A number of international players as well as future prospects will be on show when PIA, who have won the National One Day Championship for a record 16 times, faces National Bank of Pakistan in the final the RBS Cup.

It will be some sight when Shoaib Malik (PIA) and Kamran Akmal (NBP) walk out for the toss tomorrow.

Shoaib Malik has with him the likes of Khurram Manzoor, Yasir Hameed, Sarfraz Ahmed, Najaf Shah, Anwar Ali, and Fazl-e-Akbar.

While Kamran Akmal will be leading Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz, and the future of Pakistan's pace attack - Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Talha.

Both PIA and NBP cruised through the group stages winning all but one of their matches and easily getting past the Mutlan Tigers and Lahore Lions in the semis respectively.

Salman Butt has been in fine form for NBP during the competition and is also the leading run scorer with 497 runs in 6 innings with 3 fifties and an unbeaten 150.

While Uzair Haq of NBP, a 22 year old pacer playing his 2nd season of List A cricket, is the leading wicket taker of the competition with 15 wickets in 6 matches.

While for PIA its been Khurram Manzoor, Yasir Hameed, and Sarfraz Ahmed who have been in good touch throughout the tournament.

On current form I would tip NBP to win the RBS Cup, but when it comes to domestic titles Shoaib Malik has had a lot of luck lately.

Should be an interesting game tomorrow.

It was quite surprising that till now the ongoing West Indies - England series had continued without any exchange of words between players.

There were 2 test matches that England failed to close.

West Indies saved their back sides at the last minute in those tests.

There has been an ODI, which England won by 1 run with John Dyson's help.

Such close contests generally flare up the tempers and heated words are usually exchanged through the media.

However, in the Windies the England have been quiet.

They did not even bother to respond to Daren Powell who claimed that England will be thrashed 3-0 in the tests.

Till now though.

KP has spoken, and he has targeted the best - Chanderpaul.

Jrod here kind of justifies why KP is right. I agree completely!

But, it doesn't matter whether KP's right or not really.

What matters is that KP will soon be leading a team that Chanderpaul is a part of.

Yes, I'm speaking about the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

KP - Captain. Chanders - Player.

Maybe this was KP's way of shaking Chanderpaul up a bit just before the IPL kicks off.

Just maybe.

Or it could be the reason why KP will keep Chanderpaul out of the XI to accomodate his South African brothers - Kallis, Boucher, and Steyn.

Irrespective, it will be one interesting dressing room for the Challengers.

Salman Butt, the Pakistan opener, smashed an unbeaten 92 off only 25 deliveries for National Bank of Pakistan in their RBS Cup match against Lahore Eagles.

Yes 25!

If he got to 100, it would have been faster than Shahid Afridi's, which came off 37 deliveries.

I've seen that Afridi innings. To imagine an innings more attacking than that one is nothing short of extraordinary.

What's really special about Butt's innings is that he unleashed 16 boundaries and 4 sixes in his innings of 92.

Thats 20 scoring shots for 88 runs!

He faced another 5 deliveries and scored another 4 runs, so he hardly had any non-scoring strokes in this belligerent innings.

At the receiving end was Usman Sarwar, who unfortunately was playing his first List A game.

After figures of 3-0-78-0, he must be wishing he hadn't.

The result?

NBP chased 122 in only 6 overs.

I just came back from a short trip to Pakistan (with a very brief stopover in Dubai). During the trip, I had three random encounters with cricket personalities, and had one interesting airport security check. Completely pointless, but it's a lazy Friday so thought I'd share them with you.

The first encounter was in Lahore. On a spring afternoon, my cousins and I went to Lahore Gymkhana for lunch. As we walked out, we saw a familiar figure talking to a couple of people. At first I remarked that this individual looked a lot like Salim Malik. But after another second, I realized it was indeed him! He headed toward our direction and I asked him for a quick photograph. He very politely accepted, we chatted for about 30 seconds, and off he was to play golf. Now, let me state this clearly and under oath, NO MONEY WAS EXCHANGED BETWEEN MR. MALIK AND MYSELF IN RETURN FOR THE PHOTOGRAPH!!! :)

The next encounter was with none other than the CEO of PCB, Mr. Ejaz Butt. He was attending my cousin's wedding (he is related to another cousin's in-laws). My father introduced me to him, and I thought about spending 10 minutes with Mr. Butt, but then realized that it might only ruin the mood of the festivities since the outcome of any discussion would not have been too pretty. So I just said my salaams and he was kind enough to respond and do the usual 5 second chit chat. Have to say though that Mr. Butt was sitting alone for most of the time. I'm sure he's just a quiet guy!

