Captains named for Pakistan T20 tournament

By Ubaid Awan

KARACHI, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) November 20, 2012: The organizers of Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 competition, on Tuesday, announced captains of the participating teams for the 2012 edition of the tournament.

After Pakistan’s skipper Mohammad Hafeez decided to part ways with the Faisalabad Wolves, the country’s Test skipper Misbah ul Haq was handed the responsibility to lead the team in the top T20 cricket tournament in Pakistan.

Former Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, who has been out of favors with the PCB selectors, has been given the charge of Islamabad Leopards while former skipper Younus Khan will lead the Abbottabad.

Legendary batsman Mohammad Yousuf will lead Lahore Lions in the Twenty20 tournament which will be played from December 2-10.

The Abbottabad team also has the services of Yasir Shah and left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan while Lahore Lions have Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal in their squad.

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CLT20: Auckland Aces crash out, Titans complete SF line-up

By Sheriff Michaels

The Journey Ends for Auckland Aces after Sterling Show at CLT2012

CENTURION, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 23, 2012: Perth Scorchers registered their first victory at the Champions League Twenty20 2012 on Tuesday when they kicked Auckland Aces out of the competition with a 16-run victory at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

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The Auckland Aces needed to win this match to stay alive in the competition and they might have got a great chance because the other match of the day between Delhi Daredevils and Nashua Titans was washed out after the toss.

Delhi Daredevils and Nahua Titans qualified into the Semi-Finals of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 from Group A while Sydney Sixers and Highveld Lions joined them from Group B.

First Semi-Final will be played between Delhi Daredevils and Highveld Lions on October 25 at Kingsmead in Durban while Sydney Sixers will take on Nashua Titans in the second Semi-Final scheduled for October 26 at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Final of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 will be played on October 28 at Johannesburg.

Perth Scorchers skipper Marcus North won the toss and decided to bat first. Auckland Aces would also have loved to bat first to register a thumping victory over the BigBashLeague side but it wasn’t to be the case.

Perth Scorchers scored 140 runs for the loss of seven wickets from their 20 overs before Auckland Aces succumbed to a pressure of their own minds to manage only 124 for eight from their quota of 20 overs, thus falling 16 runs short of the target.

Former South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs (6 from 6 – 1 four) continued to prove a failure on his home ground but skipper Marcus North (37 from 35 – 4 fours, 1 six) and Simon Katich (21 from 23 – 2 fours) undid the early loss with 55 runs partnership for second wicket.

Both batsmen went back in a quick succession but former England captain Paul Collingwood (38 from 27 – 5 fours) and Tom Beaton (22 from 19 – 1 four, 1 six) upped the tempo during second half of the innings and despite of a late collapse the Perth Scorchers managed to score a fighting 140 runs total on the board.

Michael Bates was the standout performer for the Auckland Aces with the ball as he captured four wickets for 34 runs while Kyle Mills was also useful during his miser spell of none for 14 from four overs. Azhar Mahmood also bowled well during his spell of none for 24 from four while Bruce Martin (4-0-25-0) also kept a lid on scoring rate.

Chasing 141 for victory and a possible qualification, the Auckland Aces got off to a worst start by losing hard-hitting Lou Vincent for only two runs.

However, Martin Guptill (36 from 32 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (23 from 21 – 4 fours) resurrected the innings as they slowly picked up the pace to add 49 valuable runs for the second wicket before Guptill lost his mind to gift his wicket away to Michael Beer with wicketkeeper Ronchi taking a useful catch.

Anaru Kitchen (6 from 6 – 1 four) soon departed and when Azhar Mahmood lost his cool and wicket the Auckland Aces were completely rattled as they lacked someone who could steer the innings to an unlikely looking victory.

Colin Munro (23 from 18 – 1 four, 1 six) did his best to rescue the wrecked ship but lacked support from the other end as Colin de Grandhomme (4 from 4), skipper Gareth Hopkins (9 from 12 – 1 four), and Ronnie Hira (2 from 3) all lost their wickets in a bid to up the scoring rate.

In the end, the Auckland Aces could score 124 for eight and were knocked out of the competition.

