Sarfraz 'will' make his Test debut in Hobart, says adamant Alam

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 12 10 01:09 PM

Hobart, Jan 12(ANI): Pakistan cricket coach Intikhab Alam has insisted that reserve wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed will make his Test debut in Hobart on Thursday.

Intikhab said that he has spoken to vice-captain and regular wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal about falling on his sword after his disastrous performance in Sydney.

Kamran will have a vote in deciding his own fate for the Test, as he is part of a four-man selection committee that picks the teams on tour, alongside Alam, captain Mohammad Yousuf and team manager Abdul Raqeeb.

"I have already spoken to Kamran and he understands these things happen in cricket. I'm sure he is good enough to come back.

"After these Test matches we have five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match and he is a good enough wicketkeeper/batsman to come back into the side. Sarfraz will be playing, definitely," he added.

Alam has still not ruled out dropping Kamran and suggested that he might be included in the playing eleven as a specialist batsman.

"We will wait and see if Kamran can play as a specialist batsman," Alam had said. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Umar Akmal's sudden 'stiff back' ploy fails, declared fit for Hobart Test

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 12 10 12:49 PM

Hobart, Jan 12(ANI): Pakistan middle-order batsman Umar Akmal has reportedly recovered from his sudden stiff back and will play in the third and final Test against Australia in Hobart, starting from Thursday.

"It was nothing serious. He had a stiff back and needed some treatment. He should be back in the nets tomorrow and will play in the Test," The News quoted Abdul Raqeeb, the Pakistan team manager, as saying.

Umar had yesterday complained of a stiff back, making him a doubtful starter for the Test match.

However, it was believed that Umar's back problem that came out of the blue was linked to his elder brother Kamran Akmal's possible axing from the Hobart Test.

According to reports, the 19-year-old batsman was possibly faking the problem in a bid to pressurize the team management to retain Kamran in the squad.

Umar, who made a sensational debut last November against New Zealand, has already become an important member of the national team due to his aggressive batting. He had shown no signs of fitness problems, but suddenly complained of a back injury after a couple of practice sessions at the Bellerive Oval.

Even Australia skipper Ricky Ponting expressed his surprise over the issue, and said: "It might be in protest. It's a strange situation. Umar has looked their second best batsman behind (Mohammad) Yousuf." (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Togo officially disqualified from Nations Cup

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 12 10 12:09 PM

Togo have been officially disqualified from the African Nations Cup after the squad flew home on Sunday following the deadly gun attack on their bus in Cabinda two days earlier.

"They are disqualified. This group (B) is a three-team tournament," Confederation of African Football (CAF) co-ordinator Yaouba Amoa told reporters on Monday.

Togo's assistant coach and media officer were killed and reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale seriously wounded by separatists from the enclave of Cabinda in Friday's attack.

Monday's Group B match between Togo and Ghana had been scheduled as the second part of a doubleheader. Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast shared a 0-0 draw in the first game at the new Chazi Stadium in Cabinda.

Togo midfielder Thomas Dossevi described the CAF decision as "ridiculous".

"It would have been simple for us to come back and play on Jan. 21, I think Ghana would have agreed to that," he told Reuters by telephone.

"It is a serious and ridiculous decision. Everybody wanted us to be here and play the African Nations Cup."

Togo left Angola on a chartered flight sent to collect them after the attack but had expressed the hope they might be able to return and compete at the tournament.

Several players spoke of their willingness to play on but they were ordered home by Togo's government.

The CAF official said it would be impossible to change the tournament schedule.

Source: Web Search

Hockey pay fiasco: Shah Rukh guns for players

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 12 10 11:55 AM

Two years after bringing in fresh recognition for hockey with his Bollywood blockbuster Chak De India, actor Shah Rukh Khan has now taken up the cause of the national hockey players amid a gripping payment crisis in the sport. In the city to oversee the ongoing camp of the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (CCFC), Shah Rukh today gave a strong statement in support of the national hockey players who are fighting a bitter battle against the national hockey federation for not getting pending payments.

