Translate

Sunday, January 29, 2012

'Knew the fourth innings would be tough'

India's star culture is a problem

Tough times help us appreciate Test cricket better - Clarke



Unbeatable Pakistan ruined no 1 rank team plans with 2-0 lead

Abdur Rehman ran through England's middle orderPakistan faced a lot of crisis in their sports as well as in cricketing field sometimes terrorists attack Pakistan some times lack of economy put them in danger their rate in every term of life going decline day by day....but from last years we have seen this that there is some sort of revival in their cricketing field .... after terrorists attack the srilankans team when they were on tour on 2009 the terrorists attack them when the left for the another day of test for Gaddafi stadium on 29 march after that day no internationl team visit or toured pakistan ... that's why pak play their mostly home series at U.A.E...but this venue turning out to the luckiest for Pak because they have not lost any of the series over there after that incident ...Billy Cooper, the Barmy Army trumpeter, with Chacha, the Pakistan cheerleader

beside that pak cricket also faced lot of issues with their persons of management , with their players infact they  had lost of issues with their captaincy as well , their players got banned after 2010 tour of england , their captaincy issues got rise after 2011 world cup their Chairman changed in late 2011..but that all things bring no disaster for pak they bring a lot of happiness for them ...

after Afridi resigned from the captaincy the captaincy goes to the 37 years old YOUNG boy MISBAH UL HAQ ..he also faced o lot of criticism from his opponent & every cricket lovers criticized him as well but he proves one thing


misbah proves this right that age & quantity does not matter the thing which matters is the 

skills& qualities



in his captaincy pak has not lost any test or a odi series he gives pak a lot of maturity in their

Pakistan react to Kevin Pietersen's dismissal  plannings & at last they gives the nation that  what the nation waited for long time 

they beat english team in test series with 2-0 with a match left which will play this friday ..

in 2005 another haq whose name was the the best Inzimam ul haq in his captaincy pak 

trashed england team with 2-0 in test & with 3-2 in odi's ..Billy Cooper, the Barmy Army trumpeter, with Chacha, the Pakistan cheerleader

but now another haq captaincy takes place & pak starting to get their postition which they lost for some time ago ....

in first test pak beat english team with the heaviest defeat of 10 wkts in second match they 

bowled out the team england for 72 when they were in searc for 145 target ...man of the

 match Rehman got 6 wkts ajmal got 100 wkts in fewest no matches played for pak in 19 

tests first that record was hold by w . younis in 20 test....
Pakistan celebrate beating England by 72 runs

but pak team need some substantiality in their batting dept because theri batting collapsed 

after when one or two partnerships held at crease for some times...

but i & nation wished that pak will proceed themselves as no 1 team  in world along the 

form they players the captain they have carried because their intensity is higher so they can 

trashed any one the world..



Pakistan Vs England Presentation ceremony 2nd Test 28 01 2012

Abdur Rehman 6 Wickets vs England 2nd Test 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

In search of teesra english team dismissed on teesra day teesra session.

Before the england series saeed ajmal said that he will introduce new variation in off spin bowling he named that ball as teesra .. this is the urdu word teesra in english it's mean is third the resemblance between saeed ajmal innovation name with the 1st test match was that English team from the start of the match they had that mind set that ajmal will introduce some new trick so i they were in search of teesra i don't know whether ajmal bowled that or not but quite frankly his rumor of teesra were able to put shutters on england team just on the teesra day teesra session .. Interesting fact in know this is quite funny as well........

now hard core pak again in UAE looking fot second hunt against english team .......

