Pakistan says attempts to marginalise it in new FTP

Pakistan believes there were attempts to marginalise it, and other countries, in the draft of the next six-year international cricket programme but the plan is being reworked with a promise from the ICC that its interests will be protected.

"Yes, there were attempts to marginalise us [in the next tour programme]," the PCB's chief operating officer Salim Altaf told AFP. "The ICC was due to approve the Future Tours Programme (FTP) by June 25 but after our concerns it has gone back to the table. We hope our interests will be addressed, as the ICC has promised."

The ICC last week began chalking out an FTP that aims to provide a structured schedule of cricket for the ten member countries from 2012 to 2018. Teams have been wary of playing in Pakistan amid a wave of Taliban-linked attacks over two years, and in the past year the ICC moved the Champions Trophy 2008 out of Pakistan, after several teams refused to travel there, and stripped it of its World Cup matches after a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March.

It is believed, however, that a number of sides, including South Africa, promised Pakistan that they would be willing to play them "anytime, anywhere [on neutral venues] and honour all their contractual commitments" in the next FTP. England, where Pakistan will next year play several off-shore Tests, has also been helpful; the recent meeting has seen the PCB attempt to repair relations with members of the ICC as well as the governing body itself.

However, board officials believe that a "cartel" of the big four countries - Australia, South Africa, India and England - is building up, which will marginalise Pakistan and other, less profitable countries, raising concerns of a two-tiered cricket world of the haves and have-nots. This is one of the main objections that has been raised and is likely to now cause delays before the FTP is ratified.

"We have raised the issue with the ICC and said to them that there is a cartel building up of four countries and no cartel is ever a good thing," an official present at the meetings told Cricinfo. "They [the group of four] wanted to reduce the number of ICC events to two in four years also. The ICC is abdicating their responsibility here but they are now realising it at least."

It has also been learnt that there are no scheduled series between India and Pakistan in the FTP post-2012, indicating that relations between the BCCI and the PCB have yet to improve. The two boards have been close in recent years, but a change in administration within the PCB and a change in the political atmosphere between the two governments has changed that. The PCB's legal case against the ICC over the 2011 World Cup - set to continue now in the disputes resolution committee under Michael Beloff - has further fractured the relationship. The BCCI, say officials, has pointed to the uncertain political ties between the two countries as a reason for not scheduling any tours.

Mathews eyes third-seamer's slot

Angelo Mathews, who made a name for himself playing for Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20, has said his intentions of shaping into a genuine allrounder motivated him to focus more on his bowling. Mathews capped a run-heavy domestic season with a call-up to the Test squad - for the first time in his career - in the series against Pakistan and is now eyeing the third seamer's slot in Galle, the venue of the first Test.

"Kumar Sangakkara wants me to improve on my bowling and if I play I could be the first-change bowler," Mathews told Cricinfo. "[Chaminda] Vaas has been helping me a lot."

Mathews said recently that he didn't bowl much in the past because of aches and pains and instead concentrated on his batting. He was the leading run-getter in the Inter-Provincial tournament but an ordinary season with the ball made him reassess his skills and potential. He spent the off-season period before the World Twenty20 working on his fitness and, in the nets, on his bowling.

"I wanted to be a genuine allrounder, I have been contributing a lot with the bat in the recent past," Mathews said. "I worked really hard on my fitness and spent a lot of time with my fast bowling coach. With the help of the seniors I improved a lot. I divided my training time into three parts each day and my focus was to improve each time."

Mathews was the surprise package in the closing stages of the World Twenty20, when captain Kumar Sangakkara's decision to unleash him with the new ball proved to be a masterstroke. In the semi-final against West Indies, Mathews bowled Xavier Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo to leave them reeling at 1 for 3 in the first over of the chase, a position from which they never recovered. The fact that he was an unknown entity, Mathews feels, worked in his favour.

"None of the batsmen had seen much of me before and didn't know what to expect," he said. "Chris Gayle is a devastating batsman and I just told myself that I was bowling to the batsman and not Gayle. The wickets were a little slow in England but the swing helped me. I didn't really expect to open the bowling in England."

He ended the tournament with five wickets in seven games and a reputation enhanced. However, his performance was the ball was in contrast to the domestic season just months earlier when he was hardly amongst the wickets. In the Inter Provincial first-class tournament, he took only one wicket in five games, and in the Premier League one-dayers, he went wicketless for 28 overs. He performed relatively better in the Twenty20 tournament, taking five wickets in as many games.

