Waqar Younis included in ICC Hall of Fame

Waqar received his commemorative cap from International Cricket Council Chief Executive David Richardson

Waqar Younis has recently been included in ICC Hall of Fame. He was officially inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame before the start of the first Twenty20 International between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai Sports City on Wednesday (December 11).

Waqar received his commemorative cap from International Cricket Council Chief Executive David Richardson in front of a large and appreciative crowd. He now becomes the 70th male member and fifth Pakistani after Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

The former captain of Pakistan team and fast bowler, nicknamed 'The Burewala Express', is famously known as one half of 'The Two Ws' - a moniker for the fast bowling pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar

The 42-year-old, born in Vehari, Punjab, Pakistan, is a famed exponent of reverse swing - he claimed 373 wickets from 87 Tests and 416 scalps from 262 One-Day Internationals.

Waqar's Test figures bear ample testimony to his brilliance -- he registered 22 hauls of five wickets or more in an innings, and, on five occasions, took 10 wickets or more in a match. He also boasted the best strike-rate of any bowler with more than 200 wickets in Tests during his playing days -- a record only recently beaten by Dale Steyn.


His best bowling performance in a Test came almost 20 years ago, when he registered match figures of 13-135 against Zimbabwe in first Test in Karachi, having taken 7-91 and 6-44.

Read more about achievements of Waqar Younis at: Thats Cricket | IBN Live
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Glenn McGrath inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

The International Cricket Council today inducted Glenn McGrath into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the lunch interval of the third Test match between Australia and Sri Lanka in Sydney.

McGrath becomes the 68th male member of the Hall of Fame and joins fellow 2012-13 inductees West Indian Brian Lara and England's Enid Bakewell in being recognized by the ICC and the living members of the Hall of Fame.

While Lara and Bakewell were inducted in September at the LG ICC Awards, McGrath was inducted at his home ground of the SCG by the ICC President, Alan Isaac, along with Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards in front of a large and appreciative crowd. A fourth and final inductee of 2012-13 will be announced later this year.

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McGrath, who was born in in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1970, represented Australia in 124 Test matches between 1993 and 2007 claiming 563 Test wickets at an average of 21.64, and he is still taken more Test wickets than any other seam bowler currently in the game or retired.

[via ICC ]

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India beat South Africa by 1 run - But Pakistan qualifies for the T20I semi final

What a day it was today as we witnessed two of the most sensational T20I matches being played as part of the ICC T20I World Cup 2012 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

It was Pakistan playing against Australia to secure a place for the semi final, which however was conditional on the outcome of the second match between India and South Africa.

As for the first match, a time came when even Australia's sailing through to semis looked doubtful as Pakistan had sufficiently contained the Kangaroos. However, the Australians, needing 112 to qualify for the semis, did meet the target but could not make more than 117, which resulted in a huge defeat by 32 runs at the hands of Pakistan.

However, even after winning over the Australians, Pakistan still needed India to lose against the South Africans or at least South Africans lose by 33 runs. And what a superb performance the South Africans displayed. They not only achieved the 121 runs mark to allow Pakistan to qualify for the semis, but also made their utmost effort to win over the Indians as  a matter of pride. The match ended in India's favour with only run needed for the South Africans to win over the Indians.

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While India and South Africa leave for home, the South Africans will do it with their heads high as they displayed the highest degree of sportsmanship and resilience to win over the Indians, even when winning did not matter at all. Well played South Africa.

Pakistan now plays its semi final against Sri Lanka, while Australia plays against the West Indies.

India beat Pakistan by 8 wickets in ICC T20I Super Eights

Many expected this to happen, but still they believed that Pakistani batsmen will play responsibly and win over their crucial match with India and go straight for the semis with Australia.

But this was not to be so.

Pakistan winning the toss elected to bat and were in such a hurry to let the Indian play their innings that they did not take long to vacate the  R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo for the Indians to come in and win the match.

Except for Shoaib Malik and Umer Akmal who crossed twenties, none other crossed 15 and the whole team was back with 128 runs. When everything looked bleak, everyone looked up to Umer Gul to repeat his perevious performance of 32 against South Africa, but bowlers don't click everyday and he was back with 12.