Report Shahid Afridi's shirt at the Lord's Museum

Saturday, January 21, 2012

A visit to Saeed's supermarket of spin


As a fan of the three-day game, it was great to see England doing their bit to promote one of cricket’s classic formats. There were no wacky declarations in their homage to 1980s county cricket, but they did bring on Jonathan Trott for some joke bowling and they managed to wrap the whole thing up by the third evening. Well done, chaps.
Saeed Ajmal was their nemesis, a smiling purveyor of psychological cricket warfare and cunningly fashioned straightish ones that kind of do a little bit. On the face of it, there doesn’t appear to be much devil in the Ajmal style. If he sold his deliveries in a high street shop, the customers would soon be complaining about the lack of choice.
“Saeed, where are the teesras you said you were getting in? And these doosras here look very similar to your offbreaks over there.”
“Ah,” he would reply, with a grin, “But if you look very closely, you can see that one bends slightly this way, and one bends slightly that way.”
And it’s true. Of course, Ian Bell’s visit to Saeed’s Supermarket of Spin would end after a couple of minutes of confused browsing, with the wee fella running out, screaming, “I don’t know which one to choose! I don’t know which one to choose!”
Bell is, remember, England’s officially nominated “best player of spin”, which admittedly isn’t a great claim to fame, a bit like being the tallest of the seven dwarves or the least unpleasant Republican presidential hopeful, but still, if anyone could handle Saeed, it was going to be Ian.
That didn’t work out too well and now England’s only hope of leaving the Middle East with any semblance of dignity lies in their batsmen finding a way to identify the doosra, preferably before it hits their pad. At the moment, I doubt they’d spot it even if the ICC were to introduce a new rule requiring the umpire to hold up a card stating “Warning: Doosra!” at the appropriate moment.
They will though have some behind-the-scenes help. I don’t mean Merlin the magical bowling machine. I’m talking about the Sky commentators. We should never forget one of the fundamental principles of modern cricket, known as Murali’s Law, which states that the extent to which a spin bowler’s action is a problem is directly related to the number of opponents he has dismissed in the current series.
We have already heard Bob Willis talking ominously about long sleeves and crooked elbows and ahead of the second Test, Sky are working on a giant rubber protractor which Nasser Hussain will hold up in front of the camera every time Saeed bowls in order to give us regular readouts on his angle of arm-bend. Expect more public tastings of vintage Chateau Sour as the series goes on.
Pakistan fans, meanwhile, were having a fantastic time, watching a match in which their team started off well, carried on doing well and utterly refused to throw it away in the most painful way possible right at the end. And in between watching the clatter of English wickets, there was the added entertainment of goading Ian Botham via Twitter, a pastime which obviously I could not possibly endorse.
This metamorphosis from embarrassing shambles to casual success would be remarkable for most teams, but for Pakistan, it’s just another 12 months. With their opponents in disarray, the series is theirs for the taking. Providing they don’t do anything silly…

Thursday, January 19, 2012

England Fall Of Wickets 2nd Inn 1st Test Vs Pakistan 2012 Dubai

Shahid Afridi sold for $700,000 in BPL

Dhaka: Pakistan’s star cricketer Shahid Afridi has been auctioned for $700,000 in a fierce chase in the first ever

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Thursday.
According to report, Barisal Burners beat Duranta Rajshahi buying Chris Gayle at $551,000 after bidding got tied between two teams. Gayle will be available in the Barisal Burners from April 14.
The franchises fought in the auction to secure Afridi amid an intense bidding.
Tension in the auction house mounted when all the teams, except Barisal, called over $500,000 for Afridi.
Sylhet was ready to buy him at $500,010, Chittagong $600,000, Rajshahi $540,000 and Khulna $612,000. He was sold to Dhaka finally at $700,000.
Every franchise got one table with six chairs in the auction that started at Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel at 11:20am on Thursday.
Each of the BPL teams will have 18 members, including a highest number of eight foreign players.
Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik has been sold for $150,000 while Saeed Ajamal and Kamran Akmal made it for $100,000 in the auction.
The players have been divided into three categories. There are 17 foreign players in the A category, 36 in B and 58 in C.
Six Bangladeshi players have been placed in category A, 12 in B and 68 in C.
The base price of a foreign player from the A category is $100,000, B category $ 50,000 and C category $25,000.
The base price of a local player from the A category is $45,000, B category $ 30,000 and C category $20,000.
Price of an A category player will rise by $ 15,000, B category by $ 10,000 and C by $ 5,000.
The highest bidders will get the players for one year.
One franchise is allowed to spend up to $2 million in the auction. Every team will be able to use up to five foreign players in a match.

Presentaion Cermony Of The 1st Test Pakistan Vs England 2012

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Shahid Afridi 3 Wickets For 35 And 26 Runs Of 14 Balls In KFC Big Bash

Australia vs India, 3rd Test: David Warner 180

Australia vs India, 3rd Test: David Warner 180

Whatmore arrives in Pakistan for coach talks


Lahore: Dav Whatmore, the man tipped to become Pakistan's next cricket coach, arrived for an interview in Lahore on Saturday, moving a step closer to taking the sport's hot seat.

The 57-year-old former Australian batsman, who coached Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in 1996, is the favourite to replace Waqar Younis who quit the post in September last year over health issues.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed former opener Mohsin Khan as an interim coach against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but had to extend his stint for the series against England as the selection process was delayed.

Pakistan take on England in the first of three Tests in Dubai from Tuesday. The Tests will be followed by four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals. A new coach will take over during the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March.

