I’ll prove 100% fitness through better performance in county cricket: Shoaib Akhtar

Pakistan cricket team’s fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said that he would try to prove his 100 per cent fitness by showing better performance in the English county cricket.

Talking with media at the Allama Iqbal International Airport before leaving for Delhi, he said that he would be given an opportunity to prove his fitness by playing county cricket while he would also get good support from his fellow countryman Saqlain Mushtaq in the county.

He said that he is going to India for participating in a private tv programme. After a day’s stay in Delhi, the fast bowler will leave for London to represent Surrey in the English county cricket.

Shoaib sent back from London due to visa problem

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been sent back from London as he had no working visa.

He had reached London for playing cricket for Surrey - an English county. He was determined to make a successful return to county cricket and help Surrey with his performance in the county’s remaining three matches.

Although the Pakistan Cricket Board had given Akhtar a No Objection Certificate, clearing the way for him to play in Surrey's last three County Championship matches but the British immigration officials sent him back to Pakistan as he could not show them his working visa.

Meanwhile, Shoaib Akhtar said that he would go again to London on Saturday for playing matches for his county.

Shoaib Akhtar targets Pakistan return with Surrey stint

Fit-again Shoaib Akhtar vowed Tuesday to use a short stint with Surrey to mount a comeback at international level, saying he would do his best to help the English county side avoid relegation.

Surrey, who look set for the drop as they are bottom of the County Championship table with only three matches to go, have recruited the mercurial Pakistan paceman on a contract until the end of the season.

Akhtar, on the way back from injury and disciplinary breaches, will fly to London on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old said there could be no better launching pad for a return.

"I am honoured to play for a county like Surrey,"

Shoaib Akhtar said.

"I will do my best to win all three matches for the county and I am fit and raring to go."

He said he would try and live up to the standards of one of his idols Waqar Younis, who once played for Surrey, and "keep up the traditions of Pakistan fast bowling."

The bowler said his arrival in England has been slightly delayed due to family illness.

"My mother was not well, otherwise I wanted to reach there for the last four or five matches. But still it is a great opportunity for me to prove my fitness before the Pakistan team fly out to South Africa or for a possible series or against India at home,"

said Akhtar.

Pakistan's team is lacking international cricket after Australia postponed a full tour to the country over security fears in March.

To add to their woes, the International Cricket Council was forced to postpone September's Champions Trophy until next year after non-Asian teams raised concerns about playing in Pakistan, which has been driven by bombings and suicide attacks.

The postponement deprived Akhtar of the chance to stage a comeback after he was handed a five-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over a series of discipline violations.

The ban followed his public criticism of the PCB after he was axed from a list of 15 contracted players in January.

In July, an appeal committee reduced the ban to 18 months but imposed a fine of seven million rupees (93,000 dollars). A Lahore High court hearing suspended the ban but upheld the fine, paving the way for his selection in the Trophy squad last month.

Akhtar promised he had put his troubles behind him.

"The past eight months were disappointing, but now I am focused on my return. I want to bowl at least 15-20 overs in an innings and gain rhythm because we are hosting India late in the year."

Pakistan host India for three Tests and five one-day internationals from December 2008 to February 2009.

Shoaib Akhtar has played 46 Tests and 138 one-day internationals for Pakistan since making his debut in 1997, but has not played any international cricket this year.

The PCB said it had issued a no objections certificate, allowing Shoaib Akhtar to play for Surrey.

Danish Kaneria ruled out for six weeks

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, will be out of action for six weeks after undergoing a finger surgery. Kaneria, contracted to Essex, will miss their remaining matches of the season.

Kaneria fractured his finger in Essex's County Championship game against Worcestershire on August 22, and flew back home for the operation, which took place on Wednesday.

"There was a fracture in my right hand ring finger which I sustained while taking a caught-and-bowled chance,"

he told Reuters.

"I have had the surgery to set it right," he said. "Hopefully I should be bowling again after six weeks."

Kaneria was disappointed to be missing out, with him unlikely to play for Pakistan this year. A regular in the Test team, Kaneria had taken 220 wickets in 51 Tests, but has only featured in 18 ODIs, the last of which came in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

"Already Pakistan is not playing a Test series this year and we are short of cricket,"

he said.

"The injury has really come at a bad time."

Pakistan haven't played a Test this year, after Australia postponed their visit citing security concerns. In July, Kaneria had dismissed rumours that he was switching allegiance to England. He had been reprimanded by the PCB in April for criticising them after he was demoted to category C among Pakistan's centrally-contracted players.

