Shoaib Malik signs with Hobart Hurricanes

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan batsman, has been signed by Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming season of the Big Bash League. It will be Malik’s first stint in the Australian T20 league, in which Shahid Afridi has featured in the past seasons.

“He’s an exciting player, a fast paced batsman who will likely bat in our middle order and he’ll add another option to our bowling stocks as well,” Damian Wright, the Hurricanes coach, said. “He is a quality player with a quality T20 record and his performances in the Caribbean Premier League suggest he’s in red-hot form right now.”

Representing the Barbados Tridents, Malik was the leading run-scorer in the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League with 272 runs from eight matches. Overall, Malik has played 134 T20 matches and scored 3396 runs at a strike rate of 123.31. He has also picked up 75 wickets with his offspin.

“Those are impressive stats for someone who has played so many games in a format where you often have to place little value on your wicket in search of quick runs at the end of an innings,” Wright said.

Hobart Hurricanes, led by George Bailley, also include Dmitri Mascarenhas and Owais Shah as their overseas players for the season.

Originally Posted by: Espncricinfo.com

Pakistan vs South Africa Cricket Highlights – 2013

Pakistan vs South Africa Highlights 2013. Pakistan vs South Africa Series Cricket Highlights 2013. Pak vs SA 2013 Cricket Highlights UAE.

Pakistan vs South Africa 2013 will begin on Monday, October 14, 2013 in UAE as per cricket schedule announced. Pak vs RSA 2013 is an international Bilateral Series to be organized by UAE. Pakistan vs South Africa 2013 will consist of 2 Test, 5 ODI and 2 T20 matches to be hosted by UAE in Oct-Nov 2013.

MyCricketHighlights.com will bring you all the Highlights straight after the match. All links will be provided from official sources.

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Shehzad’s record 98* sets up 2-0 sweep

Ahmed Shehzad established several records on way to plundering Zimbabwe for an unbeaten 98, which sealed a 2-0 sweep of the Twenty20 series for Pakistan. Shehzad bettered his best T20 international innings of 70, achieved in the previous game, to make the highest score in the format by a Pakistan batsman, going past Misbah-ul-Haq’s 87* against Bangladesh in Karachi in 2008. Heaving the ball repeatedly over the leg-side boundary to become the first from his country to hit six sixes in a T20 innings, Shehzad added 143 for the second wicket with Mohammad Hafeez, making it the highest T20 partnership by a Pakistan pair. The previous best was 142 for the first wicket between Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt against Bangladesh at Gros Islet in the 2010 World Twenty20.

Shehzad’s innings was yet another example of how much damage top-order batsmen can cause in T20s, if they take a bit of time instead of throwing their bats at everything from the first ball. The first five that Shehzad played were all dots, from the offspinner Prosper Utseya. To the sixth, Shehzad charged out and lofted over long-on for six. This ability to come up with the big hit would define Shehzad’s innings. More than a third of the 64 deliveries he faced were dots, and he was on 11 off 18 at one stage, but the heave over midwicket was always around the corner.

After Brendan Taylor again decided to chase, it was Nasir Jamshed who got Pakistan going with 23 off 17. He was put down at slip on 7 but soon mishit Shingi Masakadza for mid-off to take a running catch in the sixth over. That was to be it for Zimbabwe for the innings. Barring a couple of leading edges off Hafeez that did not carry, they didn’t really come close to taking another wicket. In Zimbabwe’s defence, whenever Shehzad and Hafeez mishit the ball, it never came close to carrying to the deep fielders.And their fast bowlers never got the yorkers right, sending down length deliveries and full tosses instead, which Pakistan put away with ease.

Shehzad favoured the leg side overwhelmingly, 73 of his 98 coming in that region, including 10 of his 12 boundaries. Considering most of them were full-blooded swings across the line, the timing and placement he managed on the shots was commendable.

Shehzad needed just 22 deliveries after reaching his fifty to come within two runs of a century. Three of those were dots off Brian Vitori in the 16th over. The other three were swung for boundaries down the ground. He entered the last over on 86 and powered Vitori over long-on first ball. The hundred within sight, a determined but tiring Shehzad laboured back for successive twos next. He wanted two off the fourth ball as well, but Hafeez was in no mood for gifting a run-out chance to Zimbabwe. Sensitive to his opener’s palpable desire, Hafeez pushed a single off the penultimate ball, but for once, Shehzad failed to pick a gap off the final one, trotting a single to deep midwicket.