My third and final encounter was at JFK airport in New York. This was perhaps the most surprising of all. As I'm waiting for my baggage, I turn around and see that Mr. Steve Bucknor is standing right next to me! Looks a bit different without the hat, and he's a bit taller than I imagined. He did give a bit of the trademark "slow death" treatment as he tried to figure out whether I was friend or foe - he didn't raise the finger, I was cleared! I talked with him and his traveling companion (perhaps his wife) for a few minutes as we waited for baggage. Hot off his Test retirement, he flew from SA to Dubai, Dubai to JFK (same flight as me, but likely on the upstairs first/business deck of the A380 rather than with us common folk), and was now flying to Barbados for the 3rd and 4th ODIs, which will be his last international appearances. I thanked him for his service to cricket (probably should have also thanked him for not giving Miandad out LBW in the WC 92 final ;). His luggage included a massive cricket kit bag with ICC logos. Not particularly sure why he carries it with him...can't imagine he needs much equipment, but to each his own.

And, finally, the security check I refer to? Well, that was at Islamabad airport, as I was leaving on my flight to Dubai. Put my backpack in the x-ray machine, walked through the metal detector, and waited for my backpack. The screener signals a further review of my bag. No biggie, have a look I say. He says he's only interested in my keys. Keys? OK, fine with me. So I open the front pocket of my backpack and point to the keys. He then says that there's something circular and shiny on my keychain that he wants a closer look at. At that moment it hits me what he's looking for. Back in Jan 2005, I visited Australia and went to Bowral (naturally!). I picked up a Don Bradman keychain from the musuem there, and I have attached it to my keys ever since. So the screener took a closer look at the keychain, front and back, and probably realized that an image of Bradman driving a ball is perhaps a dangerous weapon on the field, but not so much on a flight! Thankfully the keychain was returned to me, and off I went on my flight!

Enjoy the weekend, the beginning or end of it - depending on what part of the world you live! :)

[cross-posted from buthyaar.com]

Not sure about the October timing, but the concept is good (even if a bit ambitious). I would expect decent crowds:

nzamam-ul-Haq and up to seven disaffected members of the Lahore Badshahs ICL franchise are in discussions with an American entrepreneur who hopes to establish an international Twenty20 tournament in New York City.

...

Mir, 32, has lined up a three-year staging deal with the minor-league baseball team, Staten Island Yankees. Using a franchise and auction system similar to the IPL, he hopes to draw up six "international" sides - Premium Pakistan, Premium Indians, Premium West Indies, Premium World and Premium America - the final side drawn from the best of the talent on show from approximately 15 million cricket fans who already live in the USA. A spokesman for the Yankees confirmed that they were in talks, adding that they were "very excited" at the prospect of bringing cricket to the city.

"It is a cricket revolution in America," Mr Mir told Cricinfo. "The venue is an absolute fit for the historic nature of this event. It has a capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators and has state-of-the-art facilities, and every spectator can view the beautiful Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and the Hudson River from their seat."

Mir added that he had lined up an agent in England who would help recruit players for the World XI, and that he had been in negotiations with the former West Indies captain, Richie Richardson, whom he hopes will act as both a coach and a recruiter for a potential West Indies team. [LINK]

Ishant Sharma: I want the fine leg up in the circle.

Saurav Ganguly: Don't ask me Ishu, Chris is your bowling captain. Ask him.

Ishant: Chris, fine leg up please.

Chris Gayle: Dude I'm not the fielding captain, ask Brendon.

Brendon McCullum: I think fine leg should be at the boundary.

Ishant: Push mid on back, and bring fine leg up. Trust me.

Brad Hodge: He's right, it makes sense, let's do this.

McCullum: Hodgey, your not an on-field captain, don't speak out of turn. fine leg is good as it is.

David Hussey: I back you Brendon, go on Ishu, bowl!

Ishant: Dada, yeh kia ho raha hai!!? (what the hell is going on?)

