Pakistan look for victory in comfort zone

Match Facts

March 3, 2013
Start time 1430 local (1230 GMT)

Big Picture

After the first T20 was washed out in Durban, the T20 trophy is up for grabs with just one match to be played. Unlike in the Tests, the gulf between the two teams hardly exists and Pakistan may have an upper hand in this format given their record and a new line-up for the new series.

A win for Pakistan will be a much-needed confidence enhancer after the Test-series whitewash and before the three ODIs which will conclude the tour. They have featured in two finals and two semi-finals in the four T20 World Cups but still need to overcome inconsistency and poor form on the current tour.

Experience in their T20 side and a win percentage of 59% in 66 matches might turn out as the ingredients they need for the winning recipe. With the addition of their limited-overs expert, Shahid Afridi, in the dressing room, Pakistan will be itching to taste success on this tour and give Gary Kisrten a headache before the ODI series, for which they will have a different captain.

Beating Pakistan in this format won't be as easy for South Africa as it was in the three Tests, as they have a new permanent captain, have rested Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, and are without an injured JP Duminy - their highest T20 run-scorer in 2012. Faf du Plessis showed his leadership skills with a 2-1 series win against New Zealand in December, but Pakistan are a different kettle of fish, especially with the bowling attack they possess. South Africa also do not enjoy the supremacy in this format as they do in the Tests, ranked No. 5, only one point ahead of Pakistan.

Form guide

(Completed matches, most recent first)

South Africa: WLWLL
Pakistan: LWLWL

In the spotlight

Shahid Afridi averages 17.25 in South Africa in T20s with the ball and has 12 wickets from eight matches. The pitches may help his zippy legspin which in turn may help revive Pakistan's and his own fortunes as he has only five wickets in his last seven domestic limited-overs matches. If the Afridi of the World T20 2007 (played in South Africa) plays as the Afridi in 2013 on the same grounds, South Africa may not have answers to his bowling which can turn and sting like vipers.

A 33-year old Henry Davids made his international debut against New Zealand less than three months ago and scored two fifties in three matches and topped the run-scoring charts in the series with 143 runs. The test for him will be tougher and more challenging against the likes of Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan and others who do not like the sight of batsmen scoring runs against them.

Team news

South Africa have left out Richard Levi, which means Davids will have a new opening partner in AB de Villiers. In the absence of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, newbie Kyle Abbott may get a chance in the XI and Chris Morris may get to bat for the first time in T20s.

South Africa: (probable) 1 AB de Villiers (wk), 2 Henry Davids, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Justin Ontong, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Robin Peterson, 9 and 10 Rory Kleinveldt/Kyle Abbott/Ryan McLaren, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

The only change Pakistan have made in their squad from the T20s in India is the inclusion of Wahab Riaz in place of Sohail Tanvir. Riaz was not a part of the Test squad but claims to be fitter now and collected 21 wickets (including a hat-trick) in four first-class matches at an average of 12.90 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Pakistan: (probable) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammed Hafeez (capt), 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Kamran Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Wahab Riaz/Junaid Khan, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammed Irfan

Stats and Trivia

• Pakistan have won five out of the eight T20s they have played in South Africa, their best record in any country after Canada.
• Out of the 60 Pakistan wickets in the Tests, 35 were taken by Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander together, but they aren't playing in the T20 series.

Quotes

"The foundations are being laid so that we can try and do something special and emulate the Test side's performances with a new group of players."
South Africa T20 coach Russell Domingo on his not-so-experienced T20 side.

Read More..

Kings XI Punjab sign Sandeep Sharma, Manan Vohra

Kings XI Punjab added two India uncapped players - Manan Vohra and Sandeep Sharma - to their squad for the sixth IPL season. Vohra and Sandeep are the two new players after Aniket Choudhary was signed by Kings XI in February.

Both from Punjab, Vohra is a right-handed batsman and Sandeep a right-arm medium pacer. Sandeep was a part of India's Under-19 squad in the 2012 World Cup which India won. He took four wickets in the final and was the joint highest-wicket taker from India with 12 wickets from six matches at an average of 15.75.

Both Sandeep and Vohra were part of the India squad in the Quadrangular Under-19 series in Australia and in the Under-19 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 2012. Vohra was involved in a record-chase with Unmukt Chand when India chased 164 against Australia in only 12 overs and Vohra was unbeaten on 79 off 35. Sandeep was India's highest wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets from four matches at an average of 19.25.

