Touch of Sharjah at Abu Dhabi

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Many people watching the fifth and final One-day International between Pakistan and Australia at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on May 3 were reminded of Sharjah that had become famous for producing the most unexpected of results.

Australia, with the series in their bag, posted the highest score of five games but failed to defend it successfully. The Aussies had appeared on the verge of a 4-1 victory when Pakistan crashed to 56 for three before the record partnership between Kamran Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq turned the tide decisively.

Some of the events of the game were as strange as they used to be in Sharjah where the strongest of teams used to be blown away on a given day. The most amazing part was the reluctance of the Australian batsmen to go after the bowling in the death overs.

How often would you see a team add only 64 runs to its total in the last 10 overs of the innings in a limited overs game and that too without having lost a single wicket during the period? 

The platform was set for a final onslaught. Having reached a total of 186 for four at the end of 40 overs Australia were ideally placed to extract something around 80 to 90 from the final 10 overs that would have taken their total in the vicinity of 275.

Shane Watson and Callum Ferguson had the credentials to tear apart the bowling on a pitch that was as flat as one would have imagined. But what they did in the final phase of the innings amounted to making a mockery of the game.

Their dead-batting in the 48th and 49th overs must have caught everyone by surprise. They were only helped by some wayward bowling and pathetic fielding that earned 10 runs in the final over to raise the total to 250.

Watson and Ferguson didn’t make serious efforts to hit boundaries. That’s what one would have expected from the two well-set batsmen in the closing stages of the innings. They were keen only in rotating the strike when even the tail-enders attempt to hit out to the best of their abilities. They made a mess of the batting powerplay overs as well.

By limiting themselves to 250, Australia kept the game open. By the look of things they didn’t desire the match to become one-sided that could have been the case had they got to somewhere around 275.

That Pakistan would make heavy weather of target of 251 is another matter. The early wickets pegged them back and there was a feeling that the Aussies will seal the fate of the match.

Enter Kamran Akmal and the complexion of the game changed. The wicketkeeper-batsman needed just 115 balls to register his fifth ODI century and Pakistan, against all odds, were successful in chasing down the big target. Misbah-ul-Haq kept his company till the end and their unbroken stand of 198 was a new record for the fourth wicket against Australia. 

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Clarke leads by example to clinch series

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The acting Australian captain Michael Clarke led by example and his brilliant unbeaten century powered his team to an emphatic eight-wicket win in the fourth One-day International against Pakistan at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The victory in the fourth ODI also enabled the Aussies to clinch the series with a game to spare. They should be a relieved side now, after having been shaken in the first outing. They have taken their time to acclimatize and by the look of things they have done it much better than their opponents.

The Australians have lifted their game after the debacle in the opening fixture where a horrible batting collapse cost them the match. They were not all that convincing though in the following games but one could sense their key players taking the responsibilities.

Clarke, who has been entrusted with the task of leading the team in the absence of Ricky Ponting, has done a fantastic job. He couldn’t get going in the first game but he has applied himself and led by example.

It’s always very important for the captain to deliver. It’s more so when you are leading a young side. Clarke had to rise to the occasion to motivate his boys, the majority of whom lacked international experience.

Australia were in dire straits even while chasing a modest target of 198 when Shoaib Akhtar removed Brad Haddin and Marcus North very early to make them three for two. The skipper walked in to join Shane Watson with his team under pressure once more.
While Watson struggled to get on top of the bowling it was Clarke who made a statement by going hard at the loose balls. Their unbroken 197-run partnership for the third wicket closed all escape routes for Pakistan.

Clarke completed his well deserved century with an imperious drive off Shoaib Akhtar who looked ordinary in his last few overs. It was the best knock of the Australian skipper in the series in which he has delivered consistently. He looked in complete control while playing the aggressive shots and even Watson grew in confidence in the company of his captain.

Watson, although finished unbeaten on 85 off 140 balls, needs to improve his technique against the slow bowlers if he has to retain his place in the side for a long time. He will have to find a way out to tackle the spinners.

