All posts by h716a5.icu

Rather than talking up the batting effort, Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, credited his bowlers with fashioning the comprehensive victory at Newlands

Firdose Moonda at Newlands 06-Jan-2012The deciding Test match between South Africa and Sri Lanka swung the way of the hosts as early as the first morning. South Africa were put in to bat and reached lunch on 135 for 2. Before tea on the second day that had become 580 for 4 and the hosts had effectively batted the visitors out of the contest.Rather than talking up the batting effort, Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, credited his bowlers with fashioning the comprehensive victory. “This was our best bowling performance of the summer,” Smith said. “We bowled well as a unit. Yesterday, each guy bowled really well in their spells and we were able to create pressure. It wasn’t just one guy bowling outstandingly and picking up seven or eight wickets. All three seamers and Imran [Tahir] worked together in partnerships.”South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out for 239 in their first innings, taking the last eight wickets for 90 runs. After enforcing the follow-on, they managed to nip out four wickets by stumps on the third day and completed the win just after tea on the fourth, sealing their first series win at home since they beat Bangladesh in 2008. They have since drawn home series against England, India and Australia but Smith said they had lacked the ability to close out series.”We haven’t lost too many [series] but we haven’t had the killer punch. Durban [where South Africa have lost their last four Tests] was a disappointing moment for us again this summer. It was a big wake-up call for the guys in terms of the standards that we need to produce as a team. But otherwise, the rest has been positive. This win in particular gives us a lot to build on for the year to come.”South Africa embark on a trio of away tours in 2012: they play in New Zealand in February, England in July and Australia in November. Smith said they will draw inspiration from the way they ended the home summer when on the road. “The way we won here was important. We had good partnerships with the bat and the ball, and everything we’ve been talking about came out strongly.”Although South Africa finished with authority, there are still some unanswered questions about the make-up of their Test squad, particularly with regards to the batting line-up. “At the moment, everyone is finding questions somewhere in a Test match,” Smith said. “We just need to build our strength as a team and each guy needs to get strong in his role. There are a few things that need to be cemented.”The same areas that were under scrutiny at the beginning of the series are at the end: the opening berth and the No. 6 slot. South Africa made a change to both for the third Test, dropping Ashwell Prince and moving Jacques Rudolph down the order while replacing him with Alviro Petersen at the top.Both Petersen and Rudolph had success in their new roles, the former scoring a century and the latter an unbeaten 51. While Petersen fit in seamlessly, Rudolph still has some critics to convince, but Smith said he was pleased with the progress Rudolph made. “I’m sure he was very nervous even though we were in a strong position; you’ve got to come in and play a certain way. With the changes and everything he must have been nervous and it was great to see him play that way.”The other question mark is the place of Mark Boucher, who did not get an opportunity with the bat at Newlands and dropped a catch in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Smith stressed that Boucher is in no danger of being dropped from the team anytime soon, especially not before the tour of England in six months.”I think that’s the first catch I’ve seen him drop from 10 to 15 metres back. I think he is secure. As a gloveman he has been excellent for us. Overall, in the time that I’ve played with him, his consistency in taking chances has been excellent. He is ultra-reliable so when he does put down a chance a big thing gets made of it. Going to England, having a really good keeper is going to be the key factor there.”

Joe Denly took advantage of a dropped catch to score his second century of theseason but Derbyshire are still in a commanding position after two days of theCounty Championship match against Kent at Derby