While Vohra has played two first-class matches, Sandeep has 12 first-class matches to his name and played for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in which his side reached the quarter-finals.

Commenting on the signings, Col. Arvinder Singh, COO, Kings XI Punjab, said, "I am very delighted to have a good performers like Aniket, Manan and Sandeep to be part of the Kings XI team and believe they will effectively contribute to the tournament. We wish them all the best and hope that they can utilise this opportunity as a platform to make a mark a niche for themselves as well."

Kings XI play their first IPL match against Pune Warriors on April 7.

Read More..

SLC locks out 23 top players

Sri Lankan cricket is headed towards a major crisis with the board on Saturday night freezing out 23 of its top players over a contracts deadlock, less than a week before the start of the home series against Bangladesh. SLC, which met the players earlier in the day, has told its selectors not to consider those cricketers for any international cricket, including the Bangladesh series, until they agree to their new contract terms.

Player contracts expired on February 28, and all 60 players who were offered new contracts have refused to sign them before the March 2 deadline prescribed by the board.

"We spoke to all of the players present at the meeting, and gave our viewpoints and they also gave their points," SLC president Upali Dharmadasa said. "We have said, 'Nothing doing. We're going to stick to our guns.' It ended like that.

"They will not be getting any facilities that Sri Lanka Cricket has been offering them, including, physios, masseurs and coaches. They can't come for practice at our venues."

New Test captain Angelo Mathews and Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal are among the players frozen out, along with the bulk of Sri Lanka's Test and ODI players. Mathews and Chandimal were appointed captains just over two weeks ago, and are yet to play any matches in their new capacity.

Dharmadasa did not rule out the possibility of Sri Lanka's top cricketers playing in the first Test against Bangladesh in Galle, but only if the players signed their contracts by then. Kumar Sangakkara is the only player immediately affected by the lockout - he was due to play in the three-day tour match against Bangladesh in Matara, which begins on Sunday. The match was supposed to be Sangakkara's return to competitive cricket after fracturing his index finger in the Boxing Day Test.

Dharmadasa also said SLC had not planned any more meetings with the players, but had invited them to put their concerns in writing, and present them to the board.

The major point of dispute in the new contracts is SLC's refusal to pay the players 25% of the board's earnings from ICC events, as they have done since 2003. This payment is to compensate players for their images being used by the ICC and its sponsors to promote the tournament as well as during the event.

Other points of contention include the board's move to freeze payment to cricketers taking part in the IPL for as long as he is with his IPL team, a clause tying pay to team performance, and the scrapping of a convention that allowed players' wives to travel on one tour a year on SLC's money.

Contract terms also sparked a dispute in 2012, though SLC had a weaker bargaining position then, having not paid its players since the 2011 World Cup. The disputes were eventually settled in July after players threatened to boycott the Sri Lanka Premier League, after having played international cricket without an official contract for over four months. Payment from ICC events had also been a sticking point on that occasion, as well as a clause that required the players to have SLC permission before speaking to media.

Read More..

Blazing Simmons gives West Indies easy win

West Indies 131 for 2 (Simmons 63*, Dwayne Bravo 38*) beat Zimbabwe 130 for 8 (Waller 49, Ervine 34, Best 3-18) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

West Indies may have been without Chris Gayle, but they were not exactly missing his presence at the top as Lendl Simmons matched him for destructiveness, making a chase of 131 look ridiculously simple against a listless Zimbabwe at North Sound. Simmons muscled six sixes - mostly slog sweeps over deep midwicket - in an unbeaten half-century that helped West Indies home with nearly four overs to spare.

With the boundary ropes brought forward generously by a few yards, Zimbabwe were not able to take advantage of that after winning the toss, posting an underwhelming total. A partnership of 60 between Malcolm Waller and Craig Ervine gave the visitors some control but either side of that partnership were two collapses.

Zimbabwe got off to a poor start, losing three quick wickets in the Powerplay, but their predicament was more due to poor shot selection. Vusi Sibanda slashed a short ball from Tino Best straight to third man; Brendan Taylor attempted a cheeky reverse paddle before he was set and ended up edging to the keeper; Hamilton Masakadza tried to smack another short ball from Best but was brilliantly taken one-handed by Kieron Pollard at backward point. Masakadza's was not the poorest of shots, but Pollard's sharp reflexes had the better of him. Masakadza was starting to look dangerous, having clubbed Best for a six over deep square leg the previous ball and he walked back in disbelief.

