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Rashid Latif, has admitted he claimed a catch against Bangladesh batsman Alok Kapali in Multan in 2003 even though he knew he hadn’t taken it cleanly

Cricinfo staff11-Nov-2009Former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper, Rashid Latif, has admitted he claimed a catch against Bangladesh batsman Alok Kapali in Multan in 2003 even though he knew he hadn’t taken it cleanly, according to media reports. Pakistan went on to win the Test by a slender one-wicket margin but Latif, then the captain, was banned for five games by the match referee for that incident.Bangladesh were in a strong position in the third Test, having taken a first-innings lead of 106, and were 91 for 5 in the second innings when Kapali edged medium-pacer Yasir Ali to the wicketkeeper. Latif appeared to pull off a spectacular take flying in front of first slip but television replays showed the ball popping out of his gloves as he got up from the floor after rolling over twice.”I dived to my right to take a Kapali nick. The ball dropped from my gloves as I rolled over but quickly picked it up from the ground before claiming it as a clean catch,” Latif told , a Bangladesh television channel.Pakistan went on to win the Test thanks largely to Inzamam-ul-Haq, who scored an unbeaten 138, during the chase of 261. Latif was subsequently found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct by match referee Mike Procter and was banned for five ODIs.At the time, however, Latif had said he had taken the catch cleanly. “If I had been convinced that I had not taken a clean catch and that the ball popped out of my gloves before I completed the catch motion, I would have called the batsman back,” he said then. “I dived, took the catch, rolled over and then just threw the ball to Inzamam.”Latif, who stepped down as Pakistan captain following the series, is currently in Dhaka to attend a Level III coaching course conducted by the Asian Cricket Council and Cricket Australia in collaboration with the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMitchell Marsh’s 92 could not stop Western Australia from falling to defeat•Getty Images

Luke Butterworth’s half-century ensured the first day-nighter at Bellerive Oval ended in a valuable win for Tasmania. Butterworth’s 63 and 32 for Jason Krejza dragged their side to 6 for 194 as they passed Western Australia’s 9 for 193 with 10 balls to spare.The chase was tough for the Tigers after the opener Tim Paine’s return from a broken finger ended on 10 when he glanced behind off Ashley Noffke. The captain George Bailey (6) was caught at midwicket from a miscue and when Travis Birt was given out to a faint edge behind it was 4 for 69.Ed Cowan’s cautious 44 off 81 helped in his 54-run stand with Butterworth, who continued to build his innings. Butterworth, who also earned two wickets, showed his composure in partnership with the more aggressive Krejza as they sealed the win.Mitchell Marsh displayed more maturity than his 18 years as he out-performed his team-mates with 92 off 117 deliveries after the Warriors won the toss. Without Marsh the side would have wiped out, but he stood up and collected eight fours and a six in the important contribution.Shaun Marsh, Mitchell’s older brother, and Luke Ronchi each made 39 while the rest of the order couldn’t move above single figures. Gerard Denton chipped in at the end to pick up 3 for 27 while Brett Geeves was responsible for some of the damage at the top with 3 for 42.

The USACA has announced the squads for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and World Cricket League Division 5 tournaments in Dubai, UAE and Nepal

Cricinfo staff06-Jan-2010The USA Cricket Association has announced the squads for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and World Cricket League Division 5 tournaments in Dubai, UAE and Nepal.In Dubai, USA will have practice sessions at the Sharja Stadium on February 4 and 5, before a practice match at the Abu Dhabi Stadium on February 6. Another practice session is scheduled for February 8, before the round-robin matches in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier begins in Dubai on February 9, 10 and 11, with the semi-finals and final on February 12 and 13.The squad will leave Dubai for Nepal on February 14 and have three days of practice, before participating in World Cricket League round-robin matches from February 20 to 27. They will leave Nepal two days later for the journey back home, arriving in New York on March 1.This is one of the first times that the USA will have its men’s senior team and its Under-19 squad participating in back-to-back international tournaments outside of the USA. The USA Under-19 squad is currently in New Zealand preparing to participate in the ICC Under-19 World Cup and is expected to return home at the end of this month.USA Squad Steve Massiah (capt), Timroy Allen, Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Kevin Darlington, Sudesh Dhaniram, Glen Hall, Rashard Marshall, Sushil Nadkarni, Usman Shuja, Aditya Thyagarajan, Saurabh Verma, Clain Williams and Carl Wright.

