Shahid Afridi's all-round heroics helps Pakistan crush West Indies by 126 runs

July 15, 2013

Shahid_Afridi

Georgetown, Jul 15: All-rounder Shahid Afridi returned to international cricket with a blistering half century and a career-best 7-12 as Pakistan recorded a thumping 126-run victory over West Indies in the first one-day international on Sunday.

Afridi, recalled after missing last month's Champions Trophy due to poor form, scored 76 off 55 balls to pilot Pakistan to 224-9. Afridi then skittled West Indies out for 98 in 41 overs to record the second-best ever bowling figures in one-day internationals after Sri Lanka's Chamina Vaas' 8-19 against Zimbabwe in 2001.

It was also West Indies lowest ever ODI total against Pakistan.

West Indies had Pakistan on the mat at 47-5 before Afridi and captain Misbah-ul-Haq (52) featured in a 120-run stand against some inconsistent bowling which saw the home team bowling 23 wide balls.

The second one-day international of the five-match will be played at the same venue Tuesday.

"It was the most difficult pitch on which I have ever played," Misbah said. "The ball was seaming and stopping, but it was Afridi's day, the way he batted and bowled."

West Indies never looked to threaten Pakistan's total from the onset once 7-foot-1-inch fast bowler Mohammad Irfan clean bowled Johnson Charles with a low full toss and had Darren Bravo caught behind down the legside.

Chris Gayle, who wanted to make his 250th ODI appearance a memorable one, was run out in a mix-up with Marlon Samuels for just one run as West Indies slumped to 7-3 in five overs.

Lendl Simmons and Samuels batted at a snail's pace before Afridi started the slide in the 23rd over.

Afridi had Simmons stumped and trapped captain Dwayne Bravo leg before wicket off the next delivery. He went on to claim the wickets of Kieron Pollard, Samuels and Kemar Roach in his opening spell of

eight overs before he returned to finish off the innings by claiming the last two wickets of Sunil Narine and Holder.

"I just try to keep it simple, sometimes I get good turn off the pitch and if I don't get turn I try to bowl straight ones for leg before wicket decisions," Afridi said.

Afridi also reached 350 wickets in ODIs to become the third Pakistan to achieve the feat after Wasim Akram (502) and Waqar Younis (416).

Earlier, Afridi dominated Pakistan's record-breaking sixth wicket stand against West Indies of 120 runs off 113 balls with Misbah holding the innings together with a sedate 52 off 121 balls.

Afridi holed out in the deep in the 39th over which helped West Indies to hit back but its bowlers were guilty of giving away too many extras which swelled Pakistan's total.

Holder broke through early after Dwayne Bravo won the toss and put Pakistan in to bat at Providence Stadium — hosting its first international match after two years.

Ahmed Shehzad (5) and Mohammad Hafeez (1) were clean bowled while attempting to leave Holder's incoming deliveries but Nasir Jamshed (6) was unlucky to be adjudged leg before wicket by umpire Joel Wilson as the television replays suggested the ball was missing the off stump.

Asad Shafiq was brilliantly caught behind by makeshift wicketkeeper Johnson Charles after West Indies opted to leave out regular 'keeper Dinesh Ramdin for at least first two games of the five-match series.

Pakistan stuttered at 23-4 and it could have been 24-5, but umpire Wilson again erred when he could not hear a clear edge off Umar Akmal's bat that would have earned Holder his fifth wicket.

However, West Indies did not have to wait long as Akmal got a leading edge off Roach and was caught by Dwayne Bravo at mid-on after struggling to score 19 runs.

Afridi then revived Pakistan's innings with Misbah, who gave the flamboyant all-rounder most of the strike.

The introduction of spinners Narine and Samuels eased the pressure on the batsmen as both spinners bowled a dozen wide balls among them and gave away 56 runs between them off six overs.

Afridi raised the 100-run stand with a flat six off Samuels over long on before he holed out off a slower delivery from Pollard.

Misbah raised his half century off 119 balls with only one boundary but added some valuable runs with Pakistan's tailenders to take the team's beyond the 200-run mark.

