Butt, Aamer Appeal Against Corruption Ban

“We have filed a statement of appeal in the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ban by the International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal,” Butt’s lawyer Yasin Patel told AFP by email.

Opening batsman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Aamer were all banned on charges of corruption relating to last year’s Lord’s Test against England.

Butt was banned for 10 years, with five suspended. Asif was banned for seven years, two of which were suspended, with Aamer handed a five-year penalty. All three players are also facing criminal prosecution in Britain.

Butt confirmed his lawyer had appealed.

“This is to confirm that today my legal team served a statement of appeal upon the Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal against the tribunal’s findings in relation to the Lord’s Test and the sanctions imposed at the recent hearing in Doha,” Butt said in a statement to AFP.

“Full grounds for the appeal will be lodged in due course. Due to the pending proceedings in the UK, my barrister… has advised me against saying anything further at this stage in relation to the appeal.”
“I can also confirm that it is my intention to attend the hearing at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on the 17th of March. At this stage I have no further comments to make in relation to that matter,” said Butt.

Aamer has also appealed against his ban, while Asif hinted at challenging the punishment before the March 2 deadline.

Aamer’s lawyer Shahid Karim said he filed the appeal on Friday.

“We have filed an appeal against the ban on Friday. We are challenging the judgement on various grounds,” Shahid Karim said.

Misbah And Afridi Sink Sri Lanka

Anyone still out there who thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 277 with tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced a bit of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist, with a flurry of boundaries in the end, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over, but Umar Gul held his nerve to steer Pakistan home.  

25 overs Sri Lanka 109 for 4 (Afridi 2-10) need 169 runs to beatPakistan 277 for 7 (Misbah 83*, Younis 72)

Shoaib Akhtar hit strangling lines and lengths and Shahid Afridi produced a bit of magic to leave Sri Lanka staring down the barrel at the half-way mark of the chase. Sri Lanka's hopes rested on their captain Kumar Sangakkara, who was trying hard to prevent them from disintegrating on a slow pitch that was increasingly aiding turn. There was just one bad over from Pakistan - Umar Gul leaked 16 runs the 12th over- as the bowlers seemed determined to ensure the good work of the batsmen didn't go waste.

The new-ball bowlers Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq didn't give any width to Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sri Lanka reached 28 from seven overs. Dilshan seemed to go hard at deliveries and couldn't find any elbow room to manufacture his trademark off-side hits and though Upul Tharanga was marginally better with his timing, the runs were hard to come by. Perhaps, they should have tried to take singles but it has to be said that the bowling was asphyxiating.

To their credit, Sri Lanka didn't panic and didn't gift any early wickets. The openers gradually began to find some touch and recovered to 48 from 11 overs before breaking free in that Gul over. Dilshan upper cut the first ball past backward-point boundary, upper cut the fourth for another four, and there was a high bouncer that yielded five wides off a free-hit delivery. Suddenly, Sri Lanka were up and running but Pakistan reacted equally quickly to place the speed breakers.

Mohammad Hafeez drew first blood by luring Tharanga to drive straight to extra cover where Afridi pouched the catch, looked up to the skies, and roared. Soon Afridi was involved in yet another potentially game-breaking moment when introduced himself into the attack in the 18th over. He got one to skid on, just outside off and Dilshan made a fatal error of cutting, and dragged it onto his stumps.

Akthar returned to deliver a vital blow with a skilful, and slightly slower off cutter, to breach the defences of Mahela Jayawardene in the 21st over. Afridi's fire wasn't extinguished yet. He produced a gorgeous leg break to remove Thilan Samaraweera in the 22nd over. He followed a delivery that held its line with a loopy leg break that dipped rapidly on Samaraweera, who was sucked out of his crease, only to be left stranded as Kamran Akmal effected a smart stumping.

50 overs Pakistan 277 for 7 (Misbah 83*, Younis 72) v Sri Lanka

The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, with superb poise and skill in the middle overs, before Muttiah Muralitharan pulled them back in the end to leave the game fascinatingly poised. This innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs and finally fabulous end-over bowling. Shahid Afridi said at the toss that he would be happy with 280 and Kumar Sangakkara said he would be happy to chase that total.

