Waqar welcomes Younus Khan's return to Pak team

Pakistan team coach Waqar Younis welcomed the return of senior batsman Younus Khan to the national side but hoped injured Mohammad Yousuf would also be fit before the Test series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

"It is a great sign for Pakistan cricket that he (Younus Khan) is back. It will do good for the team. Because in the past he has performed a lot for Pakistan and proven his worth," Waqar said.

Talking to the media at the conclusion of a short conditioning camp for the South Africa series, Waqar also made it clear that he was hoping senior batsman Yousuf would be fit in time for the Tests.

"Yousuf and Younus are proven performers and their presence in the middle order will give us a lot of stability. We need them against a top side like South Africa. I am hoping Yousuf will also be available for the Tests," he said.

The national selectors included Younus in place of unfit Yousuf in national squad after the latter pulled a hamstring during training and has been advised two-three weeks rest.

Manager Intikhab Alam said although Yousuf was out of the Twenty20 and ODI series against South Africa he could be back in time for the Tests.

"It all depends on the selectors if they feel and are satisfied with his fitness. Yousuf will start training again in 10 days time," he said.

Waqar also made it clear that he believed coach needed to be consulted by the national selectors when they pick any team.

His comments came in response to the press conference of chief selector Mohsin Khan, who said earlier that it was not binding upon him to consult the captain or coach.

Waqar said he was looking forward to a evenly competed series against the Proteas.

"We have a very balanced side for all forms of the sport and I think, we are in a position to beat South Africa," he added.

The former fast bowler also made it clear fielding had always remained Pakistan's weakest section and this can only be improved by working at the grass-root level.

Waqar said in the short conditioning camp there had been lot of stress laid on fielding drills and sessions.

The national coach said he would have no problems if the Board decides to appoint a specialist coach with the national team on permanent basis. "Anything that can help the team improve and do well I will always support it," he said.

Younus ready for Proteas challenge

Pakistan's former captain Younus Khan said Thursday he wanted to move on from bitter troubles this year and rebuild his career, after winning back a place in the national team.

The 32-year-old resolved a long-running battle with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday and was immediately picked to play for Pakistan's limited over series against South Africa starting next week.

“I am happy to be back and eager to play for my country,” Younus told reporters. “I am available to play in all three forms of the game and it's up to the management to play me whenever they want.

Younus announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket after leading Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title in England last year and since then, his career has suffered badly.

He was one of seven players banned or fined over disciplinary charges following the team's disastrous tour of Australia, which ended in February.

Except for Mohammad Yousuf, who retired in protest, they all appealed against the bans and fines. A one-man tribunal run by retired judge Irfan Qadir overturned the bans and halved the fines.

Younus's case remained unresolved, however, after the PCB wanted an undertaking from Younus not to repeat the offence in future.

Younus and his lawyer, Ahmed Qayyum, initially refused to comply.

“There was some misunderstanding and I am happy that it is over now, which has helped me focus on my cricket,” said Younus.

“I have joined the training camp and am fit to play as soon as I am given the chance. I am eager to do my best for the team.”

Younus said he was not in the race for the captaincy any more.

“To play for my country is my only desire,” said Younus who stepped down as captain after developing differences with teammates in November.

“I am not in the race for captaincy.”

He pulled out of a tour of New Zealand in December and was not selected for Tests against Australia but returned for the five one-days Down Under.

He has not played international cricket since January, but hopes one good innings can put him back in the groove.

“I have not played cricket for nine or 10 months, but it's just a matter of one good innings and then I will be back in the rhythm,” said Younus, who last played for Pakistan in a one-day at Perth in January.

Younus has so far played 63 Tests, scoring 5260 runs. He has also played 202 one-day and 22 Twenty20 internationals for Pakistan.

Pakistan plays two Twenty20, five one-day and two Tests against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates.

Malik to lead Pakistan squad in HK Sixes

Test discard cricketer Shoaib Malik has been named captain of the Pakistan team for the Super Sixes event organised by the Hong Kong cricket board every year.

The PCB has also named Imran Nazir in the squad. The PCB Monday announced a seven-member squad for Hong Kong Sixes Tournament that will start November 6 at Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong. The team : Ahmed Shahzad, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik (Captain), Shabbir Ahmad, Shoaib Khan, Sohail Khan, Asad Ali.

Ponting's men hesitate and lose: Nielsen

Australia's Test players are too slow to identify and take command of the crucial moments in matches, their coach Tim Nielsen admits. As he mounted a staunch defence of Ricky Ponting's captaincy tenure, Nielsen said a major reason for the team's slide from cricket supremacy to mediocrity was quite simply an inability to recognise or grasp opportunities when they presented themselves.