It was basically his inability to come to terms with the slow bowlers that put his captain in a spot of bother occasionally. An attacking team like Australia is not expected to get bogged down against any quality of bowling and it was shocking to find Watson playing so loosely against the likes of Saeed Ajmal.

While the spotlight was stolen by Clarke and Watson with their match-winning partnership, the victory was set up the left-arm quickie Doug Bollinger whose five-wicket haul sent Pakistan crashing to 197 all out.

There were stages in the Pakistan innings where they threatened a much bigger total but the Australians were rewarded for trusting their fast bowlers who kept on taking wickets to contain the rate of scoring.

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World champions England eye Women’s ICC Twenty20

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

England’s women cricketers are on a high. Having won the World Cup in Australia earlier this year they are now eyeing the ICC World Twenty20 having retained their top guns for the showpiece event to be held in their own backyard this summer.

Charlotte Edwards, who led England to title victory in the World Cup, appears in a very positive frame of mind and she reckons that keeping the nucleus of the World Cup-winning squad intact will boost the chances of the hosts winning the World Twenty20.

England have made only three changes to the 15-man squad that carried the World Cup home from Australia, Georgia Elwiss, a fast bowler from Staffordshire, and two off-spinners, Danielle Hazell of Yorkshire and Sussex’s Rosalie Birch.

“We have tried to keep the nucleus of the World Cup squad together. We have got a good, sound squad there. We have prided ourselves on keeping consistency in selection. People are very clear on their roles, and I think it’s been one of the biggest factors in our success," the Kent all-rounder remarked in a recent interview.

England may have swept all before them in women’s cricket’s flagship event, but the their skipper feels that this summer’s World Twenty20, with a combined men’s and women’s finals day, will propel the women’s game higher into the public consciousness than ever before.

“This is the biggest occasion for women’s cricket so far. I know the team is looking forward to it, having the momentum from Australia. I enjoy Twenty20 - I average over 50 - no fear of failure comes into Twenty20,” Edwards said.

“A few days after the World Cup myself and coach Mark Lane had forgotten about it and were preparing for the T20. We can’t rest on our laurels because this could potentially be the biggest yet for England’s cricket team,” she added.

Meanwhile Taunton has been picked to host the women’s group matches at the ICC World Twenty20 in June 2009. The semi-finals of the women’s ICC World Twenty20 will be held at the same ground, on the same day and same ticket as the men’s semi finals, at the Brit Oval and Trent Bridge, and the women’s final will be a precursor for the men’s final to be held at Lord’s on June 21, 2009.

Taunton is a special ground for the England women’s team and has also impressed so many of the touring sides that have played here.

“Hosting such a major event is a great coup for Taunton and Somerset. Women’s cricket is now a major player in global sport and we look forward to welcoming the world’s best teams in 2009, particularly as by then we will have completed the first tranche of our redevelopment and will be able to provide a world-class cricketing arena to go along with our world-class pitches,” Somerset’s Chief Executive Richard Gould stated.

The warm-up games of the women's event will be held on June 8 and while the league matches will be organized from June 11 to 16. The semifinals will be taking place on June 18 and 19 with the final and the presentation ceremony scheduled to be held on June 21.

The women’s tournament of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 consists of eight teams with the group stage games hosted at Taunton. The eight teams that participated in the 2009 women's World Cup will not only play in the upcoming event but also the 2010 World Twenty20 in West Indies. 

Pakistan and West Indies have booked their place in the 2011 qualifiers already, by coming fifth and sixth at this World Cup, while the teams below them will have to earn their spot in the qualifiers. 

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Clarke rises to occasion to prevent further humiliation

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Isn’t amazing and unusual to find the mindset of the Australians being so negative? Although they did stage a comeback of sorts to win the low scoring third One-day International of the five-match series but their lackluster performance with the bat was terrible to say the least.

The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi was certainly on the slower side but it wasn’t all that bad where Shoaib Malik, who doesn’t bowl regularly anymore, could not be taken for more than 22 runs in 10 overs. Leg-spinner Shahid Afridi was yet again allowed the kind of figures that would have made the champion of champions proud.

The Australians seem to be playing pathetic cricket at the moment, despite having moved to 2-1 lead with two more to play. They are treating the Pakistan slow bowlers with incredible respect, passing the impression that they are not even interested to take them on.