Saurav Ganguly: Don't ask me man. John se jaake pooch! (Go ask John)

Ishant: John, sir this is madness. Its crazy out there on the field. We should have only one captain.

John Buchanan: If you have a complaint, register it with Matthew. We'll feed it into the system and analyze it along with other complaints as well as with the benefits of multiple captains. Then we'll decide if we want to continue with this or not.

I had talked about KP's childhood dream previously.

Little did he know that it would be realised in his home country - South Africa!

KP will captain the Royal Challengers for the first 3 weeks of the IPL.

Kallis will be his deputy.

Boucher will be his keeper.

Steyn will be his premier strike bowler.

And it will all happen in South Africa, IPL's host for the 2nd edition.

Vijay Mallya, without knowing it, has ensured that his Royal Challengers will be the home team druing IPL 2!

What a happy bunch of South Africans.

6 Tests

Australia won 3

South Africa won 3

Australia's 1st innings runs: 2,241

South Africa's 1st innings runs: 2,076

Australia's 2nd innings runs: 1,783

South Africa's 2nd innings runs: 1,530

Australia's 2nd innings runs per innings: 297

South Africa 2nd innings runs per innings: 306

Australia's loss of wickets: 109

South Africa's loss of wickets: 95

Australia's loss of wickets per innings: 9.08

South Africa's loss of wickets per innings: 8.64

Highest run scorer for Australia: Simon Katich, 557 runs

Highest run scorer for South Africa: AB DeVilliers, 600 runs

Highest score in an innings for Australia: Phil Hughes, 160 runs

Highest score in an innings for South Africa: JP Duminy, 166 runs

Number of centuries for Australia: 7

Number of centuries for South Africa: 7

Leading wicket taker for Australia: Mitchell Johnson, 33 wickets

Leading wicket taker for South Africa: Dale Steyn, 34 wickets

Best bowling performance in a match for Australia: Johnson, 11-159

Best bowling performance in a match for South Africa: Steyn, 10-154

10 wicket match hauls for Australia: 1

10 wicket match hauls for South Africa: 1


Not much to choose between the 2 sides is there?

A couple of days ago the West Indies - England ODI ended after a blunder by John Dyson.

Blunder?

I say foolish! how stupid can one be?

Did you see how he was waving at Sammy and Miller to come back?

Did you see the smirk on Andrew Strauss' face?

How old is Dyson anyway?

I'm shocked that Chris Gayle said that he wasn't going to kill him.

I would have killed him.

Or maybe atleast knocked him down with an upper cut!

Well if Gayle doesn't want to kill him, I have some ideas on what he could do to Dyson.

Send him on a cruise ship with Shane Warne for a week. Warnie will ensure that Dyson never coaches another team again.

Or

Get him a job with Bangladesh. After a stint with them, Dyson himself will never want to coach again.

Or

Get him a free ticket to "Dancing with the Stars". He definitely won't come back to the cricket world after shaking a leg and breaking it at his age.

Or

Just make him Pakistan's coach. That should take care of him.

The IPL is moving out of the India.

The INDIAN Premier League will be played in either South Africa, England, or the UAE.

What is wrong about that?

I am a firm believer that the IPL was successful the moment it was thought of. It was bound to change the face of the cricket world.

Its first season pretty much proved that.

But taking the league out of India could prove disastrous.

Maybe not as disastrous as cancelling the 2nd edition, but still is it worth going ahead with a re-scheduled, hastily planned IPL in a foreign country?

I am not too sure.

The charm of IPL's 1st season was that it induced support from Indian regions. The home and away games resulted in fans aligning themselves with their regional teams and turning up at the grounds in large numbers.

In fact, all the matches were sold out. The grounds were full.

Holding the IPL in South Africa will do no harm to television revenues, but how many people in Johannesburg will go to the Wanderers to watch Mumbai vs Delhi?

Again, I am not too sure.

The teams field only 4 international players, and besides Bangalore and Chennai, none have more than one frontline South African.

The franchises are predominantly Indian domestic teams along with a few international stars.

Will they find support among the South African and English public?

I have my doubts.

4 6 4 4 4 4

And we thought Chanderpaul was a test player.

Well I guess when its Harmison bowling at you, anyone will fancy their chances.

Those were some cracking strokes!

46 from 30! You don't expect that stuff from Chanderpaul.