Afghanistan seized the initiative on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup game against Ireland at Dambulla, reaching 263 for 3 at stumps with Shabir Noori, on 44 not out, and Mohammad Shahzad, unbeaten on 60 from only 62 balls, holding firm.

Cricinfo staff22-Jan-2010
Scorecard
Afghanistan seized the initiative on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup game against Ireland at Dambulla, reaching 263 for 3 at stumps with Shabir Noori, on 44 not out, and Mohammad Shahzad, unbeaten on 60 from only 62 balls, holding firm.The pair came together with the game finely balanced at 178 for 3, and added 85 in just under 20 overs to wrest the ascendancy back from Ireland after Andre Botha had ended Noori and captain Nowroz Mangal’s 105-run partnership. Mangal had looked set for a maiden first-class hundred before he edged Botha through to Niall O’Brien behind the stumps to depart for 84.Afghanistan had made a good start to their innings earlier, with Karim Sadiq and Noor Ali putting together 72 before Gary Kidd and Peter Connell struck in quick succession to remove both openers and leave Afghanistan wobbling at 74 for 2. Ireland had to wait 33 overs for their next breakthrough, however, with Noori and Mangal obstinate at the crease.The highlight of the morning was John Mooney’s unbeaten 58, which broke his duck after he had failed to score in his first two first-class innings. Ireland had resumed at 324 for 7, and were soon eight wickets down as legspinner Samiullah Shenwari snapped up Trent Johnston to claim his fourth scalp of the innings. Kidd scratched around for 18 balls before edging Hameed Hasan, but Connell was more enterprising, cracking four boundaries in his 18 before having his stumps rattled by Shapoor Zadran. His tenacious 66-run partnership with Mooney, who accumulated runs steadily at the other end, carried Ireland past 400, which had looked like a sterling effort.The Irish badly need a victory in this game after drawing against Kenya and Scotland, but that is looking increasingly unlikely with Afghanistan making a fist of things today to build a foundation for a massive first innings total.

Hamid Hassan is still soaking up the achievements of the weekend when he helped Afghanistan qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 as they won the qualifying event in Dubai

