All posts by csb10.top

Despite their disappointing one day form in other competitions this season, Somerset are expecting a big crowd for their Cheltenham and Gloucester quarter final match against Worcestershire at the County Ground on Wednesday.Tickets are still available, but judging by the large number of personal callers, and the volume of telephone calls that were being dealt with by the office staff early this morning the game looks like it could even be a sell out.Out on the pitch, fast bowlers Andrew Caddick and Richard Johnson were being put through their paces by Kevin Shine and his team, and it is expected that the pair will be back to spearhead the attack for the Cidermen against a Worcestershire team who are riding high at the moment.Chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "We are hoping for a full ground on Wednesday to support the team. We are the holders and even though we haven’t been performing well in one day matches, now is the time for the players to dig deep and deliver the goods."He continued: "Johnson and Caddick are having fitness tests today and tomorrow, and all the signs are looking good. Both want to play and the coaches are very optimistic, and of course we will have Jamie Cox back and Marcus Trescothick back so we should be at full strength.The match will not be on television, so if people want to see what promises to be a fascinating game they will have to come along to watch for themselves."

Runs were not easy to come by under the Hove lights as Sussex Sharks and Lancashire Lightning played out a tense Norwich Union Division Two League match. In the end, it was the visitors who edged home in a game that showed it is not necessary to have a lot of runs to produce an exciting finish.Sussex Sharks won the toss and elected to bat but were soon in trouble. Glen Chapple took three quick wickets and it was left to Murray Goodwin with an innings of 40 to keep the home side afloat. He only just about managed to do so with wickets falling at regular intervals. The only other batsman to exceed 20 was Matt Prior with 30 and a total of 169 all out in exactly 45 overs did not appear to be a total to cause problems to the visitors.Despite losing Alec Swann early on, the other batsmen all got themselves in, but then got themselves out. With a rather long tail Lightning must have been concerned when the rate started to rise and every time they appeared to have the situation under control, a wicket fell to set them back in their tracks. Chris Schofield was the man who really settled things down with his unorthodox approach to batting, but it proved to be very effective until he was bowled by Billy Taylor while playing an ungainly and unnecessary stroke. Nevertheless, his innings of 36 was the top score.James Kirtley bowled an over at John Wood with the batsman only making contact with one ball, but he remained to strike the first ball of the last over through the leg side for four and Lancashire Lightning had eased home by four wickets. With the four points, they keep outside hopes of promotion alive, so close is the grouping in the middle of the table.

Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak has been admitted to hospital with a fractured shoulder sustained in a motor accident.Streak left the Zimbabwe team’s Colombo hotel, the Taj Samudra, this afternoon in a tri-shaw and sustained the fracture when the driver attempted to overtake another vehicle, the tri-shaw was unbalanced and toppled over.With all teams being at an official dinner organised by the International Cricket Council, no one from the Zimbabwe camp was available for comment.Streak was on his way to Odel, a popular destination for shoppers in search of clothes, here in Colombo.A senior police official, in a statement released to sections of the media, has said that the Colombo police could not be held responsible for the incident as Streak had not informed the security personnel allocated to assist him before leaving the hotel.In the course of this tournament so far, players have been free to come and go from their hotels, without having to inform any staff of the security forces.With 12 teams of 14 players each, and officials, plus members of the ICC staying at the Taj Samudra, it is only natural that members of teams spend a fair bit of their leisure time outside the hotel.It is worth mentioning that Streak was treated at the same Apollo Hospital to which Brian Lara was admitted with suspected hepatitis.While no one at the hospital has made any comment about Streak’s condition, ICC officials confirmed that Streak sustained only a fracture and nothing more serious.

Scene:
– Six defeats in the last 10 one-day games, and the Pakistan cricket team falls apart at the seam.
– Five players out of the series against the Aussies, due possibly to a forced leave of absence or through injury.
– Coach stands sacked embarrassingly and that too, midway through the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, to be replaced reportedly by a foreign coach who a year ago was being accused of deserting his charge.
