World Cup will be led by 'Rickshaw drivers'

The Cricket Mega event's thrill has now reached to extreme as its just a day ahead. The stage has been set and the teams are ready to battle. The shining WC trophy is a dream to be fulfilled by every captain but they will start the chase driving Rickshaws.



The return of mega event to the sub-continent after 15 years will be celebrated through a MEGA opening ceremony at Dhaka. All the captains will enter the ground driving rickshaws, a popular public transport means in Bangladesh. Interesting?



On the other hand, the great pop sensation Bryan Adams will rock the audience. Indian musician trio Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, who have also made the WC OST, will perform and renowned singer Sonu Nigam is also set to blast the crowd.

I locked my wife in closet on final`s eve: Saqlain recalls World Cup '99 memories

Playing as a youngster in the 1999 World Cup I had nothing to do with the decisions made or strategies followed by the seniors or team management at the time, but I believe that we shouldn’t have batted first after winning the toss in the final against Australia at Lord’s where the ball is known to swing during the first innings.

Still, having no say in such matters, I just concentrated on enjoying my game and doing my best for my country. The atmosphere in the Pakistan dressing room, too, was very friendly and the team played with unity and the belief of being able to beat any side.

I took five wickets against Bangladesh while giving away just 35 runs at Northhampton along with three for 51 against Australia at Leeds and three for 16 against Zimbabwe in the Super Sixes at The Oval, which became some of my best ODI figures.

But the 1999 World Cup also brings to mind other happy memories for me as I had only recently gotten married then. My wife Sana is from London so I was glad to be allowed time with her in between matches and net practice. But things changed in the last 10 days of the tournament when all the players were requested to send back their better halves home so that we could concentrate on the important matches in the Super Sixes.

Since I was not prepared to part company with my wife at the time, I came up with a great idea and decided to hand her the list of hotels where our team was scheduled to stay during the matches so that she could reach there and check herself in ahead of our arrival.

However, the night before the final when I was sitting in my room with her, our manager Dr Zafar Altaf and assistant manager Chishty sahab knocked at the door.

Actually, both the team officials were checking on all the players to ensure that we were all in our rooms and resting before the big match. I quickly asked my wife to hide in the cupboard before ushering them in. As soon as they left, our coach Richard Pybus arrived in my room and stayed till 10.30pm. When he finally bade goodnight, I got two new visitors in Mohammad Yousuf and Azhar Mahmood.

Feeling guilty by this time about the poor girl hiding in the closet, I finally asked my wife to come out which obviously took both my teammates by surprise. However, they really enjoyed the whole thing upon learning the truth.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/16/i-locked-my-wife-in-closet-on-finals-eve-saqlain.html#comment-37384

No Social Media for Cricketers

Pakistan Cricket Board has banned cricketers' use of facebook and twitter. Coach Intikhab Alam told media that PCB has revised its discipline policy and as the result, cricketers will wont be able to use social networking websites as facebook or twitter.

Zulqarnain Haider [disappeared]

Pakistani Wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider has disappeared from Dubai. One of the key-players of the 4th ODI against South Africa left hotel at 6:30am and is still missing.

On a message left at Facebook, Zulqarnain said that “I’m leaving team after threats from someone”. “Provide security to my family”, demanded young wicket-keeper in his message. He added that he’s moving to England. His brother Raza Haider has verified that Zulqarnain had threats from identified sources.

On the other hand, Manager Pakistani team Nadeem Sarwar said that, “Zulqarnain took his passport back last night for some reason.”

Where has he disappeared? Left or kidnapped?

The final of leveled series has to take place today. Umer Akmal will replace Zulqarnain behind the wickets.

Razzaq's incredible 109 outclassed SA

Star all rounder Abdur Razzaq's match-winning century brought a thrilling win to Pakistan against South Africa in 2nd ODI. Abu Dhabi stadium, on 31st October, witnessed the rampant and fierce innings of Abdur Razzaq where he stunned the SA team with 109 runs off 72 balls. Pakistan won by just one wicket with one ball remaining.

The target of 276 by SA seemed unachievable when Pakistan lost early wickets of Asad Shaif, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez on just 70. This is where Fawad Alam (48) and Shahid Afridi (49) supported the team with a sensible partnership. Abdur Razzaq inherited a lost game when Fawad Alam was his only hope and after Alam's dismissal, he had the lower-order batsmen.

Razzaq started off patiently and strengthened Pakistan's position. His aggressive batting brought Pakistan back to the game. in 47th over, Razzaq launched 3 sixes and after that a series of boundaries brought Pakistan closer to the win. In last over, Pakistan required 15 runs where Razzaq stunned SA with 2 sixes and a four on the second last ball of the over. What a memorable innings by him!

The outrageous performance of Razzaq witnessed 10 sixes and 7 fours (strike rate 151.38)

Smart Stats:

* Abdul Razzaq's ten sixes in the innings moved him into joint third position among batsmen to hit the most sixes in an ODI innings behind Xavier Marshall (12), and Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi (both 11).

* Razzaq finished with a strike rate of 151.38, which is the highest among 100-plus scores in ODIs against South Africa. The previous best was Matthew Hayden's 101 off 68 (strike rate 148.52).

* The 12 sixes in Pakistan's innings were the second highest number in an innings while chasing.

* This was the fifth occasion that Pakistan have won a match by one wicket. All five wins have come against a different opposition.

* This was the fourth highest total chased successfully against South Africa in ODIs and the tenth highest by Pakistan

* This was Razzaq's first 50-plus ODI score in more than four years, and his first century since September 2004.

Salute to the match-winner!

ICC probes Suresh Raina's links with bookie

The ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit is probing why the Indian Board kept quiet about a report of its player Suresh Raina being seen in the company of a woman linked to an associate of an illegal bookmaker, a media report said in London.

Making it clear that Raina was not suspected of any wrongdoing, 'The Sunday Times', quoting a senior ICC source, said the incident related to India's tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.

With the heightened security concerns following the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan, the Sri Lankans deputed a former general to look after the Indian team.

CCTV Cameras installed at the Indian team hotel showed that on more than one night Raina was in the company of a woman known to be an associate of a man allegedly linked to a bookmaker.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/icc-probes-suresh-rainas-links-with-bookie/701734/


A report, including the CCTV footage, was submitted by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to their Indian counterparts.

Umpire of the year - Aleem Dar wins it again!

PCB Umpire Aleem Dar has been honored again by ICC. He has consecutively won the ICC award for best umpire. The ICC Awards 2010 ceremony was held at Bangalore, India, where Dar had strong competitors in this category like Steve Davis, Tony Hill and five-time winner Simon Taufel.

Dar, 42, was voted by the captains of the ten full members of the ICC and the eight-man elite panel of ICC's match referees for the period August 24, 2009 to August 10, 2010. Their choice was based on his decision statistics and officiating skills over the past 12 months.

A quick view on his umpiring career:

Tests: 60 matches
ODIs: 133 matches
T20Is: 18 matches

Fast bowler Mohammad Aamir was also a strong nomination and was expected to win, but unfortunately, the controversy has deprived him of that award.

Collecting the award, Dar said: "I think the fact that I'm still playing cricket in Pakistan makes me a good umpire. In the last four times I've played cricket I've scored centuries so I definitely think that has helped."

Anyway, atleast one award won by a Pakistani. Thank you Dar for making us proud once again!

- Jibran T.