Thursday, June 25, 2009

Shahrukh Khan gets a 'fatwa' on comments against Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H)


The Bandra police has filed a case against Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan for allegedly making comments about Prophet Mohammad but the actor said it is a writing error and not a thought or view that he believes in.

"We have registered an FIR against Shah Rukh Khan after we received an application from an advocate who alleged that the actor made some statements hurting the sentiments of Muslims," said senior police inspector of Bandra police station, Prakash George.

The complaint was registered against Shah Rukh and the publisher of the magazine in which the purported remarks were published.

Complainant Khalid Babu Querishi alleged that in the July issue of the ‘Time and Style’ magazine, Shah Rukh had used objectionable
language against the Prophet which is unacceptable," George said.

The case was registered under section 295-a (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious sentiments) and 34 (acts done by several persons with common interest) of IPC.
In a message, the actor who is currently abroad shooting for Karan Johar's "My Name is Khan", said that there is no more important figure in history than Prophet Mohammad. "Being a Muslim and standing up for the tenets of Islam is my most important agenda," he said.

The actor's response came a day after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him.

Referring to protests on the issue, Shah Rukh said, "If they have seen my interviews about Islam and the Prophet, they should know that it is a writing error and not a thought or view I believe in."

He said, "for all practical purposes... Prophet Mohammad is the most important positive figure in Islam". Khan's statement will be recorded on his return from the US.

SRK effigy beaten with shoes


A large number of protesters put a garland of shoes round an effigy of film star, Shah Rukh Khan here to protest against his alleged "derogatory" remarks against Prophet Mohammed.

The protestors, gathered at Jehangirabad square after Friday prayers, beat up Shah Rukh's effigy with footwear to vent their anger with film star.

Later, they dispersed peacefully at the end of the protest which lasted about 30 minutes.

Shah Rukh in an interview to a magazine compared Prophet Mohammed with Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill.

The controversy surrounding Shahrukh Khan's controversial comments on Prophet Mohammad refuses to die down. Now an Islamic seminary has issued a fatwa (legal ruling) against Bollywood star. The fatwa issued by Mufti Mohammed Shoeb Raza Qadri and Mufti Muti-ur-Rehman of the Darul-uloom-Mazhar-e- Islam who stated that the entire Muslim community was hurt by Shahrukh's comments.


Buzz up!Mufti Mohammed called Shahrukh a Kafir (non-believer) and said such person should be thrown out of Islam. He also said that in an Islamic state such remarks would have called for a death penalty against the accused. He also added that Shahrukh's marriage with Gauri was nullified and Shahrukh must not be allowed to be buried in any Muslim graveyard.


Bareilly-based Markazi Darul Ifta which is a authority for issuing fatwas however dismissed the fatwas issued by clerics. They stated that since Shahrukh has issued clarification that he was misrepresented in his alleged statements he should not be held guilty. Shahrukh has made the alleged comments in an interview given to the Time n Style Magazine.

Last week an NGO by the name of Mumbai Aman Committee had filed complain against Shahrukh for his comments. They had asked the police file a case under section 504 of the IPC (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace). Shahrukh Khan is currently in US shooting for Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan

BERMUDA TRIANGLE-DEVIL'S SEA



The Bermuda Triangle, sometimes known as the Devil's Triangle, is a 1.5-million-square-mile (4,000,000 kms) area of ocean roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the southern tip of Florida. Some believe paranormal events occur in this region, in which the laws of physics no longer apply. Though these occurrences remain an enigma, something kind of electromagnetic anomaly does occur in this region which has affected ships and airplanes for centuries. One can only speculate based on reported events.


Located on the 80th degree longitude, the Bermuda Triangle is one of the two areas on Earth where a compass will point at true north rather than magnetic north. This compass variation can be as much as 20 degrees, enough to throw one catastrophically off course. The other is the Devil's Sea.

Devil's Sea - Devil's Triangle - Dragon's Triangle

The Devil's Sea is classified by many as having the same paranormal effects is Bermuda Triangle. It is located in a region of the Pacific around Miyake Island, about 100 km south of Tokyo. Although the name is used by Japanese fishermen, it does not appear on nautical maps. In popular culture, especially in the United States, the Devil's Sea is widely believed to be, together with Bermuda Triangle, an area where ships and planes particularly often disappear mysteriously. The Japanese, on the other hand, do not consider the Devil's Sea to be any more mysterious or dangerous than other coastal waters of Japan.

Contrary to several claims, neither the Devil's Sea nor the Bermuda Triangle is located on the agonic line, where the magnetic north equals the geographic north. The magnetic declination in this area is about 6°. As is the case with all things mysterious, there are many theories regarding the Devil's Sea. One of the most prominent is that there is a large amount of volcanic activity around the area, and an underwater volcano could obliterate a ship without a trace.


Electronic Fog

Many people have reported seeing portals opening in cloudy skies - strange swirling lights sometimes accompanied by sounds - temporal distortions - electromagnetic distortions called 'electronic fog' that can cause a time storm, and the disappearance of planes and ships. There is something about this fog that is important and gives one the sense of all things paranormal. Something unexplained is definitely happening in that region of the Atlantic. This goes back to ancient explorers such as Christopher Columbus and his crew who experienced the phenomenon.



Columbus and the Sargasso Sea

The Sargasso Sea is located in the east side of the triangle in the middle of the Atlantic. It houses a few small islands and masses of clumped floating seaweed. A warm water current within it swirls clockwise, affecting the weather of the area, keeping it calm and steamy. Having little wind, this area greatly affects unpowered ships.

Christopher Columbus wrote in his diary about this sea. In fact, it so fooled his crew that it almost led them to mutiny. There exists the possibility exists of never leaving this legendary sea, he wrote. Another fascinating feature he noted is its ability to draw things in from all over the Atlantic. Some even claim it to be the "catch-basin" of the Atlantic.

Columbus' crew was greatly disappointed when seaweed and land birds were sighted, but after a few days no land was to be seen. Soon after, Columbus wrote, My compass acts strangely. I will not report this to my crew because of their deep superstitions about the area. Days later, Columbus saw a large meteor fall from the sky. He wrote, A large ball of light has fallen from the sky. It is unsure whether he mentions this occurrence in awe, because of its great size, or in fright. Later on their journey, in that area, Columbus and several of his crew members sighted unexplained dancing lights on the horizon. They wandered around for over a week before finally sighting land.


Glowing Water

Aerial photos taken in 2005 show the phenomenon of glowing water. Whatever causes this phosphorescence to vent up from the Bahama Bank bottoms - if that is its cause - remains a mystery.

The Triangle's location in the Caribbean makes it subject to unpredictable weather patterns. This takes us to Earth changes and the excalation of intense hurricanes in 2005 with more to come in the years ahead.

These weather extremes prey on inexperienced navigators and smaller boats and planes. Water spouts, sudden electrical and thunder storms, and the like, can cause havoc in the area. The Gulf Stream can also be brutal in that region and perhaps has swept away evidence of natural disasters.


Naming the Devil's Sea and the Bermuda Triangle
The first mention of any disappearances in the area was made in 1950 by E.V.W. Jones as a sidebar on the Associated Press wire service regarding recent ship losses in the area. Jones' article notes the mysterious disappearances of ships, planes and small boats in the region, and ascribes it the name "The Devil's Sea."

It was mentioned again in 1952 in a Fate magazine article by George X. Sand, who outlined several strange marine disappearances.

The term "Bermuda Triangle" was popularized by Vincent Gaddis in a 1964 Argosy feature.

The area achieved its fame largely through the efforts of Charles Berlitz in his 1974 book The Bermuda Triangle. The book consists of a series of recountings of mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, in particular, the December 1945 loss of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bombers, known as Flight 19.