KP would be pleased to know that Chanders will be on his side come the IPL.

Ashwell Prince for a change has played an entertaining knock.

The way he picked Johnson for boundaries last night and how he charged McGain's 2nd delivery and deposited him for 6 over long on suggested that he was a man on a mission.

It is no secret that he was upset at not being considered for the first 2 tests against the Aussies.

He was further upset when he was thrust into the opener's role for this test.

But this might just be the thrust he has needed all this time.

I have always considered Prince a boring batsman.

Even more boring than Kallis and that is saying something!

He has been effective but he has laboured thus far in his career.

Batting at number 5, he has scored a lot of runs mostly by working hard for them.

Maybe that was because of the situations in which he came out, usually trying to get South Africa out of trouble.

Opening the innings has allowed him to play with the kind of freedom that hasn't been visible before.

The Prince of old would not have gone after McGain the way he has today.

The Prince of old would not have scored a 100 striking at a rate of over 60.

He has a career strike rate of 43.

And I remember him scoring his runs at rates of 30-35 before.

So a rate of 60 is fast for Prince!

Maybe he played more attacking cricket because he wanted to vent his anger. Maybe he felt he could bat with more freedom at the top of the order. Maybe it was to prove something to the IPL franchises. Or maybe it was to get a look in for the ODIs.

Who knows.

Whatever it was, it has turned him into a more effective batsman.

Graeme Smith might have found the ideal opening partner.

Pakistan's domestic ond day competition, the Royal Bank of Scotland Cup, started a week ago in various centres around the country.

I haven't been able to cover the competition till now, besides Khalid Latif's awesome double ton, but have got enough info now from different places to update you guys.

Captaincy Musical Chairs

The tournament began with some confusion regarding the captain of a couple of teams.

When the squads were announced for PIA and Habib Bank, the 2 leading teams in Pakistan's domestic one-day history with 13 titles each, Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan were slated to captain them, respectively.

Shoaib Malik declined to captain PIA and the next day it was announced that Faisal Iqbal would captain the team.

However, when their first match against KRL took place, it was in fact Shoaib Malik who led the team.

While Younis Khan was supposed to captain Habib Bank, in their first match against WAPDA, Younis asked Shahid Afridi to lead the team.

So the former Pakistan captain is leading his side, but the current Pakistan captain is not.

Strangeness.

ICL Returnees

The RBS Cup is also the first domestic outing for Pakistan's ICL recruits with a number of them returning to their domestic teams, while others joining new departments.

Mohammad Yousuf was roped in to captain WAPDA and failed in his first domestic match in over a year as he was dismissed by Afridi for only 5.

Rana Naveed, Shabbir Ahmed, and Shahid Yousuf also turned out for WAPDA under Mohammad Yousuf.

They might as well have been called the Lahore Badshahs!

While Imran Farhat, Hasan Raza, and Humayun Farhat turned out for Habib Bank, whom they have played for since their first class debuts.

All 7 ICL returnees turned out in the same match as Habib Bank took on WAPDA.

Abdul Razzak made a succesful return to domestic cricket while leading his team, ZTBL, to a comfortable victory over Pak Customs.

Razzak, who is captaining ZTBL, first bowled a good spell with figures of 1-46 and then smashed an unbeaten 60 off 47 deliveries to complete their chase with over 11 overs to spare.

Mohammad Sami returned to his home team, the Karachi Dolphins, and had an immediate impact with figures of 4-50 in his first game against Abbotabad.

Current Standings

The 20 teams - 12 regions and 8 departments have been divided into 4 groups.

Multan Tigers, who besides Abdur Rauf have no big name in their line up, are leading Group A; having won all their 4 matches thus far.

Islamabad Leopards and Faisalabad Wolves, with 1 win each, are jointly at the top of group B, with the Leopards slightly ahead on NRR.

PIA and ZTBL are leading Group C with PIA ahead on NRR.

While Habib Bank, Lahore Eagles, and National Bank are on top in Group D having won their only match in the competition this far. Habib Bank is ahead on NRR.

I can't tell you how excited I am to watch another Australian leg spinner play on the big stage.

Moreso when the leggie is from Victoria!

There's something about leggies isn't there?

There's a buzz when they're bowling.

And you expect something to happen every ball they bowl.