PCB appointed a three-man committee headed by former captain Intikhab Alam, which shortlisted five candidates for the post.

"Whatmore has reached here and we will talk to him on the issue," Alam told AFP, without giving further details. PCB has also kept silent on the issue so as not to derail the process.

Whatmore, who played seven Tests and one one-day international for Australia in 1979, was in talks with the PCB through another former captain Ramiz Raja, who assisted the committee.

Whatmore, who also coached Bangladesh between 2003-2007, resigned from his role as coach of the Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this month.

Pakistan has a history of sacking its coaches and has had six in the last ten years.

It showed the door to its first foreign coach Richard Pybus of South Africa after the 2003 World Cup, and sacked former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson in 2008.

But former England batsman Bob Woolmer had a successful stint from 2004 before he died in mysterious circumstances in the West Indies, a day after Ireland upset Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup.

England's former county player Julian Fountain is in contention to take over as fielding coach, while former Pakistan paceman Aqib Javed - already on UAE tour - is the likely bowling coach.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Stats Pakistan & England series results

Series results
Series/Tournament Season
Winner Margin
Pakistan in England Test Series 1954
drawn 1-1 (4)
England in Pakistan Test Series 1961/62
England 1-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1962
England 4-0 (5)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1967
England 2-0 (3)
England in Pakistan Test Series 1968/69
drawn 0-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1971
England 1-0 (3)
England in Pakistan Test Series 1972/73
drawn 0-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1974
drawn 0-0 (3)
England in Pakistan Test Series 1977/78
drawn 0-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1978
England 2-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1982
England 2-1 (3)
England in Pakistan Test Series 1983/84
Pakistan 1-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1987
Pakistan 1-0 (5)
England in Pakistan Test Series 1987/88
Pakistan 1-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1992
Pakistan 2-1 (5)
Pakistan in England Test Series 1996
Pakistan 2-0 (3)
England in Pakistan Test Series 2000/01
England 1-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 2001
drawn 1-1 (2)
England in Pakistan Test Series 2005/06
Pakistan 2-0 (3)
Pakistan in England Test Series 2006
England 3-0 (4)
Series/TournamentSeason T20
WinnerMargin
Pakistan in England T20I Match2006
Pakistan1-0 (1)
ICC World Twenty20 (in South Africa)2007/08
India
ICC World Twenty20 (in England)2009
Pakistan
Pakistan v England T20I Series (in United Arab Emirates)2009/10
drawn1-1 (2)
ICC World Twenty20 (in West Indies)2010
England
Pakistan in England T20I Series2010
England2-0 (2)





































3-1(4)
 
Series results ODI'S 
Series/Tournament Season
Winner Margin
Prudential Trophy (Pakistan in England) 1974
Pakistan 2-0 (2)
Prudential World Cup (in England) 1975
West Indies
England in Pakistan ODI Series 1977/78
England 2-1 (3)
Prudential Trophy (Pakistan in England) 1978
England 2-0 (2)
Prudential World Cup (in England) 1979
West Indies
Prudential Trophy (Pakistan in England) 1982
England 2-0 (2)
Prudential World Cup (in England) 1983
India
England in Pakistan ODI Series 1983/84
drawn 1-1 (2)
Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket (in Australia) 1984/85
India
Rothmans Four-Nations Cup (Australia, England, India, Pakistan in United Arab Emirates) 1984/85
India
Benson & Hedges Challenge (Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies in Australia) 1986/87
England
Sharjah Cup (Australia, England, India, Pakistan in United Arab Emirates) 1986/87
England
Texaco Trophy (Pakistan in England) 1987
England 2-1 (3)
Reliance World Cup (in India/Pakistan) 1987/88
Australia
England in Pakistan ODI Series 1987/88
England 3-0 (3)
MRF World Series (Nehru Cup) (Australia, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies in India) 1989/90
Pakistan
Benson & Hedges World Cup (in Australia/New Zealand) 1991/92
Pakistan
Texaco Trophy (Pakistan in England) 1992
England 4-1 (5)
Wills World Cup (in India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka) 1995/96
Sri Lanka
Texaco Trophy (Pakistan in England) 1996
England 2-1 (3)
Akai-Singer Champions Trophy (England, India, Pakistan, West Indies in United Arab Emirates) 1997/98
England
Wills International Cup (in Bangladesh) 1998/99
South Africa
Coca-Cola Cup (England, India, Pakistan in United Arab Emirates) 1998/99
Pakistan
ICC World Cup (in England/Ireland/Netherlands/Scotland) 1999
Australia
ICC KnockOut (in Kenya) 2000/01
New Zealand
England in Pakistan ODI Series 2000/01
Pakistan 2-1 (3)
NatWest Series (Australia, England, Pakistan in England) 2001
Australia
ICC Champions Trophy (in Sri Lanka) 2002/03
shared
ICC World Cup (in Kenya/South Africa/Zimbabwe) 2002/03
Australia
NatWest Challenge (Pakistan in England) 2003
England
ICC Champions Trophy (in England) 2004
West Indies
England in Pakistan ODI Series 2005/06
Pakistan 3-2 (5)
NatWest Series [Pakistan in England] 2006
drawn 2-2 (5)
ICC Champions Trophy (in India) 2006/07
Australia
ICC World Cup (in West Indies) 2006/07
Australia
ICC Champions Trophy (in South Africa) 2009/10
Australia
NatWest Series [Pakistan in England] 2010
England 3-2 (5)




