Wednesday 13 July 2011

Javed Miandad

Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan (Urdu: محمد جاوید میانداد ) (born June 12, 1957), popularly known as Javed Miandad(Urdu: جاوید میانداد) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975-1996. After his playing career, he has at various times been a coach, as well as held positions in the Pakistan Cricket Board. He is considered among Pakistan's great batsmen, and among the top few batsmen during his career. He also had three coaching stints with the Pakistan national team, with mixed success and considerable controversy.

Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad's Famous SIXER

Javed Miandad's Famous SIXER

Umar Gul

Umar Gul Biography
Umar Gul (Pashto: عمر ګل) (born 14 April 1984 in Peshawar) is a Pakistani right arm fast medium bowler in cricket who has played Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani cricket team. He has gained fame as one of the most successful bowlers in Twenty20 cricket finishing as the leading wicket taker and bowler in both the 2007 and 2009 Twenty20 World Championship tournaments.Personal life

Gul was born in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan he was born in a middle-class family and frequently played tape-ball cricket. People on the street encouraged Gul to become an international cricketer as they saw his superb bowling. On October 2010 Gul's family announced that he was to wed a Dubai Doctor. The doctor is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and she was born there as well [1][2]
Career

Early career
Gul was first called up for the team in April 2003, playing four one-day matches at the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Sri Lanka, where he took four wickets, and he was in and out of the one-day team after that tournament. However, he played the whole of the 2003–04 home series against Bangladesh, making his Test debut and taking 15 wickets in the three Tests, and took the second-most wickets of any Pakistani bowler in the series, behind Shabbir Ahmed with 17. However, Shoaib Akhtar, who took 13 in third place, only played two of the Tests.
Gul was retained for the ODIs against Bangladesh, taking a List A best five for 17 in nine overs in the third match, and ended with 11 wickets in the 5–0 series win. However, he could still not command a regular spot, playing three of Pakistan's nine next ODIs before finally getting dropped after one for 36 against New Zealand.
Test matches
He was recalled and played two Tests after that taking four wickets in a drawn Test against New Zealand before coming in as replacement for Shabbir Ahmed in the second Test of the three-Test series against India. After coming on as first-change bowler, Gul dismissed Virender Sehwag in his second over, and then bowled unchanged for 12 overs either side of lunch to take five Indian top order wickets - including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, who both had Test batting averages above 50, as did Sehwag. Gul finished with five for 31 in his spell, earning him commendation from Cricinfo journalist Dileep Premachandran, who praised his "control of line and length",[3] and he was also named Man of the Match despite conceding runs at five an over in the second innings in a nine-wicket win.
After a length injury lay-off, which kept him out of international cricket for nearly two years, Gul returned to the Pakistan fold in 2006. Firstly with quiet away series against Sri Lanka then followed by a tour to England in 2006. Gul was quickly made the lead bowler in the side due to the injuries to other front line bowlers. Gul to 18 wickets in four tests, justifying the selectors faith in him.
Later in 2006, against West Indies at home, Gul had perhaps his most successful test series. He took 16 wickets in 3 tests, including notable spells of reverse swing bowling. He was responsible for breaking Ramnaresh Sarwan's toe with a dipping yorker.
Test appearances however remained few and far between due to injuries and lack of test cricket for Pakistan.
In February 2009, Gul recorded his best test figures in the Pakistan team, taking 6 for 135 on an otherwise flat pitch.
In July 2010, Pakistan faced England at Trent Bridge and were 147/9 in their first innings. Gul scored 30* before the day was called off due to bad light. He returned the next day with Mohammad Asif and batted with intent to add another 35 runs in five overs. This saw Pakistan avoid the follow-on against England and therefore survive an innings defeat.[4]
Gul then suffered a hamstring injury in the second test when he was touring England in 2010 he was ruled out for three weeks that meant he would miss the remaining two tests. However Gul managed to recover and became fit enough to play in the fourth test [5] However they decided to rest Gul for the final test match despite the fact that he had recovered quicker than expected.
His next chance to play test cricket came against South Africa in November 2010 when he took 3 wickets in a first innings and triggered a South African collapse of 380 on a flat wicket. He took the crucial wicket with an excellent inswinger against AB de Villiers [6]
Twenty20
With injuries limiting Gul's test cricket participation, he made a distinct change to his bowling set-up. Making a focus on bowling in the late overs of T20. He got his opportunity with the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa. He was generally used by Pakistan from the 13th over onwards and finished the tournament with 13 wickets, making him the leading wicket taker ahead of Shahid Afridi and RP Singh.
In the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he performed excellently, earning the mantle from at least one pundit of "the outstanding seam bowler of the World Twenty20".[7] His five-wicket haul for just six runs when Pakistan dismantled New Zealand won especial acclaim, making him the first bowler in history to take a five wickets in a Twenty20 international. Mutterings were made about a possible correlation between ball tampering and the exorbitant amounts of reverse-swing he was able to extract, but he denied them categorically: "Whenever an Asian bowler performs and uses the reverse-swing, the Western cricketing countries raise the issue of ball-tampering against them."[8]
He was also part of the Pakistan team that lifted the trophy at Lord's while also finishing as the leading wicket taker of the tournament for the second consecutive time.[9]
He gained a lot of wickets bowled, in particular with late reverse swinging yorkers, which dip late to slide under the bat and leave little room for batsmen to maneuver the ball. Consequently he has also an excellent economy rate in this format of the game.
In February 2008, Gul signed with the Indian Premier League and was drafted by Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for US $150,000.[10] He played in six matches, taking 12 wickets at an average of 15.33,[11] including a player of the match award in Kolkata's final game in which Gul took 4-23 and scored 24 runs from 11 balls.[12]
In December 2008 Gul signed with the Western Warriors to compete in the Australian domestic 2008-09 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash tournament.[13] He performed very well in his debut match for the Warriors, taking 4 wickets for 15 runs in a losing side. He was amongst the most successful bowlers in the competition despite not being available for the entire tournament he finished second top wicket taker with 12 wickets.[14]
Internationally, Gul has taken 47 wickets in just 32 games at an average of 14.65, a truly outstanding statistic. He is the second leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals behind fellow teammate Shahid Afridi
One Day Internationals
Gul appeared in all three of Pakistan's group matches in the 2007 World Cup taking four wickets with an economy rate of 3.13, only Shane Bond of those to deliver 100 balls was more economical.[15] He also appeared in all of Pakistan's matches at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 taking 3/15 of 4 overs in the semi-final victory over New Zealand. He took three wickets in the final to finish as the tournament's leading wicket-taker.[16]
Batting-skills
Despite the fact that Gul is a bowler he can perform well as a lower order batsman and has proved that he has the ability to score runs quickly he finest moment with the bat came in a test match vs England in August 2010 when Pakistan were at 103/7 and Gul came into bat he scored 29 of 30 delieveries when play was ended on that day however two more wickets had fallen and the team were at 148/9 by night-time Pakistan would need 11 runs to avoid the follow-on. Gul then came and with his number 10 partner Mohammad Asif; Gul scored 34 runs in just 11 deliveries however his partner Mohammad Asif was run out at the other end and Gul ended on 65*.
Injuries
However, Gul was then ruled out of the third Test with a back injury which kept him out of cricket for an entire year. He returned to play two games at the 2004–05 Twenty-20 Cup, and played some matches for Pakistan A and a Pakistan XI in warm-up games before the Test matches against England the following season, but he was not selected for the matches and has instead played three matches with Peshawar at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
Gul had signed a one year contract with Gloucestershire to play in 2007, but the Pakistan Cricket Board failed to give them their permission.[17]
Shortly after making a six-month come-back from a shoulder injury in July 2010 Gul picked up a hamstring injury against England in August but it wasn't too serious and he only missed the two test matches.
Five-wicket hauls

