is expected to offer good pace and bounce, will hold as big an influence on the result as it did in the opening game. Another true and durable surface would suggest the bat again dominating the ball. One double century and four individual centuries were scored on a baked hard Lord’s pitch. If confidence counts for anything, though, then the money should be on Pakistan.
History books: Whatever they say in public, the tourists will be delighted that Flintoff will not be running in at them at Old Trafford. They will also be upbeat after saving the first Test by batting out the final day so comfortably. Then there are the history books. Pakistan last lost a series in England in 1982 and have won three of the last four.
England, in contrast, look short on self-belief. They failed to go for the jugular at Lord’s, with Strauss clearly distrusting an attack that let him down in the recent one-dayers against Sri Lanka. The inclusion in the squad of Jamie Dalrymple – a solid batsman who bowls tidy off spin – also smacks of conservatism rather than boldness and is hardly likely to keep Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer awake at night.
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh told the Independent newspaper in the build-up to Old Trafford that England had lost their momentum since the 2005 Ashes. It is an observation which could just as easily have come from a man with a white stick and a labrador than from a player with 10,927 runs. Waugh also argued they had mislaid their “killer instinct” and reverted to their “old bad habits”. In truth, though, England have lost killer players.
At the same ground against Australia last year, Michael Vaughan made 166 in the first innings and pace bowler Simon Jones took six for 53. Flintoff added four for 71 in the second. All three are now long-term onlookers. It is hard to imagine their trio of replacements serving up anything of such high quality this time.
England squad: Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Geraint Jones, Matthew Hoggard, Stephen Harmison, Monty Panesar, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Jamie Dalrymple.
Pakistan (probable): Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamamul Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria. reuters
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\07\27\story_27-7-2006_pg2_1
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
*Not to recall Mushtaq is a unanimous decision: Woolmer
*
MANCHESTER: The Pakistan team management decided against bringing back seasoned spinner Mushtaq Ahmed for the second Test against England after a meeting on Tuesday night.
The Pakistan cricket team coach Bob Woolmer said that it was a unanimous decision not to recall Mushtaq and stick with the 15 players available to the management for the Old Trafford Test.
“All decisions we take here are based on a consensus,” he said when asked whether it was his decision to avoid the temptation of selecting Mushtaq in the playing line-up.
However, Woolmer pointed out that Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has a free hand in selecting the final playing eleven for any match.
Mushtaq was in line for a Test recall in the absence of several front line bowlers.
Some of the team officials including manager Zaheer Abbas have been strongly supporting the idea of bringing back the leg spinner for the second Test following Pakistanís unimpressive bowling display in the opening Test at Lord’s.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
Left-out Mushtaq wishes good luck to Pakistan
MANCHESTER: Veteran leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed wished good luck to his former teammates in the Pakistan team and tipped them to beat England in the second Test beginning here at Old Trafford from today.
In a conversation with ëThe Newsí here, Mushtaq did not sound disappointed after the Pakistan team management ignored him for the Test and said he would be a happy man if Pakistan went to win the match even in his absence. “It doesnít matter if I play or not,” he said. “What matters more is that our team should win here.”
On an Old Trafford wicket that is expected to assist spinners at least on the last couple of days, many thought Mushtaq could be a match winner for Pakistan. Pakistan, playing without some of their front line seamers, were unable to bowl out England in either innings at Lordís in the opening Test and that fact also added weight to speculations that Pakistan would recall Mushtaq.
But in the end, a decision was made and it didnít go in the bowlerís favour.
Is he disappointed? “Not really,” said Mushtaq. “I had some expectations after learning that the team management was considering me for Old Trafford. Obviously I would have loved to play but my prayers are with the Pakistan team,” he revealed.
Mushtaq believes that leg spinner Danish Kaneria would be an important man for Pakistan in the Test. “I believe Danish bowled really well at Lordís. He was a bit unlucky there. I am sure that the way he bowls and because he is so hard working, Danish is going to be more successful at Old Trafford where the wicket would suit him better than Lordís,” he said.
Mushtaq also had a word of praise for Shahid Afridi. “He bowled with a lot of heart and I am expecting him to take a few wickets in the second Test,” he added.
Mushtaq advised Pakistanís spin duo against getting intimidated by the England batsmen on a wicket that might produce some runs. “Iíve heard that the wicket at Old Trafford is bouncy. A spinner has less margin of error on such wickets and he might give away some runs. I would suggest that if that does happen then Danish and Afridi should not lose heart. They are bound to get wickets if they hang on long enough,” he told.
Mushtaq rates Pakistan as a better team than England. “Even with so many of our key bowlers missing, Pakistan are still a very strong team. We just need to click and I am sure that our players would go home victorious from here,” he wished Pakistan ahead of the Test match.
He may not be playing for Pakistan, but Mushtaq would be in action today when he takes the field at Edgbaston for Sussex in a county game against Warwickshire. “I would be playing a match myself but would keep listening to whatís happening at Old Trafford during the day,” he told.
Re: PAK in ENG (2006) - Media Coverage Center - Post articles here
*Najaf Shah hopes to impress selectors for national chance
*
MANCHESTER: Lanky left-arm pace bowler Najaf Shah was called in to bowl here at the nets by the Pakistan team management on Tuesday.
The six feet four inches Najaf Shah, who always finds it hard to earn a place on the Pakistan team mainly due to lack of required backing, was the most impressive of the bowlers at the nets.
“Despite being among the top performers in Pakistan domestic competition I fail to earn a place on the team. I do not know why. I did all to impress Pakistan selectors but still is waiting for the chance,” Najaf who took eight wickets in a side match against England last winter at Pindi Stadium said.
Najaf is one of a few bowlers in Pakistan domestic level who has the height and speed required to make a name in international cricket.
“I am engaged in league cricket here and was declared the best bowler in Lancashire county for the second successive year. Still I fail to get the selectors’ backing,” he said.
Najaf said whenever he inquires about not being able to get a chance on the team, the officials accompanying teams blame selectors for negligence. “I do not know why the selectors are against my selection. What else I have to prove to get selected,” he said.
Najaf who plays for Rawalpindi and PIA in Pakistan domestic cricket has taken 86 wickets in all competitions last year.
“My name was there on the probables list for the Pakistan A team tour to Australia. However, I was dropped in favour of another left-arm bowler who picked up less than half of my tally in domestic cricket,” he said.
Najaf, however, was optimistic the day was not far away when he would be given opportunity to show his skills.