His A team coach in the last 12 months, Chandika Hathurusingha, recognised his potential as a bowler and was also instrumental in getting him into shape.

"He was not bowling much because of injuries, and we found he was not strengthening enough so we worked a lot in that area," Hathurusingha told Cricinfo. "He came into the A Team and he worked with me for about 12 months. We fast-tracked him from there."

The A tour of South Africa last August-September was when Mathews got more opportunities to bowl. He scored heavily, making 464 runs in seven games but managed only three wickets.

"During the A tour we used him quite a lot as a bowler," Hathurusingha said. "We placed a lot of emphasis on his all-round capabilities and we need players like him to maintain the balance in the team."

Hathurusingha, who's also part of the coaching staff of the national team, feels Mathews has the potential to develop into a genuine allrounder in the Test side but that process will still take time.

"He has to work on his fitness more than anything else. If he gets stronger, his speed will definitely improve. He is mentally very strong. What he needs to do is improve his sustainability. His progress was rapid over the last 12 months. I'm still working with him to advance his game both mentally and technically."

Million-rupee fine for Asif in Dubai detention case

	Mohammad Asif will be available for selection once he completes the IPL ban. © AFP
Related Links News : PCB panel ends work on Asif case News : PCB gives Asif another chance News : Asif must prove he wasn't deported from the UAE - PCB News : Asif banned for one year by IPL News : Asif suspended by Pakistan board News : Asif tested positive during IPL News : PCB forms three-man committee for Asif inquiry News : Dubai drops case against Asif News : The Asif affair Teams: Pakistan

Mohammad Asif has been fined Rs 1 million (US$12,500) by the Pakistan board over his detention at Dubai airport for alleged drug possession. Asif, 26, was detained for 19 days in June last year while returning to Pakistan after playing in the inaugural edition of the IPL.

The matter was investigated by a three-member PCB committee headed by Wasim Bari, the interim chief selector, which submitted its recommendations to PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. "On the recommendation of the committee we have fined Asif one million rupees," a PCB statement said.

"Asif has accepted our decision and he feels he had made a mistake," Bari told AP. "It was our committee's unanimous decision that Asif should be handed a financial penalty as we took a number of things into account before deciding the penalty."

In documents in the possession of Cricinfo, prosecutors in Dubai confirmed that he was found with a small quantity of opium; he was ultimately let off without a charge, local authorities arguing that the offence was a 'trivial' one and a case not worth pursuing. The documents, though, clearly state that Asif was deported.

He is also banned from playing any form of cricket till September, after he tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Nandrolone during the IPL last year. "Asif will be available for selection once he completes the IPL ban," the PCB release said.

That was the second time in brief international career he'd tested positive for the same steroid, after his transgression during the Champions Trophy in 2006. He was subsequently banned for one year while team-mate Shoaib Akhtar, was handed a two-year ban.

"I am delighted I will be considered for selection again but as far as the fine is concerned I will consult my lawyer about it. But the most important thing for me is to resume my career in September," Asif said

Asif has taken 51 wickets in 11 Tests since making his debut in Australia in 2005. He also has 36 wickets in 31 ODIs and 12 in his nine Twenty20 internationals.

I'd have picked Imran Nazir for World T20 - Bari

	Wasim Bari: "The first five overs of a T20 game are crucial and Imran is an explosive player who could give us a much needed boost at the start of the innings" © Getty Images
Related Links Player/Officials: Fawad Alam | Imran Nazir | Nasir Jamshed | Saeed Bin Nasir | Wasim Bari Teams: Pakistan

Wasim Bari, Pakistan's interim chairman of selectors, has said the batsman Imran Nazir would have been an automatic choice for the ICC World Twenty20 in England had he been a selector at the time the squad was being picked. Nazir joined the Pakistan exodus from the rebel ICL to make himself available for national selection - his ICL team-mate Abdul Razzaq got the nod - but missed out.

"If I'd had anything to do with the selection of the T20 squad then I'd have picked Imran Nazir," Bari told Pakpassion.net. "The first five overs of a T20 game are crucial and Imran is an explosive player who could give us a much needed boost at the start of the innings. Not to forget that he's a brilliant fielder and really lifts the team with his efforts."

