Pakistan, England to play Twenty20s in Dubai

Pakistan are set to play two Twenty20 internationals against England in Dubai in February to warm up for the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies at the end of April.

"We have reached an agreement to play two Twenty20 matches against England on February 19 and 20 as part of our preparations for the World Twenty20 next year," Wasim Bari, the Pakistan Cricket Board's chief operating officer, told AFP.

Pakistan wind up their tour of Australia on February 5 while England will head to Dubai a month after their tour of South Africa concludes. The World Twenty20 will be held between April 30 and May 16.

Pakistan are the defending champions and Bari said the latest development was aimed at discovering more talent. "We see the two matches as an opportunity to try and develop some new players and give more and more players the opportunity to play at the top level," Bari said.

He added that the Pakistan A team will take on England A for a series of three one-dayers in the UAE later in the year.

Pakistan hold nerve to sweep series

Following the one-sided affair on Thursday, there was little to separate the two sides tonight as Pakistan overcame a spirited New Zealand fightback to sweep the Twenty20s 2-0 at the Dubai Sports City. A half-century stand between Scott Styris and Brendon McCullum kept New Zealand in the hunt, but all along, Pakistan held a slight edge. New Zealand focussed on keeping wickets in hand, but unfortunately though, they left a little too much to do in the end as Pakistan sneaked home by seven runs and equalled the world record of seven consecutive Twenty20 wins with South Africa.

The final over had plenty of intrigue and controversy. Needing a difficult 18, a straight-driven six by Styris off Umar Gul brought the smiles back in the New Zealand dressing room. That was followed by a single, which put James Franklin on strike. Franklin went for a huge hit down to long-on where Shoaib Malik ran forward and claimed a low catch. Malik and the rest were absolutely sure about the legality of the catch and Franklin had almost made his way back to the pavilion when he was asked to stop in his tracks. The element of doubt crept in, albeit late, for the two officials who consulted with the third umpire. After a few anxious moments - television replays weren't dead accurate - Franklin was given the benefit of the doubt. That didn't wreck Pakistan's party as they conceded only singles off the next two balls.

Pakistan emerged the deserved winners because they were always one step ahead of the opposition, even when things got tight. For an injury-ravaged New Zealand, it was a good fight. One of the main reasons for New Zealand's feeble showing on Thursday was the failure of their top order to come up with something substantial. One person needed to bat through, if not a majority of the overs and it was McCullum who decided to drop anchor and show some responsibility as captain.

He had to survive a testing opening spell from the two left-armers - Mohammad Aamer and Sohail Tanvir - who kept him and his partners guessing with sharp angles across the right-handers. There was quite a bit of playing and missing early and it was a tough initiation at the top for BJ Watling, who was squared up by Tanvir's angle which took the leading edge, only to be snapped up brilliantly by Kamran Akmal, diving to his right. It was almost identical to the one that got rid of Martin Guptill yesterday.

For the second day in succession, Guptill perished after making a start, when he chopped Gul onto his stumps. The loss of those two early wickets, and soon after that of Ross Taylor, convinced McCullum to shed his aggressive instincts and look to build a partnership, with anyone who was interested in sticking around with him.

He found an able partner in Styris, the seniormost player in the side. It wasn't going to be easy against the spin of Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, who tested them with their variations. They ran well between the wickets during their 66-run stand. Styris was the more aggressive of the pair, making room to the spinners to clear the infield. However, Pakistan's blow-hot blow-cold effort in the field made things easier for the pair. Imran Nazir had a forgettable day in the outfield, palming off a six over fine leg early in McCullum's innings and later on failing to hang on to an easier chance off Styris, which cost Pakistan a boundary. A couple of fumbles and wild throws was indicative of the pressure on the fielders as the partnership grew.

Styris' clean hitting got a little intimidating for Pakistan and they were a relieved bunch when McCullum departed, mis-hitting Ajmal to long-on in the penultimate over. That over proved to be the turning point in the chase. Aamer had leaked 15 in the 18th over but Ajmal, in contrast, conceded only five. He mixed it up well, firing it on the blockhole and teasing Styris with flight and bounce. That just added to the pressure in the final over. Pakistan had only just made enough to see them through.

The driving force behind Pakistan's win was Umar Akmal, who took Pakistan to a score very similar to what they had achieved yesterday. Pakistan's openers got off to a rousing start and after Ian Butler's quick strikes, Umar and Afridi scripted the recovery.

