Naved and Nazir recalled after two-year gap

Naved and Nazir recalled after two-year gap

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Shoaib in more trouble with PCB

Shoaib in more trouble with PCB

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Glory Win after 30 years

Indian Cricket call the Wall

MUMBAI: Former skipper Rahul Dravid, who has been named among the 30 probables for the Indian team for the ICC Champions trophy, on Friday said he
was happy to be reconsidered for a spot in the One-day side. "I'm happy, it feels nice to be back in the mix," Dravid said. The eight-nation tournament will be played from September 22 to October 5 in South Africa this year. The middle-order batsman, who has scored 10,585 run in 333 matches, last played an ODI against the Australians in Nagpur in October 2007. Talking about the status of other sports which get overshadowed by Cricket, Dravid said the only way to bring them under limelight is to attain more success in that discipline. "A lot of sports do suffer from the magnitude of cricket in India. But there is no point complaining about it. As more and more people get success in other sports, they will get the desired attention," he said. "It has happened with (Abhinav) Bindra at the Olympics and recently with Saina (Nehwal)," Dravid said. The former Indian skipper also congratulated legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar on his 60th birthday. "I wish him well. He has done a lot for the game and for us," he said.

Pappu kab Pass hoga

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to wait to realise his dream of becoming a graduate. The prestigious St Xavier’s College here
denied him promotion following his failure to appear in the BCom Part I examination. Last year, Ranchi University
had bent its attendance rules to enable Dhoni to join the college. Following this, the cricketer resumed his education after a nine year hiatus. Head of examinations (St Xavier’s College) AK Sinha said his institution had relaxed certain rules for the celebrity but would under no circumstances promote him since he did not appear in the final examination. The college’s decision was welcomed by some students. Manish Kumar, Dhoni’s senior, said he is proud to be a student of a college that sticks to the rule book. On the other hand, Meenakshi, another classmate of Dhoni, was unhappy because she would not be able to attend college with the cricketing idol.

The Ashes

Lankan Lions are Roaring

Rahul Dravid called

CHENNAI: The selectors finally took a step that clearly indicated that they were worried with India's batting following the T20 World Cup and the
West Indies series. They have brought Rahul Dravid back into the fray for a spot in the ODI side by including him in the 30-member probables list for the Champions Trophy, and if sources close to the selection committee are to be believed, it's not just for filling up the numbers. The Indian batsmen's frailty against short-pitched bowling was there for everyone to see during the T20 World Cup and the selectors believe some solidity is required in the middle-order. Even though India won the series against the West Indies, the general belief among the decision makers is that it is all due to "one match winning effort (from Yuvraj)." It was clearly indicated that Dravid would surely be considered when the final 15 was selected for the Champions Trophy. The veteran right-hander may not fit into skipper MS Dhoni's scheme of things but given the recent performances of the Indian team, the selectors may well take a stern stance. The fact that the Champions Trophy will be played in South Africa, where the pitches will afford steep bounce, has also gone in Dravid's favour. But will there be a chance to see what kind of form Dravid is in before the final team is selected? "Do we need to do that for a player of Dravid's stature? We know what he is capable of," the source shot back. Another player who found himself out of favour was all-rounder Irfan Pathan. By not picking him in the list of 30 probables, the selectors have indicated that they are looking ahead, at least for now. Champions Trophy probables: MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh. Squad for Emerging Nations Trophy: S Badrinath (Capt), M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli (Vice-Capt), Manoj Tiwary, Ishant Jaggi, Abhishek Nayar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Pankaj Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Sudeep Tyagi.

Cricket war has Started

For the first time since the Multan Test of 2004, or 38 Tests, Pakistan started a Test without Danish Kaneria. They were always going to play three fast bowlers, and going to field first if they won the toss. And they did win it.
Two of those fast bowlers were debutants - the 17-year-old Mohammad Aaamer and the 30-year-old Abdur Rauf. So was Kaneria's replacement, Saeed Ajmal, perhaps getting the nod by the virtue of being an offspinner against Sri Lanka's ready supply of left-hand batsmen.
Amid the debutants, Mohammad Yousuf made a comeback, becoming the first ICL player to play a Test again. Yousuf took Faisal Iqbal's place.
Sri Lanka didn't want to hold back bold moves either, going in without a specialist wicketkeeper. Instead they gave a Test cap to Angelo Mathews, which meant either Kumar Sangakkara or Tillakaratne Dilshan would have to keep. The 31-year-old left-arm spinner Rangana Herath replaced Muttiah Muralitharan who injured his knee during practice. Unlike Pakistan, Sri Lanka went in with only two medium-pacers, Nuwan Kulasekara and the left-armer Thilan Thushara. Mathews provided them the fifth-bowler option.
Pakistan: 1 Salman Butt, 2 Khurram Manzoor, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Saeed Ajmal, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Abdur Rauf
Sri Lanka: 1 Malinda Warnapura, 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Rangana Herath