Andrew McGlashan15-Feb-2010Hamid Hassan is still soaking up the achievements of the weekend when he helped Afghanistan qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 as they won the qualifying event in Dubai. Hassan, one of the team’s key bowlers, played a leading role in the triumph with a tournament haul of 12 wickets at 11.14, including 3 for 14 in the Super Fours victory against USA, and has since been savouring the messages of congratulation on his blog and Facebook page.While events in Afghanistan are making the news headlines as coalition forces launch a huge offensive against the Taliban, the cricketer’s success a few hours away in the Middle East gave much-need opportunity for some joy. The trophy, which was secured with a thumping eight-wicket victory against Ireland, capped a remarkable rise through the cricket ranks for a side that two years ago were playing in Division Five of the World Cricket League. In March last year they narrowly missed out qualifying for the 2011 World Cup although did enough to earn ODI status and this time ensured they didn’t pull up short of the main prize.”I’ve got a lot of messages on my Facebook fan page and have lots of calls from back home,” Hassan told Cricinfo from Sharjah, where the team are now preparing for one-day internationals against Canada. “Everyone was very happy and when we won the final two nights ago they all came out onto the road and celebrated all night until about three or four in the morning. Everyone is waiting for us to go home so we can celebrate together.”It’s a dream come true for us and a fantastic achievement for Afghanistan so all the people at home are very happy and are waiting for us to come back to Afghanistan,” he added. “Nobody knows about Afghanistan for sports so this is a good step for us to get a title and qualify for the World Cup to play against sides like India and South Africa. Everyone is happy and just wanted to celebrate.”And taking on two of the strongest sides in the world holds no fears for Hassan who is eager to pit his skills against the likes of Virender Sehwag. “I’ll try my best to get him out and hope he doesn’t get many runs against us,” he said.Afghanistan’s story is so remarkable that anything now seems possible for this group of players who have defied huge odds to sit among the top table. Hassan’s ambitions certainly hold no bounds and having fulfilled one dream of reaching the Caribbean he also hopes to be able to continue his career overseas, either in England or the IPL.”I’d love to play county cricket in England and I’m always looking for a chance,” he said. “Or if I get a chance in the IPL I’ll do my best. If I play for a county I’d want it to be with Lancashire because Andrew Flintoff plays for them and he’s my favourite player.”Hassan bowled to Flintoff in the nets at Lord’s while he was an MCC Young Cricketer, but although the England allrounder now lives in Dubai Hassan didn’t have the chance to meet his hero. However, he hopes that in the near future Flintoff will be able to watch an Afghanistan match.”I met him when I was with MCC and practised with him for four days at Lord’s. I bowled at him and he was a very good guy,” Hassan said. “He’s a very nice and a cool man. I’d love to have met him in Dubai but I couldn’t find time out to go and see him and also he didn’t have time to come and see how the Afghanistan team were playing. I wish he would come and see us play.”While he is still idolising Flintoff, Hassan himself is rapidly becoming a national hero back home and hopes to inspire a new generation of Afghanistan cricketers with, Hassan believes, the promise of a better life.”We have had a very short period of cricket but have had a big achievement for the country so lots of players are coming through in the Under-10 and Under-11 age groups,” he said. “They are now playing cricket on the streets, roads and everywhere. People are loving cricket now and I hope after that we have a good future for our youngsters.”

Cricinfo previews the two Twenty20 Internationals between Pakistan and England in Dubai

Sahil Dutta and Liam Brickhill18-Feb-2010

Match facts

February 19 and 20 2010
Start time 1800 (1400 GMT)Umar Akmal has the bold approach to perfectly suit the Twenty20 generation•Getty Images

Big Picture

While the tentacles of Twenty20 cricket wrap ever more firmly around the world game, Pakistan meet England in a hastily arranged two-match series that will show just where the two sides lie ahead of the World Twenty20 which starts at the end of April in the Caribbean.Coming off the back of success in the 50-over series against South Africa, there are flickering signs that England’s new gung-ho approach to the shorter format can bear fruit. Yet there is a lingering suspicion that, while their batting has depth, it lacks the match-winning class of someone like Yuvraj Singh in this format. However, Kevin Pietersen possesses an ability that can inspire and frustrate in equal measure and in Eoin Morgan they have one of the brightest prospects in limited-overs cricket.It’s their bowling that looks more vulnerable, lacking decisive pace for the slower wickets in Dubai. You feel Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright may lack the variety and bite to threaten a free-hitting Pakistan team. It’s the spinners, however, who have proved crucial in Twenty20 cricket and Graeme Swann is one of the best in the business.For their part, Pakistan desperately need a positive result from these games after their drubbing in Australia. With the World Twenty20 just over two months away, the repercussions of the disastrous Australian tour are still being felt. Kamran Akmal, vice-captain in Australia, has been dropped, and his comments to the press ahead of the Hobart Test are being investigated by a board evaluation committee.They are also currently without a chief selector, Iqbal Qasim having stood down, and travelled to Dubai without Coach Intikhab Alam, who has been summoned instead to answer questions over the rout in Australia. Their captain, Shahid Afridi, is in the midst of a two-match ban for ball tampering, and significant changes have been made to the squad which toured Australia.Obviously, there is a great deal of work to do if Pakistan are to successfully defend their World Twenty20 title in the West Indies, and though their form in this format has been good in recent times, these games provide a vital chance to build stability and find some confidence ahead of the tournament. Much will depend on how quickly the squad can get past the squabbles which arose in Australia, and gel as a unit.

