Second day of the second cricket test at Abu Dhabi
Earlier, broad and James Anderson took 16 deliveries to wrap up Pakistan's innings, the last three wickets falling within just seven balls. Misbah-Ul Haq added just one to his overnight score of 83 before being trapped leg-before by broad. He hit five boundaries and four sixes. Stuart broad grabbed four while Graeme Swann took three and Anderson got 2 wickets. In reply, Jonathan Trott and Alastair cook hit half-centuries to help England recover from the early loss of Andrew Strauss. Both added 139 for the 2nd wicket to strengthen their position. Trott took a single off Muhammad Hafeez to reach his ninth half-century . He was bowled by Abdul Rehman after scoring 74 runs. He hit 7 Boundaires. Cook completed his 27th fifty in tests, which came off 133 balls. Later, Saeed Ajmal took wicket of Kevin Pietersen and Morgan to keep pressure on the England batsmen. Saeed took three while Muhammad Hafeez and Abdul Rehman shared one wicket each.
Final of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament
In the first semi-final played at Melbourne Victoria Azarenka beat Kim Clijsters of Belgium 6-4, 1-6, and 6-3. Maria Sharapova defeated Czech star Petra Kvitova 6-2, 3-6, and 6-4 in other semi final.
England vs Pakistan Latest news
Stuart Broad snared captain Misbah ul-Haq (84) leg before wicket in the day’s second over and James Anderson soon dismissed Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan for ducks as Pakistan lost their last three wickets in the space of seven balls.
Pakistan had resumed on 256 for seven, with ul-Haq unbeaten on 83, but the skipper added only a single to their overnight score before falling to Broad, the Nottinghamshire all-rounder’s fourth wicket of the innings. Anderson then claimed the scalp of Saeed Ajmal with a full delivery which angled towards middle and leg stump and trapped the batsmen lbw after he played and missed. Three balls later, England claimed their first catch of the innings to wrap up the Pakistan tail, Junaid Khan edging a short ball from Anderson to Graeme Swann at second slip.
Cornet, Parmentier, Razzano, Rezai in French squad
Alize Cornet, Pauline Parmentier, Virginie Razzano and Aravane Rezai have been selected for Fed Cup opening-round match against Slovakia in Bratislava on February 4-5. The French Tennis Federation indicated that Kristina Mladenovic, 18 and earning a first call-up, would be the reserve. Parmentier, ranked 70 on the WTA computer, is the only one of the quartet who made it through the opening round of the Australian Open. Razzano is ranked 84, Cornet 85 and Rezai 120. "Their results (in Melbourne) were not all that great but even so, I saw some good things on court and that s why I have gone with these four experienced players," said Escude. France will have to do without their top-ranked player Marion Bartoli, the world number nine, as she quit the squad in protest at Fed Cup players not being allowed to deploy their personal trainers -- in her case, her father, Walter. After losing a play-off last season to Spain, two-time winners France dropped out of the Fed Cup elite for the first time and now rank only 15th. The French take on a Slovak squad that includes world number 18 Dominika Cibulkova and 21st-ranked Daniela Hantuchova.
Second test against England 1st day score
Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar negotiated the first hour without any discomfort before Swann gave England the breakthrough at the score of 51.
Taufeeq Umar misjudged a delivery and lost his off stump after seemingly playing no stroke on 16. Hafeez made 31 with four boundaries.
Broad then chipped in with the wickets of Younis and Azhar Ali, both bowled on incoming deliveries to leave Pakistan struggling at 103 for 4.
Skipper Misbah-ul Haq and Asad Shafiq steadied Pakistan's innings and added 100 runs for the 5th wicket. Both completed their half centuries. Asad Shafiq scored 58 before being leg befored by Swann. Misbah remained unbeaten on 83 with the help of 5 boundaires and 4 sixes.
England, aiming to level the three-test series after losing the first test by 10 wickets in Dubai, were rewarded for picking two spinners in form of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. Pakistan also made one change from their first test line up, bringing in left-arm Paceman Junaid Khan for Aizaz Cheema.
Pakistan vs India Cricket breakthrough
ABU DHABI: Pakistan's ambassador in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said he was using his contacts to convince India to resume bilateral ties with his country and hopes for a breakthrough next year.
India froze all bilateral ties with Pakistan in the wake of terrorist attacks on their commercial hub Mumbai in November 2008, which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan.
But despite a recent thaw, with Pakistan declaring India "the most favoured nation" and both prime ministers vowing to improve ties during their meeting at the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) conference late last year, the ties remain suspended.
India refused to send its team to Pakistan for a scheduled tour a month after the Mumbai attacks.