Pakistan's innings stood out for its handling of the middle overs. Serenity blew across the ground after the fall of Kamran Akmal. Mohammad Hafeez had run himself out after a moment of madness and Kamran, who inexplicably withdrew into his shell after that mix-up, soon combusted, going for an ugly slog against Pakistan's bogeyman Rangana Herath to leave Pakistan in a tricky spot. It wasn't quite a crisis situation but it definitely needed calm heads. Luckily for Pakistan, you can't find better men than Misbah and Younis to handle these moments. What followed was a perfect advertisement for the much-abused middle overs in an ODI.

Two of the oldest members of the side ran beautifully, worked the angles intelligently, pinged the gaps frequently with the nudge-drive-and-sweep routine, and breathed life into an innings that could have, perhaps otherwise, succumbed to adrenalin rushes. If Misbah pressed back to play Murali, Younis leaned forward to tackle him; If Misbah backed to leg to create room, Younis shuffled to off to work to the leg; if Misbah tapped wide of midwicket for the quick single, Younis nudged just wide of backward point; if Misbah deployed the reverse-sweep, Younis stayed conventional. They always ran well; the runs kept ticking over, the opposition grew increasingly restless, and Pakistan secured ownership of the innings.

What further spiced up this partnership was the knowledge that the imperious lower order were waiting in the dressing room. When Younis fell in the 41st over, with Pakistan on 213 for 4, it even seemed like good news for Pakistan - Shahid Afridi and co to follow, unleash violence and 300 would be a formality. Or so it seemed. Here is where Sri Lanka sparkled. Here is when that man Murali and the doughty Nuwan Kulasekara stepped in to do damage control.

If Pakistan's handling of middle overs was a treat to watch, Sri Lanka's skill in the end overs was awe-inspiring. Murali ripped his off breaks, altering the trajectory, pace, and the extent of turn, and Kulasekara punctuated his yorkers with slower cutters to keep Pakistan in check. Murali gave just two runs in the 44th over, the first of the batting Powerplay, and only three, including the wicket of Umar Akmal in 46th and Kulasekera gave away just five in the 47th, keeping Afridi quiet with a series of yorkers.

Misbah responded to Murali's magic by growing more innovative. He shuffled to the off and whipped Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews for boundaries as Pakistan collected 32 runs in the last three overs. Only time will tell whether the total will be enough.

Misbah, Younis Power To 277

Pakistan were waltzing at 76 for 1 from 13 overs when a moment of madness, which led to Mohammad Hafeez's run-out, cracked open the game. Inevitably, the drama coincided with Muttiah Muralitharan's introduction. Hafeez didn't budge after sweeping to short fine-leg but Kamran Akmal charged across to the other end. Kumar Sangakkara too panicked, and hurled the throw wide over a bewildered Murali, but mid-off was backing up. In the resulting chaos, Hafeez wandered out his crease, and was run out. Inexplicably, Kamran changed his game after that, withdrawing into a shell and Sri Lanka closed in. Kamran combusted soon, going for an insane slog against Pakistan's bogey man Rangana Herath to leave the game tantalisingly poised at the half-way mark in Colombo.

Until that misunderstanding, Kamran and Hafeez were scripting a charming partnership, filled with dare and skill. Hafeez, as ever, looked compact and was in the mood to take ownership of the innings. He shrugged off the fall of his opening partner and unfurled a series of classy hits. He warmed up with a punchy drive through cover point off Thisara Perera and began to flow with a delectable late steer to the backward-point boundary against Nuwan Kulasekara. He turned imperious in the seventh over, again off Kulasekara, with an audacious heaved six over deep midwicket on a bent knee and a cheeky lap shot past short fine-leg.

The runs were coming easily, especially with Kamran too looking in flowing form. Everything from Kamran's repertoire was showcased: the crispy square drive, the cut, the punch through cover point and he even threw in a skilful flick over square-leg after walking across the stumps.

Everything was looking good for Pakistan but then that run-out happened, Kamran grew defensive, Sri Lankan spinners seized the moment, and the game slowly returned to balance. 