– A seminar held by the PCB to ascertain the reasons for the sharp decline and it came up with the same solutions that all knew beforehand anyway.
– Widespread media publicity of ‘match-fixing’ and investigations by the ACU using videotapes surface again after the opener in Colombo.
– Reports of scandals and infighting within the team and management culminating in an embarrassing estrangement of Yousuf Youhana and then re-instatement only to discover he does have a shoulder injury.
– Plenty more one can list.Act 1: What’s this all about?
Signs of panic? Definitely, but why? Every team hits a bad patch now and then. And defeat too is habit-forming as much as winning. Pakistan was definitely handicapped due to complacency, the absence of a sound strategy and, partly as a result of both and fitness problems; deprived of the right combinations. With back-to-back events, matches were really crammed together to not allow anyone to take stock. Still, it goes without saying, that the management and the boys could have done a whole lot better.That said, while the cricket-following public has been taken aback by the string of reverses, especially because these came after the enthralling series win over Australia in Australia as recently as June, which lifted not just the morale of the team but swelled the sense of national pride, but nowhere has the disappointment reached the level of craze which could be phrased a ‘public outcry’, as one local newspaper would have us believe. No effigies have been burnt (yet!) and the players’ houses have not been stoned (yet!), the PCB headquarters and other regional offices across the country remain unharmed too.Act 2: Suspicions?
The word on the street in Lahore was that there must be more to it than a mere run of collective bad form, and between knowing winks and sly innuendo, one could make out that people blame it on the ambitions of a certain southpaw and his enormous ability to influence mates and put a spanner in the works.But then, these accusations remain unchanged since the mid 1990s whenever the team has lost. So one has to take such aspersions with a pinch of salt.But the question is, why panic? And does it suit the team on the eve of an important series in which, as things stand, Pakistan is to take part on neutral grounds without a ‘home advantage’, wounded in soul and handicapped in body. Whether these sackings, and a hastily-arranged seminar (where former great and not-so-great cricketers invariably offered the same advice which was already crying to be heard in some of the more well thought out match reports if someone had cared to read) prove to be a solution is indeed a point of conjecture.Act 3: Action
If you look back at his term in office, the PCB Chairman has alternately used sacking the primadonnas and pampering them as a motivational tool and to keep the potential troublemakers on the straight and narrow. One has to concede, that this strategy has had a pretty decent measure of success in the past. Especially last year when he sacked Moin Khan, installed Waqar Younis as captain and brought back Rashid Latif as keeper-batsman. So, put in a spot, he again perhaps thought he has done enough of the pampering and it was prudent to apply the sacking mode this time around. The question remains whether a goat was sacrificed while the tigers roam free?The Actors:
Would it work this time? One is not into crystal-gazing, but logical deduction says that it would not, or at least not wholly. And anything less than that would not do, considering the assignments leading up to World Cup 2003.For one, the punishments do not seem even-handed. The coach, Mudassar Nazar, rendered ineffective long before he ‘relinquished’ his assignment, has been sacked but not the manager. And the manager’s responsibility in ensuring cohesion and team spirit was far more than the coach’s, and that he has failed in it requires no proof. It is evident from the handling of the Yousuf Youhana affair and sending him back home, which was ‘overblown’ (The Chairman’s own words).Secondly, the team doctor who refused to treat Youhana despite the latter’s entreaties spread over days has gone absolutely scot-free, at least so far. It is entirely another thing that most sides do not have a team doctor on tours these days as hosts provide medical assistance in abundance. So, in essence what we have is a joyrider with preferences about who would he attend to and when.Thirdly, there is this perception that Youhana has opted out by feigning injury. Even if this perception is wrong (and in that case it needs quelling on the part of the PCB as the media reports say he has a hairline fracture), it is still bad enough because it conveys that the top pros, despite this being their vocation, are choosing to stay out for the moment.Fourthly, the recall of Moin and the ‘resting’ of Rashid, despite a flawless