The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Zaka Ashraf, had also vowed to revive ties but has not received a positive reply from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Despite tempered optimism, Pakistan's ambassador in the UAE, Jamil Ahmed Khan, said he was using his position to raise support for a series between the countries here.
"I am in regular contact with the Indian ambassador (Kapanaiah Lokesh) here and he has also talked to his government in New Delhi to convince them to play here in the Gulf," Khan told reporters.
A PCB official on Monday said in Lahore that there was no possibility of a resumption of ties this year.
India beat Pakistan in a high-profile World Cup semi-final in Mohali in March last year and are due to face each other in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March this year.
Khan said a Pakistan-India series is the most sought-after by fans around the world.
"If Pakistan and India play here it would be a big thing for not only people living here but also for the people around the world. I think 2013 could be the breakthrough because everyone is trying for it," said Khan, who had also worked for United Nations.
Khan said interest in cricket was also developing among UAE locals.
"The locals here are also taking more interest in cricket since Pakistan is playing here and the image of the game as well as that of the Pakistan cricket team is also improving in the Gulf," said Khan. (AFP)
Shahid Afridi prefers Pakistan over Bangladesh league
KARACHI: Dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi said Wednesday he will skip most of the lucrative Bangladesh league in order to play Pakistan's limited overs series against England.
The 31-year-old hard hitting batsman and skilled leg-spinner was signed for $70,000 -- the highest salary offered to any international player in next month's league -- but the fixtures coincide with Pakistan's matches.
"The Bangladesh league clashes with our one-day and T20 series against England and for me national duty has always remained the top priority because Pakistan has given me a lot," Afridi told reporters.
Afridi is known for his world record fastest one-day hundred, which he made off 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1997.
"I want to play for Pakistan because my team needs me and we want to keep the winning sequence intact," he said. Pakistan remain unbeaten in one-day series since losing 3-2 to South Africa in November 2010.
Afridi retired in anger at being dumped as one-day captain last May, but came out of retirement in October.
"I have not as yet made up my mind when to call it quits. But certainly one thing I have decided is that I want to retire when I am performing well so that people remember me positively," he said.
"I think I still have a lot to offer to Pakistan cricket. I will retire when I feel I am at the peak of the career and have also contributed to Pakistan cricket as other legends of Pakistan cricket have done.
"I want to be remembered like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad or Wasim Akram are remembered today. And my ambition remains to reach a consistent scale of performance as these legends did in their careers."
Pakistan will announce the limited overs squad for the England series next month. (AFP)
Misbah, Asad palying now very well
ABU DHABI: Skipper Misbah-ul Haq and Asad Shafiq steadied Pakistan's innings after England paceman Stuart Broad took two wickets in the post-lunch session on the opening day of the second Test here at the Sheikh Zayad Stadium on Wednesday.
Broad dismissed Younis Khan (24) and Azhar Ali (24) to give England a further edge after they dismissed Mohammad Hafeez and Taufiq Umar early to derail Pakistan, who won the toss and batted on a turning pitch.
Pakistan reached tea at 177-4 with Misbah (32) and Shafiq (39) adding 74 for the unbroken fifth-wicket stand.
England, aiming to level the three-Test series after losing the first Test by 10 wickets in Dubai, were rewarded for picking two spinners in Graeme Swann and recalled left-armer Monty Panesar as they introduced spin in the 10th over.
Hafeez and Umar, who put on 114 for the opening wicket in the first Test, negotiated the first hour without any discomfort before Swann gave England the breakthrough.
Umar misjudged a delivery and lost his off stump after seemingly playing no stroke on 16.
Panesar, brought in to replace paceman Chris Tremlett -- flying home after a recurrence of a back injury -- dropped Hafeez off his own bowling but had the Pakistani opener bowled off the very next ball.
Hafeez made 31 with four boundaries.
Broad then chipped in with the wickets of Younis and Ali, both bowled on incoming deliveries to leave Pakistan struggling at 103-4.
Misbah hit Panesar for two towering sixes and benefited from a dropped catch when on 30 as James Anderson failed to hold a sharp chance in the slips.
The inclusion of Panesar, playing his first Test since the July 2009 Ashes Test in Cardiff, is the first time England have played with two spinners since the Dhaka Test against Bangladesh in early 2010.
Pakistan also made one change from their first Test line up, bringing in left-arm paceman Junaid Khan for Aizaz Cheema. (AFP)
Pakistan vs England latest sore
Pakistan are leading the three match series by one nill.