With Shehzad in such flow, Hafeez didn’t have to do much more than turn the strike over for most of the partnership, before finding the boundary a few times at the death. The Pakistan captain would have a much larger role with the ball, after resting first-choice bowlers Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Irfan. Anwar Ali was taken for three fours in his first over, and Zimbabwe were keeping up with the asking-rate at 44 for 0 after the first five. Then came the spinners, and Zimbabwe, again, had no answers.

Zulfiqar Babar began with a maiden, and Hafeez with a wicket-maiden, as Vusi Sibanda holed out after successive slow starts. In his next over, Hafeez had Taylor gloving an attempted reverse-sweep. Hamilton Masakadza fought to make 41, but Hafeez had him pulling to deep midwicket in the 14th. Babar’s double-strike in the next over sent Zimbabwe plummeting further to 109 for 5. Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller tried, but Shehzad had pulled so far in front that even an inexperienced attack wasn’t really pushed.

Watch Ahmed Shehzad’s record 98(64) Runs in T20 Highlights

Pakistan Team drop to sixth place in ICC Test rankings!

Pakistan have dropped to sixth spot in the latest ICC Test rankings as a result of a surprising 24-run defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the recently-concluded Test match at Harare.

Prior to this loss, Pakistan, helped by England’s thrashing of Australia 3-0 in the 2013 Ashes series, had reached the fourth spot.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe, on their return to Test cricket in August 2011, managed to reach the ninth spot as Bangladesh, adrift by 24 points, languish at the bottom of the table. Zimbabwe’s rating has been heavily boosted by a victory against Pakistan, a team ranked in top 5, that helped them level the series 1-1.

Not much has changed at the top with South Africa holding onto the first position, 19 points ahead of England and India. Australia and West Indies are at 4th and 5th position respectively.

Misbah: Our batting was the culprit on a pitch which was good for batting

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq expressed disappointment in the collective fruitfulness of a reasonably inexperienced batting order, after Pakistan slumped to a 24-run defeat to Zimbabwe on day five of the second Test at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

While Misbah and fellow veteran Younis Khan cherished a fine stretch of form throughout the two-match series and opener Khurram Manzoor showed promise with twin half-centuries, wicketkeeper-batsman Adnan Akmal and middle-order duo Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq struggled.

“Our batting was the culprit on a pitch which was good for batting. In both innings we couldn’t cross 250. We only crossed 300 once in the four innings on this tour. How can you win a Test match without scoring 300 runs? I dont know,” said Misbah.

“These youngsters were really performing well in pressure series against Sri Lanka and England, but at the moment, they are struggling. Zimbabwe really exploited our inexperience. We were positive right from the start and decided wherever we can attack them, we’ll do it. That’s how we approached it but nobody could stand.”

The position of limited-overs skipper Mohammad Hafeez in the Test team, meanwhile, remained in the balance. Hafeez’s four innings in Zimbabwe brought a mere 69 runs, while his off-spin was hardly required.

“It’s a big concern because he was in good form in the ODIs and he did not contribute in Tests. It’s not my decision, it’s a board decision so let’s see,” added Misbah.

“It matters when your team performs. If your team is losing, you really hurt as a captain. You don’t want to lose or tie these sort of series. You win matches as a team, you can’t win matches as individuals. You really need to stand up as a team.”

Zimbabwe earned 24-run victory over Pakistan in 2nd Test at Harare

A spirited all-round performance from Zimbabwe helped them level the two-match Test series with a 24-run narrow victory over Pakistan in the second Test at Harare. A five-wicket haul for Tendai Chatara, three of which came on the final day paved the way for the home team’s momentous victory.

After picking up three wickets in the first session of the final day to reduce Pakistan to 217 for eight, Zimbabwe picked up the final two wickets in just four overs. Despite Misbah-ul-Haq making his intentions clear by hitting Brian Vitori for two boundaries in an over, it wasn’t enough to take his side through.

Taylor did not wait to take the new ball and it worked in his favour as Chatara struck immediately. He dismissed Junaid Khan by getting him caught by Malcolm Waller at gully after the former defended at a straight deliver and a thick edge carried to the latter.

Chasing 264, Pakistan were in precarious position after being reduced to 158 for five on the penultimate day. Early wicket of Adnan Akmal on the final day gave Zimbabwe a chance to pull off the unthinkable. They went on to take two more wickets in the session, with Chatara being the pick of their bowlers. However, when play resumed after lunch at 217 for eight, Misbah went after the bowlers and the scored the remaining 47 runs without losing a wicket.

Zimbabwe played their heart out throughout the five days. Half-centuries from Hamilton Masakadza (75) and skipper Brendan Taylor (51) saw the hosts post a good first innings total of 294. In reply, Pakistan were skittled out for 230, thanks to a five-wicket haul by pacer Vitori.

