Aisam-ul-Haq enters into Thai Open doubles final

Karachi: Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq and Oliver Marach of Australia have qualified for final of Thai Open men’s doubles.

Top seed Pak-Australian pair defeated Italian pair Simone bolelli and Fabio Fognini in straight sets with score 6-4 and 6-1.

Earlier on Thursday, Aisam and Marach defeated Brit Jamie Murray and Andre Sa of Brazil with score 6-4, 2-6 and 10-7 to reach into semifinals.

Aisam and Marach will take on the Spanish duo Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske in the final.

Source: Aisam-ul-Haq in Final

Aisam, Oliver win Thailand Open doubles final

BANGKOK:
Pakistan’s top tennis star Aisamul Haq and Austrian Oliver Marach won the final match of Thailand Open doubles on Sunday, reported Express 24/7.

The duo bagged the victory against German pair Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske with a 7-6, 7-6 closely contested match. Qureshi and Marach take home prize money worth US$ 644,500 for the win.

On Friday, the duo had won the semi-finals against their Italian opponents Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini with a 6-4, 6-1 win.

Earlier in the quarter finals, Aisam and Oliver beat Jamie Murray of UK and Andre SA of Brazil after a gruelling fight 6-4, 2-6, 10-7.

Source: Aisam Wins Thailand Open

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Champions again: Sialkot clinch T20 Cup

Sialkot Stallions added a sixth title to their bag when they defeated Rawalpindi Rams by 10 runs in the final of the Faysal Bank T20 Cup. Sunday night’s match was witnessed by thousands at the National Stadium, Karachi, including Sania Mirza, Indian tennis star and wife of Stallions captain Shoaib Malik.

Sialkot racked up 180 for six in their allotted overs before Rawalpindi were restricted to 170 for eight.

Deprived of international cricket, fans thronged the stadium and were repaid in kind by the players who ensured a run-fiesta. Also in attendance were the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ijaz Butt and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad.

Malik hit a 27-ball knock off 43 while Shahid Yousuf contributed 32 off just 19 deliveries to lead Sialkot to their competitive total before Naved Malik ensured Rawalpindi were in the hunt until his dismissal in the 17th over after a well-made 67.

Source: Sialkot Stallions

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Mohsin Khan appointed as interim coach for National Team

KARACHI:
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to send its incumbent chief selector Mohsin Khan as interim coach of the national team for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka in the UAE.

The decision was taken after the PCB committee, led by former coach and manager Intikhab Alam, sought more time to bring in a new coach as Waqar Younis’ replacement, who left the key post after the recently-concluded tour of Zimbabwe.

The Express Tribune has learnt that Khan will accompany the team in UAE for the series and will also supervise the team’s training camp in Lahore from October 10.

Meanwhile, Nadeem Akram Cheema who accompanied the team as manager in Zimbabwe will not be available for the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka as he will be leaving to perform Hajj.

Source: Mohsin Khan as Interim Coach

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More matches were to be fixed

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court
October 10, 2011

Pakistan were to throw at least one limited-over international on the 2010 tour of England, a court was told on Monday, and only the timing of the News of the World's expose seemed to prevent such a result from occurring.

Mazhar Mahmood, the undercover investigative journalist who sparked the alleged spot-fixing controversy, was appearing as a prosecution witness at Southwark Crown Court on the fourth day in the trial involving former captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif, who are alleged to have bowled pre-determined no balls. They deny the charges.

A recording from secret microphones of agent and alleged conspirator Mazhar Majeed was played in chunks throughout Monday and one aspect dealt with the intention to fix results during either the five-match 50-over series or the two Twenty20 games.

It can be safely assumed he was not referring to Test matches because in earlier recordings Majeed had told of how important it was that his "best friend" and key client Salman Butt won Tests so he remained in his position for a long time. Shahid Afridi was Pakistan captain in the 20 and 50-over formats at that time.