Michael Beer, who took three wickets for 13 runs from his four overs, was declared Man of the Match while Joe Mennie (4-0-23-2), Nathan Coulter-Nile (4-0-26-0), Ryan Duffield (3-0-17-1), and Brad Hogg (4-0-30-1) all bowled exceedingly well to defend a lower total successfully.

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CLT20: Nashua Titans halt Auckland Aces triumphant run

By Sheriff Michaels

Nashua Titans top Group A with two wins from as many matches

DURBAN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 18, 2012: The South African Nashua Titans put brakes on an impressive winning run of Auckland Aces in the Champions League Twenty20 2012 on Wednesday when they outplayed them by 59 runs at Kingsmead in Durban.

With this victory, the Nashua Titans gave their Semi-Finals qualification chances a world of good as they now have won both of their matches and possess a healthy net-run-rate in the Group A.

After put into bat, the Nashua Titans made impressive 172 for four from their 20 overs before their bowlers never allowed the Auckland Aces to dictate terms and restricted them to a total of 113 all out from 18.1 overs.

This was the first defeat for the Auckland Aces in the tournament after they won their initial three matches which helped them qualifying into the main round of the Champions League Twenty2012.

Gareth Hopkins, skipper of Auckland Aces, won the toss and took no time in asking the local side to bat first backing his batsmen to chase down anything on offer.

Henry Davids (36 from 23 – 5 fours, 1 six) and Jacques Rudolph (63 from 56 – 7 fours) opened the batting for the Nashua Titans and provided a solid start scoring 74 runs from 8.2 overs before Azhar Mahmood got rid of Davids.

Skipper Martin van Jaarsveld (13 from 14) joined Rudolph and added another 26 runs for the second wicket before Kyle Mills removed him.

It all looked good for the Auckland Aces till the 18^th over when Michael Bates sent back Rudolph but Farhaan Behardien (48 not out from 23 – 1 four, 3 sixes) used the long handle with some effect in the final two overs as the Titans scored 39 runs from the final 15 deliveries despite of Roelof van der Merwe (5 from 4) going back in the hut without doing much damage.

Veteran New Zealand bowler Kyle Mills proved an expensive option for the Auckland Aces as he was belted for 42 runs from his four overs for a wicket. Michael Bates bowled three overs for 21 runs besides taking a wicket while Azhar Mahmood also bowled well for figures of one for 32 from four overs. Another former Kiwi all-rounder Andre Adams went for 35 from his four overs while Ronnie Hira gave away 28 runs from his four.

Chasing 173 runs for victory was never an easy target for the Auckland Aces, especially against the Twenty20 specialist bowlers of Nashua Titans and soon the Kiwi side was in quagmire of problems with their explosive opening batsmen Lou Vincent (6 from 6 – 1 six) and Martin Guptill (3 from 8) going back in the pavilion.

Auckland’s ace in previous matches Pakistani star all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (7 from 9) also failed to deliver the goods as the side looked struggling at three down for 37 from 5.1 overs.

It all came on the young shoulders of Anaru Kitchen (23 from 12 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Colin de Grandhomme (14 from 11 – 1 four, 1 six) but their lack of experience came in the way of success as Kitchen lost his cool and patience and tried to slog everything and was held in the deep by Farhaan Behardien off Links.

Once the top five batsmen were gone, the chase was officially off for the Auckland Aces as Colin Munro (4 from 5), skipper Gareth Hopkins (8 from 12 – 1 four), Ronnie Hira (Duck), and Kyle Mills (1 from 3) all looked sheer failure against a quality bowling attack of Nashua Titans.

Andre Adams (30 from 17 – 2 fours, 2 sixes) came up with a flurry of boundaries towards the end of the innings in a bid to give some respect to his side in a losing cause and help them reduce the deficit in net-run-rate but when he was bowled by the Titans’ Twenty20 specialist bowler Alfonso Thomas, it was all over for the Auckland Aces.

In the end, Auckland Aces were bowled out for 113 runs with 11 balls to spare, thus falling 59 runs short of the target.

Ethy Mbhalati and Alfonso Thomas were clinical with the ball for the Nashua Titans as they recorded figures of 4-1-26-3 and 3.1-0-18-3, respectively.