performance as keeper and a pretty decent one as a batsman. Rashid has denied he had requested for rest, and Younis has come out in his support. But more than sidelining Rashid – which, should it transpire, would be a travesty of justice in itself – it is the recall of Moin which raises one’s heckles. For one, Moin has played next to no competitive cricket this season. Even the PCB chief believed that he needed to get in his ‘groove’ by featuring in the ‘A’ team. Wicket-keeping is not an issue, for Rashid is streets ahead of him there, and in batting, Moin made 10-odd against the visiting Lankan second eleven at Faisalabad. In this form, his induction would surely be further good news for the Aussies!While one is on the subject, Moin was sacked last year not only because his performance behind the stumps (which was never beyond adequate at best, the overbearing noise not notwithstanding) and in front of it, there wasn’t just a dip, it had gone to pieces. Since some people in the Board seem to be victims of selective amnesia, one may care to remind them that instead of looking after the Board’s interest as captain, among other things, Moin incited player power, and deliberately led a number of his charges into a dubious deal that put the PCB in thick soup with its official sponsor. Wriggling out of the fiasco itself was an ugly, expensive and nightmarish exercise that has only just been resolved.That was not all; Moin was even accused of leaking information (which the PCB then deemed as disinformation) to certain journalists. Is it a mere coincidence that these same journalists have consistently turned on the heat on the PCB for Moin’s recall, even if it meant induction in the squad?Ending or a beginning?
Lastly, while the PCB at one hand is trying to discipline others through sackings, what kind of message would the recall of a former captain send to the team? Especially when the same person had been ousted on flouting discipline beyond repair only just over a year ago.Will the opera ever end and now we are again confronted with ‘bad press’ associated with match-fixing allegations, vague clarifications, names being used of the ACU and ICC and what not!

ADELAIDE, Oct 26 AAP – South Australian skipper Darren Lehmann missed a chance to impress Test selectors as New South Wales took a firm grasp on its Pura Cup match at Adelaide Oval at stumps on day two today.In reply to NSW’s first innings 6 (dec)-474, SA was 8-219 at stumps, trailing on the first innings by 255 runs and needing another 106 runs to avoid the follow on.Only a defiant 93-run eighth wicket stand between Shane Deitz, who was out on the last ball of the day for 33, and John Davison, saved the Redbacks from being dismissed inside two sessions.Davison was unbeaten on 58 off just 50 balls at stumps. His first half-century at first-class level sparkled with six boundaries and three sixes – one each off Don Nash, Stuart Clark and Stuart MacGill.Earlier, former Test opener Michael Slater returned to top form as he built on his overnight score of 111 to record 177 runs in the Blues’ first innings.He put on a sixth wicket stand of 148 with Brad Haddin (78 not out from 98 balls) in today’s opening session, before being bowled by SA part-time medium pacer Ben Johnson on the last ball before lunch, prompting the NSW declaration.SA was in trouble early with openers Johnson (four) and David Fitzgerald (seven) both falling cheaply.Lehmann and Greg Blewett were thrust into the familiar role of trying to rescue the team, managing a 61-run partnership before Haddin took a sharp catch off MacGill to dismiss Blewett (31).Lehmann had the ideal chance to build a big score and impress selectors on a placid pitch, with plenty of time to bat.But he did little to help his Test prospects, being dropped twice before being caught in the gully off Nathan Bracken’s bowling for 45.He said he was not feeling affected by the speculation he could be about to replace Mark Waugh in the Test side.”If they do make a change and I get picked or someone else gets picked, Mark Waugh I’m sure will wish them the best, and if Mark gets picked we all wish him the best to do well,” Lehmann said.”It’s just normal isn’t it, it sells papers, it sells news, it’s just the way it is these days.”I felt pretty good considering I haven’t played any cricket for a month, it would have been nice to get a big score though, that’s what we really needed as a side, so it was disappointing to get a start and not go on with it.”SA at one stage slumped to 7-126, with Bracken the best of the bowlers, finishing the day with 3-47 from 19 overs.But Davison’s late heroics at least saved the Redbacks from complete embarrassment.”We always knew he could bat, but we needed a partnership then just to stop the rot and get some momentum back, so it’s good that we ended up at least over 200,” Lehmann said.