Ervine didn't take long to settle, driving a low full toss off the legspinner Samuel Badree wide of cover and then rocking back and cutting the same bowler past point when he dropped short. The pair progressed at the rate of five and a half runs an over, and were prepared to wait for the loose ball.

Ervine picked up the pace when he cut Darren Sammy over point and then gliding the next ball past the keeper to break a boundary drought that lasted 24 balls. Sunil Narine broke the stand of 60 when he had Ervine stumped, deliberately bowling it wide outside off and spinning it away on seeing the batsman advance. Waller kept the momentum going when he smashed two sixes in an over off Sammy that leaked 18, the most expensive of the innings. Waller looked set for a deserving fifty but was bowled by Narine playing across the line. Waller's fall halted Zimbabwe's charge as they looked to beat the average first innings score at this ground, 134.

Like Gayle, Simmons began watchfully, plodding to 3 off nine balls before opening up. His opening partner Johnson Charles began in robust manner, clipping the first ball of the chase for four, before ripping into Kyle Jarvis. Charles smashed five consecutive fours in Jarvis' second over, with two powerful drives off the front foot through the off side, and the remaining through the on side. Christopher Mpofu gave the Zimbabweans some relief when he trapped Charles lbw, lazily prodding forward, before getting Darren Bravo to miscue a pull to mid-on.

The relief was only temporary. The captain Taylor had himself to blame when he fluffed a run-out chance against Dwayne Bravo, failing to gather the ball as the batsman struggled to make his ground. It was Zimbabwe's last hope of creating pressure. Simmons was merciless against the rookie legspinner Tinotenda Mutombodzi, slogging him for two sixes in his first over. Natsai Mushangwe was dealt with similarly, as Simmons peppered the on side with massive blows. Simmons scored his first four after he had already bashed five sixes and he sealed the chase in style with a straight six off Jarvis, who leaked 39 off 3.1 overs.

Read More..

Laxman launches ESPNcricinfo's Talking Cricket

Talking Cricket, a compilation of in-depth interviews with the greats of the modern era - from the Nawab of Pataudi to Mark Taylor - on various aspects of cricket, was launched in Hyderabad on Friday by VVS Laxman, the former India batsman. The book, which was launched in the company of commentator Harsha Bhogle and ESPNcricinfo editor Sambit Bal, brings together selected long-form interviews covered in ESPNcricinfo, Wisden Asia Cricket and Cricinfo Magazines over the past decade.

The book features 22 interviews in the Q&A format with current and former players giving their inputs on topics including the technical aspects of the game, and the mental side. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis explain the nuances of swing and fast bowling, Matthew Hayden speaks on intimidation, Ian Chappell on Australianism, Sachin Tendulkar on how he changed his game and Bill Lawry on commentary. Captaincy has been explored in great detail, with four players - Nasser Hussain, Mark Taylor, Mahela Jayawardene and Pataudi - speaking on the subject.

The idea with the series was to broadly explore a single theme in each interview. "Over the years, we interviewed cricketers across generations and countries on a variety of subjects," Bal wrote in his introduction. "If you wanted to know how VVS Laxman developed the gift of caressing the ball from outside off through midwicket, or why Virender Sehwag bats the way he does, you can hear it from the men themselves."

He says the Q&A style does justice to delving deeper into a particular topic: "The Q&A is a format that keeps the interviewee centre stage. The interviewer contributes by steering the conversation, but the spotlight never leaves the subject. The embellishments of the written-through format may at times read better, and the impressionistic interventions of the writer may provide a deeper sense of place and time, but for revelation of soul and exploration of depth, the Q&A is incomparable."

During a live chat with Bhogle and Bal, ahead of the launch, Laxman spoke about how he became a better player of spin, how he developed his wristy style of batting, and why youngsters should be taught early on how to handle fame and pressure.

Read More..

Warks tempt Hain to Britain

Warwickshire may have pulled off something of a coup by signing Sam Hain. Hain broke into the Australia U19 squad aged just 16 and was regarded by some as the best young batting prospect in the country.

