Pak v South Africa, 1st Test, Karachi, 1st-5th Oct

So....

Both teams have had little Test match practice before this series, SA will be without Pollock, we've no Akhtar - that's the excuses in!



Pakistan (probable): 1 Salman Butt, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4
Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Shoaib Malik (capt), 6 Misbah-ul-Haq, 7 Kamran Akmal
(wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Danish Kaneria, 11 Mohammad Asif




South Africa (probable): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3
Jacques Kallis, 4 Hashim Amla, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark
Boucher, 8 Andre Nel, 9 Makhaya Ntini, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Paul Harris




from http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/pakvrsa/content/story/313068.html

So...

I'd rather watch this than JAMODI Uno and JAMODI Dos on Monday and Tuesday respectively...

...Shame. Any dodgy links likely?

Augustus wrote:Any dodgy links likely?

Probably. But they won't be posted on this law-abiding, terms and conditions-respecting board.

Some pics from Karachi (yes I'm there, in my dreams!):

Smith & Malik

Malik, wondering what that pitch will do




Pollock


Harris

MoYo isn't played by Pak, don't know why?

Morkel is injured, which means either Nel or Steyn takes Pollock's place.

Gul concedes 10 runs in his opening over.

SA: 0/30 in 6 overs.

I cant believe Pakistan DROPPED Yousuf and played Iqbal instead. The guy quit his ICL contract to play for Pakistan. WTF would they punish him any further?

Now that he is dropped from the team (like he was from Twenty20 team) for this test, would MoYo quit Pak cricket again and rejoin ICL?

Hafeez gets Smith LBW for 42.

Apparently, MoYo himself dropped out of Pak team for this test.

http://content-www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/313133.html

Thats very honest of him.

Sometimes I just don't understand what Miandand is on about.
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Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan captain, has criticised Mohammad Yousuf and the Pakistan board for reaching an understanding despite Yousuf being a signatory with the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

"How can they [the Pakistan board] allow Yousuf to sign a contract in vague knowing he is already signed on by the ICL? Where is the fair play and veracity? What message are we giving out to the world about our players?," Miandad was quoted as saying to PTI.

Miandad felt Yousuf, on the basis of being a Muslim, should have fulfilled his ICL contract. "Once a Muslim gives his word, leave alone sign a document he has to fulfill it regardless of the consequences. And even if Yousuf was keen on playing for Pakistan, while being contracted to the ICL, he should have informed the PCB."

Yousuf had a meeting with Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, on September 27, and announced his availability for the home Test series against South Africa, saying that he was cancelling his contract with the ICL. The PCB in turn agreed to take care of legal and financial repercussions arising out of his decision.

Meanwhile, the ICL have maintained that though Yousuf is still contractually obligated to them they have no problems if Yousuf plays for Pakistan if matches clash.

Everything else is fine, like contractual obligation etc, but where does religion comes into it. Is it mandatory to introduce religion in everything?

SA: 1/96 at Lunch.

Pakistani cricketers seem to be obssessed. Malik makes that statement, Afridi makes himself unavailable and now this.

So Yousuf dropped himself because of Ramadan?

109/2

Playing to an empty ground.

So Yousuf dropped himself because of Ramadan?

No. Due to lack of match practice under his belt.

Is Pak's domestic season going on atm, because if its not then where will MoYo get match practice? That way he should not even be playing 2nd test.

I think there might be more to it than 'lack of match practise'. If he was worried about this, then why did he join the squad in the first place?

It's almost as if he's playing a silly revenge game with the PCB. Ie, "I havent got any match pratcise because I wasnt picked in the twenty20 squad, so what can I do?" etc.

Pretty childish if thats the case.

Kaneria is 2 short of 200 test wickets.

He'll be 3rd Pak spinner after Abdul Qadir (236 wickets in 67 tests) and Saqlain Mushtaq (208 wickets in 49 tests) to get to 200 test wickets.

doremi wrote:109/2

Playing to an empty ground.

It's pathetic isn't it?

Kaneria is 2 short of 200 test wickets.

Up there with Lee as the most overrated bowler in Test cricket.

JKLever wrote:

doremi wrote:109/2

Playing to an empty ground.

It's pathetic isn't it?

Added to that I can't even hear the commentary, which may not be a bad thing come to think of it.

Pakistan's Test corowds have been very poor for a while now. I remember on England's tour there in 2000 hardly anyone came to the tests. They did seem to be a bit better for Englands tour there in 2005, though.

Even India's historic tour to Pak in '04 brought not many spectators to the ground.

Multan was virtually empty.

Wonder what preventive steps are PCB taking to arrest this huge slide in popularity of test cricket in Pak?