Cricketers Afridi and Gambhir fined for on-field collision

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Cricketers Shahid Afridi and Gautam Gambhir were fined Wednesday following their on-field collision and altercation during the third one-day international between India and Pakistan.The International Cricket Council fined Pakistan allrounder Afridi 95 per cent of his match fee, while Gambhir, an India batsman, was fined 65 per cent of his match fee. The amount of their match fees was not disclosed.Both players were charged with two counts of "conduct unbecoming to their status which could bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute" and another of "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play."The fourth one-day match will be held at Gwalior on Thursday. India leads the five-match series 2-1.And here is the rest of it.

Three Favourites To Join The Pakistan Cricket Team.

KARACHI: The cricket selectors have decided to send three players to India before the start of the three-Test series. The leg spinner Danish Kaneria, middle order batsman Faisal Iqbal and fast bowler Mohammad Sami are favourites to join the Pakistan cricket team before the first Test starting in New Delhi from November 22. The national selection committee, headed by former Test cricketer Salahuddin Ahmad, had already decided to send a wicketkeeper to share the burden with Kamran Akmal. The chief selector had a discussion with members Shafqat Rana and Saleem Jaffer regarding the combination of the Pakistan team for the Test series.
Kaneria, not selected for the one-day series, is all set to play the Test series against India. Kaneria has taken 17 wickets for Habib Bank Limited in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. On the slow turning wickets of India, Kaneria could be a useful weapon for Pakistan.Sami is also performing very well in the domestic circuit, representing the Karachi Whites team as its skipper. The 26-year-old Sami, who has played 30 Tests and 83 ODIs, is in a devastating form. He has taken 17 wickets with an average of 20.94 in the first class matches. Sami last played a Test match for Pakistan in January this year against South Africa at Cape Town. He also played against Australia A in the home series representing Pakistan A. An elbow injury to fast bowler Mohammad Asif has convinced the selectors to include experienced Sami for the crunch Test series against the archrivals.The selectors are of the view that Faisal can strengthen the middle order batting. Faisal played in the first Test against South Africa in Karachi last month. He batted well in the second innings but after the return of seasoned batsman Mohammad Yousuf he had to sit in the dressing room. The players who will return to Pakistan after the India one-day series are opener Imran Nazir, fast bowler Rao Iftikhar Anjum and all rounder Fawad Alam.

Woolmer's DNA Re-Testing showed no pesticides.

November 13, 2007
An expert witness disputed earlier testimony by telling an inquest that he was unable, during re-tests conducted last week, to find any traces of the deadly pesticide cypermethrin in samples taken from the body of the former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer."No cypermethrin was found in the adequate samples from the forensic lab," professor Prasad Dasgupta said on Monday. Dasgupta, head of the pesticide research laboratory at the University of West Indies, conducted a series of re-tests on November 6 and 7 on blood samples taken from Woolmer's body.Dasgupta said he re-tested eight samples from a government laboratory and another five from the United Kingdom. Last week, the coroner Patrick Murphy ordered that the samples be re-tested.
Dasgupta's findings support those of the British forensic scientist John Slaughter, who also said he was unable to find cypermethrin in blood samples. But Dasgupta's testimony contrasts that of other witnesses, including Fitzmore Coates, the acting chief forensic officer at the Jamaican federal laboratory, who said there was so much potentially deadly cypermethrin in Woolmer's system that it could have caused his death.Dasgupta said Coates' analysis was flawed. "I found his data very puzzling and his analysis was not proper," Dasgupta said, adding the quality of the samples may have been as good when he conducted his tests compared to the time they were first tested in March. Jamaica's deputy commissioner of police Mark Shields is expected to take the stand on Tuesday.

Could Cricket Balls Change From White To Pink ?

The colour of balls used in the English one-day game could change from white to pink if trials by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), guardians of the laws of cricket, prove successful."Paint tends to flake off white balls and we have asked (manufacturers) Kookaburra to produce a batch of pink ones because these show up so much better," MCC's head of cricket John Stephenson told Tuesday's edition of the Times newspaper."The challenge is to produce a ball which retains its colour."My aim would be to use the pink ball in Twenty20 cricket in 2009 and thereafter in one-day international cricket but this will be dependent on trials and what the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) thinks."Stephenson said the plan was to experiment with the pink ball in second XI and university matches next season.Kookaburra has developed a batch of pink balls which will be used in Australia's women cricket this season, said the Times.Former England captain Mike Gatting, the ECB's managing director of cricket partnerships, said: "We must always push the game forward and ensure we have the right equipment."We have tried white and orange balls and perhaps pink ones will last longer. This is a very interesting and very wise development and a colour may have been found that is easier on the eye."

