Shoaib Malik led the Stallions to their 2nd win in as many matches as they beat the NWFP Panthers by 17 runs in a low scoring affair on the 3rd day of the RBS One-Day Pentangular Cup.


Two in two for the Pakistan captain - wins and allround performances.

For a change Pakistan have decided on the playing XI ahead of their match against Sri Lanka later today. Not only that but they have also made it public.

Fawad Alam has been dropped and leg spinner Mansoor Amjad comes in place of him, while Wahab Riaz replaces the injured Umar Gul.

Is it a good idea to play a 2nd leg spinner? With the so many left handers in Sri Lanka's batting line up, wouldn't an off spinner (Saeed Ajmal) have been a better option?

The Hong Kong cricketers were annoyed at the PCB officials at the National Stadium in Karachi when they came to the ground "un-invited" to watch the Pakistan vs India match.

Shouldn't the PCB be looking to be as hospitable as possible given the apprehension of foreign teams to tour he country?

Sanath Jayasuriya began the Asia Cup with a thumping 47 ball 72 against Bangladesh. He rested against the UAE but will play against Pakistan today. He turns 39 tomorrow and says he has no plans of retiring.

How long can he go on for?

Suresh Raina scored his 2nd ODI hundred 3 days after his 1st century.

Is he finally showing what he promised a couple of years ago or is it just the weak opposition?

MS Dhoni has complained about the back to back games that India has played. They played Hong Kong and Pakistan on consecutive days and then after a days break, they played Bangladesh. Complain justified definitely.

But why aren't the hosts, Pakistan, playing any back to back games?

I have never seen a score of 300 chased so easily in ODIs. Never!

Pakistan's weakest bowling attack ever? Or the weakest bowling attack in international cricket?

Pakistan and India have stated that they are going to support Zimbabwe on the issues it is facing in world cricket. Nianjan Shah said “We are very clear that we would like to fully support Zimbabwe..."

Didn't India cancel / postpone a tour to Zimbabwe earlier this year to accomodate the IPL?

The PCB is looking to get the result of the 2006 Oval Test changed to a "Draw", when the ICC big-wigs meet for some moot in Dubai from today.

What difference does it make? Aren't there more serious issues on the table? Like maybe Australia, New Zealand, and England touring the country?

Shoaib Malik told the journalists that the selectors give him the final XI, so any question regarding the make up of the team should be directed at he selectors.

As captain, doesn't Malik agree with the XI he's given? Doesn't he know why a Rao Iftikhar plays ahead of a Wahab or a Sohail Khan? Doesn't he know why he's opening and not Nasir?

Nasim Ashraf was surprised that a "sensible cricketer" like Majid Khan called for his ouster as the PCB Chairman.

Dr. Sahab, with all due respect, only a "sensible cricketer" can make such a statement.

Cricinfo is reporting that Saeed Ajmal will probably make his debut today.

Didn't they get the news of Pakistan announcing their playing XI?

Pakistan were the last of the 6 teams participating in the Asia Cup to announce their 15-man squad.

They did so a few days back after a 3-day training camp involving the 20 probables the selectors had announced last week.

Considering that Pakistan were coming off a victorious tri-series in Bangladesh that also involved India, it would have been common sense had Pakistan chosen their 15 from the 16 that travelled to Dhaka.

That may have been the case had it not been for an email sent by Dr. Nasim Ashraf to the team management following Pakistan's heaviest defeat to India in ODI history.

I even responded to that email by DNA, while the PCB selectors / team management decided to respon by fulfilling DNA's demands for a 2nd spinner and a new wicketkeeper.

Those demands resulted in the inclusion of two spinners - Saeed Ajmal and Mansoor Amjad, and a new wicketkeeper in Sarfraz Ahmed.

The victims of these selections were Naumanullah, Bazid Khan, and Kamran Akmal. While Sohail Khan didn't make the 15 due to malaria.

What worries me here is the inconsistency shown by the selectors and the hook they have around their necks which is tied to a rod held by DNA himself.

