Pakistan face must-win situation against upbeat Irish

KINGSTON, Jamaica: In normal circumstances, a match against a team like Ireland would have been like a walk in the park for Pakistan.But these are not normal times for Inzamam-ul-Haq’s men who are facing a must-win situation against the unpredictable Irish in a World Cup Group D match here at the Sabina Park today.After crashing to a 54-run defeat against the West Indies on Tuesday, the pressure is on Pakistan as they cannot afford to falter against the Irish who sent a warning to other Group D teams with a sensational tie against Zimbabwe on Thursday.The way the World Cup debutants announced their arrival on the big stage has left Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer scrambling for fallback plans in case there are any surprises in today’s crucial match.In normal circumstances, Woolmer might have been thinking about going for a big, morale-boosting win against the lowly-ranked Ireland but ask the Englishman about it and he will tell you even a close win in the match would do just fine.“Any kind of win would do,” says Woolmer who is wary of the Irish potential to create upsets and believes they are the most well-equipped and disciplined of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Associate members featuring in the 16-nation World Cup.Pakistan have to beat both Ireland and Zimbabwe to assure their progress to the Super Eight stage and while Woolmer is confident his team can achieve the task at hand, he is not taking anything for granted. “We will have to work hard for it,” he said. Skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq agrees with his coach and is urging his players to lift their game in the coming games.Pakistan exposed a few cracks in their armour in the loss against the West Indies and are now looking to fill them with solid outings from their players against Ireland.“You can never take any team lightly in a World Cup game and more so if you are desperate for a win,” said Inzamam.Inzamam is not unhappy with the way his team crumbled under pressure against the hosts but is still not willing to make many changes to the line-up for the game against Ireland.Fast bowler Mohammad Sami is expected to be the only replacement, coming in for medium pacer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who is yet to find the sort of form that once made him the most important bowler in Pakistan’s one-day squad.Opener Imran Nazir’s inability to curb his casual approach has irked the captain and team management but it seems that they are willing to give him another chance.Imran, preferred over the more reliable Yasir Hameed, has been unable to justify his selection and literally threw away his wicket in the first over against the West Indies.But with not a single reserve batsman in the team and all-rounder Shahid Afridi unavailable for one more match because of an ICC ban, Imran is set to open again.The management, however, is considering reshuffling the batting order.Pakistan’s top three batsmen could contribute just 26 runs in the opening game and indications are that wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal might open the innings with regular opener Mohammad Hafeez going down the order.There is also the option to send in Mohammad Yousuf at number three, Inzamam at four and Younis Khan coming at five.For the Pakistanis the key in the game against Ireland would be the batting. Ireland’s strong point is their bowling with experienced seam and swing bowlers like Dave Langford-Smith and captain Trent Johnston capable of troubling Pakistani batsmen.Pakistan carried out extensive nets sessions at the Kensington Oval ground on Friday morning, allowing their batsmen to spend ample time against pacers ahead of the game against Ireland.Pakistan team (likely): Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Danish Kaneria.

South Africa humble Netherlands by 221 runs

BASSETTERE, ST. KITTS: Top-ranked South Africa outclassed cricket minnows the Netherlands by a big margin of 221 runs here today in Warner Park.Batting first after put in by the Netherlands, South Africa amassed a huge 353 for three, in the revised quota of 40 overs, due to delay because of rain.Later, they restricted the Netherlands side to 132 for nine, to win the match by 221 runs.Except Ryan ten Doeschate, no other batsman could play with confidence. He was the top-scorer with 57 off 74 deliveries with eight fours and a six.Earlier for South Africa, Jaques Kallis scored his 15th ODI century and remained unbeaten on 128 for which he faced 109 deliveries and hit 11 fours and five sixes. Apart from Kallis, captain Graeme Smith made 67 off 59 balls, Herschelle Gibbs hit 72 off 40 balls and Mark Boucher smashed 75 not out off 31 balls. Gibbs smashed his way into World Cup history when he hit six sixes in one over from leg-spinner Daan van Bunge to become the first player to achieve the feat in One-day International cricket. Later, he was declared the man-of-the-match.The South Africans during the innings smashed a record 18 sixes. Gibbs hit seven sixes, Kallis five, Boucher four and Smith two. Mark Boucher also entered his name in the record book when he scored the fastest fifty in the world cup history, off only 21 balls.

Gibbs’s rare record of six sixes in ODI over

Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa made history by becoming the first batsman to hit six sixes in an over in one-day international cricket. Previous record for most number of runs in an over was 30, which Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka did twice, in Singapore in 1995-96, and Chris Harris at Sharjah in 2000-01. Gibbs's seven sixes in the innings was only one less than the World Cup record for a single innings - Ricky Ponting had slammed eight in the World Cup final in 2003. Gibbs was at his best, but by no means was he the only one to wreck havoc. Mark Boucher slammed 75 from 31 balls, and on the way notched up the fastest half-century in World Cups: he got to the mark off 21 balls, bettering Brian Lara's 23-ball effort against Canada at Centurion in 2003. South Africa's total of 353 for 3 is their highest World Cup score and the best total in a 40-over match, while it was also the fifth-highest by any team in all editions of the tournament. Their run-rate of 8.82 is the fourth-best in a World Cup innings, but the highest by a team batting first. The 18 sixes that South Africa slammed in the innings is an ODI record too, going past Pakistan's earlier mark of 14 against Sri Lanka at Nairobi.This was also the first time there were three century stands in a single innings of a one-day international. After AB de Villiers's second-ball dismissal, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis added 114 for the second wicket, Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs put together 105 for the third, while Kallis and Boucher added 134 for the fourth.