Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography

Posted by anccricket on October 24, 2008 at 1:46 AM
Full name Kamran Akmal

Born January 13, 1982, Lahore, Punjab

Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Lahore, Lahore Blues, Lahore City, Lahore Eagles, Lahore Lions, National Bank of Pakistan, Punjab Stallions, Rajasthan Royals

Playing role Wicketkeeper batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Relation Brother - Adnan Akmal, Brother - Umar Akmal

Kamran Akmal may well be the most emphatic proof of cricket's changed priorities post Adam Gilchrist. Sides now search for an explosive batsman who can change a day, an innings, a phase with the bat and so long as you can identify right wicketkeeping glove from left, the place is yours.There has been little doubt about Akmal's batting. The purity of his drives and the strength of his cutting and pulling, particularly on slower subcontinent surfaces, has always held a strong allure. And when it comes together as it did one January morning in Karachi against India - one of the Test innings of that decade - he makes it in the side as a batsman alone.

But his glovework, which began so promisingly when he effectively ended the dogfight between Rashid Latif and Moin Khan in late 2004, has deteriorated alarmingly and few Pakistan matches are complete without a clumsy Akmal error. It wasn't always thus, for he was good when he began, good enough to impress Ian Healy. But non-stop cricket in all three formats have let technical errors creep in and critics and experts have long pushed for the need for him to take a break.To quality spin, he is often as lost as the batsmen and Danish Kaneria, over the years, has suffered in particular. In a string of error-ridden performances, the one nobody will forget will be the four dropped catches (and a missed run-out) in the Sydney Test of 2009-10, which allowed Australia to escape with a remarkable, traumatic win. Against this the memory of his Karachi hundred will always battle, with no clear winner ever likely to emerge. The tryst with controversy does his cause no good, with his refusal to accept his demotion from the side in the aftermath of a disastrous Sydney Test in 2009, eliciting a harsh fine and a disciplinary probation from the PCB.

Kamran Akmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal Biography

Domestic career

Saeed Ajmal has played for Faisalabad since his debut in 1995 at the age of 18. Ajmal represented the Faisalabad Wolves in the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, his team won the final in which he was man of the match. When Faisalabad won the final of the ABN-AMRO Patron's Cup in March 2006 Ajmal was named the tournament's best bowler and was given a Rs 25,000 prize. He has also represented Khan Research Laboratories, who were runners-up in the final of the 2008/09 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy; though his side lost the final, Ajmal took 5/105 and 2/55 and in the process passed 250 first-class wickets.Ajmal has also played for Islamabad.

International career

Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup in June 2008; Ajmal was included in the 15-man squad and was expected to act as a foil to Shahid Afridi's leg spin. He made his debut against India on 2 July 2008. Ajmal took a single wicket, that of Yusuf Pathan, from his ten overs while conceding 47 runs (1/47) as Pakistan won by eight wickets. before taking 2/19 in a ten-wicket victory over Bangladesh, although the team had no chance of progressing to the competition's final. In November that year Pakistan travelled to the United Arab Emirates to face the West Indies in a three-match ODI series. Ajmal and Afridi were the team's only spin options; the former took a single wicket while conceding 73 runs and Pakistan won all three matches.

Ajmal's next match the third ODI against Sri Lanka in January 2009. In April Pakistan faced Australia in the UAE in five ODIs. Playing in all five matches Ajmal took four wickets at an average of 39.50. He was then picked for the Sri Lankan series in Sri Lanka where he had made solid performances in theTest matches, being picked ahead of Danish Kaneria in two of the matches.

In April 2009, Ajmal was reported by umpires for having a suspect bowling action. An independent test the following month demonstrated that Ajmal's arm flexed within the 15 degree tolerance allowed by the International Cricket Council. Later that year, the Pakistan Cricket Board named a pool of 30 players from which they would chose their final squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, held in June. Initially left out, Ajmal was one of three players added to the list, replacing players who were dropped because they were contracted with the controversial Indian Cricket League. In the tournament, Ajmal partnered Afridi. Pakistan won the tournament, and Ajmal was the tournament's joint second highest wicket-taker with twelve dismissals from seven games (only Pakistan's Umar Gul took more wickets, with thirteen dismissals).

Ajmal's good form continued in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 as he was Pakistan's leading wicket taker. However despite his good form he was known for conceding three sixes to Michael Hussey in what has been hailed as the most thrilling Twenty20 match of all time as Australia were in trouble and Ajmal was the unfortunate bowler who bowled that final over.

Shortly after this the Pakistan team began a tour of England where they would face Australia in two Tests in July, and subsequently play England in four Tests and five ODIs. Danish Kaneria was preferred to Ajmal in the first match against Australia, but after Pakistan lost the selectors considered dropping the leg-spinner and choosing Ajmal. In the event, Ajmal was not selected until the second Test against England, when Kaneria was dropped because he had been ineffective. Though Pakistan lost the match by nine wickets, Ajmal took his first five-wicket haul in Tests. In Pakistan's second innings, with his team looking to set a target for England to chase, Ajmal scored 50 from 79 balls, his first half-century in Tests, before he was dismissed by fellow off spinnerGraeme Swann.

