Pakistan Open golf tees off today

The event carries a lucrative purse of Rs3 million which will be great attraction for the professional golfers gathering here from all over the country.

Pakistan number one Mohammad Shabbir Iqbal will be leading the pack of golfers in the 72-hole event.

Other prominent golfers competing are Matloob Ahmed, Mohammad Munir, Mohammad Tariq, Shahid Javed Khan, Imdad Hussain, Mohammad Siddiq, Waheed Baloch, Amjad Yousuf and Mohammad Afsar.

The winner of the professional category will be grabbing around Rs525,000.

The runner-up will pocket Rs480,000 while the third-position holder will get Rs450,000.

Besides the professionals and amateur categories, senior professionals will also be battling for Rs500,000 prize money.

The details of the event were unveiled at a news conference at the venue of the event by Pakistan Golf Federation secretary Taimur Hussain.

Tournament director Mehmood Aziz and chief referee Mohammad Irfan were present on the occasion.

Lee applauds Pattinson

Australia's cricketer of the moment, James Pattinson. Photo: Pat Scala
BRETT Lee, who famously engaged in shaking up tail-enders, has implored Australia's latest pace sensation, James Pattinson, to continue his combative, intimidatory approach and not to be deterred from using his mouth as a weapon against India.
Pattinson, 21, was man of the match in Australia's 122-run first Test win at the MCG and made waves for his use of aggression as well as the exquisite bowling that claimed Indian run machines Rahul Dravid and V. V. S. Laxman among others.
The Victorian was warned for bouncing tail-ender Zaheer Khan on the fourth and final day and earlier in the Test match was involved in a heated stoush with Virender Sehwag in the middle.

Army and Punjab win in opening matches of National Baseball Championship

KARACHI: Army and Punjab registered big wins on the first day of the National Baseball Championship, which got under way at the Iqbal Park Sports Complex on Thursday.

Army outclassed Police 11-0 as the match lasted until the fifth innings.

For Army, Arshad scored three with one grand-slam home-run. The other scorers for Army were Imtiaz, Zafar Junior, Iftikhar Ahmad, who scored two runs each. Obaidullah and Omar added one run apiece.

In the second match of the day, Punjab earned 21-2 win against Islamabad. The match also lasted till the fifth innings.

Mudassar and Zaman batted well for the winners, contributing four runs each. Aqeel and Ali scored three runs each.

Aasim, Faisal, and Ali Raza hit two runs each while Azeem made one run. For Islamabad, Tauheed and Mudassar could only score one run each, just to reduce the margin of the defeat.

Aussie bats must get into the swing

GRAHAM Yallop says Australia must scrap like cage fighters against the kings of swing.

And skipper Michael Clarke must prove he's a true leader by filling a No. 3 slot in the four-Test series against No. 2-ranked India that Usman Khawaja isn't ready for, is beyond Ricky Ponting and eluding injury-plagued Shaun Marsh.

Former Test skipper Yallop said there was no way Australia's batting camp, starting today in Melbourne, would rectify issues against the moving ball that have resulted in five sub-150 totals in less than two years - and it didn't have to.

"Obviously some guys have lost their way but they need to learn how to stay at the crease and survive - it's not purely the swing that's getting them," said top-order technician Yallop, who averaged 41.1 over 39 Tests for Australia from 1976-84.

Shakib and Nafees prop up Bangladesh

Shakib Al-Hasan cracked a career-best 108 not out and Shahriar Nafees hit a solid 97 to lead Bangladesh's recovery on the opening day of the second and final cricket Test against Pakistan here on Saturday.

Bangladesh was struggling at 43 for four following paceman Aizaz Cheema's three-wicket burst in the morning before reaching 234 for five in its first innings at stumps, thanks to Shakib and Nafees.

The left-handed pair denied Pakistan any success for 51 overs as they added 180 runs, Bangladesh's highest stand for the fifth wicket in Tests.

