RAWALPINDI, 18 September 2003 — Fast-rising pace-bowler Mohammad Sami was yesterday all set to return to the Pakistan attack to take on Bangladesh in the fourth limited-over international here today.
Pakistan, enjoying an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, hopes Sami gets the ideal tune-up before the more challenging series against South Africa, scheduled to start with a one-day game in Karachi on Sept. 26.
“Sami has come out of a two-month lay off so we hope he gets his rhythm in the last two matches before we take on South Africa,” said Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq. The 22-year-old Sami twisted his ankle while playing for Kent county in England and missed Pakistan’s 3-0 Test series win and the first three one-dayers against Bangladesh.
“With Sami in the attack we hope to pocket another win and enter the South African series on a high,” said Inzamam. Pakistan won the first one-dayer at Multan by 137 runs, the second at Faisalabad by 74 runs and the third in Lahore by 42 runs.
Sami is seen as an ideal pairing with express pace-bowler Shoaib Akhtar and together they are regarded as apt replacement to the Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis pairing that has traditionally spearheaded the Pakistani attack since 1989. Sami is likely to replace Shabbir Ahmed in the Pakistan side.
Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore hopes his boys will pull up their socks for the final matches. “If I do find one or two players who are not prepared to toughen up for international matches then they won’t have a very long career at all, they need to work harder,” said Whatmore.
Mushtaq Reaches 100
Wickets for Sussex
Sussex leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed took his 100th first-class wicket of the English county season yesterday, becoming the first player to reach the milestone since 1998. The 33-year-old Mushtaq, who has played 50 Tests and 143 one-day internationals for Pakistan, bowled Leicestershire’s Brad Hodge for 36 just before lunch at Hove, reducing the visitors to 111 for two on the opening day of the match. Mushtaq went on to take three more wickets to end with four for 71 as Leicestershire were bowled out for 179.
That gave Sussex three points, just three short of the six needed to clinch the county championship title for the first time in their history. The club was founded in 1864 and the championship first played for in 1890. Sussex closed the day on a healthy 174 for one and if they can reach 300 they will get the necessary three points.
Mushtaq, a key factor in the Sussex success story, could now overtake Courtney Walsh, the former Gloucestershire and West Indies fast bowler, who took 106 wickets in 1998 and Andrew Caddick, the Somerset and England seamer, who captured 105 victims in the same season.
Zimbabwe Recall Wishart
and Gripper for Australia Tour
Zimbabwe have recalled experienced batsmen Craig Wishart and Trevor Gripper to their squad for a two-Test tour of Australia starting next month. Wishart was surprisingly omitted from the party that toured England earlier this year after a successful World Cup. He has played 21 tests and Gripper 14.
Fast bowler Heath Streak captains the Zimbabweans, with young wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu as his deputy. “This first Test tour of Australia is a milestone in the history of Zimbabwe cricket,” Streak said in a Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) statement in Harare yesterday.
Uncapped spinning all rounder Gavin Ewing was also named in the squad but experienced batsman Grant Flower was ruled out with a broken thumb. Following the retirement of Grant’s brother Andy after the 2003 World Cup, it will be the first Zimbabwe squad without a Flower for 15 years.
Packed Schedule
Taking Its Toll
Sachin Tendulkar was India’s youngest Test player at the age of 16 back in 1989 but it is highly unlikely he will finish his career as the oldest. The 30-year-old Tendulkar, widely regarded as the world’s best batsman, has paid the price for the relentless schedule faced by international cricketers.
He has suffered back, shoulder, toe, hamstring, ankle and hand injuries over the past four years, undergoing two operations. Former England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart, who played 133 Tests before hanging up his boots this month at the age of 40, is an exception these days, with teams playing up to 15 Tests and 35 one-dayers a year.
That is roughly twice as many as 10 years ago, a surge of commercialization and increased television coverage making armchair umpires of fans across the globe.
Next month, for example, Australia entertain Zimbabwe, India host New Zealand, South Africa will be in Pakistan and England travel to Bangladesh. England then go to Sri Lanka, West Indies visit Zimbabwe and South Africa, and Australia host India, with the packed schedule having a direct impact on players’ longevity.
