[News] Pakistan Cricket News

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ICC hints at option of neutral venue
Pakistan board assures highest level of security to Australia
The Pakistan Cricket Board has guaranteed the highest levels of security to Australia for their tour in March, the first by an Australian side in nearly a decade, even as the ICC hints that a neutral venue option may be explored.
Even though the tour is still two months away, concern has been growing over its status following a year of considerable political turmoil in Pakistan. The assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in Rawalpindi on Thursday, has only deepened the crisis, resulting in violence across the country and a virtual three-day shutdown of activity.
General elections were scheduled to be held on January 8, but there is a chance they might now be postponed in the wake of the assassination. If they are postponed closer to the time Australia is to arrive, it is hardly likely to make touring Pakistan a more attractive proposition.
Cricket Australia maintains that it will fulfill its commitments in Pakistan but that no decision will be taken until the eve of the tour, after a security delegation has submitted its findings. The delegation is expected to arrive in Pakistan in February, but Nasim Ashraf, PCB chairman, insists that security will be no issue.
Ashraf told The Age that Australia would be given state-level security for their tour of three Tests and five ODIs. "Touring teams are routinely given the same level of security of visiting heads of state, and we would make every extra effort to make sure the Australians are safe. That would be above that of visiting prime ministers.
"If you look at the history of our country, sporting teams have never been targeted, even during periods of great political turmoil. We are hoping and expecting the Australian tour to go ahead. "The tragic events of this week have caused a state of mourning and shock, but I expect that in a week or so things will begin to settle down and we can go back to planning as normal." Significantly, perhaps, the ICC spoke on the matter as well, chief executive Malcolm Speed hinting that a neutral option might be explored should unrest continue.
Speed, who was at the MCG for the first Test between Australia and India, said the ICC could attempt to persuade the PCB to shift the series to a neutral venue, or even to Australia, if the situation warranted.
"Security can't be guaranteed anywhere," Speed said. "Cricket is played in some dangerous countries. Wherever possible we would like to see cricket tours that are scheduled to go ahead. "It has been a long time since Australia has played in Pakistan. There will be many Pakistani fans who are waiting for this great Australian team to come and play against their team. "We could have a counselling role about [neutral venues]. The problem with playing neutral series is that the home fans don't get to see it, and from a commercial perspective it doesn't work as well. We just need to let things play out."
The Pakistan board had ruled out the prospect of the series being played at a neutral venue, but that was before the death of Bhutto. After it, and the ensuing turmoil it has unleashed, the situation no longer remains the same

Australia in Pakistan 2007-08
Players can opt out of Pakistan tour
Australian players will be allowed to opt out of the tour to Pakistan if it goes ahead following CA's security team visit to the region in February. The tour, doubtful due to the political unrest after the imposition of emergency by President Musharraf, was dealt a severe blow after Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, was assassinated on Thursday.
Paul Marsh, Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive, said that a briefing will take place on the crisis in Pakistan while the players are in Sydney for the second Test against India. According to Marsh, each player was legally entitled to make an individual decision about touring Pakistan without breaching his contract.
"We want to reach a collective decision but the players obviously have that ultimate right," he said. "We would rather it's a one-in, all-in either way, but if a player comes to us and says that if the tour was to proceed they don't want to go, then we would support that and we believe the players are entitled to do that.
"The players have the right to make a decision. If Cricket Australia decided the tour should proceed, the players will obviously then be faced with the decision, do we go or do we individually or collectively decide not to go?"
However, Marsh said Cricket Australia and the ACA had a track record of making the right calls about security and it was premature to make a decision on Pakistan.
Although Cricket Australia are prepared to wait for a decision, Andrew Symonds seem to be reluctant to be part of the team if the tour was to go ahead.
"I'm not interested in going into a situation that's dangerous, where people are getting killed and hurt," he told the Sunday Telegraph. "At the end of the day it's a game of cricket. I take my cricket very seriously and I love playing for Australia, but I'm not going to put myself in a situation where I can be harmed.
"You personally choose whether you want to play for Australia," he said. "If you're selected, you can choose to decline the offer of going on a tour or playing a game."
Pakistan's deputy high commissioner to Australia, Tanveer Akhtar , said Cricket Australia should do everything it could to ensure the tour happened. "We hope and we wish that they come and visit because people in Pakistan love cricket and they'll be more than happy to welcome the Cricket Australia," he told the Seven Network. "We wish and hope things settle down quickly and as soon as the elections happen and new government is formed things will be business as usual."
The tour is scheduled to include three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match