Science of MS Dhoni Rescued Home

GROS ISLET: Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain's knock as India battled inclement weather to defeat the West Indies by six wickets via the
Duckworth-Lewis method and take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match ODI series at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on Friday. ( Watch ) Scorecard In Pics Needing 11 runs off the last over after the target was revised to 159 from 22 overs, Dhoni (46 not out) sent Jerome Taylor's second delivery for a six over mid-wicket as India won with a ball to spare. Blogs: All morons, please stand up 1983: Anniversary of India's 2nd tryst with destiny The One-dayer was almost reduced to a Twenty20 fixture as it witnessed as many as four stoppages due to rain during the West Indies innings -- including a two hour and five minutes delay at the start of the match. The interruptions forced the overs to be brought down to 27 per side. The West Indies, put into bat after Dhoni won the toss, rode on Ramnaresh Sarwan's 62 to post a competitive 185 for seven and India were set a revised target of 195 following the D/L method. The visitors needed a strong start and Dinesh Karthik (47 off 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 off 38) did just that. The duo put on 84 runs before a direct throw from Ravi Rampaul ended Karthik's innings. Gambhir and Dhoni took the score to 95 for one off 13.3 overs when rain intervened for the fifth time and following a 22-minute delay, the target was revised to 159 in 22 overs. Needing another 64 runs from 51 deliveries, India lost Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh (2) in quick succession. With 11 runs required off the last seven deliveries, Rohit Sharma too departed leaving Dhoni to see the team through. The skipper's 34-ball unbeaten knock included a couple of boundaries besides the six in the last over. While Dhoni sparkled, opening partnership too did the job. Karthik and Gambhir not only complemented each other but also gave the visitors perfect launchpad to go for victory after Sarwan's 58-ball 62 guided the West Indies to 185 for seven. Sarwan was involved in two crucial partnerships, 51 runs with Runako Morton (22) and another 48 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (15) before he was run out going for a non-existent second. Gambhir's strong throw found Sarwan short of the mark. His innings included five fours and a six. He carried on the momentum provided by captain Chris Gayle (27), who gave the hosts a rollicking start after the match started two hours and five minutes late following a rain delay that first reduced the match to 41 overs a side. Gayle hit Ishant Sharma for a couple of boundaries in each of his first two overs. Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra (3/21) received similar treatment in his second over, another couple of boundaries, before rain intervened with the West Indies at 27 for no loss from 3.3 overs. Play resumed after a 15-minute delay but the distraction was enough to unsettle the West Indies captain, who departed chasing a widish delivery from Nehra. Gayle slashed the first ball after resumption and Dhoni did the rest behind stumps. His 14-ball stay at the crease had six hits to the fence. Morton (22 off 34 balls), who was a silent spectator till then was joined by Sarwan and the duo took the score to 56 for one from 9.1 overs before rain intervened for a third time. Following another 15-minute delay, the overs were reduced to 36 per side. However, rain forced play to be suspended again just two deliveries on re-start with the hosts on 57 for one. This time play remained suspended for an hour and 20 minutes before it resumed with the overs reduced to 27 a side. Morton greeted RP Singh with a four but fell soon after. Sarwan though didn't let the stoppages affect his rhythm as he took 16 runs off one Yuvraj over to help the hosts go past the 100-run mark in 16 overs. Along with the vastly experienced Chanderpaul, the duo put on 48 runs before the left-hander departed trying to hoist Yusuf Pathan over mid-on and Nehra doing the rest

PCB Selecting Customers

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided not to appoint paid selectors in future and will have a single selection committee to pick both
national senior and junior teams. A senior PCB official said that the hue and cry over the dissolution of the separate selection committees was not justified as people do not know the real facts. "The governing council at its last meeting had expressed dissatisfaction with the working of the selection committees. The council members asked the Chairman Ejaz Butt to finish the practice of having paid selectors and appoint new ones on honorary basis," the official said. "The members felt when a selector was on the Board payroll there was the likelihood of a conflict of interest (with other officials). "They suggested that in future selectors be appointed on honorary basis but be given stipends, daily allowances and other perks as admissible under board rules," he added. He said it was also decided that in future there would be only one national selection committee which would pick all teams and that the governing council members were not happy with the working of former chief selector Abdul Qadir. A number of candidates are being tipped to be appointed on the new committee with names of former Test players Aamer Sohail, Haroon Rasheed, Saleem Yousuf and Basit Ali doing round.