Another fighting knock from Masakadza (44) and opener Tino Mawoyo’s fifty helped Zimbabwe take the lead past 200. The hosts were bowled out for 199 in the second essay with Rahat Ali picking up five wickets. Pakistan were set a challenging target of 264 and Zimbabwe fancied their chances when they picked up two early wickets.

At the end of the penultimate day, Zimbabwe had five wickets in their kitty with Pakistan still needing 106 to win. However, the final day belonged to the hosts as they picked up five wickets across two sessions and beat Pakistan by 24 runs.

Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 294 and 199 (Tino Mawoyo 58, Hamilton Masakadza 44; Rahat Ali 5 for 52) beat Pakistan 230 and 239 (Khurram Manzoor 51, Misbah-ul-Haq 79*; Tendai Chatara 5 for 61) by 24 runs.

Click here for Full Scorecard and Video Highlights

No restriction on Pakistan players in Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League

Pakistan cricketers are welcome to play in the 2013-14 Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, but have to provide no-objection certificates (NOC) from the PCB, said a BCB official on Monday. On the eve of the tournament, this was one of two major concerns as the organisers, Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), also kept an eye on the weather.

“We do not have any embargoes on players from any country,” CCDM chairman Jalal Yunus said. “We have repeatedly said that a player has to get the NOC from his cricket board. The process is for our clubs to contact the player, who will get the clearance from his board and if needed, we will help him with the visa with a letter.

“From what we have heard from the media, they (PCB) want us to write to them. We haven’t done that with any cricket board. We have followed the usual practice with Sri Lanka Cricket, who have provided NOCs to their players for this league. We will continue to follow the usual practice.”

The clubs have sourced players from Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, but have so far failed to sign those from Pakistan and India.

Apart from player recruitment, the CCDM is also worried about the weather as it has been raining in most parts of Bangladesh. Bogra, Rajshahi and parts of Dhaka district are the main venues in the first two rounds of matches, and all three areas have experienced lots of rain in the past week. Rain was expected in September, and the CCDM has kept a reserve day following each day’s play.

Defending champions Victoria Sporting Club will play their opening match against Kala Bagan Cricket Academy without any foreign players, rare for a Dhaka club. They will rely heavily on Bangladesh players Nasir Hossain, Anamul Haque, Robiul Islam and fringe players like Soumya Sarkar, Monir Hossain, Mohammad Sharif and Shaker Ahmed.

Last season, Victoria enjoyed an exorbitant budget through the businessman Lutfar Rahman who has now moved on to become the chairman of Gazi Tank. Apart from Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, their Pakistan recruits Kamran Sajid and Ahmed Shehzad contributed heavily. Shoaib Malik too played three matches while the left-arm spinner from India, Iqbal Abdulla, was effective in his four matches.

This year will be different for the four-time champions who admitted that they had to spend cautiously. Gazi Tank have confirmed the services of the former New Zealand allrounder Scott Styris and the Sri Lankan Kaushalya Weeraratne, and boast local stars like Mahmudullah, Imrul Kayes, Raqibul Hasan, Rubel Hossain and Aftab Ahmed.

But history will favour Abahani, who have won the tournament a record 17 times. Their stronghold began in the inaugural season in 1974-75 when they defeated little-known Shantinagar to win the title. They have also claimed three hat-tricks (1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87; 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95; 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09). They last won the DPL in the 2010-11 season.

This season the Dhanmondi-based club have focused on youth, much to the frustration of their fans. Liton Kumar Das, Alauddin Babu and Taposh Ghosh, three uncapped but promising players were their first picks in the player-by-choice programme last month. They have only picked Shahriar Nafees and Nazimuddin as experienced players, while also bringing in Tharanga Paranavitana, Janaka Gunaratne and the 40-year-old Indika de Saram from Sri Lanka, seemingly to offset the heavy presence of youngsters in the side.

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Congratulate Pakistani Team on Massive 221-Run Victory over Zimbabwe in 1st Test

Pakistan bowlers enjoyed a field day as they picked up nine wickets inside the first session to record a massive 221-run victory in the first Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. Saeed Ajmal picked up four wickets in the innings to register his fourth 10-wicket haul in Tests while Abdur Rehman also finished with four wickets.

After having conceded a 78-run lead in the first innings, Pakistan clawed their way back into the game via Younis Khan’s 22nd Test century and a vital knock from Adnan Akmal on the fourth day. Their didn’t just put the game out of Zimbabwe’s reach but also setup a brilliant platform for the bowlers to run riot on the fifth day.