We'll probably have to wait till the 2nd day to watch McGain with the ball, but it should be worth the wait.

A hearty congratulations to my fellow blogger, Uncle J Rod of Cricket with Balls, who has probably been waiting for this day since he started blogging. Or maybe longer.

Hope its been worth the wait Jrod!

Right now I'm watching the first test between India and New Zealand LIVE.

I didn't wake up at 3:30am like the Indians to catch the action - I haven't slept! The match started at 2am in the part of the world I am in.

Reading the Kiwi batting order, I saw a James Franklin slated in at number 6.

James Franklin?

Isn't he a Left arm pacer?

That's what I remember him as.

When did he become a test number 6?

Then I looked up his profile and was surprised to see that he had a test century against his name.

When did he score that?

Apparently against South Africa while batting at number 9.

I don't think he's batted higher than that position ever before.

Actually he has. He batted at number 7 in the last test he played.

But when did he become a batsman?

It shocked me even more to see that Franklin has 6 first class centuries including a double and 17 half ones!

Wow.

Sportsfreak / Leg Break - I'd like some insight.

I was going through some domestic matches scorecards on Cricinfo and came across this one.

Yes that AG Prince who scored 254 opening the innings is the same Ashwell Prince we know.

So then why all this talk about it being a gamble to open with him?

And why is everyone saying that Prince will be batting in an unfamiliar position?

The card clearly shows that Prince opened for the Warriors and managed his highest every score in first class cricket!

Who said Prince can't open?

Khalid Latif, the Pakistan under 19 world cup winning skipper, who played a couple of ODIs for Pakistan last year, knocked a superb double century in today's RBS Cup game between the Karachi Dolphins and the Quetta Bears.

Batting first, the Dolphins piled on 364-2 in their 50 overs with Khalid carrying his bat and scoring an unbeaten 204.

Khalid faced 163 deliveries for his knock and smashed 19 boundaries and 7 sixes.

This is the 2nd double century in domestic one day games in Pakistan, following Mohammad Ali's effort of 207 in the 2004-05 season.

Khalid's score is also the 5th highest score in all List A cricket and will fit in between Alvin Kallicharan's and Alistair Brown's in this list.

Khalid, who is captaining the dolphins in the ongoing RBS Cup, continued his good form in the competition with his 204* following his match winning 105 in the previous match against the Rawal Pindi Rams.

You read it here first!

Mehar Mohammad Khalil.

Heard the name?

He was the driver of the bus, which was carrying the Sri Lankan players that got attacked.

Mehar has been hailed as the saviour of the Lankan players' lives by all the players.

My Sri Lankan friend, Damith of Fly Slip, has initiated a fund, the aim of which is to raise money though contributions from fans and present the collections to Mehar.

The target is US $1,000. $155 have already been raised.

Damith is aiming to present the $1000 gift to Mehar when he arrives in Sri Lanka as a guest of the Sri Lankan Government.

None other than King Sanga will present the gift to Mehar.

So hop over to Fly Slip and make your contribution and hail a HERO.

A good, old friend of mine had an interesting post on his blog about the situation of sports in Pakistan (no surprises there) along with some recommendations.

Here is a link:

http://paksports.wordpress.com/

Its a good read - enjoy

There's one international team that doesn't have a problem with playing cricket in Pakistan.

That's Afghanistan!

They have had a dream run leading up to the ICC World Cup qualifiers winning all the World Cricket Leagues.

Afghanistan have a real shot at playing the 2011 World Cup and they are currently in Pakistan, training for the qualifiers.

Quite brave of them to be in Pakistan, but then when you think of what is going on in their own country, Pakistan appears to be a "safe" bet.

I went through the Aghanistan squad for the World Cup qualifiers and was surprised to see 1 name.

That of Rafatullah Mohmand.

Rafatullah is a big name in the domestic circuit in Pakistan.

He plays for Peshawar and Habib Bank, both under current Pakistan skipper Younis Khan.

Younis has rated him highly in the past.

I've seen Rafatullah bat on a few occassions - some T20 innings and 1 pentangular and he is a more than decent bat.

He's got more that 12 years of experience at the first class level.

Earlier this decade, around 2001-02, Rafatullah had a very succesful domestic season and he was being considered as a future opener for Pakistan when they were looking for replacements for Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail.