Umar Gul, after taking five-for in Twenty20 International Cricket, became the first ever bowler to own five wickets haul in all international formats of the game.
ODI Five-wicket hauls
Figures Match Against City/Country Venue Year
1 5/17 10 Bangladesh Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2003
2 6/42 72 England London, England The Oval 2010
Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls
Figures Match Against City/Country Venue Year
1 5/6 18 New Zealand London, England The Oval 2009
Test cricket Five-wicket hauls
Figures Match Against City/Country Venue Year
1 5/31 5 India Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2004
2 5/123 9 England Leeds, England Headingley 2006
3 5/65 11 West Indies Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2006
4 6/135 16 Sri Lanka Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2009

Umar Gul

Umar Gul Bowling for Western Australia T20

Best of Umar Gul World Cup 2011

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography

Kamran Akmal might fighting fit be the majority vigorous testimony of cricket’s distorted main concerned position Adam Gilchrist. A side at the present rummage around for a volatile batsman who can revolutionize a day, an innings, and a stage by means of the bat and so elongated while you can recognize right wicket keeping glove from left, the position is yours.
There has been diminutive distrust concerning Akmal’s batting. The cleanliness of his constrains and the potency of his wounding and dragging, for the most part on slower subcontinent exteriors, has all the time apprehended a strong magnetism. And when it comes mutually as it did one January morning in Karachi in opposition to India – one of the Test innings of that decade – he makes it in the side as a batsman unaccompanied.
Other than his glove work, which started quit auspiciously at what time he successfully finished the battle between Rashid Latif and Moin Khan in belatedly 2004, has got worse frighteningly and a small number of Pakistan matches are complete exclusive of a lumbering Akmal mistake.
It was not for all time hence, for that he was excellent at what time he started, quit presentable to make an impression Ian Healy. On the other hand uncontrollably cricket in all three systems have consent to methodological blunders move stealthily in and critics and specialists have extended pushed for the need for him to take a break.
To excellence spin, he is frequently as gone astray as the batsmen and Danish Kaneria, in excess of the years, has went through in meticulous. In a filament of fault-ridden performances, the one no one will stop thinking about will be the four dropped catches (and a failed to spot run-out) in the Sydney Test of 2009-10, which permitted Australia to run away with an extraordinary, shocking win. In opposition to this the memory of his Karachi hundred will for all time encounters, devoid of obvious winner ever to be expected to come into sight. The assignation with disagreement does his grounds no high-quality, with his negative response to agree with his relegation from the side in the consequences of a catastrophic Sydney Test in 2009, drawing out an inconsiderate fine and a punitive try-out from the PCB.