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Indians, though lost their first wicket of Gambhir at the hands of young inexperienced Raza Hassan in his very second ball (c/b Raza), were composed and lost only one more wicket at the hands of Afridi when Sehwag was out at 29. Thereafter, they cruised comfortably to reach the target with 18 balls remaining and wickets in hand.

Kohli sparked with his 78 not out and Yuvraj with 19 still on the crease when India won the match. Unlike Pakistani batsmen who looked gittery to score, the Indian played a very calculated and composed game and won  while playing a very relaxing game.

Now both Pakistan and India have a chance with a narrow NRR. Pakistan's NRR at this stage is -0.43 while India's is -0.45. Pakistan will have to beat an aggressive Australia, while India will have to ease over a rather docile South Africa. Who does it will matter - we shall have to wait and see who.

ICC T20I Team and Player Rankings

ICC has announced the team and player rankings for the T20I Wednesday at the end of the group stage of the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012. 

The Team rankings with points scored are:

1 South Africa 134 
2 England 124
3 India 116
4 Sri Lanka 115 
5 Pakistan 114
6 New Zealand 107
7 Australia 104
8 West Indies 102 
9 Bangladesh 85 
10 Ireland 82
11 Zimbabwe 44

Teams not ranked as fewer than eight T20I matches played since August 2010 are aas under:

Afghanistan 76 
Netherlands 73 
Scotland 67
Canada 11
Kenya 2

As for the individual positions both in batting bowling, following positions have been annopunced:

Batsmen:
New Zealand’s wicket-keeper batsman Brendon McCullum has retained his number-one batting spot with Chris Gayle in second place. McCullum’s knock of 123 against Bangladesh, the highest in the history of Twenty20 International cricket to date, has also helped him achieve a career-best rating of 849.

Australia’s Shane Watson has jumped four places to a career-high third position Watson, who won successive Player of the Match awards against Ireland and West Indies, has also garnered his career-best rating of 758. In addition to his batting exploits (92 runs in two games), Watson has continued to retain seventh position in the ICC T20I Player Rankings for bowlers and is also the number-one ranked all-rounder in the world.



The batsmen from Asia have made the most impressive movements in the batting table ahead of the Super Eight stage which starts in Pallekele on 27 September. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara has broken back into the top 10 and now sits in eighth position (up by three places). Others to make upward movements are Virat Kohli in 19th (up by 10 places), Rohit Sharma in 26th (up by 12 places), Nasir Jamshed in 32nd (up by 51 places), Shakib Al Hasan in 37th (up by 29 places) and Imran Nazir in 43rd (up by 42 places).

Bowlers: 
In the ICC T20Is Player Rankings for bowlers, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka boast three bowlers each inside the top 20 while Pakistan has three bowlers inside the top 10 with Saeed Ajmal sitting on top of the tree, followed by Shahid Afridi in fifth (up by one place) and captain Mohammad Hafeez in ninth (up by two place). South Africa’s Dale Steyn has jumped 10 places to claim 11th position, while Harbhajan Singh, who claimed four for 12 against England, India’s best figures in a Twenty20 International, has broken into the top 20 and is now at 17th place (up five). 

via The News

Pakistan tames the Bengal Tigers - Qualifies for the Super Eights

Pakistan Tuesday evening today beat Bangladesh in the Group D match by eight wickets with eight balls remaining and qualified for the Super Eights of the ongoing ICC T20I World Cup 2012 at Kendy, Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh batting first gave a target of 177 for Pakistan to chase. From Pakistan's side Yasir Arafat took three wickets, while Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir took one each. Shakib ul Hassan was the top scorer with 84 runs in 54 balls, ousted by Yasir Arafat.

Player of the match: Imran Nazir 72 off 36 balls [Photo: Cricinfo]

Even if Pakistan had lost to the Bengal Tigers by any score lesser than 36, it would still qualified for the Super Eights. But Pakistan played with its cools and moved confidently to reach the target with much ease. 

