Submitted by rickeyre on
Rashid Latif, former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper turned serial dial-a-quote, has come up with A Great Idea.
Latif has suggested that selectors should consult with the umpires before choosing their starting eleven.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Just finished listening to an interesting half-hour interview with Bob Woolmer on the BBC World Service. It's available online until next Saturday (the 27th).
Submitted by rickeyre on
Pakistan earthquake one year on: 1.8 million people still in temporary shelter as snow falls - Date: 04 Oct 2006
Source: Oxfam [Reliefweb]
Submitted by rickeyre on
This press release from the ICC regarding Sunday's Contretemps at Kennington arrived in my inbox in the last half-hour. It might be the final word on the Test, but I think there's still some blood-letting to come. I wonder if the ECB's insurance covers this type of cancellation:
Fourth Test awarded to England after umpires deem Pakistan to have forfeited match
The fourth Test between England and Pakistan has been awarded to England after umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair deemed Pakistan to have forfeited the match.The umpires made their decision in accordance with Law 21.3* when the Pakistan side failed to emerge from the dressing rooms after the tea interval.
This followed the umpires’ awarding of five penalty runs to England during the second session of the fourth day after alleged interference with the match ball by the fielding side.
Subsequent to the umpires’ decision to award the match to England, a series of meetings took place to try and arrive at a situation that was in the best interests of the match and the game of cricket.
Those meetings involved match referee Mike Procter, the two captains Andrew Strauss of England and Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq, umpires Doctrove and Hair, England Head Coach Duncan Fletcher and Pakistan Team Manager Zaheer Abbas, the Chairman of the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) David Morgan and Shaharyar Khan, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and ECB Chief Executive David Collier.
ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed also spoke to umpire Darrell Hair by ‘phone from Dubai.
Following these meetings the umpires decided that, having made the decision to award the match to England, to change that decision would not be in keeping with the Laws of Cricket. The ICC backs the decision of the umpires.
The issue of a charge or charges to be laid against Pakistan under the ICC’s Code of Conduct will now be dealt with at the earliest possible opportunity.
Pakistan has been charged under Level two of the Code of Conduct, 2.10, which relates to changing the condition of the match ball.
The ECB has undertaken to provide a 40 per cent refund to all spectators who purchased tickets for the fourth day’s play and a full refund for the 12,000 spectators who pre-purchased tickets for Monday’s scheduled fifth day.
* Law 21.3 reads: “Umpires awarding a match
(a)Â Â Â A match shall be lost by a side which
either   (i) concedes defeat
or        (ii) in the opinion of the umpires refuses to play
and the umpires shall award the match to the other side.(b) If an umpire considers that an action by any player or players might constitute a refusal by either side to play then the umpires together shall ascertain the cause of the action. If they then decide together that this action does constitute a refusal to play by one side, they shall so inform the captain of that side. If the captain persists in the action the umpires shall award the match in accordance with (a) (ii) above.â€
Submitted by rickeyre on
The First Test between Pakistan and India is now hours away and, as usual, the broadcast arrangements within India have only just been finalised this week. And there are winners and losers, as usual.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Some more news on cricket's involvement in the campaign to provide urgent relief for victims of the October 8 earthquake in Pakistan:
Submitted by rickeyre on
The reports of the devastation caused by the October 8 earthquake are very distressing, and we may not yet know the full extent of the tragedy. At this stage at least 54000 people have died in Pakistan and 1400 in Indian-administered Kashmir. But there is a monumental humanitarian crisis unfolding, with about three million people homeless, many in remote locations, and winter approaching rapidly.
Submitted by rickeyre on
It was heartening to hear Ehsan Mani announce at the awards night on Tuesday that the ICC had decided to donate $US 500,000 to the Red Cross to assist in relief for victims of Saturday's devastating earthquake in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. There was also a moment's silence observed during the evening's function in respect for those affected by the disaster.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Pakistan has beaten New Zealand by five runs in the first 20-overs-a-side international at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.
It happened on November 23, 1984. Bad weather delayed the start of the game, which was set at twenty overs for each team when it finally got under way. Pakistan made 157 for 5, New Zealand were held to 152 for 7.
Despite Mudassar Nazar's four-over haul of 4/27, it was Saleem Malik (41 from 40 balls) who was named Man of the Match. See the scorecard for further details.
Submitted by rickeyre on
Made-for-television cricket. We've seen a lot of it in the past five years dished out in the name of "globalising" the sport. Televised but meaningless one-day matches dished up for an insatiable market from the "emerging" regions of world cricket. Singapore, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, and even a park in northern Los Angeles have all played host to an array of TV-oriented "spectaculars". Add to that list the name of Melbourne.