Firstly the selectors dropped 2 batsmen in Naumanullah and Bazid Khan and secondly they replaced them with 2 uncapped spinners - an offie Saeed Ajmal and a Leggie Mansoor Ahmad.

Remember when I said this about Naumanullah. And this about Mansoor Ajmad.

Mansoor Amjad is a talented cricketer but with Afridi in the team it would defy logic to include another leg spinner in the XI.

Saeed Ajmal, as Shoaib Malik pointed out, was chosen based on his good performance in domestic cricket and with the view that Pakistan needed a bowler to support Afridi in the middle overs.

I'm not too sure how good an idea it is to put an uncapped spinner at the deep end at home against the likes of India and Sri Lanka.

Actually I am quite sure. Bad idea.

Sure Saeed Ajmal has a good List A record - 91 matches, 130 wickets at an ave of 26.64. He also had a decent domestic season with 12 wickets in 9 one day matches at 25.58.

He had a better first class season, though that doesn't matter as this is an ODI competition.

So did Saeed Ajmal deserve the selector's nod?

Considering that there were spinners who did better than him on the domestic circuit, probably not.

Abdur Rehman, who has played ODIs and a few tests for Pakistan over the last 2 years, was the 3rd highest wicket taker in List A games this season - 25 wickets in 14 matches at 24.20.

Mohammad Aslam, Peshawar and Habib Bank's left arm spinner, picked up 17 wickets in 10 matches at 19.17.

Raheel Majeed, the leg spinner from Islamabad, picked up 12 wickets in only 5 matches at 17.41.

Nauman Alvi, PIA and Karachi's left arm spinner, picked up 12 wickets in only 6 matches at 20.25.

So then what led to Saeed Ajmal's inclusion over these players?

It wasn't his age, because at 30, he is the eldest of the lot mentioned above.

It wasn't his economy rate, because at 4.75, he is at par, with the lot mentioned above.

To be honest, I am baffled.

But as always, if he plays, I hope he proves me wrong and shows me that his selection was a mastermind and that he deserves to be there.

Kamran Akmal had been under pressure for quite some time and the selectors waited for the Chairman himself to run out of pateince before they dropped him.

U19 World Cup winning captain Sarfraz Ahmed will get his first full series. He is a better keeper than Akmal though doesn't bring the same depth in batting.

Akmal's exclusion also adds to Pakistan's opening problems as he had been doing the job along with Salman Butt, and his presence at the top allowed Malik and Lawson to field a 6th bowler.

With Akmal out, Pakistan will either have to go with Nasir Jamshed, the only specialist opener in the squad, or a make-shift option that allows that extra bowler in the XI.

Going with Nasir will be risky as banking on Malik to bowl his full quota of 10 overs will be disastrous. Thus a make-shift option will most probably be deployed.

There have been reports that have mentioned that Malik will open the batting himself, while others have also mentioned Afridi.

The latter is a strict no-no. Pakistan has tinkered with Afridi up the order way too much in the past and it almost resulted in finishing his career. Afridi is a bowler, and its high time he is treated as one.

Malik is Pakistan's best option. Not only has he done well at that position in the past, but it also provides him with the opportunity to lead from the front, something he is yet to do.

All of Malik's ODI centuries have come while opening or batting at number 3. Why he was pushed down the order is still a mystery.

I would still drop Younis Khan, open with Nasir, and bat Malik at 3, but Younis' 100 in the final of the Kitply Cup has given him another year's lease of life at the least.

Pakistan kicks off their Asia Cup campaign against Hong Kong today in Karachi. Their bigger test will be against India on Thurday.

Pakistan's likely XI: 1. Shoaib Malik, 2. Salman Butt, 3. Younis Khan, 4. Mohammad Yousuf, 5. Misbah Ul Haq, 6. Shahid Afridi, 7. Fawad Alam / Saeed Ajmal, 8. Sohail Tanvir, 9. Sarfraz Ahmed, 10. Umar Gul, 11. Rao Iftikhar.

He became the first bowler in history to pick up 3 wickets in his 1st over in international cricket and yet this fact went completely unnoticed at the end of Bangladesh's innings on Sunday.