Kamran Akmal

1 over 17 Runs Required - How Kamran Akmal Survived

Kamran akmal great turnaround against west indies

Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf Biography
Overview
Mohammad Yousuf (Urdu: محمد یوسف; formerly Yousuf Youhana, Urdu: یوسف یوحنا) (born 27 August, 1974, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) is a Pakistani cricketer who has been a member of the Pakistani national cricket team since 1998. He is best known for his achievement in 2006 when he broke the great West Indian batsman, Sir Vivian Richards', world record for the most Test runs in a single calendar year.
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Career
He made his Test debut against South Africa at Durban and ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare. He has scored over 8,000 ODI runs at an average of 41.74 (3rd highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad) and 6,641 Test runs at an average of 56.27 (highest batting average amongst all Pakistani batsmen) with 23 Test centuries. He has the record of scoring the most runs without being dismissed in ODIs, 405 against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2002-03. He has also scored a 23-ball fifty in ODIs, and a 68-ball hundred. In Tests he has scored a 27-ball fifty, which is 3rd fastest by any player. He was top scorer during the successive years of 2002 and 2003 in the world in ODIs. In 2004, he scored a memorable 111 against the Australians in the Boxing Day Test. In December 2005, he scored 223 against England at Lahore, also earning him the man of the match award. Seven months later in July 2006, when Pakistan toured England, he scored 202 and 48 in the first Test, again earning himself the man of the match award. He followed up with 192 in the third Test at Headingley and 128 in the final Test at the Oval.

Mohammad Yousuf has been named CNN-IBN’s Cricketer of the Year for 2006, ahead of the likes of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies Brian Lara, Australian spinner Shane Warne, South Africa’s bowling spearhead Makhaya Ntini and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan. He was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 2007 edition.. Yousuf became the fourth recipient of the ICC 'Test Cricketer of the Year' award for 2007, he scored 944 runs at an average of 94.40 including five centuries and two fifties in just 10 innings and that was enough to be awarded the honour ahead of Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting. Yousuf was also named in the 2007 Test team of the Year alongside compatriot Mohammad Asif.

A year that started on a promising note, Yousuf carried it forward to break two world records both held earlier by West Indian great Sir Vivian Richards. The 32-year-old smashed an unparalleled 1788 runs in just 11 Test matches with the help of nine centuries – his second record – taking him beyond the Windies great yet again. Yousuf is known for his ability to score runs at exceptional rate through his great technique and composed strokeplay. Although capable of hitting the ball hard, Yousuf is quick between the wickets, although he is prone to being run out.

Yousuf is a skillful infielder, with a report prepared by Cricinfo in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the ninth highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman. He is also distinguished by his characteristic celebration after hitting one hundred runs for his country, where he prostrates in thankfulness to God in the direction of Mecca. He has observed this act (known as the Sajdah) recently since his conversion to Islam.

On 11 August 2007 it was reported by the Dawn newspaper that Yousuf may join the Indian Cricket League by joining the league he wouldn't be able to play many matches for the Pakistan team. However on September 27, he changed his mind and signed a contract with the PCB, but nonetheless he missed the series against South Africa. He has been selected for the India tour in November 2007. In October 2007, Yousuf joined the Indian Premier League just few days after canceling his contract with Indian Cricket League
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Statistics
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Career highlights
* In November 2006, Yousuf achieved the 10th highest ever figure in ICC's test batting rating. His rating of 933 gave him a personal best of 2nd place in the rankings behind Ricky Ponting and was the 3rd highest ranking of any current player as well as the highest for any batsmen from the sub-continent. * Mohammad Yousuf is the third Pakistani batsmen to surpass 6000 runs in test cricket, the others being Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq. * He has the second highest Test Match centuries amongst Pakistani batsmen, currently tied with Javed Miandad on 23 and only 2 behind Inzamam-ul-Haq. * With his twin hundreds in the Karachi test against West Indies 2006, Mohammad Yousuf became the sixth Pakistani and 30th cricketer in test cricket to hit a century in each innings of a test match. * He is the third highest run scorer in One Day Internationals amongst Pakistani batsmen. His average of 41.40 places third out of all Pakistani batsmen, behind Javed Miandad (41.70) and Zaheer Abbas (47.62). * His Test average of 56.00 currently puts him in 10th spot for Test batting averages for players with more than 50 appearances. * He has scored a century at International level against all Test playing nations. Currently Sri Lanka is the only Test playing venue in which he has failed to score a century.

The following tables illustrate a summary of the Test and ODI centuries scored by Mohammad Yousuf.

*In the column Runs, * indicates being not out. *The column title Match refers to the Match Number of his career.
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Test centuries
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One Day International centuries
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Records
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Test records in 2006
Statistically, the year 2006 is said to be the year of Australia, Murali and Mohammad Yousuf. Yousuf averaged 99.33 in 2006, and broke two of Sir Viv Richards's 30-year old records.

* On November 30 2006, he surpassed Viv Richards' thirty year old record and became the highest scorer in Test matches during a single calendar year. He also broke Zaheer Abbas's record for the most runs made by a Pakistani batsman in a three-Test series. Abbas had made 583 runs against the visiting Indians in 1978-79.

* Yousuf hit nine centuries in 2006, which is a world record for most centuries in a calendar year.

* Yousuf also equalled Australian great Don Bradman's record of scoring six centuries in successive Tests - although it took him only five matches compared with Bradman's six.

* After his 191 at Multan he became the first player in Test history to have been dismissed 3 times in the 190's, with all three innings coming in 2006.
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Conversion to Islam
Yousuf was one of a handful of Christians to feature in the Pakistan cricket team until his conversion to Islam in 2005. He had embraced Islam three years earlier but had kept it secret due to his wife's insistence who wished to remain a Christian: she finally converted to Islam three months before his announcement of conversion publicly in September of 2005. "I don't want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done," his mother was quoted as saying by the Daily Times newspaper. "We came to know about his decision when he offered Friday Prayers at a local mosque. It was a shock," his mother was reported as saying. However, Yousuf told BBC that "I cannot tell you what a great feeling it is."