The saga of Flight 19 started on December 5th, 1945. Five Avenger torpedo bombers lifted into the air from the Navel Air Station at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 2:10 in the afternoon. It was a routine practice mission and the flight was composed of all students except for the Commander, a Lt. Charles Taylor.
The mission called for Taylor and his group of 13 men to fly due east 56 miles to Hens and Chicken Shoals to conduct practice bombing runs. When they had completed that objective, the flight plan called for them to fly an additional 67 miles east, then turn north for 73 miles and finally straight back to base, a distance of 120 miles. This course would take them on a triangular path over the sea.

About an hour and a half after the flight had left, a Lt. Robert Cox picked up a radio transmission from Taylor. Taylor indicated that his compasses were not working, but he believed himself to be somewhere over the Florida Keys (the Keys are a long chain of islands south of the Florida mainland). Cox urged him to fly north, toward Miami, if Taylor was sure the flight was over the Keys.

Planes today have a number of ways that they can check their current position including listening to a set of GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) in orbit around the Earth. It is almost impossible for a pilot to get lost if he has the right equipment and uses it properly.

In 1945, though, planes flying over water had to depend on knowing their starting point, how long and fast they had flown, and in what direction. If a pilot made a mistake with any of these figures, he was lost. Over the ocean there were no landmarks to set him right.

Apparently Taylor had become confused at some point in the flight. He was an experienced pilot, but hadn't spent a lot of time flying east toward the Bahamas which was where he was going on that day. For some reason Taylor apparently thought the flight had started out in the wrong direction and had headed south toward the Florida Keys, instead of east. This thought was to color his decisions throughout the rest of the flight with deadly results.

The more Taylor took his flight north to try to get out of the Keys, the further out to sea the Avengers actually traveled. As time went on, snatches of transmissions were picked up on the mainland indicating the other Flight 19 pilots were trying to get Taylor to change course. "If we would just fly west," one student told another, "we would get home." He was right.

By 4:45 P.M. it was obvious to the people on the ground that Taylor was hopelessly lost. He was urged to turn control of the flight over to one of his students, but apparently he didn't. As it grew dark, communications deteriorated. From the few words that did get through it was apparent Taylor was still flying north and east, the wrong directions.

At 5:50 P.M. the ComGulf Sea Frontier Evaluation Center managed get a fix on Flight 19's weakening signals. It was apparently east of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. By then communications were so poor that this information could not be passed to the lost planes.

At 6:20 a Dumbo Flying Boat was dispatched to try and find Flight 19 and guide it back. Within the hour two more planes, Martin Mariners, joined the search. Hope was rapidly fading for Flight 19 by then. The weather was getting rough and the Avengers were very low on fuel.

The two Martin Mariners were supposed to rendezvous at the search zone. The second one, designated Training 49, never showed up.

The last transmission from Flight 19 was heard at 7:04 P.M. Planes searched the area through the night and the next day. There was no sign of the Avengers.



Nor did the authorities really expect to find much. The Avengers, crashing when their fuel was exhausted, would have been sent to the bottom in seconds by the 50 foot waves of the storm. As one of Taylor's colleagues noted, they didn't call those planes 'Iron Birds' for nothing. They weighed 14,000 pounds empty. So when they ditched, they went down pretty fast.

What happened to the missing Martin Mariner? The crew of the SS Gaines Mill observed an explosion over the water shortly after the Mariner had taken off. They headed toward the site and there they saw what looked like oil and airplane debris floating on the surface. None of it was recovered because of the bad weather, but there seems little doubt this was the remains of the Mariner. The plane had a reputation as being a 'flying bomb' which would burst into flame from even a single, small spark. Speculation is that one of 22 men on board, unaware that the unpressurized cabin contained gas fumes, lit a cigarette, causing the explosion.

So how did this tragedy turn into a Bermuda Triangle mystery? The Navy's original investigation concluded the accident had been caused by Taylor's confusion. Taylor's mother refused to accept that and finally got the Navy to change the report to read that the disaster was for "causes or reasons unknown." This may have spared the woman's feelings, but blurred the actual facts.

The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle. The planes, and their pilots, even found their way into the science fiction film classic, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.'

Where is Flight 19 now?

In 1991 five Avengers were found in 600 feet of water off the coast of Florida by the salvage ship Deep Sea. Examination of the planes showed that they were not Flight 19, however, so the final resting place of the planes, and their crews is still the Bermuda Triangle's secret.

Kusche's Research

Intrigued by the number of students coming to him looking for information about the Bermuda Triangle, Lawrence Kusche, a reference librarian with Arizona State University at the time of the "Flight 19" incident, began an exhaustive follow-up investigation of the original reports. His findings were eventually published in 1975 as The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved.

Kusche's research revealed a number of inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. He noted cases where pertinent but late-arriving information went unreported. The Berlitz book included the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst as a mystery, despite clear evidence that Crowhurst had fabricated the accounts of his voyage, and that his diary strongly suggested he had committed suicide. An ore carrier Berlitz recounts as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port was actually lost three days out of a port of the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche argues that a large percentage of the incidents attributed to the Bermuda triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it.

Kusche came to several conclusions:

With this area being one of the heaviest ship- and airplane-traveled areas in the world, the proportion of losses was no greater than anywhere else.


In an area with frequent tropical storms, the total disappearance of some ships was not unlikely or mysterious, and the number of such disappearances was exaggerated by sloppy research, when a missing boat would be reported in the press, but not its eventual return to port.
In actual disappearances, the circumstances were frequently misreported in the Bermuda Triangle books: the number of ships disappearing in supposedly still, calm weather did not jibe with press weather reports published at the time.

Methane hydrates


An explanation for some of the disappearances focuses on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates on the continental shelves. A paper was published by the United States Geological Survey about the appearance of hydrates in the Blake Ridge area, offshore southeastern United States, in 1981. Periodic methane eruptions are capable of producing ship-sized bubbles, or regions of water with so much dissolved gas, that the fluid density is no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships to float. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink almost directly and without warning. Experiments have proven that a methane bubble can indeed sink a ship by decreasing the density of the water.

Methane gas can also crash planes. The less dense air causes planes to lose lift. Also, the altimeter of planes (the instrument that measures the altitude) functions on the density of air. Because methane is less dense, the altimeter assumes the plane is climbing. Planes at night or in the clouds, where they can't see the ground, assume that they are climbing and dive, causing them to crash. Also, methane in the engine throws off the mix of fuel and air. Aircraft engines burn hydrocarbons (gasoline or jet fuel) with oxygen provided by the air. When the ambient oxygen levels drop, combustion can stop, and the engine stalls. All of these effects of methane gas have been shown experimentally.

Freak Wave Theory

Research has shown that freak waves up to 30 m (100 feet) tall, capable of sinking the largest ships within moments, can and do happen. Although these are very rare, in some areas ocean currents mean they happen more often than the norm. Such waves have now been hypothesized as a cause for many unexplained shipping losses over the years.

The book was a best seller, and many interested readers offered theories to explain the nature of the disappearances. The list includes natural storms, transportation by extraterrestrial technology, high-traffic volumes (and correspondingly high accident rates), a "temporal hole," the lost Atlantis empire from the bottom of the ocean, and other natural and supernatural causes.
Paranormal Theories

Atlantis - Edgar Cayce
In 2005, as part of a Sci Fi Channel documentary on the Bermuda Triangle, researcher David Childress explored underwater artifacts called the Scott Stones which he and others believe is linked to Atlantis - one of its locations being the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. No one is certain what the 'stone looking' formations are. Chisel marks would have to be found for them to be determined as manmade, not to mention dating their age.

Edgar Cayce said that the Bahama Banks were the last part of Atlantis to sink, and the last place where these glorious advanced electromagnetic machines went below the ocean. He prophezied that elements of Atlantis would rise in 1968 and 1969. The Bimini Wall or Road was discovered off the coast of Bimini in 1968.

