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Akhtar out with knee injury

Karachi: Injury-prone Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar has been ruled out of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka next month. The 33-year-old paceman had an MRI on his troublesome left knee and after the report was handed to the Pakistan Cricket Board, their medical expert Dr. Sohail Salim said Akhtar will not be able to take part in the series.

The injury-prone fast bowler, whose ten-year career is besotted with injuries and discipline problems, was dropped from the third and final one-day match against Sri Lanka earlier this month as he failed to perform and was not hundred percent fit.

“He needs a keyhole surgery on his knee. There are loose bones floating in his knee. We must not linger on and an operation is a must,” said Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam. As of now, Akhtar is likely to be out of action for three-four weeks.

Former captain Shoaib Malik questioned his commitment and fitness after the second match but took a U-turn before the third, saying that he never named Akhtar and was talking of all the eleven players in the team.

Sri Lanka return to Pakistan on February 14 to play a three-day side match and two Tests – the final dates of which are yet to be announced.

Akhtar had operations on both his knees in early 2006 forcing him to sit out of Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka and England the same year. The controversial fast bowler was awarded central contract this year only after playing three Twenty20 matches in 2008. A hamstring injury forced him to sit out of all three one-day matches against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi in November last year.

He missed out on a contract last year through injury and lack of discipline. On his exclusion from the contract, Akhtar publicly criticised the PCB which imposed a five year ban on him in April. The ban was later reduced to 18 months with a fine of Rs seven million (one hundred thousand dollars).

Akhtar appealed against the ban in Lahore High court which was suspended. His appeal against the reduction of the ban and fine is still pending with the court.

Sehwag to play, Murali on verge of record

Match facts

Saturday, January 31, 2009
Start time 14:30 local, (09:00 GMT)

The Big Picture

	Muttiah Muralitharan is on the verge of becoming the highest wicket-taker in ODIs © AFP

India’s 3-2 victory in August last year was their first-ever bilateral series win in Sri Lanka and their chances of making it two in a row will increase significantly if the result of Saturday’s day-night contest goes their way. India gain a massive boost with the return of Virender Sehwag - who missed the first ODI due to a hip injury - and a win for them will leave the hosts needing three consecutive victories to prevent defeat; a Sri Lankan success will bring the series back on an even keel.

To beat a clinical Indian outfit, however, Sri Lanka will have to shape up in disciplines that let them down in the first one-dayer in Dambulla. Apart from their batsmen failing to build substantially on Sanath Jayasuriya’s century, Sri Lanka also to gave India leeway with loose running between the wickets and sloppy catching, aspects that are usually second nature to them. Tillakaratne Dilshan dropped Suresh Raina early in India’s chase, and his run-out earlier in the match was the first of two in the innings, and the seventh of eight in their last six ODIs.

India, on the other hand, did little wrong during their six-wicket victory. There were traces of rustiness in the field, and a couple of batsmen fell to forgettable dismissals, but on the whole, the execution of the chase was calm and efficient even though Sehwag, a critical cog in the batting line-up, was missing. Their handling of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis - the duo that caused nightmares during the last Test series - was particularly effective: between them, Murali and Mendis took only 1 for 99 in 20 overs.

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Tsotsobe helps South Africa grab No. 1 ranking

South Africa 6 for 288 (Amla 97, Duminy 60*, de Villiers 60, Hopes 3-44) beat Australia 249 (M Hussey 78, Haddin 63, Tsotsobe 4-50) by 39 runs

	Hashim Amla scored his second consecutive half-century © AFP

South Africa’s near-perfect tour began with a Test win in Perth and fittingly it finished with a one-day triumph at the same venue as Australia conceded the No. 1 ranking to Johan Botha’s men. JP Duminy, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, all of whom contributed to the Test successes, finished the trip strongly and the debutant Lonwabo Tsotsobe picked up four wickets to give the tourists one more happy story to recount on the flight home.

When South Africa arrived in Australia in December, they fancied their chances in the Tests but felt they still had a lot of improving to do in the shorter format. It’s not unusual for holidaymakers to head back to their own country with a fresh perception of the world and that’s exactly what South Africa will take home thanks to their 4-1 result and new No. 1 status.