Sharapova, Kvitova now into semi final Australian Open
Maria Sharapova set up an Australian Open semi-final with Petra Kvitova after disposing of fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets. Makarova came into the match on the back of a superb win over Serena Williams, but she could not repeat the dose against Sharapova who dominated the contest from the back of the court as she claimed a 6-2 6-3 victory. Sharapova began in shaky fashion, double faulting twice in the opening game, but she held serve and rarely looked back. Makarova had to save four break points in the opening game as Sharapova stepped in on anything short. The relentless pressure continued and the first break of serve came her way in the fourth game. The one moment of alarm in the opening set for Sharapova came in the fifth game, but she staved off a break point with a precision ace down the middle. Makarova dominated Williams in the fourth round, but could not impose herself on Sharapova and two brilliant backhand returns of serve secured the set for the No. 4 seed. Sharapova dropped just 10 points on serve in the opening set, but Makarova carved out an opening in the third game of the second set to secure her first break of the match. But she made the cardinal sin of failing to back up the break as Sharapova roared back with an immediate reply. For all her power, Sharapova has often been restricted by her lack of fluency around the court. But against Makarova she demonstrated excellent movement the highlight arguably being when tracking down a drop shot and flicking it away for a winner as she secured a break of serve for a 4-2 advantage. Sharapova passed up a match point on the Makarova serve when netting a routine backhand, but she took advantage of the new balls one game later to seal her place in the last four. Kvitova booked her place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after overcoming a wobble to beat Sara Errani. Kvitova, the No. 2 seed, came into the match as the overwhelming favourite. She held sway over her rival in most departments, but errors leaked from her racket and she had to battle back from 4-1 down in the second set to win 6-4 6-4. Errani s serve was a worry for her supporters ahead of the match and Kvitova seized on a run of second serves, running her rival around the court, and worked a break in the opening game. Errani levelled in the following game as Kvitova s timing went astray. But with Errani serving at below 70mph, Kvitova teed off to break for a second time. Wimbledon champion Kvitova worked a double break to lead 5-2, but promptly threw in a couple of awful games to hand an opening to Errani. But the Czech steeled herself to hold and wrap up the opening set in 53 minutes. The superior power Kvitova possessed looked set to see her home as she broke at the start of the second. But she mixed the sublime with the ridiculous and some sloppy play, coupled with some inventive shot-making from Errani, helped the Italian run through four games on the spin. The frustration was evident for Kvitova, who skulked around the court between points. The low point came when she missed a simple drive volley in the seventh game. It was followed by a huge shriek of frustration, but two points later she had broken serve and ran through the next three games in the blink of an eye to seal her passage to a meeting with Sharapova.
Bangladesh cricket team will visit Pakistan in April
Talking to media in Lahore he said, a security team will come to Pakistan to assess the security arrangements prior to arrival of the Bangladesh team.
Mohsin Hassan Khan, Coach of the Pakistan Cricket team said that England is a strong team
The Coach of the Pakistan Cricket team Mohsin Hassan Khan has said that England is a professional and strong team that can make a comeback into series at any stage under any circumstances. He said in Abu Dhabi that he has told players that they forget the first test and look ahead to the remaining matches. He said that he was impressed with the stupendous performance of the team against a formidable England line up. However‚ he threw caution to the wind by asking his side not to lose their heads‚ as Strauss and his men are likely to make a strong comeback in the second match to be held in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
Kim Clijsters reach at semi-finals of the Australian Open by beating Caroline Wozniacki
Clijsters, 28, overpowered the Dane to win 6-3 7-6 (7-4) in scorching temperatures at the Rod Laver Arena. The Belgian, who says she is playing in her last Australian Open, will face Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final.
Earlier on Tuesday, Belarussian third seed Azarenka beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7 (0-7) 6-0 6-2.
Clijsters hit 21-year-old Wozniacki, who has never won a Grand Slam, with a barrage of baseline big-hitting to take the first set 6-3, despite a late rally from the Dane. The second set continued in the same vein with Clijsters racing into a 4-2 lead after breaking Wozniacki's serve for the sixth time. She took the next game, and it looked like victory was close
Talha now out of Pakistan Cricket team series against England for remaining Tests
Pakistan's fast rising paceman Mohammad Talha was Monday ruled out of remaining two Tests.
Talha was ruled out of the squad against England after developing spinal disc problems, team manager said Monday.
The 23-year-old, who did not feature in Pakistan s ten wicket win in the first Test in Dubai last week, will return home once his pain subsides.
"Talha developed back problem and in the MRI scan it was revealed that he has a disc problem and when his pain subsides in the next two three days he will return home," team manager Naveed Cheema told AFP.
Cheema said Talha needed ten to twelve days rest.
Pakistan, who plays the second Test here from Wednesday, requires no replacement, Cheema said.
