Tag Archives: Pakistan Cricket Board

Trio leaving Pakistan squad for showdown meeting

Posted on by
Reply

The three Pakistan players embroiled in betting scam allegations were to leave the squad on Wednesday to face cricket and government authorities, de facto sidelining them from the team.

Test captain Salman Butt, plus bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, were to leave Pakistan’s training camp in Taunton, southwest England, and head to London for a meeting with officials.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said it will not suspend them while the allegations are being investigated, though their date in London means they are set to miss the next match, effectively deferring the highly contentious decision over whether they should play on.

Pakistan is due to face county side Somerset in Taunton on Thursday in a warm-up match ahead of their limited overs internationals against England.

Butt, Aamer and Asif are set to miss out as they head for talks with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner (ambassador) to Britain.

It is thought the three players will not rejoin the squad until Friday at the earliest.

It appears increasingly likely that they will play no further part in the tour.

Following the Somerset warm-up, Pakistan face two Twenty20 matches against England in Cardiff on Sunday and Tuesday, then five one-day internationals.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has promised “prompt and decisive action” if the “spot-fixing” allegations made by Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper are proven.

Customs officials in Britain said they had arrested and bailed two men and a woman on Sunday “as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering”. A source confirmed the arrests were linked to the cricket scandal.

They were a man and a woman, both aged 35 and from Croydon in south London, and a 49-year-old man from Wembley in northwest London.

“These individuals were arrested, questioned and have been bailed pending further investigation,” Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs said in a statement.

Somerset chief executive Richard Gould said: “I think in these particular circumstances, we understand.”

The world of cricket has reacted with shock and dismay to claims that huge sums of money had changed hands in alleged fixing schemes at international level, linked to shadowy betting rings.

Investigators from the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit are in Britain looking into the allegations.

Meanwhile former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson said that while the poverty and violence in the country made corruption understandable, “that does not make it acceptable.”

He said a selector once told him if a certain player was not picked, his own daughter would be kidnapped.

“These things are part of everyday life in Pakistan,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“When a player is accused of taking money, it could be a case of sheer greed. Or they might want the money to pay for a new generator in their home village.

“Or they might even have been threatened with violence against themselves or a member of their family.”

Share

Salman Butt appointed long-term Test captain

Posted on by
Reply

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ijaz Butt has decided to appoint Salman Butt long-term captain to lead the side in Test cricket while Shahid Afridi was already retained captain for the limited over cricket until World Cup 2011.

“The idea is to give him [Salman] confidence and support and also enough time to rebuild the team and settle upon winning combinations”, the PCB Chairman said an interview with the Express news. “The board has been looking for a long-term captain – who has confidence in the abilities as a cricketer and captain. And Butt showed great temperament since took the charge as captain.”

“He is capable of manning our initiative of inducting the younger players and providing them with the encouragement, guidance and support to cement their places in the Pakistan team on a long term basis”, Butt added.

Salman during the ongoing tour of England took over the captaincy following Shahid Afridi’s decision to retire from the Test. Afridi made his announcement immediately after Pakistan lost the first Test against Australia by 150 runs at Lord’s – his first Test as skipper.

Pakistan however under Salman’s captaincy launched a new road of success as Pakistan subsequently beat Australia in the second Test – first Test win against Australia in 15 years. “The decision of appointing Salman was hastily arranged but the boy showed great ability to take things further so we have decided to give him a long-term captaincy.”

Salaman, 25, who was vice-captain for nearly six months and has played 32 Tests, though never was the frontrunner to be the captain, but the his ability to cope as captain during the England tour gave PCB every reason to retain him captain. His next assignment after England is the two-test series against South Africa in United Arab Emirates. He became the 28th captain of the Pakistani Test team and the fifth to lead them since January 2009.

Share

Sarfaraz Nawaz terms Birmingham wicket as substandard

Posted on by
1

While terming the Birmingham wicket as “substandard” former fast bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to lodge a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in this regard.

“The wicket was not adequately rolled and right from the first day the ball started bouncing unevenly from the good-length area, which caused a lot of difficulty to the batsmen, especially to the left-handers. This is a sign of a substandard pitch. In my opinion, the PCB should have lodged a formal complaint with the ICC in this regard”, he said.

The outspoken erstwhile fast bowler minced no word in claiming that the home cricket board purposely prepared such a wicket.

“I have a feeling that after seeing the fragile batting line-up of Pakistan, the home board prepared such a strip on purpose”, he said.

To a question, Sarfaraz turned down the idea of appointing a batting coach for the national side, saying that the batting coach could not alter the technique of the players overnight. Sarfaraz Nawaz also said that the academy in Lahore was not serving the purpose.

“The academy has failed to produce the desired results. For the betterment of the game, work needs to be done at the grassroots level.

The PCB should engage local associations to revive club cricket and the idea of having specialist coaches would serve the purpose in a better way if applied at the lower level”.

Share