Form guide (last 5 T20Is, most recent first)

Pakistan LWWWWEngland LWLWL

Watch out for

Umar Akmal, still not yet 20, is a precocious talent whose rapidly-rising stock has already given an indication of his importance to the future of Pakistan’s batting. Possessed with aggression, fearlessness, and good technique, he has constructed significant innings in all three formats, and it is hard to believe he has only been playing international cricket for less than eight months. Akmal was the leading run-scorer in the one-day series whitewash in Australia, with 187 runs at 37.40, including two half-centuries. He was last man out as Pakistan choked in the solitary Twenty20 of that series, but the last time he played at Dubai’s International Cricket Stadium he made a match-winning 56 not out against New Zealand on a difficult pitch.If England’s new-found flair for limited-over batting could be attributed to a single factor, Eoin Morgan is probably it. Known for dexterous flicks and reverse sweeps, it’s his crisp hitting and uncluttered approach that has impressed most in his short England career. On the slower pitches in Dubai, his ability to find the boundary will be crucial for an England side that has a history of choking against good spin bowlers. His most dominating performances have come while setting a total but England may also need him to deliver in a run chase if they are to overcome the World Champions.

Team news

Pakistan are a side in turmoil. In addition to the dropping of Kamran Akmal and Intikhab Alam’s absence on this tour, Shahid Afridi is serving a two-match ban for the ‘ball-biting’ incident during the fifth ODI in Perth, which will keep him out of the first match. With Mohammad Asif still banned from entering the UAE, and uncertainty over Mohammad Aamer’s recovery from the groin injury that ruled him out of the last three ODIs and the Twenty20 in Australia, one of either Yasir Arafat, Wahab Riaz or Mohammad Talha could play.Pakistan: (probable) 1 Imran Nazir, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Umar Akmal, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt), 5 Khalid Latif/Shahid Afridi, 6 Fawad Alam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Yasir Arafat, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Saeed AjmalHaving watched Joe Denly falter again against the Lions, England would have been tempted to test Craig Kieswetter at the top of the order, after he completed a four-year qualification period on Tuesday. Yet it would be too much of a snub to the selected squad and captain Paul Collingwood confirmed he was backing Denly to come good with Jonathan Trott in the opening berth. With James Anderson resting his knee in Lancashire England’s pace bowling will be led by Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom but Graeme Swann will remain their linchpin.England: (probable) 1 Jonathan Trott, 2 Joe Denly, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Ryan Sidebottom.

Pitch and conditions

With both of these games day-night fixtures the players will at least avoid competing in the desert city at its hottest. Nevertheless we can expect shirt-soaking temperatures and a dry surface unlikely to offer much interest to the fast bowlers.

Stats and Trivia

• Paul Collingwood has a perfectly inconsistent record as Twenty20 captain, winning eight and losing eight from 16 completed matches in charge.
• Pakistan have an unblemished record in Twenty20s at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, having beaten Australia and New Zealand at the venue last year. Afridi, who will miss the first game against England, was Player of the Series against new Zealand.
• England and Pakistan have only played each other twice in Twenty20s, with both games played in England. Pakistan overcame England at Bristol in 2006, but England pulled one back in the midst of Pakistan’s successful run at the World Twenty20 last year, racking up an impressive 185 for 5 at The Oval to progress to the Super Eights.

Quotes

“It’s an opportunity to utilise the time before the World Twenty20. We have two matches against England and they are a good side. We have in our team some youngsters who are very talented and they are getting their opportunity. I’m hoping and I’m sure they will do well.””Pakistan are a very strong Twenty20 side and we’re going to have to be right on our game to beat them. It might be a good time to play them, but you never quite know what you’re going to get on the day so I think we’ve just got to concentrate on our own game and see what we get on the day.”
England captain Paul Collingwood tries his best to avoid the ‘mercurial’ cliché.