08-Sep-2011
ScorecardJoe Denly took advantage of a dropped catch to score his second century of theseason but Derbyshire are still in a commanding position after two days of theCounty Championship match against Kent at Derby.Denly made 142 not out after he was missed on 33 but Kent still have a lot todo to save the game after a hundred from Ross Whiteley took Derbyshire past 500for the first time in two years. The 22-year-old all-rounder ended with an unbeaten career-best 130 out of 535, while Kent pace bowler David Balcombe took six for 128, his fourth five-wickethaul in five matches.Kent faced a daunting 386 to avoid the follow-on and they slipped to 77 forthree before Denly led a recovery which saw the visitors close on 279 for four,still 256 behind. Derbyshire had started the day well-placed on 405 for six with Whiteley and JonClare both in the 70s, but Balcombe broke through with the first ball of thesecond over.Clare edged a drive to first slip which ended a stand of 142 in 22 overs andKent struck again when Tim Groenewald could not avoid a lifting ball fromBalcombe. That was the on-loan Hampshire bowler’s 30th wicket for Kent but he could notbreak the ninth-wicket stand between Whiteley and Tony Palladino which carriedDerbyshire past 500.Whiteley has delivered some impressive performances since coming into the sidethis season and his second Championship hundred was another demonstration of hisability to strike the ball cleanly. Although it was a streaky four through the slips that took him to a hundred, it was a rare false stroke in a commanding innings that contained 14 fours and foursixes.Palladino also played his part by scoring 34 out of 83 before he skied a driveto mid-off, and he was back in the action again when he struck in the fourthover of the Kent reply. Daniel-Bell Drummond was caught behind for four fending at the former Essex seamer who claimed his 48th Championship victim when he trapped Sam Northeastlbw for 12.Kent’s position would have been far worse if Denly had not been dropped by LukeSutton off Mark Footitt before Alex Blake (10) was pouched by the Derbyshireskipper off Clare in the 20th over. At that stage, Kent were in deep trouble but Denly grew in authority and played some handsome straight drives in a century which came off 128 balls and was well supported by Darren Stevens and Azhar Mahmood.Stevens made 38 out of 110 before he pulled Clare to deep square but Mahmoodcompleted a half century and was unbeaten on 60 as Kent ended the day 107 runsaway from their follow-on target.

The BCCI has said it will remain in close contact with the IPL franchises to ensure players remain fit for national duty

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2011In the light of the injury crisis India found themselves in on the tour of England, the BCCI has said it will remain in close contact with the IPL franchises to ensure players remain fit for national duty.”During our meeting with franchises we will emphasise that they pay most attention to these problems and give instruction to the team physios on injury management to avoid injuries,” the new IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla told . “We will be paying full attention to these problems, we will keep in touch with physios, and various franchises so that any injury should be immediately addressed.”On a disastrous tour, where they were thrashed 4-0 in Tests and 3-0 in ODIs, India lost the services of Zaheer Khan on the first day of the first Test at Lord’s. After playing in the IPL, Virender Sehwag was ruled out of the first two Tests due to an injured shoulder while Gautam Gambhir, Praveen Kumar and Yuvraj Singh sustained injuries during the course of the series.Shukla defended the IPL, saying it shouldn’t be singled out for blame for injuries caused to players, but said the board will take steps to ensure there is “perfect” co-ordination with the franchises over the players’ fitness.”In my view, for injuries I don’t think only IPL should be blamed as every team is facing such problems and lot many players got injured during the England series also, so I don’t think IPL should be solely blamed for it,” he said. “But at the same time, the management of injury problems is also on our mind and some concrete steps will be taken to minimise injury problems. There will be perfect coordination between BCCI and various franchises.”

India made a bold declaration to bring the rain-hit Test to life, and Daren Bravo sucked the life right out of it with an innings of application and resolve