The electromagnetic anomalies in the area, Childress states, are linked to advanced technologies under the water in the Bermuda Triangle that are still active.

This goes to ancient mysteries, and perhaps ancient astronauts, about powerful Atlantean crystal technology developed being buried beneath the ocean floor when Atlantis sank into the sea due to cataclysmic events over 10,000 years ago.


Dr. Raymond's Brown's alleged experience
In 1970, Dr. Ray Brown, a naturopathic practitioner from Mesa, Arizona, went scuba diving with some friends near the Bari Islands in the Bahamas, close to a popular area known as the Tongue of the Ocean.

During one of his dives, Brown became separated from his friends and while searching for them he was startled when he came across a strange pyramid shape silhouetted against the aquamarine light.

Upon investigating further, Brown was surprised by how smooth and mirror-like was the stone surface of the whole structure, with the joints between the individual blocks almost indiscernible.

Swimming around the capstone, which Brown thought might have beenmade of lapis lazuli, he discovered an entrance and decided to explore inside. Passing along a narrow hallway, Brown finally came to a small rectangular room with a pyramid-shaped ceiling. He was totally amazed that this room contained no algae or coral growing on the inner walls. In addition, though Brown had brought no torch with him, the area was well lit by an unknown source.

Brown's attention was drawn to a brassy metallic rod three inches in diameter hanging down from the apex of the center of the room and at its end was attached a many-faceted red gem, which tapered to a point. Directly below this rod and gem, sitting in the middle of the room, was a stand of carved stone topped by a stone plate with scrolled ends. On the plate there was a pair of carved metal bronze-colored hands, life-sized, which appeared blackened and burnt, as if having been subjected to tremendous heat.

Nestled in the hands, and situated four feet directly below the ceiling rod gem point, was a crystal sphere four inches in diameter. Brown tried to loosen the ceiling rod and red gemstone but neither would budge. Returning to the crystal sphere, he found, to his amazement, that it separated easily from the bronze hand holders. With the crystal sphere in his right hand he then made his way out of the pyramid. As he departed, Brown felt an unseen presence and heard a voice telling him never to return.

Fearing, rightly, that his unusual prize might be confiscated as salvage-treasure by the American Government, Dr. Brown did not reveal the existence of his strange crystal sphere, nor did he relate his experiences until 1975, when he exhibited his crystal for the first time at a psychic seminar in Phoenix.

Since that time, the crystal sphere has made only a very few public appearances but on each occasion people who have seen it have experienced strange phenomena directly associated with it.

Deep inside the crystal form, one gazes upon three pyramidical images, one in front of the other, in decreasing sizes. Some people who enter a deep meditative state of consciousness are able to discern a fourth pyramid, in the foreground of the other three.

Reality is metaphoric. 3 or pyramid = third dimension. 4 = time. The colors red and brown symbolize the physical plane. Electrical - reality is created by electromagnetic grids.

Perhaps the positions of the three pyramidical images in the crystal sphere hold the long-sought key to finding a fourth, as yet unfound. Looking at the crystal sphere from the side, the internal images dissolve into thousands of tiny fracture lines. Brown felt that these may prove to be electrical in nature, like some form of microscopic circuitry. From yet another angle, and under special conditions, many people have been able to see a large single human eye staring out serenely at them. Photographs of this eye have allegedly also been taken.

Elizabeth Bacon, a New York psychic, claimed, while in trance, that the crystal sphere had once belonged to Thoth, the Egyptian God who was responsible for burying a secret vault of knowledge in Giza, near the three great Pyramids.

This theory at best is metaphoric in content, but the archetypes of pyramids, crystals, the ocean, Thoth [the scribe of our reality] and the Emerald Tablets, alchemy and other related files on Crystalinks, can help explain the metapohoric content of Brown's experience and perhaps some of your drams and visions.

Metaphors :: Rays = sun, sun gods, the eye - and on and on we go until one understands the nature of our reality as a virtual experience created through the mathematical blueprint called Sacred Geometry that repeats in cycles - spiral loops of consciousness called 'time' that is about to shift in frequency.

This links with current Earth changes across the planet.

Is there a core crystal - generating power to manifest our grid program in physical reality? Does it link to secrets hidden beneath the Great Pyramd and Sphinx - [chambers and caves are archetypes for the mind that experiences virtually] - crystals in time - the alleged hidden akashic records of our experience in third dimension - the core crystal about to burn out at which time our grid program evolves to higher frequency - and related theories that help humanity awaken to the nature of its creation?

One can only imagine discovering Atlantean technology, such as those found in the TV series 'Stargate Atlantis' - and learning the secrets of the Atlanteans - which - if they did exist in our physical reality - or perhaps a parallel grid that merges into ours - would bring answers sought after by alchemists through time. How ironic would it be to discover the fall of Atlantis as our reality sinks into the 'sea' of consciousness.




Comet Theory
The Comet Theory proposes that a comet, of unknown composition, crashed to Earth 11,000 + years ago and embedded itself in the area of the Bermuda Triangle, beneath the ocean floor. If such an object exists there, it could still possess electromagntic properties that we don't entirely understand causing the anomalies in the Bermuda Triangle. 11 goes to metaphors about 11:11 and 12 Around 1.




Conspiracy Theory and Government Cover-ups - AUTEC
The Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center is allegedly located in the Bermuda Triangle and is sometimes called Underwater Area 51. This US Navy Research Center is a top-secret facility whose exact mission statement is not known to the general public. No one is allowed to visit there or film in or near the facility. Conspiracy theorists suspect they make have created or reproduced these electromagnetic anomalies.

This theory takes the viewer to the events of the Philadelphia Experiment in 1943 - rips in space-time in the Atlantic region - government secret projects and more.


Skeptical Responses
Critics have charged that Berlitz, and others have exaggerated the "mysterious" aspects of some cases (Berlitz himself did not advocate any supernatural explanation), and argue that the Bermuda Triangle sees no more "disappearances" than any comparable area of the oceans. Of note, Lloyd's of London has determined the "triangle" to be no more dangerous than any other piece of the ocean, and does not charge unusual rates of insurance for passage through the area. Coast Guard records confirm this.

It is said that within this area a number of ships and planes have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances. The United States Coast Guard and others disagree with the assessment of paranormal activity, arguing that the number of incidents involving lost ships and planes is no larger than that of any other heavily traveled region of the world.

Skeptics comment that the disappearance of a train between two stops would be more convincing evidence of paranormal activity, and the fact that such things do not occur suggests that paranormal explanations are not needed for the disappearance of ships and airplanes in the far less predictable open ocean.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Venue of T20 Worldcup Final


Despite a major rebuilding programme in recent years, Lord's remains a cricket ground as opposed to the largely impersonal stadiums many other leading venues which have become. Playing in a Test at Lord's, still widely regarded as the home of cricket, remains to many cricketers the pinnacle of a career.

The third of Thomas Lord's grounds was opened in 1814 and soon became the major venue as cricket became the world's leading sport in the 19th century. While cricket has been overtaken by other international events, and the game itself has become overtly commercial, Lord's has retained its place as the spiritual home.

The ground is privately owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (membership 18,000), is the home to the ECB and, from 1909 to 2005, the ICC.

The dominant building is the terracotta-coloured pavilion, built in 1890 and still one of world sport's most recognisable structures. Going round the ground in a clockwise direction, next to the pavilion is the Warner Stand, opened in 1958 and named after the eminent player and administrator Sir Pelham "Plum" Warner.

The main grandstand was built in 1997 and replaced the architecturally unique structure designed by Sir Herbert Baker which was opened in time for the 1926 Ashes Test. Baker presented MCC with Father Time, the weathervane which topped his creation until it was moved to the other side of the ground in 1996.