Nafees looked set to complete his second Test century before falling in the last session, caught behind off his gloves off paceman Umar Gul after hitting 12 fours in his 177-ball knock.

Former captain Shakib moved from 89 to 100 in one over off Gul and completed his second Test hundred when he cut the paceman for a single.

His previous best was 100 against New Zealand in Hamilton last year.

Shakib has so far hit 14 fours in his 168-ball knock.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was unbeaten on five when bad light stopped play.

Nafees, who swept and pulled off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez for two fours in an over, reached his seventh Test half-century when he fluently drove Gul through the covers for a boundary.

Shakib Al Hasan keeps Bangladesh in contention against Pakistan

The Bangladesh batsman Shakib Al Hasan leaves the field in Mirpur after being dismissed for 144. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan finished day two of their second Test against Bangladesh on 87 for one, leaving the match in Mirpur evenly poised. A superb innings of 144 from Shakib Al Hasan – his best first-class score – helped Bangladesh to a total of 338 and the dismissal of the Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez for 14 raised their hopes of levelling the series.

Hafeez had hit 143 in Pakistan's innings victory in the first Test at Chittagong, but after the was out, edging a Nazmul Hossain delivery behind to Mushfiqur Rahim, Pakistan were able to steady the ship. Taufeeq Umar reached 44, with eight fours, and Azhar Ali was unbeaten on 26.

Shakib helped his team add 51 in a shortened first session – thanks to fog – to reach lunch at 285 for five. He was out following a mix-up with Mushfiqur which enabled Taufeeq to throw down the stumps at the non-striker's end. Mushfiqur was out next ball for 40, gloving a Umar Gul delivery behind to Adnan Akmal.

Pakistan players denied Dhaka PL spots

Nine Pakistani players have been offered contracts by different clubs in the Dhaka Premier League that begins on December 26, but the PCB has stopped Test players Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Rehman from signing.

"The PCB feels that at this time when the national team is due to play a very important Test series against England it would not be appropriate to allow our top players to play in any foreign... league," PCB media manager Nadeem Sarwar told Reuters.

"No player at this stage has been given permission to sign any contract."

Other players offered contracts include out-of-favour Test players Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Umar Akmal and Sohail Tanvir, who recently played in the one-day series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The Pakistani team is currently touring Bangladesh and will return home next week before leaving for Dubai on January 9. The first of three Tests against England start on January 17 with the squad scheduled to be named next week.

Pak tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi ties knot

Pakistan tennis star Aisam-ul -Haq Qureshi has tied the knot with British citizen Faha Akmal at a grand ceremony in Garrison Golf Club, Lahore on December 17.

Qureshi wore a white sherwani and red turban and his bride wore a conventional red 'lehnga' dress.

Aisam's Indian tennis partner Rohan Bopana and their American tennis coach were among the guests at the marriage ceremony, The Newsreports

ECB denies snubbing Sharjah due to previous match fixing links

London, Dec 14(ANI): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has denied reports that the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium had been ignored as a venue for the series against Pakistan due to its previous alleged match fixing links.

“No, that is not correct. The tour itinerary to UAE was agreed and publicised prior to the renovation work being completed at Sharjah cricket ground,” a ECB spokesman told PakPassion.net.

“ECB’s view was that it would not have been fair to supporters to change pre-publicised venues at this late stage when many would have already made travel arrangements and booked accommodation,” he added.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman, however, claimed that their board was keen to ensure that Sharjah was the host for at least a couple of matches.

“But the England and Wales Cricket Board were not keen on playing in Sharjah,” the spokesman said.

“The Sharjah Cricket Stadium had done very good recently in hosting the Sri Lankans for a Test match and a ODI and we felt that it was worthy of hosting some cricket for the series against England,” he added.

The upcoming series sees Abu Dhabi hosting four matches, whilst Dubai hosts the remaining six.

The action gets underway on January 17 with the final match being a Twenty20 International in Abu Dhabi on February 27. (ANI)

CONTROVERSIAL Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is expected to dominate Australia's new Twenty/20 cricket competition starting this week.