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga02-Jul-2011
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDarren Bravo and Carlton Baugh denied India•Associated PressThough close to 128 overs of play were lost to the elements, Barbados still managed to produce a dramatic draw. On the final day, India made a bold declaration to bring the Test to life, and Darren Bravo sucked the life right out of it with an innings of application and resolve. India set West Indies 281 to get in 83 overs, Ishant Sharma helped them take early wickets, but Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Carlton Baugh thwarted India for 322 deliveries between them.There were two twists in the final session. An ordinary lbw call against Chanderpaul, which was followed by Marlon Samuels’ wicket, would surely have sparked controversy had West Indies lost the match. With a maximum of 36 overs remaining, Bravo and Baugh put up further resistance. Baugh attacked too. At one point the target came down to 102 off 19.3 overs, and he kept India honest with the odd blow after that. Rain intervened, India came back with two quick wickets to turn the equation to three wickets required in 10.4 overs, but quite fittingly bad light brought the match to a premature end.There was a rain break just before the start of the mandatory overs, prior to which Baugh had hit Abhimanyu Mithun for three back-to-back boundaries. The break was instructive as to where the teams stood with regards to the result. While the Indian players hung about, hoping that it would be a passing shower, Bravo and Baugh wasted little time in getting back to the dressing room.It was a huge credit to the quality of the pitch that the match came close to a result. Some of the credit has to go to MS Dhoni too, for declaring 67 minutes into the fifth day. It was a huge departure from the usual for Dhoni. His previous third-innings declarations have left sides chasing 516, 403 and 617 respectively.Credit also has to go to Ishant, who became only the seventh Indian pace bowler to claim a Test 10-wicket haul. He backed up Dhoni’s declaration with aggressive bowling at the start, in the middle, and also in the end. The quality of the pitch and the strength of the opposition’s batting would have played a big role in the declaration, but West Indies showed character in saving the game. Especially pleasing would be that following Marlon Samuels’ impressive 78 not out in the first innings, another flamboyant batsman, Bravo, played with restraint for the larger cause.Bravo came in to bat in the seventh over, after both Lendl Simmons and Ramnaresh Sarwan had fallen to outside edges. Adrian Barath hung around for 64 deliveries, but he was worked over by Ishant. An inswinger was followed by one that left him, after which Ishant produced one that got big on Barath and took the shoulder of the bat.Smart stats

Ishant Sharma’s haul of 10 for 108 is the fourth-best figures for an Indian bowler in an away Test. There have been 11 ten-wicket hauls by Indians in away Tests and Ishant’s is the first in the West Indies.

VVS Laxman became the fourth Indian batsman to score two half-centuries in a Test on three occasions in the West Indies. The other batsmen to do so three times are Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath and Polly Umrigar.

The 69-run stand between Darren Bravo and Carlton Baugh is the seventh fifty-plus stand for the sixth wicket for West Indies against India in Tests in Barbados.

Bravo, who has had a very good start to his Test career, has scored five half-centuries in 12 innings at an average of 41.27.

This is the second draw in India-West Indies Tests in Barbados. West Indies have won seven and lost none.

At that point 65 overs still remained. Ishant and Praveen Kumar worked hard for the next seven overs, but Chanderpaul and Bravo looked solid for the most part. If the situation was right up Chanderpaul’s alley, it was a less familiar experience for Bravo. That showed in how he felt the need to score every now and then. To play the release shot every once in a while. Defending for long durations can get pretty tense, with close-in fielders ready to pounce on any edge. Bravo released that tension at the first sighting of Mithun, driving and glancing him for two boundaries in his first over.Chanderpaul at the other end batted like he was born to do just this: save Test matches for West Indies, batting aggressors into submission. He kept leaving balls even marginally outside off. When he did play he did so with soft hands. He spent 16 balls on 5, and 23 on 9, but India couldn’t draw a false stroke out of him. Bravo, who stayed impressive when defending, played the odd shot in between, including a slog sweep off Harbhajan Singh through midwicket.Soon after tea, though, Chanderpaul was given lbw off an offbreak hitting him outside off, and heading further away. Ishant followed that up with Samuels’ wicket off an inswinger. While Bravo remained solid as ever, India sensed an opportunity with Baugh, who despite a superb series behind the wicket is considered under pressure for want of runs.Harbhajan, who had dismissed Baugh three times previously in the series, attacked him with men all around the bat. Baugh edged the second ball he faced from Harbhajan, but Dhoni dropped it. Baugh had by then realised he might not have the defensive technique suitable for the task, and began to attack in order to get the fielders out of his face. It worked. After slog-sweeping Harbhajan for a six, Baugh went after Mithun, and with the target not beyond West Indies’ reach, India took a step back.Towards the end, Bravo lost concentration and edged a wide delivery from Mithun, ending what has to be his best Test innings so far. Ishant swooped in again, making Sammy his 10th victim, with a yorker, but in fading light that’s all there was time for.