Cornelius de Villiers also bowled well for figures of one for 24 from his three overs while Eden Links and Roelof van der Merwe also were impressive with the ball with returns of 4-0-25-1 and 4-0-18-1, respectively.

Farhaan Behardien was declared Man of the Match for his super heroics with the bat in dying stages of the innings of Nashua Titans who are comfortably placed on top of the Group A with eight points from two matches. Auckland Aces have four points from two matches.

Farhaan Behardien told the presentation party, "I bided by time, and it was only during the last two overs that I capitalized”.

Nashua Titans skipper Martin van Jaarsveld said, "Asked the bowlers to hit the deck really hard, when they do that, it is easy to captain. Behardien is a great finisher. He's done that for us all summer."

Auckland Aces captain Gareth Hopkins said, "The batting let us down. We were happy to restrict them to 170. We have to move on quickly from this."

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CLT20: Super Azhar Mahmood lifts Auckland Aces over KKR

By Sheriff Michaels

Azhar Mahmood keeps reminding PCB of his worth at Champions League T20

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 15, 2012: A match-winning performance by Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood helped Auckland Aces defeat Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders by a comfortable margin of seven wickets with 14 balls to spare in Group A match of the Champions League World Twenty20 2012 played at Newlands in Cape Town on Monday.

Azhar Mahmood took three wickets for 16 runs before executing the job with the bat by scoring unbeaten 51 runs from 42 balls as the Kolkata Knight Riders are now on the brink of crashing out of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 after witnessing two defeats in as many matches.

Gautam Gambhir, skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, won the toss and decided to bat first expecting the pitch to offer more purchase to his seamers in the night.

Gautam Gambhir (5 from 9 – 1 four) fell early once again but Manvinder Bisla (38 from 24 – 6 fours, 1 six) and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum (40 from 35 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) launched an effective counterattack scoring 62 runs from only 41 balls.

However, once their partnership was broken by Ronnie Hira in the ninth over, Auckland Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins asked Pakistani star all-rounder Azhar Mahmood to deliver some overs.

The medium-pacer started with a double-wicket maiden where he got rid of South African quality all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Duck) and Manoj Tiwary (Duck) as the Kolkata Knight Riders lost the momentum completely.

Soon Azhar Mahmood also sent Brendon McCullum back in the pavilion as the KKR innings fell apart and Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (15 from 22) and Yusuf Pathan (22 from 19 – 2 fours) had to resort to damage-control which never allowed them to use the long handle freely.

In the end, the Kolkata Knight Riders could only limp to a total of 137 for six from their 20 overs.

Azhar Mahmood took three wickets for 16 runs to lead Auckland Aces’ bowlers while Kyle Mills (1/23), Michael Bates (1/33), and Ronnie Hira (1/30) also bowled pretty well and none of the bowlers was over-expensive.

Chasing 138 for an impressive victory, the Auckland Acers opening batsmen came out in the middle with an effective plan and assaulted medium-paced bowling attack of Kolkata Knight Riders after Gautam Gambhir opted to sit his premier fast bowler Brett Lee out in the dug-out.

Martin Guptill (25 from 26 – 3 fours) and Lou Vincent (30 from 12 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) came out with all guns blazing and belted Lakshmipathy Balaji and Shakib Al Hasan all across the Newlands and raised to 37 from only three overs before Lou Vincent was captured by none other than Sunil Narine.

Azhar Mahmood (51 not out from 42 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) came at one-down position and he used his wits to stabilize the innings after fall of both the openers and with Anaru Kitchen (24 from 15 – 3 fours, 1 six) took the Auckland Aces close to victory before having company of Colin de Grandhomme (9 not out from 11 – 1 four) to execute a fine chase in Cape Town.

There was nothing much to talk about the KKR bowlers as Lakshmipathy Balaji went for 38 from his four overs for a wicket, Shakib Al Hasan gave away 34 from his four, and Pradeep Sangwan leaked 26 runs from his 16 deliveries. Sunil Narine was their most successful bowler as he took two wickets for 24 runs while Jacques Kallis also kept his line and length and let only 17 runs to slip away from his three overs.