Pakistani star,shoab akhtar will adopt a child.

Lucknow,pakistani cricket star,Shoaib akhtar,decided to adopt a child.he is inspired with hollywood star angilinajuli and indian bollywood star sushmita sane who adopted the child.shoab akhtar saidthat he is looking forachild."I have not decided that the adopted child should be ababy or baba".He added.this is the best time to look after an adopted child,my family will support me in this regard.

BRETT Lee will sing the World Cup theme song.

BRETT Lee has been asked to produce and perform the theme song for the next cricket World Cup on the subcontinent in 2011, potentially making him not only one of Australia's top cricketers but also one of the country's highest-selling recording artists.His single You're The One For Me, performed with legendary Bollywood star Asha Bhosle, reached No. 2 in the charts in South Africa and India.Lee is still yet to play in a Test match in India, but the blond paceman is adored for his exploits with the ball, guitar and microphone, and has had numerous movie roles offered to him.
Producing and performing the World Cup's theme song will expose his musical talents to billions of people."Music's a great passion of mine, apart from cricket, and to be able to produce a song for such a big occasion, particularly given it's in the subcontinent, a place that I love, only adds to the excitement," Lee said."The people in that part of the world have such a passion for cricket and music. I'm sure it's going to be a great event."Bhosle was delighted to perform with Lee.
"He is such a huge cricket star and you know how crazy we all are about cricket," she said. "But not only that, he is a pop star here now."The final of the World Cup is to be held in Mumbai, India's commercial and entertainment capital. The preceding matches will be co-hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.The tournament will be held between February and March 2011.

South Africa close in on victory in first test

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Fast bowler Dale Steyn took three wickets as South Africa closed in on victory over New Zealand in the first test on Sunday.New Zealand, who needed 531 to win, were 148-6 at lunch on the fourth day. Steyn, who took 5-34 in New Zealand's first innings, claimed 3-45.New Zealand are trying to stave off their heaviest test loss, which is currently their 299-run defeat by Pakistan in Auckland in 2001.The visitors resumed on 57-3 and lost their fourth wicket to the ninth ball of the day when Steyn had Scott Styris caught behind by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher for 16.Steyn struck again eight overs later when Brendon McCullum (26) flapped at a delivery outside his off-stump and was caught in the gully by Herschelle Gibbs.New Zealand slipped to 109-6 in the eighth over before lunch when Michael Papps edged a delivery from fast bowler Jacques Kallis and was caught by AB de Villiers at third slip for five.Jacob Oram, batting with a runner because of a hamstring injury, stood firm for his 40 not out.Daniel Vettori, who was 22 not out, shared an unbroken stand of 39 with Oram.

India Beat Pakistan By 46 Runs In Third ODI

India defeated Pakistan by 46 runs in the third One-day International and took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series at the Green Park cricket stadium here Sunday.Put in to bat first, India made 294 for six in 50 overs and in reply Pakistan were all out for 248 in 47.2 overs. Pakistan's Salman Butt was top scorer with a valiant 129.

India-Pakisran encounter at kanpur- Green Park.