Saqlain Mushtaq believes Australia’s selectors could ease the team’s spin woes simply by showing more faith in the slow bowlers

Brydon Coverdale31-May-2011Saqlain Mushtaq believes Australia’s selectors could ease the team’s spin woes simply by showing more faith in the slow bowlers. Saqlain, the renowned Pakistan offspinner, is in Brisbane for Cricket Australia’s annual “spin week”, a summit at the Centre of Excellence where tweakers from around the country have converged for special training.Australia does not have a full-time travelling spin coach – John Davison helps the slow men at the Centre of Excellence – and Saqlain has been brought in as a consultant for the event. One of the bowlers working with Saqlain this week is Jason Krejza, who conceded he was a “mental case” after being dropped from the Test team in late 2008.”The legend Shane Warne … is a big loss but because of that these guys have a problem,” Saqlain said in Brisbane on Tuesday. “He set the standard so high, these spinners need more time to settle. Australian cricket has all the varieties [of spinners] but they have to have patience – give them a proper chance and back the bowlers. If you are backing the spinners they will perform very well. You can’t make a spinner in a day or a month.”It’s a lesson that doesn’t seem to have been heeded by Andrew Hilditch’s selection panel over the past couple of years, despite many former players and commentators having already urged them to show patience with their spinners. When Michael Beer debuted in the Sydney Ashes Test in January, he was the tenth slow bowler Australia had used in Tests since Warne retired four years earlier.Of the remaining nine, Beau Casson and Bryce McGain were each dropped after one Test, while Xavier Doherty and Krejza were each given only two. Cameron White was inexplicably used as the frontline spinner for four Tests in India in 2008, despite hardly bowling himself for Victoria, Steven Smith was the lead spinner against Pakistan last year, and Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill both retired soon after taking the job.Only Nathan Hauritz has been given an extended run in the Test team, and the patience shown by the selectors paid off. Since he was called up in November 2008, Hauritz has taken 58 wickets at 36.22, but he was axed last year after a disappointing two-Test tour of India – where even Warne struggled – and the spin cycle began again with Doherty and Beer for the Ashes.Krejza could consider himself one of the unluckiest of the batch. He took 12 wickets on debut in Nagpur, but failed to plug the runs in his second Test against South Africa in Perth, and was dumped for Hauritz. “I have been trying to give him an idea on how to grab your place again in the national team,” Saqlain said of Krejza, “how to believe in yourself, how to train and come back.”Krejza has been given a second chance at breaking into the Test side, having been picked for the Australia A tour of Zimbabwe next month. There, he will compete with the incumbent, Beer, for a spot in August’s Test series in Sri Lanka. If Krejza can force his way back into the baggy green XI, it would be a fine achievement after his dumping two and a half years ago.He is one of 15 bowlers at spin week, along with Hauritz, Beer, Steve O’Keefe, Jon Holland and Nathan Lyon. Doherty, despite playing for Australia as recently as the one-day series in Bangladesh last month, is not part of the group.

Leeds United are back in Premier League action later this afternoon as they make the trip to the capital to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Jesse Marsch’s men head into kick-off only two points clear of Everton, who play Leicester City at the same time, and the relegation zone but the Yorkshire outfit can be buoyed by the fact that they have only lost to league leaders Manchester City across their last six outings.

That was last time out, where the Whites were thrashed 4-0 at Elland Road, though the Gunners will be no easy task as they are fighting it out with their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur for a place inside the top four.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more” title=”Read the latest Leeds United news and rumours!”]

A victory for the visitors would also see them move three points clear of relegation rivals Burnley and that would seriously bolster their chances of survival with just five games to go after this weekend.