South Africa had waited all series for the chance to bat first and when they did, they set the largest target of the five games thanks to Amla, de Villiers and Duminy. Australia knew that chasing 289 was going to be tough and when they stumbled to 4 for 53, Ricky Ponting might have been ready to update his assessment that Monday’s loss in Adelaide was their worst performance of the summer.

But in a reverse of Australia’s trend throughout the series, the middle and lower orders outshone their colleagues at the top. Michael Hussey’s 78 gave them the subtlest of sniffs and David Hussey and Brad Haddin made handy contributions but, like an Australian Tour de France cyclist, the uphill effort was simply too arduous.

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112 players in second IPL auction

	Michael Clarke is the star attraction among the Australians after missing the previous edition of the IPL © PA Photos

The IPL has announced an exhaustive list of 112 overseas players who will be considered for the second auction in Goa on February 6. Not surprisingly, Australians dominate the list (27) while the big difference from last year’s edition is the addition of 21 England players.

Each franchise has a maximum of US$2m to spend on their overseas signings in the auction, which gets underway on February 6, and it is likely that only about 16 players - or two per franchise - will be chosen out of the 112.

The England players will be available for a three-week window in the tournament for the next two years, with Kevin Pietersen the star attraction. Pietersen has a a base price of 1.3 million us dollar, and it is expected that he could be the highest paid player. Veterans like Dominic Cork and Darren Gough also figure in the list.

“We are extremely happy with the interest the league has garnered globally,” said Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, “and look forward to the action at the second player auction in Goa.”

List of players for second auction

Australia: Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Nathan Hauritz, Stuart Clark, Brad Hogg, Beau Casson, Mark Cameron, Peter Forrest, Lee Carseldine, Doug Bowler, Michael Dighton, Jason Krejza, Nathan Reardon, Chris Hartley, Shaun Tait, Ashley Noffke, Bryce McGain, George Bailey, Travis Birt, Michael Hill, Chris Swan, Michael Klinger, Ben Edmondson, Aiden Blizzard, Mark Cosgrove, Adam Voges, Shane Harwood

England: Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Ravi Bopara, Monty Panesar, Robert Key, James Foster, Tyron Henderson, Sajid Mahmood, Matt Prior, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah, Shaun Udal, Darren Gough, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright, James Anderson, Ed Joyce, Dominic Cork

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Rajin Saleh, Ziaur Rehman, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Raqibul Hasan, Nadif Chowdhury

New Zealand: Mark Gillespie, Tim Southee, Jesse Ryder, Jeetan Patel, Kyle Mills, Chris Martin, Jamie How, Peter Fulton, James Franklin

Pakistan: Asim Kamal, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Danish Kaneria, Yasir Arafat

South Africa: Gulam Bodi, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Ashwell Prince, JP Duminy, Martin van Jaarsveld, Roelof van der Merwe, Andre Nel, Neil McKenzie, Yusuf Abdullah, Paul Harris, Johan Botha, Morne van Wyk

Sri Lanka: Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Mahela Udawatte, Dammika Prasad, Thilina Kandamby, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Jehan Mubarak, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Malinga Bandara, Malinda Warnapura, Michael Vandort, Prasanna Jayawardene, Upul Tharanga, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Jeevantha Kulatunga

West Indies Sylvester Joseph, Darren Sammy, Andre Fletcher, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Smith, Kemar Roach

Zimbabwe Vusi Sibanda

Pakistan replace Malik with Younis as captain

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday replaced Shoaib Malik with Younus Khan as captain of the national cricket team after a humiliating defeat against Sri Lanka, its chairman said.

Malik led Pakistan to their worst one-day defeat — by 234 runs — in the third and final one-day international in Lahore on Saturday, handing Sri Lanka a 2-1 series win.

“Malik has accepted to step down after the Sri Lanka defeat and we have appointed Younus as the new captain for an indefinite period,” PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told reporters.

“We haven’t sacked Malik. In fact, I met Malik and told him about the situation, as the whole nation felt disappointed over the team’s poor performance and a lot of people wanted a change,” said Butt.

