Pakistan Cricket Players: 2011

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Majid Khan

Majid Khan Biography

All grace and fluency, Majid Khan played in the spirit of an English amateur of a bygone era. He had a distant air which sometimes gave the impression that he wasn't really trying. Majid was a Cambridge Blue and he followed his father Jahangir Khan into Test cricket, though he never matched his father's feat of hitting a sparrow in flight at Lord's. He started his career as a pace bowler, but a back injury and doubts over the legitimacy of his bouncer turned him into an occasional offspinner. His batting prowess quickly moved him up the order, and he eventually formed one half of a highly successful opening partnership with Sadiq Mohammad. Majestic driving and hooking were his hallmarks, and he could score effortlessly at speed. His career ended on a sad note when his cousin Imran Khan was forced to drop him, which soured their relationship. He was a no-nonsense administrator, but he signed off by fanning match-fixing claims over the 1999 World Cup.

Majid Khan

Majid Khan's One Day Hundred

Majid Khan furious at Indian bowler Kapil Dev

Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad Biography
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan (Urdu: ) (born 12 June 1957), popularly known as Javed Miandad is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975-1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is widely known for his big six against India in 1986 where 4 runs were required from 1 ball. After his playing career, he has remained the coach of Pakistan cricket team at various occasions, as well as held positions in the Pakistan Cricket Board. He had three coaching stints with the Pakistan national team.

Early life

Javed Miandad was born in Karachi, Sindh in 1957. Javed Miandad attended schools and college in Karachi. His parents moved from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Javed Miandad is a Tyagi (Muslim).
Career

Miandad made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lahore on 9 October 1976. He scored 163 in this match, to become the youngest player at the time to do so at an age of 19 years and 119 days. In the same series he scored a double century, and on his way broke George Headley's 47 year record, to become the youngest player to achieve the feat. Miandad made his One Day International debut against the West Indies at Edgbaston, Birmingham in the Cricket World Cup 1975. Interestingly, his last ODI was also a world cup match, in both innings he was run out and Pakistan lost the match. More, he scored 2 fours and 0 sixes and his strike rate was below 100 in both of his, first and last ODI innings.
Miandad's inclusion in the Pakistan team was itself an achievement. A formidable batting line-up of Majid Khan, Sadiq Muhammad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Mushtaq Muhammad and Wasim Raja was hard to create any replacements, but Miandad's raw talent made it possible and he become an integral part of Pakistan's strong batting line.

Javed Miandad played 124 Test matches, batting in 189 innings. His aggregate of 8,832 Test runs is a Pakistani record. Even though his test career spanned 17 years, he failed to make it into the top-most category of batsmen with test aggregates of over 10,000 runs. Miandad's 23 centuries and 43 fifties were Pakistani national records, until they were broken by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Miandad's Test career batting average of 52.57 is among the highest for Pakistani batsmen. He scored six double centuries which is the most by a Pakistani and 6th overall.He has honour of scoring centuries in both innings in the 1000th test match against New Zealand. He made his highest score of 280 not out against India.

Javed Miandad is the first (and one of the only two, other being Sachin Tendulkar ) player to have played in six World Cups, the first six, from 1975 to 1996.

Coaching and commentary

As a coach, Javed Miandad guided Pakistan to test victories in the Asia Cup and in India during 1998-99 season, when Wasim Akram was captain. Miandad also later assisted with coaching Pakistani batsmen.
Following this he was offered broadcasting and coaching positions in India. Also in November 2010 it was being planned to give Miandad a role as a batting coach.

Personal life

Javed Miandad married Tahira Saigol in 1980. He has two sons and a daughter. He had three brothers play first-class cricket in Pakistan: Anwar, Sohail and Bashir.
Records & achievements

Miandad was amongst the three Pakistani players to have his name in the Hall of Fame at Lords.

Miandad is one of those two cricketers(other being Sachin Tendulkar) who appeared in Six World Cup competitions.

In 1982, Wisden named him as one of the cricketers of the year.

Javed Miandad scored 1083 runs in 33 matches and 6 World Cup tournaments.

He was also declared the 44th best Cricketer of all time in ESPN Legend Of Cricket.

Miandad holds the world record for the maximum number of consecutive half centuries in One Day Internationals- 9

Centuries by Javed Miandad

One Day International Centuries

In the column Runs, * indicates being not out
The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career
36 119* 116* 113 103 100* 115* 107

Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad 271 vs NZ 3rd test 1988/89

JAVED MIANDAD 3 Boundaries against West Indies 1988

Salman Butt

Salman Butt Biography

Salman Butt (born October 7, 1984 in Lahore, Pakistan) is a Pakistani cricketer who regularly opens the batting for his national side in both Test and ODI matches. He made his Test debut on September 3, 2003 in the 3rd test against Bangladesh, and a year later made his ODI debut against West Indies on September 22, 2004. He started in the Under-17s and quickly progressed through to Under-19 level, although at the time he was much younger than the age limits suggest, making his senior debut for Lahore Whites in 2000 aged only 16. His talent was noticed immediately, which led to him being given a place in the Pakistan A team against England soon after. However, instead of rushing straight for the limelight of international cricket, he got his head down and consolidated by playing consistently for his region and the youth teams, until the Pakistan selectors finally drafted him in 2003. After his debut, Butt was dropped and struggled to regain his place due to some stiff competition for the openers' spots. He returned for the Champions' Trophy in 2004 and scored his first fifty for Pakistan in the Paktel Cup against Sri Lanka. He was not yet particularly famous. In the ODI against India on 13 November 2004, as Pakistan chased down 292, he formed partnerships first with Shoaib Malik, putting on 113, and subsequently with Inzamam-Ul-Haq. Despite having to retire hurt for seven overs due to severe cramp, he returned to steer Pakistan home, finishing on 108 not out. Yet 2005 saw little improvement, and doubts circulated about his defensive technique causing him to yo-yo in and out of the side. But things started looking up again during the winter Test series against England, in which he scored a century and two fifties with a more cautious attitude to his innings-building the he had previously shown.