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Pakistan's opener Imran Nazir played magnificently and scored an impressive 72 - paving the way for Pakistan's victory. He made 72 in 36 balls. He was also declared player of the match.

The Super Eights matches will start from 27 September and will continue till October 2. Pakistan take its place alongside India, Australia and South Africa in Colombo. 

Brian Lara dedicates Hall of Fame honour to father

Brian Lara, who was inducted into the ICC's Hall of Fame at the awards ceremony in Colombo on Friday evening, dedicated the honour to his late father Bunty Lara, who died before his son played a Test. Lara also credited his brother Winston and sister Agnes during the function at the Water's Edge Resort, saying they'd played important roles in his development as a cricketer.

In a moving statement, Lara said:

"This person you see today before you accepting this Hall of Fame honour is someone he [Bunty Lara] moulded. He ensured that I had everything I needed to succeed as a cricketer and in life, even in trying times. He made a special effort to make sure everything was there."

Read more: Cricinfo

Get ready for ICC T20I Championship 2012

The ICC T20I championship is about to being in Sri Lanka with all 12 internationally recognized T20I teams from around the world.  This will be the fourth ICC T20I championship. England has won the 2010 and 2011 championships, while South Africa won the 2011 championship.

Presently, England tops the table position followed very closely with a margin of one point by South Africa. Australia, after its recent defeat at the hands of Pakistan 2-1 payed at Dubai has dropped down to 9th position just above Ireland and Zimbabwe.  Afghanistan is playing for the first time.

All 12 teams, that includes 10 test teams and two qualifiers (Afghanistan and Ireland) are divided into four Groups as under:

Group A
Afghanistan
England
India

Group B
Australia
Ireland
West Indies

Group C
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Zimbabwe

Group D
Bangladesh
New Zealand
Pakistan

The 20 overs action packed, high hitting and full of excitement championship will commence with the Group matches from 18-25 September. The first match will be played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Sri Lanka with its match between Sri Lanka (World no.3) and Zimbabwe (World no. 11).

The inter group matches will get underway from 26 September to 2 October. Thereafter semi finals will be held on 4-5 October with final being played on Sunday, 7 October 2012 at the R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

We at Movin' Sports will provide links for the Free Live Coverage for all matches as the championship gets under way with effect from 18 September 2012.

Bangladesh improves T20 ranking

By claiming the recently concluded Twenty20 series against Ireland, Bangladesh surpassed top teams like Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and India in the ICC Twenty20 rankings.

The international minnows are up to No.4 on the ICC Twenty20 rankings, after beating Ireland 3-0 on their tour of Europe.

England, South Africa and Sri Lanka hold the top three spots in the shortened format of the game.

The ranking belies their captain's pre-tour assessment.

Read more: Business Recorder

Chanderpaul replaced by Sangakkara as world's top batsman

Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara has knocked veteran West Indies left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul off the top of the International Cricket Council's Test batting rankings.

Sri Lankan Sangakkara [left] replaces West Indian Chanderpaul [right] at top batting ranking

In the latest rankings released on Thursday, Sangakkara had crept ahead of Chanderpaul to move to 892 ratings points.

Chanderpaul is 36 points adrift in second, with South African AB de Villiers in third on 821 points.

Selected positions from the latest International Cricket Council Test player rankings released on Thursday:

Batting

1 Kumar Sangakkara (SL) 892

2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) 856

3 AB de Villiers (SA) 821

4 Jacques Kallis (SA) 819

5 Younus Khan (PAK) 796

6 Michael Clarke (AUS) 771

7 Hashim Amla (SA) 763

8 Ross Taylor (NZ) 761

9 Alastair Cook (ENG) 756

10 Graeme Smith (SA) 753

Bowling

1 Dale Steyn (SA) 886

2 Saeed Ajmal (PAK) 813

3 James Anderson (ENG) 785

4 Rangana Herath (SL) 765

5 Vernon Philander (SA) 764

6 Stuart Broad (ENG) 758

7 Ben Hilfenhaus (AUS) 756

8 Graeme Swann (ENG) 742

9 Peter Siddle (AUS) 740

10 Morne Morkel (SA) 733

16 Kemar Roach (WI) 620


Via Trinidad Express Newspapers

Aleem Dar sets record for officiating most cricket matches by an Asian

Three times International Cricket Council (ICC) Umpire of the Year winner, Pakistan’s Aleem Dar achieved yet another landmark by officiating the most number of test matches by an Asian umpire.