And power-hitting former West Indies captain Chris Gayle is favoured by leading online sports betting agencysportsbet.com.au to be the tournament's biggest run-scorer. 

Afridi heads an exciting troop of overseas invaders in the nation's Twenty/20 Big Bash starting with his adopted team Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, December 18.

The former Pakistani captain, who has been reported by authorities for ball-tampering and unsportsmanlike behaviour on a Test pitch, is an $11 favourite to be the tournament's leading wicket-taker.

Gayle is at $7 to head the run-making list.

The belligerent left-hander is also a $3.00 favourite to score the most runs of any overseas player, ahead of Herschelle Gibbs ($5.00), Michael Lumb, Kieron Pollard ($6.00), Brendon McCullum and Owais Shah ($8.00).

Afridi is at $1.91 to take the most wickets of any overseas player, while his countrymen Rana Naved ($4.00) and Abdul Razzaq ($5.00) are also expected to figure prominently among the wickets, according tosportsbet.com.au's Shaun Anderson.

“There’s no disrespect to the Aussie players, but these two guys in particular (Afridi and Gayle) have more than proven themselves to be elite T20 players at an international level and in the IPL,” Anderson said.

“We expect both to lead the charge for their teams and dominate the Big Bash League.”

Cricket: Pakistan wins 1st test by innings, 184 runs

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Pakistan spinner Abdur Rehman took four wickets while Saeed Ajmal and Aizaz Cheema chimed in with two each as the visitors efficiently and predictably completed victory over Bangladesh by an innings and 184 runs in the first test.

Needing 459 runs just to make Pakistan bat again, Bangladesh could only reach 275-9, with Rubel Hossain absent through injury, giving Pakistan victory on Monday with more than four sessions to spare.

Mohammed Nazimuddin top scored for Bangladesh with 78 while Shakib Al Hasan made 51 and Mushfiqur Rahim 49 but the hosts were never able to put together the big partnership required to stave off Pakistan.

Opener Nazimuddin and Shakib both fell to Rehman in the morning session, and Mahmudullah also went before lunch, bowled by Ajmal for a duck, exposing the tail and effectively ending Bangladesh's slim hopes of turning the game into a contest.

After the first break, Rahim was trapped lbw by Rehman on 49.

Cheema took the final wicket of Shahadat Hossain caught by Umar Gul on 21.

Pakistan declared its first innings on 594-5 in response to Bangladesh's first innings total of 135.

With the latest victory, Pakistan is sitting on an unbeaten streak stretching back to the one-day series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates last month. It swept the one-day series against Bangladesh 3-0 and came out on top in the one-off Twenty20 match.

The second and final test begins in Mirpur on Saturday.

Bangladesh has won just three of its 71 test matches since gaining test status in 2000.

T20 sparks major run deluge

AP

Michael Doman and AP

The world record individual score of 219 in a one-day international by India’s Virender Sehwag yesterday provided more proof of the positive influence of Twenty20 cricket on the game.

Sehwag’s tour-de-force – he cracked 25 fours and seven sixes for a total of 142 runs in boundaries in his 149-ball 219 – bettered long-time teammate Sachin Tendulkar’s mark of 200, attained against South Africa in Gwalior last year.

Sehwag’s blitz against the West Indies in Indore helped his side clinch a 3-1 series victory, with one match left to play in Chennai on Sunday.

Surprisingly, the hard-hitting Sehwag’s pyrotechnics did not form part of a world record team total – that accolade belongs to Sri Lanka, whose 443-9 against the Netherlands in Amstelveen five years ago is the best in this regard.

India’s 418-5 against their Caribbean counterparts yesterday is only the joint fourth highest total in ODIs, being bettered also by the 438-9 by South Africa to beat the 434-4 of Australia at the Wanderers in 2006.

The new record came a day before the South African One-day Cup final between the Cape Cobras and the Warriors at Newlands today.