Zimbabwe in Pakistan, 2007-08
Pakistan opt for best combination against Zimbabwe
The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to stick to the best possible team for the ODI series against Zimbabwe that is scheduled to get underway next month. It was widely anticipated, and planned by the national selection committee, that new faces will be tried in the relatively low-key series in order to assess Pakistan's backup resources.
"We cannot take Zimbabwe on any other team lightly," Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the PCB, told the News. "That is why we will ensure that our best possible team plays against Zimbabwe and wins the series five-nil."
Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector, had earlier planned on introducing young blood into the team during the series.
"We will definitely try out some new faces in whichever department we need them in," Salahuddin had told Cricinfo. "That's not to say that we are taking Zimbabwe lightly, but we need to assess players on the fringes of the national side and this is a good opportunity."
However, after Ashraf attended a couple of domestic matches on Thursday, he had a meeting with Salahuddin where a decision to hold a three-day exercise to test several upcoming cricketers was taken. The camp is scheduled to take place in Karachi from January 9 and will include 22 to 24 promising youngsters in action.
"We will call around 20 to 24 youngsters for a few trial matches ahead of the series against Zimbabwe," Ashraf said. "The players will be selected on the basis of their performance in domestic events as well as during Under-19 assignments.
"We will spot players who can be a part of the national team in the future but will bring them in step by step. This is because we have to make it sure that the team's performance is not affected by too many rapid changes.
"We have a four-day and a three-day game against Zimbabwe and they would provide us with excellent opportunities to check out the youngsters who are knocking at the doors of international cricket.
"We need solid players who can be groomed into world class Test cricketers."
The tour is scheduled to start on January 14 with a four-day match in Karachi. However, yesterday's assassination of Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister, has thrown the immediate fate of the series in doubt.



Concerns increase after opposition leader's assassination
Australia in no hurry to pull out of Pakistan tour
Cricket Australia will wait at least eight weeks before deciding whether Australia will tour Pakistan in March. The assassination of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on Thursday raised further concerns about the series, but James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the shooting and subsequent violence in the country had not changed the organisation's view.
"During February we'll have a look at the circumstances that are relevant to the tour," he said. "Right now playing in a neutral venue is not something that's under consideration. There's a commitment to tour Pakistan and we'll be pursuing every avenue we can for that tour to go ahead."
Sutherland said Cricket Australia was not at the stage of "looking too deeply into this", but it would remain in contact with the federal government and take advice from its security experts. "The tour is nearly three months away," he said. "The appropriate time for us is really eight weeks away."
A delegation of officials from Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association is due to visit the country in February to make a decision on whether the trip will proceed. Sutherland said the safety of the players and the advance party was paramount.
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd was confident the tour would go ahead as he felt that cricket is a tool to improve diplomatic relations between countries. "I think we'll sort that all out with Cricket Australia as the time approaches," Rudd said in a radio program. "It's always hard, it's always difficult, but (cricket) is a great international game. It's a great language of international diplomacy.
In response to that, Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said he was happy with Rudd's positive statement. "We are happy that the Australia prime minister has taken a very positive approach on the issue," Ashraf told The News. "The Australian team will be safe in Pakistan, which is a nation that loves sports. In addition, we will be providing them a fool-proof security cover here."
Michael Clarke said the team was confident with any choice made by Cricket Australia. "We'll all be leaving it to them, we're out of our depth," he said. "I certainly don't know enough about it. Cricket Australia will let us know when we get closer to touring there and I'll go on whatever they say."
Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said if Australia's investigation concluded that touring would be too dangerous the ICC would complete its own report. "If ultimately it's decided it's unsafe, the next step is a neutral venue and the next step is to defer the series and fit it in to the schedule," he told ABC radio. "There will be no decisions in the next week or the next month."
Pakistan staged the 2002-03 series against Australia in Sharjah and Sri Lanka, but Speed said the ICC could not force the next contest to be held at a neutral venue. "That's another option for Pakistan," he said. "We need to wait and see how things settle down." The Pakistan Cricket Board has said the matches would not be played outside Pakistan.
Wasim Akram said the PCB could do nothing at the moment to ensure the Australia tour occurred. "First the country has to settle down into some state of normalcy," he said. A previous Australian delegation visited Pakistan in July before the Australia A and Under-19 tours that were held without any problems.




Coach scheduled to return in two weeks
Lawson to wait before deciding on return to Pakistan
Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, is yet to take a decision on returning to Pakistan following former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Lawson is currently in Sydney and is scheduled to leave for Pakistan in two weeks. He said he was waiting for advice from people inside the country before deciding what to do.
"I've sent a few emails this morning to people I know in Pakistan in different areas to get their opinions," Lawson told AFP. "I'm very open [to what they say] and I'm more likely to take into account what they've got to say rather than any officials. I'm just seeking advice, I'm not pre-judging anything."
Pakistan are scheduled to play five ODIs against Zimbabwe at home beginning January 26. But rioting and unrest in many parts of the country have put the tour in doubt.