As part of his conversion, Yousuf officially changed his name from Yousuf Youhana to Mohammad Yousuf. Once appearing in on of the GEO Super inaugaral shows hosted by legend Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram, said that he became a Muslim after learning and observing 'true Muslims' and not Muslims of these days.

Former Pakistan cricketer and notable commentator Rameez Raja acknowledged the significance of Yousuf's new faith, "Religion has played an integral part in his growth not just as a cricketer but as a person."

Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf 192 - England v Pakistan 3rd test at Leeds 2006

Mohammad Yousuf - GENIUS 103 v West Indies 2000 Kingston, Jamaica

Abdur Razzaq

Abdur Razzaq Biography

For other people named Abdur Razzak (or Razzaq), see Abdur Razzak Abdul Razzaq (Urdu: عبد الرزاق) (born 2 December, 1979, Lahore, Punjab) is a Pakistani cricketer and member of the Indian Cricket League since 2007.

Razzaq is a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler. His bowling, at one time rapid, has now seen an increase on line and length, although sacrificing some pace. He emerged onto the world cricket scene in November 1996 when he made his One-day International debut against the touring Zimbabweans at his home ground in Lahore a month short of his seventeenth birthday.
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Career
Although originally a bowler, his batting soon improved and he became known as an all-rounder. Razzaq has achieved the double of 1000 Test runs and 100 Test wickets. He has the ability to both hit out or graft for runs, and this versatility has given him the experience of batting at every position. He is also a useful and accurate fast bowler who has troubled some of the world's leading batsmen. He had to wait just over three years to make his Test debut for Pakistan, eventually doing so against Australia in Brisbane in November 1999.

Razzaq claims to have learned while playing under Wasim Akram. One of the things that he has learned from Wasim Akram is his fast arm action which makes it hard to predict at what speed the ball is going to be pitched.

Razzaq was involved in the ACC Asian XI that took on the ICC World XI in the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal charity match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in January 2005. As of May 2005 Razzaq remains an integral part of Pakistan's Test and one-day squads and is considered especially vital in the ODI team, where his all-round skills make him an important asset to the squad.

In the 1999-2000 Carlton and United Series that he rose to fame Razzaq was named man of the series for his all round performance. In a pool match in Hobart against India Razzaq scored a half century and took five wickets. In that same tournament he hit Glenn McGrath for 5 fours in an over. Razzaq is also the youngest player in the world to take a Test hat trick.

Abdul Razzaq has achieved two centuries and twenty-one fifties in one-day cricket. His highest one-day score, 112, was made against South Africa in 2002, where he shared a partnership of 257 runs with Saleem Elahi. His second century, an unbeaten 107, was made against Zimbabwe in Multan in 2004. On this occasion, he saved Pakistan from a disastrous start and eventually won them the match. His first fifty came steadily in 90 balls, before accelerating in the second fifty, which was scored in just 21. Also in 2003-2004, he scored a rapid 89 off 40 balls against New Zealand, whose captain Stephen Fleming called him the "best hitter" in the world. http://www.dawn.com/2004/01/18/spt2.htm

His bowling has also won Pakistan many matches; his career-best figures are 6 wickets for 35 runs. Another memorable performance was against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1999, where after Pakistan were bundled out for 196 runs, and he took 5 for 31 to tie the match.

In the 2005/2006 Test series against India, Razzaq took 9 wickets and hit 205 runs in the two Tests he played, moving him up ICC rankings.

He has played at English county level for Middlesex and Worcestershire.

Despite such an impressive statistical base Razzaq's place in the Pakistan National Team has been marred by strange injuries and unexplained absences. In 2005 it was revealed that he was suffering an addiction to spinach which was causing him to suffer from nausea and sickness whilst playing. This his lead to him being known as Popeye the Sailor Man by team mates.

On August 20, 2007 Razzaq announced his retirement from international cricket as a protest against his omission from the Twenty20 World Championship Squad. He has however, left the door open to a return to international cricket. Now as from 28th October, 2007 he had taken back his retierment under immence pressure from his Club side and Friends and he will be available for the rest of the season despite of being playing private INDIAN CRICKET LEAGUE in India.
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Teams
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International
* ICL (Current) *ACC Asian XI
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Pakistani first-class
*Lahore (current) *Khan Research Labs *Pakistan International Airlines
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English county
*Middlesex
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Career bests
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Tests
Test Debut: vs Australia, Brisbane, 1999/2000
*Razzaq's best Test batting score of 134 was made against Bangladesh, Dhaka, 2001/02 *His best Test bowling figures of 5 for 35 came against Sri Lanka, Karachi, 2004/05
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One-day Internationals
ODI Debut: vs Zimbabwe, Lahore, 1996/97
*Razzaq's best ODI batting score of 112 was made against South Africa, Port Elizabeth, 2002/03 *His best ODI bowling figures of 6 for 35 came against Bangladesh, Dhaka, 2001/02
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First-class
*Razzaq's best first-class batting score is 203 not out *His best first-class bowling figures are 7 for 51
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List A Limited Overs
*Razzaq's best List A batting score is 112 *His best List A bowling figures are 6 for 35

Abdur Razzaq

Abdur Razzaq

Abdur Razzaq Batting (Lahore Lions vs Karachi Dolphins) T20 Domestic Abdur Razzaq Batting Domestic Final

SHAHID AFRIDI & ABDUR RAZZAQ BATTING

Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzamam-ul-Haq Biography
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Urdu: انضمام الحق) (born 3 March 1970 in Multan, Punjab Province, Pakistan), also known as Inzamam or Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the leading cricketers in modern times. He currently plays English County Cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and has signed up to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL). On October 5, 2007, Inzamam retired from International cricket following the second Test match against South Africa on October 12 despite having failed to over take Javed Miandad's record of runs in a Test match.

