Best Cricket Player 2012

Sunday 9 September 2012

Saeed Ajmal Biography

Saeed Ajmal Biography

Source: ESPNCricinfo , 22 February 2012
Saeed Ajmal (Punjabi, Urdu: سعید اجمل; born 14 October 1977) is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-arm off-spin bowler who bats right handed. With his effective doosra and other varieties he is considered to be the best spinner in modern world cricket.
At domestic level in Pakistan he has represented Faisalabad, with whom he won the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup; Khan Research Laboratories; and Islamabad. Ajmal made his One Day International debut for Pakistan in July 2008 at the age of 30, and a year later played his first Test. In 2009 he was reported for having a suspect bowling action, but after being cleared he helped Pakistan win the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Ajmal played for Worcestershire as an overseas player in English domestic cricket in 2011. Since November 2011, Ajmal has been ranked by the International Cricket Council as the number one bowler in ODIs while Ajmal's ICC current test bowler ranking is number 2.[1]
On 28 January 2012, in his 20th Test, Ajmal became the quickest Pakistani to take 100 test wickets.[2]
Saeed Ajmal has played for Faisalabad since his debut in 1995 at the age of 18. Ajmal represented the Faisalabad Wolves in the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, his team won the final in which he was man of the match.[3][4] When Faisalabad won the final of the ABN-AMRO Patron's Cup in March 2006 Ajmal was named the tournament's best bowler and was given a Rs 25,000 prize.[5] He has also represented Khan Research Laboratories, who were runners-up in the final of the 2008/09 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy; though his side lost the final, Ajmal took 5/105 and 2/55 and in the process passed 250 first-class wickets.[6][7] Ajmal has also played for Islamabad.
[edit]International career

Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup in June 2008; Ajmal was included in the 15-man squad and was expected to act as a foil to Shahid Afridi's leg spin.[8] He made his debut against India on 2 July 2008. Ajmal took a single wicket, that of Yusuf Pathan, from his ten overs while conceding 47 runs (1/47) as Pakistan won by eight wickets.[9] before taking 2/19 in a ten-wicket victory over Bangladesh, although the team had no chance of progressing to the competition's final.[10] In November that year Pakistan travelled to the United Arab Emirates to face the West Indies in a three-match ODI series. Ajmal and Afridi were the team's only spin options;[11] the former took a single wicket while conceding 73 runs and Pakistan won all three matches.[12]
Ajmal's next match the third ODI against Sri Lanka in January 2009.[13] In April Pakistan faced Australia in the UAE in five ODIs. Playing in all five matches Ajmal took four wickets at an average of 39.50.[14] He was then picked for the Sri Lankan series in Sri Lanka where he had made solid performances in the Test matches, being picked ahead of Danish Kaneria in two of the matches.
In April 2009, Ajmal was reported by umpires for having a suspect bowling action. An independent test the following month demonstrated that Ajmal's arm flexed within the 15 degree tolerance allowed by the International Cricket Council.[15] Later that year, the Pakistan Cricket Board named a pool of 30 players from which they would chose their final squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, held in June. Initially left out, Ajmal was one of three players added to the list, replacing players who were dropped because they were contracted with the controversial Indian Cricket League.[16] In the tournament, Ajmal partnered Afridi.[17] Pakistan won the tournament,[18] and Ajmal was the tournament's joint second highest wicket-taker with twelve dismissals from seven games (only Pakistan's Umar Gul took more wickets, with thirteen dismissals).[19]

Saeed Ajmal

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Misbah-ul-Haqمصباح الحق

Personal information
Full name Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi
Born 28 May 1974 (age 38)
Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistan
Height 6 ft 0.5 in (1.84 m)
Batting style Right-hand batsman
Bowling style Right arm leg break
Role Batsman, Captain
International information
National side Pakistan
Test debut (cap 166) 8 March 2001 v New Zealand
Last Test 12 January 2012 v England
ODI debut (cap 142) 27 April 2002 v New Zealand
Last ODI 31 August 2012 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years Team