Those matches followed the four-match Test series that England won 3-1. The newspaper, though, exposed the alleged corruption on the Saturday of the fourth and final Test at Lord's. The jury, also following the recording with a written transcript, heard Majeed's vague boasts about his corrupt intentions.

"We have been working towards the next month for a long time," Majeed was heard saying in one segment.

And in a previous sequence on the same recording, he had said to the reporter while chatting in a parked car off the Gloucester Road in London: "We're doing two results soon, within a month."

The journalist confirmed his intentions by asking: "So Pakistan will lose and then what?"

Majeed replied: "Pakistan will lose but you know when Pakistan, like a game, you know as a cricket game it goes backwards and forwards, yeah, it's your responsibility to put it on at the right times because there's gonna be times in that game, it doesn't matter what the odds are before, there's gonna be times in that game when Pakistan are the favourites."

When Mahmood inquired whether there would be any mistakes and if there was a danger that his (fictitious) Far East backers would lose their money on false information, Majeed said: "They will do their job, don't worry."

Majeed was also heard to earlier promise the journalist "four or five brackets for the Lord's Test" and two no-balls, which were meant as a tester for Majeed to demonstrate his influence over the players he controlled.

A bracket is a ten-over sequence when bettors might punt on a certain amount of runs in a set period or a number of no-balls, for instance. Majeed said a fixed bracket cost between £50,000 and £80,000. The jury was told last week that Majeed priced a fixed Test result at £1 million, a fixed one-day international at £450,000 and a Twenty20 international at £400,000.

The case continues.

Spot-fixing controversy: More matches were to be fixed | Pakistan Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo

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Zaka Ashraf appointed PCB chairman

The President of Zarai Taraqiyati Bank Zaka Ashraf has been appointed the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday, reported Express 24/7.

The decision was taken after a meeting between President Zardari and Ashraf. A notification of his appointment will be issued soon.

Ashraf was appointed after the completion of service tenure of Ijaz Butt, the former PCB chairman.

Express 24/7 correspondent Sohail Chaudhry reported that Ashraf was a close friend and a class fellow of President Zardari.

Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas has also earlier added his name to the list of individuals interested in the coveted post.

Butt’s tenure came to end on October 8 but some reports indicated that his tenure may extend after a notice from the presidency.

It was learnt that the PCB chief was seeking an extension and was looking to take into confidence President Asif Ali Zardari, the board’s patron-in-chief. But former players and PCB officials stressed for a new man to run the board and concluded that Butt’s three-year stint brought unprecedented miseries.

Butt’s three-year tenure drew heavy criticism due to various unwanted incidents and controversies from former PCB bosses and ex-Test cricketers. However, the chairman also enjoyed support from many given his strict disciplinary policy and the introduction of new players in the squad.

Source:Zaka Ashraf new PCB chief

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Indian offered Pakistanis $1m to throw Test: Court

LONDON:
A shadowy Indian contact offered the agent of several Pakistan cricketers $1 million to ensure they threw a Test match against England, a London court heard Tuesday.

The jury in the trial of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif saw video footage of meetings between the players’ agent Mazhar Majeed and undercover News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood.

The former investigations editor for Rupert Murdoch’s now-defunct tabloid was posing as an Indian frontman for a Far East gambling syndicate.

In an August 21 meeting in Majeed’s house in south London, the reporter recorded the agent on the telephone with the unidentified man in India, discussing deliberately throwing the Test match between England and Pakistan at The Oval, which was under way at the time, Southwark Crown Court was told.

Referring to the number of Pakistan players under his wing, Majeed was heard saying it was “not a problem” to fix the match result, as “you know how many I’ve got, you know that they do it.”

Majeed called his Indian contact and told him: “You know what we spoke about last night, what offer can you give me for today’s game? Tell me, just give me a figure now, we haven’t got long.

“There’s a possibility, I’m just telling you that now, they’re talking at least 1.2, at least. In dollars.”

The prosecution alleged that Majeed and the mysterious contact were floating the possibility of Pakistan deliberately losing the game.