Career

One Day International cricket
Inzamam made his One Day International (ODI) debut in a home series against West Indies in 1991, and made a good start with 20 and 60 in two matches against West Indies, followed by 48, 60, 101, and 117 against Sri Lanka.

Discovered by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan for the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, 22-year-old Inzamam was relatively unheard of before the tournament. To the surprise of many he was persevered with throughout the tournament, coming in at various positions in the batting line-up, despite but not being very successful early on. Yet it was his performances at the most crucial stage of the competition that made fans and summarisers take note. Inzamam rose to fame in Pakistan's dramatic semi-final against New Zealand at Auckland. With his side in a precarious position, chasing 262, against an impressive New Zealand side, he hit a fiery 60 from only 37 balls to rescue his side and guide them into the final. The innings was regarded as one of the finest World Cup performances and perhaps Inzamam's defining moment, which won him many admirers. His massive six in that match was described by David Lloyd as the shot of the tournament.

Inzamam made an equally vital contribution in the final of the World Cup, scoring 42 off just 35 balls, helping Pakistan reach a score of 249 from a very sluggish start. These innings established Inzamam's billing as a big-game player, although he was unable to replicate his World Cup success in later tournaments.

Career highlights in the ODI form of the game include semi-final knock in 1992 and scoring most fifties in One Day Internationals (83). He also became the second batsman to score 10,000 runs in One-day Internationals (after Sachin Tendulkar) and was named in the World Team XI for both test and One-day Internationals in the 2005 ICC Awards. In his final ODI for Pakistan, playing Zimbabwe in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he took three catches whilst fielding and, somewhat fittingly, took the last one of the match ending his One Day career.

Test cricket
He got little opportunity to make an impact during his 1992 Test debut against England at Edgbaston, with a score of 8*. However, in subsequent matches he demonstrated a vulnerability to swing bowling which resulted in him being dropped for the final Test after averaging a lowly 13.20 runs per innings. Pakistan went on to win this match taking the series 2-1.

After the England series, which Pakistan famously won in 1992, Inzamam aimed to establish himself in the Test side and he achieved this successfully, helping the side to many memorable victories. One of particular note came against Australia in Karachi, 1994. He batted magnificently with the tail and his 58* helped Pakistan to a one-wicket victory and a 1-0 series win. As well as helping his side to become the top-ranked side in the world for a brief period he achieved personal success by becoming the ICC's number one ranked batsmen in 1995 . He later went on to reclaim top spot in the rankings in 1997. He remained amongst the top 20 ranked batsmen up until his retirement. The tour of England in 1996 was a particular success for both Inzamam and Pakistan, where Inzamam transformed his batting against seam bowling, averaging 64, with scores of 148, 70, 65, and 35.

Test career highlights include 329 against New Zealand in Lahore in 2001-02 season, and the second highest Test score by a Pakistani and the twelfth highest overall. He also scored a century (184) in his 100th Test, becoming only the fifth player to do so (the others being Colin Cowdrey, Alec Stewart, Gordon Greenidge and Javed Miandad, followed by Ricky Ponting). Inzy got a century in each innings of the second Test match against England in 2005, to become Pakistan's leading centurion with 24 centuries, breaking Javed Miandad's record, and his 25th century in the 2nd Test against India on 22 January 2006 made him the 10th player to score 25 or more centuries. He also managed 138* while facing a humiliating defeat against Bangladesh, eventually saving the Test match and leading his team to victory.

After announcing his retirement after the second Test against South Africa, at the stadium where he made his international debut, Inzamam needed 20 runs to surpass Javed Miandad for the record of most runs for a Pakistani Test cricketer. After falling for 14 in the first innings, he was dismissed for 3 in his final innings by Paul Harris, out stumped, leaving him 3 runs shy.
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County Cricket
Inzamam made his debut in English county cricket in August 2007 at the age of 37. He joined Yorkshire County Cricket Club as a replacement for Younus Khan who left to play for Pakistan in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. He was disappointing on the whole, making 8 on debut at Scarborough's North Marine Road against Warwickshire before making 9 and 7 in his opening Pro40 games.

Playing style
He has been known to be a very destructive batsman in both One-day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches. He has the ability to pick the length of a delivery very early and play very late. His footwork is generally considered to be fast, enabling him to position himself early for shots. He averaged just over 50 runs per innings in Tests and nearly 40 runs in ODIs, with a strike rate of 54.03 and 74.23 respectively. Inzy is especially strong playing shots off his legs and has been considered to be amongst the best employers of the pull-shot in world cricket.

His batting style has brought him fans from all over the world. He was called "the best batsmen in the world against pace" by Imran Khan, because "he seems to have so much time on his hands before the ball reaches him".