R Vinay Kumar removed Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu in one over to turn a cat-and-mouse game until then unmistakably Royal Challengers’ way, also taking them to the top of the table

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga20-Mar-2010
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outIt was one of the rare occasions when Vinay Kumar got the credit he rightfully deserved•Indian Premier League

R Vinay Kumar removed Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu in one over to turn what had been a cat-and-mouse game until then, unmistakably Royal Challengers’ way, also taking them to the top of the table. He benefited in part from the pressure created by his team-mates’ smart swing bowling, changes of pace, bouncers to Indian batsmen, and aggressive spin bowling by Anil Kumble. It was a fitting reversal of roles for a man used to being among the top wicket-takers in Indian domestic cricket, and then watching others steal the spotlight – not the least when his state-mate Abhimanyu Mithun made his international debut ahead of him after just one season of impressive numbers.There was no role reversal for Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey, though, who added 50-plus for the first wicket for the third time in a row to scythe through the target without breaking a sweat. Kallis tightened the orange cap around his head, taking his tournament tally to 264 undefeated runs, but Pandey missed a fifty after a good start for the third time in a row.The Bangalore openers will be the first ones to concede that the night belonged to their bowlers. Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn laid the foundation by controlling the rampaging batting line-up that had scored 200-plus in both their previous matches. Praveen, with his swing either side in his first over, sent the message that scoring wouldn’t be that easy against this attack, and Steyn in his first removed Sanath Jayasuriya with a quick outswinger.Then Bangalore resorted to the nasty plan that has worked effectively for them so far: bounce the Indian batsmen out. Aditya Tare square-cut a short delivery from Jacques Kallis immediately before lobbing a sharp bouncer. Saurabh Tiwary – two fifties in two innings before this – managed to muscle a few bouncers away, but never looked in control. Anil Kumble then got him with a loopy googly in the man-versus-boy contest. Vinay followed the bouncer theme, and got Rayudu at the start of that definitive over.While Bangalore had toyed around with other batsmen until then, at the other end Tendulkar was batting in a sphere of his own. He played the flick shot at will, and manipulated the on-side field, but in nine overs he had faced only 21 deliveries. The 22nd that he faced, he tried to flick again, moved too far across and exposed the leg stump. If this was a slightly lucky wicket for Vinay, there was no luck involved in the pin-point offcutter that removed Bravo two balls later. In 10 balls Mumbai had gone from 71 for 2 to 76 for 6, in 11 overs.R Sathish and Kieron Pollard had to be circumspect for the next few overs, to make sure they lasted the 20 overs. After a five-over wait, Pollard opened up, hitting Praveen for a six and a four in the 17th over, taking Mumbai to 123. In the 18th, though, Steyn hurt them further. If Pollard was a touch unfortunate in hitting a full toss straight to deep point, the sharp bouncer was too good for Sathish. The running, tumbling catch that Rahul Dravid took at midwicket capped a night of near-perfect fielding.Praveen, though, provided a blemish on a night of near-perfect bowling, giving Zaheer Khan length balls, which he hit for a six and two fours to take 16 off the last over, but 151 was still going to be hard to defend at a ground that hosted 212 v 208 last weekend.Not with predictable bowling at any rate. Both Bangalore openers started off cautiously in the first overs from Zaheer and Lasith Malinga. Certain that there was nothing on offer that they couldn’t handle, both of them attacked their second overs. It all went to an expected rhythm when Bravo and Pollard inside the Powerplay, as opposed to Harbhajan Singh. Their slower balls failed to surprise the batsmen, and their regulation pace was cannon fodder. By the end of Powerplay, Bangalore had reached 55. Pandey was 24, and Kallis, on 29, had already set his sights on another asterisk against his score.Thereafter it was just a stroll in the park for Bangalore, made breezier by some lusty hitting from Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli.