It will come as little surprise if the other part-time spinners in the Pakistan squad would also have dream spells when pressed to service. It’s just a matter of the chance coming their way. Every slow bowler from Pakistan would be hoping to get a bowl against this Australian side that’s struggling to put bat on ball.

It has been an uncommon sight during the past one decade or so when the Australians have been in this frame of mind. How often would you watch them settling for a score below 200 in a 50-over game.

The Australian team management has missed a trick or two in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their rivals. They have gone into a shell, having taken it for granted that the Pakistan slow bowlers need not to be attacked.

Skipper Michael Clarke came to the rescue of his side in the third ODI to prevent further humiliation for his side. The Australian batting has remained patchy in the series and it was mainly due to his knock of 66 that allowed his team to reach a total of 198 that was defended successfully.

Clarke also rose to the occasion with the ball, although his performance was not as sensational as he has had against India. His three-wicket haul allowed the Aussies to regain control and the job was finished clinically was the fast bowlers.

Pakistan appeared to be coasting towards an easy victory when the new opening pair of Salman Butt and Ahmed Shahzad exceeded all limitations by putting on 95 for the first wicket.

Things, however, changed quickly when the big partnership was broken. Runs became hard to come by and the Australians lifted their fielding standards to create more pressure on the batsmen.

There was hardly any element of surprise in watching the movements of the experienced Pakistan batsmen. They passed the impressed as if they were playing against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe not Australia. They didn’t consider the spinners as threat and kept on playing adventurous shots.

The dismissal of Misbah-ul-Haq clearly reflected the lack of respect for the Australian spinners. Shahid Afridi survived as many as close calls as the number of runs he scored. Shoaib Malik batted gallantly and the match was not over until was there. In the end it were the Australian fast bowlers who returned to run through the lower order.

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Battle of Pathan brothers, Bollywood queens

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The 15th match of the DLF Indian Premier League 2009 at the Newlands, Cape Town, featuring Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab had a couple of additional flavours besides offering the usual glamour and entertainment.

It brought head-t-head in the field two of the most talented all-round cricketers of the world who were brothers. Irfan Khan Pathan was playing for Kings XI Punjab while Yousuf Khan Pathan was doing duties for Rajasthan Royals.

Off the field it was a one-to-one contest between the two Bollywood queens, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty, the owners of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively. The third Bollywood personality owning a team in the IPL is the legendary Shah Rukh Khan, who is right there in South Africa to support his Kolkata Knight Riders.

There was an early disappointment for the Bollywood idols as their teams had crashed in opening matches but things have improved as the tournament has progresses. Preity’s Kings XI Punjab, in fact, has now moved to the third position in the points table while Shah Rukh’s Kolkata Knight Riders and Shilpa’s Rajasthan Royals, the defending champions, are currently placed in the bottom half.

Preity has had more reasons to smile during the tournament and she must have felt on top of the world when her boys downed Shilpa’s team while defending a modest total on another noisy and fun-filled evening at the Newlands.

If Preity came out trumps in the duel of the Bollywood queens against Shilpa it was Irfan who overshadowed Yousuf in the battle of brothers on April 26.

Irfan displayed great maturity with bat and ball and he was very rightly adjudged Man of the Match for having made the most significant contribution to his team’s success. He proved once again that he’s an immensely gifted all-rounder who doesn’t lack in temperament.

It was his partnership with the vastly experienced Sri Lankan, Kumar Sangakkara, which rescued his team from a precarious 48 for four in the ninth over. The two left-handers batted very sensibly that allowed Kings XI Punjab to post a fighting total of 139 for six in the allotted 20 overs. 

While Sangakarra helped himself to yet another half-century, Irfan chipped in with a superb 39 off 33 balls laced with a couple of sixes and as many fours. He didn’t allow the fancied spin duo of Shane Warne and Yousuf Pathan to get on top.

It was Irfan back in limelight when skipper Yuvraj Singh handed him over the new ball. He responded straight away by picking up a couple of wickets in his opening over. It was a cracking delivery that totally caught Graeme Smith by surprise as he had moved forward to defend. It was a big wicket and opened the floodgates for Kings XI Punjab.