“That is why I requested Malik to step down and he gracefully accepted.”

Malik was appointed captain after Pakistan’s first round exit from the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. His tenure as captain was extended for an indefinite period earlier this month.

The 2-1 series defeat against Sri Lanka, however, sparked a furious reaction in cricket-mad Pakistan.

The sports committee of the Senate summoned Malik, coach Intikhab Alam and chief selector Abdul Qadir on February 9 to explain the defeat.

Butt said coach Alam and team manager Yawar Saeed were also asked to submit a detailed report on the team’s loss.

Younus said Tuesday he would unite everyone to lift the team. He will assume his new duties in the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka next month.

“I will try my best to take everyone with me to lift the team,” he said.

Asked about Younus having refused the captaincy on two previous occasions, Butt did not express concern.

“He (Younus) must have some reasons for not taking the captaincy,” said Butt, referring to the moment when Younus refused to lead Pakistan after the team’s exit from the 2007 World Cup citing personal reasons.

Younus also refused to lead the team in the Champions Trophy held in India in October 2006, just a day after he was appointed skipper, saying he did not want to be a dummy captain.

He was reinstated as captain, however, for the Trophy after Nasim Ashraf replaced Shaharyar Khan as PCB chairman.

Malik said he accepted Tuesday’s relegation.

“Whatever decision they (the PCB) have taken, they must have thought about the best interest of Pakistan cricket. I have played as an ordinary member before, so I will play as player,” said Malik.

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq said Malik’s downfall was written in the cards.

“Malik failed to handle the players,” said Inzamam. “A good captain is not just about winning and losing, but how he unites the team and handles his players, and in this Malik was poor,” said Inzamam.

Malik led Pakistan in 36 one-day internationals — 12 defeats and 24 wins — including a Pakistan record 12-match winning streak.

He also led Pakistan in three Tests, losing two and drawing one.

In contrast, the 31-year-old Younus has led Pakistan in six one-day matches, winning two and losing four.

India ease to six-wicket win in opener

India 247 for 4 (Gambhir 62, Raina 54, Dhoni 61*) beat Sri Lanka 246 for 6 (Jayasuriya 107, Ishant 3-51) by six wickets

	With his hundred, Sanath Jayasuriya corrected his poor personal record at this venue - 364 runs in 17 innings before this © AFP

Half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni outdid a superlative century from Sanath Jayasuriya as India successfully chased the highest total in a day game in Dambulla. The pursuit never got out of hand for India, despite the early fall of Sachin Tendulkar. Once Gambhir and Raina got going, the asking-rate went above five only towards the last ten overs.

India got vital contributions from three batsmen, and were disciplined in the field. Sri Lanka relied on a spectacular Jayasuriya alone for their runs, and dropped both Gambhir and Raina in the initial stages of their innings.

Both the chances came in a frenetic first Powerplay of India’s innings, after Kumar Dharmasena erroneously sent Tendulkar on his way as his first umpiring victim, lbw off a ball that pitched outside leg. In the over following that dismissal, Nuwan Kulasekara came up with an athletic effort to catch a low leading edge from Gambhir off his own bowling. But after various replays Gambhir benefited from lack of sufficient evidence, although the take could well have been clean.

In the next over Raina cut Thilan Thushara straight to Tillakaratne Dilshan at point and survived. Insult was added to injury in the next over, when Raina unleashed two delightful straight drives and a lofted six off Kulasekara. Two overs later, Gambhir edged Farveez Maharoof, but Mahela Jayawardene failed to hold on to a high chance.

Both went on to hurt Sri Lanka - Raina was 6 when dropped, and Gambhir 11. On a slow track, in hot and humid conditions, India needed a quick start, and that’s what they provided. The chances notwithstanding, they took India to 54 in the first 10 overs. After that they settled down. Gambhir took the aggressor’s role, often stepping out to medium-pacers and looking to go over extra cover. He also showed cheek when he upper-cut a Thilan Thushara bouncer over slips.

