Cricket: West Indies & Pakistan in Australia Discussion Thread

[Horse]

Australia team named:
Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger.

Stuart Clark the most notable omission.

Meanwhile QLD are 3/314 after the Windies were rolled for 271 yesterday.

 

[Munnuz 1]

Chris Gayle has gone home to be beside his seriously ill mother. Chance that may miss out on the test series.

 

[B.A.Baracus]

Shame.

He's a great player.

 

[Captain Kickass]

Two words : White + Wash.

 

[B.A.Baracus]

I remember some time in the 80's england got white washed by the West Indies.

There was a banner that read:

BLACK WASH

 

[FaceBreaker]

I'm writing West Indies off pretty much straight away, I'm expecting a lot of test matches to go for 4 or so days.

Pakistan are touring NZ first, not sure if you guys get TV coverage there but it will be great to see how some of their players go.

The 17 year old paceman looks good and Sami is coming back to play test matches after all the drug bans etc. he has been through. I think they will be a team to watch.

 

[_BT_]

Shoaib is out, liposuction, lol. Good timing by him? Last time he was here, he was embarrassing to watch.

A SECRET attempt to lose weight through liposuction will keep Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar out of the tour to Australia this summer.

Previously one of the world's most feared fast bowlers, Akhtar had grown so out of shape in recent months that he decided to have fat sucked from his midriff in a bid to return to the game slimmer and faster. Due to the operation, he will be sidelined for up to five months, which rules him out of Pakistan's three-Test and five-match one-day series in Australia starting Boxing Day.

The operation, conducted by a cosmetic surgeon in Islamabad, has not been received well by the Pakistan Cricket Board. It was unaware Akhtar was undergoing the procedure. But it seems his efforts might have been in vain, with the deputy director general of the Pakistan Sports Board, Dr Waqar Ahmad, saying the operation would help the bowler's appearance but would have no bearing on his future performance.

''The liposuction is a kind of cosmetic procedure and has nothing to do with the fitness of a player,'' Ahmad said. ''Mostly it is done for improving the figure and other cosmetic reasons whereas the shedding of weight of more than 12 kilograms might help him only when he will improve his muscle strength and stamina.

''Considering his age, I don't think he will be able to show any kind of improvement as compared to his last previous performance.

''The surgery took about three hours, and fat was removed from his abdomen, hip and back. As a sports medicine specialist, I can say that it will take around four to five months to come back in cricket.''

The PCB is refusing to cover any of Akhtar's expenses.

''He is a centrally contracted player, and he is supposed to consult our medical panel and inform us before undergoing any medical treatment but he didn't do this before opting for the liposuction,''

a PCB official said. Former Pakistan Test paceman Sarfraz Nawaz was disappointed in Akhtar, 34, after hearing of the procedure.

''He definitely has taken a wrong step,'' Nawaz told The News.

''It is like taking a shortcut to make your body trim and ready. He should have instead tried to reduce the weight and trim his physique through workouts.''

It is the second bizarre health story related to Akhtar this year. The 46-Test veteran threatened to sue his national board when it released a stunning media release in May revealing he would not play in the Twenty20 World Cup because he had contracted a sexually transmitted condition. ''The medical board has reported that Akhtar was suffering from genital viral warts,'' the PCB statement read.

The relationship between Akhtar and the PCB is strained at best. Regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in history - he holds the world record with a delivery recorded at 161.3km/h - Akhtar also likes to live life fast, much to the aggravation of officials.

His temper has resulted in suspensions after he attacked a teammate with a bat, and he has also been embroiled in a drugs controversy after being found guilty of using banned substances, only for the PCB to overturn his suspension.

The PCB then imposed a five-year ban on Akhtar in April last year for publicly criticising its policies, but the Lahore High Court has temporarily suspended that ban, allowing him to return to the side.

Always a controversial character, Akhtar has failed to sustain the irresistible form he displayed early in his career. He featured in the one-day and Twenty20 series against Australia in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

Dr Ahmad said liposuction would not become a popular weight-loss strategy among other portly cricketers. ''Liposuction is not a kind of procedure which makes cricketers stronger,'' he said. ''The main factor in performance is agility, strength and stamina along with skill; therefore, I don't think that this procedure will get any popularity among the other cricketers.''

 

[Horse]

I'm writing West Indies off pretty much straight away, I'm expecting a lot of test matches to go for 4 or so days.

Pakistan are touring NZ first, not sure if you guys get TV coverage there but it will be great to see how some of their players go.

The 17 year old paceman looks good and Sami is coming back to play test matches after all the drug bans etc. he has been through. I think they will be a team to watch.

Sami, do you mean Asif?

 

[Horse]

Test kicks off tomorrow. Anyone going?

Team news

A predictable squad has led to a predictable XI. Doug Bollinger has been confirmed as the 12th man because only an injury will be able to split up the golden boys of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus. Nathan Hauritz will play while Shane Watson, the opening allrounder, hopes to deliver around 10 overs a day.

Australia 1 Simon Katich, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.

Chris Gayle is a definite and now the big fear for the visitors is Ramnaresh Sarwan's back. If Sarwan is out either Narsingh Deonarine or Travis Dowlin will bat at No. 3, while Gayle is down to partner Adrian Barath, the 19-year-old debutant. The tourists want to pick four fast men, including Dwayne Bravo, and a spinner, but the balance depends on Sarwan, with a decision due to be made on Thursday morning.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Adrian Barath, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Brendan Nash, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Sulieman Benn, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.



I don't think the Windies batting lineup looks too bad. Big question marks over their bowlers. Particularly Roach, Rampaul and Benn who are relatively inexperienced at this level and all got pasted by QLD.

 

[Munnuz 1]

I'm writing West Indies off pretty much straight away, I'm expecting a lot of test matches to go for 4 or so days.

Pakistan are touring NZ first, not sure if you guys get TV coverage there but it will be great to see how some of their players go.

The 17 year old paceman looks good and Sami is coming back to play test matches after all the drug bans etc. he has been through. I think they will be a team to watch.

yeh the coverage between NZ and Pakistan is on Foxsports over here. I havent watched any of it yet though.

 

[Shanked]

sarwan may be in doubt with back spasms

 

[Moronic Musings]

sarwan highly unlikely to play. another reason why we are gonna slaughter them

hughes will play the second match if he can score some runs. He just got out for 12 in the ford ranger cup.

 

[FaceBreaker]

Sami, do you mean Asif?

My bad brother, yes I mean Asif.

 

[FaceBreaker]

yeh the coverage between NZ and Pakistan is on Foxsports over here. I havent watched any of it yet though.

Pakistan look disinterested in the field and they are missing there regular captain. Its a shame he decided to pull out.

The fielding has been atrocious, two dropped chances.

Asif looks good and I think the Pakistan team will really lift in Australia.

 

[Munnuz 1]

Australia won the toss and are batting. No score after the first over, Katich and Watson opening. Pitch is looking really dry and there are cracks appearing on it. They were there before the first ball was bowled.

 

[Snake Jailbird]

Aktar sidelined for 5 months? WTF? Wouldnt it be quicker to train hard and drop the fat?

 

[Shanked]

nice 1-5 watson out

 

[Hansta]

good, i love it when watson gets out

now punter will get a century for lulz!!!

BTW Sarwan ruled out through injury

 

[Shanked]

also a referral system is being used

 

[Shanked]

now they're getting spanked around