The Preview by wahabuddin-karachi
sunday,11-11-2007-6.30AM
3rd ODI between india and pakistan will be commenced at Kanpur .Kanpur is the place,where,before two and half years back,shahid Afridi took cricket to a different sphere. For about 75 minutes nothing else mattered but Afridi. His 37-ball hundred was not seen by many, so he scored one in 45 balls here in a match that not many miss: India v Pakistan. That hundred was his first in three years; he is yet to hit one since.The teams have arrived in Kanpur in a similar scenario as they did two years ago. Pakistan had come back then to level the series 2-2 before the Kanpur match. They are 1-1 now, but Pakistan have the momentum with them following possibly their greatest run chase, at Mohali. shoaib malik has led his team in high pressure situations at the Twenty20 world championship in South Africa and previous 2 ODIs that was an eye-opener for many.For starters, his handling of the bowlers has been very temperate. Many of his bowling changes have come at just the right time of which the Mohali game was a very good example. He learnt his lessons from the Guwahati game and made considerably better use of his fast bowlers. His patience was duly rewarded by speedster Umar Gul who took the prized wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir at Mohali.The way he marshaled the team,may award a victory inKANpur also.
The number of extras Pakistan bowled at Mohali has hit their pockets, and they must have been pretty close to losing their captain Shoaib Malik because of the slow over-rate. A specialist spinner can only help them with the over-rate and they are likely to bring back Abdur Rehman on a wicket that tends to be flat.
The Indians certainly missed a trick in Mohali, something they must rectify before the Kanpur match. A fifth bowler would have helped keep the Pakistanis in check.The visitors were well aware that the Indians were without a regular fifth bowler, which meant that even if just one of the main bowlers went off the track, the task would get that much easier. Indian Cricket Manager Lalchand Rajput said that the team management might decide to pick an extra bowler, most likely a spinner, based on the wicket. It would mean Murali Kartik could make it at the expense of Virender Sehwag or Robin Uthappa.
The news for the pace bowlers is that the wicket here wouldn’t be as conducive for stroke making as it was in Mohali, which retained its pace and bounce right through. Although the pacers profited from it, the batsmen, made better use of the conditions.The wicket in Kanpur has traditionally been on the lower and slower side, resulting in low scoring matches. Admitting that bounce has been a problem, curator Shiv Kumar said he was, however, expecting slightly better bounce this time, good enough to see the match throwing up a total in excess of the highest-ever total 259 on this ground.The nature of the track thus makes spinners’ role crucial and Dhoni would be more than happy to unleash his spin twins Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik. In all probability, Virender Sehwag would make way for Murali Kartik.

DNA re-test on Woolmer's body

KINGSTON — DNA samples taken from the body of former Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer will be re-tested, extending the inquest into his death into a fourth week.Woolmer, a former England batsman was found unconscious in his Jamaica hotel room on March 18, a day after his Pakistan team was humiliated by Ireland in the Cricket World Cup.
Woolmer was pronounced dead at the University of West Indies hospital but an autopsy called the death suspicious and then murder, which sparked an intense manhunt by Jamaican police until a review reversed the findings.Coroner Patrick Murphy has asked for more tests of samples from Woolmer's corpse, pushing the review beyond Friday's scheduled conclusion.The latest testimony focused upon what money Woolmer had and when and where he had obtained it. Money he had on March 12 was not his World Cup per diem.Michael Hall, director of cricket operations for the Cricket World Cup, testified that Pakistan was to receive an allocation of 23,920 dollars US on March 14."It is my recollection that the Pakistan team received their money on the 14th of March," Hall said.Patricia Baker-Sinclair had earlier testified that she saw Woolmer with what appeared to be a large roll of US currency talking to an Indian man in the Pakistan team's dressing room at Sabina Park.Attorney Jermaine Spence, representing the International Cricket Council, said a coach carrying such sums was not unusual, especially during long road trips when they are tasked with distributing player per diem payments.Murray Stevenson, the former fitness trainer of the Pakistan cricket team, testified that Woolmer told him he was planning retirement after the World Cup.Two empty champagne bottles were found in Woolmer's room when his body was discovered. They were confiscated and tested."He told me he had two bottles of champagne in his room at the hotel and that we would drink it on Wednesday (March 21) when the team played Zimbabwe, because it would be his last game in international cricket," Stevenson said.Stevenson was also questioned about his decision to relocate from room 375, opposite the hall from Woolmer's room 374. He said it was due to noise from a nearby entertainment centre.Stevenson moved two floors up to the 14th floor on March 17 but kept the key of the prior room.Hotel information systems manager Lorraine Taite testified that after Stevenson was relocated, his key card was used to enter his former room but she could not say who had done so, nor if another guest was given that room.Stevenson was among 22 members of the Pakistani team interrogated by the police. He was also fingerprinted and DNA samples were taken from him. Neither matched items from Woolmer's hotel room.