When the two fell within 11 runs of each other, Dhoni was there to guide India through to the target. He negated the threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis by playing them extremely late, often taking the ball virtually out of Kumar Sangakkara’s gloves and placing it. His first scoring shot was a slice from in front of stumps, guiding it past the wicketkeeper for four. The slow pitch didn’t help the spinners either.

The outstanding feature of Dhoni’s knock was not the power, but the placement: two of his five boundaries came after he had ensured India would win. He nudged and patted his way to 27 singles and seven twos. True to his image, he stayed unbeaten. How Jayasuriya would have wished that somebody in the Sri Lankan batting line-up followed up on his effort, like Dhoni did after Gambhir and Raina’s dismissals. That Jayasuriya played a different game from his team-mates was evident: when he got out in the 40th over he had scored 107 in 114 balls, while the rest had managed 64 in 122 deliveries.

Joy for Jayasuriya Jayasuriya became the oldest man to score an ODI century When he brought up his 37th run, he also became the second man to reach the 13,000-mark in his career He also crossed 50 for the 95th time to go one clear of Sourav Ganguly, and in second place behind Sachin Tendulkar who has 132 His knock was the second ODI century in Dambulla, and the highest individual score as well

Jayasuriya’s innings came on the 212th day of his 40th year, making him the oldest centurion in ODIs. He did owe the team a big performance, however, after being implicated in the first over run-out of Dilshan. Jayasuriya responded to Dilshan’s call but stopped after taking two steps, and with Sri Lanka’s in-form batsman out of the equation, what followed was an asphyxiating opening spell by Zaheer Khan. But Jayasuriya targeted Munaf Patel from the other end. He took at least one boundary - choosing to go over covers - in the first four of Munaf’s overs, not letting the scoring stagnate.

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Younis appointed Pakistan captain

	Younis Khan has a third shot at the Pakistan captaincy © AFP

Nearly two years after he should’ve taken over, Younis Khan took his place as the captain of Pakistan, after the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to relieve Shoaib Malik of his duties. Younis, who has twice previously turned down the leadership, takes over as Test and ODI captain, his first assignment less than a month away when Sri Lanka return for a two-Test series.

After a night and day of intense speculation, and a day full of meetings, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, confirmed rumours that had begun floating almost as soon as Pakistan trooped off the field after one of their worst odi defeat to Sri Lanka on Saturday. They were fueled by a 15 minutes meeting earlier today between Younis and Butt, in which the offer was first made. There followed meetings between Butt and senior officials from the board and team management at which it is learnt there was clear consensus: Malik had to step down.

“We asked Shoaib Malik to step down as captain. He agreed and only then did we appoint Younis Khan as captain of Pakistan,” Butt told reporters at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. “We have taken the step because our performances weren’t great. The end result is not just winning but the performance. We didn’t just lose to Sri Lanka, we performed poorly. So we have made Younis Khan the captain of both Test and ODI sides.”

No tenure has yet been set for his leadership - “as is the PCB way,” said one official - but there was unanimous approval for the move to replace Malik and bring in Younis. “The feeling was clear that something had to be done because the team had performed so poorly and Younis was the first choice,” an official present at the meetings, said.

Younis has long been seen as the natural choice to lead Pakistan. The impression was built during an impressive two-year reign as vice-captain to Inzamam-ul-Haq, where he often stepped in to take over in sessions and Tests to telling effect. But he blotted his credentials by twice walking away from the post, which in turn led to uncertainty today over whether he would accept.

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Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif appeared before an Indian Premier League tribunal on Saturday to defend charges over a failed dope test, officials said.

Asif, 26, tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone during the opening season of the IPL’s Twenty20 tournament last year, in which he turned out for the Delhi Daredevils franchise.

A three-member IPL drugs tribunal, which heard Asif and his representatives for three hours, deferred a decision on the fast bowler’s fate until an unspecified later date.

“The hearing is over, but no decision has been taken,” IPL commissioner Lalit Modi told local media. “The tribunal will meet again to decide.”

The IPL tribunal comprised former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, lawyer Shirish Gupte and medical specialist Ravi Bapat.

Asif was assisted at the hearing by Pakistani lawyer Shahid Karim and London-based doctor Michael Graham.