For some reason Rafatullah never made it.

But now he has a chance to play international cricket.

For Afghanistan!

I wonder how that was made possible since he is a Pakistani.

You're not that talented but break into South Africa's strong middle order.

You become one of the mainstays of their batting line up.

You out-shine Kallis and bore the crap out of viewers with your long and slow innings.

You are elevated to the Vice Captaincy.

Your tag of being a test player does not get you a bid at the IPL auction.

You are your country's best test batsman.

You injure your thumb.

A young promising batsman replaces you in the middle order and makes his mark.

You are fit again but lose your place in the team.

But you're still Vice Captain.

The captain gets injured mid way during a test and is ruled out for the next test.

The opener is dropped from the team for the next test.

You make your return to the team as an opener and the captain.

You were the Vice Captain so obviously you would be the captain in the original captain's absence.

24 hours later the selectors decide that you need to focus on your new opening role and should not be burdened with the captaincy.

So its taken away from you.

But are you still the Vice Captain?

Should we be happy for you or feel sorry for you?

According to the ICC, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) were unable to provide a guarantee during a teleconference on Wednesday that there would be no rains in Colombo during the tournament which runs from September 24-October 5.

I know what that means but the wording suggests that SLC were supposed to garantee a rain-free tournament.

So now what. The ICC expects cricket boards to play the role of rain Gods?

Can South African garantee that there will be no rain there when the Champions Trophy is played?

Can England garantee that there will be no rain during the T20 World Cup or the Ashes?

Can India garantee that there will be no rain during the ICC World Cup in 2011?

Can the ICC garantee that there will be no rain tomorrow?

I don't generally enjoy Mike Atherton behind the mic or with the pen.

He's too boring.

But this time round he has hit the bulls eye!

A moving piece on Pakistan cricket and worth a read.

Pakistanis on Facebook have taken it upon themselves to apologize to the Sri Lankans for what went down in Lahore on the 3rd of March.

There's a group, which you can join, along with us Pakistan cricket fans, to apologize to the Lankans: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55364236169

The groups has also organized an e-rally where we all are demanding answers to a number of questions like:

When will be actually safe for us to travel within our country?
When will it be ok to drive late at night?
Why are there "Beware of the Terrorist" signs all over CAA/Govt airports and places of travel?
Why do I need to protect my family from the lack of security?

To be a part of this rally, hop on over to the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=56552922409#/event.php?eid=56552922409

Be a part of it!

DAWN News already is.

I have an idea on how the ICC can ensure that all the umpiring decisions referred to the 3rd umpire - whether by the players or the on-field umpires - are always 100% accurate.

Give the 3rd umpire duties to the commentators.

The commentating team always, always get the decision right.

On top they reach the decision faster than the TV umpire.

What I don't understand is that if the commentators can see it, the viewers can see it, everyone with one eye on the TV can see it, then why can't the TV umpire see it?

Andrew Strauss was caught behind. Chanderpaul in the previous test was not out. Boucher in the 1st test was not out.

These are not even half the decisions that a TV umpire has got wrong.

What is going on here?

When I started batting I used to hold my bat high trying to emulate Amir Sohail. The only thing was that my bat used to be facing somewhere around 3rd slip, which my coach corrected so that it points towards the wicket keeper.

Face down ofcourse.

Phil Hughes' bat not only points towards first slip, the face of his bat points towards the point-cover region.

No wonder his cut shot is so fierce.

His stance and the way he holds hit bat would embarass Ijaz Ahmed!

After the shit he played on the 4th ball of his test career, I thought he would have to work really hard to make it at test level.

Three innings later, with scores of 75, 115, and 136*, he has out done the likes of Sir Don Bradman and George Headley.

In a matter of a few innings, Hughes has ensured that Australia don't even think about a certain Matthew Hayden.

Moreover, all his knocks have come in pressure situations and have been match winning ones. Not meaningless scores notched up in high scoring draws.

Hughes has been the batting mainstay for Australia in this series, which has allowed Johnson, Hilfenhaus, and Siddle to attack the South Africans.

All this at 20!

After that 4th ball, I did not think he would make it. He has and how!

If he manages to avoid the axe, something Ponting and Clarke could not early in their careers, then Hughes has a good decade and half of a career opening the innings for Australia.

