Meanwhile in Austrlian domestic cricket Umar Gul is starring for Western Australia and picked up 4-15 against Southaustrlia including getting Tanvir out for a golden duck!Tanvir played reasonably with 1-21 in his 4 overs.

I request the LS management to write a thread to review the year of 2008 in cricket.

Australia is scheduled to tour SA in April 2009 and West Indies is touring Bangladesh,and Zimbabwe is touring England(this tour may or may not happen),
the next IPL season starts on April 10th and stays on until May 29th, unless these tours are postponed or players are released for IPL by these 4 nations there will be a shortage of players especially when Pakistani players will also not be there the situation can compound as last year I remember when Aussie and Kiwi players left the tournament became a bit boring and certain franchises struggled to compete.

Duminy played a master class innings, 76 by Steyn I can’t believe it Ponting & co will be under huge pressure tomorrow if they lost a few quick wickets then it will not be possible for them to save the match.

I think Brett Lee is done, Australia should rest him in the next match.

And, yes Pakistan must boycott playing for both ICL and IPL irrespective of whatever the contract bindings are. The way things are heading towards the point of no return, I don’t see any cricket match between the two countries for the next decade or so. They might only meet elsewhere in international tournaments. The irony is this WC 2011 will also be affected by the political situation and its possible that there will be no WC match in Pakistan. In case of India, it depends on the situation at that time.

I am watching the Aus / SA live and what an innings Duminy and Dale Steyn played today. JP Duminy has scored 150 n.o. right now and the lead is 49 runs. Australian cricket team’s situation is similar to the US political and financial situation. Both are on the decline. Tout en une fin.

ICL will get completely destroyed if Pakistan doesn’t allow Lahore Badshah players to travel to India, LB were the biggest crowd pullers for ICL.

Karachi (PTI): Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad has started flexing his muscles in cricket related matters as the director-general of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Miandad, who played a major role in getting Sri Lanka’s cricket tour to Pakistan on track, is also showing his authority in the domestic structure.
The posting of two new umpires, Akram Raza and Kamal Merchant, for the final of the Pentangular one-day tournament is one example where even the umpires’ manager in the Board and other officials had disagreed with the idea of posting two new fresh faces for such a big final.
But Miandad stuck to his guns overruling other officials, including the umpires manager.
“These two guys have been very prominent first class players and Akram has even played nine Tests and 49 One-day Internationals. They had been umpiring in domestic cricket for the last two years but were not given an opportunity to stand in big matches. I felt it was the right time to blood them,” Miandad said.
He said he planned to have more former prominent players to officiate matches as they stood a better chance of being selected in the international panel of umpires.
“I don’t care what anyone says as long as my conscience is clear that I have taken decisions which are in the larger interests of Pakistan cricket,” he said.
He said it was unfair to restrict Akram and Kamal to non first class and junior level matches given their vast experience as players.
It is no secret that Miandad has been brought into the Board on direct orders of President Asif Zardari, who is also the chief patron of the PCB.

Karachi, Dec 27 (IANS) Mohammad Yousuf said Saturday that Pakistan’s home series against Sri Lanka will produce high quality cricket.

While terming India’s decision to cancel its cricket team’s tour of Pakistan as a ‘loss for cricket’, Yousuf said Sri Lanka are a fitting replacement.

Sri Lanka agreed to fill in for India, which refused to tour Pakistan for a much-awaited series in Jan-Feb over last month’s terror attack in Mumbai.

The 34-year-old from Lahore was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last month after he rejoined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). He is unlikely to be selected in the national side against Sri Lanka, which is expected to play three Tests and five one-dayers in Pakistan from Jan 20 to Feb 25.

However, Yousuf is hopeful that things will change following the appointment of former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad as the PCB director general earlier this month.

Miandad is supportive of the country’s ICL rebels and according to sources he is pushing their case to bring them back in the fold.

Cricinfo staff

December 27, 2008

Intikhab Alam, Pakistan’s coach, has changed his mind about the leadership credentials of Shoaib Malik, believing that his tenure should be extended beyond the end of the year.

Malik’s performance is due to be reviewed by the Pakistan board’s governing committee on December 31 though it is widely expected that he will be persisted with, as Pakistan’s lack of international cricket has prevented a rush to judgement.

Alam’s input is expected and he said he had no doubt the allrounder should continue to captain Pakistan. “I am crystal clear in my mind that Malik should continue as captain,” Alam told AP.

Malik has been criticised by Mohammad Yousuf and, privately by other senior players, for being a poor communicator. But Alam said he was learning. “His attitude has changed toward other players in the team and I think that’s a good sign. Malik is still learning but he will gradually be more confident if his captaincy tenure is extended,” Alam said.

It represents a turnaround from Alam’s comments made in September before he became coach. Then he had complained that Pakistan did not “have captaincy stuff in the present lot” and suggested Shahid Afridi as a candidate.

But he admitted that after he was appointed coach and had long meetings with Malik, he discovered a different man, particularly during the ODI series against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi last month.

“I admit that I had criticized Malik a lot, but he is a changed person now, who believes in himself and his team players,” Alam said. “He showed a lot of guts in batting, bowling and leading his side. He has a good thinking cap and I think he should be given an extended run.”

Malik has been impressive recently in domestic cricket, leading Sialkot Stallions to the domestic Twenty20 title and Punjab Stallions to the Pentangular ODI cup. He has led Pakistan in two Test series both of which were lost since he becoming captain last year.

He led Pakistan to a country record 12 successive ODI wins though the bulk of them came against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh earlier this year.

“Now that’s not the fault of Malik if we couldn’t compete against stronger teams this year,” Alam said. “I firmly believe that against Sri Lanka he will give a good performance if he retains the captaincy.”

Karachi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) will lose a substantial fan-base if Pakistani cricketers are not able to participate in the Twenty20 event next year following the Mumbai terror strikes, senior batsman Younus Khan said.
“The franchises running teams in the IPL know that Indian and Pakistani players are the biggest attractions in the league,” Younus, who returned home after playing for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield, said.

“The league touched new heights in popularity when Shoaib Akhtar played his first match for the Kolkata Knight Riders as the Eden Gardens was jam-packed. Indian people like to watch Pakistani players in action and they are popular there as well,” he added.

Younus, who played just one match for the Rajasthan Royals, the eventual champions, hoped the India-Pakistan relations would improve before the start of the new season in April.

“I think it is premature to think about our participation in the IPL,” he added.

Younus said he was disappointed at the cancellation of the Indian team’s tour to Pakistan as he believed politics and sports should not be mixed.

“I think this way but there are situations where one has to look at the larger picture. But definitely if India had come it would have been a boost for Pakistan cricket and would have allowed the board to generate good revenues,” he said.

Younus said it was important that India’s replacement Sri Lanka toured Pakistan now.

“I am worried… if Sri Lanka also don’t come then the future of cricket would be in danger in Pakistan,” he said.