Tour ends for Asif, Amir, and Butt

Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, and Salman Butt, three players who were part of the spot-fixing controversy, will not play any part in the upcoming limited-over matches against England, after a long talk between officials from the ICC and PCB led to the announcement that the three players have been dropped from the limited- overs squad due to "mental torture". I believe this lost will be very costly for the Pakistani team, since Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are amongst one of the best bowling pairs in the world these days. These 2 bowlers cannot be compared to any other bowler in the Pakistani squad. This bowling pair had been threatening to all the teams in the world. Well now since these 2 bowlers have been dropped from the squad, it will give the English team's batting to make a strong score and take the matches away from Pakistan, since Pakistan's batting has been a flop this whole tour. Shahid Afridi's side will have to work on their bowling and especially their batting if they would want to take the series away from England. I think losing Salman Butt is also a big lost for the team because he is a satisfying opening batsman in T20s and ODI`s, he can get some quick runs in the beginning overs and put the team in a good position. Well let`s see how Shahid Afridi`s side performs with his star bowlers and his star opening batsman out of the squad.

Amir and Ajmal set up Great Win

Pakistan's outstanding fast bowler, Mohammad Amir, and their Spectacular spinner, Saeed Ajmal, set up a great win for Pakistan in the third test against England. England were 194/3 at tea break, there was very little hope of Pakistan winning the test match since England were in such a good position with their star Player Kevin Pietersen still standing in his crease. But after the tea break wickets started to tumble all of a sudden, 7 wickets fell for only 28 runs after the tea break. Mohammad Amir and Saeed Ajmal just destroyed the England Middle and low order batsmen. Some of the reverse swingers Mohammad Amir bowled were examples of reverse swingers bowled by Wasim Akram. Mohammad Amir finished with his career best test figures of 5/52. On the other hand, Saeed Ajmal's marvellous spin bowling, he spun the bowl both ways. The England batsmen had no idea which way Ajmal's bowl would spin, and the way he bowled out Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, those 2 deliveries were just amazing. Ajmal finished with figures of 4/71. This win will give Pakistan a big boost heading into the 4Th NPower test match, and this win will hopefully bring smiles to the faces of people who were victim of the flood Back home in Pakistan. Now let's hope Pakistan bowlers and batsmen perform in a similar matter in the 4Th test match and tie the series at 2-2.

Zulqarnain Haider ruled out of series

Pakistan's wicketkeeper, Zulqarnain Haider, has been ruled of the remainder of the test series against England. The blow was originally sustained in training before the second Test against Australia and was then aggravated when Stuart Broad hurled the ball at him in his follow through at Edgbaston last week. The throw from Broad was unneccessary which did cost him 50% of his match fee, but it has proven to be more costly for Haider since he was looking forward to a start in the third test match at the Oval, but instead has been ruled out of the remainder of the series. I believe Zulqarnain has shows great talent behind the stumps and also with the bat, when he made his 88 to save Pakistan from an innings defeat. He also got support from the tailenders Mohammad Aamer and Saeed Ajmal. The 52 runs partnership between Haider and Aamer, and the 115 runs partnership between Haider and Ajmal really did help the team, even though they were only able to give a target of 119 runs to England. Well the tailenders have played better than the opening batsmen and the middle order batsmen, and I think this should be a wake-up call for the top order batsmen because they should be ashamed of themselves for leaving the bowling and the batting to the tailenders.

Pakistan rule out Gul replacement

The Pakistan team management in England has decided against calling up a replacement bowler for the injured Umar Gul, who suffered a hamstring injury during the second Test against the hosts at Edgbaston. "We have two back up pace bowlers, Tanvir Ahmed and Wahab Riaz in the touring squad and either one of them can replace Gul for the remaining Tests," team manager Yawar Saeed told PTI. Both Ahmed and Riaz have been with the team since the start of the tour. The Pakistan touring squad presently includes 17 players. "The tour selectors will decide who will play but for now we are not asking for a replacement as Gul is also due to have another scan on August
18," Saeed said. It would be known after the scan whether Gul can recover in time for the two Twenty20 and five one-day internationals against England next month. Gul is said to have ruptured a muscle in his thigh while bowling in England's first innings, although he batted freely, albeit with a runner, during Pakistan's second innings. Gul had also missed the ICC World Twenty20 and Asia Cup earlier this year due to injury. Meanwhile, chief selector Mohsin Khan and limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi are due to fly to England during the third Test to finalise the limited-overs squad.