The 'human-DRS', Dar has officiated in 74 matches, the most by an Asian. PHOTO: AFP/FILE - Express Tribune

Dar achieved this landmark after he stood in his 74th international cricket match, played out between England and West Indies on Friday, a private news channel reported. He broke the record formerly held by Indian umpire Venkat Raghav who had officiated 73 matches in his career.

Dar ranks sixth in the world for having officiated the most matches.

Read more: Express Tribune

ICC agrees to split president, chairman's role

The International Cricket Council’s Executive Board has voted to split the role of the president and the chairman, as recommended by the contentious independent governance review headed by Lord Woolf, from 2014 onwards.

After the second of its scheduled 2012 meetings here this weekend, the ICC’s executive board has decided to recommend one of the suggestions made by the Woolf report to its annual conference in Kuala Lumpur in June. “Following a resolution agreed at the last meeting, the directors confirmed the necessary amendments to the constitution to split the role of the ICC president and chairman of the Board,” the ICC said in a statement.

Read more: The Indian Express

Distracting Saeed Ajmal from his dreadful bowling

Pakistan's former cricketers have reacted sharply to reports that the Indian team had questioned Saeed Ajmal's bowling action, saying it is a ploy to "upset" the offspinner's rhythm.

Former captain, Javed Miandad said he saw the reports about Ajmal's action as nothing but a ploy to upset the spinner.

Getty Images

"It is simple and pure, they want to upset him and distract him. Because he is troubling their batsmen and he has now got (Sachin) Tendulkar out twice, in the World Cup and last night," Miandad said.

Ajmal's action generated a fresh controversy today after senior Indian players reportedly questioned the legality of his deliveries even as the ICC (International Cricket Council) defended the bowler, saying his action was well within the allowed degree of tolerance. 

Read Cricket Next for details

ICC proposes t20 World Cup expansion in 2016

The ICC have suggested the growth of t20 cricket could be boosted by an associate or affiliate member hosting the t20 World Cup.

The governing council's chief executives committee (CEC) suggested a non-Test-playing countries should consider submitting a detailed proposition to stage the event.

The CEC also recommended the tournament should be increased to 16 teams when Bangladesh host the event in 2016 and each country should be allowed to play 15 t20 internationals in a t20 World Cup year instead of 12.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: "The CEC agreed that further conversations to strategically manage T20 cricket and also to promote all three formats would be beneficial."

Shared from Cricket120

England dominate ICC Twenty20I Rankings

Current ICC World Twenty20 champions England have continued their domination of the ICC Twenty20 International (T20I) Rankings after winning their series against Pakistan by 2-1 in Abu Dhabi on Monday. 

While England successfully retained their number-one position, which they could have lost had Pakistan won all the three games, Kevin Pietersen has replaced team-mate Eoin Morgan as the number-one batsman and Graeme Swann has taken over the coveted number-one bowling spot from Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka.

The present ranking:

1 England 1292 South Africa 1193 Sri Lanka 1174 New Zealand 1145 Australia 1106 India 1087 Pakistan 1078 West Indies 899 Ireland 8110 Afghanistan 7511 Zimbabwe 51

Read details: The Daily Times

Saeed Ajmal: The Top Wickets Taker of 2011

[ via Imposing Headlines ] 22 Dec

Pakistan's off-spinner Saeed Ajmal claimed nine wickets in the two Tests to round off his year with 50 wickets from eight matches. He is the highest wicket-taker in 2011 so far, with India’s Ishant Sharma placed second with 41 wickets from 11 matches.

Saeed Ajmal: Devastating to batsmen both in Test matches and ODIs

Earlier, Ajmal has moved to the number one slot in the new One Day International (ODI) bowler rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Ajmal is ranked eighth in the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings.