What a time for Jeff Thomson to say something like that.

Well he's a shit captain alright.

But do you really want to say that days away from an Ashes campaign?

Shouldn't Thomson and the rest of the Aussies be trying to give their captain some confidence?

Many also laughed at Malik thinking that he did not understand a psychologist's job.

Now that Maqbool Babri, the renowned psychologist, has come out in the open, we find that Malik was in fact right about the hypnotism.

The psychologist, popularly known as Max Babri, recently spoke to The News. You can read the full interview here; following are some of the more interesting excerpts.

Doctors working on a success fee only basis. I like the concept!

So it is true. They were hypnotized!

And a trance? isn't that some kind of dance? How does this work anyway?

I wonder if the team played the entire World T20 in a trance.

Isn't that true for all of us Pakistanis?

Trance, rock and roll, those must have been some really interesting psychology sessions.

How wonderful! Which aspect brings out the best in him as a cricketer?

And he explains the therapeutic hypnotism he used on the players.

I don't know if all this actually worked and played a part in Pakistan's victorious World T20 campaign, but it surely impressed some of the cricketers. Such as Shoaib Malik.

Now for Max Babri to get his double pay check from the PCB!

He's the youngest of 3 cricket playing brothers; however, unlike the elder two, Kamran and Adnan, he is not a wicketkeeper.

He is a batsman and he can definitely bat.

Umar Akmal made his first-class debut in 2007 and made headlines in his first domestic season when he ended the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as the 3rd highest run scorer.

He amassed 855 runs in 14 innings, but what caught everyone's eye was the manner in which those runs came - at a strike rate of over 90!

He first made waves when he followed up some well made half centuries with a whirlwind knock of 248 against Karachi Blues in the latter half of the first-class competition in 2007.

Umar ended his campaign that season with another belligerent knock of 186, also at better than a run-a-ball.

He had a below par U-19 World Cup for Pakistan last year but he was back to his best when Pakistan's domestic season started in 2008.

The reason why I am briefing you all on him is that Umar Akmal scored his 4th first-class century last night against Australia A in the 1st test that ended in a draw.

Many in Pakistan have predicted big things for Umar, claiming that he is the best batsman among the 3 brothers.

His first-class record suggests the same, but whether he will be able to take the next step into international cricket or not depends on how he continues his good run.

Umar's stint with Pakistan A down under will definitely do him good and help him further prove his credentials.

Many claim that his big runs in Pakistan's domestic circuit have come against below average bowling.

Well last night he notched up an unbeaten 100 against a more than decent attack including Doug Bollinger, Jason Krejza, and Clint McKay.

One for the future I reckon.

See it all yourself to believe it.

Pakistan A is on a tour to Australia for 2 tests, 3 ODIs, and a T20 game.

Did you know that?

The 1st 4-day test match started 3 days ago and is set for an interesting final day tomorrow with a potential declaration and a rivetting chase on the cards.

Sounds more interesting than the ODIs going on between India and the West Indies.

It will sound even more interesting when I tell you who top scored for Australia A in their 1st innings score of 399.

Jason Krejza!

Not only top scored, he scored a century - 101 of 160 deliveries with 4 sixes and 7 fours!

His first ever first class century.

His highest score in all forms of cricket before this was 65.

What were the Pakistanis doing letting a discarded Australian offie get to 101?

They had them down at 211-6 before Krejza joined Henriques (76) for a 7th wicket partnership of 120.

Wahab Riaz, who played a few ODIs for Pakistan last year, picked up a 5 wicket haul for the 'A' Pakistanis.

They then responded with 338 in their 1st innings with opener Azhar Ali top scoring with 78.

Azhar Ali has been one of the leading run scorers of the last two domestic seasons in Pakistan and has been on the fringes of Pakistan's senior squad for a year now.

A good showing in Australia will do his case a lot of good.

Azhar got good support from Umar Akmal (54), Kamran's younger brother, Fahad Iqbal (42), Faisal's younger brother, and Sarfraz Ahmed (56), Pakistan's backup wicketkeeper.

Fast bowler Clint McKay picked up 6 wickets.

I don't know much about him, but he's Victorian; I'm sure Jrod will have more information on him for us.

Australia A are on 128-6 in their 2nd innings and tomorrow is the final day - here's the scorecard.

Hanif Mohammad scored 499 for Karachi against Bahawalpur in 1958; Brian Lara went past that record by scoring his unbeaten 501 for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994.

Lara's record still stands and probably will for decades to come.

Hanif Mohammad also holds the record for the highest score by a Pakistan batsman in test cricket - 337 vs West Indies also scored in 1958.

Coincidentally, Lara also scored his 375 and 501* in the same calendar year.

The Pakistanis have landed in Colombo, where they play a 3-day game against a Sri Lankan XI from tomorrow, before they head to Galle for the 1st test next week.

The series that was left incomplete by some twisted men in Lahore, will now continue in the island over the next month.

After the IPL and the World T20, I am finally ready to end my affair with T20 cricket and shift all my focus and attention to the purest and longest version of the game.

Here I start by focusing on the potential threat, or rather the lack of, that Ajantha Mendis poses for Pakistan in the 3-test series.

The Ajantha Mendis threat doesn't really exist for Pakistan.

Well prepared, planned, worked-out, thought-out or not; Pakistan has surely figured out how to cope against Mendis' variations.

Moreso than any other team anyway.

The numbers are there for everyone to see and they tell the entire story.

Definitely the Pakistanis are doing something right, something that other teams are not; there is no doubt that they have played Mendis better than their contemporaries.

But how?

Some say they treat him like a medium pacer, others say they pick him of the hand; what it is exactly that the Pakistanis are doing right, I have no idea!

It doesn't matter really.

As long as they continue doing it right, Mendis will not be a threat to Pakistan - not in tests, not in ODIs, not in the T20I.

Hence, as I said. The Ajantha Mendis threat; it doesn't exist for Pakistan.

So how many of you actually saw the innings?

Pakistan's much delayed test series against Australia will finally be played in England during the 2010 summer.

I am not too sure whether the World T20 victory and the support Pakistan had during the tournament played a trigger in making this official or not; however, it doesn't really make a difference what the trigger was.

I am just pleased that this decision has been reached.

I'm sure the rest of the Pakistan fans are too.

Competitive test cricket finally, against Australia finally, and in a place where Pakistan will surely have a lot of support.

It's 2 tests and 2 twenty20 games against Australia.

But that's not all.

Pakistan was already scheduled to tour England next summer for 4 tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is against the hosts.

That series will now follow the one against Australia.

Next summer, Pakistan will truly make England their home.

6 tests, 5 ODIs, 4 T20Is.

And the best part about this is that I will be in England to witness it all.

Afridi, "maddest of all mad maxes, flamboyant allrounder, well-sung hero", and so on.

Its interesting to note what the speaker has to say about Shoaib Malik. He says that Malik's full support to the captain that replaced him is thought of as a change in the camp's culture.

Duly implying that no former captains have supported their successors.

Remember that there was significant doubt whether Malik was doing that once Abdul Qadir made his un-needed public statement after his resignation.

Watch it for yourself for the rest.

The nation is celebrating, the PM is happy, the President is happy, and the players are richer.

All of them and their efforts have been praised by everyone who witnessed Pakistan's performance in the World Twenty20.

Pakistani fans, cricket experts, column writers, and everyone who care to share their thoughts have continuously raved about the above-mentioned stars of Pakistan's successful T20 campaign.

One man whose efforts have gone almost un-noticed and who has not got his fair share of credit for Pakistan's victory, is Abdul Razzaq.

The entire Pakistan was elated when Razzaq was called in as a replacement for Yasir Arafat. And for good reason.

Over the last 2 years, we had all seen Razzaq conquer the ICL with bat and ball; we had also witnessed his destructive form in the RBS 20-20 Cup.

Pakistan had hardly made the ideal start to the cup and Razzaq's addition to the squad was exactly the kind of impetus the team was looking for.

Younis handing him the new ball was a masterstroke. I didn't expect it; I even questioned it, but it worked wonders for Pakistan.

Razzaq's level headed performance in the first 6 overs did not allow any team to get off to a flying start against Pakistan.

This is apparent in the table I put up recently showing Pakistan's disciplinary turnaround.

Razzaq brought all his experience to the field and bowled with skill and precision to tie the opposition down.

Yasir and Tanvir has been wayward and expensive in Pakistan's first few matches, which had resulted in Umar Gul bowling an over or two at the beginning.

Razzaq's effort allowed Younis Khan to keep Gul for the latter stages of the innings, which was essential to Pakistan's plans.

Razzaq not only gave Pakistan good starts with the ball, he also enabled the perfect endings with the ball through Gul.

To top this all, Razzaq ended the tournament with the 3 wicket burst in the final.

People have talked about Pakistan's victory being one of the best turnaround stories in sport.

What about Razzaq's turnaround - the man who quit international cricket because he was left out of the World T20 squad in 2007 returned to the squad for the same tournament in 2009 and helped Pakistan win it.

Now that is what I call turning it around!

Pakistan may not have done it without Afridi, but they surely would not have done it without Razzaq.

I am not too sure.

Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, and Ben Hilfenhaus did a top job in South Africa earlier this year.

Lee is coming back from injury as is Stuart Clark. Before they went away, they were the leaders of the attack, with Johnson their aide.

Since then Johnson has surely risen through the ranks and is now undoubtedly Australia's best fast bowler.

So when Lee returns, does he automatically get his place as the leader of the attack back?

His form has hardly been the kind to suggest that.

He suffered in the World T20. He didn't exactly set the IPL on fire. Nor was he a threat to Pakistan in the one-off T20 in Dubai.

So then, is Lee a sure shot for the XI that Australia will field when the Ashes kick off?

The Aussies are playing Sussex right now. As I write, the figures of the pacers are as follows.

Lee 5-0-22-0

Hilfenhaus 5-2-10-1

Siddle 6-0-18-2

Clark 6-3-10-0

Early days yet, but based on this which one will you leave out?

Pakistani cricket has raw talent coming out of its ears but what it hasn’t always had is the ability to harness that talent, consistency, and a plan. I don’t need to go into the details of these points (unless someone specifically wants me to) because I think they well known and documented. Pakistan noticeably exhibited this short-coming in 1999 and continued to do so increasingly as the veterans retired and were replaced by young “raw” talent.

I also felt that under the leadership of Inzamam, the team did not really become as athletically inclined as it did religiously inclined. Coming back to Afridi again – the man scored well IF he ever scored… and his bowling was quite wayward. He was seen encouraging other players on the field but that always seemed very hollow to me. Also feel that moral support should not be the primary reason to keep a player in the team.

I understand that T20 is not the same as One Day Internationals or Tests but for the first time, I feel Afridi exhibited forbearance. This happened throughout the 2009 T20 World Cup. He wasn’t the highest scorer or the highest wicket taker but he was a match winner on more than one occasion. But it goes beyond match winning - as far as I’m concerned, it needs to be consistent match winning. Like the days of Sachin Tendulkar’s opening stance. If Sachin opened well for India, they usually went on to win the game- and he opened well quite often!

So what was it that a Cricket nobody like me found so interesting? The first was that Afridi’s forbearance (batting) and ingenuity (bowling) came increasing into light as the tournament progressed. I saw a plan and I saw craft. He could have lived up to his title as early as the 15th over in the final match but he didn’t. He didn’t even attempt to hit it out of the park in the manner that he normally does.

One can easily extrapolate this for the entire team. With the exception of Shahzaib Hasan (who in my opinion is a poor substitute for Salman Butt), the team came out with a plan from the first ball Mohammed Amir bowled that day. Furthermore, one could have almost expected this plan because the South Africa game seemed well thought out too (but not quite as well as the S.L. game).

Shahid Afridi is turning into a thinking Cricketer. A team player who understands that even moderation has a place in the fast pace T20 framework (I won't go into details of the match; Ithink his performance is well etched in most people's minds). Just as important is the fact that he belongs to a team that knows when to bowl short versus full length (with a slight divergence by Gul in the last few overs). More importantly for him, he is fast becoming a player with a good temperament, potentially mature head on his shoulders and a repertoire in both the bowling and batting departments that could see him through to become one of the best all-rounders in his generation.

Wasim Akram's unbeaten 257 against Zimbabwe in 1996 broke Saleem Malik's record of 237 against Australia, and stood as the record for over 12 years before Younis Khan went past it against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

Afridi has been approached by NSW to play for their T20 team, and possibly their Sheffield Shield team as well, next season.

After Younis Khan (South Australia), Umar Gul (Western Australia), and Sohail Tanvir (South Australia), Afridi will become the 4th Pakistani player in 2 years to represent an Australian domestic side if the deal goes through.

That is good news for the allrounder, who is probably still on a high after leading Pakistan to the World T20 title.

What's next?

A higher valued IPL contract?

Possibly.

The Deccan Chargers would be kicking their behinds for canceling his contract earlier this year. If he was still on their roster, he could have represented them at the Champions League.

Irrespective, the Chargers won, Afridi won, Pakistan won, so alls well that ends well!

Here are my thoughts on the squad.

I'm always pleased when the PCB and its selectors display some common sense.

Salman Butt's woeful form in 20-20 cricket was no reason to keep him out of Pakistan's test plans. There's no doubt that he is Pakistan's first choice opener for tests and ODIs, and I'm glad the selectors think the same way.

Khurram Manzoor was there when Pakistan last played a test match; his good performance then has kept him in the line up. The selectors again deserve praise for continuing with him.

Ahmed Shehzad / Nasir Jamshed / Shahzaib Hasan should return for the ODIs and T20I, but for the tests Khurram is definitely the better bet.

On paper, that looks like an extremely impressive middle order.

I'm not at all pleased to see Yousuf back in the squad, however I do realize the importance of his presence in Pakistan's middle order, particularly for test matches.

He, along with Younis and Misbah are no doubt Pakistan's best bats at the moment, and they will occupy the three primary middle order positions.

Malik, Faisal, and Fawad will vie for the number 6 spot, unless the think-tank decides to go with Razzaq in order to play two spinners (will get to that in a bit).

Younis would probably want Malik in the XI, however I would like to see Faisal in there. He has been a part of Pakistan's test plans for a long time now and has always performed whenever given the chance.

Obviously there was no other choice.

That for me is a bit thin, but I believe Pakistan is going to Sri Lanka with the plan to attack through spin.

Aamer comes into the test fold after displaying his talent on a world stage in T20 cricket.

He will definitely make his test debut in Sri Lanka, which will cap a stunning season for the 17 year old left armer.

2008-09 was Aamer's first full domestic season, during which he impressed everyone with 56 wickets in 10 first-class matches.

I believe he is our future and will surely play for Pakistan for many many years to come; provided that he is kept away from the shadows of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

Abdur Rauf has been rewarded for a successful domestic season, which he finished as one of the leading wicket takers.

Rauf has been around the domestic scene in Pakistan for a decade now and has a very impressive record with 447 wickets in 96 first-class matches. He has played a few ODIs for Pakistan but is yet to make his test debut.

He's got pace and swing, and he's one of the better pacers going around in Pakistan; I don't really mind seeing him play test cricket.

Abdul Razzaq is one selection that bemuses me though. I have never regarded him as a test player - his bowling is not effective for tests, while his batting alone is not enough to get him into a test XI.

No doubt he had an awesome return to international cricket at the World T20, but that should not have resulted in his recall to the test side.

Instead of him, I would have preferred a genuine pacer like Sohail Khan or Mohammad Talha.

Razzaq'a selection, however, is what implies Pakistan's spin plans (getting to that).

How I would have loved to see Shahid Afridi in there!

The PCB have said that Afridi requested for a 15-day break; had he not would he have been in the test squad?

I sure hope so.

The way he has been bowling of late, and for the last 2-3 years, there is no doubt in my mind that Afridi can be Pakistan's strike bowler in test matches as well.

He will definitely do a better job than Kaneria.

Kaneria returns, and I'm highly indifferent to that, just like his bowling.

Ajmal has thus far impressed in ODIs and T20Is; he now gets a chance to showcase his talent at the test level. He too will probably do a better job than Kaneria.

My XI: Salman, Khurram, Younis, Yousuf, Misbah, Faisal, Akmal, Rauf, Gul, Aamer, Ajmal.

I don't think Younis will go in with that. The selection of the squad indicates that it is very likely that Pakistan will attack with both Ajmal and Kaneria.

With that in mind, Pakistan will probably look to bring in Razzaq at 6 to have the option of a 3rd seamer.

Younis Khan's XI: Salman, Khurram, Younis, Yousuf, Misbah, Razzaq, Akmal, Gul, Kaneria, Aamer, Ajmal.

The team leaves for Sri Lanka next week and play their first tour game on 29th June, followed by the 1st test starting on 4th July.

Out of all, I did the best in Sportsfreak's tipping competition.

Check the results out.

Congratulations to 12th Man who came first.

Well Pitched was 2nd.

The World Twenty20 is over but the euphoria refuses to die down; particularly for the Pakistan fans.

A number of people are wondering why the next World T20 was been scheduled only 10 months after the one that just concluded.

I have the answer. It wasn't scheduled that way.

The ICC Champions Trophy, which is held every 2 years, was scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September 2008, and the West Indies in April 2010.

The 2008 Champions Trophy was cancelled and shifted to South Africa, due to security concerns; it is now being played in September 2009.

Since it did not make sense to have another Champions Trophy in the West Indies within 6 months, that tournament was revised and scheduled as a World Twenty20.

Hence, the ICC World Twenty20 2010.

Makes sense? Did to me.

Moreover, all of us would like to see another World T20 in April next year rather than a Champions Trophy, right?

Yeah, I thought so.

If the ICC use the same seeding format that they did during the 2009 World T20, then the 2010 tournament, will see the following groups (seeding in brackets):

Group A: Pakistan (1), Qualifier 1 (8), Qualifier 2 (9)

Group B: Sri Lanka (2), India (7), Bangladesh (10)

Group C: South Africa (3), England (6), Australia (11)

Group D: West Indies (4), New Zealand (5), Zimbabwe / Qualifier 3 (12)

Yes Australia finished 11th, even below Bangladesh; hence they find themselves in another group of death.

Ireland and Netherlands finished 8th and 9th respectively. The World T20 qualifiers will take place later this year and the top 2 teams will take their place in the April tournament.

I'm not sure what Zimbabwe's situation is, but I don't think they will be stopped from playing in the West Indies. If they are the 3rd qualifier will make it, otherwise it will be Zimbabwe.

Following that, if the Super 8s are also based on the same seeding format, then we will see the following Groups:

Group E: Pakistan, India, South Africa, New Zealand.

Group F: Qualifier 1, Sri Lanka, England, West Indies.

Ofcourse if Australia qualify they replace who they qualify instead of. Same for Bangladesh and any other team that may surprise us in 2010.

Looking forward to it already?

More importantly, if this happens in April, what happens to the IPL?

Younis Khan had announced before the World Twenty20 that he would retire from T20 cricket after the tournament.

I thought that he would not have retired considering his performance in the World T20, but he stuck to his plans.

Younis was never considered a 20-20 batsman. He had a lot of critics who felt he was not suited to this format.

Pakistan's chief selector had even announced publicly that he would not have had Younis in Pakistan's T20 team if he had had his way.

Younis dished all that criticism out the window by scoring 172 runs at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 140 in the World T20.

He was Pakistan's leading run scorer, before Afridi and Akmal over took him in the final, and he ended the competition among the top 10 leading run scorers.

Shahid Afridi has got to be the leading candidate to take over the captaincy of Pakistan's T20 team, and if the PCB are not thinking along the same lines, then someone needs to punch some serious sense into them, and quickly!

Ecstatic should be the appropriate word, though what I'm going through right now cannot be described in words.

I don't want to say I told you so but right now I feel like I should - I called Pakistan the favorites and it wasn't an emotionally optimistic call; it was one I made purely based on history.

Sri Lanka got a spanking. 8 wickets IS a spanking.

Pakistan's doubters got a spanking.

And we got a World Cup victory!

Sri Lanka were so occupied thinking about how to play the Pakistan spinners that they lost half their team to the Pakistan pacers.

Mohammad Aamer was outstanding, as was Abdul Razzaq.

Umar Gul did not finish well but his first couple of overs at back of a length worked to perfection.

And Sri Lanka couldn't have finished their innings without giving Afridi a wicket. We had to see the Afridi salute!

Dilshan, well what do I say; he should have read my letter.

He did top the World Twenty20 with the player of the tournament award, but in my books, for me the man of the moment, the man of the final, the man of competition was none other than Shahid Afridi!

For all the abuses and curses he's got over the last two years, he turned them around in two absolutely fantastic, and match winning knocks, in the semi final and the final.

He was always going to do well with the ball; what he produced with the bat in the last two games is what mesmerized the Pakistani fans.

The 1992 image of Imran Khan with his arms raised is what has been etched into the memories of all Pakistani fans.

After today the image of Afridi hitting the winning runs, taking his helmet off, and raising his arms in glory is what will remain with Pakistani fans forever.

Call it irony or call it karma, it was Shoaib Malik out there in the middle with Afridi taking Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title!

Both did it together.

I have a lot more to say, and I will, but right now I am way too emotional to continue writing.

I am going to celebrate and so should you.

Pakistan are the World Twenty20 Champions!