The far end - the Nursery - is enclosed by the Compton and Edrich Stands, a pair of low-level two-tier stands built in 1990 which are remarkably similar to those they replaced (which were known as the Free Seats on account of them being available to those who had paid the basic ground admission - entry to other areas required extra payment). Legend has it that Gubby Allen, MCC's long-time self-appointed guardian, steadfastly refused to allow any larger structure as it would have blocked the view of the Nursery and the tree-lined park on the other side of the Wellington Road.

The Nursery itself is named after Henderson's agricultural nursery which was acquired in 1887 (not, as widely believed, because it is home to the MCC Young Cricketers, hence the nursery for the game's next generation). It houses a second pitch which is used for end-of-season Cross Arrows matches as well as the women's Varsity match. The award-winning Mound Stand, was opened in 1987. Its predecessor , constructed in 1898, was on the site of the old tennis courts and at one time contained a bakery with a small underground railway to take produce to various points of sale.

The Tavern (1967) is the least distinguished of the stands and typifies the bland functionality of the 1960s. Until the late 1980s spectators could stand on the concourse in front of the stand and watch proceedings, but increasing rowdyism ended that. The previous Tavern, an ivy-clad building, was much loved by patrons.

The final stand before returning the the pavilion is the Allen Stand (formerly the Q Stand), a rather diminutive in-fill which serves as a pavilion overflow on big-match days and Middlesex's club room at other times.

Records and statistics

First Test England v Australia - Jul 21-23, 1884
Last Test England v West Indies - May 6-8, 2009

First ODI England v Australia - Aug 26, 1972
Last ODI England v South Africa - Aug 31, 2008

First T20I England v Netherlands - Jun 5, 2009
Last T20I England v India - Jun 14, 2009

Friday, June 19, 2009

UNSOLVED MYSTERY OF JAVED IQBAL

Javed Iqbal ( - 2001 )(Javed Iqbal Mughal) was a serial killer from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. He claimed he killed 100 boys during an 18 month period.
He had been arrested in June 1998 for procuring the services of two boy prostitutes. He went off on bail, and began murdering boys shortly afterwards.

Iqbal found boys on the street, charmed them into his confidence, and then drugged and raped, and strangled them. He then cut the body into pieces and put them in a vat filled with hydrochloric acid. Once all of the remains were liquified, he dumped them. He first used the sewer, until neighbors complained of an acrid stench. He then decided to use the Ravi River. The partially liquified remains of two boys, one of whom was named Ijaz, were the only ones found of Iqbal's victims. He kept the rest in an acid drum outside his house. He also kept clothing and shoes as trophies of his crimes. When he got to his fiftieth victim, he started taking pictures of them.
In a confession, he said "it cost me 120 rupees (about $2.00 United States dollars) to erase each victim."
He sent information about his crimes to the Islamabad-based Daily Jang, the most circulated Urdu newspaper in Pakistan. He surrendered on December 30, 1999.
No one had noticed the disappearance of the boys that Iqbal killed. Iqbal claimed that he could have killed 500 if he had wanted to. He reportedly said "I am Javed Iqbal, killer of 100 children ... I hate this world, I am not ashamed of my action and I am ready to die. I have no regrets. I killed 100 children."
Iqbal was sentenced to death by hanging, although the judge said he would have liked Iqbal to be strangled 100 times, cut into 100 pieces, and put in acid.
Before this sentence could be carried out, he was found strangled with his bed sheets in his prison cell on October 7, 2001. One of his accomplices, Sajid, was also strangled. Pakistani authorities say that the men committed suicide. Another accomplice had previously fallen to his death from a CIA window.
Most people in Pakistan believe that the men were murdered. Autopsy results show that the two men were bleeding from the nose and mouth when they died. The results show that Sajid was beaten, and that several partially healed wounds inflicted by a blunt object were found on Iqbal's body. Prison guard Iftikar Husain reported that "I was asleep when the incident took place."
According to prison official Abdussattar Ajiz, Iftikar Husain didn't report the incident to his bosses immediately, and instead "untied the knots of the bed sheets, laid the bodies on the floor to create the impression that they were asleep. He did so to save his own skin." Liaquat Ali, Husain's relief, didn't check on the prisoners, who were found dead the next morning.
The case is still under investigation

Monday, June 15, 2009

SWING BOWLING


Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.
The essence of swing bowling is to get the cricket ball to deviate sideways as it moves through the air towards or away from the batsman. In order to do this, the bowler makes use of four factors:

The raised seam of the cricket ball
Asymmetry in the ball caused by uneven wear of its surface
The speed of the delivery
The bowler's action
The asymmetry of the ball is encouraged by the constant polishing of one side of the ball by members of the fielding team, while allowing the opposite side to deteriorate through wear and tear. Over time, this produces a marked difference in the aerodynamic properties of the two sides.

At speeds around 80 mph (around 130 km/h), the airflow around the ball is in transition between smooth, or laminar flow, and turbulent flow. At speeds of 90 mph (around 145 km/h) and above, all the flow is turbulent. A medium-pace bowler, working at 75 to 80 mph (around 120 to 130 km/h), takes advantage of this. In this critical region, the raised seam and other minor imperfections in the ball's surface can induce turbulence while air flowing over other parts of the ball remains laminar. Turbulent air separates from the surface of the ball later than laminar flow air, so that the separation point moves to the back of the ball on the turbulent side. On the laminar flow side it remains towards the front. The result is a net force in the direction of the turbulent side.

Thus by keeping the seam and roughness to one side, the bowler induces the ball to swing in that direction. Skilled bowlers can even make a ball swing one way, and then 'break' the other way upon bouncing, with an off cutter or leg cutter hand action.

The swing of a cricket ball is not caused by the Magnus effect, which gives rise to a force perpendicular to the axis of rotation (in this case up or down). The deviation of a swinging cricket ball is parallel to the axis of its rotation

Conventional swing

Typically, a swing bowler aligns the seam and the sides of the ball to reinforce the swing effect. This can be done in two ways:

Outswinger: An outswinger to a right-handed batsman can be bowled by aligning the seam slightly to the left towards the slips and placing the roughened side of the ball on the left. To extract consistent swing, a bowler can also rotate his wrist toward the slips while keeping his arm straight. To a right-handed batsman, this results in the ball moving away to the off side while in flight, usually outwards from his body.
Inswinger: An inswinger to a right-handed batsman can be bowled by aligning the seam slightly to the right and placing the roughened side of the ball on the right and towards leg slip. To extract consistent swing, a bowler can also rotate or "open up" his wrist towards leg slip. To a right-handed batsman, this results in the ball moving in to the leg side while in flight, usually inwards towards his body.
The curvature of swing deliveries can make them difficult for a batsman to hit with his bat. Typically, bowlers more commonly bowl outswingers, as they tend to move away from the batsman, meaning he has to "chase" the ball in order to hit it. Hitting away from the batsman's body is dangerous, as it leaves a gap between the bat and body through which the ball may travel to hit the wicket. Also, if the batsman misjudges the amount of swing, he can hit the ball with an edge of the bat. An inside edge can ricochet on to the wicket, resulting in him being out bowled, while an outside edge can fly to the wicket-keeper or slip fielders for a catch.

An inswinger presents relatively fewer dangers to the batsman, but can result in bowled or leg before wicket dismissals if the batsman misjudges the swing on the ball.

An inswinger combined with a yorker can be especially difficult for the batsman to defend against, especially if used as a surprise delivery after a sequence of outswingers.