Kaneria had not been included in Pakistan's preliminary squad of 30 for the Champions Trophy, which has been deferred to 2009.

I’d prefer to play for England if ignored: Kaneria

Pakistan cricket team’s leg-spinner Danish Kaneria said that if he would continuously be ignored then he would prefer to play for England.

In an interview with an England newspaper, Danish Kaneria said that if he is not selected for Pakistan then he may prefer to represent England in cricket.

He said that he is 27 years of age and still has much cricket in him.

Kaneria said that he also wants to play one-day cricket for Pakistan but he has so far been played only 18 ODIs.

Taking disciplinary action against him in February this year, the Pakistan Cricket Board had shifted him from ‘B’ category to ‘C’ of the central contract.

Kaneria said that now he has focused all his attention to county cricket and he does not know what would be his future in Pakistan cricket.

Mushtaq Ahmed undergoes knee operation

Sussex spinner Mushtaq Ahmed could be out of action for up to three weeks after undergoing keyhole knee surgery, his club revealed Thursday.

The former Pakistan international was admitted to hospital on Wednesday evening after the county champions decided to bring forward the planned operation.

Mark Robinson, Sussex's professional cricket manager, said:

"We made the decision very quickly on the Wednesday morning. We were originally hoping that we would just play him in four day cricket up to the Twenty20 window where he'd then have the operation.

"However, on reflection, we felt it wouldn't be right to compromise our strike bowler by having him playing in discomfort, so, with the amount of unsettled weather around and the fact our club surgeon said he could get him in that day, we felt it was the wisest decision to make.

"It is a routine operation that many sportsmen have and we are hopeful that Mushy will be back between two and three weeks."

PCB will not stop rebels playing in England

Pakistan’s cricket board will not try to stop players from the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) taking part in English county cricket, officials said on Saturday.

“Our policy on the ICL players is clear. They are not contracted to us nor are they eligible to play in any tournament in Pakistan. But if they go and play county or shield cricket we can’t stop them,”

Shafqat Naghmi, the chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told Reuters.

“We have no legal or moral reason to stop ICL players from playing in any event in any other country apart from Pakistan,”

he said.

“If anyone in any other country wants to play them it is their decision.”

Around 16 players from Pakistan are appearing in the ICL, a Twenty20 event in its second year, at the moment.

The PCB has banned ICL players from playing domestic cricket.

The ICL is bankrolled by the controllers of India’s largest listed media firm but has not been sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Muhammad Asif barred from Surrey

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif on Thursday said he has been barred from playing for English county Surrey this season as he recovers from an elbow injury.

Asif signed for Surrey in October but has been denied clearance by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which believes the English season is putting extra strain on its players.

“I am not going to play for Surrey this year. It would have been a great honour to play for them but Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not allowed me due to a hectic international schedule,”

Asif told AFP.

Umar Gul, another injury-plagued fast bowler, has also been barred by the PCB which is hosting the Asia Cup in July and the ICC Champions Trophy in September. Only leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and all-rounder Yasir Arafat have been cleared for this year’s English season. Kaneria will play for Essex while Arafat has signed for Kent.

Asif, 25, is recovering from an elbow surgery suffered in Australia in December last year. He has not played since a one-day match against South Africa in October and has been ruled out of next month’s home one-day series with Bangladesh.

The paceman faces a race against time to be fit for next month’s lucrative Indian Premier League, when he is scheduled to play for Delhi.

“I have started bowling four to five overs in the net and hope to be back at my full fitness later next month,”

he said.

Yasir Arafat returns to Kent

Kent have signed Yasir Arafat as their overseas player for the 2008 season. Arafat has received clearance from the Pakistan board, and is expected to be available for the entire season unless on international duty.

"We are delighted that Yasir is coming back to play for us again,"

Graham Ford, Kent's director of cricket, said.

"He made an immense contribution to the playing squad last year and I know he is keen to repeat his performance for the club again this year."

Arafat was one of Yorkshire's overseas players along with Andrew Hall last season, but the rules this season allow for only one overseas signing. Arafat was Kent's second highest wicket-taker during their successful campaign in the Twenty20 Cup, and also played for Pakistan during the ICC World Twenty20. He subsequently made his Test debut against India in Bangalore, and picked up a five-for on debut.

No certificate, no play

A number of counties face starting the 2008 season without their high-profile overseas players after it was revealed that anyone who has signed with the breakaway Indian Cricket League is unlikely to be given the necessary clearance to play by their own boards.

Any non-English player needs a "no objection certificate" (NOC) from their home board before being allowed to play in England, and it is believed that several, including New Zealand Cricket and the Pakistan Cricket Board, are refusing to issue them. It comes as the leading boards adopt a hard line towards unauthorised tournaments.

