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Under lights at the Gaddafi in Lahore, Sri Lanka held aloft the Paktel Cup. They had won when it mattered most, and had weathered every crisis of the day. The dew factor, that scourge of bowlers under lights at this ground, was made irrelevant as they kept the pressure on Pakistan’s stroke-makers, who stumbled, crumbled and hit the dust.It was a redemption of sorts for Sanath Jayasuriya (5 for 17), for he made the ball dance, and the Pakistanis who took him lightly fell flat. He had failed earlier that day, as his teammates set about building a total of 287, but now he and Upul Chandana struck repeatedly, thrusting, bouncing, turning, and the batsmen committed one folly after another on their way to a 119-run defeat.Pakistan had started hopefully with bat and ball, first removing Sri Lanka’s openers for little and then nullifying the opening attack with youthful vigour. In both cases, Sri Lanka first got a toe-hold in the door, before blasting it wide open. The morning recovery was steady. The one later was more dramatic. Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed raced away because the bowlers were unsteady in line and length, offering width and the boundaries that went with them. Soon 40 runs had been scored.Dilhara Fernando then took the ball in his hands, and after making the sign of the cross, dismissed a bewildered Hameed with his very first ball: a straight ball clipped his bat and slammed into leg stump. Then Chandana floated a delivery that Butt drove at, and he missed, but it turned in and hit the wicket. He had played comfortably, with arrogance even, but it was a misjudgement that later made clear how difficult the conditions and the bowlers were.Inzamam-ul-Haq swung at Chandana on his second ball, and dismissed it with power to midwicket. Chaminda Vaas was brought in, and Sri Lanka’s most experienced bowler immediately sold Inzamam a dummy. He inserted a slip, but swung the ball in to have him leg-before (91 for 3). Then Yousuf Youhanna wandered out of his crease and was stumped off Jayasuriya, who removed Abdul Razzaq and a disdainful Shahid Afridi as well. Moin Khan (14) swept powerfully but valiantly; he needed men to fight alongside. Chandana had him too (150 for 8).The morning had not started well for Sri Lanka. They were nervous. And why not? Their away record was skewed. They had lost to Pakistan twice in recent days. And the Gaddafi was supposed to be hell for bowlers under lights. Eager to get off the mark, Saman Jayantha ran down the wicket in the first over but Jayasuriya, who fell soon after for a scratchy 21 (35 for 2), turned him away too late.Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara joined hands and carefully settled in. They drove with caution, and ran runs with great risk; Pakistan’s fielders hurled themselves around, and threw the ball with frightening power. While Atapattu eschewed risk at other times, Sangakkara cut, swept and drove the ball with the smile of a man who had crossed a thousand runs for the season. Shoaib Malik had Atapattu (66) stumped off a wide, but by then the batsmen had put on 106 runs.The ground resonated with the sound of their languid strokes, and a few spectators cheered them on. Sangakkara (68) fell soon after, knocking a ball onto his stumps, but Mahela Jayawardene (49) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (39) hurried, and used the pace of the ball to score boundaries; the region between point and third man was active towards the end of the innings. To the bowlers’ credit, they did not lose the plot. To a man, they stuck to their task, and perhaps it was this rigidity that did them in.