Inzamam does, however, have a reputation for being a poor runner between wickets. He has the dubious distinction of being run-out the second highest number of times in ODIs having been run-out 40 times (behind Marvan Atapattu (41 times)).

Captaincy
Inzamam captained Pakistan in 25 Tests, winning eight, drawing eight and losing nine. Only three players have captained Pakistan in more Test matches, but all have better win-loss records, and only Imran Khan has a lower win percentage than Inzamam. However, Inzamam held the captaincy until March 2007, the longest captaincy tenure since 1992 when Imran Khan retired.

Captaincy had a positive effect on Inzamam's batting, often leading by example in pressure situations, he averaged greater as a captain (52) than without (50). After early failures in Australia, he took a depleted Pakistan side to India in 2005 and was instrumental in securing a draw, winning the final test match from an unlikely position with 184*. He subsequently lead his side to an ODI success against West Indies (away), England (home) and Sri Lanka (away) as well as Test Series victories against England (home), India (home), Sri Lanka (away). Inzamam had seemed to have united the Pakistan side and victories lead them to 2nd place in the ICC Test Rankings and 3rd place in the ICC ODI Ranking. The latter part of Inzamam's tenure as Pakistan captain was less successful and the team was embroiled in many controversies culminating in a disappointingly early exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup at the hands of lowly Ireland.

In the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Inzamam captained the Pakistani team to its first loss to associate ICC member Ireland (on St Patrick's Day). This result and their previous loss to West Indies, led to them being knocked out of the tournament. A day later he announced his retirement from One-day International Cricket and resignation as Test captain. The announcement was made the same day that Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, died in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica. He dedicated his final ODI to Woolmer to whom he shared a good relationship with for three years and affectionately called 'The Bob'.

Ball tampering allegations
On Pakistan's 2006 tour of England, Inzamam captained a team that refused to re-enter the field, after tea, on 20 August 2006 at The Oval after allegations of ball tampering from umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove. The umpires awarded England 5 penalty runs and the choice of a replacement ball, after ruling that Pakistan had illegally altered the ball. Inzamam and his team staged a protest at the decision. During the protest the umpires, having tried to persuade Inzamam to come out of the dressing room, decided that the match could not continue. Upon returning to the field with his team, only to find both the England team and the umpires absent, Inzamam was informed of this situation. After further discussions between both teams, umpires and cricket board officials it was eventually agreed that the match could not be restarted. Thus, Inzamam became the first captain in history to forfeit a Test match. Inzamam was later charged with tampering with the ball and bringing the game into disrepute (the latter charge associated with the teatime protest), although he strenuously denied the charges. On September 28 2006 the allegations of ball-tampering were dismissed, however he was found guilty of bringing cricket into disrepute and given a 4-match One Day International ban with immediate effect. The Pakistan Cricket Board later blamed Inzamam for Oval Test forfeiture; adding that the forfeited match had made the board susceptible to a claim of £800,000 by the ECB as compensation.

Performance analysis
His ability to play at his best under pressure is widely accepted among critics. Sanjay Manjrekar, an Indian television pundit and former batsman, once said that Inzamam is the world's best batsman when it comes to playing under pressure. His 60 off 37 balls in the 1992 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand and 184 against India at Bangalore in the 2005 Pakistan-India test series are examples of innings where Inzamam has performed under immense pressure. However his performance against teams with strong pace attacks like South Africa and Australia has been unimpressive, averaging around 31, and having scored just one century in all forms of the game against both teams combined. Inzamam averages 23.81 in the World Cup.

Controversies
* In 1997 Sahara Cup, he assaulted a member of the crowd, Shiv Kumar Thind, a Canadian-based Indian, who had been calling him names on a megaphone. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/245024.html According to eye witnesses a cricket bat was brought out by the Pakistan team 12th man, Mushtaq Ahmed, who then waited at the boundary with the bat. Television replays confirm those statements. The Guardian newspaper quoted another eyewitness as saying "If not for the spectators and security staff curbing him, he would have broken the head of that guy. The guy with the megaphone was no match for Inzamam and got mauled. Even when Canadian police took Inzamam back on to the field, he was trying to get back to the stands." http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/245024.html After reviewing footage of the incident Canadian police arrested Inzamam and charged him with two counts of assault and one of assault with a deadly weapon, http://www.dispatch.co.za/1997/09/18/page%2024.htm and released on bail of $3,000. Two days after Inzamam was charged, the Pakistan team lodged a formal complaint, to the 32nd Division of the Metro police in Toronto against Thind, claiming that Thind had thrown his megaphone at Inzamam.http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1997/OD_TOURNEYS/SAHARA/ARTICLES/MORE_ASSAULT_20SEP1997.html Charges against Thind and Inzamam were eventually dropped. Jackie Hendriks, the match referee, banned Inzamam for two ODIs with a suspended ban of one further game. http://www.rediff.com/sports/sep/16b.htm