The Pakistan captain was caught behind in the 48th over when he got a thick edge off Bravo, who also conceded 14 runs in his last over with No. 10 Asad Ali hitting a big six over mid-wicket.

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Agencies
July 7,2020

Mumbai, Jul 7: Australias second largest city Melbourne is set to go for another round of lockdown — for six weeks — from midnight Wednesday as the coronavirus has reared its ugly head in Victoria. And this has further confirmed that this years T20 World Cup in Australia is practically not possible. Even as the ICC keeps delaying the announcement, BCCI hopes that the official call will now be taken with this latest development.

Despite ICC's Financial and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) chief Ehsan Mani as well as Cricket Australia making it clear time and again that hosting a T20 World Cup in the October-November window is practically impossible, the ICC hasn't made an official announcement and that hasn't impressed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Speaking to media persons, a BCCI official said that it is only the ICC which has kept speaking about delaying the inevitable — announcing a postponement — even as Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings wrote to the international body that it looks highly unlikely that a T20 World Cup can be hosted in these trying times.

"As it is there were so many logistical difficulties and that is perfectly understandable. The Australian government has been addressing the public health issue efficiently and there are regulations in place which are crucial to address the challenges. In that background even Cricket Australia has been practical in their assessment of the situation.

"With this present situation where Melbourne is in lockdown, the ICC really must take the final call of closure on the issue if they have any concept of responsible decision making," the official said.

Not just CA chairman Eddings, but also Mani — who is also the PCB chief — recently told the media that the T20 World Cup cannot be held in a bio-secure environment.

"We have had a lot of discussions and the feeling is it (T20 World Cup) would not be possible this year. ICC has World Cups lined up in 2021 and 2023, so we have a gap year where we can adjust this event. God forbid if some player(s) falls ill or mishap occurs during the tournament, it will have a big impact and create panic in the cricket world and we can't take that risk. Having a bio-bubble environment is feasible for say a bilateral series like Pakistan in England, but it is very difficult when 16 teams are involved," he had said.

Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley echoed the sentiments when he said the biggest challenge was to get the players from so many teams into the country.

"Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country. If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise," he had said.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Melbourne, May 7: Australia opener Joe Burns is eyeing the Tests against India should they take place later this year, to stabilise his stop-start international career, saying "you want to play in and do well in" in this kind of series.

India is scheduled to play four Tests in Australia in December-January, a series which is currently in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 2.5 lakh lives across the world.

"They are obviously world class team. I think the two teams going at each other will be very exciting to watch and players playing against each other as well," Burns told reporters in a video conference on Thursday.

"You look at the world ranking, they were number one and now we have got to number one, so I know that series will be anticipated by everyone and as a player this is a sort of series you want to play in and do well in."

With the coronavirus also threatening the T20 World Cup, Cricket Australia is under financial stress and has gone on a cost-cutting drive, which included standing down 80 per cent of its staff at 20 per cent salary.

There are also speculations that the Sheffield Shield for 2020-21 would be curtailed to cut costs.

Burns, however, hoped it won't be tinkered with.

"I love the fact we have a really strong first-class system. The 10 games, where you play everyone twice," Burns, who was struck down by a fatigue illness after an indifferent season, said.

"It leads to world-class players coming into Test teams. You don't want to see that get changed.

"Obviously it is unique circumstances at the moment and There's a lot of things to work through ... the players' association is consulted on those things."

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Malappuram, Jun 6: One more COVID-19 death was reported in Kerala on Saturday taking the toll in the State to 15.

The 61-year-old deceased, Hamsa Koya, a former footballer who represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy, had returned from Mumbai with his family on May 21.

Koya was undergoing treatment at Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram. The medical bulletin issued said that he was suffering from pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

On June 5, as his health deteriorated, he was administered plasma therapy on the advice of the state medical board. However, he did not respond to medicines and breathed his last at 6:30 am on Saturday.

The medical bulletin said that his family members including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of 3 years and a 3 month-old child also had tested COVID-19 positive and were earlier shifted to hospital for treatment.

With this, the total death toll in Kerala has reached 15. 

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