MCC will sponsor an international contest for the first time with the Twenty20 and Test series between Australia and Pakistan being played under their Spirit of Cricket branding

Cricinfo staff12-Apr-2010MCC will sponsor an international contest for the first time with the Twenty20 and Test series between Australia and Pakistan being played under their Spirit of Cricket branding.The neutral series is being staged in England to aid Pakistan who can’t play matches at home due to the security situation with Twenty20 games at Edgbaston and Tests at Lord’s and Headingley.”MCC is committed to the health of Test cricket, and by sponsoring the series and hosting the first Test, the club is supporting Pakistani cricket at a time when the country’s Test calendar has been decimated,” said Keith Bradshaw, the MCC chief executive. “We often speak about Tests being the pinnacle of the game – and we’re now acting to back up those words.”I believe that the club is breaking new ground in cricket by sponsoring two such exciting sides in both Test and Twenty20 formats with a not-for-profit campaign, aimed at improving awareness of the game’s cherished spirit and spreading that message as far and as wide as possible.””It is a very historic moment for PCB to enter into a unique relationship with MCC as sponsors of the Pakistan-Australia series,” said Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan chairman. The club has come forward to support this series wholeheartedly which speaks of their commitment towards cricket. I am hopeful that this relationship will further strengthen the ties between PCB and MCC.”Zakir Khan, the PCB’s director of cricket operations, said that the ultimate aim was for international cricket to return to Pakistan. “It’s very unfortunate that we haven’t played Test cricket for 14 months,” he said. “The passion is still there and we have a lot of youngsters coming up. We’re sustaining our domestic competitions and have a good four-day structure which is standing us in good stead. It’s unfortunate we’re not playing at home but hopefully the situation will improve and we’ll see Test cricket in Pakistan very soon.”MCC are also adding to their historic honours boards which are currently in the home and away dressing rooms at Lord’s to commemorate hundreds and five-wicket hauls. The club are now going to add a neutral honours board in the away dressing room to include achievements in matches such as the Australia-Pakistan series.In 1912 Charles Kelleway and Warren Bardsley scored centuries for Australia against South Africa in the last neutral Test held at the ground. They will be the first two names on the new neutral batting board.

West Indies women extended their winning run in the lead up to the World Twenty20 tournament, putting it past Pakistan by four wickets in a close scrap in St. Kitts on Monday

Cricinfo staff27-Apr-2010
Scorecard
West Indies women extended their winning run in the lead up to the World Twenty20 tournament, putting it past Pakistan by four wickets in a close scrap in St. Kitts on Monday.The hosts struggled to chase down Pakistan’s under-par score of 84, but middle-order batsmen Deandra Dottin and Stacy-Ann King struck calm 20s to ensure that that they prevailed with two balls to spare. Their contributions came after left-arm spinner Sadia Yousuf wrecked the start of the chase with a fine spell of 3 for 10 in four overs, to leave West Indies stuttering at 35 for 3.Dottin and King then combined to add 29 runs, before the floodgates opened once again. Qanita Jalil struck twice with the score on 77, but it was too little too late for the visitors.
The 19-year-old Dottin struck four fours and a six in her 28 off 23 balls while King hit two sixes in her unbeaten 25 off 19 balls.The win was set up by a stifling spell from left-arm medium-pacer Shanel Daley, who returned exemplary figures of 4-0-6-4. Cordel Jack and Tremayne Smartt chipped in with two wickets each to keep Pakistan under constant pressure, as only three batsmen went past single figures.

Durham were denied a victory that would move them closer to the top of the County Championship First Division table following a final-day washout against
Warwickshire at Edgbaston

01-Jun-2010
ScorecardDurham were denied a victory that would move them closer to the top of the County Championship First Division table following a final-day washout against
Warwickshire at Edgbaston.Champions for the past two years, Durham were in a good position to revive
their bid for a title hat-trick until the rain returned immediately after an
optimistic mid-afternoon report by the umpires.Peter Willey and Rob Bailey initially planned a re-start at 3.45pm, which would
have given Durham 36 overs in which to wrap up the six wickets they required for
victory.But Warwickshire remained on their overnight score of 229 for 4, after being
asked to follow on 279 behind, when further downpours resulted in the match
being called off at 4.30pm. Ian Westwood therefore remained 14 runs short of his century while debutant wicketkeeper Richard Johnson was on 20.Durham took 10 points from the draw to be fifth, while six points for the hosts
moved them above Hampshire at the foot of the table.