Marsch could also boost their safety bid by unleashing young striker Joe Gelhardt from the off down in north London today.

Leeds have rued the absence of last season’s top goalscorer Patrick Bamford (17) for the majority of the campaign but it’s been evident that the likes of Rodrigo and club-record signing Daniel James are not up to scratch as out-and-out central strikers.

The 20-year-old, however, could be a big threat against a side that hasn’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last six outings – and he has already proven himself against some of the best teams in this division.

For example, against Wednesday’s opposition – Chelsea – he scored his first professional goal for the club as he bullied his way past their backline in the game’s dying stages. He then scored the crucial winner in injury time against rock-bottom Norwich City.

Gelhardt has certainly caught the eye already, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp describing him as a “human wrecking ball,” he said:

“He’s like a human wrecking ball. I like him, he’s really exciting. He’s fast, he’s aggressive, he gets on the ball, he takes people on. Once he gets into the box, he loves it. That’s where he can do most of his damage.”

Meanwhile, according to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, he has been “banging on the door”, whilst LeedsLive reporter Beren Cross believes he looks “absolutely outrageous” and is a big talent indeed.

Arsenal have struggled to keep out the opposition since March 19th, conceding three goals to Crystal Palace, two to Brighton & Hove Albion and two to Chelsea in the last six games.

It’s clear that Gelhardt possesses the sort of skill set and ability to do serious damage to Mikel Arteta’s men, but it’s on Marsch to unleash him down in the capital this afternoon.

Forget James or Rodrigo, it’s the young striking sensation who must feature in the starting XI today. As a result, his presence could seriously bolster their survival bid.

AND in other news, Marsch dealt another setback ahead of Arsenal clash…

New Zealand have stayed under the radar in their ride to the semi-finals, and Ross Taylor has now set his sights on making the final

Sidharth Monga in Colombo27-Mar-2011South Africa didn’t play a bunch of dummies who had to just turn up in Dhaka and watch Graeme Smith’s men crumble from a vantage point.One of the undesirable fallouts of South Africa’s exit from the World Cup, depressing as it was to their fans, is the focus on South Africa’s choke. The talk all around the cricketing world has been how South Africa lived up to their record of not having won a single knockout game in World Cups, of their mental brittleness in big events, of what future holds for them, and the other team that won the match has been all but forgotten.New Zealand played a game too, you know. Jesse Ryder showed a glimpse of how good a batsman he is before a charged-up New Zealand side, yelling, hollering, sledging, intimidating, pulled off the best fielding performance of the World Cup. They were a team possessed. They didn’t want to go home, they wanted to settle a score with a ground that consigned them to their lowest low. They were not a bunch of dummies.Quietly they have slipped into Sri Lanka, “warmer than Dhaka, not as hot as Mumbai”, facing a far tougher task than the one they accomplished in Dhaka, that of beating a team much more naturally talented, much more varied, playing in home conditions, used to conditions warmer than Dhaka but not as hot as Mumbai.And it’s staying under the radar that they are hanging on to. “Most of the time New Zealand play we are underdogs,” Ross Taylor, who has captained New Zealand in some of the games this World Cup, said two days before their sixth semi-final in 10 World Cups. “It’s something we almost enjoy, and we expect when we play. I know a lot of teams expect to beat us, and we enjoy the underdog tag, and we expect to beat them as well.Ross Taylor: “We genuinely believe we can go one step further and make the final”•Getty Images”I don’t think too many other people gave us a chance, which probably made other teams take us a bit lighter than they normally would, which played into our hands, but you know it’s going to be a tough game on Tuesday, one that we are looking forward to.”New Zealand have played Sri Lanka before in this tournament, and the result was not too encouraging, a defeat by 112 runs at a ground these teams will be fighting for the right to play at. Taylor sees having played Sri Lanka as an advantage, as an opportunity to have made the mistakes in a game not so big. “It’s a new game,” he said. “We are taking a lot of confidence from our last game against South Africa. We have got an advantage that we have played against Sri Lanka in the pool matches, and we did a few things wrong. Hopefully we can rectify that in the match on Tuesday.”New Zealand, in a way a team not too dissimilar to England who were demolished by Sri Lanka in the quarter-final, seek to learn from the way England played. “Watching parts of the game and analysing the way England played and where they went wrong and where Sri Lanka went wrong, but we have got a lot of momentum in our camp. We were happy with the way we fielded, and hopefully we can continue with that and put Sri Lanka under pressure.”Taylor said the side was desperate to translate the record of having made six semi-finals into something more significant. “We are proud of our history of making semi-finals, but looking at this team we want to make history and go one step further and make the final,” he said. “We genuinely believe we can do that, and we want to show that on Tuesday.”