Indian Cricket League 2007-08
PCB bans Pakistan's ICL players
The Pakistan Cricket Board has banned players who participated in the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL) from playing in the ongoing domestic season. Six Pakistan players - Inzamam-ul-Haq, Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzaq, Shabbir Ahmed, Imran Farhat and Taufiq Umar - appeared in the inaugural tournament of the ICL earlier this month.
Nasim Ashraf, PCB chairman, told the players on Monday that they cannot represent Pakistan or play domestic cricket at home. "When those players signed up to play in the ICL and went to India to take part in that tournament they were fully aware of the consequences," Ashraf told the News.
"We were very clear about our policy about the ICL and they [the players] knew that they would be automatically banned from playing cricket in Pakistan if they took part in the league. We have banned the players in line with the uniform policy adopted by all the leading boards around the world," he said.
"It is a policy decision that players who play in unauthorised leagues cannot be allowed to play in any domestic competition organised by the PCB," Shafiq Ahmed, the PCB domestic cricket general manager, said. "We cannot allow violation of our rules and regulations by anyone. We don't think it is a harsh decision."
However, the players believe that the PCB's stance is harsh and some of them are threatening to take legal action against the Board.
Reacting to the ban, Farhat told Reuters, "Cricket is our bread and butter. This is a violation of our fundamental rights." He said the players would take legal action and try to obtain a stay on the ban.
On Saturday, the Indian board had stated its displeasure with Daryl Tuffey, the New Zealand fast bowler and an ICL recruit, being allowed to represent his state side Auckland in a 50-over match against the visiting Bangladesh side.







Captain aiming to be fit for Zimbabwe
Malik begins rehabilitation
Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, needs a further three weeks to recover fully from the ankle injury that curtailed his tour to India. It also means that he faces a race against time to be fit for Pakistan's next assignment, an ODI series against Zimbabwe, which begins from January 26.
Malik missed the final two Tests against India recently after injuring his ankle during a post-Test warm-up and now begins an injury rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy.
"Doctors have removed the plaster from Shoaib Malik's ankle today and have advised him to undergo a rehabilitation programme for the next three weeks," Ahsan Malik, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman, told The News.
Malik will be working with Sohail Saleem, the PCB's chief medical officer, and trainer Abdul Saboor. "He (Malik) is feeling much better and is confident of regaining full match fitness ahead of the series against Zimbabwe," Ahsan said.
Another vital player, Mohammad Asif, also begins his comeback from the elbow injury that has nagged him over the last year. Asif underwent surgery in Australia earlier this month to rectify the problem and is now hoping to recover in time for the home series against Australia to be held in March-April.
"Asif will work at the NCA according to plan prepared for him by David Dwyer (the Pakistan team trainer)," said Ahsan. He added that Asif will undergo physical training sessions for several weeks before he even begins to bowl. Fellow fast bowler Umar Gul has also recovered from his back problem and will start bowling in the nets at the NCA from January 1

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Pakistan coach offers advice to Australia
Unrest won't affect cricket - Lawson
Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, has offered to speak to Australia's players to ease any concerns they have about their upcoming tour of Pakistan. Lawson says he has never felt unsafe in Pakistan and he sees no reason why the political unrest following the assassination of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto would affect the cricket.
"In all the time I have been there I have had zero concern for my safety - zero," Lawson told the Daily Telegraph. "You just go about your job, do what you do.
"Prima facie you think [the unrest] is not going to affect cricket. It happens around the country a fair bit, but it doesn't happen at sporting venues. I don't walk around Lahore looking over my shoulder, it's a normal life."
Andrew Symonds has already expressed his concerns about visiting Pakistan if Cricket Australia decides the March Test tour is safe and some other players are believed to have reservations. Lawson is in Australia on leave for the next fortnight and he would be happy to answer questions from the players before he heads back to Pakistan.
"It's uninformed comment," Lawson said of Australia's players airing their views. "You don't read the front page of a newspaper and make a decision. If Cricket Australia want to get my opinion - and it would only be an opinion - I have a unique position so I probably have some insight they don't have. They can seek me out if they want to."
Cricket Australia had been planning to send a security delegation to assess the situation in February, about six weeks ahead of the three-Test tour. However, with Pakistan's election now postponed by more than a month, until February 18, the time-frame for a decision from Cricket Australia has become considerably tighter.
If the trip does not go ahead several of Australia's top players might enjoy a financial bonus as the unexpected gap in their schedule would allow them to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Neil Maxwell, the player agent and the IPL's Australian-based contact, confirmed that was the case but said the players could only wait for Cricket Australia's decision.
"A lot realise this is pretty heavy stuff going on over there [in Pakistan]," Maxwell said. "They would probably know what they would prefer to do [scrap the tour] but they have to wait for Cricket Australia to make that call."