History Pakistan & England clashes

A brief history

England v Pakistan





1954
Pakistan arrived for the first series against England and left as the first side to win a Test on their maiden trip. The first and third Tests were badly affected by the weather - the opening game at Lord's did not start until the fourth day - in what was generally a wet summer. England achieved a comfortable innings victory at Trent Bridge as Denis Compton hit 278 and, after a typically damp Old Trafford game, Pakistan achieved their moment of history at The Oval. It was a low-scoring affair - Wazir Mohammad top-scored for Pakistan with 42 not out - and the highest innings total was 164. The pitch was damp, and this was exploited by both teams' seamers. Frank Tyson took 4 for 35 and Johnny Wardle 7 for 56, but the star was Fazal Mahmood. He claimed 12 wickets, sending down 60 overs in the match.
England 1 Pakistan 1
1961-62
The series formed part of an arduous tour that lasted from October 8, 1961 to February 20, 1962 - with the Tests against Pakistan being split either side of a tour of India. Ted Dexter led England to victory in his first Test as captain, after Pakistan had declared their first innings. Javed Burki's 138 was cancelled out by Ken Barrington's 139 before England were left needing 208 in 250 minutes. At 108 for 5, the game was wide open but Dexter and Bob Barber added 101 in 85 minutes to seal the win. The two remaining Tests, played two-and-a-half months later, were high-scoring draws. Burki notched up 140 at Dhaka and Geoff Puller hit 165 in the same match. Dexter then capped his first series win as captain with a double-century in Karachi.
Pakistan 0 England 1
1962

England completely overwhelmed Pakistan and the series would have ended in a 5-0 whitewash had it not been for the weather in Nottingham, which helped Pakistan after they had been asked to follow on. England's batsmen enjoyed themselves during the summer, seven averaged over 70, with Peter Parfitt and Tom Graveney both averaging three-figures. Dexter was the leading run-scorer with 446 from six innings, while Graveney and Colin Cowdery also passed 400 runs. The bowling was led by Fred Trueman (22 wickets) and Brian Statham (16 wickets). Trueman took 6 for 31 at Lord's as Pakistan were skittled for 100. In that Test, Len Cordwell, who played only seven Tests, took 6 for 85 in the second innings and 9 for 110 in the match. They would remain his best figures in a short Test career. For Pakistan, the main highlight was the performance of Mushtaq Mohammad, who made 401 runs at 44, but the rest of the batsmen struggled and none of the bowlers managed more than six wickets in the series.
England 4 Pakistan 0
1967
England dominated the series after Pakistan had produced a creditable draw in the opening Test at Lord's. That match was graced by centuries from Barrington and Hanif Mohammad, who added 130 in the first innings with Asif Iqbal. The second Test, at Trent Bridge, was a low-scoring affair with England bowlers dominating: especially Ken Higgs and Derek Underwood. Barrington scored another century as England eased to a 10-wicket win. They sealed the series 2-0 at The Oval - Barrington making it a hat-trick of hundreds - while Higgs again starred with the ball. However, the match is mostly remembered for Iqbal's stunning 146, and his stand of 190 with Intikhab Alam for the ninth wicket, a record which stood for 30 years.