It is a common belief amongst both players and fans that balls swing more in humid weather conditions, although no objective research exists to bear this out. There has been a distinct lack of left-arm swing bowlers in the game. Some of the more famous left-arm bowlers were Pakistan's Wasim Akram and Australia's Alan Davidson

Reverse swing

Pioneers and notable practitioners of reverse swing have mostly been Pakistani fast bowlers. Former Pakistan international Sarfraz Nawaz was the founder of reverse swing during the late 1970s, and he passed his knowledge on to former team-mate Imran Khan, who in turn taught the duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The English pair of Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones are also well known for the ability to reverse swing the ball having been taught by Troy Cooley. The Indian pace duo of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, coached by Venkatesh Prasad, used reverse swing, which enabled India to win the home series against Australia in 2008.

In the early days of reverse swing, Pakistani bowlers were suspected of ball tampering to achieve the conditions of the ball that allow reverse swing, but today they are considered to simply have been ahead of their time.

Normal swing occurs mostly when the ball is fairly new. As it wears more, the aerodynamics of the asymmetry change and it is more difficult to extract a large amount of swing.

When the ball becomes very old—around 40 or more overs old, it can begin to swing towards the polished side rather than the rough side. This is known as reverse swing (Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones have been known to produce reverse swing in balls as young as 15 overs old). Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma of India also managed to get the reverse swing as early as just 8 overs.Umar Gul of Pakistan also managed to get the reverse swing as early as just 12 overs. In essence, both sides have turbulent flow, but here the seam causes the airflow to separate earlier on one side. The result is always a swing to the side with the later separation, so the swing is away from the seam.

Reverse swing is difficult to achieve consistently, as it relies on uneven wear of the ball, tends to occur mostly in hot, dry weather conditions, and requires bowling at high speed. Normal swing can be achieved at relatively moderate bowling speeds, but only the fastest bowlers can regularly produce reverse swing.

Reverse swing tends to be stronger than normal swing, and to occur late in the ball's trajectory. This gives it a very different character from normal swing, and because batsmen experience it less often, they generally find it much more difficult to defend against. It is also possible for a ball to swing normally in its early flight, and then to reverse as it approaches the batsman. This can be done in two ways[citation needed]: one for the ball to reverse in the opposite direction to the original swing, giving it an "S" trajectory; and the other for it to reverse in the same direction making the swing even more pronounced. Either way it can be very devastating for the batsman: in the first instance, he is already committed to playing one way, which is often the wrong way to play swing in the opposite direction; and in the second instance, his stance will have conformed to dealing with the degree of expected swing and could leave him vulnerable to being caught behind, LBW or bowled. Two back to back deliveries from Wasim Akram, one of each type, were considered to be the turning point of the 1992 World Cup Final.

Controversy regarding reverse swing has never left modern cricket, as the Pakistani team was accused of ball tampering by the controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair during the fourth test against England in 2006 when the ball began to reverse swing after the 50th over.[citation needed] His co-umpire Billy Doctrove fully supported him in this action. A hearing subsequently found that there was insufficient evidence to convict anyone of ball tampering.

Playing swing bowling

Playing swing bowling is considered to be the hallmark of a batsman's skill. While often a batsman will be encouraged to play defensively, in many instances he may be skilled enough to attack.

A batsman often needs to anticipate beforehand what the ball will do and adjust accordingly to play swing bowling. This can be done by observing the bowler's grip and action (which may have a marked difference depending on which type of swinger is to be delivered), by observing the field set, which may depend on the types of deliveries expected (as a rule outswingers will have more slips assigned) or by means of prior knowledge of the bowler; many can bowl or are proficient in only one type of swing.

Since reverse occurs at faster speeds, later in the trajectory of the ball and with no real obvious change in action and grip (Waqar Younis from Pakistan for example had the same action and grip for nearly all his deliveries, batsmen with a quick eye and reflexes will do well. Also, Waqar Younis employed the technique of covering the ball with his hands during his run up to hide the grip. In his autobiography Wasim Akram mentions three batsmen— Brian Lara, Aravinda De Silva, and Martin Crowe —who had such reflexes and who were exceedingly difficult to bowl to.

Pakistan In SEMI FINAL

Pakistan beat Ireland by 39 runs at the Oval to increase their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

Ireland's target of 160 always seemed out-of-reach for the Irish against an ever-improving bowling attack, with Saeed Ajmal (4-19) and Umar Gul (2-19) to the fore on this occasion.

Niall O'Brien (7) top-edged an attempted pull straight back to Mohammad Aamer, who took a steepling catch off his own bowling.

Ireland reached 37-1 at the end of their Powerplay, with just three boundaries, as they struggled to make the most of the period before spin entered the equation.

Predictably, Shahid Afridi then struck with his fifth delivery when Paul Stirling, making his first appearance of the tournament, missed a sweep and was bowled for 17.

At the midway stage, Ireland had reached 66-2, leaving an unlikely 94 to get off the last 10 overs.

Gul, the five-wicket hero against New Zealand, came into the attack in the 12th over with the run-rate continuing to mount up for the Irish.

The pace man's initial spell lasted just one over on this occasion before Saeed Ajmal replaced him at the Pavilion End.

The off-spinner struck an instant blow when Will Porterfield (40) chipped a timid effort to extra cover.

Umar then swapped ends, conceding just one run from his second over, to leave an improbable 71 needed from the last five overs.

Wickets tumbled at regular intervals in the closing overs with Ajmal and Gul inflicting an Irish collapsed from 87-2 to 120-9 at the end of their 20 overs.

Pakistan had earlier reached 159-5 after winning the toss.

The batting side started tentatively but Kamran Akmal roused their supporters with the first two sixes of the innings, over midwicket and straight back past the bowler, during a Trent Johnston over, his second, that leaked 20 runs.

By contrast, Boyd Rankin's first three overs cost just seven runs as he discomforted both Pakistan openers with his steepling bounce.

Alex Cusack replaced Johnston (2-0-29-0 at that stage) and made the breakthrough with his fourth ball when Shahzaib Hasan (23) mistimed a drive to mid-off.

Pakistan opted to promote Afridi up the order, having shown signs of a return to batting form in the last match against New Zealand, and the ploy paid dividends with a quickfire 24 (off 13 balls) from the all-rounder.

Off-spinner Kyle McCallan then claimed the wicket of Afridi in his first over when the batsman holed out to long-on.

Johnston's return to the attack was no more effective than his earlier spell as he conceded 12 from his third over to usher Pakistan close to 100.

Akmal brought up the three figures, in the 13th over, with a delightful extra-cover drive to the boundary off Regan West.

The left-armer then removed the Pakistan captain Younus Khan two balls later when he spun one in between his bat and pad, with the right-hander going for a sweep, and bowled him for 10.

Akmal reached his 50 off 46 balls (4 x 4/1 x 6) at the start of the 16th over as Pakistan looked to push on for an imposing total.

Johnston finally got some revenge for a distressing spell of bowling (4-0-45-1) when he yorked Akmal (57) off his penultimate ball.

Misbah-ul-Haq (20) belted the largest six of the innings, over long-on, but McCallan (2-26) removed the veteran two balls later when he got an inside-edge onto his pad and wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien took a diving catch.

Rankin came back for his last over - the 19th - and carried on where he left off at the top of the innings to finish with the stand-out analysis of 4-0-11-0.

Abdul Razzaq (15 not out 9 balls) brought up the 150 with an unerring straight drive as 13 came off the last over from Cusack.

Pakistan end their Super Eights campaign with two victories from three matches, meaning a win for Sri Lanka in their last game against New Zealand tomorrow would guarantee progress for both sides. A win for New Zealand would leave three teams level on four points and the semi-finalists to come out of Group F being decided on run-rate

Sunday, June 14, 2009

DO OR DIE VICTORY FOR PAKISTAN

Pakistan have bitten another bullet, in style. At the toss Younis Khan seemed relieved, almost trying to suppress laughter, when he called this a do-or-die match. It was as if he liked that there was no choice left, and his team showed they relished being in such a situation. By the end of the night, Pakistan had done, and left dying for another time. Abdul Razzaq, formerly a pariah and now making a comeback to official cricket after two years, struck with the fourth ball he bowled, and then in his third over to skittle the New Zealand top order, which was followed by Umar Gul's destruction. Gul was on a hat-trick twice and also became the first bowler to take a five-for in Twenty20 internationals.