Experomenting on tests

The ICC will not be short of blueprints but its seriousness about altering the five-day format might be tested in the coming months. Here's TOI's
take on a possible new beginning for Tests... This might be a tough ask. If you are a Test cricket buff, set aside, for an instant, the associated sentiments. Forget the indulgent, intellectual delights of absorbing five days of nuanced interplay between bat and ball. The thrill of watching an absorbing draw, the mythology of unforgettable past contests. Forget the wisdom in tampering with the credentials of a classic format. Or the ethics involved in messing with the aura of tradition. Instead, place yourself in the shoes of ICC president David Morgan, and think about what you could do to better market a niche sporting product which currently thrives only on a handful of keen annual contests. As former Test cricketer Arun Lal says, "There is no right or wrong in it. The crowds are simply not coming in for Tests, just for T20. Sadly, Tests are fast becoming unfashionable and tedious for newer generations. If the audience desires change, if broadcasters want change, it is inevitable." Yet, Tests represent the pinnacle of achievement for players and change has its birth pangs. A cult cannot go mainstream without compromising. Morgan's comments on the need for reducing Tests to four-day affairs and making technical upgradations to make night Tests - read prime-time TV slots - a possibility has understandably set off a wave of resentment. Even administrators are generally cagey dwelling on the unknown. The BCCI is less traditional but it's early days yet. Some ex-India players have voiced their opinion against it, and Pakistan's Javed Miandad has said that "T20 is good entertainment and has commercial value but any move to tamper with Tests will prove counter-productive". Cricket Australia is "not initially enthusiastic". The game is steeped in convention but post-Morgan, it won't be easy to squirm out of this particular debate. The ICC's ideas, too, are far from being fleshed out. So will four-day Tests indeed become workable reality? Faster, more result-oriented, more viewer friendly, less indolent, yet true to the broad theatrical panorama of the original? Is it at all possible? The first casualty has to be the draw, although Tests have become more result-oriented than anyone would have guessed: Since the last 10 years, only 24.95% of Tests have been drawn, out of a staggering 465 matches. Since 2000, 75.68% Tests have produced results. Between 1990 and '99, the corresponding figure was 64.27%. Of the 17 matches played so far in 2009, though, 47.06% have been drawn. So where does one draw the line? "Scoring rates have gone up anyway and no one wants to bat for three days anymore. But I think draws can be dispensed with," says one-time Test opener and Delhi and Knight Riders' Aakash Chopra, who revels in the longer formats. "Only about 2% draws are memorable. The public needs results." But simply reducing the duration from 5 days to 4 won't reduce draws: most first-class matches are four-day affairs and most are dull draws. This is what Morgan doesn't mention. Clearly, it needs to be a limited-overs affair because it will be impossible to alter all known Test-match pitches so dramatically in favour of the bowler. "You can be penalised for slow over rates but you can't be penalised for slow scoring. It would be impossible to stipulate," says Chopra. The better idea would be a cap on overs. Here's our simple proposal: A maximum of 80 overs per side per innings, ensuring an innings is completed in a day. If the side batting last (on Day 4) fails to chase down the target, it loses. If the batting side is bowled out in less than 80 overs, their remaining quota would be added on to the opposition's share of overs as a bonus. For e.g., if Side A is bowled out in their first innings in 60 overs, then Side B will face a maximum of 100 (80+20) overs when it's their turn to bat. Here, too, the ICC and hosting associations will need to improve the quality of some pitches. Substandard or underdone tracks need to be phased out. Unless that is done, the toss will become vital as no team will want to bat last on a wearing pitch. Will the ICC penalise grounds which don't live up to these 'four-day standards'? The same 80-overs-a-side/two-innings-each scenario could be ideal for night cricket too, the moment a workable ball is manufactured. Batting under lights, though, will introduce a whole new element and fresh debate. The number of sessions a day could be reduced to two, with a longer break in between. In an idea borrowed from golf, matches could be compulsorily scheduled so the last two days fall on weekends, to pull in more crowds. Maybe, such 4-day Tests could even be trialled among weaker, 'second-tier' teams first. Undoubtedly, many more interesting ideas will crop up as the ICC pushes to make it a reality. "It's bound to happen," says Lal, "Earlier there was only one format, so more people watched Tests. Not anymore."