England 2 Pakistan 0

1968-69
The action on the pitch was overshadowed by scenes off it - a pattern that would be repeated in future tours of Pakistan. Cowdrey's 100 in the opening Test was scored amid student unrest but, despite some fine bowling from Bob Cottam, England couldn't push home and seal the win. A painfully slow pitch in Dhaka for the second Test did not produce much of a spectacle as runs came a turgid pace, although the match was notable for a superb hundred by Basil d'Oliveria. Rioting brought an early end to the final Test - and the tour - after England had reached 502 for 7 at Karachi. Colin Milburn made a dashing hundred and Alan Knott was unable to score the four runs he needed to reach his ton when play was called off.
Pakistan 0 England 0
1971

England gained a narrow series victory when they edged home by 25 runs in the third Test at Headingley. Pakistan had taken all the honours in a drawn first Test - Zaheer Abbas made 274 and England followed on - before rain ruined the Lord's match. So it was all-square heading to Leeds and Geoff Boycott scored a hundred on his home ground. However, Pakistan gained a slender lead thanks to Wasim Bari and England were wobbling at 142 for 5 in their second innings. But d'Oliveira and Ray Illingworth added 106, then Illingworth grabbed three wickets and Sadiq Mohammad's 91 was not enough for Pakistan.
England 1 Pakistan 0
1972-73

A high-scoring series ended in stalemate with neither bowling attack possessing enough firepower to overcome the flat wickets. England did find themselves in trouble during the first Test after centuries from Sadiq Mohammad and Asif Iqbal gave Pakistan a first innings lead of 67. But Tony Lewis and Tony Greig batted watchfully before the game petered out. At Hyderabad the batsmen really cashed in as England made 487 - with Dennis Amiss hitting his second hundred of the series - and Pakistan replied with 569 for 9. Mushtaq Mohammad and Intikhab Alam struck centuries. However, the match burst into life on the final afternoon when England slumped to 77 for 5. They had Greig and Alan Knott to thank for playing out the day. The final Test was notable for incidents off, as well as on, the pitch. Time was lost to rioting and pitch invasions, while Pakistan's batsmen again filled their boots. Mushtaq and Majid Khan fell on 99 - as did Amiss for England - before Jack Birkenshaw and Norman Gifford ran through Pakistan in the second innings.
Pakistan 0 England 0
1974

The series may have ended in a 0-0 draw but it was not without its moments of drama and controversy. The first Test at Headingley was heading for a tight conclusion on the final day with England needing 44 and Pakistan looking for four wickets. However, no play was possible and rain again played a deciding part in the second Test at Lord's. This time, water seeped under the covers - the Pakistan management were fuming as Derek Underwood exploited ideal conditions to take 13 for 71 - but most felt that justice had been done when the final day was washed out with England needing 60 more runs with ten wickets in hand. The final Test was a run feast as Zaheer Abbas made 240 and Dennis Amiss replied with 183. Keith Fletcher added a turgid 122 and the match fizzled out into a draw.
England 0 Pakistan 0




1977-78
This series rarely came to life as lifeless pitches and conservative batting brought the third consecutive 0-0 draw between these two teams. England were briefly in trouble during the opening Test at Lahore as Iqbal Qasim's left-arm spin threatened them with the follow on, but Geoff Miller made an unbeaten 98. Pakistan were on top again in the second Test at Hyderabad but Wasim Bari left his second innings declaration until late on the fourth day. Geoff Boycott then made 100 not out, adding 185 for the first wicket with Mike Brearley as England comfortably batted out the final day. The final Test, where Boycott captained England for the first time after Brearley broke an arm, was more notable for the controversy off the pitch, were England objected to the presence of three Packer players - Mushtaq Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas and Imran Khan - at the Pakistan nets. The match nearly didn't happen and, when it did, there was little memorable action. Abdul Qadir and Phil Edmonds produced fine exhibitions of spin bowling, but not even three innings were completed.
Pakistan 0 England 0
1978
A thoroughly one-sided series, dominated by the England seamer bowlers' stranglehold over the Pakistan batting. David Gower made his first mark on Test cricket by pulling his first ball for four at Edgbaston, while Clive Radley and Ian Botham struck hundreds and Chris Old took four wickets in five balls. The second Test was an even more convincing innings win - this time it was Botham who starred with bat and ball. His 108 rescued England from 134 for 5, then he demolished Pakistan's second innings with 8 for 34. Bob Willis was also in the wickets against a hapless batting line-up. The series ended on distinctly soggy note at Headingley where only 10-and-a-half hours' play was possible. Sadiq Mohammad made a gusty 97 and Sarfraz Nawaz troubled the England batsmen with 5 for 39.
England 2 Pakistan 0

