Amir aims for win of a lifetime against England

Agencies
May 31, 2018

London, May 31: Mohammad Amir has had some of the greatest and undoubtedly the worst days of his career in England -- sometimes during the very same match.

But fresh from helping bowl Pakistan to a crushing nine-wicket win over England in the first Test at Lord's, the left-arm paceman hopes he can enjoy the "best memory" with a series win in the second and final Test at Headingley, starting Friday.

Amir, who burst on the world scene as a teenager, got his name on the Lord's honours board with a six-wicket haul against England in 2010.

But in the same game at the 'home of cricket', Amir was caught up in a spot-fixing scandal which led to a jail sentence and a five-year ban.

That same season, Amir took three wickets for 20 runs in 11 overs at Headingley during a sensational bowling display as an Australia side featuring Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Steven Smith were dismissed for just 88 in the first innings of the second 'neutral' Test.

The match, which Pakistan eventually won by three wickets, saw Amir stake a claim to 'The Ball of the 21st Century' when an all-but-unplayable delivery that pitched on the middle-and-leg stump of Mitchell Johnson seamed away late to clip the top of the left-hander's off-stump.

Amir, who helped Essex win the English County Championship last season when he also starred in Pakistan's outstanding one-day Champions Trophy final victory over India at The Oval, has rarely hit those Headingley heights in Test cricket since his return to the international stage two years ago.

Amir, however, took five wickets -- including four for 36 in the second innings -- as Pakistan outclassed England in all areas to win inside four days at Lord's on Sunday.

"It's a big achievement winning in Test cricket in England against England," Amir said on Wednesday.

"If we win the series I think it will be the best memory of my life," the swing bowler added.

Pakistan will be forced into a change, with Fakhar Zaman set to replace Babar Azam after his fellow batsman suffered a broken arm facing all-rounder Ben Stokes at Lord's.

England have recalled opener Keaton Jennings in place of the dropped Mark Stoneman, who managed just 13 runs in total at Lord's.

"You will only get judged on the amount of runs you score," said Jennings, one of Alastair Cook's 12 opening partners in the six years since Andrew Strauss's retirement.

England made a late addition to their squad, with uncapped left-arm seamer Sam Curran called up on Wednesday after Stokes suffered a hamstring strain.

Regardless of Stokes's fitness, England may recall all-rounder Chris Woakes, if only to bolster their fallible batting, in place of fast bowler Mark Wood.

Despite their lamentable Lord's showing, James Anderson insisted England could bounce back by squaring the series at the Yorkshire home ground of captain Joe Root.

The team received a barrage of criticism after Lord's but Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, said: "The outside noise is always there, and it's a bit louder when you perform badly.

"We'll try to block out the noise -- from whoever is shouting out," he added, suggesting a "bit of a luck" may be all England need to improve on a run of six defeats in their last eight Tests.

If England are seeking inspiration, they could look to the Headingley example of the West Indies.

Last year, the tourists suffered a humiliating innings and 209-run defeat by England in the first Test at Edgbaston, only to enjoy a five-wicket victory in the second Test as Shai Hope became the first batsman to score hundreds in both innings of a first-class match at Headingley.

England, though, might settle for one century by any member of their faltering top order, let alone two, right now.

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News Network
May 5,2020

May 5: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar says he is interested in becoming India's bowling coach if there is an offer, asserting that he is capable of grooming "more aggressive, fast and talkative" pacers.

Akhtar expressed his willingness in an interview on social networking app 'Helo'.

Asked if he would like to be associated with the Indian bowling unit in future, he responded in the positive. India's current bowling is Bharat Arun.

"I will definitely. My job is to spread knowledge. What I have learned is knowledge and I will spread it," Akhtar said.

One of the fastest bowlers to have played the game, he added, "I will produce more aggressive, fast and more talkative bowlers than the current ones who will tell-off the batsmen in a way that you will enjoy a lot."

He said he has always wanted to share his knowledge among budding cricketers and that he is looking to produce more aggressive bowlers.

He also added that he would like to "coach" IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, for whom he has played in the cash-rich T20 league's inaugural edition.

The former pacer also spoke about his early interactions with Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar in the 1998 series.

"I had seen him but didn't know how big a name he was in India. In Chennai, I got to know that he was known as a god in India.

"Mind you, he is a very good friend of mine. In 1998, when I bowled as fast as I could, Indian public celebrated with me. I have a big fan following in India," Akhtar said.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

Hamilton, Feb 5: Ross Taylor and Tom Latham played knocks of 109 and 69, respectively, as New Zealand defeated India by four wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series here at the Seddon Park on Wednesday.

Chasing 348, New Zealand got off to a steady start as openers Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls put on 85 runs for the first wicket, however, India finally got the breakthrough in the 16th over as Shardul Thakur dismissed Guptill (32).

Tom Blundell and Nicholls then put on 24 runs for the second wicket, but their vigil came to an end in the 20th over as Kuldeep Yadav had Blundell (9) stumped at the hands of wicket-keeper KL Rahul, reducing Kiwis to 109/2.

Nicholls then retrieved the innings for the hosts as he found support in Ross Taylor. The duo mixed caution with aggression to stitch together a partnership of 62 runs. But with their back against the wall, skipper Kohli lifted the side up as he ran out Nicholls (78) in the 29th over, reducing New Zealand to 171/3.

Skipper Tom Latham, came out to bat next, and he increased the tempo of the Kiwi innings. He took a special liking to Kuldeep and kept on sweeping him to pick easy boundaries on the legside.

Taylor and Latham put on a stand of 138 runs to take Kiwis closer to victory. But with 39 runs away from the target, Kuldeep dismissed Latham (69) to revive India's hopes of making a comeback.

Mohammed Shami removed Jimmy Neesham (9) in the 46th over while Colin de Grandhomme (1) was sent packing via a run-out to send cat among the pigeons in the Kiwi camp. In the end, Mitchell Santner and Taylor took the hosts over the line by four wickets and with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul's knocks of 103 and 88, respectively, helped India post 347/4 in the allotted twenty overs.

After being put in to bat, India got off to a quickfire start as openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal put on 50 runs. Colin de Grandhomme finally provided the breakthrough to the Kiwis as he sent Shaw (20) back to the pavilion in the eighth over.

Agarwal (32) was also dismissed soon after by Tim Southee and the Men in Blue were reduced to 54/2 in the ninth over.

Skipper Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then retrieved the innings for the visitors as the duo put on 102 runs for the third wicket. Kohli brought up his 58th half-century in the 28th over.

Ish Sodhi got the crucial breakthrough of Kohli (51) in the 29th over as he clean bowled him to reduce India to 156/3. However, Iyer continued to march on and brought up his maiden ODI century in the 43rd over.

KL Rahul, who came in to bat at number five provided the much-needed impetus to the innings. He along with Iyer put on a stand of 136 runs for the fourth wicket.

Iyer (103) was finally sent back to the pavilion by Southee in the 46th over, reducing India to 292/4.

In the final overs, Rahul and Kedar Jadhav hammered the Kiwi players to take India's score past the 340-run mark. Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 348/6 (Ross Taylor 109*, Henry Nicholls 78, Kuldeep Yadav 2-84) defeat India 347/4 (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88*, Tim Southee 2-85) by four wickets.

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