Tanvir goes to Royal Rajhistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board has given a green signal to all-rounder Sohail Tanvir to play for his Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan
Royals in a charity match against Middlesex at Lord's on July 6. The sports management company which represents Tanvir said in a statement that Tanvir would represent the Rajasthan Royals in the match being played for the British Asian Trust. Tanvir was the best bowler of the IPL in the first season and played a key role in his team's title win. However, he could not play the second edition after the Pakistan foreign ministry advised the PCB not to send its players to India due to security concerns arising out of the tense relations between the two countries after the Mumbai terror attacks last November. The IPL was later moved to South Africa but by that time the IPL franchises had either terminated or suspended the contracts of the Pakistani players due to their unavailability for the second season. Portfolio world, the sports management company also quoted Shilpa Shetty the co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals as saying that she was excited to have Tanvir back in the team. "He was truly missed in the IPL second season," Shetty was quoted in the statement. Tanvir, the left arm pacer, struggled in the recent T20 World Cup in England and was dropped from the playing eleven.

Pre series fire

PCB Vs BCCI

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board
has refused to sign the new Future Tours Programme which spans from 2012 to 2020 unless the Indian board revises the
draft. Sources in the PCB confirmed that officials had voiced strong objections at the International Cricket Council meetings held last week in London
when they learnt that the Indian board had not scheduled a single bilateral series with Pakistan in their proposed draft of the new FTP. "The Indian officials came up with the justification that they couldn't schedule any bilateral series with Pakistan because of the existing relations between the two countries," one source said. "The Indian representative also made it clear that Pakistan should not raise a hue and cry over the proposed FTP since whenever relations between Pakistan and India improved the Indian board would find windows for bilateral series," he said. The source said Pakistan had rejected BCCI's viewpoint and said since the FTP was being prepared well in advance how could the Indian board decide prematurely not to schedule any bilateral series with its neighbour. The Pakistani representatives had made it clear at the meeting that they would not sign the FTP if the BCCI did not revise the draft. The ICC has asked all member countries to submit draft proposals for the next FTP which involves all Test playing nations. Sources said India had also ignored Bangladesh in preparing the draft FTP and is pushing for a two-tier Test championship system
He also said that PCB was already upset with BCCI's attitude over the 2011 World Cup hosting right issue. "Representatives from several countries have privately told PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt they sympathise with Pakistan and would like to accept its proposal of hosting
the 2011 World Cup matches at neutral venues but they can't go against India which want no matches being hosted by Pakistan at home or at neutral venues," the source disclosed.

PCB Vs BCCi

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board
has refused to sign the new Future Tours Programme which spans from 2012 to 2020 unless the Indian board revises the
draft. Sources in the PCB confirmed that officials had voiced strong objections at the International Cricket Council meetings held last week in London
when they learnt that the Indian board had not scheduled a single bilateral series with Pakistan in their proposed draft of the new FTP. "The Indian officials came up with the justification that they couldn't schedule any bilateral series with Pakistan because of the existing relations between the two countries," one source said. "The Indian representative also made it clear that Pakistan should not raise a hue and cry over the proposed FTP since whenever relations between Pakistan and India improved the Indian board would find windows for bilateral series," he said. The source said Pakistan had rejected BCCI's viewpoint and said since the FTP was being prepared well in advance how could the Indian board decide prematurely not to schedule any bilateral series with its neighbour. The Pakistani representatives had made it clear at the meeting that they would not sign the FTP if the BCCI did not revise the draft. The ICC has asked all member countries to submit draft proposals for the next FTP which involves all Test playing nations. Sources said India had also ignored Bangladesh in preparing the draft FTP and is pushing for a two-tier Test championship system
. He also said that PCB was already upset with BCCI's attitude over the 2011 World Cup hosting right issue. "Representatives from several countries have privately told PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt they sympathise with Pakistan and would like to accept its proposal of hosting
the 2011 World Cup matches at neutral venues but they can't go against India which want no matches being hosted by Pakistan at home or at neutral venues," the source disclosed.

Warmup Clashes