Azhar Mahmood was declared Man of the Match for his brilliance with both bat and ball. This was his second consecutive Man of the Match award in the Champions League Twenty20 2012.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said at the presentation ceremony, “Once you get the momentum you've got to continue. How they played in the first over gave them momentum. We need to play smart cricket, some better cricket and hopefully we can win both our remaining games”.

Auckland Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins stated, “Bowlers are picked to do a job so I back them. We do have part timers, but didn't need them today. We got off to a good start with the bat and we left it to the master Mahmood to finish it off as well as he does”.

Man of the Match Azhar Mahmood said, “We bowled really well as a unit. We prepared really well, two weeks before the tournament and it's paid off. Martin Guptill and Louie started off really well and I was able to finish off. Hopefully I can keep my form going”.

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Politics fill Pakistan cricket, says Azhar Mahmood

By Fathima Zanaida

COLOMBO (TheSportsNext) August 28, 2012: Former Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood said Tuesday that Pakistan cricket is filled with politics and nobody really cares about the benefit of game or the cricketers.

 

Azhar Mahmood, who is a British citizen now, while talking to media during the Sri Lanka Premier League 2012, "It's more about politics rather than administrators thinking about game's benefit. There is no consistent selection policy and there will be chopping and changing of players now and then. Obviously, this has been the reason for the incosistent performance of Pakistan in international cricket”.

Azhar Mahmood, who has been out of favors of Pakistani selectors since 2007, has been featuring in various cricket leagues across the globe where he consistently has been part of the English county season and is now an eligible British citizen to represent England cricket team in international cricket.

Azhar Mahmood said, “I have played in different leagues in different countries. I have seen the relationships among players, coaches and management in different countries. The mindset among the cricket authorities in Pakistan is completely different. They don't want to change”.

It is important to mention here that Azhar Mahmood has represented various teams in T20 leagues played in England, New Zealand, Bangladesh and India, and now he is representing Wayamba United at Sri Lanka Premier League 2012.

He is of the belief that the PCB selectors’ inconsistency to select him was the main reason why he couldn’t pounce on the great start to his international career. Azhar Mahmood impressed all and sundry by hitting back-to-back hundreds against South Africa in their country for Pakistan but since then he found him in and out of the side consistently and is yet to play for Pakistan since 2007.

He added, "I feel I underachieved for Pakistan and I have been not treated well by the authorities. I was primarily dropped from 2007 World Cup for no reason. I started off well in Test cricket but suddenly I was branded as an ODI cricketer and subsequently was dropped from longer version. I played my last Test in 2001."

Azhar Mahmood also spoke for his fellow cricketers who were harshly treated by the PCB authorities. He stated, "The same happened in case of Saqlain Mushtaq and Shoaib Akhtar. The administrators ill-treated them. Then they don't want Abdul Razzaq and he was sidelined for long though he has now come back. There is no clear selection policy. In the World T20, there is only one genuine all-rounder which is inexplicable”.

Pakistani selectors have rested fast bowler Umar Gul and senior batsman Younus Khan for the limited overs series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates and decided against selecting an in-form Wahab Riaz for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 2012 to be held in Sri Lanka in September.

Azhar Mahmood also took on the PCB management for its consistency with captains. "They will change captain after just one bad series. The same is in case of players also. They will chop after one or two bad games. You need to give time to captains and the players to settle down. The captains world over are given some time to settle down but not in Pakistan. I played under nine captains," he mentioned.

Azhar Mahmood, who represented Pakistan in 21 Tests and 143 ODIs, claimed that he was told that his name was in contention for getting selected in the World T20 squad but once again selectors ruled him out owing to not playing the domestic cricket. "I can still play for Pakistan and I am available though I had taken British citizenship. I played Pakistan domestic cricket till last year and they didn't want me. Then why should I continue to play in Pakistan? I need money to feed my family and so I am now playing in England", he made it clear.

"If I can't play for Pakistan, it's their loss. That's not my loss," he stated.

Azhar Mahmood also revealed that he along with Mohammad Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq was planning to set up a cricket academy in England. "This game has given me a lot and I want to give back to the game. I am going to open an academy in England to spot and groom young talent. It will be done along with Mohammad Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq. If things go well we will take it to Pakistan also," he added.

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