Those two spells sandwiched a period when the spinners choked the life out of the middle order as a weakened New Zealand, missing Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor, stumbled to a meagre total on a belter of a pitch at The Oval. Debutant opener Shahzaib Hasan threatened to finish the match in a hurry, but the New Zealand spinners did well to delay the end of the match, and make sure Pakistan didn't run away with a hefty net run-rate, which will come handy in case New Zealand beat Sri Lanka.

How Pakistan would want to thank BCCI for the "amnesty" it accorded the ICL players. For Pakistan had bowled yet another ordinary first over; the first and last balls, from Mohammad Aamer, were boundaries, in between there was poor fielding and no dot balls. Had even Razzaq got off to a poor start, Pakistan would have had to bring Gul on early, which is not their original game plan. But Razzaq got Brendon McCullum before he could cause severe damage, and then Martin Guptill with a trademark straight delivery that the batsman missed. He exulted with arms aloft, more of a reaction than you can usually draw from Razzaq. Welcome back, Pakistan cricket was poorer without Razzaq.

Razzaq's first wicket was the first dot ball of the innings, but by the time Aamer and Razzaq were done with their three-over spells, New Zealand had barely doubled their score at 1.3 overs. Time, then, for spinners to come on. For the first time with the medium-pacers having put them in a favourable position. Time also it was for the fielders to raise their game, which they did. Diving saves, hustling fielders, and accurate bowling meant that Scott Styris and Jacob Oram struggled even to rotate the strike.

When it got too much for Oram, he stepped out to Shahid Afridi, in the 10th over, and skied a faster delivery. At the end of that over, Afridi's figures read 2-0-3-1. And because the opening bowlers did their job, Younis had Gul saved up for the last eight overs. At 72 for 4 after 12 overs, New Zealand had their task cut out, facing the yorkers from Gul and trying to accelerate.

Styris tried to put Gul off his rhythm right in his first over, and all he managed was a top edge to long-on. But this was Afridi's moment. He ran from mid-on, his eye on the ball falling over his head, his hands stretching out at the right moment and finishing the catch metres inside the boundary. Pakistan fielding had come a long way from being the laughing stocks of the tournament.

Following that dismissal, it was all Gul, his accuracy and his late swing. Peter McGlashan tried to paddle him next ball, but was undone by the in-dipper. James Franklin saved the hat-trick, but couldn't deny the irresistible Gul for long. With a change of ends, he cleaned up Nathan McCullum and Franklin with straight and fast bowling. Kyle Mills, though, fell to a slower one, giving Gul the five-for and another chance for a hat-trick. The hat-trick didn't come, but New Zealand managed just 27 since Gul's introduction to the attack. Once the euphoria of this performance dies, Pakistan will want to thank the man returning to international cricket for allowing them to go ahead with their preferred bowling strategy.


It was the best environment for a 19-year-old making his debut. Shahzaib was eased into the chase, Kamran Akmal facing the first 12 balls of the innings. Turned out Shahzaib didn't need any shielding. He got off the mark with a free-hit, but showed glimpses of his potential in the subsequent overs, lofting Daniel Vettori for a six down the ground, and cutting and pulling with aplomb during his quick 35.

With Afridi batting responsibly, Vettori's guile and athletic fielding only fought the inevitable.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Another Defeat For Pakistan

Sri Lanka survived a shocking mid-innings slump and a threatening 66-run partnership between Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to ease to a 19-run win in their first game of the Super Eights at Lord's. Chasing a modest 151 - after Sri Lanka were shackled by some superb bowling from the spinners - Pakistan's fight was led by their captain, who made a well-paced 50, but three wickets in eight balls, including those of Younis and Shahid Afridi, sunk the chase.

Sri Lanka haven't had much success against Pakistan in important limited-overs games, but here they held their nerve well when it mattered most. The momentum was clearly with Pakistan when the teams trooped off at the break - they had only conceded 70 in the last 12 after leaking 80 in the first eight - but the Sri Lankans shrugged off that lethargy when they returned, bowling with accuracy and venom, and fielding with a vigour that justified their rating as the best fielding team in the subcontinent.

Angelo Mathews did the early damage, and after five overs Pakistan had only scored 33 compared to Sri Lanka's 59. Pakistan, though, have made a habit of starting slowly and then scoring an insane amount of runs towards the end, and it seemed Younis and Misbah were well on their way to another rearguard rescue mission with their cool and unruffled approach. They began slowly, but Younis, especially, ran the singles cleverly, before upping the pace with some powerful sweeps off Murali.

Fifty-two were needed off the last five, when the screws fell off. Misbah pulled straight to deep midwicket, Afridi, quite recklessly, slogged his first ball to same area. When Younis fell to one of several superb slower deliveries from Lasith Malinga, the chase, which had looked so promising minutes earlier, was suddenly over. The end of the match was disappointing for Pakistan, for they had recovered in style from a shocking start in the field.

Sri Lanka's total owed plenty to their two openers, and the manner in which they started suggested they'd post a score of around 200. Dilshan and Jayasuriya, aided by Tanvir's extreme generosity, powered the team to 59 in five overs. Pakistan's start was sloppy even by their modest standards. Tanvir started with a no-ball, and by the time his first over was done, he'd added three wides and another no-ball to that tally. The batsmen, meanwhile, made merry: both openers eased drives through the covers as the first over leaked 18.

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That was the launching pad for more heroics, as Dilshan uncorked his favourite scoop over the wicketkeeper, and Jayasuriya played his trademark shot as well - the short-arm pull for six. Younis didn't trust his spinners in the Powerplays, and Sri Lanka's openers relished pace on the ball, driving into the gaps forcefully or scooping and nudging delicately. On a quick outfield, both were equally profitable.

Afridi then led the rescue mission, denying the batsmen room, and varying his pace and length cleverly to suddenly stifle the innings. In his second over, he shackled the batsmen to just one run in his first five balls, and then forced a miscue from Jayasuriya; in his next over, Dilshan was beaten by the length, and the innings fell away completely.

Sri Lanka's problems with the lower order then resurfaced, as Sangakkara and Jayawardene fell after getting starts, and the rest struggled. Pakistan, meanwhile, had tightened considerably: Umar Gul offering no freebies, Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik showing excellent control, and with the fielding getting sprightly up as well, Sri Lanka had no weak link to attack. The last five overs yielded only two fours, and it seemed Sri Lanka had lost the plot after a magnificent start. In the end, though, the lack of runs in the final overs only kept Pakistan in the hunt a little longer, and reduced Sri Lanka's margin of victory.