Majeed said: “Boss, you know how many I’ve got, you know that they do it. So of course that’s not a problem. But you just give me the figure and I’m going to get back to you. We haven’t got much time. One million, yeah?”

The Indian contact replied: “I give you one (million dollars). One I give you, but has to be a definite game score.”

After the call, Majeed told the reporter: “There’s big, big money in results, I tell you, you can see that.”

In the event, Pakistan beat England by four wickets to secure a memorable Test victory.

The court heard that Majeed previously told the journalist that Pakistan were trying to win the match at The Oval because the players wanted Butt to remain as Test captain.

Prosecutors allege Butt and Asif agreed for no-balls to be bowled as part of a spot-fixing scam.

The two players have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat at gambling.

Majeed and young Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir have also been charged with the same offences but are not standing trial alongside Butt and Asif.

Mahmood gave evidence from behind a screen after the judge banned descriptions of his appearance because his security could be compromised. He could be seen by the judge and the jury.

Source: Spot Fixing Scandal

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First Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test drawn

ABU DHABI:
The first cricket Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka ended in a draw at Abu Dhabi stadium on Saturday after Kumar Sangakkara hit a match-saving 211 in his team’s total of 483.

Sangakkara scored 211 during a marathon near eleven-hour stay while Prasanna made 120, for his fourth century, as Sri Lanka piled on 483 to frustrate Pakistan on the fifth and final day at Abu Dhabi stadium.

A cluster of wickets in the final session, with Umar Gul taking 4-64, left Pakistan with a target of 170 in a maximum 20 overs, but they called it quits on 21-1 after 10 overs.

Sangakkara finally fell in the last over before tea, when he was trapped leg-before by the part-time leg-spinner Azhar Ali for his first wicket in Test cricket but not before he had frustrated Pakistan for almost two sessions.

Sangakkara batted for 651 minutes, faced 431 deliveries and hit 18 boundaries during an epic knock.


Together with Prasanna, Sangakkara added 201 for the sixth wicket stand, erasing the previous best of 169 in Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests for this wicket between Kamran Akmal and Yasir Arafat at Karachi two years ago.

Sangakkara, 33, has also achieved a personal landmark by scoring a double hundred as he is now third behind Sir Donald Bradman (12) and West Indian Brian Lara (nine) in terms of scoring Test double hundreds.

“It was nice to bat under pressure and get us out of the hole,” said a delighted Sangakkara afterwards. “Prasanna batted equally well as he came out with the second new ball and batted brilliantly.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq praised Sri Lanka.

“They are a good team and showed that wonderfully by their effort and full marks to Sangakkara and Prasanna, but we let down quite a few chances which we needed to improve upon,” he said.

Score: Sri Lanka 197 & 483

Pakistan 511/6d & 21/1 (10.0 ov)

Source: Pakistan vs Srilanka

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Indo-Pak Express win Stockholm Open

STOCKHOLM:
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna won the Stockholm Open on Sunday, their second ATP doubles title of the season and third overall together.

The Indo-Pak Express defeated their Brazilian opponents in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3 in a match that barely lasted an hour.

Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares were no match for the duo in the €60,000 hard court final. Qureshi and Bopanna split the prize money €29400 each, also gaining 250 ranking points each.

Source: Aisaam and Bopanna Won Stockholm Open

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Spinners condemn England to 5-0 whitewash

England chose a particularly humiliating route to their second 5-0 whitewash in consecutive ODI tours of India, as they allowed their resolve to collapse twice in one match - first with the ball, as MS Dhoni walloped 75 not out from 69 balls to take his series tally to 212 runs without loss - and then with the bat, as they squandered a 20-over scoreline of 129 for 0 to lose all ten of their wickets for 47 runs in exactly 100 balls.

India 271 for 8 (Dhoni 75*) beat England 176 (Jadeja 4-33, Kieswetter 63) by 95 runs

Source: India beat England

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