Saleem Malik lashed out at the ICC and accused them of bias© Getty Images

Saleem Malik, the former Pakistan captain, believes that he was made a scapegoat in the match-fixing scandal, which ruined his career.Malik, currently in Mumbai for fund-raising purposes, went on to name a few cricketers who had been cleared in the match-fixing affair. An ANI report quoted him as saying, “Ata-ur Rehman’s ban is off. Herschelle Gibbs and Shane Warne are still playing, but I am stuck. Other Pakistani players whose names appeared in the investigations were fined and let off. Only I was punished. I guess they wanted a scapegoat, and who better than me? In India, the board thought Azharuddin would be the ideal person to ban because he was nearing the end of his career, and here in Pakistan I was coming towards the end of my career. So, Azhar and I were made the scapegoats.”Malik felt that players from the subcontinent were at the receiving end of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit. “England lost to Zimbabwe in the early 90s. West Indies were bowled out for 54 against England recently. But no one ever says those matches were fixed. The ICC continues to scrutinise only games where teams from the subcontinent are involved.”Accusing the ICC of bias, he said, “It’s because of the colour of our skin. If we were white, there wouldn’t be so much scrutiny. Shane Warne is still playing, as is Herschelle Gibbs.”When asked about his appeal to the Supreme Court to lift the life-ban imposed by the Justice Malik Qayyum committee, Malik said, “What can I say? The court is not willing to give any date for a hearing. To be honest I have given up all hope that I would ever be cleared of this allegation.”He spoke about his plight and fading hopes of detaching the stigma from his name. “As it is, what damage had to be done has been done to me and my family. I have suffered a lot … The matchfixing allegations completely destroyed me and I could not perform in the middle after that at all. In the middle of the 1999 World Cup I had to attend court hearings. It was humiliation of the worst kind. I was harassed, shot, slapped, slaughtered in public by my board, the ICC and also the media.”Malik also denied rumours about him wanting to migrate to some other country after being banned for life. “Where will I go from here? This is my country and this is the only place where they are people who still believe I am innocent and support me.”

In the entire World Cup history to date never has Pakistan been in such a tight corner as they are in the current tournament. Even when they had not qualified for the semi-finals (inaugural World Cup in 1975 and 21 years later in 1996), their reputation as one of the leading teams in the world had not been impaired to the extent as it has now.The lack of commitment, poor form/fitness and the mediocre performance so far exhibited by the team in World Cup 2003 has reduced their rating just above the `B’ Class teams participating in the mega event.Alas! A team whose rich potential and capability is never in any doubt is suffering heavily for poor leadership, mismanagement and absence of strategic planning.At last and finally the crunch moment has arrived.Pakistan must enter Centurion Park on 1st March with a `do-or-die’ spirit. Obviously the morale of Indian team is soaring having already earned 16 points and on recording a thumping 82 runs victory over England.Not withstanding this situation and for the fact that Pakistan has lost all the three previous World Cup matches played against India the overall statistics hang heavily in Pakistan’s favour with 52 victories against India’s 29 in 85 encounters.On analysis, Pakistan’s major weakness in the recent matches had been their inept batting, too many wides and noballs, scratchy fielding and on top of all that, a lack of application and concentration.However, supporters of the team believe that Pakistan will make amends and stage a comeback and one can hope they will keep their nerves in this crucial match.Yet any forecast on the result of the match may prove erroneous except it suffices to say, the key of success for the two teams in this match is largely held by Sachin Tendulkar for India and Wasim Akram for Pakistan.Here under is a brief review of the previous World Cup matches played between Pakistan and India:1. 1992-Sydney:
Man of the Match Sachin Tendulkar scored 54 the highest in the Indian innings of 216-7 in 49 overs. KapilDev and Vinod Kambli contributed 35 and 24 respectively. Legspineer Mushtaq Ahmad claimed 3 for 59. Pakistan team, well known as poor chasers, collapsed and fell 43 runs short of the target despite Aamer Sohail’s knocks of 62 and Javed Miandad’s 40. Kapil Dev, Manhoj Parbhakar and Javagal Srinath all took two wickets each.2. 1996-Bangalore:
Prior this match Pakistan had done reasonably well to win four of the five league matches but in their crunch match against India – the quarterfinals in Bangalore – they failed. Psychological pressure, indifferent batting and crowd behaviour accounted for the downfall of the potentially stronger team. Responding to a total of 287, Pakistan openers gave a flying start of 84 and they were chasing well at 231 for 5 when 4 wickets tumbled in quick succession, which sealed the fate of the match. Pakistani was without the services of skipper Wasim Akram, because of injury. The legend Javed Miandad bowed out of International cricket after this match.3. 1999-Old Trafford
Pakistan bowling attack, in particular skipper Wasim Akram (2/27) and Azhar Mahmood (2/34), succeeded in containing India. Still Rahul Dravid (61), Mohammad Azharuddin (59) and Sachin Tendulkar (45) enabled them to reach 227-6. Pakistan batting once again flopped against their traditional opponents and were bowled out for (180) in 45.3 overs. Saeed Anwar on (36), Inzmam-ul-Haq (41) and Moin Khan (34) only some offered resistance to the magnificent bowling of Man of the Match Venkatesh Parsad – 5 for 27 in 9.3 overs. Javagal Srinath 3 for 37 and Anil Kumble 2 for 43 ably assisted the Indian hero. Pakistan lost the match by 47 runs.

