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2011 India-Pak WC semifinal was fixed, says former PCB chairman

November 13, 2012
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Karachi, November 13: The Pakistan Cricket Board has preferred to remain non-committal on the allegation that the 2011 World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan was fixed, but former PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt kicked off a debate after he asserted the board to investigate the claims.

Butt's assertion that the present PCB set-up should either hold an inquiry itself or ask the ICC to investigate the semifinal clash at Mohali has left many in the cricket community bemused.

The question being asked is why didn't he (Butt) held the inquiry when he was in power and when the finger was first pointed at the outcome of the semifinal.

If that wasn't enough, Butt hit the headlines when he walked out of a television studio on being asked a question about Shahid Afridi during the discussion on English journalist Ed Hawkins' book, which claims the semifinal was fixed.

In a clear indication of just how sensitive he remains on the issue of Shahid Afridi, Butt wanked out his microphone and left the studio when being asked what forced him to struck a peace deal with the cricketer last year.

Clearly not happy with the queries, Butt said he no longer wanted to be part of the "useless discussion" and got up and left the studio.

Known for his eccentric ways and hardliner approach towards the media during his four-year tenure as the chairman, Butt clearly has not changed.


It was his eccentric and strong approach towards players that led to the sacking of Afridi last year in May.

Afridi, however, moved to the court against his sacking and it was only after the intervention of some politicians from the tribal areas that Butt met the all-rounder and struck a deal with him.

While Afridi was given permission to play in England, he was fined to the tune of 4.5 million rupees and was also asked to withdraw his case.

Afridi who had retired in protest was, though, never asked to take back his retirement and was ignored by the national selectors until Butt was replaced by Zaka Ashraf at the helm.

"To Butt Afridi remains a sensitive issue because he feels the player damaged the team and didn't have respect for authority. That explains his walkout from the studio where he had gone to speak on the World Cup semifinal issue," a close aide of Butt said.

Surprisingly the PCB has remained sensible on the matter and avoided making any official comments on the allegations raised by Hawkins, but insiders say Zaka is clearly not happy with Butt's advice to hold an inquiry.

"Zaka is surprised at Butt's statement as he pointed out that it was during his (Butt's) tenure that the allegations first surfaced. And secondly what will Pakistan gain by asking for an inquiry when neither the ICC nor the Indian board are interested in Hawkins' latest allegations," a source said.




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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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News Network
January 12,2020

New Delhi, Jan 12: Flamboyant India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was on Saturday pulled out of the India A team's tour of New Zealand after he failed mandatory fitness tests in Mumbai.

The selectors had picked him in the squad without testing him in the Ranji games.

Tamil Nadu captain Vijay Shankar has been drafted into the India A team and he has already boarded the flight to New Zealand where they will play two 50-over warm-up games, three List A games and two four-day 'Tests' against the home A team.

It has been learnt that Pandya failed a couple of mandatory fitness tests and his scores were well below the permissible range suggesting that he is far from being fit for international cricket. In this situation, pulling him out of the India A squad was expected.

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