Heavyweights Clash at R Premadasa

When the World Cup comes to colourful Colombo on Saturday, the tournament will begin in earnest for two subcontinent teams. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka opened with massive wins over Associate nations, but this will be their first real test in the competition. None of the smaller teams in Group A seem capable of challenging the Test nations, so the game will be important in terms of placings for the quarter-finals. And in a tournament whose first week has been loaded with one-sided matches, two teams packed with dynamic players also promise some high-voltage entertainment.

Past records might suggest Pakistan have an edge - they have beaten Sri Lanka in each of their six encounters in the World Cups and have won their previous five games at the R Premadasa - but that will count for little. The two sides have not faced each other in cricket's showpiece tournament since 1992, and the Premadasa has undergone extensive redevelopment. What will help Pakistan, though, is the relative lack of controversy surrounding the current team, a low-profile lead-up and the confidence of a recent series win, in New Zealand, behind them.

Sri Lanka's advantage is that most of their players have had a taste of how the new track will fare during the domestic limited-over tournament held in January. Traditionally, this has been a bat-first venue, especially in day-night games where the team chasing has won only one of the past 13 matches, but it remains to be seen how the re-laid pitch fares .

The pitch will be the centre of attention since it's a re-laid track, and Saturday's game will be the first international game to be played on it. It may not be too high scoring a game, if the domestic matches played since the stadium was re-developed are anything to go by. The highest score batting first in the one-dayers played in January was 225, a total which was easily defended. Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, though, expects the bare surface to be good for batting.

Thisara Perera was outstanding with the ball against Canada, and picked loads of wickets whenever he got a chance in 2010 as well. He worked up real pace in Hambantota, and has provided the team management with the welcome headache of working out how to accommodate him, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews in the XI. He also adds muscle to Sri Lanka's lower-middle order.

Shoaib Akhtar has weathered stacks of controversies and fitness problems to become one of the few constants in Pakistan's team. There has not been any talk of injuries for eight months, a minor miracle given his past record. Age hasn't slowed him down too much either; even at 35 he remains among the quickest bowlers in the world.

Pakistan have hinted they will stick to the same combination that played Kenya, which means Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal are likely to remain on the bench. Waqar Younis has said Pakistan are pondering how to use Abdul Razzaq better, but for now he will continue to be an impact batsman at No. 8 and opening the bowling.

Pakistan (probable):

1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Abdur Rehman, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

The main concern for Sri Lanka is the fitness of their pace spearhead, Malinga, who has a back strain. He missed Sri Lanka's opening game, but he did bowl in the nets on Friday. The physio will take a call on Saturday whether Malinga will play. If he doesn't, Sri Lanka could stick to the same XI that beat Canada.

Sri Lanka (probable):

1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan needs one more wicket to move past Wasim Akram's tally of 55 wickets to become the second highest wicket-taker in World Cups.

Sri Lanka have never beaten Pakistan in six World Cup matches, though the two haven't met in the competition since 1992.

One more stumping will take Sangakkara's tally to eight, moving ahead of Adam Gilchrist and Moin Khan, with whom he current shares the record for most stumpings.

This is Afridi's fourth World Cup, but he is yet to make a half-century.

"In the past we've played really well against him in this country. I don't think we should worry about him that much; he is not 28 anymore. It is not going to be easy though. We're prepared not only for him but the entire team."

Waqar doesn't think Pakistan should be scared of Murali

"I find it surprising that their name is not bandied about in the mix of potential World Cup winners as they have brilliant match winners with both bat and ball."

Mahela Jayawardene thinks Pakistan are among the favourites for the tournament.

Sri Lanka Wary Of Dangerous Pakistan

Related Links Bulletin : Misbah and Afridi sink Sri Lanka Analysis : Familiar rivals line up in big contest Preview : Heavyweights clash at R Premadasa Audio/Video: Kumar Sangakkara: Every opposition is wary of Pakistan Matches: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Colombo (RPS) Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup Teams: Pakistan | Sri Lanka

Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's captain and vice-captain respectively, have both warned that Pakistan are a dangerous side that other teams will be wary of in the World Cup. Not too many people have tipped Pakistan to win the tournament, after a tumultuous year for them in which they have been plagued by off-field issues, but Jayawardene said he was surprised by the lack of hype around them.