Scores have been higher on average at Highveld venues in the 50-over format this season, but there have been predictions that an individual double hundred will be scored soon in the domestic 50-over format.

Premier world all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who plays for the Cobras, said T20 cricket had changed the face of the one-day game.

“The game has moved forward,” he said ahead of today’s final.

One batsman who many would tip to be the first to reach a double century in the 50-over format domestically is the Cobras’ Richard Levi, whose effortless boundary-striking earned him 57-ball score of 110 against the Lions at the Wanderers last month. When he got out, there was still more than half the innings left.

Levi hits a high proportion of sixes in his innings, which makes his chances of reaching 200 that much greater.

Another barnstorming opening bat who could achieve the double-ton feat first in domestic competition is the Dolphins’ Loots Bosman.

In South African domestic cricket there are two scores of 200 or more in limited overs competition – the 222 not out by Graeme Pollock for Eastern Province against Border in the 1974/75 season and the 202 not out by Alan Barrow for Natal against the SA African XI a season later.

The highest team total is the 438 by the Proteas to clinch a one-day series against the Aussies in 2006.

Today Tendulkar was quoted as saying: “I am very happy for (Virender) and also the fact that someone who has broken my record is my teammate and an Indian.”

Tendulkar sat out the on-going five-game series along with regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which provided Sehwag the opportunity to register his first century as Indian captain. The 33-year-old Delhi batsman powered India to their best ever ODI score.

And Sehwag conceded it was a special feeling to have broken Tendulkar’s record.

“It’s great to get past Sachin’s record because he has been my role model,” Sehwag said. “Scoring a double-hundred is never easy and over the last so many years, only two people have done it.”

The 33-year-old crossed the 200-run mark with a four through point off pace bowler Andre Russell in only the 44th over of the innings. He was finally dismissed in the 47th over.

Sehwag’s big-hitting has seen him score two Test triple-centuries as well coming close to a third, but he considers the Indore knock to be his best.

“I would rate this as one of my very best, even better than my triple centuries in Tests because in Tests, you have plenty of time to score runs,” said Sehwag, who scored 309 against Pakistan at Multan in 2004, 319 against South Africa at Chennai in 2008, and 293 against Sri Lanka at Mumbai in 2009.

“This is a great achievement and I congratulate Sehwag for the amazing feat,” former India captain Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying in The Times of India. “He is a gambler, a player who loves to take risks.”

Sehwag, who played a number of his trademark aerial shots during the 149-ball innings, saw West Indies captain Darren Sammy drop an easy catch off pace bowler Ravi Rampaul on 170 and conceded luck was on his side.

PAKISTAN’S SHAHID AFRIDI EXCITED BY ENGLAND CHALLENGE – CRICKET NEWS UPDATE

Pakistan’s all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that his side’s real challenge will be to do well against England in an upcoming series, starting from January 17, 2012 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Men in Green have been performing consistently well over the past year and have won six series on the trot despite not playing any cricket on home soil.

Although the team and management are extremely happy over the recent results, they know that they have not played cricket against most of the top teams in the past year.

Pakistan have won One Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand, West Indies, Ireland, Zimbabwe,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh over the past year, but they are yet to face quality teams like England, Australia,South Africa and India in the limited-over competition.

However, the team has a chance to prove their mettle once they go against the Poms at the start of next year. Both sides will be facing each other in all three formats of the game and will look to a solid competition.

England will start the series as favourites, considering their rise in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) Test and ODI team rankings. They are at the top spot in both these formats, but have to prove themselves in 50-over cricket.

Both Pakistan and England are evenly matched when it comes to playing ODI cricket, but the latter side will have a psychological advantage, as they defeated the same opposition in all three formats of the game back in 2010.

The challenge to do well against a better team excites Afridi, who has been performing exceptionally well since coming out of retirement this year.

The veteran added, “Winning (throughout the year) gave us a momentum and moral is high. We have developed a winning unit but it will be exciting when we face England and that would be a real test. Playing against team like England or Australia is very exciting and then we will see where we stand.”