"We talk about it all the time and we try to do it as a batting group and a bowling group, identify the critical periods and then do our best to win them," said Nielsen. "You can talk about these things as much as you like, people can come in and help, people can make comment and do what they want to do, but in the end it's up to us.

"They have to learn from their experiences, they have to be better at taking the things they've seen and learned and put them into their game so they are better for it, and we have to make sure we're doing those things as fast as we can.

"That's where the pressure is at the moment, because the scoreboard's saying we're not doing it fast enough, the public perception is we're not doing it fast enough, and we need to make sure we've got faith in the way we're going about things."

Nielsen said players both senior and junior had to take responsibility for not standing up when it mattered.

"We keep staying in the contest for as long as we possibly can, and I reckon we're probably an hour away in all those losses from being on the other side of it," he said.

"That's maybe where we need senior players either to stand up for a bit longer, or the young developing players to have a bit more of an impact for longer, to try to keep us in the game for an extra hour, or try to ram home our advantage for an extra hour.

"We talked about in Mohali for example, maybe when Sharma was hurt on day one that might've been the day for us to really ram home the advantage we had, but in saying that, the spinners bowled really well and we found them hard to get away, and the wicket was probably going to deteriorate, so the players were weighing up the risk (against the) reward.

"Sometimes you can't do exactly as you'd like to do, which has an impact later in the game. You see a close result and people say 'oh you couldn't get that last wicket', well it wasn't that, it was four and three quarter days before that leading to it."

Ponting's leadership has faced harsh critiques from the likes of Geoff Lawson and Shane Warne in the wake of the 2-0 series loss to India, but Nielsen was adamant about his qualities.

"We were probably one ball away from a Test match result in Mohali, and I wonder whether all of these things would've been talked about if that had been the case," he said.

"Internally there is in no way shape or form any sort of panic.

"We understand we didn't get the results we'd have liked, but from my and the team's point of view Ricky's got 1000 per cent support and there is nobody better in Australian cricket or anywhere else in the world for the job."

PAKISTAN WARNED BY ICC

An International Cricket Council investigation may have cleared Pakistan of any wrongdoing in the third one-day international against England last month, but the country's board have been issued with a stern warning over their future handling of the game. The ICC board met this week for the first time since damaging spot-fixing allegations against Pakistan surfaced.

And while an investigation continues into suspended trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, additional claims relating to the match at The Brit Oval on September 17 were rejected as having "no compelling evidence to suspect individual players or support staff". Despite that, the overriding tone of the ICC's message to administrators in Pakistan was clear - address your problems quickly or face the consequences.

The ICC Board agreed on eight new measures designed to "protect the integrity of the game and restore confidence" - each of which were approved by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Included in these measures were resolutions that the PCB "act and be seen to be acting to uphold the zero tolerance attitude to corruption in sport", encourage their players to work thoroughly with the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit and implement robust education and disciplinary models in line with the ICC's own code.

In addition there is a strongly-worded reminder, which may be taken as a response to PCB chairman Ijaz Butt's seemingly groundless allegations of corruption in the England team, not to "undermine the integrity, reputation and image of the game and/or any ongoing disciplinary or criminal proceedings".

Finally, the ICC have warned in ominous terms about the consequences of failing to adhere to the new guidelines.

The statement concluded: "If the PCB fails to carry out the above to the satisfaction of the board within the next 30 days, the board will consider what further action (including, if appropriate, sanctions) is required in the circumstances."

Key to the overseeing of the PCB's efforts towards compliance will be the ICC's Pakistan Task Team, a body initially conceived to help the national side deal with its current inability to host home series due to terror threats, but now given an expanded brief.

In a busy day in Dubai, the ICC also confirmed proposals for Test and one-day league structures had been given the green light.

"I'm quite excited by the proposals," chief executive Haroon Lorgat said. "I believe quite firmly that we've responded well to a very important strategic area for international cricket.

"We're now very, very clear in terms of having a Test league, so there will be a type of championship model which will result in the top four teams qualifying to play in semi-finals and then a final.

"I think that's a substantial improvement in terms of introducing context to Test cricket.

"Similarly for ODI cricket we will have a league structure."

Under the proposals, there would also be an enhanced World Twenty20 event comprising 16 teams, while the World Cup would be reduced to 10.

The slimming down of the World Cup will not please associate members, who have long argued for their inclusion at the event, though the greater number of sides involved in the World Twenty20 is designed to soften that blow.

Misbah brushes aside ex-players’ criticism

“I do not agree to what they [some former Test cricketers] are saying doubting my abilities as a captain, and saying that I am not capable of delivering,” Misbah said at the Gaddafi stadium here on Monday.

Misbah, 36, stressed his aim was to inspire the team to put up good performance for attaining good results without considering the might of their opponents.