Matara Sports Club have threatened to take the Tournament Committee of theBoard of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) to courts over itsdecision to force the club into playing in the promotion and relegationtournament.Matara SC ended fourth in the Plate Championship of the Premier LeagueTournament, but the Tournament Committee cancelled their points, relegatingthe side to the bottom of the table after Kurunagala Youth Cricket Club.Kurunagala protested that five players playing for Matara SC had alreadyplayed for Moors Sports Club in the one-day tournament during same season.The players were R. Priyadarshana, C. Bandaratillake, U. Fernando, M.P.Salgado and A. Jayasinghe.Kurunagala ended up in the seventh place of the Plate Championship and wereto play in the promotion and relegation matches. When their protest provedsuccessful they moved up into the safety of sixth position and were thusguaranteed a place in the Premier League next season.Matara, however, responded to the board’s decision by refusing to play asingle promotion or relegation game.They complain that BCCSL tournament rules and regulations require thatofficial protests should be handed over to the secretary of the tournamentcommittee within 48 hours of a match. Kurunegala’s protest came aftertwo-months and Matara officials smell foul play.Sports Secretary of Matara SC, P.M.C Waidyarathne, claims that the fiveplayers were legitimately transferred, having moved from one province toanother because of changes to their employment.Chairman of the Tournament Committee, Shriyan Samararathne, maintains thatthe committee is not satisfied with the documents provided by thetransferred players.

West Ham have made their first move as they eye up La Liga’s 2024 top goalscorer to replace the departing Niclas Füllkrug.

Fullkrug reaches agreement in principle to join AC Milan

Talks between AC Milan and the Hammers are continuing this week, and the only real disparity in negotiations is the nature of his buy option.

West Ham are apparently pushing for an obligation to buy in Fullkrug’s loan deal, while the Rossoneri only want an option, so this is holding up the 32-year-old’s San Siro switch.

Nevertheless, Fullkrug is said to have reached an agreement in principle with Milan, meaning it is down to the clubs to iron out key details.

That is according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, who also reports that the east Londoners could sign two new strikers instead of just one.

Nuno Espírito Santo has just Callum Wilson as his only natural reliable striking option right now, alongside captain Jarrod Bowen, who can play in a makeshift role when required.

Wilson has surprised many with his brilliant form for the Irons this term, but the former Newcastle star and Bowen simply don’t possess enough firepower by themselves to lift West Ham out of the drop zone.

With Fullkrug leaving, the addition of a class number nine is absolutely non-negotiable.

Related West Ham in pole position to re-sign former star after holding talks with him

They could bring him back to Rush Green.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

A host of strikers have been linked with moves to the London Stadium for weeks.

Most recently, reports from Italy claim that West Ham could look to Serie A in search of options, with Fiorentina star Moise Kean said to be attracting their interest ahead of January.

Now, it is believed that West Ham are considering Roma’s Artem Dovbyk.

West Ham make first approach for Roma striker Artem Dovbyk

That is according to sportmediaset, who claim West Ham have made an initial approach for Dovbyk as they prepare contingency plans to replace Fullkrug, should he complete his anticipated move to Milan.

The Hammers conducted exploratory contact with Roma regarding the Ukrainian forward, though discussions remain preliminary with no formal negotiations underway.

West Ham’s interest is said to be strictly conditional upon Fullkrug’s departure, with the German’s exit increasingly likely following advanced Milan talks.