With Yousuf Abdulla, another devastating left-arm fast-bowler, also doing the damage from the other end there was not much the Rajasthan Royals batsmen could have done to change the course of the proceedings.

Even Yousuf Pathan, enjoying a purple patch, was unable to dominate the two left-arm quickies before being scalped by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. With his dismissal vanished hopes of Rajasthan Royals for it was going to be the day of his brother Irfan whose team Kings XI Punjab were the deserved winners.

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Australia far from convincing

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Australia made heavy weather of chasing down the target of 208 in 50 overs and they survived a few anxious moments before finally been able to do it that leveled the ongoing five-match ODI series against Pakistan being played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It was amazing to find the Aussies struggling against Shahid Afridi, who is being accorded more respect than he ever gets even in domestic matches. As somebody pointed out he becomes more lethal in international games because of the luck factor coming his way.

Afridi does need more luck than anybody else while batting as well because he only plays the way he knows, discarding the other factors that ordinary mortals had to take into the consideration.

Afridi, who bowled Pakistan to victory in the previous game, very nearly did it again. He got a couple of wickets besides creating doubts in the minds of the batsmen who were unable to dominate him.

The mindset of the Australians was hard to understand. They are supposed to be the most ruthless side in world cricket having the best infrastructure and coaching academes back home. That they are unable to cope with the spinners brought to light some deficiencies in their most talked about system.

Isn’t it shocking to note that the Australian batsmen have lacked the aggression that’s so vital to counter the spinners? They did make some adjustments in their stance in the second game that only reflected weaknesses in their technique. They should have done this homework much earlier.

More mind-boggling is the fact that the Australians have been playing continuous cricket throughout the season but they are not looking a settled side yet. They are the team having ruled the game for a number of years primarily due to their bench strength. The loss of key players has never been an issue for them because they have adequate backup talent.

Michael Clarke’s captaincy has been uninspiring so far that raises doubts about him being the future leader of the great Australian team. Not sure if their management has alternate plans up their sleeves yet.

Australia’s performance in the first couple of games has been far from impressive against a team that has not played much of international cricket in the past. The manner in which Clarke batted showed the lack of punch in their attitude. They had decimated the strongest of outfits with consummate ease but they are now struggling to display that kind of intensity that had made them the juggernauts.

Andrew Symonds, however, had reasons to smile because he came good when the needed him most. His couple of wickets near the end of the Pakistan innings saved his team from further embarrassment.

More importantly it was his batting display that came handy in helping Australia level the series 1-1 with three to go. He scored a half century that sealed the fate of the match because the Australians were in danger of losing the game again after allowing the spin duo of Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal were allowed to get on top.

The contest was very much alive even after the big partnership for the second wicket between James Hopes and Shane Watson. With skipper Clarke unable to bat in his natural style, it was left to Symonds to deliver and he rose to the occasion. The match was in Australia’s bag when he was finally undone by Afridi. 

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Boom Boom Afridi rattles Australia

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It has been the specialty of the Pakistan teams over the years, doing things that are hard even to conceive. They have had the unusual knack of accomplishing the impossible-looking tasks. There was not much element of surprise in Pakistan winning the first One-day International against Australia by four wickets but the manner in which the latter collapsed caused the drama.

What happened at the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium on April 22 was truly sensational. The Australians, understood to be one of the most powerful teams on the scene, crashed like novices against the Pakistan spinners who exceeded all expectations.

How often would you expect a team like Australia, who are known and feared for taking the fight to the opposition, collapse to 122 for nine after being so happily placed at 95 for one in the 19th over.

The duo of Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal was able to return the flattering figures after the Aussies, having elected to bat, had laid a solid foundation. The amazing turnaround was carried out by a couple of spinners neither of whom had the credentials or the skills to perform the giant-killing act of this magnitude.

Shahid Afridi, whose place in the playing eleven always remains in jeopardy because even the selectors and the team management are unwilling to gamble with him, returned the figures that would have made even the legendary spinners like Shane Warne and Mutiah Muralitharan proud.