Tom Maynard, who left Glamorgan in December, will continue his career with Surrey after signing a three-year contract with them

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011Tom Maynard, who walked away from Glamorgan – citing the treatment of his father, Matthew, as the reason – in December, will continue his career with Surrey after signing a three-year contract with them.Maynard has made clear his anger at events at the county last year, and though new captain and South Africa batsman Alviro Petersen contacted him and the two held “a positive discussion” about his future, he has moved ahead with his decision to pursue a new employer.Maynard had feared that Glamorgan would attempt to fight his decision to leave in the courts – he signed a three-year contract with them in September last year before the county’s troubles came to a head – and in December told the : “I have to follow due process in all these events and do things by the book. I have to make sure I am clear with Glamorgan before I can move on and weigh up options from other counties but time is against me with only two months to go until pre-season.”It now appears his “continual” requests to be released and allowed to talk to other counties have been heeded, and his presence at Surrey will undoubtedly strengthen a youthful batting line-up – particularly in limited-overs cricket. Aside from the costs associated to his three year deal, Maynard’s signing comes at no extra expense to Surrey.”Once we received permission from Glamorgan to speak to Tom, it became clear that Surrey was his preferred destination,” said Surrey’s Professional Cricket Manager, Chris Adams. “He has been attracted here by a number of factors including the wicket at the Kia Oval and the fantastic history of the Club but most of all he had a sense of wanting to be at Surrey through what will be a very exciting time here.”We were painfully on the receiving end of what he is capable of last season and although this was not a signing we had planned for, it was an opportunity that was too good not to take and I am delighted that Tom is adding further depth to what is looking like a very strong squad.””I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Surrey County Cricket Club at such an exciting time and am looking forward to playing with some highly regarded young talent as well as soaking up as much as I can from the richly experienced and successful coaching staff,” added Maynard.”Tom is one of the best One Day cricketers going around and exactly the sort of player we have been hoping to attract to the Club,” said Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown. “It’s hugely exciting to have him at the Kia Oval and I know he will make an impact both on the field and in the dressing room.”

Pakistan are likely to announce a captain for the World Cup within the next few days, possibly even before the fourth ODI of the current series against New Zealand scheduled for February 1

