Opinion: Rod Lyall’s article about reduction of associates in WC….

I came across this article in CricketEurope today. I realized that there is still a misconception about the exact nature of what happenned.
First of all, the following lines are in bad spirit:
“But Pakistan’s spoiled superstars were beaten fair and square by a dedicated Irish squad who were the better team on the day, and no [...]

News: Kenya, Pakistan, Uganda and Bangladesh confirm series….

A 20 20 tournament before the championships. I would be interested in seeing the match up between Pakistan and Uganda. Uganda SHOULD be outplayed, but it would be interesting to see how they can cope with Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Mohammed Asif.
I think this is a good omen for Kenya….. once again….. They have [...]

Opinion: Ramblings on the ICL issue….

I understand that the Pakistani players are professional cricketers, and that they have the right to take the decisions that are in their best interests….. but I have a question in this regard…..
Lets say that the ICC did not have any player qualification criteria for the national teams….. anyone could play for any country. In [...]

News: Inzi, Yousaf, Farhat, Razzaq, Azhar sign with ICL……

The main reason why I consider this to be relevant to our discussions on this blog is because it loosely relates to the “Ed Joyce affair”.
Yousaf was a certainty in ODI and Tests for Pakistan. Razzaq needed to improve form, but the 3, Yousaf, Razzaq and Farhat had central contracts with PCB, and they either [...]

Opinion: PCB’s strange team selection…

I am no fan of 20 20 cricket, but I think the case for the world cup is going to be one of “any cricket is better than no cricket”….
PCB has just annouced the Pakistan team for the world cup….. it has 5 spinners: Afridi, Malik, Hafeez, Alam and Abdur Rehman……
What sort of a stupid [...]

News: 8 Pakistanis offered ICL contracts…..

There has been news circulating around, not sure if 100% confirmed, that 8 Pakistani players have been offered the Indian Cricket League professional contracts. The contract amount would be in the $1million-$1.3 million range, and the duration will be 3 years.
PCB has immediately reacted to it, saying that if the player accepts these contracts, then [...]

Opinion: Ireland provides vindication to associate junkies……

Anyone who has been involved in passionate discussion about the development of cricket, or the expansion of cricket beyond traditional boundaries over the last few years would have also encountered contrary opinions. Alas, on this St Patricks day, Ireland, who have 99% qualified for the super eights round of the world cup by knocking out [...]

Opinion: Woefully Spineless Pakistan

I was talking to a friend yesterday, and I mentioned to him that Pakistan cricket team has a funny history of giving their worst performances when they are in do or die situations…… perhaps there are a few exceptions to that, but from memory, in the last 10 years, whenever Pakistan has been faced with [...]

Opinion: The Pakistan Cricket Soap Opera…..

What the hell is going on? Now Shahryar Khan has resigned due to the fall out with Younis Khan……
Let me first talk about what Younis Khan is doing….. its all goofy……. Younis Khan got pissed off becasue Shehryar Khan made him wait for sometime before meeting him ….. DUH, Younis, you are not Imran Khan….. [...]

Opinion: The forfeited test…

It seems that despite the game being 129 years old, you can still have something new popping up in it. A forfeited test match by Pakistan….. one which they in all likeliness would have won and reduced the loss margin to 2-1, will now look 3-0.
First …. ball tampering……. didnt we get that out of [...]