The speed of Shoaib Akhtar, on a lifeless pitch, and the guile of Saqlain Mushtaq destroyed Zimbabwe’s batting on the first day of the Second Test match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe wilted under the pressure and subsided with increasing speed for a total of only 178. In 14 overs before the close, Pakistan scored 29 runs without loss.It was a hot, humid day and the pitch appeared very dry, but former Zimbabwe captain Dave Houghton thought, “It probably looks worse than it will play.” He thought it would be slow and take spin on the first day, perhaps crumbling later in the match, but basically quite good for batting, with nothing in it for the seamers.Zimbabwe again won the toss and, as expected, decided to bat first. In a change to their original plans, Zimbabwe decided to send debutant Mark Vermeulen in with Dion Ebrahim to open, dropping Hamilton Masakadza in the order as a result of the shortage of quality practice he has had recently at the University of the Free State.Vermeulen was off the mark first ball, pushing Shoaib through the covers for two. He failed to survive the over, though, adjudged lbw by umpire Orchard to a ball that moved back and would probably have hit leg stump. Ebrahim (5) soon followed, playing inside a ball from Waqar that cut back and also departing lbw. Zimbabwe were 8 for two in the fifth over, a superb start for Pakistan on a slow pitch where they maximized what little help they could extract from the conditions.Things would have worsened had there been a direct hit to remove Grant Flower as he got off the mark. It took 45 minutes before the first boundary came in the eighth over, an off-drive by Alistair Campbell off Shoaib.Despite the lifeless pitch, Pakistan’s pacemen continued the same policy that they had used to good effect in Harare: good line and length, backed by attacking fields. That may have been Zimbabwe’s policy as well, but it wasn’t their practice.The war of attrition continued, with the batsmen restricted to the occasional single off bowling that gave away nothing and the bowlers maintaining a very poor over rate. Waqar rested with figures of 8-4-8-1. Gradually, as the shine left the ball, Campbell began to play a few handsome drives, but his lack of footwork made him vulnerable if there was any movement. The fifty came up on the stroke of lunch, in the 25th over.Grant Flower had two strokes of luck after lunch, as firstly a top-edged slash just cleared second slip, and soon afterwards a difficult chance at short leg off Saqlain went down. But it was Campbell who went, for 46, indecisive when playing Saqlain and dabbing the ball in and out of the keeper’s gloves; Kamran Akmal dived to catch the rebound. Zimbabwe were 94 for three.Shoaib worked up a great pace and almost had Grant lbw with a yorker that thudded into his boot at 160 km/h. But the batsman survived, and reached his fifty with a classic four off the front foot through extra cover. However, he was to depart on 54, sweeping at Saqlain and being given out by umpire Orchard with his front foot well down the pitch; a controversial decision which may well have been correct.Without addition Hamilton Masakadza misread a ball from Saqlain that went the other way and, prodding outside the off stump, was caught at the wicket. At 119 for five, Zimbabwe were in serious trouble, but Andy Flower was still there. Saqlain took all three wickets during the afternoon session and Pakistan, like Zimbabwe, were perhaps already regretting their decision to play only one specialist spinner.Tatenda Taibu carried on from where he left off in Harare, beginning confidently. After tea, though, Shoaib bowled a very accurate, hostile spell, one of the best seen on this ground, hitting both batsmen painfully on the body. It was Saqlain again who broke the stand, though, having Taibu (15) caught at the wicket down the leg side as he tried to turn a ball to leg. Andy Blignaut was Saqlain’s next victim, superbly caught by Taufeeq Umar at short leg without scoring – 159 for seven.Things did not last long after that as Andy Flower (30), once again forced to bat with the tail, unusually fell to a soft dismissal, steering Shoaib to gully one ball after taking another blow on the body. Saqlain bowled Raymond Price (1) all ends up through the gate and, after a brief fight from the last pair, Saqlain bowled Henry Olonga (8) shouldering arms to a sharp spinner, leaving Mluleki Nkala 10 not out.Zimbabwe were all out for 178 on a fine batting pitch. It was Pakistan at their best, but Zimbabwe failed to handle the relentless pressure. Waqar set it up with a fine opening spell, Saqlain bowled with mystery to return figures of seven for 66 off 25.5 overs, while Shoaib’s onslaught after tea finished them off – he had more influence than his figures of two for 39 suggest. Umpire Venkat, after his errors in Harare, appeared to have an excellent day, getting several tricky decisions right.Zimbabwe fought back with some determination with the ball, and it took 16 balls for Pakistan to score their first run, when Taufeeq Umar laced a widish ball from Andy Blignaut through the covers for four. The bowling was more accurate than in Harare, though not dangerous to the survival of the patient batsman, and Pakistan were playing for the close. Taufeeq finished with 16 and Saleem 13.