Osman Samiuddin29-Jan-2011Pakistan are likely to announce a captain for the World Cup within the next few days, possibly even before the fourth ODI of the current series against New Zealand scheduled for February 1. Indications, for the moment, lean towards the Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq taking over from Shahid Afridi, the current ODI skipper, for cricket’s showpiece event. But the situation remains fluid and Misbah’s chances were far greater a few days ago; a comfortable win over New Zealand on Saturday, with a starring role from Afridi, will no doubt impact on the final decision.The PCB announced a 15-man World Cup squad earlier this month, but much to the surprise of almost everyone, didn’t name a skipper for the event. Afridi has been Pakistan’s ODI captain over the last year but just before the New Zealand tour began, a number of key players and team management officials raised concerns with the board over his captaincy. The development placed the board in a quandary, between players and the captain, ultimately compelling them to delay the announcement.Expectedly the decision has been slammed by a number of ex-players, most notably Inzamam-ul-Haq; the broad feeling of discontent doesn’t revolve around the personalities as much as the instability inherent in such a situation. The board and the chairman Ijaz Butt, it is believed, have no real issue with Afridi remaining captain, but such are the nature of the concerns the players and team management have, that the board has found itself having to choose sides.It is understood that players are mostly unhappy with Afridi’s regular and very public assessments of his side’s performances, mostly when they have been critical. In addition, Afridi’s statements to the ICC with reference to the spot-fixing case involving three Pakistani players have also been felt by some players in the current squad to have been incendiary and unnecessary. Though local reports suggested that a group of senior players had thrown their support behind Afridi, players such as Kamran Akmal and Misbah still hold reservations.The inability of Afridi and vital members of the team management to gel with each other has not helped matters; one important management official is thought to have pushed particularly forcefully for Misbah’s elevation to the captaincy over the last few weeks in New Zealand.The delay has allowed the board chairman to travel to New Zealand to hold discussions with Afridi, senior players and management officials before making a decision. In a meeting before the team departed Butt also advised Afridi to try and improve his interaction with players over the course of the series. These meetings will ultimately decide who is to be appointed.On paper, Afridi’s record as captain is not hugely impressive, with seven wins and 10 losses in 18 games (and one no-result). He averages nearly 36 with the bat in that time, including two hundreds in Sri Lanka, and well over his career numbers. And though the 25-ball 65 against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday was his first fifty in 12 ODIs, he has, on five occasions, made scores between 24-49, which given the way Afridi bats and the position he bats at, are often vital hands.His bowling has not been as incisive, taking only 17 wickets in that span and generally going for runs. But in pushing ODI series against England and South Africa to the final game each time, in overseeing several fightbacks in tough circumstances Afridi would seem to have built up some credit.Misbah’s case for captaincy, on paper, is weaker. He has not been part of the ODI set-up for much of the last year; in fact, he only played two ODIs in 2010 and was dropped midway through the series against South Africa. His often poor strike-rate also works against him, and if Younis Khan is in the playing XI, robs Pakistan of some power in the middle. But he has built up momentum from his Test exploits, where he has been in exceptional form with the bat and has just led Pakistan to a drought-breaking Test series win.

Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad will work with the national team as a batting and fielding consultant to help them prepare for their upcoming tour of New Zealand and the 2011 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2010Javed Miandad will work with the Pakistan team as a batting and fielding consultant to help them prepare for their upcoming tour of New Zealand and the 2011 World Cup. This is the latest of his roles in Pakistan cricket, having been captain and coach and currently also director-general of the PCB.”It is a great feeling to be back in cricket gear,” Miandad told on the sidelines of a preparatory camp ahead of the upcoming New Zealand tour. “Coaching has always been a passion for me and I can help our players. It is all about fine-tuning them and preparing them mentally for difficult conditions and situations, since they have the talent.”Miandad, however, will not be travelling with the team to New Zealand later this month. “I have full confidence in the abilities of Waqar Younis [the Pakistan coach], and if there are two men dealing with the players, it may cause a conflict,” he said. “So, I have decided not to go with the team and prefer to give coaching tips to the players in the training camp here.”I hope the wickets at Christchurch and Eden Park and other venues are conducive for batsmen. But our batsmen will have to read their bowlers carefully. Pakistan must do well in New Zealand to enter World Cup in right frame of mind.”The New Zealand series is Pakistan’s last opportunity to finalise their World Cup plans. In recent times, they have been bogged down by controversies on and off the field, prompting one-day captain Shahid Afridi to play down the side’s World Cup hopes. Miandad, who holds the record for having appeared in most World Cups (six), could prove to be a valuable addition to the team as they search for stability ahead of the marquee event.Miandad has coached the team three times in the past, each association ending in acrimonious circumstances. In January, he was involved in a war of words with Ijaz Butt after the PCB chairman indicated that Miandad was costing the board almost Rs 1 million ($11,820) for his services as director-general.