Subscribe to our newsletter for transfer insight Dig deeper into the transfer picture: subscribe to our newsletter for expert coverage of potential West Ham targets, player profiles and transfer market context to follow moves around Dovbyk, Fullkrug and more. Subscribe Subscribe to our newsletter for transfer insight Dig deeper into the transfer picture: subscribe to our newsletter for expert coverage of potential West Ham targets, player profiles and transfer market context to follow moves around Dovbyk, Fullkrug and more.

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Dovbyk, 28, joined Roma from Girona for around £27 million last year following his 23/24 La Liga golden boot — where he finished that season as the Spanish top flight’s chief goalscorer.

However, his time in Italy has proven inconsistent.

Dovbyk boasts 19 goals across all competitions for Roma since joining them in 2024, but has struggled to impose himself consistently under Gian Piero Gasperini this year.

That being said, the Ukraine international could be a good option for West Ham given his proven past track record.

Related West Ham make approach for Premier League striker as Fullkrug agrees AC Milan move

The German has given his San Siro greenlight.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

	Omar Khan, West Indies’ manager, with coach John Dyson (file photo) © AFP

Omar Khan, West Indies’ manager, is confident that his team will stand up to be counted when they take on the visiting Australians in the first of three Tests starting on May 22 in Kingston.”What I have noticed about the players is that they are maturing and this gives me confidence going into such a tough series,” Khan said. “We are cognisant of the fact that we are coming up against the world champions, Australia. We know our position in the rankings and theirs, and the players know what is expected of them.”West Indies go into the series on the back of an impressive performance against Sri Lanka – they drew the two-Test series 1-1 before claiming the three-match ODI series 2-0, with one match being abandoned due to rain.An 18-man West Indies squad is currently engaged in a six-day training camp which began on May 12. “The players have been put under intense training,” Khan said. “They have done a lot of physicals and are now moving on to some nets work.””They understand that they need to be at their very best to compete against Australia and have accepted that,” he said. “The guys have also been very interactive in the team-building sessions, and this is good for us. What we are trying to achieve is a strong, united bunch and we are well on our way to achieving this.”Following a two-day practice match against an Antiguan XI which brings the camp to a close, the national selectors will choose a 14-man squad that will fly to Kingston on Sunday to prepare for the first Test.

The ongoing impasse between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Players’ Association (WIPA) deepened when the board alleged that the WIPA did not meet the deadline to resolve the sponsorship issue. Roger Brathwaite, chief executive of WICB, told CMC Radio, “We have been told that we can expect a response from WIPA soon, and an announcement about the latest position will be made later in the week.”WIPA reacted strongly to the board’s claims, accusing them of undermining the integrity of the players. According to the press release issued by Dinanath Ramnarine, president and CEO of WIPA, the players association had responded to WICB in the time frame promised, and had submitted a counter proposal to the WICB on February 19. A week later, the WICB responded to this on February 24th with its own counter proposal and gave WIPA a deadline of February 25th to respond.Ramnarine further stated that it wasn’t possible for WIPA to respond at such short notice for two reasons – the first being that the WIPA’s legal representatives were not available to give their advice on the matter and, the sceond, that WIPA had to seek its members’ consensus on the revised proposal of the board. “Because the members reside in islands across the Caribbean it would not be possible to get feedback from all of them in time. The President of WIPA therefore advised the WICB that, recognising the urgency of the negotiations, the WICB would have WIPA’s reply by March 2nd. WIPA has kept to its promise and submitted its reply to the WICB earlier today.”The two parties have been engaged in this imbroglio since last December, when the board awarded team sponsorship to Digicel, bringing the players’ personal endorsement deals with Cable and Wireless, a rival of Digicel, in conflict.