1982
England clinched a hard-fought series, but Pakistan gave them a real test. England won the first Test at Edgbaston by 113 runs, but they were far from comfortable. The teams were almost level on first innings - England's 272 played Pakistan's 251 - then Bob Taylor and Willis added 79 for the last wicket in the second innings, setting Pakistan 313. Willis and Botham surged through the top order to leave them reeling at 77 for 6 and Imran Khan's 65 was not enough for Pakistan. However, Pakistan achieved only their second victory over England with a superb allround display at Lord's. Mohsin Khan struck 200 then Abdul Qadir and Mudassar Nazar dismissed England twice. But Bob Taylor and Robin Jackman almost defied the attack for long enough before Pakistan chased 76 in 18 overs, winning by 10 wickets. England were back on top at Headingley - although not without a fight. Willis was back from injury and he and Botham shared 15 wickets. Graeme Fowler anchored England's chase of 219 but a late wobble kept Pakistan interested until the end.
Tests England 2 Pakistan 1
ODIs England 2 Pakistan 0

1983-84
Pakistan achieved their first series win over England through their three-wicket victory in the open Test at Karachi. England were unable to cope with the legspin bowling of Abdul Qadir, who took eight wickets, as only Gower made any impression with a half century in each innings. However, chasing 65 to win, Pakistan nearly collapsed in a heap against Nick Cook, who claimed 5 for 18 to add to his 6 for 65 in the first innings. After that low-scoring affair the cricket returned to type at Faisalabad. Salim Malik and Wasim Raja struck hundreds and Gower replied in kind for England. Pakistan should have wrapped up the series 2-0 at Lahore after England, needing to win to square the series, set them 243 following Gower's 173. Mohsin and Shoaib Mohammad opened with 173 but the middle order panicked against Norman Cowans and they settled for a draw during the final hour.
Tests Pakistan 1 England 0
ODIs Pakistan 1 England 1
1987
The opening two Tests were ruined by the weather with half the playing time lost at Old Trafford and only seven hours possible at Lord's. However, at Headingley Pakistan surged to an innings and 18 run win with Imran taking 10 for 77 in the match. England were skittled for 136 the Salim Malik's 99 engineered a lead of 217. Imran was unstoppable in the second innings, tearing through the batting to finish with 7 for 40. England almost came back in stunning fashion at Edgbaston in a high-scoring encounter. Pakistan racked up 439, but England went better and piled up 521. With Neil Foster taking four wickets England needed 124 in 18 overs against Imran and Wasim Akram. Amid a flurry of shots and wickets the bowlers held their nerve and England fell 15 runs short. The Oval became a celebration of Pakistani batting as Javed Miandad made 260, Malik 102 and Imran 118 with the total reaching a mammoth 708. England folded under such a weight of runs and followed on, but saved some face thanks to Mike Gatting's 150 on the final day, which denied Pakistan a 2-0 series win.
Tests England 0 Pakistan 1
ODIs England 2 Pakistan 1


One of cricket's darkest hours, Faisalabad, 1987 © Getty Images
Enlarge
1987-88
Pakistan sealed their third consecutive series win over England, but the series will be remembered more for controversy than cricket. England were completely outplayed in the first Test with Qadir taking 9 for 56 in the first innings and 13 wickets in the match. However, already the relations between the teams were souring as Chris Broad refused to walk when given out and Mike Gatting made his feelings clear about the umpiring after the match. The umpiring was indeed poor, although both sides suffered. Gatting's temper spilled over at Faisalabad in the second Test with the infamous finger-wagging against Shakoor Rana, one of the umpires. Accusations flew left, right and centre and the third day's play was lost as Rana refused to resume umpiring until Gatting apologised. Gatting eventually, and through gritted teeth, said sorry and the match ended in a draw, but that wasn't the end. Before the third Test began England objected to the appointment of Shakeel Khan as an umpire and replacements had to be sent for. This series ended in apt fashion when, at tea on the final, Miandad decided there wasn't going to be a result and announced the game was over. Both sides were glad to see the end of the tour but it sewed seeds of discontent which remained for some time. The English board hardly helped by rewarding the players with a hardship bonus of £1000.
Tests Pakistan 1 England 0
ODIs Pakistan 0 England 3
1992
Played in the aftermath of the World Cup final between the two teams, the Test series provide thrills, spills and no little controversy - despite two rain-affected draws at Edgbaston and Old Trafford. The series will be remembered for Wasim and Waqar Younis at their destructive best; Aqib Javed being warned for intimidation against Devon Malcolm; the wiles of Mushtaq Ahmed, and the batting of Alec Stewart. Pakistan edged home at Lord's when Wasim and Waqar came to the fore - but this time with the bat. Then England levelled on a typical Headingley wicket with Neil Mallender - a typical Headingley selection - taking eight wickets on debut. But a final confrontation with reverse-swinging yorkers at The Oval proved too much. However, England did take out the one-day series comfortable with some impressive performances.