Salman Butt

Salman Butt 72 vs Australia 1st odi Jan 2010...!

Salman Butt's Catch Using Head Combination Vs England

Wahab Riaz

Wahab Riaz Biography

Wahab Riaz Born June 28, 1985, Lahore, Punjab
Major teams Pakistan, Hyderabad (Pakistan), Hyderabad Hawks, Lahore, Lahore Lions, Lahore Ravi, National Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan A, Punjab (Pakistan)
Also known as Vicky, Playing role Bowler, Batting style Right-hand bat, Bowling style Left-arm fast-medium
Wahab Riaz's left-arm fast medium has benefited from Pakistan's chronic poor luck with fast bowlers. With Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif missing more than they play and Umar Gul injury-prone, Riaz came into national reckoning earlier than he might have reasonably expected. His early start was promising though it came in ODIs against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh early in 2008. His first real test came against India in Bangladesh, where after 9.2 expensive overs, he was taken out of the attack for bowling two beamers. But as Pakistan misses its leading bowlers Riaz's brisk pace remains in national contention.

Wahab Riaz

Wahab Riaz 5 Wickets vs India

Wahab Riaz Debut Against Zimbabve

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography

Kamran Akmal (born 13 January 1982 in Lahore) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played 38 Test matches and 88 ODIs for Pakistan. He is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved four centuries and two fifties in 31 Test innings. However, his first century was vital - his 109 from the number eight position at Mohali, coming in with Pakistan in a lead of 39 against India in the first Test, ensured that the visitors could draw the match. His form against the touring English in 2005 made him one of the most important players in the team. Naturally, he is a batsman that plays lower down the order but has sometimes opened in both Test and One-day cricket. As an opener he has scored two back to back centuries in ODIs against England. Coming in lower down the order in Test matches, he played one memorable innings. He saved Pakistan from a score of 39/6, scoring a century, to a competitive 245 which helped Pakistan win the match and series. His batting was highly productive in early 2006 as he scored seven international hundreds within the space of 6 months. Since his tour of England in Summer 2006 however his batting form dwindled and steadily become worse. His wicket-keeping also worsened and dropped many catches on both the England tour and on a tour to South Africa in early 2007. Since then he did not score an international hundred until the Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan in 2008. Kamran Akmal was dropped for the Asia Cup 2008 as a result of his poor batting form and very poor keeping. He was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed who has performed very well the domestic level. Kamran was named in the 30 man probable squad for the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy. On 12 November 2008, Akmal hit two consecutive 6s in the last over. As a result Pakistan won the first ODI in Abu Dhabi against West Indies. Akmal was also signed on to the Rajasthan Royals, and played in the inaugural season of the IPL. He played five matches in the tournament, as wicket-keeper and top-order batsman, including the final of the tournament against the Chennai Super Kings. He took two catches in the first innings, however he was run out for six runs during the Royal's chase. The Royals went on to win the tournament after a thrilling finish.

Kamran Akmal

Kamran akmal great turnaround against west indies

Kamran Akmal 116* v Australia - 5th ODI - Dubai - 2009

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography
Shoaib Akhtar (born 13 August 1975 in Rawalpindi, Punjab) is a Pakistani cricketer, and amongst the fastest bowler in the world, earning him the name Rawalpindi Express. He set a world record by clocking 100mph twice. His ability to bowl fast yorkers, well disguised slow balls, swinging deliveries, and sharp bouncers made him lethal even on dead pitches. However, he has never been far from controversy, often accused of not being a team player. Shoaib was sent back home from a tour in Australia in 2005. A year later he was embroiled in a drug scandal after testing positive for a banned substance. However, the ban imposed on him was lifted on appeal. In September 2007, Shoaib was banned by the PCB for an indefinite period for the alleged brawl with his team-mate Mohammad Asif. The ban was finally lifted but injuries and his attitude problem have kept him more off the field than on it.

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar at his Best

Shoaib Akhtar Tribute - "Sab Say Alag"

Friday, 30 December 2011

Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik Biography
Shoaib Malik (born 1 February 1982 in Sialkot) is a Pakistan cricketer. He made his One-Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh. He started his career as just an off spinner, and is now regarded as a useful bowling all-rounder with a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket. Malik is regarded as a flexible player. He is capable of hitting big shots but is also capable of rotating the strike with good placement. He has a strike rate of 77.23 runs per 100 balls, which compares favourably to players such as Rahul Dravid and Inzamam ul-Haq. His most brazen display of \"power hitting\" came in 2003 against South Africa when he scored 82 from 41 balls. As is required of most modern players he also has displayed good defensive batting at times. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets at an average under 35 and economy rate below 4.5. His bowling action has come under scrutiny (particularly his doosra) but he has had elbow surgery to correct this. In Tests, he has a better batting average against Sri Lanka and South Africa than other nations. In ODIs he has a better batting average against India, South Africa, and the West Indies than his overall career average. During his Test career, Malik has batted at 5 different positions and he has the unusual record of batting at every position except 11th in ODIs. Pakistan's problems in finding a reliable opening pair have led to Malik being used as an opener in Test and ODI matches.

Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik World Record 3/6 v Bangladesh 3rd ODI 2011/12

Shoaib Malik cracking Six to Murli