During the series against England, Pakistan became engulfed in a spot fixing scandal after the fourth test. In a later secret interview it was unveiled by alleged fixer Mazhar Majeed that Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi were too difficult to bribe. He stated that Ajmal was too religious to get involved into fixing.

After the controversy and upheaval of 2010, 2011 saw Pakistan become a more consistent team. The year began with the World Cup held between February and April. Pakistan progressed to the semi-final, where they were defeated by India; playing in three of the team's matches, Ajmal took five wickets at an average of 18.60. After the World Cup, Pakistan played ten Tests, winning six andlosing a single match; this saw the team win series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and draw with the West Indies. Ajmal finished the year with 50 wickets from 8 Tests, more than any other bowler (second on the list was India's Ishant Sharma with 43). Pakistan were also largely successful in ODIs, winning 24 out of 32. After Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 4–1 in November 2011, Ajmal climbed to the number one spot in the ICC's ODI rankings. He finished the year by taking nine wickets over two Tests in Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh.

Pakistan started 2012 with a three Test series against England in the United Arab Emirates. Ajmal was named the man of the match for the first Test in Dubai, with match figures of 10 wickets for 97 runs and a career best 7/55 in England's first innings. In the second fixture he dismissed Matt Prior to become the fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 wickets in Tests, taking 19 matches to accomplish the feat. The series concluded with Pakistan completing a 3-0 whitewash over England, and Ajmal was named man of the series after claiming 24 wickets at an average of 14.70.

In the immediate aftermath of the Test series, following confusion over comments from Ajmal about his bowling action in an interview to the BBC, ESPNCricinfo published detailed information on the issue after a thorough investigation by journalist George Dobell with extensive discussion with ICC having been conducted. The resulting articles underlined the fact that Ajmal's bowling action falls well within the legal bounds set by the ICC for bowlers.

Bowling style

A right-arm off spinner, Ajmal's stock delivery turns into right-handed batsman but he also frequently uses the doosra which turns the other way, and he generally bowls flatter than most off spinners. The doosra has been an effective tool for Ajmal as batsmen have often failed to pick it. Explaining his bowling style in 2012, Ajmal said "If I bowl with flight I cannot bowl well. If I bowl at a quicker speed I can then use variations in pace. If I take 70% of my wickets with the doosra why should I not bowl it? Whether you bowl a doosra or an offbreak, the ball should be bowled on the right line and one should take a wicket with it."

Saeed Ajmal

Mohammad Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez Biography

An opening batsman and a versatile off spin bowler, Hafeez was one of the young players that the Pakistan selectors twisted to later than the team’s extremely bad display in the 2003 World Cup. His performances in Sharjah and in the NatWest Challenge in England pointed toward that Hafeez could fighting fit be a long-term vision – he represented excellent method and personality at the peak of the order and bowled his off spinners sleekly, other than the majority remarkable was his performance in the field. Perambulation the point and swathes region with agitated attentiveness, he saved abundance of runs and pulled off an astonishing catch.
His well thought-out approach towards batting ensured that he got a chance in the Test team in the three-Test series in opposition to Bangladesh. He did not do deficiently either, scoring a half-century on introduction, and after that caressing his first hundred in his second Test. On the other hand, his form after that curved in frighteningly in the ODIs in opposition to South Africa, leading to his keeping out from the Test squad. Soon afterwards he was taken out from the ODI squad as well. He has remained on the outer reaches of the national squad on the other hand with a filament of remarkable domestic performances, coupled with constructive hands for the Pakistan a squad. He was called back to the ODI side in 2005 other than unsuccessful to accomplish any important results.
An excellent century for Pakistan A in opposition to Australia A in the Top End Series in Australia for the duration of the summer 2006, associated with the exacerbation of Pakistan’s opening troubles on the tour to England, meant that Hafeez came back for the Oval Test annd with all wreckage, his tranquil and momentous 95 was all but ancient history. He has been sufficient more willingly than stunning although given the tribulations Pakistan have with openers, Hafeez is probable to stay behind mixed up for some time even with a usual average.

Mohammad Hafeez

Monday, December 24, 2012

Shaid Afridi

Shaid Afridi Biography

Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi, popularly known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2012, Afridi played 27 Tests, 334 One Day Internationals, and 46 Twenty20 International for the Pakistani national team.
He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia.

He is known for his aggressive batting style, and holds the record for the fastest ODI century which he made in his first international innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI.

He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket.Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 300 in ODIs.
Currently Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 43 matches.Shahid Afridi has signed to play for the Sydney Thunderin Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash league.
In June 2009, Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs.
He then also took over the Test captaincy but resigned after one match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play Test cricket; at the same time he announced his retirement from Tests. He retained the captaincy in limited-overs form of the game and led the team in the 2011 World Cup. In May 2011, having led Pakistan in 34 ODIs Afridi was replaced as captain.
Later that month he announced his conditional retirement from international cricket in protest against his treatment by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); in October he reversed his decision. UNICEF and Pakistani authorities have taken Shahid Afridi on board for its anti-polio campaign in the tribal belt of lawless Waziristan region.

Shaid Afridi