A report in Zimbabwe’s Independent newspaper claims that Zimbabwe Cricket are trying to lure club sides from Asia to give the domestic game a desperately-needed fillip.The first-class structure virtually collapsed in 2005-06 after bitter infighting among stakeholders, clashes between clubs and the board, and the continuing exodus of players. The Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s century-old first-class competition, was not held, and the Faithwear Cup, the one-day tournament, was reduced to a virtual farce.A ZC spokesman maintained that the Logan Cup would take place, stating a decision had been made to shift the domestic season. “The Zimbabwe climate is such that cricket can be played all year round, and we intend to fully utilise our climatic conditions,” a spokesman told Cricinfo. “Therefore our season will run from January to December.” This caught stakeholders completely unawares.The Independent stated that two club sides from Asia had been approached, quoting a board source as saying: “ZC is in discussion with a number of cricket institutions with the willingness to send clubs to participate in first-class cricket in the country.” It was also reported that Bangladesh A might be asked to participate.What is uncertain is how this will be funded, as ZC has long been rumoured to be strapped for cash. However, even thought Zimbabwe suspended themselves from Test cricket in January, their income from the ICC remains unaffected, so they should receive several million dollars as a Full Member.The paper added that Ozias Bvute, ZC’s managing director, could not be drawn into discussing the foreign clubs issue, only saying the board had tabled “major plans to revive the local game”.

With only two days to go for the start of the first Test against Australia, at Bangalore, the Board of Control for Cricket in India seems to have wriggled out of the mess it had got itself into with regards to television rights. The BCCI has sold the television rights for the next two series to Doordarshan.A Times of India report claimed that Doordarshan will telecast the series while TEN Sports may produce the feed and Sony may market it. The deal apparently cost Doordarshan Rs100crore and includes four Tests against Australia, a one-dayer against Pakistan and two Tests against South Africa.This has not been confirmed by BCCI officials, but the report quotes SK Sarma, CEO of Prasar Bharati, the parent company of Doordarshan, as saying: “BCCI has agreed to give us exclusive telecast rights. We will show the matches on our television and sports channels.”If you thought this was finally the end of the saga, with two days for the start of the first Test, hold on a minute. Doordarshan will still go to court, but only to assert its position as the appropriate group to telecast the match in the current situation.

He may be the most influential man in Pakistan, but even Pervez Musharraf needs to buy a ticket to watch the cricket. According to the Times of India, he paid Rs 4500 (Rs 1500 per ticket) to watch the one-day international at Rawalpindi along with his family. The newspaper quoted Shahryar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, as saying: “He is patron-in-chief of the PCB and doesn’t need tickets to watch matches. But he overruled the PCB request and paid for himself and his family.”* * *The News, a Pakistan daily, reports that about 1000 Indian fans will walk across the border in hte next few days to watch the one-dayers over the weekend. “About 500 Indian spectators will cross the Wagah border on foot on Friday,” said Alamzeb Khan, a border-force officer for the Sutlej Rangers. “They are coming to witness the one-day international matches here.” An similar number are expected to come in before the last two ODIs in Lahore, on March 21 and 24.* * *Sourav Ganguly’s request to extend the boundary ropes was allowed at Rawalpindi, but he wasn’t quite as successful at Peshawar. Tariq Rana, the head curator of the Arbab Niaz Stadium, confirmed that Ganguly had made a similar request here: “Ganguly insisted that since the boundary on either side of the squares was at 75 yards and the boundary ropes in front of the wickets were just 70 to 71 yards, they should also be extended by five to six yards,” Tariq said, according to . “His argument was that if the boundary rope was extended it would allow the batsmen to run for longer periods.” The request was turned down, though, as the curator felt that would leave very little space between the ropes and the fencing, increasing the possibilities of injuries to fielders.* * *In his column in the Asian Age, Rajan Bala suggests that the Indians should gamble on playing an extra spinner to curb the free-stroking Pakistani batsmen. The Indian bowlers were tonked around in the first two ODIs, and were struck a further blow with the injury to Ashish Nehra, but Bala sees this as an opportunity to innovate. “It is in crisis situations like this, when there is a shortage of quality and penetrative bowlers, that one must be innovative,” he writes. “It is all about pulling off a bluff or two.” Bala recalled the 1992 World Cup, when Martin Crowe experimented with Dipak Patel’s offspinners at the start of the innings. “This is not to suggest that either Ramesh Powar or [Murali] Kartik be given the new ball. But if Ganguly took the chance he might flummox a batsman like [Shahid] Afridi who is capable of much indiscretion.”