Misbah is yet to lose a single series as captain of the Pakistan team and will be aiming to continue his winning momentum in 2012. However, the start to the year will be very important for him and the entire team.

India win as Kohli upstages Rampaul

VISAKHAPATNAM: Virat Kohli smashed a robust 117 to power India to a five-wicket win over the West Indies in the second one-day international on Friday despite Ravi Rampaul’s record tail-end knock.

Rampaul cracked 86 not out, the highest score by a number 10 batsman in one-dayers, to help the tourists post a challenging 269-9 in the day-night match in Visakhapatnam.

India were struggling at 84-3 before passing their opponents’ total with 11 balls to spare for a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, with Kohli hitting 14 fours in a 123-ball knock for his eighth one-day hundred.

Kohli received valuable support from Rohit Sharma, who scored a solid 90 not out for a second successive half-century. The pair put on 163 for the fourth wicket to shape India’s 11th successive one-day win at home.

The West Indies were in deep trouble at 63-5 after being put in to bat in overcast conditions, but Rampaul and opener Lendl Simmons (78) helped their team set a stiff target.

The previous highest score by a number 10 batsman in one-dayers was an unbeaten 73 by Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi in 2009.

Rampaul gave a superb display of power-hitting during his 66-ball innings, as he bludgeoned six sixes and as many fours and put on 99 with Kemar Roach (24 not out), the third-highest stand for the last wicket in one-dayers.

The West Indies were 149-8 in the 31st over before adding 120 runs for their last two wickets to frustrate India.

Rampaul, a left-handed batsman and right-arm paceman, and Roach returned to trouble India with the ball as they removed Gautam Gambhir and Parthiv Patel to reduce the hosts to 29-2 before rain stopped play for nearly 40 minutes.

Roach struck with his second delivery when he accounted for Patel, who was caught by skipper Darren Sammy at second slip, while Gambhir fell to a superb one-handed catch by Adrian Barath in the covers off Rampaul.

Skipper Virender Sehwag was dropped twice during his 35-ball 26 before being caught by Andre Russell at long-off off part-time spinner Marlon Samuels, but Kohli and Sharma ensured the victory with a big stand.

Indian pacemen Umesh Yadav grabbed three wickets and Vinay Kumar two to do the early damage.

Simmons steadied the innings with a 56-run stand for the sixth wicket with Kieron Pollard (35), who was adjudged caught by wicket-keeper Patel off the gloves after smashing spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for two successive sixes.

Simmons was the ninth man to be dismissed, run out while coming for a second run after hitting one six and eight fours in his 10th half-century in one-day internationals.

