Your views are very fair and completely sensible. This is not the time to act emotionally and hit Pakistan where it hurts.
India should have toured Pakistan, to show it is open to reconciliation and peace, if nothing else.

Looks like more minnow bashing is coming Pakistan’s way. The Sri Lanka tour will end in February and to Pakistan’s dismay, all top teams are very busy playing international cricket up to the middle of April. In fact the only two teams that are not busy in this period from February-April are Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Even though there won’t be any competition, Pakistan should look to arrange a Test and ODI series against Bangladesh in March/April next year. Surely Bangladesh will be willing to tour Pakistan? But PCB must use this series to utilise new talent and try and find openers with good technique, try and find spinners wicket-taking spinners who can work in Test cricket and try and find fit and committed fast bowlers who aren’t prone to injury.

Both Faisal and Miandad are simpletons, but there is a world of a difference between them as batsmen. Miandad is only the 2nd batsmen (the 1st is Wally Hammond) who never averaged below 50 in his entire career. His nephew though is a sore loser.

Cricinfo staff

December 18, 2008

Khurram Manzoor’s unbeaten 107, supported by a run-a-ball 83 from Faisal Iqbal, steered Sind Dolphins to their first win of the tournament, over North West Frontier Province Panthers in Karachi. Set 235 to win, Sind lost two quick wickets but the 159-run stand between Manzoor and Iqbal put them on course for a comfortable five-wicket win with five overs to spare.

Sind chose to field after winning the toss, and opening bowler Anwar Ali struck twice to reduce NWFP to 40 for 2. Yasir Hameed anchored the innings, but he was dismissed three short of a century by Sohail Khan. Sohail was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 32 off his ten overs. Anwar and Farhan Ayub took two wickets apiece, while Aamer Sajjad was the only one besides Hameed to go past 25.

Umar Gul and Samiullah Khan had Sind in trouble at 8 for 2, but Manzoor and Iqbal overcame the shaky start. Iqbal was the more aggressive of the two, scoring 83 in a stand of 159 with Manzoor. He was eventually caught behind off Junaid Khan, after hitting ten fours and a six in his 87-ball innings.

Shahid Afridi, the Sind captain, upped the run-rate with a brisk 25 off 13 balls, but he was dismissed by Samiullah. Fawad Alam was run out for a duck, but Sarfraz Ahmed and Manzoor, who made 107 off 136 balls, took their team to victory.

Sind move to second place in the points table with the win. They had suffered a narrow one-wicket loss to Baluchistan Bears in their first match of the tournament.

Dec 18th, 2008

Karachi, Dec 18 (IANS) Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt said Thursday that Pakistan will try to move on from the shock of India series cancellation, saying that he is personally leading efforts to fix Test and one-dayers for his match-starved cricketers.

Butt told IANS his Board will face major financial losses and cricketers some action because of the decision to cancel the series. But he vowed that Pakistan cricket will survive the setback.

India Thursday refused to give the go-ahead to its cricket team’s tour to Pakistan from Jan 4-Feb 18 because of last month’s terror attacks in Mumbai. The Indian government says the terrorists involved in the attacks came and operated from Pakistan.

India was supposed to play three Tests, five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 International during the tour.

Butt said the cancellation of the series was a setback for cricket in the region. The former Pakistan Test opener said the cricket boards tried their best to save the series from becoming a victim of the strained relations between the two countries.

‘But in the end, it was a decision taken by the Indian government as the matter was out of the hands of the two boards,’ he said.

Butt, 71, said the cancellation of the much-awaited series will not affect the cricket ties between the two countries.

‘We tried our best to save the series,’ he said. ‘I went to India myself to discuss the matter with my Indian counterpart and know for sure that the Indian cricket board was also very keen on playing the series. But in the end it was a political decision,’ he said.

Butt is confident that Pakistan-India cricketing ties will resume once the political situation between the two neighbours improves.