Afridi targeted the on side and he nearly lost his wicket while on 8 when a full-blooded pull bounced off Ross Taylor's palms at short midwicket. But he went on to give Styris the full treatment in the following over, clubbing a full toss for six over the bowler's head. But Afridi's knock was nothing more than a cameo, which ended when he heaved Nathan McCullum down to Shane Bond at deep midwicket.

Two more wickets pulled things back for New Zealand but they had no answer to Umar. He began with a crisply driven four off backward point and preferred initially to play the supporting role to Afridi. He focused on rotating the strike, but after the fall of wickets, opened out. He lofted Styris a few rows back over long-on and almost injured Geoff Allott, the former New Zealand fast bowler, who was present at the venue as New Zealand Cricket official, decked in a suit and tie. He then edged Franklin past the keeper and powered a full toss off Bond down to the backward point boundary to keep the largely partisan crowd - despite being a neutral venue - entertained.

All-round Afridi leads rout

Who needs the captaincy when you are in this kind of form? Shahid Afridi's supposed desire to lead Pakistan in ODIs and his rift with captain Younis Khan has dominated the chat in Pakistan since the Champions Trophy, and his all-round performance tonight to dismantle New Zealand - along with the captain's duck - will do nothing to quell further talk. But why burden yourself with leadership hassles when you can turn in the kind of man-mountain performance Afridi did, first resuscitating Pakistan from a disastrous start with the bat and then nearly taking a hat-trick as his side romped home to a 138-run win at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Afridi's day had begun halfway through Pakistan's innings, when having won the toss, they were making a mess of things. Shane Bond had bowled an opening five-over spell of refreshingly attacking intent, of real cunning, occasional pace and much guile. Each ball he bowled, it seemed, was geared only to take wickets, not save runs. With the rest of Bond's colleagues chipping in, Afridi turned up to find his side limping around at 75 for 4.

Much like a magician he turned it into an ominous 287 for 9 with his innings opening up the floodgates for his lower order, in particular Kamran Akmal, who plundered New Zealand relentlessly at the death. In all, 137 runs came in the last 15 overs and 206 off the last 25, and Afridi was the culprit.

It was a calm hand by his standards, pretty brutal by any other, and the kind of innings Twenty20 has brought out of him. In its entirety it was mature, particularly in the realisation that he need not go at it helter-skelter from the off and that if his forearms are somehow aligned to his brain then mountains can be moved.

Indeed there was never a miscue or hoick to begin, just urgent nudges and grunted pushes to revive Pakistan's comatose run-rate. Once Khalid Latif, drafted in as opener, pulled a boundary for nearly 12 overs in the 29th, he freed Afridi's mind. Soon Afridi was dancing out to hoist three sixes in two overs of spin from Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum.

The flurry of boundaries is an Afridi trait, but once out of the way he reverted - pleasingly - to taking well-placed singles and doubles, managing the occasional boundary. Shane Bond was muscled over long-off for one such, to bring up his fifty off 37 balls, which was still sedate for him. He went soon after biffing a couple more, but not before, with a tranquil Latif, having revived Pakistan. Latif looked as threatening as a butterfly, without being as pretty, but he stuck around for what was a valuable fifty. And he was at his most effective when Afridi was going for it, simply because he ensured that Afridi got much of the strike.

Akmal, relieved of opening and for Afridi's ballast, gleefully looted runs over the death, putting on 86 with Abdul Razzaq in just over seven overs - driving, scything and squeezing a parade of sixes and fours en route to a stunning 43-ball 67.

With the momentum, Pakistan's pacemen worked their way through the top order, crippling the chase at the very off. Umar Gul may have been the main beneficiary in terms of wickets, but Mohammad Aamer's opening spell - much older than the 17-year-old body and mind that produced it - was the key. At whippy pace, he gnawed away at both Brendon McCullum and Aaron Redmond over after over, regularly beating them for pace and inward movement and ultimately setting the tone of who was to boss the chase.

Inevitably, though, Afridi had to have the final word. Daniel Vettori and Aaron Redmond had gamely kept New Zealand within a sniff, though Redmond's ponderous fifty - unlike Latif's earlier - did not have anyone going crazy enough around it. After an indifferent, hurried first spell, Afridi got the pesky Vettori to drag on an attempted sweep, and with his next ball trapped Nathan McCullum. Another umpire might have even given the hat-trick - incorrect as it may have been - but denying Afridi in this kind of mood took some standing. New Zealand found it beyond them

Another compelling battle on the cards

Match facts

Tuesday, November 3
Start time 15:00 (11:00 GMT)

Big Picture

Tempting as it is to look at this series as a mighty battle for the fourth place in the ICC ODI rankings, or even a series where Pakistan seek cold-blooded revenge for the ignominy heaped upon them by the very same opponents at the Champions Trophy, it is, fortunately, neither. This is simply a compelling series between two eminently watchable sides who usually tend to produce some high-quality cricket against each other; no Pakistan-New Zealand contest, for example, is complete without one spectacular batting collapse.