PAKISTAN made a clean sweep of both the Test and the One-day internationals against Zimbabwe and the margins were emphatic. This should put the team in the right frame of mind for the sterner Tests ahead. But in every department, Pakistan showed discipline, the most heartening being fielding. Zimbabwe provided only modest opposition but this should not detract from Pakistan’s performance.There could have been the temptation to get complacent or treat some of the matches as picnic-outings. But the temptation was resisted. Pakistan will need this same positive attitude in South Africa.The inclusion of Abdul Razzaq will strengthen the team further though it will be a hard choice between Kamran Akmal and Rashid Latif. Kamran Akmal did not do anything wrong behind the stumps and he is a useful batsman. Rashid Latif is the more experienced. It’s good to know that we have a choice.The batsmen are in form and it was good to see Saleem Elahi make back to back centuries and Faisal Iqbal seize the first chance he got and make a hundred. Inzamamul Haq did not get too many chances to bat but he seems to be in good nick though he’s been out to careless shots and he needs to watch this. Yusuf Youhana is in devastating form and the lay-off seems to have done him good. He’s not giving his wicket away after doing all the hard work.The bowling is sharp and I was glad to see Mohammad Zahid back in action. He was understandably nervous but he should enjoy bowling on the bouncier tracks of South Africa. He could profit from some sessions with a bowling coach but in the absence of one, there seems to be no reason why someone like Wasim Akram can’t take him in hand and get him to pitch the ball in the right spot more consistently. He is a natural fast bowler in the Glenn McGrath mould and he needs to aim for the same metronomic accuracy. He should try for line and length with pace as a bonus. The point is that we should persevere with him.Shoaib Akhtar is skating on thin ice. He was reprimanded for scratching the ball by the match-referee, Clive Lloyd, and has been fined and given an one-match suspension for making gestures to the crowd and throwing a bottle into the stands. One expects a fast bowler to be aggressive and be a bit of a ‘character’. But he’s got to learn how to handle his celebrity.The fact that he is one of the fastest bowlers in the game does not provide him with a licence to behave like a spoilt brat. He is one of our most valuable players but we need him to be focused. He needs to be told in no uncertain terms that he is a cog in a wheel, not the wheel. As I wrote earlier, he is going to be watched very carefully and what was sauce for the goose in Zimbabwe will not be sauce for the gander in South Africa and in the World Cup.He is going to be one of our key players. He needs to be mindful of this. Besides, this tomfoolery is not doing his bowling any good. I heard Jeff Thompson refer to himself as a “quiet assassin”, when he was asked whether he used to sledge or stare down at batsmen. And he was quicker than Shoaib Akhtar and an Australian to boot.The main interest on the third day of the Perth Test match was whether Australia could wrap it up and this Australia duly did, a classical clinical job against hapless England. There was an object lesson for other captains for the way that Steve Waugh came up the game-plan.Turning his fast bowlers loose from one end and using Shane Warne to bottle up the other end. It was a simple game-plan. The Ashes have been retained. There was never any doubt