PCB action evokes mixed reactions

KARACHI: Pakistan cricket fraternity on Wednesday reacted with surprise, anger and content to severe punishment handed out by the Board to half-a-dozen current players on disciplinary counts.

While former players like Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rashid Latif felt the Board's move would further hit the image of Pakistan cricket, the older generation players like Zaheer Abbas and Abdul Kadir were all support for the punishment.

The Board banned seniors Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan for life and handed one-year bans to Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the wake of their flop show Down Under.

Brothers Kamran and Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi were put under observation and imposed heavy fines.

"How can you treat senior players Yousuf and Younis like this? How can you ban them for life? If they were doing something wrong the board should have spoken and warned them first. You don't take such harsh decision at once," a fuming Inzamam asked.

Inzamam was baffled why the team management kept silence during the tour and came out with sever punishments now.,

"Why were Kamran and Umar not sent back from Australia? Why was Afridi not penalised in Australia by the team management? Why come out with such harsh decisions in one go which could badly damage the image of Pakistan cricket?."

Inzamam was also critical of the composition of the inquiry committee saying it was not an independent and unbiased body.

"How can you have Yawar Saeed or Zakir Khan on the committee. Yawar was recently manager of the team?," he asked.

Rashid Latif questioned the timing of the action and felt the Board may have done it to save its own skin.

He also suggested players to knock the judicial doors, challenging the punishment, and was confident that aggrieved players would come out victorious.

"Younis I think has been treated unfairly for long now, what was his fault and yet he is banned for life. This is not the way to improve things in Pakistan cricket. "If things were so wrong in Australia then what was the team management doing. - PTI

Asif returned over Rs3.24 million: Veena

Karachi: Pakistani cricketer Muhammad Asif and actress-model Veena Malik is said to have settled their much-hyped money dispute as the two held a meeting in Lahore a private TV reported on Wednesday.

“Asif returned me in today’s meeting 3.2 million rupees that I had lent him and he promised to return the remaining Rs12 million in next one week,” Veena told ARY NEWS on telephone.

“I hope he will return the remaining amount in the specified time, but if he failed I’ve my right to go for a legal action,” Veena added.

Veena also revealed that pace-bowler Asif had proposed her last month but she turned down his offer.

“But still I consider him my good friend and will continue be friends with him,” she claimed.

Veena has claimed she supported Asif both ‘emotionally’ and ‘financially’ during his bad days, and now she at least wants her money back. Asif was sidetracked for a while due to drug charges in Dubai.

According to sources, Asif had assured Veena of marriage once his cricketing career was back on track and he was re-selected in the Pakistan team.

“Veena kept on giving Asif money during his turbulent period. She had to sell her house in Islamabad, a couple of residential plots and gold jewelry to help Asif come out of the mess in which he was,” sources said.

“She was madly in love with him, but he dumped her and married someone else.

Veena has documentary proof of the money she was giving to Asif for the last two years,” the sources added.

Malik has sued Asif for recovery of 3.4 million rupees. - Agencies

Germany won’t have it easy against

an inspired England

New Delhi: England will draw inspiration from their historic triumph over Germany at the European Championship final last year when they clash with the defending champions in the Hockey World Cup semi-final here today.

England shocked Germany 5-3 in the European Cup final that moulded them into a fighting bunch which is on show at this World Cup.

Germany, however, boast of an envious record against England. They have beaten England three times in the World Cup, including a 2-1 triumph in the 2006 edition. England's only victory came in the 1986 semi-final when they went on to post their best World Cup performance by finishing second.

On the other hand, Germany pipped England 3-2 in their last competitive encounter at the 2009 Champions Trophy. Their inferior head-to-head record against Germany in the World Cup notwithstanding, England would be hoping to carry forward their good form that has made them one of favourites.

The journey of the two teams to the semi-finals, however, has been a study in contrast.

England began their campaign with a bang, shocking favourites Australia and became the first team to reach the pre-title round with four wins on the trot. - IANS

Sohail Tanvir advised four months rest

LAHORE: Pakistan fast bowler Sohail Tanvir will be out for four months after a successful knee operation in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The operation was carried out by Dr. David Young, the Pakistan Cricket Board said. Young has also previously treated Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Saeed Anwar.

Tanvir hurt his knee last November during a Twenty20 international against New Zealand at Dubai.

It cost him a contract with Victoria in the Australian Twenty20 league, and forced him to miss Pakistan's tour of New Zealand and Australia. He'll also miss the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, and possibly the tour of England starting in July.

Tanvir has played two tests, both against India in 2007, and took five wickets. He has also competed in 31 one-day internationals (44 wickets) and 15 Twenty20s (11 wickets). - Agencie

Out of form Pietersen to play Test against BD

London: England cricket coach Andy Flower has said that out of form batsman Kevin Pietersen is sure shot starter for the first Test against Bangladesh.

Pietersen managed just 20 in Tuesday`s drawn warm-up match against Bangladesh A.

Flower, when asked whether KP`s place was on the line, said: "No. I thought Kevin looked good in the middle. But it was a pity he didn`t spend three hours there."