The PCB chairman said Pakistan will suffer ‘huge losses’ because of the cancellation.

It is estimated that Pakistan will lose almost Rs. 1.55 billion because of the cancellation.

Also, the PCB will lose a huge chunk of $140.5 million television rights deal with Gulf-based Ten Sports channel.

Dec 18th, 2008

Karachi, Dec 18 (IANS) India’s decision to cancel their tour of Pakistan attracted mixed response from former Pakistani Test cricketers here Thursday.

Former Test leg-spinner Abdul Qadir, now chief selector, said the cancellation of the series was a huge setback for cricket in the region.

Former Test players Basit Ali and Jalaluddin also expressed similar views, saying the decision has sent a wave of disappointment among cricket fans all over the world.

But former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has taken a more aggressive stance, saying that the decision was not unexpected and asked the Pakistani cricket authorities and players to break ties with India.

‘We have been too apologetic in trying to save the series,’ Latif told a television channel, reacting to Indian government’s decision to cancel the tour which was to begin Jan 4.

‘The way the Indian government and their media have been acting after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Pakistan should have itself called off the series,’ he said.

Latif urged Pakistani cricketers to break ties with lucrative Indian Twenty20 leagues as a show of solidarity.

‘It is very important that our cricketers break ties with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Cricket League (ICL),’ he said.

‘The cricketers are our ambassadors and if they don’t react (to the series cancellation) and scrap their deals with the Indian leagues then who will act on our behalf,’ he stressed.

Around 20 Pakistani cricketers are hired by the breakaway ICL while several top cricket stars like Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanveer are contracted to play in the IPL.

Legendary Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas agreed with Latif saying PCB should snap ties with India and should invite other leading teams for the sake of cricketers.

Qadir described the Pakistan-India series as bigger than the Ashes and said he is disappointed over the cancellation. ‘The whole world watches whenever Pakistan and India play against each other because the series is even bigger than the Ashes,’ he said.

Press Trust Of India

Posted on Dec 17, 2008 at 22:32

Karachi: Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has been told by chief selector Abdul Qadir to stop fiddling with his bowling action to suit one-day cricket and concentrate on prolonging his international career.

The former leg-spin great said he was disappointed with Kaneria’s bowling in the ongoing Pentangular one-day tournament and felt the player was facing problems since he was changing his action and style for one-day cricket.

“Since he has tried to switch his action he is not bowling as well as he can or he does in Test cricket,” Qadir said.

Kaneria had a disappointing time in the Pentangular tournament going for runs in all three matches.

“I have just recovered from a finger surgery and have only recently returned to active cricket so I am taking time to find my rhythm. But I am facing no problems with my action,” Kaneria said.

He said he would talk to Qadir to find ways to improve his bowling and be effective in one-day cricket as well.

“I have never shied away from taking advice from former greats and Qadir bhai is one of my favorite bowlers. I learnt a lot from him,” he said.

“I am short of international cricket that is all and it is very frustrating. This year we have not played a single Test. And the injury was also very disappointing as it cut short my season with Essex,” he said.

Kaneria, 28, who has taken 220 Test wickets in 51 matches, said he was looking forward to the tour by India which now seems like a distinct possibility.

“The players are still hoping they come but nothing is in our hands or that of our board,” he rued.

India have officially called off the Pakistan tour, today.

LS reported to you more than a month ago that this tour was not going to happen, even before the Mumbai attacks.

Anyone can be a simpleton or paindoo. These words can be used to describe Mohammad Asaf as much as they can be used to describe Javed Miandad.

Given the opportunity I am sure Javed A Khan would chair the PCB with competence, integrity and fairness but that is the very reason why people will want him to step down.

I don’t know why you felt the need to emphasise that DNA was Musharraf’s friend, when we all know this? We know it’s because of this special relationship between the two that DNA got the post. But we actually support what DNA did for Pakistan cricket; well, most of it anyway.

Although it still is an ‘offensive term’, but nevertheless, very good improvements by LS