There are other reasons as well. New Zealand are here without a coach and Pakistan's man, Intikhab Alam, is more a manager than a modern-day coach. So for the first time in many years, we will be watching cricket, essentially, coach-less. As cricket comes to the end of a decade in which coaches have assumed the significance of unelected advisors to government - they are important but no one can decide why - it is a timely, if no doubt temporary, step back to a forgotten time.

On the field will step two of cricket's most powerful current captains. After recent fudges at home, Daniel Vettori and Younis Khan have the kind of control, say and influence captains around the world could only hope for. Vettori has selection duties, is his side's key allrounder and matchwinner and is taking on more coaching duties after the exit of Andy Moles. Younis, having resigned, has come back as captain with greater security, a more amenable management setup and presumably a free hand over selection matters, as most Pakistan captains have had. Admittedly, his grip will always be more fragile than Vettori's.

And there will still be much else to keep an eye on. Shane Bond continuing his return to international cricket, the forgotten Scott Styris trying to capitalise on others' injury misfortunes, the perpetual hope of a hand or two from Brendon McCullum. Pakistan will eagerly monitor the ongoing development of Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal, as well as the return of some real openers at the top of the order.

Form Guide (most recent last)

Pakistan WWWLL
New Zealand - LWWWL

Watch Out For

Now that Younis Khan has got what he has wanted, it might not be a bad time for him to pick up some ODI form. This year has been a poor one for him: in 16 ODIs he has 398 runs at less than 25, with only two fifties.

Similarly, this might be a fine time from Brendon McCullum to fire with the bat as well. Expectations have been unnaturally high since that scarcely believable IPL hundred, but an average of 26 from 21 ODIs this year, with just two fifties, is disappointing at many levels. A move down the order may be the tonic.

Team News

Pakistan will have one, possibly both, different openers from those who played in the Champions Trophy, with Salman Butt and Imran Farhat the likely beneficiaries. The only other question mark is likely to be over Naved-ul-Hasan and whether Abdul Razzaq should replace him.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Naved-ul-Hasan/Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Saeed Ajmal

New Zealand are injury-ravaged as they were during the Champions Trophy, missing key personnel in Daryl Tuffey, Jesse Ryder and Grant Elliott. Scott Styris is back, as is Jacob Oram and with Kyle Mills suffering an injury, the young, impressive Tim Southee is definitely in contention for a starting place.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Aaron Redmond, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Neil Broom, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Tim Southee

Pitch and Conditions

Surfaces at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium have not always been reminiscent of the run-leakers of the 80s and 90s Middle East cricket. Generally they are low and sluggish and batsmen find it difficult to get away, often making for low-scoring, tense encounters. It will not be a surprise if conditions are much different this time round. Pakistan's stronger spin attack and knowledge of the surfaces and conditions should give them a slight advantage.

Stats and trivia

• Umar Gul has taken 21 wickets in 10 ODIs in the UAE (excluding matches at the old Sharjah ground)
• Pakistan have played 11 ODIs at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi since its inauguration in April 2006. That is more ODIs at the venue than any home venue, including their two main ones in Lahore and Karachi in the same time
  
  
  
• New Zealand haven't played in the Middle East since April 2002 and their record in the region is poor: eight wins in 29 games.

Quotes

"It's not a revenge series, but all the players have it in their minds to beat New Zealand."
Younis Khan keeps the past away from the team's focus.

"Everyone goes on about the speed, I'm happy with the pace I'm bowling."
Shane Bond believes he hasn't been as sharp as he's supposed to be.

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo

 Feeds: Osman Samiuddin

Pak Cricket Team leaves for Dubai

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Team – lead by Captain Younis Khan – has left for Dubai.

According to sources, National Cricket Team departed from Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore Thursday night.

The National Team will play three One-Days and two Twenty-20 matches against New Zealand.

At this occasion a large number of cricket fans saw-off the national heroes.

Meanwhile, talking to newsmen at Lahore Airport, Coach Intekhab Aalam said the National Team is united.