But now he has committed himself to England and has agreed a contract with Warwickshire.

17-year-old Hain was born in Hong Kong but has a UK passport - both his parents are British - and will accompany Warwickshire's first team squad on their pre-season trip to Barbados.

He was spotted by former Warwickshire captain, Michael Powell, while on an exchange scheme at Loretto School in Edinburgh, where Powell now works, and was sent for trials at Warwickshire. He made his debut for the club's second XI aged just 14 and impressed sufficiently to win the club's most promising young player award. He agreed a contract with Warwickshire a year ago, but on the understanding that he would finish his education in Australia and join up with the squad ahead of the 2013 season.

Warwickshire have also signed Scotland batsman Freddie Coleman. The 21-year-old from Edinburgh scored a century for Oxford MCCU against Worcestershire last season in just his second first-class game.

He also won the MCCU Walter Lawrence Trophy for his innings of 141 against Durham MCCU. The award is made to the highest individual scorer from the MCCUs in innings against other MCCUs or the first-class counties. He made his List A debut for Scotland aged just 18 in 2010 and was recently awarded a developmental contract with Scotland. He will join Hain in Barbados.

Read More..

Practice helped me master spin - Laxman

VVS Laxman, in his 16-year Test career, established himself as one of the best players of spin bowling in the world but, by his own admission, it wasn't a talent he had acquired when he first picked up the bat. Failures early in his career taught him to respect spin bowling more and after hours of practice his batting had evolved to the point where he could master any attack.

Laxman was speaking at the launch of Talking Cricket, a compilation of the best Q&A long-form interviews published by ESPNcricinfo and Walt Disney. The book features 22 interviews with current and former players speaking on specific topics such as captaincy, swing bowling, commentary, batting etc. Those interviewed include Sachin Tendulkar, Ian Chappell, Mahela Jayawardene, Barry Richards, and Laxman himself.

"I never got to play quality spin bowling when I was growing up," Laxman said in a discussion with Harsha Bhogle and ESPNcricinfo editor Sambit Bal, responding to an extract from an earlier interview. "As a kid I always enjoyed playing fast bowling. I neglected playing spinners. At the end of the practice session I got extra throw-downs, asking the coaches to throw from ten yards so I could play quicker bowling. I used to practice on cement wickets using a plastic ball or a wet tennis ball.

"When I started playing the Ranji Trophy, there were some quality spinners in domestic cricket and I remember I would invariably get out to Sairaj Bahutule (former Mumbai legspinner), playing against the spin and getting caught at midwicket. That's when I came back to the nets and luckily Hyderabad had some quality spinners like Arshad Ayub, Venkatapathy Raju, Kanwaljit Singh. I practiced hard at the nets against them and I always felt that the hard work you put in the nets will reap results. Within a span of six months to one year I became an excellent player of spin. In domestic cricket we used to get tough wickets, like the one in Chennai for the Test (against Australia), and my confidence grew."

Laxman's admissions could be a lesson for the touring Australian team, whose batsmen struggled against spin in Chennai. "You react to the ball that is coming at you," he said. "If you focus on the guy holding the ball, your thought process changes. You should remove things like the state of the pitch from your thought process and only react to the ball. If you think too much about the wicket, you're only expecting a certain kind of delivery and in the bargain you lose out on the shot you could have played."

Laxman also spoke at length about how it's a bigger challenge for youngsters today to strike the balance between their game and their personality, compared to the scenario at the time he was growing up. He felt it is a challenge for the modern cricketer to manage distractions better, given that players nowadays have plenty on their plate to deal with.

	"There is so much of fame, adulation, scrutiny, and money [these days]. It is very important for any young cricketer to be as balanced as possible. It is very difficult to do so and I feel for them." VVS Laxman

"It's not just about distractions. It's the amount of options available to you. For example, when I chose not to become a doctor and chose cricket as my career path, there was nothing in my life except cricket. When my friends went to movies etc, I used to go home, so I could be fresh in the morning for practice. Now, there are so many options. If you are not successful as a cricketer you could be successful in any other field. That is why now it is very important how you communicate with the youngsters. You cannot be negative with them. You have to be positive so that their interest in the game always remains.

"There is so much of fame, adulation, scrutiny, and money [these days]. It is very important for any young cricketer to be as balanced as possible. It is very difficult to do so and I feel for them."