* Inzamams disciplinary record is as follows: *# v India at Toronto, September 14, 1997 - assaulted a spectator. Banned for two one-day internationals, suspended ban of one further match. *# v South Africa at Newlands, April 23, 1998 - dissent at umpire's decision. Fined 50 percent of match fee, with a suspended ban of one limited overs match. *# v Sri Lanka - March 12-16, 2000 at Karachi - criticising the attitude of the Sri Lankan players. Received severe reprimand. *# v West Indies - May 25-29, 2000 in Antigua, West Indies - dissent over umpiring decision. Fined 50 percent of match fee. *# v England - June 23, 2001 at Lord's - showing dissent at the umpire's decision. Fined 50 percent of match fee and suspended for two one-day internationals. *# v India, March 16, 2004 at Rawalpindi - conduct contrary to the spirit of the game. Fined 50 percent of match fee. *# v West Indies - February 1, 2005 at Perth - for not controlling his players as captain. Fined 100 percent of match fee. *# v India - March 24-28, 2005 at Bangalore - showing dissent at an umpire's decision by action or verbal abuse. Fined 30.5 percent of match fee. *# v India - March 24-28, 2005 at Bangalore - charging or advancing towards the umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing. Banned for one Test match. *# v India - April 5, 2005 at Visakhapatnam - abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings. Reprimanded. *# v England - August 17-21, 2006 at the Oval - ball tampering. Cleared. *# v England - August 17-21, 2006 at the Oval - bringing the game into disrepute. Banned for four one day *# v Ireland - March 17, 2007 at Jamaica - failure to ensure that his team met the minimum over rate requirements. Fined 50% of match fee.

Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzamam-ul-Haq 100 vs INDIA 2004 Karachi

Inzamam ul Haq 1st Over ever during ICL 2008

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography
Shoaib Akhtar (Urdu: شعیب اختر) (born 13 August 1975 in Rawalpindi, Punjab)is a Pakistani cricketer, widely recognized as the fastest bowler in the world, earning him the name Rawalpindi Express. He set a world record by clocking 100mph twice. His ability to bowl fast yorkers, well disguised slow balls, swinging deliveries, and sharp bouncers made him lethal even on dead pitches. However he has never been far from controversy, often accused of not being a team player, Shoaib was sent back home in disgrace from a tour in Australia in 2005. A year later he was embroiled in a drug scandal after testing positive for a banned substance. However the ban imposed on him was lifted on appeal. In September 2007, Shoaib was banned by the PCB for an indefinite period for the alleged brawl with his team-mate Mohammad Asif.

Early Years
Shoaib was born at Morgah, a small town near Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. His father was a worker in Attock Oil Refinery, Morgah.Shoaib started his studies at Elliot High School, Morgah and then took admission in the Asghar Mall College, Rawalpindi. There he was given the chance to show off his talent and consequently come into the limelight.

Performances
Shoaib's run of impressive performances started in 1999 in a pre-World Cup series against India when he shot to prominence. It was followed by outstanding bowling displays in Sharjah and later in 1999 Cricket World Cup.In 2002-03 he played leading roles in Pakistan's wins over South Africa and New Zealand in home and away series. Later in 2005 he fared a spirited bowling attack against Australia. The 2003 World Cup was a huge disappointment especially given the hype, after which he was dropped from the team. He came back in the team with a bang in the 2004 series against New Zealand, but struggled in a lost series against India in 2004. The series ended with a controversy when he left the field citing an injury leading to suspicions by the captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, about his commitment. Resultantly his relationship with Inzamam-ul-Haq and the coach Bob Woolmerdeteriorated. A medical panel set up by PCB to investigate the nature of his injury, however, dispelled all suspicions.

In 2005, Shoaib regained his reputation as a potent bowler for his side. Playing in a three-Test home series against England, he made a series of impressive bowling efforts on lifeless pitches. His effective use of slower ball proved to be unplayable by English batsmen. He emerged as the highest wicket taker of the series with seventeen wickets. His performance was also acknowledged by the English captain Michael Vaughan, who remarked "I thought he (Shoaib) was a big difference between the two teams".He is also known as the bowler who broke the 100 mph barrier in cricket bowling history.100.2 mph. Shoaib's delivery at 161.4km/h (100.2mph) stands as the fastest recorded to date.

County cricket
Shoaib has played for three counties in English county cricket: Somerset(2001), Durham (2003 and 2004) and Worcestershire (2005). He did have his moments of success (for example, taking 5-35 for Durham against Somerset in the National League in 2003, and claiming 6-16 in the same competition for Worcestershire against Glamorgan two years later) but he also suffered from fitness problems, as well as a perception that he was less than interested in his task. This was particularly the case at Worcestershire: chairman John Elliott said "Players like that are no good to our club. In fact, Shoaib has been no good for any club he's been at. He's a superstar and just does what he wants."

Controversies and Injuries
Shoaib's career has been plagued with injuries, controversies, and accusations of bad attitude. After shooting to stardom at a young age due to his devastating pace, he became more interested in speed and glamor rather than cementing his career. Although he eventually crossed the 100mph barrier, his attitude took its toll on his reputation as well as his fitness. After a poor showing in the 2003 World Cup, he got involved in a verbal spat with then captain Waqar Younis. Later he was axed along with other players, including Younis. In a triangular series in 2003 in Sri Lanka, he was caught tampering with the ball, making him the second player ever to be banned on ball tampering charges. The same year he was banned for one Test and two ODIs for abusing Paul Adams in a match against South Africa. In the 2004 home series with India, he struggled with wrist and back injuries, which raised questions about their authenticity. During the final Test he cited injury and chose not to bowl halfway through but was met with raised eyebrows when he later turned up to bat, apparently enjoying himself. Although his injuries were not proved to be fake, his reputation suffered, especially after Haq's outburst in a post match press conference. His relationship with the captain and the coach deteriorated further partially due to his manipulative nature and partially due to politics.