Shane Bond, who signed with the ICL last November, in effect had his career ended by NZC as a result, but earlier this month he signed for Hampshire for the 2008 season. However, without the NOC he will not be allowed to play.

Cricinfo has learnt that Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has already been declined an NOC and it seems likely that others, such as Mushtaq Ahmed, will also be left out in the cold.

"We're about to start the season and suddenly some counties will have to reconsider deals struck some time ago,"

Paul Millman, Kent's chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph.

"It would have been good if a line could have been drawn, and any agreements made in good faith before that left alone. I don't think you should abandon contracts on a whim. But this is a complex situation."

Kolpak players, who do not need NOCs to play domestic cricket, will not be affected.

Danish requests PCB not to stop him from county cricket

Test Leg Spinner Danish Kaneria said that the newspapers have distorted his statement which he gave to a website.

Talking to Geo News, he said he was sorry that his matter is before PCB Discipline Committee and that he did not give any statement against Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), adding he is playing international cricket for eight years and there has never been any conflict with him in the centre.

Danish Kaneria requested the PCB not to stop him from playing country cricket, adding cricket is his source of income.

He said that the selection committee does not select him for one-dayers and he has not been sent for IPL; accordingly, playing county would be a suitable option for him.

Danish said he was benefited from bowling in country cricket.

Yorkshire Issue Warning To Rana

Yorkshire are furious with Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan after he signed up for the Indian Cricket League (ICL) despite fears that he could aggravate his shoulder injury.

Rana's is due to arrive at Yorkshire in June, but was only expected to start playing top-level cricket in June as his shoulder is still giving him trouble.

Yorkshire Chief Executive Stewart Regan has warned the 30-year-old that the county could review his contract.

"We have written a strong letter to the player and his agent expressing our concern,"

Regan told the Yorkshire Post.

"We have advised Rana that we are not happy and we reserve the right to review his contract when he comes here.

"If there are any suggestions that his injury has been aggravated by playing in that tournament, it could impact on the contract he has to play for us in 2008 and 2009.

"His contract with Yorkshire does not start until April so we cannot prevent him from playing in the ICL. What disappoints us is that he has gone against the advice that the club has given him.

"If we wanted, we could have exercised our get-out clause in December. We could have said 'thanks, but we're not prepared to take the risk'. We have backed him, because he is a player who excites us. He wants to come to Yorkshire - he turned down the chance to go to Leicestershire for more money. We are investing in him for the long-term."

Glamorgan in talks to sign Afridi

Glamorgan are in talks to sign Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, for their Twenty20 campaign this summer.

"We want a top-class player who will win us matches and also drag people through the gate and Afridi is someone who fits the bill,"

Matthew Maynard, Glamorgan's cricket manager, said.

"It's up to the Pakistan board to agree to release him for that period of his contract."

There were rumours last week that Glamorgan were trying to sign Brian Lara, but the club denied the suggestion vehemently. Whether they sign Afridi or another big name from overseas, Glamorgan desperately need to improve on a poor performance last year in which they finished bottom of their division, with just one win in eight matches.

"Afridi is one of only half a dozen players in the world who would help the team progress in the competition but also benefit us commercially by filling our magnificent new stadium. That's the purpose,"

said Maynard.

"I'm keen to sign a big name player for the Twenty 20 window and there are only a small pool of big names still available.

"Virander Sehwag and Yurvaj Singh are also possibilities. Sachin Tendulkar was another option. But he's not been a great Twenty 20 player. We need a player who contributes in all aspects."

The PCB, however, have yet to release Afridi or Danish Kaneria who is due to play for Essex. A executive board meeting will be held on March 8, when more strict guidelines on the use of Pakistan players in country cricket are expected to be unveiled.

Fit-again Naved set to star for Yorkshire

LEEDS: Yorkshire have confirmed Rana Naved as their man overseas player for the 2008 English county season after the Pakistan pace bowler passed a fitness test on a
shoulder injury.

The 29-year-old is now set to arrive at Headingley in April having sustained the injury during Sussex's successful pursuit of the County Championship title last year.

"I am relieved that this period of uncertainty is now over and I can become a Yorkshire player in 2008,"

Naved said in a statement.

"I am pleased with my progress and feel in good shape. I am confident I can take wickets for Yorkshire and look forward to joining the club at the start of the season."

Yorkshire are so determined to ensured Naved doesn't feel under pressure to make a comeback before he is absolutely ready they are planning to bring an as yet unnamed overseas player for ther first few weeks of the county campaign.

