Suspended Pakistan players respond to ICC cricket sports

Suspended Pakistan players respond to ICC charges


The three Pakistan players suspended and charged by the ICC under its anti-corruption code over match-fixing allegations responded to cricket's governing body on Tuesday within the required deadline.

Tafazzul Rizvi, Pakistan Cricket Board's legal adviser, said test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir replied to the charges through a lawyer two days before the deadline was set to expire.

Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were suspended on Sept. 2 over allegations of "spot-fixing" in a test against England last month that arose from an undercover sting by British newspaper the News of the World.

British police have allowed the trio to return home on the proviso they would return to Britain if needed.

The players will now go through an ICC hearing over the unspecified charges contained in the governing body's code of conduct.

They met with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in Lahore on Tuesday. No details of the meeting were revealed.

There was a mixed response from the Pakistan public when the trio arrived home at Lahore airport last week. Dozens of people chanted slogans in support of Butt but others expressed their anger by waving shoes, a scathing insult to Muslims.

The players avoided facing the crowd and the media by leaving the airport through a back door.

Suspended Pakistan players respond to ICC charges video

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Karnataka Premier League cricket sports

Karnataka Premier League goes pink


Bangalore: Twenty20 cricket is all about innovation. We have seen batsmen playing improvised shots like the Dilscoop and bowlers bowling the slow bouncer. We have seen commentators on the field of play as opposed to being confined to the studio. We now have players in dug-outs on the field as opposed to sitting in the dressing rooms. And now...we have the Pink Ball!



The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has decided to use the pink ball for the upcoming Mantri Karnataka Premier League T20 tournament. This will be the first time that the pink ball will be used in an official cricket match in India. The KSCA in its endeavour to innovate will be assisting the cricket regulatory authority by providing a fair assessment of the pink ball.

On the decision to introduce Pink Ball, Mr.Brijesh Patel, Honorary Secretary, KSCA, said, "We are happy to take a pioneering step to use and test the Pink Ball in Mantri KPL II. The teams have started practicing with it and are now geared up for a challenging tournament."



For the Mantri KPL Season II, KSCA has specially imported Dukes balls from England.

Syed Kirmani, former Indian wicket-keeper, is all for experimentation: "It is a good idea to experiment with the pink ball this KPL. There is no harm in trying it out to see how it performs."

Stuart Binny, Bijapur Bulls, who bowled with the pink ball during the IPL practice sessions for Mumbai Indians this year, says "It is a good idea to use the pink ball in Mantri KPL this year. If it works well and the players are satisfied with it then they could even start using it in IPL."



The pink ball may provide an option of playing Test Cricket on a Day-Night basis and thereby encourage more spectators to watch Test matches. The pink ball will also retain the visibility longer than the white ball as players constantly complain about the white ball getting dirty and difficult to sight in the latter stages of a One-day game.

According to Roger Binny, former India medium-pacer, the pink ball will be a welcome change. He says, "It is a step in the right direction. We have to make changes that will make the game more comfortable for the players. The pink ball doesn't pick up much dirt unlike the white ball which gets difficult to sight. It is the ball of the future."

As the excitement for the use of Pink Ball is building up for players, it is certain that this year the competition is much stiffer, making it an exciting season of cricket gaming.

Cricket commentator Charu Sharma says. "The pink ball experiment has been necessitated by seeking better visibility as the white ball tends to get dirty very soon while trials with the pink ball have shown that the effects of wear and tear tend to show much slower on the pink ball".

The authorities may wish to keep an eye on the proceedings of the tournament to monitor the practicability and performance of the pink ball. It certainly is worth trying and if the ICC is satisfied with the performance of the pink ball, we may soon get to watch Test cricket played under lights, which will provide the much needed revival for the game. With Mantri KPL II, KSCA could very well take credit for pioneering this revival.

New Zealand urged at World Cup news

New Zealand urged to be fearless at World Cup

McCullum's decision not to keep wickets in Test cricket anymore underlines the fearless approach that he is seeking to instill in his teammates



Dubai: New Zealand's dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum has urged his team to be fearless at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

"If we get too scared to see if we're good enough or not, we won't finish anywhere. When that time comes to make this a great team, even though it may not seem like that at the moment, whether we take it or not, that comes down to whether we're hard enough," he said after winning honours at the annual awards night of New Zealand Cricket (NZC).



His decision not to keep wickets in Test cricket anymore — knowing fully well the risks that come with it — underlines the fearless approach that he is seeking to instill in his teammates.

In a report quoted on the International Cricket Council (ICC) website, McCullum said: "This has no side-door options for me. It's a gutsy call; it could be the worst call I've made in my career.

"You go from being one of the major certainties in the team to now being in the mix and being relatively unproven. It's a huge challenge and hopefully it'll be the right decision," said McCullum of his fears.

Strong performances

McCullum had one of the most fruitful seasons with bat in 2009-10, but it was the fact that he was not vice-captain any more that stirred him.



"I was lucky enough to put it all behind me and have the best season throughout my career. I'm confident I'm heading in the right direction and don't need a title to contribute to my team," he summed up.

McCullum returns to national duties in October during the Bangladesh tour following a paternity break during which he celebrated the birth of his nine-week old daughter.

Football news now-Pool Be Much Better and REDS DRAW AGAIN

A Draw, But Shouldn't Pool Be Much Better Than That?


Ouch that was poor. Liverpool were, until the final ten minutes or so, second best by a distance to a gritty Brum outfit that would have won comfortably but for awful finishing and fine saves by Pepe Reina. It hardly helped Pool's cause that Fernando Torres looked fed-up throughout, but then again, can you blame him?

BLUES AND REDS DRAW AGAIN


Liverpool were indebted to a superb display from goalkeeper Jose Reina for earning a point from a goalless draw with Birmingham in their Barclays Premier League clash at St Andrews on Sunday.



Reina produced excellent reflex saves to keep out point-blank headers from Cameron Jerome and Craig Gardner to keep out the Blues.



They were also left to regret spurning a hat-trick of clear-cut chances and were the more impressive of the two sides but had to settle for a draw, the seventh successive stalemate in this fixture.

On this evidence new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has plenty of work to do to make the Merseysiders a force to be reckoned with.

Barry Ferguson and Gardner bossed the midfield while James McFadden and Cameron Jerome linked well up front.



Reds skipper Steven Gerrard tried to spark his side into life but Fernando Torres still looks short of full sharpness with Scott Dann excellent at the back for Birmingham.

Blues midfielder Ferguson said: "The goalkeeper was outstanding. He made three or four great saves. I think we deserved to win the game, but the goalkeeper was outstanding."

Team-mate Jerome added: "Pepe is one of the best keepers in the world and it showed. It's one of those things and you take it on the chin."

Blues boss Alex McLeish praised his men, saying: "The players were magnificent. They created four or five chances and we restricted Liverpool and gave some great players very little."



Reds counterpart Hodgson said: "They played extremely well in the first half.

"We started well but the final 15 minutes before half-time they pressurised the ball well and made life very difficult and we were depending on two very good saves from Pepe Reina.



"But I thought we kept our shape well, kept working at what we were doing, and the longer the game went on the stronger we were getting.

"It was a good performance from Birmingham and I'm not too disappointed with our performance either. We kept to our task well."