Talha took four wickets in the warm-up match against England when as part of the Pakistan Cricket Board XI. England won that three-day game by 100 runs.
Talha has played one Test, against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009 and is regarded as one of the future prospects for Pakistan. –AFP
Maharoof available for Australian tri-series
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's cricket selectors on Monday recalled Farveez Maharoof and Chanaka Welegedera for next month's triangular one-day series in Australia.
The four-man selection panel led by former player Asantha de Mel also named batsman Mahela Jayawardene as the new captain to replace Tillakaratne Dilshan, who quit on Monday.
All-rounder Maharoof and paceman Welegedera each played his last one-dayer in 2010.
Angelo Mathews was retained as vice-captain for the series, also featuring India.
Squad: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisira Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayaka, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welegedera, Dhammika Prasad.
(AFP)
Brad Hogg Left-arm spinner return to Australian Cricket Team
He was named Monday in the Australian Twenty20 squad to play two matches against India next month.
Hogg retired from international cricket in 2008 after playing seven tests and 123 one-day internationals, but mounted a comeback after an outstanding season for the Perth Scorchers who have reached the final of Australia s Big Bash Twenty20 league.
Hogg turns 41 on Feb. 6, a few day after the Twenty20 series against India which includes matches at Sydney on Feb. 1 and Melbourne on Feb. 3.
Tasmania s George Bailey will captain the Australian team in place of Cameron White, who has been dropped from the squad.
Bailey and White are Melbourne Stars teammates in the Big Bash League and neither has had an outstanding competition. White scored only 55 runs at an average of eight and Bailey 114 runs at an average of 19.
Bailey, who is one of five Melbourne Stars players in the Australian team, previously captained Australia A against New Zealand in Brisbane in November. He also captains Tasmania in one-day and first class matches.
"The National Selection Panel unanimously favored George Bailey as captain of the T20 team," chairman of selectors John Inverarity said. "George is a very good T20 player with a sound record.
"He is widely respected and regarded as an outstanding captain, having had sustained success in this role"
The squad features a number of changes to the one which played South Africa in South Africa late last year, mostly due to injuries.
Vice-captain Shane Watson and young bowlers Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are all injured.
"Shane Watson has yet to regain match fitness and was not considered for selection," Inverarity said. "The intention is for Shane to take however long it takes to become fully fit and then to declare himself available for selection.
"Brett Lee and Bradley Hogg are the veterans in the team and provide a pleasing blend of experience with the youth and relative inexperience in the squad. Brad Hogg s bowling has been outstanding and his case for inclusion was compelling. He has had a real impact in the BBL in recent weeks."
Jayawardene may be a new captain of Sri Lanka Cricket Team
COLOMBO: Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka's cricket captain in all three forms of the game on Monday following the team's disastrous tour of South Africa, officials said.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) named former captain Mahela Jayawardene -- who led
the side to the World Cup final in 2007 -- as skipper for next month's triangular one-day series in Australia, also featuring India.
Dilshan, 35, took up the captaincy on a series-to-series basis after Kumar Sangakkara stepped down following Sri Lanka's defeat in the 2011 World Cup final against India.
Sri Lanka lost both the Test and one-day series in South Africa, though they recovered a measure of pride with victory in the final two limited-overs games, the last on Sunday.
Under Dilshan, Sri Lanka lost Test and one-day series against England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa.
While Dilshan's own batting form suffered during his reign, he led the team to a historic Test win in Durban this year -- Sri Lanka's first on South African soil.
There was no immediate comment from Dilshan, who has so far scored 4,662 runs in 77 Tests and 5,896 runs in 224 one-day internationals.
His replacement is part of an ongoing shake-up after the national team's recent poor run abroad against South Africa and Pakistan.
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage last week named a four-member selection panel headed by Asantha de Mel, a former national player, and gave them one year to put the team in order.
Australian coach Geoff Marsh and team manager Anura Tennakoon are also tipped to be replaced, local media reported over the weekend. Marsh was appointed in September 2011 for two years.
Former South Africa coach Graham Ford is due in the island on Tuesday to replace Marsh, the state-run Daily News said Monday. (AFP)
Tillakaratne Dilshan is no more Sri Lanka Cricket team captain
Dilshan, who took over as captain From Kumar Sangakkara after the 2011 world cup, led his team on tours to England, the UAE and South Africa and at home against Australia. His captaincy came under severe criticism as Sri Lanka lost both the test and ODI series against all the four countries. Dilshan led Sri Lanka in 11 tests since May 2011, of which his team won one test and lost five. He captained his team in 21 ODIS, winning 8 and losing 13.
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