"We are delighted with Rana's progress; he has made a remarkable recovery and we are particularly impressed with his desire to play for Yorkshire,"

said the county's chief executive, Stewart Regan.

"We want to ensure he has the best possible chance to fully recover from his injury and therefore we have agreed with Rana and his agent to delay his debut for several weeks so that when he returns he is in top condition."

He added:

"We have an exciting contingency plan for a second overseas player to play for the club during the first part of the season. This will be announced early next week."

Naved is an experienced bowler in English conditions after three successful years with Sussex.

Pakistan mull county cricket restrictions

Pakistan will consider the toll county cricket takes on its players before deciding on whether or not to allow their bowlers, in particular, to take up future contracts.

Pakistan's fast bowlers have been plagued by injury in recent years, preventing the selection of what would be a first-choice attack. Not all of the injuries have come from playing county cricket, but the board worries that an excessive workload could adversely affect their resources. In recent years, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Yasir Arafat have turned out for various counties.

"We have to look at the effects of county cricket on our players' fitness,"

Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the PCB, told reporters at the National Stadium in Karachi.

"Even some spinners have come back from their seasons completely fatigued and that is not good for Pakistan."

Danish Kaneria is the only active Pakistan spinner currently with a county contract and he has one season left with Essex on his current deal. Since coming back from the last season, Kaneria has struggled for impact in two Test series against South Africa and India. He bowled nearly 561 overs in the County Championship alone, in 13 matches.

The Pakistan board prevented Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif from taking up county contracts in 2007, though it later compensated both financially for the loss of earnings. It has also prevented Rao Iftikhar Anjum from taking up a contract for 2008. Ashraf did not say, however, whether players - if prevented - would be compensated in the future.

"In the past Pakistan players used to play county cricket because the financial rewards at home were not so high. That is not needed now because we are in a position to pay our players handsomely and they don't need to look abroad,"

said Ashraf.

A final decision on the matter will be taken when the board's governing committee meets in Karachi on January 25.

Rana Told To Prove His Fitness

Yorkshire have set overseas signing Rana Naved-ul-Hasan a deadline of the end of the month to prove his fitness.

The Pakistan seamer dislocated his shoulder when he crashed into an advertising hoarding fielding in a match for county champions Sussex last season.

The 29-year-old was later signed by Yorkshire for 2008 but the club are now concerned about his recovery.

A statement on the club's website confirmed the player will undergo a final assessment with their physio on January 31.

It added:

"The club has been determined to give Rana time to prove his rehabilitation from the shoulder injury sustained when playing for Sussex at the end of last season.

"If he has not recovered sufficiently to play for Yorkshire this summer a contingency plan is in existence."

Saqlain would grab England chance

Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan offspinner, has said he would jump at the chance to represent England if the call came his way. Saqlain has a British passport through his marriage and qualifies in April as he begins another season with Surrey.

"If they [England] call me, definitely I'll play,"

he told BBC London.

"I've been discussing with my family and friends and they've all been saying 'Saqqy, if they give you the chance, definitely go for it'."

Saqlain hasn't played international cricket since 2004 when a serious knee injury threatened to end his career. However, following surgery he signed with Sussex - alongside former team-mate Mushtaq Ahmed - before rejoining Surrey for the 2008 campaign.

"To be honest, I love my cricket and I want to play at the highest level,"

said Saqlain.

"I've been thinking about it because last year the press asked me the question and I said I'm looking after my body and my form at the moment.

Saqlain, who has 208 Test scalps and 288 ODI wickets, adds that motivation wouldn't be an issue.

"If England needs you and asks you and you can't play with that passion, that's wrong. [But] If I'm playing for a national team, for a country, I don't want to lose."

Glamorgan refused permission to land Rao Iftikhar

Rao Iftikhar is part of Pakistan's plans for the coming season: Pakistan board


The Pakistan board has decided against allowing Iftikhar Anjum, the medium-fast bowler, to join Glamorgan after the county showed an interest in signing him up as their overseas player for 2008.

"We have told them [Glamorgan] that Pakistan have a busy international season coming up and cannot afford to release any of their players from the core squad,"

Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's chief operating officer, told the News.

Pakistan are due to host Australia in March and April next year for a Test and ODI series before hosting the Asia Cup in June and according to Naghmi, Pakistan will be needing Iftikhar's services throughout.

The PCB is also reluctant to allow a fit fast bowler play for a county with most of the national team's bowling line-up on the injured list. Mohammad Asif has just undergone an elbow operation, Umar Gul is recovering from back spasm that ruled him out of the Test series against India while Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami were both below par due to illness during the tour to India.