“I know the task assigned to me is not easy. However, underestimating me as a captain and batsman is not fair as one always learns with time and improves,” the middle-order batsman added.

Misbah said time would tell how he justified himself in the role of captain, adding it was premature to make claims on this issue presently.

Misbah, who has played 19 Tests for Pakistan, said he would endeavour to reduce the gap of his months-long absence from the team by giving good results through his batting and leadership in the two-Test rubber against South Africa to be held in the UAE.

“Even when I was not part of the team I did not give up. I used to train to keep myself in prime form. And I was engaged in cricket because I was confident that I can make a comeback which eventually happened,” said Misbah who was omitted after Pakistan’s disastrous tour to Australia earlier this year.

The Test captain skipped a volley of questions about the possible return of veteran batsman Younis Khan and his (Misbah’s) role in the team selection.

“These are domains of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). As a captain my job is to remain focused and to be a good leader,” Misbah, who has played 56 One-day Internationals so far, said. “I am not afraid of criticism as positive criticism always helps in improving things,” he observed.

Answering a question, he said the ongoing National Twenty20 Championship would help the team prepare to play against South Africa.

“Playing conditions at the off shore venue [UAE] will be conducive and similar to those in Pakistan. And therefore, we stand a good chance to score runs and if we manage to post decent totals we can achieve a favourable result,” he noted.

Misbah reckoned slow bowlers would have a supporting role on the UAE tracks.

“Obviously, spinners can be in a supporting role for the team on such wickets and we have a good variety of all types of bowlers; it all depends on how they perform on a particular day,” he said.

Misbah admitted that his team’s below-par fielding was a long standing problem which needed time for solution.

“We cannot overcome it [poor fielding] in short time as we have been lacking in this department for years. Only sincere efforts and hard work by players can bring improvement in fielding,” he said adding, “With the inclusion of junior players who are relatively better in fielding gradual improvement is being noticed in this department.”

Mohsin reduced to dummy selector as Butt defies all norms

At the time, those words were like sweet music to the ears, specially in the backdrop of what had transpired during the preceding months with Pakistan cricket facing one humiliation after another. In those early days in his job as chief selector, Mohsin was often heard and read in the media that he would ensure that the team was picked on merit and merit alone.

However, it now appears that those words of wisdom were only to create a sense of illusion amongst the innocent souls that all is well as far selection of Pakistan team is concerned. The word ‘merit’ has been thrown out of the window because Mohsin, by his attitude of late, has changed his stance dramatically. By bringing back a 36-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq from nowhere as Pakistan’s fourth Test captain this year has, in truth, put an end to all talks of rebuilding the Pakistan cricket team with an eye on the future.

Mohsin, of course, cannot be entirely blamed for the shock induction of Misbah in the UAE-bound Pakistan squad since the appointment of captain is PCB chairman’s prerogative.

But the chief selector’s claims that Misbah has been picked because of his performance in domestic competitions and his ‘neat and clean background’ are questionable.

If that is the reason then the selectors must be asked to explain why Misbah wasn’t selected for the England tour despite a good run in the Pentangular Cup and the national one-day tournament. Surely his experience would have been handy in England then.

Misbah, if one’s memory serves right, was also part of the group that rebelled against Younis Khan’s captaincy last year.

The timing of the announcement of limited-overs squad is somewhat puzzling because the National Twenty20 competition begins from Sunday in Lahore and the selectors could have waited a few more days before giving a final shape to the side. But it seems they were in some sort of hurry and were forced to follow instructions from the top brass of the cricket board.

It is a clear indication that selections were done in a bid to make up for the blunders committed in the past. According to Mohsin, Younis was the first-choice on the selectors’ list to bolster the middle-order batting but that choice, given the rotten state of PCB chairman Ijaz Butt’s mind, was vetoed.

If Pakistan senior teams in Mohsin’s tenure were picked purely on merit, then the likes of Faisal Iqbal, Khurram Manzoor, Aamir Sajjad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Asim Kamal and Naved Yasin would have surely got slotted in somewhere.

The treatment meted out to leg-spinner Danish Kaneria after the first Test against England is another blunt example of how the PCB is run by a visionless Mr Butt.

Kaneria’s replacement on England tour Raza Hasan, the slow left-armer who now doesn’t figure in any of the three squads announced by the selectors, at least had the chance to visit a country he would only dream of going so early in his career!

Mohsin, meanwhile, has allowed himself to be reduced as the chief of a rubberstamp selection committee because no one in this body has the courage to stand up to Mr Butt who has a regular habit of poking his nose in all selection matters which, indeed, is foul practice.

In the current scenario Mohsin should emulate his predecessor Iqbal Qasim who owned full responsibility of national team’s shambolic display in Australia last season and decided to quit in a dignified manner. But the former opener is unlikely come up with such an elegant gesture.