NZ 5-176 against Australia at stumps

An Australian-born batsman helped New Zealand recover to be 5-176 on a rain-affected opening day of the first trans-Tasman Test at the Gabba on Thursday.
But the Black Caps' biggest thank you went to another who hailed from this side of the Tasman - Australian captain Michael Clarke.
Perth-born Dean Brownlie (32 not out) was dropped by Clarke on three before sharing an unbroken 80-run stand with Daniel Vettori (45 not out) when bad light then rain ensured a premature end to the day.
Clarke would still be kicking himself after dropping a sitter at first slip off an unlucky Peter Siddle (1-29 off 15 overs) with New Zealand teetering at 5-102.
'Some guys get lucky - I am sure if Dean gets a big score he will be pretty thankful for that missed opportunity,' Black Caps opener Brendon McCullum said.
'Without that partnership we would be deep in trouble - they have put us back in the game.'
Still Clarke must be happy overall after Mitchell Starc (2-52 off 13) and fellow debutant quick James Pattinson (1-50 off 11) chimed into Australia's least experienced attack since Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid and Chris Matthews ran out against England in 1986.
'No one likes to drop them but we'll be right,' Starc said of Clarke's gaffe.
McCullum said a first innings total of 280 would be competitive on the bouncy Gabba deck - a total the Black Caps would have given up on after a disastrous opening session.
McCullum (34 off 51) gave the visitors a dream start, belting seven fours - including three off Pattinson in the first over of the match.
So ferocious was McCullum's attack that umpires were forced to change the misshapen ball after 10 overs.
New Zealand cruised to 0-44 in the 11th over - only to be 4-94 by lunch after being made to pay for their aggression.
Starc was first to break his Test wicket duck when he claimed McCullum wildly cutting before Pattinson had captain Ross Taylor (14) chopping on.
Starc was high fiving again when beefy batsman Jesse Ryder (six) thrashed him straight to point on the last ball of the first over after lunch to make it 5-96.
'We were reckless,' McCullum said.
Brownlie rode his luck on Thursday - he was dropped twice in three balls he faced and survived an lbw appeal off unlikely suspect Mike Hussey.
After Clarke's howler, Test debutant David Warner got his fingertips to a tough chance at point from Brownlie off Starc.
Pattinson, Starc and Warner all received baggy greens before the Test, bringing the number of Australian debutants in 2011 to nine - the most in a calendar year since the turbulent days of World Series Cricket in 1978.
Pattinson was always going to make a bit of history no matter what happened on Thursday.
His selection over unlucky 12th man Ben Cutting ensured he and his brother Darren - who represented England in 2008 - became the first siblings to play Test cricket for different nations in 112 years.
Bad light ensured an early tea break before the entire last session was washed out.

Imran storms into World Snooker last-16 stage

KARACHI, Dec 1 (APP): Pakistan’s top ranked cueist Imran Shahzad stormed into the last 16 rounds of IBSF World Snooker Championship by beating compatriot Muhammad Asif in the last 32 round 5-2 in Bangalore (India) on Thursday.

Diminutive Imran from Lahore appearing in his third global event, displaying better brand of potting and tactical positional play to overcome his team-mate.
Imran started well by forging to 3-0 by smartly dipping the multicolored balls.
But bearded Asif Toba grabbed the next two frames to make it 2-3. Afterwards enjoying the vast international experience Imran seized the next two frames to sail into the pre-quarterfinal stage.
Earlier in the first last 64 knock-out round, Imran Shahzad defeated Joris Maas of the Netherlands 5-2. After finishing on the top of his pool, Asif Toba got a direct entry into the last 32 stage.

Big test awaits Pakistan team in Champions Trophy: Ayaz Mahmood

KARACHI, Dec 1 (APP): Big test is awaiting Pakistan team in the 33rd Hockey Champions Trophy which opens in Auckland (New Zealand), Olympian Ayaz Mahmood said on Wednesday. “This will be a biggest challenge for Pakistan team against top team and will set the trend what lies ahead of the them,” he told APP in an interview here.

Pakistan will meet Great Britain in their opening match in eight team contest on Saturday.
“It will be a tough event for Pakistan in presence of Britain, Spain and Australia in their group,” he said.
“Pakistan did a great job by beating Australia in the tri-nation contest. However we must not forget we lost the league game to Australia 2-8 margin.
Mid-fielder Ayaz Mahmood, who was member of Pakistan team which won the gold medal in 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angles (USA) said though Pakistan HockeyFederation (PHF) may be thinking to see the team at the rostrum as it was showingupward trend.
“But Pakistan has slipped to 9th from their previous 7th ranking of International Hockey Federation ranking which was a decline,” he said.
He said despite change of the format, Champions Trophy is very tough and difficult event and Pakistan’s pool is also very difficult.
“All depends on the opening game. If we beat Britain in the opener it definitely will be good build-up for the team. Otherwise it will be daunting task for the team for a place in semifinals,” he added. 
He said contribution of senior players like Shakeel Abbasi at upfront, Waseem Ahmed in the midfield half back and Sohail Abbas and goalie Salman Akbar at the back will be very crucial.
“If seniors did the good they can inspire the youngsters,” Ayaz Mahmood said.
“Personally I would love to see Pakistan team doing well in Auckland but at the same time we got to be realistic,” he concluded.