There are reports, however, that Glamorgan have agreed terms with Iftikhar's agent and are prepared to wait until March for a final decision by the PCB before following up other potential targets.

If the deal goes through, Iftikhar will be the first Pakistan player to sign for the county since Waqar Younis over a decade ago. He has made 39 ODI appearances and taken 42 wickets with an economy-rate of under five an over. Iftikhar last featured for Pakistan in the ODI series against India before being surplus to requirements for the Test series. A spate of injuries and illness, however, prompted the PCB to send Iftikhar back to India as cover for the other fast bowlers ahead of the final Test in Bangalore, which he didn't play.

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 2nd round

Match ends in tame draw despite Rawalpndi's mammoth 601against Abbottabad

KARACHI: Rawalpindi ran up a mammoth score of 601 runs in their first innings, on the final day of their second-round, four-day Group B 50th Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship match against Abbottabad, at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. This gave them an advantage of 225 runs over their opponents, but the match ended in a tame draw.

Rawalpindi gained the three first innings lead points though that took their tally to 12 points. They are placed at number two behind Islamabad, who have the full 18 points from two appearances, in the 11-team Group B ranking.

After Abbottabad had scored an impressive 376 runs in their first innings, Rawalpindi replied with 352 for four by the close of play on Monday’s third day. Getting the lead was just a matter of time.

The partnership that boosted Rawalpindi’s total was one of 256 runs for the fifth wicket. This came after the team had slipped to just 106 for four. The 21-year-old Usman Saeed top-scored with a magnificent 243, that came off 471 balls in two minutes above 10 hours with the help of 30 fours and two sixes.

Usman played for the champion Pakistan team in the 2004 Under-19s World Cup held in Bangladesh. The double-hundred yesterday was, however, only his third three-figure score in a 34-match first-class career.

More interesting were the 129 runs made by his fifth-wicket partner Yasir Ali, who did so off 285 deliveries in five minutes short of six hours with 14 fours and three sixes. Yasir, still only 22, played in a Test match for Pakistan four years ago even before he had made his first-class debut. Basically a right-arm fast-medium bowler, he has attained his career’s first century, his previous highest of 63 being his only score of fifty plus.

Usman’s sixth-wicket stand with skipper Naved Ashraf (23) was worth 54 runs while wicket-keeper Zahid Mansoor (47) joined him to add another 132 runs for the seventh wicket. The match in Abbottabad started a day late on Saturday instead of Friday, as the original venue — the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi — was not available due to repairs.

Rawalpindi now meet top of the table Islamabad in a third-round Group B match, starting at the Diamond Cricket Club Ground in Islamabad from Thursday (tomorrow). Abbottabad have a rest until the fourth round.

Scores: Abbottabad 376 in 120.4 overs (Wajid Ali 75, Fawad Khan 73, Junaid Khan 71; Mohammad Ayaz 4-99). Rawalpindi 601 in 213.4 overs (Mohammad Ibrahim 45, Usman Saeed 243, Yasir Ali 129, Zahid Mansoor 47).

Worcestershire express interest in Umar Gul

Worcestershire have offered to sign up Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler, as their overseas professional for the first part of the 2008 season.

"We have talked to Umar's representative in the United Kingdom and have made an offer. We will continue to talk to see what is possible,"

Mark Newton, the club's chief executive told the Times, a London-based newspaper.

"We would like Umar to be our overseas player for the early part of next season and his likely availability would be from early May to early August.

"We are just hoping it [the signing] will all come to fruition and it will be an exciting time if Umar, Simon Jones, Kabir Ali and Matt Mason are all fit and available for next season. Umar is one of the most exciting prospects around and in addition to Test cricket, he has also proved to be economical in Twenty20 cricket."

Gul, 23, was the highest wicket-taker in the ICC World Twenty20 with 13 wickets at a miserly 5.60 runs per over. He has also taken 67 wickets at 31.55 from 16 Tests and 44 wickets at 28.27 from 34 ODIs.

But Gul needs clearance from the Pakistan board before joining Worcestershire. If the board gives him permission, it will be his maiden appearance on the county circuit. Gloucestershire had signed him on for the 2007 season but the Pakistan board had refused to release him owing to concerns about his fitness.

Worcestershire's bowling department has been bolstered by the signing of Simon Jones, the England fast bowler, who will be on a two-year contract. Kabir Ali, who has played 14 ODIs and a Test, and Matt Mason would provide support. Mason is undergoing rehabilitation work after missing most of the previous season due to a shoulder injury.