His start against the best pace attack in the world indicates that bowlers around the world are in for some tough times ahead.

With the way Hughes bats, it seems the bowlers always have a chance against him.

But somehow he survives. I don't know how he's done it but he has.

Australia have unearthed one hell of a batsman!

His attacking strokeplay suggests that he could be great for ODIs as well.

Imagine a top order consisting of Hughes, Marsh, and Warner.

Those 3 can serve Australia for a good ten plus years.

Doesn't look like Australia's time is up. They're going to retain their number 1 ranking in tests, and in the ODIs too, and it looks like they'll remain there for some time to come.

The terrorist attack on the Sri Lankans in Lahore has shaken up the cricketing world.

Abu Dhabi - Finally!

That was my immediate reaction when my flight from Islamabad landed here this evening.

I was in Pakistan - in Islamabad and Lahore - for the last 12 days for my brother's wedding ceremony.

Amidst all the chaos - the disqualification of the Punjab Government, the riots, the strikes, and the attack on Sri Lanka - we managed to hold a wedding and several functions, dinners, and lunches, without incident.

The entire experience in Pakistan (besides the wedding) left me shocked, appalled, disappointed, and greatly saddened.

My reaction is relatively late in coming for two reasons mainly - firstly, the wedding kept me very busy, and secondly, I needed time to think considering that I had so vehemently defended Pakistan as a cricket host on this blog, as well as on every other blog, that I did not want to sound like Dominic Cork.

My recent discussion with RGB on Well Pitched was the last of my countless arguements in defence of Pakistan as a cricket host.

I first thought about that discussion when I received an early morning phone call from a friend in Dubai, who woke me up to inform me about the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus.

How could cricketers be attacked in Pakistan?

Who could do such a thing?

Why would anyone attack Sri Lankan cricketers?

A thousand questions went through my head, and I felt like such a fool having stated on numerous occassions that cricketers have never been and will never be terrorist targets in Pakistan.

How wrong was I.

More than that, how wrong was the PCB.

How wrong was the Pakistan Government.

Today we are thanking God that India refused to tour Pakistan. Had it been them instead of Sri Lanka, we would have been going through a 4th war with them.

However, I believe that had it been India, then the Presidential level security, that was promised by the PCB and the Pakistan Government, would have been provided; and the attackers would not have even come close to where they were on that Tuesday morning.

The popular opinion at present is that no one was expecting the Sri Lankans to be attacked, which is why the security that was promised was not provided.

That leaves the PCB and the Pakistan Government with no credibility at all. Not that they had much to begin with but such blatant failure to keep their word is criminal.

I am surprised that no action has been taken against the PCB till now.

Its clear to everyone that 2 pick up trucks, with a dozen policemen serving the Punjab police, carrying 40 year old rifles, is not Presidential Level Security.

I feel for the policemen who lost their lives in the line of duty. Moreso because they were not supposed to be there to begin with.

Presidential level security constitutes of commandos, elite forces, members of the armed forces; all armed with the latest ammunition and guarded with bullet proof vests.

The policemen had nothing.

So then why isn't anyone taking the PCB to task for not keeping their word?

An investigation is being conducted, some attackers have even been identified, but what about someone telling the PCB that they failed.

They failed big time!

On top of that Ijaz Butt and Javed Miandad have the audacity to call Broad a liar and demand for a ban on him.

This is beyond appalling.

Its high time these people stand up and take responsibility for their failures and apologize to not only Sri Lanka, but also to the ICC and the rest of the cricketing world, including the fans, who have been deprived of cricket in Pakistan for many many years to come.

Obaid talked of hope, while Sledge demanded PCB do the right thing.

Lets hope they do!

Hope that Pakistan returns to normalcy, for its too beautiful a country to be destroyed by some bearded fanatics. Hope that cricket comes back to Pakistan, for its too talented a cricket nation to be deprived of competition at home.

Hope that the PCB, for the first time, accepts the responsibility for its actions, or rather the lack of.

I just wanted to wish our very own Q a happy birthday from all of us! I hope you have a fun day partying :)

And cricket must be its beacon...

I think the title says it all. Today's disgusting and shameful attacks have sealed the deal. There is no reason for any foreign team to tour Pakistan.

