Temperamental fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday for repeated disciplinary violations. Board chairperson Dr Nasim Ashraf told a news conference the suspension was imposed on the recommendation of the PCB disciplinary committee, and the paceman had the right to lodge an appeal.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was ”shocked and disgusted” by controversial umpire Darrell Hair’s reinstatement, but Australia welcomed the move on Wednesday. Inzamam clashed with Hair in the forfeited Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August 2006, which led to the Australian umpire’s ban from standing in top-level matches.
Australia have scrapped their upcoming cricket tour to Pakistan over security fears, their cricket boards said in a statement on Tuesday, after bombs killed 20 people in the eastern city of Lahore. ”I can confirm they have conveyed to us that they have cancelled the tour,” Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Shafqat Nagmi said.
No image available
/ 25 October 2007
South Africa’s chances of clinching a one-day and Test series double against Pakistan will be decided when they play a fourth one-day international on Friday. South Africa trail 2-1 in the five-match series, having already won the Test series, and must win on Friday to keep the series alive.
No image available
/ 24 October 2007
The fifth one-day international between Pakistan and South Africa scheduled for Karachi on Monday has been switched to Lahore because of security fears, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Wednesday. Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB’s chief executive, said the touring South Africans did not want to play in Karachi following last week’s bomb attacks.
No image available
/ 23 October 2007
South Africa will send a top security consultant to Karachi to decide whether it is safe to play the fifth and final one-day international there next week. Pakistani officials said South Africa were uncertain about going ahead with the game following Friday’s assassination attempt on former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, which killed 139 of her supporters.
No image available
/ 19 October 2007
South African cricket officials decided on Friday to continue their tour of Pakistan despite an assassination attempt on returning former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi. Cricket South Africa’s general operations manager Brian Basson said that the decision to push on had been taken after the squad received safety assurances from their hosts.
No image available
/ 19 October 2007
South African cricket officials will meet to assess player safety before deciding whether to continue their tour of Pakistan after deadly blasts in Karachi, officials said on Friday. Two blasts ripped through a homecoming parade for former premier Benazir Bhutto late on Thursday in attacks that killed at least 130 people and injured more than 400.
No image available
/ 16 October 2007
South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock, his New Zealand counterpart Jacob Oram and Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar have signed up for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 series, organisers said on Tuesday. Their inclusion takes to 25 the number of foreign players who have committed to the lucrative league due to start next April.
No image available
/ 12 October 2007
South African all-rounder Vernon Philander and assistant coach Vincent Barnes were racially abused with monkey chants during the second Test against Pakistan on Friday, officials said. Police removed about a dozen spectators, mostly school students, from the stadium during the match in Lahore after complaints from the South African team, officials said.
For a man who burst on to the international cricket scene by playing some eye-catching knocks in Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup win, it is unfortunate that Inzamam-ul-Haq should be associated with the team’s dismal performance in this year’s event.
No image available
/ 8 September 2007
Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar returned home on Saturday after being expelled from the inaugural Twenty20 championship following a spat with teammate Mohammad Asif in South Africa. The 32-year-old struck his new-ball partner Asif with a bat during a practice session in Johannesburg on Thursday, prompting the team’s management to send him back.
No image available
/ 7 September 2007
Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar has been sent home from the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa after a bust up with teammate Mohammad Asif. The incident occurred in the nets on Thursday when a heated argument led to the 32-year-old Akhtar striking his fellow fast bowler on the thigh with a bat.