He was sent back from the 2005 Australia tour with a hamstring injury amid rumors of indiscipline, lack of commitment, and attitudinal complaints. He was subsequently fined by the PCB for avoiding a late night curfew. At this point, once loved Shoaib was reviled alike by teammates, opponents and cricket fans. The rest of his career was riddled with ankle and knee injuries which forced him to undergo a surgery in February 2006, until finally he was banned for two years for using performance enhancing drugs.

In November 2006, the liaison officer assigned to the Pakistani team in India, Anil Kaul, alleged that Shoaib had slapped coach Bob Woolmer following a fight over the music to be played in the team bus on the eve of ICC Champions Trophy. Both Shoaib and Woolmer have, however, strongly denied the allegations.

Drug Scandal
On October 16, 2006, Shoaib was suspended by the PCB, along withMohammed Asif after the pair were tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance nandrolone. They were consequently pulled from theICC Champions Trophy 2006. Former PCB chairman later stated that he had always suspected Shoaib of substance abuse due to his consistent "reservations" to drug tests. Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq had also previously complained about Shoaib's drug abuse but was not acted upon by the PCB. Pakistan news reports state that federal capital police had arrested Shoaib along with drugs some three years ago. Shoaib was then reportedly seen participating in the smoking of marijuana at a night club, violating the curfew for the team in their test series against England.

Shoaib immediately declared his innocence and he declined knowingly taking any performance enhancing drugs. In a statement issued to the press, he claimed that he could never cheat team-mates or opponents. During a hearing with the PCB Anti-Doping Committee (ADC), he along with Asif maintained taking non-steroidal dietary supplements. He, however, failed to convince the committee of his innocence. In its report submitted to PCB, ADC recommended a two year ban.

On November 1, 2006, PCB handed down a two-year suspension to Shoaib and a one-year suspension to Mohammad Asif, banning them from professional cricket during the period. Shoaib had subsequently been added to Pakistan Olympic Association list of doping offenders. However, on December 5,2006, he was cleared on appeal.

Acquittal
On December 5 2006 Shoaib and Mohammad Asif were acquitted by the tribunal appointed to review their appeals against the drugs ban imposed on them by an earlier committee. The three-man committee, headed by Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim, voted two to one in favour of the acquittal. Haseeb Ahsan, former Test cricketer, and Ebrahim were in favour of the acquittal while the third member, Danish Zaheer, dissented. “Exceptional circumstances” were cited including discrepancies between the instantaneous offence charges of doping that were laid and the quick delivery of a very harsh verdict. The complete drug testing procedure was concluded to have been technically flawed as it did not follow standard procedures. Other established facts by the committee included that the duo were not aware of the banned drug to be present in their supplements because PCB itself had not informed them of the dangers of contaminated supplements.

Both Shoaib and Mohammed Asif where thankful to the PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf for giving them a fair trial and their team mates, captain, and coach for the moral support. They did not however play in the 2006 Nov-Dec West Indies vs. Pakistan series held in Pakistan because the PCB has recommended that they play domestic games first to recover form and fitness.http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/271347.html

However, WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency was to challenge Pakistan's decision to lift bans on fast bowlers Shoaib and Mohammad Asif by taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne,Switzerland.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/pakistan/6183997.stmThe ICC, cricket's world governing body, has supported the WADA appeal adding that it was committed to a dope free game.http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/18/sports/AS_SPT_CRK_Pakistan_Doping.php

On March 1 2007, Shoaib and Asif were ruled out of the Pakistani squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup by team officials, minutes before the squad was to depart for the West Indies. The team management along with the PCB said their injuries were too severe to risk taking them to the Caribbean. Since neither of the two had been declared fit they had not undergone official doping tests.

However, on July 2 2007, the Court of Arbitration for Sport later dropped the case, ruling it had no jurisdiction to challenge the decision made by PCB.
[edit]
Other controversies
In August 2007, Shoaib is reported to have used foul language against PCB protesting the imposing of fine of Rs. 300,000 for indiscipline during the national camp in Karachi.

In the week before the Twenty20 world cup match in South Africa, Shoaib was rumoured to have hit fellow Pakistani player Mohammad Asif with a bat, leaving a bruise on his left thigh. According to sources, the two were involved in a dressing room spat which resulted in Asif being struck by a bat on his left thigh. Sources said the fight between the two started after Asif and Shahid Afridi disagreed with Shoaib that he shared the same stature as Imran Khan in Pakistan cricket and even ridiculed him for making such a comparison. The injury was not thought to be anything more serious than a bruise but a team investigation into the matter was pending. After the initial inquiry, it would found that Shoaib was at fault and he was subsequently recalled from the Twenty20 World Cup squad and was sent home. He was also banned for 5 matches by the PCB and a lifetime ban may also seem imminent. Shoaib later claimed that Afridi was responsible for the fight, saying "He made some ill remarks about my family. And I could not tolerate them" Afridi however, denied these allegations adding that Asif would have suffered more injuries but for his intervention. Even Asif chipped in saying that Shoaib was lying and that "Shahid Afridi had nothing to do with the fight." saying that "he has not apologised to me. "

On october 29, Akhtar made his comeback from his 13-match ban and performed well, taking 4-43 against South Africa in the fifth and deciding one-day international in Lahore.

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar 9 Wickets 1999 Tri Series vs India & Sri Lanka - GENIUS

Shoaib Akhtar at his Best