Inzamam-ul-Haq wants to offer his expertise to the Pakistan side.

Former Pakistan captain and Pakistan's second highest run scorer in tests, has offered the national team to be their full-time batting coach. Paksitan batsmen are really struggling on a tour of England, where they were all out for 182 in the first innings and 88 in the second innings. "The team definitely needs a full-time batting coach and, if any offer is made to me for this position, I will definitely give it serious consideration," Inzamam said. Paksitan's batsmen also struggled in the 2 tests against Australia where they lost by a huge margin in the first test at Lord's and barely managed to win the second test at Headingley to even the series at 1-1. Well I believe that Inzamam will really help the batting of the national team, but on the other hand Ijaz Ahmed was a great batsman himself and I think Ijaz Ahmed is a great batting coach, who can also help the team with fielding since he was a great fielder also. In my opinion, the Pakistani team don't really need a new batting coach becuase the coach's job is to let the batsmen know of the different techniques, the coaches won't go on the field and play for the batsmen, its the batsmen's job to follow the techniques and go play properly on the field which I think the Pakistani Batsmen are not doing. If we look at the bowlers of the national team, they are really following the techniques of the bowling coach Aqib Javed and their head coach Waqar Younis that's why Pakistan's bowling is so successful. So lastly it really doesn't matter who the batting coach is, it is all up to the batsmen to follow the techniques of the coaches and play properly out there.

Yousuf recalled to test Squad by Pakistan.

Mohammad Yousuf has been recalled to the test squad for the remainder of the England Tour. The PCB reacted very quickly after Pakistan's 354 runs defeat in the 1st Npower Test match at Trent Bridge. Danish Kaneria has also been dropped from the group due to his dissapointing bowling display, he will be replaced with the left-arm spinner Raza Hasan in the 2nd Test match. I believe with Mohammad Yousuf back in the squad, Pakistan's batting order should have some hope, but since Danish Kaneria will not play in the second fast match, it'll be a big lose to the Pakistani Bowling becuase even though Danish Kaneria's bowling performance in the first test was poor, but we still cant compare Raza Hasan with Danish kaneria. Ahh well let's see if these 2 changes in the team can help Pakistan win the 2nd test match inshAllah.

Misbah plans to quit international cricket next year

Pakistan's Middle order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq plans to retire from international cricket at the end of next year if the national selecting committee continue to neglect him. Misbah was dropped for the ongoing tour of England in replacement for youngsters Azhar Ali and Umar Amin. Misbah's central contract with the PCB expires in December. "I know luck is not favouring me these days and with the youngsters making their way into the squad, I was forced to think again," Misbah told the Express Tribune. Misbah made his Pakistan debut in 2001, but he wasn't a regular member of the squad until the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, where he emerged as a dangerous Twenty20 batsman. A loss of form left no choice for the selectors but to drop him from the squad for the tours of Newzealand and Australia. Now will Misbah get a recall from the PCB for the upcoming tour of England and the tour of Abu Dhabi against South Africa?

Aamer and Asif are best in the world

Salman Butt, the newly appointed Pakistan captain, has praised his new opening bowler pair of Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif as the best opening duo in the world. This bowling pair have certainly impressed everyone around the world and will be a major threat in the upcoming test series against England. Asif and Aamer shared 22 wickets in the 2 test matches against Australia. Aamer has earned respect from former great fast bowlers including Wasim Akram, while Asif has been termendous in controlling the swing even though he has lost pace in recent years. Both Aamer and Asif have enjoyed bowling in the overcast conditions, but are also capable of extracting reverse swing which could play a part against England. "The way Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul bowled was brilliant," Butt told Cricinfo. One key challenge for the Pakistani seamers is that they should stay fit during the tour of England. Pakistan bowling have always created chances for the Pakistani team to win matches, but the inexperienced Pakistani batting have always let them down. Now we will see if Pakistan's both bowling and especially batting can get to work and bring the Test and the ODI trophy home.