Tests England 1 Pakistan 2
ODIs England 4 Pakistan 1
1996
Pakistan cricket at its best - aggressive batting, brilliant swing bowler and world-class wrist spin - underpinned the series. At Lord's and The Oval, England collapsed on the final day to a combination of Waqar's swing and Mushtaq's spin. Pakistan were never short of runs with Inzamam, Saeed Anwar and Salim Malik producing centuries. For England, the main positive was the stunning form of Alec Stewart who struck a memorable 170 at Headingley while, at the Oval, John Crawley made a maiden Test century. England gained partial revenge for their Test defeat by claiming the one-day series 2-1, with Nick Knight making back-to-back centuries in his first ODI series.

Tests England 0 Pakistan 2
ODIs England 2 Pakistan 1
2000-01

Following two dull draws at Lahore and Faisalabad - highlighted by neither side's ability to grab the matches by the scruff of the neck - England clinched their first victory in Pakistan since 1961-62 on a crazy last day at Karachi. For the best part of four days the final Test was heading in a similar manner to the first two, a high-scoring draw. Yousuf Youhana's century was cancelled out by Mike Atherton's nine-hour epic. However, moments before lunch on the final day England removed Youhana and the tail folded to a mixture of reverse swing and slower balls from Darren Gough and Craig White. Needing 176 in 44 overs, England lost wickets to the spinners before Graham Thorpe and Graeme Hick added 91 in the fading light. Moin Khan spread his field, hoping that darkness would descend before England got the runs, but the umpires were not fooled by the time-wasting and allowed the batsmen to carry on. With total darkness just moments away, Thorpe edged a delivery through Moin's legs - although few people were able to see the winning runs.
Tests Pakistan 0 England 1
ODIs Pakistan 2 England 1
2001

Fresh from their subcontinent triumphs during the winter England started the summer with a bang at a bitterly cold Lord's. When play began after a first day washout, it was just six degrees in the middle. However, England's batsmen raised the temperature with some attacking batting -Thorpe top-scored with 80. Gough and Andrew Caddick then demolished Pakistan twice as England won late on the fourth day. After enjoying themselves on the rollercoasters in Blackpool, Pakistan were a rejuvenated team at Old Trafford. Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana powered them along at four runs an over. However, when Michael Vaughan hit his first Test century and Thorpe an impressive 138, England were 282 for 2, heading for a commanding lead. Thorpe's run out sparked a collapse as eight wickets fell for 75 runs. Inzamam then hit 85 as Pakistan built a lead of 370. With England only two wickets down at tea on the final day a draw was virtually nailed on, but the game hurtled towards a controversial finale as Saqlain Mushtaq ran through the middle order although the result was overshadowed by the courtesy of a series of missed no-balls by David Shepherd.
England 1 Pakistan 1
2005-06
England's post-Ashes euphoria proved shortlived as Pakistan outplayed them at crucial moments of the series to take a deserved 2-0 win. Everything seemed to be going to plan for England in the first Test at Multan, when Marcus Trescothick's 193 established a comfortable first-innings lead, but Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria blended pace and guile to trigger an astonishing last-day collapse of nine wickets for 111, and victory by 22 runs. Thereafter Pakistan lorded the series. Inzamam-ul-Haq was peerless at Faisalabad, where he grabbed twin hundreds to overtake Javed Miandad's national record, and at Lahore, Shoaib was on target once again, as a demoralised England were bundled to a massive innings defeat. The one-day series was more one-sided than Pakistan's 3-2 win suggests. Their victory by 165 runs at Karachi equalled England's heaviest drubbing of all time.
Tests Pakistan 2 England 0
ODIs Pakistan 3 England 2


2006
This series will always be remembered for how it finished as Pakistan refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day at The Oval having been penalised for ball tampering by Darrell Hair. It led to ugly scenes with Inzamam-ul-Haq keeping his players in the changing room as England's not-out batsmen, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, wandered out with the umpires to resume. After brief discussions Hair removed the bails to end the match and launch cricket into another crisis. England were awarded the match and for a while it appeared the tour would end there, but the one-day series did take place. Pakistan had been on course to secure a consolation victory at The Oval, but the home side were well worth their 2-0 lead. Steve Harmison's pace and Monty Panesar's spin ruled at Old Trafford after a high-scoring draw at Lord's before Headingley produced a wonderful match. Both teams passed 500 in their first innings - and Pakistan held a slender advantage - but Andrew Strauss, standing in for stand-in captain Andrew Flintoff, hit a second-innings hundred before Panesar and Sajid Mahmood skittled Pakistan on the final day.
Tests England 3 Pakistan 0
ODIs England 2 Pakistan 2