Tuesday, June 9, 2009

SUPER 8 MATCHES





Thu Jun 11
13:30 local | 12:30 GMT 13th Match, Group F - Ireland v New Zealand (D1 v A2)
Trent Bridge, Nottingham 7 - 17° C Forecast Showers


Thu Jun 11
17:30 local | 16:30 GMT 14th Match, Group E - England v South Africa (B2 v D2)
Trent Bridge, Nottingham 7 - 17° C Forecast Showers


Fri Jun 12
13:30 local | 12:30 GMT 15th Match, Group F - Pakistan v Sri Lanka (B1 v C2)
Lord's, London 10 - 18° C Forecast Mostly Cloudy


Fri Jun 12
17:30 local | 16:30 GMT 16th Match, Group E - India v West Indies (A1 v C1)
Lord's, London 10 - 18° C Forecast Mostly Cloudy


Sat Jun 13
13:30 local | 12:30 GMT 17th Match, Group E - South Africa v West Indies (C1 v D2)
Kennington Oval, London 13 - 21° C Forecast Partly Cloudy


Sat Jun 13
17:30 local | 16:30 GMT 18th Match, Group F - New Zealand v Pakistan (D1 v B1)
Kennington Oval, London 13 - 21° C Forecast Partly Cloudy


Sun Jun 14
13:30 local | 12:30 GMT 19th Match, Group F - Ireland v Sri Lanka (A2 v C2)
Lord's, London 13 - 21° C Forecast Mostly Cloudy


Sun Jun 14
17:30 local | 16:30 GMT 20th Match, Group E - England v India (A1 v B2)
Lord's, London 13 - 21° C Forecast Mostly Cloudy


Mon Jun 15
13:30 local | 12:30 GMT 21st Match, Group E - England v West Indies (B2 v C1)
Kennington Oval, London N/A

Mon Jun 15
17:30 local | 16:30 GMT 22nd Match, Group F - Ireland v Pakistan (B1 v A2)
Kennington Oval, London N/A

Tue Jun 16
13:30 local | 12:30 GMT 23rd Match, Group F - New Zealand v Sri Lanka (D1 v C2)
Trent Bridge, Nottingham N/A



PAKISTAN IN SUPER 8...T20 WORLD CUP

Shahid Afridi carried Pakistan into the Super Eights at the expense of a spirited but outclassed Dutch side at Lord's, as he ripped his top-spinning legbreaks through a succession of bamboozled defences to deliver his team a thumping 82-run victory with the superb figures of 4 for 11 from four overs. For the Netherlands, the end came with unseemly haste as they lost their last nine wickets for 52 in 10.2 overs, but they still left the tournament with their heads held high after last week's unforgettable floodlit triumph over England.


Today, however, the greater class and knowhow of the Pakistanis came to the fore. They produced a chastened display after their error-strewn effort against England at The Oval on Sunday, and though their batting was kept on a tight leash by some determined Dutch bowling, the prospect of defeat was never seriously entertained. Netherlands were set 176 for victory, but thanks to their superior net run-rate going into this game, they could still have gone through with a score of 151 or more. In the end, the calculations were academic.


Netherlands were given a typically brief but belligerent start from their pinch-hitter, Darron Reekers, who smashed three fours from his first five balls including two stand-and-deliver slaps over long-on from Mohammad Aamer, but that, realistically, was as good as their run-chase got. From his very next delivery, Reekers miscued another wild wallop, and Sohail Tanvir claimed a well-judged catch at deep midwicket.

It wasn't a faultless display by any stretch of the imagination, and Pakistan's fallible catching again resurfaced when Alexei Kervezee was gifted two lives in consecutive overs. But Afridi struck with his first delivery of the match when he slid a topspinner through Bas Zuiderent's defences, and Peter Borren followed one over later when he top-edged a sweep off Saeed Ajmal. Kervezee's chancy innings came to an end in the same over as he galloped down the wicket to slap what would have been their first boundary in front of square for seven overs, but was defeated by the doosra and stumped by a mile.

At 49 for 4 in the ninth over, the Dutch resistance had been all but crushed, and Afridi stepped forward to grind them down even further. Though he fumbled a run-out opportunity to let Tom de Grooth get off the mark first-ball, Afridi struck with the first ball of his third over, a full flat topspinner that flattened the leg stump. Two balls later, Daan van Bunge yorked himself as he charged down the track and was easily stumped for a duck, and though Ryan ten Doeschate stemmed the procession with a six over midwicket off Shoaib Malik, his same-over dismissal - again to a yorker-length stumping - reduced the score to a sorry 71 for 7.

Afridi had time to claim one more wicket in his superlative four-over spell, as Edgar Schiferli flogged a lofted drive to deep mid-off, before Kamran Akmal completed his fourth stumping of the match - again off Ajmal - as Dirk Nannes was dragged out of his ground. It was left to Umar Gul to seal the contest with 14 balls to spare, when he splattered Pieter Seelaar's stumps with another full-length delivery. Pakistan's captain, Younis Khan, may have derided Twenty20 matches as "fun" after their defeat against England, but this was a very serious performance indeed.
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The tone of the Pakistan performance was set during their six Powerplay overs, in which they raced to 50 for 1. Salman Butt, singled out by his captain after the England match for the woeful state of his fielding, responded with the aggression of a man whose job was on the line as he whipped his first ball, from Nannes, through midwicket for four, before launching Schiferli over the covers and into the Mound Stand for six.

Just as Butt was beginning to cut loose, however, he drilled ten Doeschate to Borren at mid-off for 18. Malik launched his innings with two fours in three balls before being badly dropped by Zuiderent at backward point on 14, and when Akmal found his range with a brace of sixes in consecutive overs, Pakistan had reached 77 for 1 with 11 overs remaining, and looked as though they were pulling clear.
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But Netherlands showed from a similar position against England that they are a side who will not give up, and Borren combined with the 21-year-old offspinner, Seelaar, to put the brakes back on the innings. Having reached 41 from 29 balls, Akmal found himself frustrated in a beautifully slow and teasing second over from Seelaar, which ended with an ambitious drill over midwicket, and a heart-in-the-mouth juggling catch from Schiferli in front of the Tavern Stand.
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The Dutch bowlers maintained their discipline admirably as the overs ticked away. If in doubt they went full, sometimes offering full-tosses, but there was scarcely a long-hop in evidence. Younis dented ten Doeschate's figures by clearing his front foot to swipe Pakistan's fourth six of the innings, then belted Seelaar for two more in two balls to hoist his team past 150 with 15 balls remaining. But Seelaar kept his cool, and his line and length, and before the over was out, de Grooth at long-on had intercepted Younis's next shot in anger.

Schiferli maintained the full-and-straight approach to deny Afridi the room to swing his arms, although he did finally connect with one to drill Nannes out of the ground with four balls remaining. The bowler responded by uprooting his leg stump with the very next delivery, but as Afridi would later go on to show with the ball, sometimes there is simply no stopping him. When the mood takes them, there is sometimes no stopping Pakistan either.

Monday, June 8, 2009

POINTS TABLE ICC T20 world cup

Group A

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against
India 1 1 0 0 0 2 +1.250 180/20.0 155/20.0
Bangladesh 1 0 1 0 0 0 -1.250 155/20.0 180/20.0

Group B

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against
England 2 1 1 0 0 2 +1.175 347/40.0 300/40.0
Netherlands 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.050 163/20.0 162/20.0
Pakistan 1 0 1 0 0 0 -2.400 137/20.0 185/20.0

Group C

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against
West Indies 1 1 0 0 0 2 +2.413 172/15.5 169/20.0
Australia 1 0 1 0 0 0 -2.413 169/20.0 172/15.5

Group D

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against
South Africa 1 1 0 0 0 2 +6.500 211/20.0 81/20.0
New Zealand 1 1 0 0 0 2 +2.286 90/6.0 89/7.0
Scotland 2 0 2 0 0 0 -5.281 170/27.0 301/26.0

In the event of a tied match in the Group stage or Super Eight Series the teams shall compete in a one over per side eliminator to determine the winner. If weather conditions prevent the one over eliminator from being completed, the result will be a tie and the points allocated accordingly.

Group Stage

In the event of teams finishing on equal points in its Group, the right to play in the Super Eight Series will be decided in the following order of priority:


The team with the more wins in the Group stage will be placed in the higher position.
If there are teams with equal points and equal wins in the Group stage then in such case the team with the higher net run rate in the Group stage will be placed in the higher position (refer to clause 21.9.5 below for the calculation of net run rate).
If following the net run rate calculation above there are teams which are still equal, then the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the Group stage in which results were achieved will be placed in the higher position.
If still equal, the team which was the winner of the head to head match played between them will be placed in the higher position.
In the highly unlikely event that teams cannot be separated by the above this will be done by drawing lots.
If all three matches within a Group are a no result, the top two seeded teams will progress to the Super Eight series.

