Senior players want Younis sacked...

LAHORE: Three senior players of the national team have demanded from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt to sack Younis Khan. Sources said on Tuesday that the captain after getting out in the third one-day international against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Monday had a fight with senior players and some of the officials in the dressing room. The sources added that Younis’ differences with his deputy Shahid Afridi, former captain Shoaib Malik and experienced all-rounder Abdul Razzaq were evident and the absence of star batsman Mohammad Yousuf from the series decider further lent strength to the case. “The senior players are not happy with Younis’ attitude and how he shuffles the batting order to cover his own shortcomings,” sources said. “The chairman has promised to summon a board meeting as soon as possible for further investigation into this matter,” sources maintained.

Ex-cricketers, media slam Younis Khan for loss...

SLAMABAD: Younis Khan should have sacrificed his spot and allowed Shahid Afridi to lead Pakistan against New Zealand, outspoken former test paceman Sarfraz Nawaz said on Tuesday in the wake of a limited-overs series loss to the Kiwis.
‘He should have dropped himself from the last game and allowed Shahid Afridi to captain the side,’ Nawaz told The Associated Press.
Pakistan lost the series decider by seven runs in Abu Dhabi on Monday despite young Mohammad Aamer scoring 73 runs – the highest ever individual score by a No. 10 batsman in the history of one-day internationals.
The Pakistani batsmen had earlier struggled to chase down a modest target of 212 runs on a placid wicket at Sheikh Zayed Stadium. They were reeling at 101-9 before Aamer and Saeed Ajmal brought them within sight of a sensational victory with a 103-run last wicket stand.
Younis, whose resignation letter was rejected by the Pakistan Cricket Board last month, was out of form with the bat in all three matches against New Zealand, managing 0, 19 and 3. But Pakistan preferred to rotate its three other inform batsmen Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal and Mohammad Yousuf in the series.
‘Other batsmen lose heart when they see their captain not scoring and it was unbelievable that those who were performing with the bat were given undue rest,’ Nawaz said. ‘No matter how big a team is, if you start resting your key players there’s no way you can win matches.
‘If Younis was sincere with Pakistan team, he should have not played in the last match and given Yousuf an opportunity.’
Former chief selector Abdul Qadir said it was hard to believe the way Pakistan batsmen threw their wickets on a pitch where young Aamer scored a magnificent half century.
‘If Aamer can score, what had gone wrong with our batsmen?’ Qadir asked.
Nawaz demanded an overhaul in the Pakistan Cricket Board setup and also blamed the 71-year-old PCB chief Ijaz Butt for the team’s performance.
‘He has gone too old to handle the matters of PCB and I think now it’s high time that the cricket board should be looked after by the ministry of sports,’ Nawaz said.
The cricket board is an autonomous body in Pakistan, but has president Asif Ali Zardari as its patron.
Afridi, the Pakistan Twenty20 captain, said before the one-day series against New Zealand that some players had experienced problems with Younis during the Champions Trophy and he had informed both Butt and the captain about it.
Another former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said that Younis had been given too much control, which is damaging the Pakistan team.
‘I fail to understand who has given him this license to kill as he first rested Malik and then Yousuf from the all important last match,’ Inzamam told the daily Jang newspaper.
‘If the captain does not raise the confidence of senior players how can we expect improved performance from the team?’
The newspaper praised young Aamer with a headline ‘Little star Amer made the superstars bow their heads in shame.’
‘The body language of (Pakistan) players was as if they were in a lost battlefield,’ Jang reported.
A standing committee on sports in Pakistan’s Lower House had summoned both Butt and Younis after the Champions Trophy in South Africa and cleared the Pakistan team over false match-fixing allegations.
Younis tried to quit as captain but was reinstated by the PCB until the 2011 World Cup as long as he stays fit and the selectors picked him in the squad.
The committee has again called Butt to a Nov. 23 meeting to discuss Pakistan’s defeat against New Zealand.
‘I have no personal grudge against Younis, but my only objection is the way he performs,’ chairman of the committee Jamshed Dasti said.

Aamer, Ajmal miss world mark by four runs..

Karachi—Muhammad Aamer and Saeed Ajmal missed the world record by four runs during their amazing 103 runs tenth wicket stand in the third One-Day International between Pakistan and New Zealand at Abu Dhabhi on Monday.

Pakistan was heading towards massive defeat when number 11 batsmen Saeed joined left handed Aamer at the crease under dazzling lights of Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The century stand between the two Pakistani bowlers provided the only the second occasion of a three figure partnership for the tenth wicket in the history of one day games.

The first ever tenth wicket three figure partnership of unbroken 106 runs was between Vivian Richards and Michael Holding in the match between West Indies and England at Manchester on May 31, 1984.

The duo added 106 runs and remained not out. West Indies finished their innings with 272 for 9 in 50 overs with Richards hammering an unbeaten 189 not out and Holding scored 12 not out.

England mustered 168 all out. England’s total of 168 all out was less than IVA Richard’s 189 not out providing an occasion of a batsman’s individual score greater than the entire team’s total, West Indies won this game by 104 runs.

In the Pakistan and New Zealand game at Abu Dhabi on Monday, New Zealand batting first scored 211 runs.

Pakistan was at 101 for 9, when the last man Saeed Ajmal joined Muhammad Aamer at the crease. Saeed Ajmal was the last man dismissed for 33, while Mohammad Aamer remained not out on 76. A total score of Pakistan 204 left New Zealand victors by seven runs.

Aamer and Saeed added 103 runs for the last wicket, thus posting the second three figure partnership for the last wicket in the history of one dayers.—APP


link: http://pakobserver.net/200911/11/news/sports04.asp