Resuming from an overnight score of 13 for one with 329 runs to get, Zimbabwe were jolted early on. Hamilton Masakadza was dismissed in the second over of the day. Khan banged the ball in short that went off Masakadza glove to Azhar Ali at gully. Khan, who was visibly fired up by the early wicket, dismissed Vusimuzi Sibanda in his next over. Khan came around the wicket and trapped Sibanda in front of the stumps to reduce the hosts to 19 for three.

Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller attempted a fight back by adding 30 runs for the fourth wicket. However, Abdur Rehman enticed Waller with a flighted delivery as the latter went after him and failed to clear the deep square leg fielder.

Khan picked up his third wicket of the day by trapping Raza in front of his stumps. At this stage, half the Zimbabwean side was back in the pavilion with the score on 58. Elton Chigumbura and Richmond Mutumbami tried to weather the storm with a 31-run stand for sixth wicket before the former was packed off by Rehman.

Ajmal, who was brought into the attack in the previous over, struck two blows on the hosts in the same over to reduce them to 90 for eight. First to go was Prosper Utseya who chopped a spinning delivery onto his stumps. His third victim of the innings — and 10th of the match — was Shingi Masakadza who failed to read the quicker one from spinner and was trapped leg before.

Having picked more than seven wickets, Pakistan had the option of delaying lunch in their pursuit of wrapping up the game. Tinashe Panyangara welcomed the decision with a boundary from the first ball of an Ajmal over. However, an over later Rehman struck to get rid of him and take his side within touching distance of a massive victory.

The last pair frustrated the visitors for a brief period before Ajmal dismissed Tendai Chatara to finish the game.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 249 and 419 for 9 decl. (Younis Khan 200*, Adnan Akmal 64; Prosper Utseya 3 for 137, Tinashe Panyangara 2 for 42) beat Zimbabwe 327 and 120 (Elton Chigumbura 28, Sikandar Raza 24; Saeed Ajmal 4 for 23; Abdur Rehman 4 for 36) by 221 runs.

Man of the match: Younis Khan

Full Scorecard and highlights!

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Younis Khan Special Interview with Geo News – Not retired from ODI

1st Test: Younis Khan’s double century puts Pakistan on top on Day 4

Younis Khan hit a double century as Pakistan wrested control on the fourth day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.

Younis hit 200 not out to enable Pakistan to declare on 419 for nine, setting Zimbabwe an unlikely 342 to win.

Zimbabwe were 13 for one at the close, losing opening batsman Tina Mawoyo in the last over of the day, leg before wicket to Saeed Ajmal.

Off-spinner Ajmal, who took seven for 95 in the first innings, will be the main threat to the Zimbabwe batsmen on the last day on a deteriorating pitch.

It was a monumental performance by Younis, who batted for 10 hours 12 minutes and faced 404 balls, knowing for much of his innings that his side would be in danger of defeat if he was dismissed.

Pakistan were in deep trouble at 23 for three early in his innings. He shared a century partnership with captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Thursday but the tourists were still vulnerable when Asad Shafiq was bowled in the first over on Friday, with Pakistan only 91 ahead with five wickets remaining.

Another century stand, with wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, who made a career-best 64, steered Pakistan towards safety. An unbroken last wicket partnership of 88 with Rahat Ali (35 not out) took the game away from a tiring Zimbabwe team.

Patience was the hallmark of Younis’ innings until he cut loose in the last wicket stand, adding his last 51 runs in quick time.

Misbah delayed the declaration, first signalling two more overs as Younis neared a double century, then indicating a further over when Younis was on 194 when the allotted two were complete. Younis hit off- spinner Prosper Utseya to reach the landmark and the declaration was immediate.

It meant Pakistan had only eight overs to bowl at Zimbabwe before the close of play. Mawoyo and Vusi Sibanda negotiated the first seven before Mawoyo went back in his crease and missed an Ajmal ‘doosra’ to be trapped in front of his stumps

Run-scoring ground almost to a halt at times before the late flurry.

Zimbabwe, lacking out-and-out strike bowlers, were forced to bowl for containment and the batsmen refused to take risks. In the first hour after lunch, only 18 runs were scored in 15 overs. Just when the tempo started to pick up again Akmal was run out after a mix-up with Younis.

Younis survived a chance when he had 83, edging medium-pacer Hamilton Maskadza low to slip, where Tina Mawoyo was slow to react. He was kept quiet through the nineties but bided his time until he was able to work an over-pitched ball from Tendai Chatara off his toes to the square leg boundary for his 11th four. His 22nd Test century was scored off 221 balls.

On 117, Younis slashed Hamilton Masakadza hard to gully where Malcolm Waller was unable to hold a hard chance.

Watch Younis Khan’s double century against Zimbabwe Highlights