My thoughts and prayers are with the injured Sri Lankans. Reports seem to indicate that the injuries sustained were thankfully not from the bullets, but from debris. I hope this is true. Pakistan is highly indebted to the the Sri Lankan for continuing to tour Pakistan when other teams have pulled out. It is saddening that the gifts they receive are empty crowds, dead pitches, and a terrorist attack.

And let's not forget the security entourage that is responsible for protecting the teams. It seems like they did their job. May their families find the patience and fortitude to deal with their irreplaceable losses.

Going forward, Pakistan has only one choice - adopt Dubai/Abu Dhabi as "home" grounds. The pitiful crowds at recent matches in Pakistan have shown that the home crowds are not all that thirsty for international cricket.

And as for 2011, Pakistan should do the right thing and pull out as a host. The earlier, the better.

I guess I was too early in calling "how times change". It took a couple of days for an Aussie debutant to get a ton; and for the Aussie debutant opener to become the top scorer among the 3 openers that made their debuts during the week.

I have not been this delighted at an Australian victory since they beat the West Indies in 1992 to ensure Pakistan a semi-final spot at the world cup.

On the 1st day of this test, I tried explaining my support for Australia, whom I have not supported during their 15 year reign of invincibility, by arguing the case of the underdog and talking of my dislike for South Africa.

After their victory, I have more reasons.

There is no arrogant 6 foot plus bully at the top of the order trying to intimidate and decimate a bowling attack. Instead there is a 5 and half feet determined, innocent looking kid trying to make a mark in international cricket.

There is no pigeon legged pacer irritating the crap out of me by sticking to one line and length and dismissing batsman after batsman. Instead there is a sturdy looking swing bowler who moves it both ways and bowls with a smile that was rarely visible on the pigeon.

There is no drunkard brawler who was more of a slogger than a test batsman and annoyed me by scoring runs so easily. Instead there is a correct batsman who works hard for his runs.

There is no wannabe rockstar who bowled beamers and smiled for the cameras and started the lawn mower after every wicket. Instead there is a young pacer who hops like a one legged kangaroo and looks better while batting than the former.

There is no spinner who turns it a mile, or one that had a larger than life image, or one that bowled with his tongue out that made me feel like pulling it out and chopping it off. Instead there is a medium pacer, who does not even have a permanent test spot.

There is no pigeon wannabe who bowls the same nagging length and looks more like an office clerk than a test cricketer. Instead there is real hard working test bowler who shows a lot of passion in his effort on the field.

There is no wicketkeeper who used to change the course of tests in the matter of a session and pretty much changed the role of the keeper in todays times. Instead there is someone trying to make his own presence felt, both in front and behind (no pun intended) the stumps.

Matthew Hayden, Glenn Mcgrath, Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Stuart McGill, Stuart Clark, and Adam Gilchrist won many tests for Australia during their decade and a half of dominance.

They intimidated the opposition, completely dominated the matches, and made winning so easy that it made it impossible for me to support them.

Great cricketers they were no doubt, but for them it didn't seem like hard work.

For them it was more like winning was their job.

They rarely failed, which is why I wanted them to.

Phil Hughes, Ben Hilfenhaus, Marcus North, Mitchell Johnson, Andrew McDonald, Peter Siddle, and Brad Haddin are no where near the stature of the players they have replaced.

Not yet anyway.

Nor do they seem to be as naturally gifted as their predecessors.

Which is why supporting them is all the more easier.

While the former group seemed to win it all without breaking a sweat, the latter one worked hard for their win at the Wanderers.

Hughes, Hilfenhaus, and North were playing their 1st test. McDonald his 2nd. Siddle his 5th. Johnson and Haddin their 20th or thereabouts.

For the first time in probably 2 decades have I seen an Australian side this inexperienced, for whom winning was not as easy as it has been for Australia over the years.

More than that, these players are still trying to make a permanent place for themselves in the line up.

It felt good to see the Australians work so hard for their runs and wickets.

It felt good to see the Australians pushed and intimidated.

And it felt good to see them come out of that on top.

It always feels good to see new cricketers, trying to establish themselves at the international level, ending on the winning side against a top team.

Despite the ugly face of Ponting still lingering around the team, I like the look of the new Australia.

Somehow, I hope they remain the new Australia and not turn into the old invincible Australia.

Elsewhere, NC has said something similar.