"Hockey is very special and it's our national sport. What has happened is really sad," Shah Rukh told reporters here on the sidelines of the Knight Riders camp. The national players, who are in Pune for a camp, took to a strike protesting non-payment of dues, then brokered a temporary, and finally resumed their indefinite strike today after talks fell through.

Asked if the national hockey should go ahead with the agitation, the Bollywood actor and co-owner of the IPL side Knight Riders said: "Everyone has to take a stand in the way they feel but I hope the issue gets resolved. It's not nice that there is a strike and it's not nice either if the players go out to play when they are actually unhappy and unattended to in some matters of economics. I hope it gets resolved soon. The focus should be on resolving the crisis and not highlighting it," Shah Rukh said.

The popular actor pointed out that the ongoing dispute has come at the wrong time, with the World Cup round the corner.

Hockey India seems to have brokered some sort of peace when they met six of the senior Indian players, including captain Rajpal Singh, in New Delhi last Saturday, but talks fell through and the players resumed their strike starting today.

Last week, Shah Rukh created a flutter on Twitter when he posted a message backing the national players over the payment fracas.

'Kolkata has been let down'

The owner of the KKR franchise took it upon himself when asked to analyze the team's failure in the first season of the IPL carnival. "Kolkata has been let down," Shah Rukh said, admitting that the Knights didn't do well enough and that as co-owner of the side, he was partly responsible for the poor showing.

Source: Web Search

Tactical errors result in defeat more often than technical ones: Latif

Deepak Jain>Tue, Jan 12 10 11:49 AM

Karachi, Jan 12(ANI): Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has said that tactical errors result in defeat more often than technical errors and tactical skills of players are important for admirable performances in cricket.

"We often focus our energies and efforts on physical training and technical skills, but, at the same time, negligent in developing tactical and mental skills. Reason for this is that either we have not yet realized the importance of tactical skills in winning matches, or we do not know how to help an athlete develop these critical skill sets," Latif wrote in an article for Pakpassion.com.

"It means that coach will need to either prioritize on time (how much is spent on technical problems and how much on tactical issues) or increase his overall coaching time," he added.

Latif said that players can improve their tactical skills by improving their ability to read the situation, decision-making and execution ability.

"Knowledge can be achieved from experience; during various match scenarios and being self critical. It can also be achieved especially in modern times by learning from others. Recent examples include how England recently saved two test matches and how the Aussies won against Pakistan in Sydney despite a deficit of 206 runs after the first innings," Latif said.

"One can easily get videos of these games and analyze at close quarters how the players played and reacted to different situations; and dissect the thoughts of various experts and commentators on the game. We have advantage now-a-days that these videos are readily available and we can spend time in the laboratory (cricket library) to study and learn, and then transfer the knowledge to players," he added. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Ex-players lashes out at adamant Akmal

Deepak Jain Tue, Jan 12 10 11:11 AM

Karachi, Jan 12 (PTI) Embattled Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has come in for sharp criticism for his statement that he would play the final Test against Australia in Hobart as a specialist glovesman and not as a batsman alone. Akmal''s statement came even though the Pakistan Cricket Board and national selectors have rushed in young Sarfaraz Ahmed to Australia as his replacement and said he would play in the Hobart Test. "Akmal''s statement just shows what is going on in the Pakistan team right now. The whole nation does not want him to play after his poor performance in the Sydney Test and yet he is insisting he will play, saying the management and players also supporting him," former captain Rashid Latif told a television channel. "I don''t understand what is happening in Pakistan cricket. The board and selectors have sent another keeper to Australia to apparently play him in the third Test and the team management is still insisting Akmal will play," Latif said. Akmal dropped four important catches and missed a run out in the Sydney test which Pakistan having dominated for three days but still lost by 36 runs to hand Australia the three match series 0-2. .

Source: Web Search