Bowler of the century: Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan, often referred to as Murali, has been named the greatest test match bowler by not only srilankan cricket fans, but the whole cricketing world. Murali made his test debut on August 28, 1992 against Australia. Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket. Muralitharan became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he overtook the previous record-holder Shane Warne on 3 December 2007. He broke Shane Warne's record for the most wickets even though many long-term bans have been placed against his bowling action by the Australians. Australians placed bans on Murali so he wouldn't be able to break Shane Warne's record. Australians have always tried their best to keep Shane Warne ahead of Muralitharan, but they weren't successful in their plans. Murali's excellence and hard work has helped him break shane warne's record for most test wickets. I believe Muralitharan would have earned 1000 wickets in his test career by this time, if those useless long-term bans wouldn't have been placed by the Australians. Murali ended his test career with 800 wickets, most in test history by any bowler. Murali got his 800th wicket when he dismissed indian tailender Pragyan Ojha in his final test of his career. Muralitharan will always be remembered by everyone around the cricketing world. He will also be missed by many people. I don't think Srilankan cricket team would ever be able to find a bowler like Muraltharan. I don't think any bowler will be able to break Muralitharan's record of most test wickets ever by any bowler. Hats off to the Bowler of the Century Ladies and Gentlemen.

Upsets make the world cup exciting

Upsets has played a major role in the 2010 Fifa World Cup. One of the biggest upsets of the world cup was when Serbia defeated Germany 1-0 on June 18th. France losing to Mexico 2-0 on June 17th and France losing to South Africa 2-1 on June 22nd were pretty big upsets. France and Italy, 2006 world cup's finalists, not advancing to the 2nd round in the 2010 world cup was very shocking. Brazil getting knocked out of the tournament by netherlands in the quarter-final was very upsetting and heartbreaking for the brazilian fans. Germany eliminating Argentina with a 4-0 win broke poor maradona's dreams. So those examples give people an idea of how exciting this world cup has been for people and how upsetting its been for some of the teams. Can we witness another upset in today's match, Germany vs Spain?

Leafs sign John Mitchell

The Toronto Maple Leafs have re-signed forward John Mitchell. Mitchell had six goals and 17 assists in 60 games last season. It was Mitchell's second NHL season and he has recorded 18 goals and 23 points in 136 career games.

Is Afridi the right person?

Is Shahid Afridi the perfect man to take the Pakistani team to the top? Well I think he is the perfect man to take Pakistan to the top, because after Imran Khan, Pakistan have had alot of great captains for example: Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, or Inzamam-ul-Haq, but the aggresiveness Afridi has in his captaincy, the other three captains ive named above didn't really have that kind of aggression as captains. Imran Khan was the captain with that kind of aggression. Shahid Afridi always keeps encouraging the boys on the field. Now I ask the other fans of the Pakistani Cricket team of their thoughts on this matter. Is Shahid Afridi the perfect man to take the Pakistani team to the top?

Dutch going for glory!

The Netherlands turned on the style in the second half and reached its third World Cup final with a 3-2 victory over Uruguay on Tuesday. The Dutch reached their first World Cup final in 32 years. Now they'll wait to see who they'll face in the finals Germany or Spain. Well I think it doesn't matter who they face because they'll be ready to take on either teams. I don't support Netherlands or Germany so I hope Spain defeats Germany in the semi final and defeats the dutch in the final on Sunday to win the cup. But we can't say anything right now, all i can say is "may the best team win".

Pakistan won by 23 runs

Pakistan's great bowling and fielding have led them to a 23 run victory. Great bowling figures by Umar Gul, Mohammad Amir, and Saeed Ajmal and 2 great catches from Shahid Afridi. GREAT JOB BOYS.

Australia require 168 runs to win.

Umar Akmal's 64 off 31 balls has got Pakistan to 167, now Australia need to reach the target of 168.