Graham attributed Asif’s failed test to a new eye drop, Keratyl, which the bowler took for an inflamed eye without knowing the medicine contained nandrolone.

“Asif told the tribunal he took the eye drop, but did not know it contained nandrolone,” Graham told AFP.

“I can say with authority that the drops elevated his nandrolone level marginally. Asif has apologised to the IPL. It was a genuine mistake.”

The fast bowler earlier this week sought voluntary release from his 650,000-dollar-a-year contract with the Delhi Daredevils even though he had two years left with the team.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has suspended Asif from official cricket pending a decision by the IPL tribunal.

Asif was detained at Dubai airport for 19 days last June after 0.24 grams of opium were found in his wallet. After being deported to Pakistan, he was told he had also failed the IPL test.

The talented seamer has taken 51 wickets in 11 Tests, 36 wickets in 31 one-dayers and 12 wickets in nine Twenty20 internationals since his debut in 2005.

PCB demands report on Sri Lanka defeat

	Shoaib Malik needs to come up with some answers © AFP

The predictable fallout from a disastrous loss to Sri Lanka in the series-deciding ODI at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore has begun with the PCB asking Shoaib Malik and the Pakistan team management to submit a detailed report of the loss by Tuesday.

Pakistan were bowled out for just 75, their lowest total at home, and it resulted in their heaviest defeat ever in terms of runs, by 234 runs, in the third ODI on Saturday. Malik, coach Intikhab Alam and chief selector Abdul Qadir have also been summoned by the senate’s sports committee to explain the reasons behind the loss.

“I have instructed Yawar Saeed (manager) and coach Intikhab Alam to give their detailed comments on the defeat in the next two days so that we can find out what happened. The board wants to know what has to be done to rectify the situation and set things right,” Ijaz Butt, chairman of the PCB, said.

“We can’t tolerate such poor performances from anyone. Like others I am also surprised at the way our batsmen played but I can’t make any further comment until receiving a detailed report,” he added.

Alam said he wouldn’t offer any excuses for the crushing loss. “We are not shying from this defeat,” he told AP. “The team management takes full responsibility of this embarrassing defeat. This [result] could be blessing in disguise for us because you can only move forward from here. You can’t see a much poorer performance from the team than what we did in Lahore two days ago.”

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Amla and de Villiers race to series win

South Africa 2 for 223 (de Villiers 82*, Amla 80*) beat Australia 222 (Ponting 63, Steyn 3-49) by 8 wickets

	Hashim Amla sealed the series victory with a stylish 80 as South Africa controlled the hosts © Getty Images

A rebuilding South Africa sealed a series victory over an Australian outfit struggling with the same phase during a dominating performance in Adelaide that earned a 3-1 lead. The tourists arrived last month hoping for some success against the world champions in the Test and one-day formats, but they will leave with commanding victories in each arena after wrapping up this five-match contest before Friday’s final fixture in Perth.

While South Africa’s order has gained confidence, from Herschelle Gibbs at the top to Albie Morkel and Johan Botha towards the bottom, the Australians are in worse shape than when they began. Throughout the series their batting has struggled to build on strong platforms and they wasted another chance on Monday as they dropped from the comfort of 2 for 110 in the 20th over to 222 in the 48th.

The visitors have conquered much bigger totals than that this month and there was little to worry about once Gibbs determined to hit as many boundaries as possible. Hashim Amla was stylish as usual in a controlled 80 off 103 balls while AB de Villiers, who had stood in behind the stumps for Mark Boucher, sped towards 82 from 85 after starting calmly. The result came with 71 balls remaining and South Africa hadn’t even called for the batting Powerplay.

South Africa showed how good the pitch was and how bad Australia’s total was as the home side’s bowlers suffered as well. At times it looked like a tour game and the international batsmen were trying to out-do each other.

Gibbs eased eight boundaries in his 29-ball 38 and Amla maintained a lively pace while finding gaps on both sides of the wicket from the fast men. de Villiers, who swept to a half-century with a four and a six from David Hussey, joined in after Jacques Kallis (13) flicked James Hopes to midwicket and they were 100 in 15 overs.

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