"Like most world-class players he spends a lot of time in the nets and a lot of hard work goes into his game. I still expect good things from him," he said.

 Flower`s team is likely to feature Matt Prior as wicketkeeper-batsman at No 6, with two spinners and three pacemen. And it is the fast bowling that is causing the biggest riddle because seven hopefuls are vying for those places. - Agencies

Raqibul Hasan retires

DHAKA: In a shock move, Bangladesh's young middle order batsman Raqibul Hasan has retired from all forms of cricket ahead of the country's first Test match against England, an official said on Wednesday.

Hasan, 22, hit an unbeaten century and a half century in the three-day practice match against England and was a certainty against the visitors in the first Test match beginning in Chittagong on Friday.

"He wrote a letter to us this morning, withdrawing himself from the Test series against England.

He also announced his retirement from all forms of cricket," Bangladesh Cricket Board director Jalal Yunus said.

"It has stunned us. He is a brilliant cricketer and played two superb knocks against England just days back.

Coach Jamie Siddons and Raqibul's parents tried to change his mind. But he is adamant," he said.

Hasan made Test and One-day debuts in 2008 and has played seven Test matches and 41 One-Day Internationals.

He is the only player in the Bangladeshi team to have hit a triple century in first class cricket. - AFP

Dilshan signs for Sussex

LONDON: Sri Lankan T20 specialist Tillakaratne Dilshan will play for Sussex this season, the English county announced on Wednesday.

Dilshan, whose trademark 'Dilscoop' shot has enthralled crowds around the world, was player of the tournament at last year's World T20 in England where his 317 runs at 52.38 helped power Sri Lanka to the Lord's final against eventual champions Pakistan.

The 33-year-old will join fellow overseas signings Yasir Arafat and Dwayne Smith, who helped Sussex win last season's Twenty20 Cup en route to the Champions League in India. - DPA

Surrey sign Rao Iftikhar as cover for three weeks

karachi: Surrey has signed Pakistan pacer Rao Iftikhar Anjum as its overseas player to cover for India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who will be playing in the Indian Premier League during the early part of the season.

Rao Iftikhar, 29, will be available for Surrey's first three LV County Championship matches of the summer.

"Signing someone with the experience and proven wicket-taking abilities of Rao Iftikhar will allow us to add a bit of quality to the squad and is very much in line with the signings that we have already made since the end of the 2009 season,” said Surrey's professional cricket manager Chris Adams.

"Along with his impressive stats, I believe Rao is the type of bowler who will perform well in English conditions - and with Pakistan touring later in the year, he has a terrific opportunity to lay down a marker for selection.

"He can swing the ball well, has a very repeatable action and consistently bowls in the mid to high eighties. We look forward to his arrival," added Adams.

Iftikhar has an impressive first-class record, with 388 wickets at 23.87 but has only played one Test for Pakistan, against Sri Lanka almost four years ago.

He has featured more regularly in the one-day side, taking 77 wickets from 62 games at an average over 31.

He is hoping to make the most of his chance to uphold the tradition of high-profile Pakistani bowlers - such as Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Azhar Mahmood and Intikhab Alam - who have made such an impact over the years at The Oval.

"Playing for an English county has long been an ambition of mine, and am I very much looking forward to joining Surrey in the coming weeks," he said.

"Some of the greatest Pakistani bowlers of recent times have played for Surrey and I am honoured to be following in their footsteps." - Cricinfo

Clarke included into Test squad for NZ series

Melbourne: Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke, who has returned home from New Zealand for personal reasons, was today included into the 14-member squad for the two-match Test series against the black caps commencing from March 19.

Australia`s National Selection Panel (NSP), under the chairmanship of Andrew Hilditch met today to pick the squad, to be led by Ponting.

Clarke earlier cited "personal reasons" for quitting midway through the ongoing ODI series and left the team hotel on Monday.

All-rounder Ryan Harris, who has recovered from an injury also returned to the Test squad, which also has left-hand opening batsman Phillip Hughes, a Cricket Australia release said.

Meanwhile, young all-rounder Steven Smith got the reward of his impressive performance in Australian domestic circuit as the 20-year old was also included into the squad.

"The core of the squad is the Australian Test team that performed so well during the Australian summer in defeating West Indies and Pakistan," Hilditch said.

"Ryan Harris, having overcome injuries at the start of the season, has played really well for Australia in the shorter formats of the game. The NSP are confident that if Ryan gets an opportunity he has the ability to have an impact for Australia in what will be a very hard Test series against New Zealand.”

"Phillip Hughes has also been in excellent form at state level and richly deserves his selection on the back of another fantastic season in the Weet-Bix Sheffield Shield," Hilditch said.

"Steven Smith has had an excellent Shield season, including a big century against Tasmania recently, and of course has already demonstrated his ability to cope with the pressure of international cricket.

Squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke (v-capt), Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris, Phillip Hughes, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Clint McKay, Marcus North, Steven Smith, Shane Watson. - PTI