Six for 38 in 10 overs are dream figures in any form of the game for any class of bowler. No doubt it was the career-best performance with the ball by the leg-spinning all-rounder. Not sure though for how long will it insure his place in the team in the future.

You certainly cannot blame the selectors or the team management for not having him in the scheme of things at all times because he prefers to play the game his own way irrespective of the demands of the situation. When the lady luck is smiling on him, he can turn into a most explosive of all-rounder but he’s equally vulnerable when he’s not deriving that divine help from the Nature.

Saeed Ajmal’s spell with the ball was no less dramatic. The young off-spinner gave away only 19 runs in his 10 overs picking up a couple of important wickets in the bargain. Together with Shahid Afridi, he tormented the Australian batsmen who looked clueless against them.

The Australians were expected to total much higher than 168 what they could manage even after the start their top-order had made in conditions not difficult for batting.

The unimaginative leadership of the stand-in captain Michael Clarke made Pakistan’s task easier when chasing the target of 169 in 50 overs. He was probably unaware of the fact that the Pakistan batsmen, having blunted the likes of Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis a few months ago, were not going to be tested by someone like Nathan Hauritz who understandably went wicketless.

Clarke would have been much better off attacking the batsmen with fast bowlers which he did realize after having gifted some precious runs by allowing Hauritz half a dozen overs.

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Spinners make their mark in IPL 2

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There was a time when the spinners were considered a luxury for the limited-overs games and the sides usually packed themselves with fast bowlers and medium-pacers as the emphasis was on containment.

It was the mindset of the 1960s and 1970s when the one-day matches were mostly held in England where the overcast conditions helped the seam bowlers considerably. Even the famous quartet of Indian spinners having engineered quite a few historic conquests in Test cricket were not rated highly for the one-dayers.

There was hardly a change of heart among the captains even when the version of the game was spread to other countries. They were unwilling to take the risk of tossing the ball to the slow bowlers, relying on the medium-pacers even when the surfaces they were playing on were dry and offered some purchase to the spinners.

It was Imran Khan, the most daring of all captains, who took the chance of playing a spinner as an attacking option. It was during the World Cup in 1983 and mind you the tournament was being in England. He had the guts to include leg-spinner Abdul Qadir in the playing eleven and the move paid immediate dividends.

Qadir, the great leg-spinner that he was, still vividly recalls those moments when Imran, having the conviction and self-belief, had set those attacking fields even though it was a One-day International and not a Test match.

Qadir’s success brought about a revolution and the other teams also started including spinners, not necessarily as an attacking option though. The over-rate factor also prompted the selection of slow bowlers in the one-dayers.

There was a question mark again about the future of the spinners when the latest and todate the shortest version of the game at the international level, Twenty20, was introduced. It was being debated whether the best of spin bowlers would be able to come good with those short boundaries and the batsmen using the bat as a sword every ball or their services may not be required in the T20 games.

The second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), being played in South Africa, has already proved that the spinners have a definitely role to play in the T20 cricket and they can be as lethal as in the longer versions of the game.

The pitches or the conditions in South Africa are not in favour of the spinners but the quality spinners have done the trick in the earlier games and they are likely to be a threat in the coming matches as well.

Shane Warne, acclaimed as the greatest-ever leg-spinner, has weaved his magic for Rajasthan Royals. India’s most successful spin bowler, Anil Kumble, returned the stunning figures of five for five for Bangalore Royal Challengers.

New Zealand’s premier left-arm spinner bowled Delhi Daredevils to victory in a match shortened by rain. He proved how effective the champion spinners could still be damp conditions and in even if it’s a game of just a few overs when the batsmen have the license to blast every ball.

Harbhajan Singh bowled beautifully for Mumbai Indians while the magician from Sri Lanka, Mutiah Muralitharan, made an impression for Chennai Super Kings right away. The young leg spinner Piyush Chawla did a fine job for Kings XI Punjab against Kolkata Knight Riders in the rain-hot fixture.

The success of the spinners in the earlier part of the IPL 2 takes the press off the shoulders of the faster men who were supposed to do the job for their respective franchises after the event was shifted to South Africa from India.

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