Rehman to miss Canada match
Misbah also a doubt with hamstring strain
Re: World Cup 2011 News - Rehman to miss Canada match
Hope they both recover till the next big match and as far as match against Canada is concerned Wahab and Junaid should be tried
Re: World Cup 2011 News - Rehman to miss Canada match
**KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has carried out a scrutiny of the Australia and Zimbabwe World Cup match played in Ahmedabad after Australian openers, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin batted slowly in the first 10 overs.
The two openers scored just 28 in 11 overs and 53 in 15 overs in a match that Australia eventually won comfortably but the slow rate of scoring in the first two overs was scrutinized by the ICC anti-corruption and security unit.
Sources aware of developments said the ICC ACSU had carried out a quiet review of the match after questions were raised over the slow start taken by Watson and Haddin.
With the specter of spot-fixing now looming over international cricket following the bans on three Pakistani players for spot-fixing last year on the England tour, sources said the ICC ASCU was keeping a vigilant eye on all matches in the World Cup and the slow start by the Australian openers caught their attention.
“They are taking no chances at all and all matches are under the scanner for possible indications that any spot-fixing has taken place,” one source said.
Australian team coach Tim Nielsen has defended his openers saying they played slowly according to the situation.
“I thought they played well in game one. Everyone had this perception that they went slowly. But if Zimbabwe were going to be competitive against us, they needed to take early wickets with their spinners. We’re playing the way we think is the right way to play,” said Nielsen after the match.
Pakistan former Test captain, Rashid Latif has already expressed fears that the format of the World Cup has opened a window for bookmakers to try to corrupt players in the tournament since most of the top teams are certain to make the all-important quarterfinals from the group matches stage.
In spot-fixing bookmakers take bets on particular moments and stages of a match for example how many runs would be scored by a team in five overs or after ten overs and so on or in a certain over how many runs will be scored or if it will be a maiden.
Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were hauled up after being found guilty of deliberately bowling no-balls during the fourth Test against England at Lord’s last year.
Plenty of fuss was also raised over the India and England match after former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne correctly tweeted seven hours before the start of the match that it would be a tie.
England skipper Andrew Strauss claimed that Warne had shown he was a cricket genius with his correct prediction but others also observed that it was strange how one could predict a tie so early before a match.
Pakistan’s former captain, Moin Khan said the Warne tweet could have been just a hunch but felt it had raised questions by many people.
Pakistan’s Test pacer, Sohail Tanvir said on Geo Super that the ICC needed to keep a close eye on all matches of the World Cup as it was a megaevent and a big attraction for bookmakers in the sub-continent.
Pakistan’s former captain, Aamir Sohail rued that if any Pakistani or Indian player had made the same tweet about having a tied match lot of hue and cry would have been raised in the western media by now.
“But since this prediction comes from an Australian player it is declared a stroke of genius,” he added.
Read more: ICC probes Australia-Zimbabwe World Cup match - The Times of India ICC probes Australia-Zimbabwe World Cup match | New Zealand in India 2016 News - The Times of India
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Re: World Cup 2011 News - Rehman to miss Canada match
Allrounder keen to bat up the order | Rehman to miss Canada match
Re: World Cup 2011 News - Rehman to miss Canada match
^ Razzaq should be happy that he is in the team. With current batting form or Pakistan middle order, I'd drop him and bring in a specialist bowler (Junaid or Wahab). As far as I know wahab can swing the bat to get 10-15 runs towards the end, I am not sure about Junaid.
Re: World Cup 2011 News - Rehman to miss Canada match
‘Chasing at Premadasa no longer difficult’
**Mahela Jayawardene on the defeat to Pakistan, chasing under lights at the Premadasa and Sri Lanka's middle-order options**
[Mahela Jayawardene](http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/503673.html#)
March 1, 2011
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On pitches favourable for batting, Lasith Malinga gives Sri Lanka a strong attacking option © AFP
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Players/Officials: Mahela Jayawardene
Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup
Teams: Sri Lanka
We always knew the game [against Pakistan](http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/engine/match/433567.html) was going to be a good contest. It was going to be tough for the quick bowlers on that track, especially during the day when it was flat and not doing much. We weren't disciplined enough in the execution of our plans in the first 10 to 15 overs. We gave away quite a few easy boundaries, so that is an area we will definitely address.
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq are two experienced players and they built the Pakistan innings after the loss of three wickets. They steadied the innings, didn’t take too many risks and set it up nicely for the big hitters down the order. But our spinners did well and the seamers came back strongly in the latter part of the innings, not allowing those big hitters to flourish.
Where we lost it was with the bat. Losing those three wickets in quick time - Tillakaratne Dilshan, myself and Thilan Samaraweera for 8 - probably cost us. Shahid Afridi bowled really well during that middle period, taking four wickets, and that spell proved crucial. We tried to build the innings through Chamara Silva and Kumar Sangakkara, and the lower order had a good run, but we left it too late. With the required-rate creeping over 10, it was going to be tough but in the end we fell short by just 11 runs, so there were some positives we could take out from the game.
Chasing under lights at the Premadasa is no longer that difficult. The floodlights were one of the reasons teams struggled to chase at night at the ground, as they couldn’t pick the ball on occasion. Since the revamp, with new lights and a re-laid track, things have certainly eased out. Earlier, teams used to have difficulty chasing even 220 but now the toss is not going to play a major factor unless the track deteriorates drastically. But, nevertheless, to chase under lights, once a team puts a score up on the board, there’s going to be pressure. That’s the only scenario to be worried about but the other elements are not a factor anymore.
We’re only going to get batting-friendly pitches this tournament. The only way going forward will be to try and control the batsmen. To do that, you need to have attacking options in your armoury. The Australians are playing to their strengths, using pace as a means of attack. They might flourish in certain conditions, in others they might not. The important thing is to have bowlers who can pick up wickets, particularly when the tracks are flat and it’s easy to score 300. We’re hoping for Lasith Malinga to get back into his stride, with that we’ll have enough bowling options in the side to pick up wickets.
With our batting, we’re trying to establish a rhythm. Chamara Silva missed out in the first game because he had a family bereavement a few days earlier, and we gave him a week off. He’s been a big part of the middle order and was part of the last World Cup, that experience is vital for us going forward. It’s good to have him back and score some runs against Pakistan. Angelo Mathews - when and how we’re going to use him in the batting line-up - is also going to be a key factor. Samaraweera brings solidity to our middle order. There is, of course, Chamara Kapugedera, and there’s the option of him coming in depending on whom we’re playing and what kind of tactics we use for different opposition. It’s a settled middle order - it hasn’t really had much opportunity because the top order has been getting a bulk of the runs. I do hope that when they get that opportunity, they’ll come to the party and have a good workout.
Against Kenya, we just need to play to our strengths. We did that against Canada as well. That’ll be the main focus, rather than worry about anything else.
Mahela Jayawardene is former captain of Sri Lanka
Re: World Cup 2011 News - Rehman to miss Canada match
Not an issue - ajmal is there and Abdur Rehman is not indispensable. Only difference is the his batting over Saeed ajmal and the hyped up fielding skills. Otherwise Saeed is a better strike bowler with his doosra as well.
As for Misbah, I think its good to rest him and actually play a game without him so that Pakistan does not become so reliant on always having him there at no. 5
He should be back for the matches after this one coming up against Canada.