about this. But there is even greater pressure on England. The prospect of whitewash is looming. And the knives are out for Nasser Hussain.There was a time when Nasser could do nothing wrong. Now he seems to do nothing right. Messrs Botham, Gower, Allott and Bob Willis, the television commentators, seemed to be operating with a script. When he gave the new ball to Silverwood rather than Harmison, they went on and on that Nasser had sinned gravely. Thereafter, his every field placing was criticised. That, I suppose, is the price one has to pay to be a losing captain.Wisdom comes from hindsight. When these gentlemen were themselves captaining England or playing, surely they made mistakes. It is when these players have retired and become TV experts, that they become infallible. Nasser is doing the best he can. He can hardly be held responsible if player after player gets unfit. We need to bring some perspective into criticism.But the most important fact is that Australia is the better team. There is nothing Nasser can do about it. There’s no point in whining and looking for scapegoats. The Australians are on a roll. Pakistan know exactly what England must be feeling. We’ve been there but we did not panic. That’s what England have to do, grin and bear it and wait for another time.

John Dyson, the West Indies coach, has said the gap between his team and Australia has become narrower after a closely-fought first Test in Jamaica, which Australia won by 95 runs.Having trailed on the first innings by 119, West Indies were in with a fighting chance of winning after dismissing the visitors for 167 in their second innings – their lowest total in a completed innings in Tests since being dismissed for 93 by India in Mumbai in 2004. But the final target of 287 was beyond West Indies.”It’s made us realise that they (Australia) are human, and they can falter,” Dyson said as West Indies arrived in Antigua for the second Test starting on Friday. “So if we can apply enough pressure at the right time and continue doing the good things that we can do, they might falter just enough to give us that opening.”I don’t think in this match there has been such a vast difference between the two teams that I’ll walk away from here saying it’s not possible for West Indies to win. If we could just improve on a couple of areas, we’ll put on another good show in Antigua.”Dyson, however, saw much to encourage him over the course of the game, especially in the bowling where Fidel Edwards, in the absence of the injured Jerome Taylor, excelled with his pace and control to take eight for 144 in the match.”We talk constantly about putting enough balls in the right areas,” Dyson said. “I think we saw in this game, particularly the opening spell in the second innings, we put perfect amount of balls in the right areas.”I think Shiv (Chanderpaul) played exceptionally well as we expect from him. I think Runako Morton in the first innings fought really hard. Devon Smith showed again that he’s quite capable of performing. It’s just a pity that he didn’t convert both of his starts or one of them at least into a big score.”Dyson also had good words for Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper. “Denesh Ramdin again kept beautifully. I haven’t seen him have a bad game behind the stumps and he showed in the second innings, yes, he is capable of batting.”Dyson also took note of the work of the allrounder Darren Sammy, who he thought bowled with great control in both innings and also batted well in the second innings for his 35.