While he agreed that mentorship is important to a player's growth, he insisted that a youngster should be educated on what his priorities should be at an early age.

"What was the one thing that kept me going? It was the pride of playing for your country," Laxman said. "That can be ingrained at a young age. [Money] is a danger. For young cricketers, their priorities should be emphasised. They should know that money is a by-product of what you're trying to achieve. Pride and passion should be the first priority. I have noticed in the same coaching camps I used to attend as a kid, the parents now say 'I don't care if my son plays for India or not but I want him to get into one of the IPL franchises.' There has to be a balance. That will happen in the ages of 16-19. The coaches at camps like at the NCA have to address the issue."

Coaching youngsters, he says, also needs to be handled with caution. "After my retirement my son suddenly became interested in the game, I don't know why," Laxman said, which was followed by laughter. "I just tell him to hit the ball. My nephew goes to a coaching camp and one day I was playing with the two of them. It was strange. My son was only hitting the ball without bothering about his head position etc, but my nephew would come to me as ask, 'uncle, how is my elbow position?' They are just aged 6 and 7. What structured coaching sometimes does is it removes the natural instincts of a player. Till a cricketer is mature, one should not load too much information on him. I notice spinners are at their best till they are 15, but they vanish. The coaches try to correct them and the player gets confused."

Read More..

Wagner added to NZ Test squad

Neil Wagner, the left-arm quick, has been added to the New Zealand squad for the first Test against England in Dunedin after impressing in the tour match in Queenstown.

Wagner claimed six wickets in the match and produced some lively spells in the second innings to trouble England's top order.

New Zealand could yet decide to field an all-pace attack in the first Test which would mean Wagner, who has three caps, lining up alongside Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell. However, if they opt to give a debut to left-arm spinner Bruce Martin, Wagner could find himself carrying the drinks.

Wagner, who was born in South Africa, has taken five wickets in the early stages of his Test career but has had a productive domestic season with 30 wickets at 25.43.

Read More..

Teams start even in new format

Match Facts

March 1, 2013
Start time 1800 local (1600GMT)

Big Picture

South Africa's summer of Test cricket is over but the sunshine and good times are not. Another three weeks of activity awaits and it is up to the limited-overs formats to turn what has been a one-sided series into a competitive, two-way street.

The balance has definitely tipped. It is no longer a No.1 ranked team in conditions that suit them up against a side determined to prove something. Both South Africa and Pakistan hover in the middle of the Twenty20 rankings at the moment. While South Africa have never tasted the success of a major trophy, Pakistan have and were responsible for dumping South Africa out of the 2009 World Twenty20 - which they went on to win - and beating them in both other meetings at a major tournament.

That fact sums up the difference between the two teams' approaches to limited-overs cricket. Pakistan have won when it matters, South Africa have when it doesn't. Add that to the hosts' current state of transition and Pakistan will see an opportunity to strike. They have with them a wealth of experience headed by Shahid Afridi while South Africa's young squad includes only four Test regulars.

In essence, this is a clash between a team still experimenting with the format and one that has never had the same urgency to master it because they thrive in unpredictability. Pakistan can be expected to bring every element of themselves that has made the world fall in love with cricket over and over again: the late batting-order revival, the surprise wickets, the picture-perfect catch. If all those elements combine perfectly, it will make for good viewing.

South Africa have promised to be more clinical, a suggestion that hints at no more floating batting line-up and miscalculations over who will bowl at the death. Given their haphazard approach to the shortest format, that shows they are taking it more seriously. The key will be not to be too rigid.

It's set up to be a contest of Pakistan's ability to light flames versus South Africa's new cool and supposedly inflammable nature. What a thrill it would be if the series sets on fire.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
South Africa: WLWLL
Pakistan: LWLWL

In the Spotlight:

Although Faf du Plessis led the team with aplomb in their three-match series against New Zealand late last year, he was merely a stand-in then. Now, he is officially the permanent captain of the team and that will bring different pressure. Du Plessis has already shown he has the maturity to deal with being one of the senior-most batsmen in the XI and leading it and with a young squad under his command, the need for him to continue in that vein will be even more pressing.