Source: Cricinfo , 1 September 2012
Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (Urdu: مصباح الحق خان نیازی) (born May 28, 1974 at Mianwali, Punjab) is a Pakistani cricketer and current Test and One Day International (ODI) captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is a solid middle-order batsmen best known for his composure with the bat . However, calls are growing for his retirement from ODI's.
Misbah ul Haq has been called Mr. Sensible due to his cool, level-headed approach on the field. He has a masters degree in business administration from the University of Management and Technology (Pakistan).
Contents [hide]
1 Early career
2 Comeback
3 Dropping out and the captaincy (2010–2011)
3.1 Test Series against England in UAE (2012)
4 Test centuries
5 T20 International fifties
6 References
7 External links
[edit]Early career

Misbah was initially noticed for his technique and his temperament in the Tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, as he scored two fifties in the three innings in which he played, however, over the next three Tests he played against Australia, he failed to score more than twenty runs and was soon dumped from the team. Having witnessed Pakistan being eliminated in the opening phase of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Misbah was part of the changes made to the team in the aftermath of these results, but failed to make much of an impact and was soon dropped again.
[edit]Comeback

At the age of 33, Misbah was chosen to play in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, filling the middle order spot vacated by Inzamam-ul-Haq. He had been regularly making runs in Pakistani domestic cricket and in the years before his recall he was consistently one of the top run scorers at each season's end, with his first-class average briefly climbing above 50.
Misbah was one of the stars of the tournament, playing a large part in many thrilling run chases. The first was in the group stage against India where he scored a half century in a tied match. He was run out attempting the winning run off the last ball of the match. In their Super 8s encounter with Australia he was named Man of the Match with an unbeaten 66 off 42 deliveries to see his side home with 5 balls to spare. Another unbeaten innings in the semi final against New Zealand saw Pakistan book a spot in the final against India.

Misbah-ul-Haq

Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Wasim Akram
وسیم اکرم {{{imagealt}}}
Personal information
Full name     Chaudhry Wasim Akram Arain
Born     3 June 1966 (age 46)
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname     Sultan of Swing, The Two W's (with Waqar Younis), King Of Swing
Batting style     Left hand bat
Bowling style     Left arm fast
Role     (All-rounder) bowler and batsman
International information
National side     Pakistan
Test debut (cap 102)     25 January 1984 v New Zealand
Last Test     9 January 2002 v Bangladesh
ODI debut (cap 53)     23 November 1984 v New Zealand
Last ODI     4 March 2003 v Zimbabwe
ODI shirt no.     3
Domestic team information
Years     Team
2003     Hampshire
2000–2001     Lahore
1997–1998     Lahore
1992–2002     Pakistan International Airlines
1988–1998     Lancashire
1986–1987     Lahore
1985–1986     Lahore
1984–1986     Pakistan Automobiles Corporation
Career statistics
Competition     Test     ODI     FC     LA
Matches     104     356     257     594
Runs scored     2898     3717     7161     6993
Batting average     22.64     16.52     22.73     18.90
100s/50s     3/7     0/6     7/24     0/17
Top score     257*     86     257*     89*
Balls bowled     22627     18186     50278     29719
Wickets     414     502     1042     881
Bowling average     23.62     23.52     21.64     21.91
5 wickets in innings     25     6     70     12
10 wickets in match     5     0     16     0
Best bowling     7/119     5/15     8/30     5/10
Catches/stumpings     44/0     88/0     97/0     147/0
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 4 April 2012

Wasim Akram (Punjabi: وسیم اکرم; born 3 June 1966) is a former Pakistani cricketer. He is a left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International (ODI) matches.

Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket. He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket with 881 and is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of ODI wickets with 502. He is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps the finest exponent of reverse swing bowling.[1][2][3]

He was the first bowler to reach the 500-wicket mark in ODI cricket during the 2003 World Cup. In 2002 Wisden released its only list of best players of all time. Wasim was ranked as the best bowler in ODI of all time with a rating of 1223.5, ahead of Allan Donald, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Joel Garner, Glen McGrath and Muralitharan.[4] Wasim has taken 23 4-wicket hauls in ODI in 356 matches he played.[1] On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[5][6] He is the current bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders.[7]
Contents

Early and personal life

Akram was born in Lahore, Pakistan on 3 June 1966, to a moderately affluent middle-class Arain family.[8] He was educated at Islamia College in Lahore, where he played as an opening bowler and batsman.[8] Like several other Pakistani cricketers during the 1980s, his inclusion into the national side was at the behest of a senior player in the team, which in Akram's case, was Javed Miandad.[9]

At the age of 30, Akram was diagnosed with diabetes. "I remember what a shock it was because I was a healthy sportsman with no history of diabetes in my family, so I didn't expect it at all. It seemed strange that it happened to me when I was 30, but it was a very stressful time and doctors said that can trigger it."[10] Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness campaigns for diabetes.[11]

He married Huma in 1995. They had two sons Tahmoor(1996) and Akbar(2000)[12] from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India on 25 October 2009.[13]
International career
First-class cricket

In 1988 he signed for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England and went on to become their most successful overseas players. From 1988 to 1998, he opened their bowling attack in their ECB Trophy, Benson and Hedges Cup and National League tournaments. He was a favorite of the local British fans who used to sing a song called "Wasim for England" at Lancashire's matches. In 1998, with Akram as captain Lancashire won the ECB Trophy and Axa League and finished second in the championship tournament despite losing only five matches in all competitions throughout the season. Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last time Lancashire won a trophy.[14]
Test cricket

Akram made his Test cricket debut for Pakistan against New Zealand in 1985[15] and in only his second Test match, he claimed 10 wickets.[16] A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistan team, he was an unknown club cricketer who had failed to make it even to his college team. He came to the trials at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in Pakistan, but for the first two days he did not get a chance to bowl. On the third day he got a chance; his performance convincing Javed Miandad to insist upon his inclusion in the national team.[9] Akram was hence given an opportunity to play for Pakistan, without any significant domestic experience. In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, when Pakistan played against the West Indies, Akram bowled to Viv Richards in the late overs of the innings but Richards, who is regarded as the best batsman during that period, struggled against Akram's bowling performances.

Akram's rise in international cricket was rapid during the late 1980s. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the fastest bowler between the two sides. However, a groin injury impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in the 1990s as a fast bowler who focused more on swing and accurate bowling.[17]
One Day International

Akram started his ODI career against New Zealand in Pakistan in 1984 under the Captaincy of Zaheer Abbass.[18] He rose to prominence taking 5 wickets in his just 3rd ODI against a strong Australian side in 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship who would be future winners of 1987 World Cup. His wickets included that of Kepler Wessels, Dean Jones and Captain Allan Border.[19]
Rise to prominence (1983- Dec 1991)

In 1984-85 Rothmans Four-Nations Cup and 1985-86 Rothmans Sharjah Cup he took 5 wickets with a run rate of under 3.50. time. He started improving his bowling with the passage of time taking help from senior Pakistani member Imran Khan.

The 1985-1986 Austral-Asia Cup involved Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka playing in UAE Sharjah. Wasim Akram with the help of Abdul Qadir bowled out New Zealand's batting line up for just 64 in the Second Semi final of Cup. Pakistan won that game with more than 27 overs to spare obtaining one of the biggest wins in Pakistani history. In the Final against India he and Imran (captain at that time) shared five wickets between them. His wickets included Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri. Akram was becoming the darling of swing in Sharjah. His bowling was difficult to read, causing batsmen problems especially during the latter half of innings.

In 1987 Reliance World Cup held for the 1st time in the sub-continent, Akram struggled on Pakistani pitches where he managed only 7 wickets with an average of over 40 in 7 matches. Akram played West Indies, Sri Lanka and England twice. All group matches were played in Pakistan.

Wasim Akram

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi bio
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی) (born 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan[3]), popularly known as Shahid Afridi (Pashto: شاهد ‏افریدی), is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2012, Afridi played 27 Tests, 334 One Day Internationals, and 46 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for the Pakistani national team. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia.
He is known for his aggressive batting style,[4] and holds the record for the fastest ODI century which he made in his first international innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI.[5] He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket.[6] Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 300 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 43 matches.Shahid Afridi has signed to play for the Sydney Thunderin Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash league.[7] In June 2009, Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs. He then also took over the Test captaincy but resigned after one match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play Test cricket; at the same time he announced his retirement from Tests. He retained the captaincy in limited-overs form of the game and led the team in the 2011 World Cup. In May 2011, having led Pakistan in 34 ODIs Afridi was replaced as captain. Later that month he announced his conditional retirement from international cricket in protest against his treatment by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); in October he reversed his decision. UNICEF and Pakistani authorities have taken Shahid Afridi on board for its anti-polio campaign in the tribal belt of lawless Waziristan region.[8]
Contents [hide]

In October 1996 at the age of sixteen Afridi was drafted into the ODI team during the four-nation Sameer Cup 1996–97 as a leg spinner as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed.[9] He made his debut on 2 October against Kenya, however he didn't bat and went wicketless.[10] In the next match against Sri Lanka, Afridi batted at number three in the role of a pinch-hitter. In his first international innings, Afridi broke the record for fastest century in ODI cricket, reaching his hundred from 37 balls. The eleven sixes he struck also equalled the record for most in an ODI innings.[11][nb 1] Aged 16 years and 217 days, Afridi became the youngest player to score an ODI century.[13] Pakistan posted a total of 371, at the time the second-highest in ODIs, and won by 82 runs; Afridi was named man of the match.[11]
Two years after appearing on the international scene, Afridi made his Test debut in the third game of a three-match series against Australia on 22 October 1998.[14] By this point he had already played 66 ODIs, at the time a record before playing Tests.[15] He opened the batting, making scores of 10 and 6, and took five wickets in the first innings.[14] He played his second Test the following January during Pakistan's tour of India; it was the first Test between the two countries since 1990.[16] Again opening the batting, Afridi scored his maiden Test century, scoring 141 runs from 191 balls. In the same match he also claimed three wickets for 54 runs.[17] After winning the first match by 12 runs, Pakistan lost the second to draw the series.[18]
In 2001, Afridi signed a contract to represent Leicestershire. In five first-class matches he scored 295 runs at an average of 42.14, including a highest score of 164,[19] and took 11 wickets at an average of 46.45;[20] Afridi also played 11 one day matches for the club, scoring 481 runs at an average of 40.08[21] and taking 18 wickets at 24.04.[22] His highest score of 95 came from 58 balls in a semi-final of the C&G Trophy to help Leicestershire beat Lancashire by seven wickets.[23] Derbyshire County Cricket Club signed Afridi to play for them in the first two months of the 2003 English cricket season.[24] In June 2004 Afridi signed with English county side Kent to play for them in three Twenty20 matches and one Totesport League match.[25]

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi 'The Match Winner' 51 & 2-16 vs South Africa 2009 T20 World Cup Semi Final

Shahid Afridi

Last Over of Asia Cup FINAL 2012 l Pakistan Vs Bangladesh

Monday 3 September 2012

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq Biography

Abdul Razzaq (Urdu: عبد الرزاق, born 2 December 1979) is a Pakistani right arm fast-medium bowler and a right-handed batsman, who is currently representing the Pakistan cricket team. He emerged in international cricket in 1996, when he made his One Day International debut against Zimbabwe at his home ground in Gaddafi Stadium in Pakistan, a month before his seventeenth birthday. He has played over 200 ODIs and nearly 50 Tests for Pakistan.
Contents [hide]

Originally a fast bowler, Razzaq's batting has improved throughout the years and he has been recognized as an all-rounder.[1] He is best known in cricket as an aggressive batsman and has the ability to score quick runs.[2] This versatility has given him the talent of batting and bowling at every position on the team. He is also one of Pakistan's most effective hitters of the cricket ball.[3]

Despite his qualities, he has been criticized by some, for his batting techniques in Test matches.[who?] Another being that he averages almost 37 with the ball. However he has excelled in the One Day International arena, with several excellent performances. He is also an accurate fast bowler who has been successful against the batting opposition. Razzaq claims to have learned many things while playing under former captain Wasim Akram during the 1990s and early 2000.[4] One of the things that he learned, was his quick-arm bowling action, which makes it hard for the batsman to predict at what speed the ball is going to be delivered.

Abdul Razzaq