Nazir had a very successful stint with the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL with his explosive batting setting up his team's title win last year. Bari said Nazir - who failed to make the Test squad for the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka - would be considered for the limited-over games.

"He was cleared on Tuesday over the discipline issue in the RBS Cup. That means that he is now in contention for selection in the ODIs and T20s vs Sri Lanka."

Asked why opener Nasir Jamshed was ignored, Bari said it was due to his fitness and not form. "Nasir has missed the last two tours he was selected for. He pulled a hamstring against Australia and was out with malaria against the West Indies (both in the UAE)," Bari said. "He needs to work hard on his overall fitness but he's still young and there's a lot of cricket to be played in the coming months. Nasir is still in the reckoning and his chance will come again. I saw his innings against India and he looks like a very good batsman."

Bari added that the allrounder Fawad Alam would also have to wait his turn to break into a packed middle order, though his skills and abilities to succeed in all three formats are not in doubt.

"All we can do is select Fawad Alam in the squad. How he is utilised in games and where he features in the team gameplan is a decision for the coach and the captain to make. His batting position is their decision and it's easy for us to forget that they also have to accommodate Yousuf, Younis, Malik, Kamran, Afridi, Misbah and now Razzaq.

"Fawad's time will come, sooner or later he will get the opportunity to bat higher up in the order. He's a very popular guy, the best fielder in the team, a very good runner between the wickets and a thinking cricketer who plays proper cricket shots."

Bari said even domestic giants like Saeed Bin Nasir would find it difficult to break into the middle order. Nasir, 29, was included in the Test squad against Bangladesh in 2003-04 but failed to get a game. He has scored over 6000 first-class runs and maintained 40-plus averages in the four-day and one-day matches. Bari disagreed that a strong domestic record would guarantee success at the international level.

"It also depends on who those runs were scored against. Most of the matches in our domestic cricket aren't of a very high standard, some are but on the whole the standard is quite poor. I'm not saying that Saeed isn't a good player. I've seen him bat and he is a very good player who's very consistent at domestic level."

Bari said he wasn't very keen on taking on a full-time role. The selector, who took over following Abdul Qadir's resignation earlier this month served two previous terms as chairman of selectors and was the PCB's director of human resources immediately before his latest appointment.

"At the moment I already have another job with the PCB and I've told them that they should look for a permanent selection committee to take over as soon as possible. I've done the job a couple of times before and I've done it for longer than anyone else. I'm not keen on taking it up again. As far as I know I'm only selecting the squad for Sri Lanka, so hopefully the new committee will be appointed before the next tour."

Draw despite brave SLC declaration

SLC XI 354 for 5 dec (Thirimanne 116, Kapugedera 115, Tharanga 50) and 137 for 2 dec (Paranavitana 48, Tharanga 44) drew with Pakistanis 400 for 8 dec (Fawad Alam 83, Manzoor 83, Butt 82, Suraj 4-120) and 54 for 4)

With little chance of an out-and-out result and rain threatening to mar proceedings, SLC XI captain Thilina Kandamby gave Pakistan their best shot at a win in the tour game, declaring at 137 for 2 and setting the visitors a tempting target of 83. However, a mini-collapse which saw Pakistan lose 4 for 29 put an end to the possibility of an outright result.

The Pakistanis would no doubt have their team strategy in place ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, with Fawad Alam looking in good touch and Salman Butt's welcome return to form. With both Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq failing to impress, Fawad's success gives Younis Khan a good selection dilemma.

The third and final day began with Fawad continuing from where he left off the previous day. Confident strokeplay helped him bring up his half-century in quick time. Suraj Mohamed, who had picked up two catches and taken two crucial wickets on the second day, dismissed overnight batsman Faisal Iqbal in the sixth over of the day and removed Kamran Akmal three balls later. He then caught Razzaq to give Farveez Maharoof his first wicket of the match as Pakistan slid to 322 for 8. But Pakistan rode Fawad's superb innings, comprising six boundaries, to go past SLC XI's total and declared 55 runs ahead.

Openers Upul Tharanga and Tharanga Parnavitana ensured a steady start for SLC XI, putting on 66. But the introduction of spin yielded immediate results with Saeed Ajmal getting Upul caught behind. But Paranivitana held firm after missing out in the first innings, stringing together a 56-run partnership with wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva. Paranavitana though, was dismissed just short of his fifty, falling to Danish Kaneria before the heavens opened up, and Kandamby spiced up the game.