His opposite number Mohammed Hafeez will also be under the microscope but for individual reasons. Hafeez was dismal with bat in hand in the Test series but now returns to the format where he has enjoyed much success. He does not have a red ball or Dale Steyn to worry about and Pakistan will be looking to him to kickstart some success for them on a tour that has so far brought only struggle.

Team news:

In yet another shift in roles for AB de Villiers, the former captain will now open the batting and keep wickets. That probably means no space for young Quinton de Kock who had gloves in hand for the matches against New Zealand and batted at No.3. New leader du Plessis will bat out of his preferred position (the top two), but will most likely come in at No.3. Chris Morris will likely slot in the lower middle-order, which will leave Rory Kleinveldt, Kyle Abbott and Ryan McLaren to fight for two spots if Lonwabo Tsotsobe plays. Aaron Phangiso may miss out to Robin Peterson in the spinner's role.

South Africa: (probable) 1 AB de Villiers (wk), 2 Henry Davids, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Justin Ontong, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Robin Peterson, 9 and 10 Rory Kleinveldt/Kyle Abbott/Ryan McLaren, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Pakistan welcome back a galaxy of stars, with their brightest being Afridi. If the mercurial all-rounder brings his best side, it will be an immediate boost to them. The Akmal brothers, with Kamran likely to keep, are also back. Junaid Khan has recovered from the thigh wound which kept him out of the last two Tests, and is available for selection.

Pakistan: (probable) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammed Hafeez (capt), 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Kamran Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8, Wahab Riaz/Juniad Khan 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammed Irfan

Stats and Trivia:

• Only one point separates these two teams on the rankings. South Africa are at No.5 and Pakistan No.6
• The longest winning streak enjoyed by both South Africa and Pakistan is seven matches. South Africa's was between March and June 2009 and Pakistan's in the same year between June and November.
• The teams have played each other six times in T20s, with each side winning three. Their last encounter was at the World Twenty20 in September last year, which Pakistan won.

Quotes:

"We are practising skills now that we want to be better at in six to ten games time. It's not going to happen now because we don't have a lot of time together as a T20 squad."
South Africa's new captain Faf du Plessis is looking to the future as he takes charge of the national side

"We are really missing crowd support because we don't play cricket at home. If we can get some support, it will be good."
Mohammed Hafeez hopes to tap into the sub-continental heritage of Durban and swing the fans his team's way

Read More..

We played like a family - Manzoor

The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is back in Karachi after two seasons, as Karachi Blues outclassed Sialkot in a one-sided contest to win Pakistan's premium first-class tournament. Blues captain Khurram Manzoor credited the all-round effort of his side, which wasn't too formidable on paper, for the winning the title.

Although there were no fireworks or cheers in the deserted stands of Gaddafi Stadium, there was jubilant celebration by the players. When Manzoor lofted the ball to the midwicket boundary to score the winning runs, the Blues players, who were waiting at the boundary rope, erupted screaming onto the field to embrace their captain. They had another reason for joy: the team had remained unbeaten over the course of ten matches and two months.

"It was the moment we have been waiting for," Manzoor said while standing in front of a sombre Sialkot dressing room. "This is a result of the hard work put in by all of our players and the coaching staff. I am very happy as a player and as a captain - this is a significant achievement for me. They are all happy and want people to know that. I can't explain in words how happy I am and that's why we are screaming loud. This is all about the victory.

"We didn't have big names on paper but we played like a family. Sometime there were heated arguments, differences, we quarrelled on various occasions, but it was merely on how to attain the best result on the field. It was all teamwork. In the end, it is the result that matters, and so it's a moment of joy. I love to be a part of such a talented side.

"The key was the planning of our short-term goals instead of setting a big goal. We had a plan for each hour, each session to keep the players on their toes and didn't burden them to achieve bigger goal. The motto is to win every day to keep the momentum on, and this helped us against complacency. We knew if the plan worked the title wouldn't be far from us. If we have strong belief, we can win."

One of the key men who contributed to the win was Akbar-ur-Rehman, who topped the run-charts with 986 runs in ten games, with three fifties and three centuries, one of which was a double. He scored a century in the final, too; his 178 in the first innings helped his side gain a decisive 199-run lead.

"I simply call him a one-man army and I am proud of him," Manzoor said. "He played his role and his presence in the middle was a relief for me. He was the backbone of our batting and performed well when it matters and I wish him very best of luck for his future."

Read More..