"I find it surprising that their name is not bandied about in the mix of potential World Cup winners as they have brilliant match winners with both bat and ball," Jayawardene wrote on his blog.

Sangakkara echoed that sentiment, saying Pakistan's batsmen were dangerous. "Any opposition is wary of them and we're not going to take anything lightly or for granted," he said. He was, however, confident that his bowlers would be up to the task, particularly with what he described as a "vastly improved" pace attack. Lasith Malinga has been Sri Lanka's most successful bowler in the one-day format over the past year, and Thisara Perera, who seemed to have added a couple of yards of pace to his bowling in Sri Lanka's opening match against Canada, has been the second highest wicket-taker.

"We understand how dangerous the Pakistani batsmen are and that's the beauty of playing a side like them," Sangakkara said. "Those challenges I think the bowlers will enjoy. There's been a vast improvement for us actually to have good fast bowlers in our squad. We've got guys who bowl over 140[kph] and we've got guys who swing it as well. Both sides have good pace and good spin and I think it's going to be a battle between two teams who are looking forward to a very keen contest. Every side has a different approach and we've got our own, which we're trying to fine tune as we go along. "

Sri Lanka, along with co-hosts India, are being touted as one of the favourites to win the World Cup, but Jayawardene said even though Pakistan may not be hosting any games, they still know the conditions well. "Pakistan are just as familiar with the conditions, so they pose a huge danger to any side, especially in the knockout stage and it should be a good match," he said. "Despite what people may write or not write, we certainly are fully aware of what this Pakistan side can do to any team with seemingly little effort."

One possible setback for Sri Lanka is that there are still doubts over the readiness of Malinga for the game. He missed the match against Canada with a back strain, though Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara did the job in his absence.

"Lasith is improving very fast and we'll have to look at him," Sangakkara said. "We don't want to rush him into a big tournament like this. He is the most important player for us so we want to make sure that he is comfortable and everyone is comfortable with the decision."

The pitch at the R Premadasa has been completely re-laid ahead of the World Cup, but Sri Lanka's players have the advantage of having played on it during the domestic one-day tournament in January. Sangakkara, who praised the new pitch in Hambantota, said he thought the wicket in Colombo would be as good for batting. "In the match against Canada the wicket was good and we think even this surface will act the same," he said. "We don't' want to think too much about the pitch."

Cricket Fans Lose Sleep Over World Cup

Football's finished, baseball hasn't started yet, and March Madness and the NBA and NHL playoffs are still weeks or months away.

But for cricket fans, these are the best of times, even if the 2011 Cricket World Cup is on television at some ungodly hours.

The tournament, which takes place once every four years, began last weekend and runs through the beginning of April with matches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

That means the action begins at 1 a.m. PST and ends around 8:30 a.m.

What's a cricket fan to do? Whatever it takes: gulp coffee, sleep through lunch, call in sick, you name it.
Sarabjip "Sunny" Singh, a 43-year-old Union City cricket player and U.S. Postal Service employee, scheduled vacation for next week to watch the matches, and has sprinkled in more vacation days to follow the nights when India is scheduled to play.

How does his wife feel about him spending his vacation days in bed and nights glued to the television? "She's OK," he said. "She knows I have a passion for cricket."

Rocky Singh, a Fremont cricket enthusiast, has a different plan for catching up on sleep after watching India's matches.

"I own my own company," he said. "I have a manager take care of things."

This is an especially big tournament for India, which is not only a co-host, but a favorite to win its first title since 1983.

The squad, which has a reputation for not coming through in the clutch, already has avenged its 2007 tournament-ending loss to Bangladesh.


Pakistan, which was a favorite four years ago, has lower expectations this time after three of its top players were barred because of a match-fixing scandal.

The tournament will be viewed by hundreds of millions fans, many of whom live in South Asia where cricket is king, but also in other parts of the British Commonwealth, including South Africa, the West Indies, New Zealand and Australia, the reigning champion.

In the Bay Area, fans used to flock to Bollywood movie theaters and restaurants to watch the seven-hour matches. But this year, with the games on late at night and available on satellite television for $129, most fans are watching in their living rooms.

"I prefer watching it at my house," Rocky Singh said. "You can relax, you can scream, you can crack jokes while you're watching it. In a theater, you have to be considerate."

In Fremont, fans used to go to the NAZ8 Cinemas for games, but the theater, which changed its name and is under new ownership, isn't showing them this year.

"It was a lot of fun over there," Sarabjip Singh said. But Singh this year bought the satellite package, which used to be a lot more expensive. He and his son are staying up late to watch the matches with the help of a lot of tea and snacks.

If India advances, they'll probably go to a house party for the big game, but it'll be hard to top the 1983 victory, Singh said. At the time, his family in India was one of the first in his neighborhood to have a television.

"All the neighbors were in our house watching the match," he said. "We were dancing into the middle of the night."

Pakistan Have Three Specialist Bowlers

If indications from Waqar Younis are anything to go by, Pakistan are unlikely to pick a fourth specialist bowler for Saturday's crunch game against co-hosts Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa. Pakistan comprehensively beat Kenya in their tournament opener on Wednesday, but played, in Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdur Rehman, with just three specialist bowlers. Shahid Afridi is as good as a specialist bowler but the caution to fill the line-up with batsmen and batsmen who can bowl, has led to an under-utilisation of Abdul Razzaq.

Razzaq batted at No. 8 in the last game, as he has done in 14 of 18 ODIs in the last year. He has played a few significant innings but more than his performances, the question has been whether he is being allowed, in the current line-up, to have the fullest impact on a game. Pakistan have compensated by using him as an opening bowler, but even there he remains under-used: in those 18 ODIs, he has bowled 91.4 overs or, on average, roughly five overs a game. Never once has he bowled the whole quota and he has picked up eight wickets.

Instead, Pakistan have combined him and Mohammad Hafeez to provide a fifth bowler and have also been making Ahmed Shehzad bowl in practice, with a view to using him if needed. Though Waqar admitted that Razzaq didn't "really fit" in the current line-up, he maintained that they were happy with his bowling contribution.

"I think Razzaq has done really well with the ball," Waqar said, ahead of the Sri Lanka game. "He hasn't delivered the goods with the bat apart from one game in Abu Dhabi [the hundred against South Africa]. He is no doubt our striker in both batting and bowling. He bowls with the new ball and we've got to push him a little more in that.

"You're right he comes at eight, but we have five batsmen, the keeper is more a batsman and then there is Afridi, so he doesn't really fit in at the moment. But if we need to send him up the order if quick runs are required we might push him."

Pakistan's batting, in actual fact, has performed well over that period, crossing 250 13 times in their last 20 ODIs. But clearly the management remains concerned. The inclusion of Abdur Rehman ahead of Saeed Ajmal - circumstantial to an extent after a personal tragedy forced Ajmal to return to Pakistan during the New Zealand tour and allowed Rehman to take his place - against Kenya surprised some. But it has been done to shore the batting up further still.

"It is unfortunate Ajmal is not playing right now," Waqar said. "He has won matches for us over the last 4-5 years. But right now Rehman is a utility player. He bats a little, he is a very good fielder and the way he is bowling, from what I've seen, he is the best spinner here."

For the moment, Waqar said, the final XI had not been decided and hints from the camp suggest it is likely to remain unchanged. But the nature of the surface, re-laid recently, might compel a re-jig. "We don't really know at the moment," Waqar said. "These pitches are brand new, so we're not really sure how it has played. We're just going to go with the best combination, what we probably had in the last match but we haven't had a meeting yet. Until we come back in the morning and see something different, but at the moment I don't think there will be changes."

Though Waqar played down the threat Muttiah Muralitharan might pose, he acknowledged Sri Lanka will be a stern test. "It's an important game. For this tournament, for momentum it is important and to get to the quarter-final, and in which position you get there, in that sense very important. If you want to go ahead, you have to build momentum so you treat all the teams as one. Sri Lanka at home is very difficult to beat. But the way we've played and trained, I am hopeful we can beat them."