In what was his last innings of the series, a rearguard 71 from Brendon McCullum almost gave New Zealand the belief of producing the unthinkable against England, on the third day of the final Test at Trent Bridge. Dominating a partnership of 94 with Daniel Flynn, who showed tremendous courage in his 49, the pair nearly saw New Zealand through to stumps before James Anderson bowled McCullum off an inside edge. Now, though, with just five second-innings wickets remaining, still trailing by 64 runs, Flynn and McCullum’s stand appears to have just delayed the inevitable.Flynn has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the last two weeks. An horrific blow to his mouth from an Anderson bouncer at Old Trafford displaced two teeth, requiring visits to hospital and three separate treatments by a dentist. Lesser mortals would have been placed straight on a plane home but, remarkably for such a severe injury, Flynn was desperate to return to the middle. In addition to the obvious bravery he showed, there was no shortage of ability either. Anderson and Stuart Broad repeatedly teased him outside his off stump, but Flynn’s resolve was unwavering, and he drew praise from his senior partner at the end of the day’s play.”Flynny is a tough character and desperately wants to play cricket for New Zealand,” McCullum said. “He’s come back from a horrific injury in a very short space of time, but was very, very keen to get out there right from the word go. So it’s great from his perspective and development that he was able to get out there and contribute like he was able to, in tough conditions like they were.”It was McCullum who dominated the partnership however, giving New Zealand hope – however faint – that, just possibly, they might be able to set England a challenging total. “We put a pretty good partnership [together] which gave us a bit of belief within the team. We’re obviously desperately disappointed to lose both Daniel and myself at the end, but saying that, we’re closer than where we were at the start of the day.”We’re obviously behind the eight-ball, but you’ve always got to have hope. If we can manufacturer a 150 to 180 lead – out of somewhere – then who knows what can happen. We’re definitely still hopeful.”Such confidence is to be expected of New Zealand’s master batsman. Realistically, however, only he – and possibly Ross Taylor had he not fallen for a disappointing 14 – could have turned the match New Zealand’s way today, and McCullum remained philosophical of his 71, despite his obvious disappointment.”I couldn’t keep wicket this game, so had the opportunity to play as just a batsman. I was disappointed not to get runs in the first innings, and also not to still be out there in the second innings today, but it was nice to make some kind of contribution.”As soon as you get that cloud cover, it’s pretty tough out there. I don’t think the wicket has played too much of a part – maybe [in] the first hour of the first day. It’s probably more what the ball’s doing in the air – and with inswing and outswing, it’s pretty tough. They bowled very well in the conditions they have had.”It was disappointing to get out; I’d hoped there might be a bit more reward for the application I was trying to show, but I’ll learn from what went on out there, how I faced with the conditions and changed my game, and hopefully that’ll make me a better player in the future.”

Mohammad Yousuf has made himself unavailable for Pakistan’s ChampionsTrophy campaign in September, thus further depleting Pakistan’s 30-manlist of probables for the tournament.The announcement of the squad has already been delayed twice so far,initially because of disagreement between the board and selectors oversome names on the list, as well as uncertainty over Shoaib Akhtar’seligibility.The names were supposed to be made public today, but the revelation thatMohammad Asif, one of the names in the squad, was the player who testedpositive in a dope test at the IPL, meant another delay. The names will,the board now says, be announced tomorrow.But Yousuf will not be among them. Cricinfo has learnt that Yousuf will beunavailable because the tournament will be played during the month ofRamadan. “Yousuf has asked to be excused from the Champions Trophy as itwill be held during Ramadan and he does not want to be playing during thatmonth,” a source close to the selection committee told Cricinfo. “We haverespected that decision and not picked him in the squad.”Though Yousuf had made the request to the board a while back, finalconfirmation only came today. Mohammad Hafeez is likely to take his placein the list of probables. Incidentally, Yousuf played during Ramadan last year – against South Africa – and the year before in the Champions Trophy in India.His decision will come as a blow to a squad already likely to be missing Asif. Uncertainty remains over the inclusion in the final 15 of Shoaib, and possibly Umar Gul as well, who is yet to recover from an injury sustained during the Asia Cup.Yousuf has been Pakistan’s middle-order rock over the last 12 months,scoring over 1100 runs at an average of nearly 70, with three 100s andeight 50s. And he hasn’t just milked minnows such as Bangladesh orZimbabwe; in 14 matches against India and South Africa, he averages over60, with six fifties and a hundred.As Yousuf Youhana, he was one of the few Christians to have played forPakistan and the only one to have captained the side. But he publiclyannounced his conversion to Islam in September 2005 and has since been adevout, practicing Muslim. Ramadan is among the holiest months in theIslamic calendar, where Muslims are expected to fast between sunrise andsunset. Pakistan players have on occasion played while fasting in the pastand it is popularly thought that some were fasting during the 1992 WorldCup.