What transpired on the ill-fated England tour is now history but the colossal damage done to Pakistan cricket in the past few months is beyond repair and the loud and clear calls for a major surgery to save cricket from total degeneration is, apparently, falling on deaf ears.

Pakistan’s inconsistency on the playing fields is nothing new as there is seldom a vision in place to put the house in order.

The main cause of all the ills is that the people at the helm of PCB affairs are shamelessly enjoying their perks and their globetrotting chairman moving merrily from destination to destination on one pretext or another while filling his bulging pockets with more TA/DA.

According to rough estimations, Mr Butt’s trips across the globe have cost a whopping 11.9 million rupees in the first nine months this year. Who says Pakistan cricket is not flourishing and heading in the right direction!

Misbah named Test captain, Shahid remains ODI, T20 skipper

Test cricketer Misbah-ul-Haq has been named the new Test Captain of Pakistan, while Shahid Afridi would lead One-day and T20 teams, Geo News reported Friday.

Earlier on Thursday PCB in a surprise move had announced the captain-less squad against South Africa, which had given rise to the suspicion that Afridi being replaced by Misbah.

National selectors came out with quite a few surprises on Thursday, recalling senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq and once again overlooking former captain Shoaib Malik for the limited-overs series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates.

Kamran Akmal was replaced with Zulqarnain Haider, while former captain Younis Khan was ignored once again.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) added another twist to the story when it decided against naming the captain even though it had earlier earmarked experienced all-rounder Shahid Afridi to continue as skipper till World Cup 2011.

Afidi, who has been leading Pakistan in ODIs and Twenty20s since this year’s ICC World Twenty20 championship in the Caribbean, has been included in the 15-man touring party.

Misbah’s stunning return and a delay in naming the captain has raised quite a few eyebrows. According to media report, during a marathon meeting with national selectors in Lahore on Thursday, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt declared that the team’s captain will be named later.

It is reported that one of the prime reasons why Misbah has been recalled is because he could lead Pakistan if Butt agrees to sack Afridi as captain. However, a top official has insisted that Misbah’s recall is based purely on cricketing merit. Mohsin Hasan Khan, Pakistan’s chief selector, defended the decision to recall Misbah, who last played a One-day International in September 2009.

“We needed a senior batsman in the team,” Mohsin told. “Due to the unavailability of Salman Butt, there weren’t many experienced batters in the side,” he added. Salman Butt together with fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last month after being accused of accepting bribes from match-fixers during the Lord’s Test against England.

But why was Misbah, who is already 36 and was discarded as a spent force almost a year ago, preferred over younger and fitter batters like Faisal Iqbal, Aamer Sajjad, Khurram Manzoor and Taufeeq Umar — all prolific run-getters on the domestic circuit last season.”

“Misbah was really successful in the Pentangular Cup,” said Mohsin. But Misbah played just two matches in the Pentangular Cup, scoring 176 runs. The Mianwali-based batsman, however, top scored in the National One-day Cup with 490 runs at 163.33.

There was no room for the experienced Younis Khan in the team. Mohsin said that the PCB is yet to clear Younis for national duty. “We didn’t get any clearance as far as Younis is concerned.” Mohsin, a former Pakistan Test opener, said that Shoaib Malik will have to prove his form before earning a recall.

“He needs to come back in form. There was a lot of discussion about him but in the end we decided to give him more time to win back a place in the team.”

Mohsin said that Kamran Akmal, who recently underwent an appendicitis operation in Lahore, can regain his place in the team once he attains full fitness. “We have dropped him because of health reasons,” he said adding that the selectors want to groom wicketkeepers like Zulqarnain Haider and Sarfraz Ahmed.

“We are trying to make an all-round combination of youth and experience which is why Zulqarnain and Sarfraz will be given ample chances.” Zulqarnain has replaced Akmal as the team’s stumper for the limited-overs series against South Africa, while Sarfraz has been included in the Pakistan ‘A’ squad for the tour of West Indies getting underway from November 3.

Meanwhile, Imran Farhat has been recalled to the ODI squad at the expense of big-hitting opener Shahzaib Hasan. Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul will lead the pace attack in the absence of Asif and Amir. Veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and rookie fast bowler Tanveer Ahmed complete the pace quartet.

But it will be there spin quartet that is likely to trouble South Africa on pitches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which are expected to assist spinners. Pakistan have included two specialist spinner — Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman — in the squad. With Afridi and Muhammad Hafeez, also in the squad, they will have ample spin options during the series, which will kick off with a Twenty20 International in Abu Dhabi on October 26. “We have some really good spinners and I’m sure they will do well in UAE,” said Mohsin.

Pakistan squad: Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Tanveer Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider