Does Hafeez suck that much? Yes!

Hi all and a busy afternoon. It feels so weird...I think I might have attended my last lecture of campus life...and I have no idea what's around the corner. Oh well, at least the Pakistan team know what's happening with them, even if I don't.

Some news today, which I'll be mostly linking since I'm so out of it.

Pakistan is getting tired of the suckiness that Mohammad Hafeez displays and so have replaced him with Khalid Latif. I have no idea who this guy is, but apparently he did well against Australia A. He's supposed to be a much more reliable opener than the current lot, and he may play in the match after next. Cool, it would be nice to see us with a few runs on the board and not being two down.

I guess that's a plus, but Mohammad Asif is still out for the next match tomorrow, since he hasn't recovered from his elbow injury and it's being considered resting him for the whole series, so he'll be fit for the tour of India. While there is the option of Shoaib Akhtar for the final match (his ban will run out by then), it's still a question whether the final will even be played, as it happens in Karachi, where all the bombs and crap are going on. -Roll eyes-

Finally, Pakistan are putting their feet down and will fight to protect one of their best batsman, after discovering there's a possibility that Mohammad Yousuf could be taken to court for cancelling his contract with the rebel Indian Cricket League.

Naseem Ashraf, chairman of the PCB says:

"The ICL cannot prevent him from playing for Pakistan. Yousuf signed a contract for them but later he cancelled it and since the ICL has not started yet, any other player or he can do this,"

Big words man, big words. Can I say how typical it is for Indian's to screw things up? Lol, but I won't and it's wrong. Cheers all!

Any reason to be afraid?

I really shouldn't update during the last over but I couldn't put off updating any longer. It looks like Pakistan will win this one, Inshallah. They need 27 runs from the last over with Umar Gul bowling at the death. He's very good at this. Unfortunately for South Africa, I don't see them winning this. 27 is a massive effort...and why should they win this? They can win the rugby world cup this evening!

Ok and we won! Yay! First time since I've started writing this blog that we've won something! Well done Pakistan!

Now a brief overview as I have to move on to less interesting things before the rugby World Cup final tonight. I have no idea what the rules are and the only way I'll know South African players is by their uniforms. But I have some patriotism to my country of residence...and rugby is the only way I can do that because I hate the cricket team and would be ashamed supporting such a pathetic soccer team. Anyways, moving on. I know South African's read this...please don't get me wrong, I love SA...maybe not as much as Pakistan but I do have a true affection for my country(s).

Pakistan won the match by 25 runs. Their openers left them lacking as per usual and if it wasn't for the century by Mohammad Yousuf and half century by Shoaib Malik, we would have been in serious trouble. Kamran Akmal went out for a duck (if it wasn't for his average wicketkeeping, he would so be out of the squad) and Imran Nazir followed him a few overs later for 2. If this guy doesn't have a good game next time, he can also kiss his place bye-bye.

A nice partnership was building between MoYo and Younis Khan and it was unfortunate the way Younis went out, caught out of his crease as MoYo waved him back from a run. My favourite captain comes out and has quite a decent innings, scoring 56 from 52 balls (without making a single 4, only 6's, lol). Misbah-ul-Haq started off quite well and scored 21 before being caught by Smith. Shahid Afridi makes me laugh...he plays like me. Hits a boundary and then goes out. He smacked a six off Kallis before going out the next ball. We have to stop thinking of Afridi as a match-winner or someone who can turn things around. Yes he can play brilliantly sometimes, but he's too inconsistent and either does two things under pressure...smashes all around the field or goes out. MoYo only went out in the second last over for a brilliant and match saving 117. The last two overs were a debacle however as Pakistan lost Abdur Rehman and Iftikhar Anjum in quick succession and it was only a 6 and a few quick singles by the tail to bring Pakistan to 265.

I didn't know they implemented the no ball equals free hit in ODI's but I guess they did. Despite an early no-ball, Gibbs goes out for a royal duck. Next to fall was Kallis who also went out without scoring a run. While things were looking pretty for Pakistan...what happened to the fielding performances from the Twenty20?! This was atrocious with numerous dropped catches. Gul dropped Smith in the 11th over...and the next over, De Villiers was dropped as well, both easy catches. Smith was dropped again in the 15th over and I think the man's evolving into the cat with 9 lives. De Villiers put a decent 35 on the scoreboard before going out. During an over by Afridi, Smith basically lobs the ball back at him and Afridi drops it...pathetic.

Kemp couldn't get a good wind and he and Boucher left, not putting much on the board and despite Smith's presence, things were looking good for Pakistan. Smith finally went out in the 35th over and Pakistan should have cleaned up the rest...Pakistan is a team of gentlemen however and they have to give the other team a sporting chance -roll eyes-. Morkel started creating some trouble with Pollock and was dropped in the 39th over. How many dropped catches have their been now? Finally Morkel was run out and Pollock also left by the 46th over. Unfortunately, Pakistan let them go to the last over before SA was 240 all out.

And that's that. Have a good day Pakistani's and Go Springboks!

And isn't it a beautiful morning?

No-one call the cops. I'm not on drugs just very very very happy. Does anyone want to hear me sing? because I'll do it. Seriously, take cover.

Ok, moving on to the cricket which is not that cheerful. Does 133 dead people sound cheerful to you? So let's talked about how completely screwed in the head Pakistani's are...and they are. In your bid to protest some stupid witch returning to Pakistan, you blow yourself up and take 133 people with you? What's wrong with you? Could anyone be more lacking in grey matter? You want to kill someone, hire a flippin' sniper!

So with Pakistan looking so safe at the moment, the South African's are quite scared. I don't really think they have to be, unless they change their names to Benazir Bhutto and start screwing the life out of the Pakistani's, some of them can also be Musharaf. That increases your chances of getting shot too. I don't even live in Pakistan and I'm so pissed, I can't imagine how everyone else feels.

Michael Owen-Smith, the South African's media manager says:
"The safety and security of the team is paramount at all times. We have been shocked by the news and our thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones and with those who have been injured.

"Beyond this point, we now consult Cricket South Africa officials with the PCB and with our own security consultants before taking any decision. The situation is fluid. I can't comment or speculate further as we first need to assess the incident."

We'll see what happens with that and I'll keep you updated. Next, anyone feeling the urge to play in India was participate in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 tournament thingy and Pakistan Cricket Board has cleared 7 players to play for it.

And finally, the pathologist who said that Bob Woolmer was strangled to death will testify next week to why he said this. Other pathologists have criticized his methods and it was his fault that the whole controversy around Woolmer's death started.

And ya, that's it for today. Have a good one!

Guys, I am so scared!

Ok wait, I'm not scared anymore. Shahid Afridi just went out and there goes Pakistan's hopes. How incredibly sad...first ODI and we lost. Or are going to lose if you want to get technical. Thank God I'm not watching the match, it'll just make me more sick than I am. Ok, it's official, with the wicket of Iftikhar Anjum, we lose. What a disgrace.

I don't know how much I want to go into this. Basically, we couldn't get them out and they were smashing us around the field. There was a nice pull-back of runs in the last 10 overs, but SA still finished with 294. Maybe that total was gettable if Pakistan could keep it together but they rock at just throwing away the wickets.

First, Imran Nazir was unlucky to go out, with a brilliant catch by Kemp, but on the other hand, we should be used to Imran going out and make a plan for that. Next was that clever monkey Younus Khan...someone tell me why do they keep letting this guy play ODIs? He's a test player! He sucks at ODI's! Then with the collapse of Mohammad Hafeez, it was up to Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq to do something. Pakistan really have to stop with the edges! Both of them went out like that, after scoring some runs (but so not enough). The rest of the guys didn't do too badly. Mohammad Yousuf (who got a half century) and Kamran Akmal were starting to pull things together, but both went out, leaving Sohail Tanvir and Shahid Afridi to do some miracles...yes the Pakistani team is religious, but I don't think miracles are their forte. Anyways, Afridi did try hard, almost scoring a 50 and saving the match but it was too little and too late and Pakistan falls to SA...again.

I really think Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez should be taken out of the squad. While Hafeez can bowl well occasionally, a player with a 19.7 average will never being a good opener. Shoaib can be the second spinner and Hafeez shouldn't really play excpet as a back-up. Mean yes, but Pakistan really needs to start letting the performers play and kick out the rest, even they have have experience and/or seniority. Think about it this way, what's the point of having experience if you still don't know any better when it comes to batting etc?

And that's it. I'm too lazy to even check when the next match is. Hopefully you'll see a slightly more cheerful and less sleepy girl tomorrow. Bye!

At least it's just the the PCB XI

Or I would be seriously pissed off. In the warm up match between South Africa and the Pakistan Cricket Board XI, South Africa annihilated them...like seriously.

Boucher and De Villiers both made centuries to beat them in the warm up by 176 runs. Pathetic hey...but it is just a warm up, but it unfortunately warms up SA in a winning streak. C'mon Pakistan, don't let this happen during the ODI's!!!

I don't want to0 go too much into this since I'm pretty ignorant about cricket that doesn't involve national teams. I suppose it would be a learning experience but with exams coming up, I'm tired of learning, so you'll excuse me for being a bit lazy.

Anyone who thought that the Bob Woolmer inquest would be a quiet affair talking about how inept the Jamaican police was is so wrong! Some 'new' evidence has come out, a chambermaid has come forward with her testimony of what she saw when she entered his room and it doesn't sound good.

"I started to look around the room, and I noticed that there was a chair
that was overturned,"

"There was blood on the pillow and the bed. I
continued looking around
the room and didn't see him. And then I went into
the bathroom. The door was
closed, I knocked, got no response, then I tried
to open the door but I couldn't
open it as something was pressing against
it."

And that was Bob. It sounds so messy and disturbing and basically hints that there was more to the story than a heart attack. Do people vomit blood during a heart attack? Not that I've heard of...

There's also the story that someone could have been with him at the time of his death. If there was...then that's disgusting. Though I have a very simple question that's been going through my mind since the start of this whole debacle. Surely hotels have security camera's, right? I mean c'mon, that's not brain surgery...though on the other hand, the Caribbean has stadiums without floodlights...talk about primitive.

Yes, that's very stereotypical of me...sorry. I hope to be enlightened some day soon.

Today I found lots of news!

Nice weather here today...except I'm a bit cold...and sleepy...and hungry. Ah, the life of s student. Since I couldn't take the initiative to start my varsity assignments yet, I decided to take initiative in another way and surfed some sites for more cricket news than just what Cricinfo gives. True this kind of initiative won't let me pass the year, but who cares when all I want to do is make people read this? Yesterday I had a new record...10 visits in one day...Whoo-freakin-Hoo! Lots to talk about...I guess.

I don't know what's up with India's and Pakistan's fans. It's like they're still so sore and bitter about all those years of colonialism that they feel being racist (like the colonialists were during that time) is totally going to even things out. And in the end, they just look really stupid. And they probably end up going to jail. Four Pakistani fans were arrested for abusing the South African team in Lahore and the ICC really is cracking down on the subcontinent, where Indian fans are also talking crap. It really isn't cool to yell racist rants at the Australians or the South Africans. Isn't it more productive to beat them in the game? I think I've made my point in a roundabout way and we can move on.

Nasim Ashraf, PCB chairman feels that Shoaib Akhtar needs some psychiatric evaluation and counseling. For his anger management problems? For his issues with authority? Hmmm, there's so much going on with this guy. But he is behaving for now...so let's take advantage of his pace before he gets himself banned for life.

Pakistan were a bit late in asking the BCCI whether it was possible to change a test match in their India series to two Twenty20 matches, with the proceeds going to Bob Woolmer's family. The Indian Cricket Board rejected the request saying it was too late to change the games. While that is a noble gesture, I still can't agree with the two-test series format. You can't just play two tests, it has no point since the team who won first can't lose the series then. More open-endedness please!

Finally, an inquest has been started in the Caribbean about the death of Bob Woolmer, 5 months after he passed away. I mean, while it was the Pakistani teams fault that he died (admit it guys, they killed him with their pathetic cricket display and exit), you can't really charge them for that and the whole hallabaloo that they made in the West Indies, blaming everyone from Inzamam-ul-Haq to Bugs Bunny was pretty disgusting. So according to them, they have to conduct this inquest...because the last one was such a mess? Ag, you can try and work it out.

And that's it. Cheers all.