Zimbabwe in Pakistan 2007-08
Hyderabad not to host Zimbabwe ODI
Hyderabad has been taken off the list of venues to host the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe by the PCB after the hotel the teams were scheduled to stay in was burnt down by rioters following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto last week. The Indus, the only hotel in the city considered suitable for accommodate cricket teams, was set on fire in the days following Bhutto's assassination. "We will not be able to host any match [of the Zimbabwe series] in Hyderabad because there is no hotel in the city where the two teams and the officials could be accommodated after the burning of the Indus," Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's chief operating officer, told The News.
Naghmi said that the PCB will take a decision on a new venue for the first ODI within the next few days, adding that the match could be shifted to Karachi - which is hosting the second ODI - or Lahore, which was not on the venue list for this series.
The burning of the hotel means that Hyderabad, once a Test venue, will once again be deprived of the opportunity to host an international match. The city's Niaz Stadium last played host to an international game almost ten years ago when Pakistan clashed with India in the 1997 series.
Zimbabwe are scheduled to arrive in Karachi later this month where they will play two warm-up matches prior to the ODI series.


Pakistan captain wants to put disappointing 2007 behind
Malik seeks improved performance in 2008
Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, wants his players to put a disappointing 2007 behind them and deliver an improved performance over the next 12 months. Apart from losing all three Test series last year, two against South Africa and an away series in India, Pakistan faced a first-round exit at the World Cup, where their coach Bob Woolmer died.
Although Malik led Pakistan to a series win over Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi - his first series in charge - and a place in the final of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa four months later, the team's performance otherwise remained poor.
"Our series win over Sri Lanka and runners-up finish to India in the Twenty20 were the bright points and if we keep that sort of intensity we can also improve our Test performance," Malik told AFP.
Pakistan also lost ODI series against South Africa and India and fell to sixth in both ODI and Test rankings.
"It's not that we lost one-sided contests, but the notable thing was that we made minor mistakes and if we have learnt from those mistakes, which I am confident we have, then we can do well in this new year."
Pakistan's first assignment for the new year is a five-match ODI series at home against Zimbabwe before taking on Australia in March, a series which Malik hopes will raise his team's confidence. The Asia Cup 2008 is also scheduled to take place in Pakistan during June 2008.
"Whenever you play against Australia, your confidence rises because they are a world-class team and I hope that if we do well it will help us in the ICC Champions Trophy later this year.
"Apart from a few positives, the last year was not very good for us, but I am sure that the team will settle and do well in the new year, in which we have to play Australia and [compete] in various important tournaments."


Captain would be happy with neutral venue
Ponting wants to play Pakistan
Ricky Ponting would prefer the Pakistan series scheduled for March to be held at a neutral venue if it is cancelled due to safety concerns. Pakistan's already unstable political situation has worsened in the aftermath of the death of Benazir Bhutto, the opposition leader, and some of the players have expressed concerns about touring.
While acknowledging Pakistan would not want to move the three Tests away from home, which it did in 2002-03 when the series was staged in Sharjah and Sri Lanka, Ponting was keen for it to go ahead. "It's been made clear that they wouldn't like to [play at a neutral venue]," Ponting said in Sydney. "I'd like to be playing cricket at that stage."
Australia has not toured Pakistan since the series of Mark Taylor's 334 in 1998-99, but the Pakistan Cricket Board also has the option to defer the contest if reports from the ICC and Cricket Australia conclude the situation is unsafe. "We haven't played a lot of Test cricket against Pakistan in the last few years," Ponting said. "I'd rather be playing cricket than not be playing."
Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee have spoken about the problems in Pakistan and Ponting said the events surrounding Bhutto's death had created concerns. "But we're always going to be guided by experts in Australia and Pakistan to see how the situation is," he said. "It's out of our control." Cricket Australia will send a security delegation to Pakistan in February before a decision is made.

21 names to report for training camp
U-19 probables for tri-series and World Cup announced

The junior selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the names of 21 probables for a tri-series tournament in Sri Lanka and the World Cup, to be held in Malaysia in February-March.
A two-week training camp will be held at the National Cricket Academy from January 4, before the team departs for Sri Lanka for the tri-series - also involving the hosts and England.
Pakistan will take their place in Malaysia subsequently as the defending champions, having won the Under-19 World Cup in 2006 and 2004.
Probables: Shan Masood, Umer Ameen, Ahmad Shahzad, Usman Salahuddin, Umer Akmal, Hamza Zaheer, Muhammad Yaseen, Fawad Hussain, Imad Waseem, Jibran Khan, Ali Asad, Umair Mir, Muhammad Rameez, Adil Raza, Junaid Khan, Junaid Nadir, Abdul Ameer, Azhar Attari, Shahzeb Ahmad, Kamran Hussain, Ahsan Mirza