Super Eight Series

In the event of teams finishing on equal points at the end of the Super Eight Series, the right to play in the semi-final will be decided in the following order of priority:


The most wins in the Super Eight Series matches.
If there are teams with equal points and equal wins in the Super Eight Series matches then in such case the team with the higher net run rate in the Super Eight Series matches will be placed in the higher position.
If following the net run rate calculation above there are teams which are still equal, then the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the Super Eight Series matches in which results are achieved, will be placed in the higher position.
If still equal, the team which was the winner of the head to head match played between them will be placed in the higher position.
In the highly unlikely event that teams cannot be separated by the above this will be done by drawing lots.
If all of the matches in a Super Eight Series Group are a no result, for the purposes of determining the semi-finalists, the teams will be ordered by their performances in the Group stages as follows: most points, most wins, net run rate. Any teams that can not be separated in this way shall then be ordered by their original seedings for the tournament.
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Semi Final

If a semi-final is tied, the teams shall compete in a one over per side eliminator to determine which team progresses to the Final. Refer attached Appendix 7. If following a tie, weather conditions prevent the one over eliminator from being completed, or if the match is a no result, then the team which progresses to the Final shall be determined as follows:


The team with more wins in all previous matches (both the Group stage and Super Eight Series).
If still equal, the team with the higher net run rate in all previous matches (both the Group stage and Super Eight Series) in which results are achieved.
If still equal, the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in all previous matches (both the Group and Super Eight Series) in which results are achieved.
If still equal, by drawing lots.

Final

In the event of a tied Final, the teams shall compete in a one over per side eliminator to determine which team is the winner. Refer attached Appendix 7. If weather conditions prevent the one over eliminator from being completed, the teams shall be declared joint winners. In the event of a no result, provided weather conditions permit, the teams shall compete in a one over per side eliminator to determine which team is the winner. If weather conditions do not permit, the teams shall be declared joint winners.

Net Run Rate

A team‟s net run rate is calculated by deducting from the average runs per over scored by that team throughout the relevant portion of the competition, the average runs per over scored against that team throughout the relevant portion of the competition.

In the event of a team being all out in less than its full quota of overs, the calculation of the net run rate of both teams shall be based on the full quota of overs to which the batting team would have been entitled and not on the number of overs in which the team was dismissed.

Only those matches where results are achieved will count for the purpose of net run rate calculations. Where a match is abandoned, but a result is achieved under Duckworth/Lewis, for net run rate purposes Team 1 will be accredited with Team 2‟s Par Score on abandonment off the same number of overs faced by Team 2. Where a match is concluded but with Duckworth/Lewis having been applied at an earlier point in the match, Team 1 will be accredited with 1 run less than the final Target Score for Team 2 off the total number of overs allocated to Team 2 to reach the target.

In circumstances where a match (and the points for such match) is awarded to a team as a result of the other team‟s refusal to play, either by the match referee in accordance with Law 21.3 (a)(ii) as read with playing condition 21.3 or in accordance with the provisions of the relevant event agreements signed by the participating teams, the net run rate of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team‟s innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition. For the avoidance of doubt the runs scored and overs bowled in such forfeited match will not be taken into account when calculating the net run rate of the team to whom the match was awarded.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

PAKISTAN'S SHAMEFUL PERFORMANCE IN T20 WORLD CUP

England certainly like doing things the hard way, but kept their ICC World Twenty20 hopes alive with an impressive 48-run victory against Pakistan at The Oval which was so emphatic that they are through to the Super Eights. With the hosts' hopes hanging by a thread Kevin Pietersen returned and hit a sparkling 58 off 38 balls to lift England to a competitive 185 for 5, and Pakistan never got close against a team desperate to erase embarrassing memories

Pakistan, much like England the other night, were well short of their best especially in the field where they dropped at least four catches and produced countless more sloppy pieces of groundwork. They were terribly rusty during their warm-up games and are still a long way from settling, and maybe suffered from knowing they have a second chance against Netherlands on Wednesday, but this defeat was so heavy that even a win in that game might not be enough.

England, as they had to, clearly came out with a point to prove having been rightly criticised for their performance against Netherlands on Friday. Whether Pietersen's return was a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures, or a case of his injury really improving, he produced what England dearly needed from him with one of his best Twenty20 innings.

The innings included six sixes, compared with none two days ago, and Pietersen produced three off his own bat including a monstrous blow into the second tier of the pavilion and a glorious, inside-out, cover-drive off Mohammad Aamer. Pietersen was helped out by two positive innings from Luke Wright, who crunched 34 off 16 balls, and Owais Shah, as he added 66 for the third wicket with Pietersen.

Pakistan had the batting fire-power to chase down the target, but never formed a solid base as England produced a disciplined display with the ball and, most importantly, in the field where they were far superior. Paul Collingwood, a reluctant captain with much pressure on his shoulders, set the pattern with a well judged running catch to remove Ajmal Shehzad off the recalled Dimitri Mascarenhas.

Mascarenhas had been handed the new ball - the role he plays for Hampshire - and Collingwood rotated his pace options. Broad produced the telling over when his short-pitched tactic worked with Kamran Akmal pulling to deep midwicket and the dangerous Salman Butt top-edging to backward point.
ladymails.com
From there the innings didn't gain any momentum as Shoaib Malik struggled to score at a run-a-ball and Shahid Afridi's poor form continuing with a painful 12-ball 5 before he holed out off Graeme Swann. Adil Rashid bowl four overs of accurate legspin and held his nerve each time the batsmen came after him. Pakistan didn't manage a six until the 17th over and by then the game was long gone.

The atmosphere when play got underway was electric with huge support for both teams. If there had been a roof on the ground it would have come off when Malik pulled off a good catch at backward point to remove Ravi Bopara, handing debutant Aamer his first wicket.

That brought Pietersen to the crease early after his return to the side following the Achilles injury that ruled him out against Netherlands and the fact he started by dealing in quick singles suggested the problem wasn't causing too much concern. Pietersen sparked into life by slamming a waist-height no-ball down the ground and the resulting extra delivery (although not a free-hit) was launched monstrously straight into the second tier of the pavilion. It registered as 104 metres, just a fraction shorter than Chris Gayle's huge blow yesterday against Australia.

It had been Wright who brought the early impetus by taking 14 off three balls against Aamer, including England's first six of the tournament as the ball flew over deep midwicket. He continued in the next over from Yasir Arafat, but was gifted one boundary when Umar Gul misread the spin at third man and let the ball scoot past him.
ladymails.com
Pakistan's disciplines continued to slip when Gul delivered another no-ball, but the question was whether England could keep it going as the crucial phase of the game began with Pakistan introducing their spinners? After a brief look, both men took boundaries off Ajmal and a huge top edge by Pietersen off Afridi carried over fine leg for six. Two more sixes came in the 13th over, bowled by Aamer as the batsmen cut loose.

A mini-cluster of wickets, including two in an over to the impressive Ajmal, meant England's charge wasn't as destructive as it could have been, but unlike against Netherlands the innings finished with a spark rather than a whimper with Mascarenhas and James Foster adding 29 in 19 balls.

It's little things like that which make the difference in Twenty20, and just 48 hours after their biggest humiliation England are into the next stage. Pakistan, meanwhile, have to win against Netherlands. How quickly things change.

NOw in this do or die situation, Pakistan's combination for the next game against Holand should be.

1. Salman Butt
2. Kamran Akmal
3. Younis Khan
4. Misbah ul Haq
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Fawad Alam
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Yasir Arafat
9. Umar Gul
10. Rao Iftikhar
11. Saeed Ajmal

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