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Srilanka lost the match with the big margin

South Africa get together after a wicket

South Africa's season of outlandish results produced another jaw-dropper as Sri Lanka subsided to 43 all out, their lowest total in one-dayers. The shorter format was widely expected to make the one-day series a more even contest than the Tests, but Sri Lanka's 258-run defeat in Paarl was the third largest in ODI history, giving AB de Villiers the perfect start to his captaincy.
South Africa's batsmen had earlier enjoyed themselves despite the scorching heat as they ran up 301 after winning the toss. Hashim Amla highlighted why he's the world's top-ranked ODI batsman with his ninth century, and was supported by the two other big guns of the batting - Jacques Kallis provided the early impetus before de Villiers produced the most fluent innings of the match to power South Africa on a pitch where both seam and spin proved elusive in the afternoon.
Lasith Malinga underscored his value to Sri Lanka, with a five-for that reined in South Africa towards the end of the innings, but his sterling efforts proved moot as Sri Lanka lost five wickets in five overs to effectively end the contest.
Two South African bowlers with points to prove were given the new balls and they snuffed out the resistance even before the main man Dale Steyn was called on. Morne Morkel, coming off an indifferent Test summer, started the collapse in the first over as Upul Tharanga attempted a leaden-footed slap which ended as a low catch at backward point. In the next over Lonwabo Tsotsobe, having lost his place as third seamer to Vernon Philander in the Tests, showed how potent he can be by getting the ball to jag in and rear at the batsman. That proved too much for Tillakaratne Dilshan, who also bagged a duck by gloving to the keeper.
The alarm bells were truly ringing when Dinesh Chandimal struggled to get bat on ball, inside-edging an accurate Tsotsobe three times before nicking a loose drive onto the stumps. Morkel then virtually killed off the game in the fifth over: Kumar Sangakkara's attempted upper cut gave de Villiers his second catch, and two balls later Angelo Mathews' awkward fend at a short ball popped to midwicket.
Mahela Jayawardene then made an unforced error in the eighth over, stabbing a wide ball to point as Sri Lanka slid to 13 for 6. The match was long gone, and the immediate concern was over avoiding the ignominy of the lowest score in one-day history.
In that manic Test at Cape Town in November, Australia's last pair had averted the lowest Test total, and this time Sri Lanka's tail did the job. Not that it offered much consolation for Dilshan, who looked shell-shocked in the dressing-room as his team disintegrated. While the pitch certainly provided a bit more help to the bowlers under lights, it was nowhere near as dramatic as the scoreline suggested.
When South Africa batted there had few of the troubles Sri Lanka faced. Malinga extended Graeme Smith's poor run in one-dayers, but till the 40th over, the likeliest cause of a South African wicket was a run-out.
Amla wasn't at his assured best early on, outside-edging a few drives and mistiming some pulls. Kallis, though, batted like a man coming off a double century a week ago, routinely releasing the pressure after Sri Lanka's bowlers put together a few disciplined overs - most strikingly when he thumped Malinga over long-on for an imperious six, ending a run that yielded only 2 runs in 15 deliveries.
Both batsmen used the steer to third man and the clip to square leg efficiently to keep the singles coming. They had sauntered to 69 for 1 in 15 overs before opening up in the bowling Powerplay, off which they took 37 runs. With both batsmen looking good, South Africa opted for the batting Powerplay as early as the 27th over, but the 144-run stand was finally broken as Kallis was run out by a direct hit from Jayawardene at cover.
If there were fears that would slow down South Africa, de Villiers brushed them away as he played another of those innings where he seemed instantly at ease on a track where most others take time to settle down. He had a streak of 19 successive singles with Amla before becoming more enterprising, unleashing a series of boundaries through cover and extra cover to get to his half-century in 36 balls. Amla, meanwhile, calmly moved on to his hundred, celebrating the achievement with a gentle wave of the bat and helmet.
At 241 for 2 after 40 overs, South Africa seemed headed for at least 320. A Kulasekara yorker, though, removed the rampant de Villiers, before Malinga worked his magic to rip through the lower middle order.
The South African batting and Malinga's five-for were both completely overshadowed by what followed, in a one-dayer that is destined to be remembered as the '43 all out' game.
InningsDot balls4s6sPP1PP2PP3Last 10 oversNB/Wides
South Africa12722349/137/0 (16-20)35/1 (27-31)60/60/15
Sri Lanka1023023/610/1(16-20)--2/2