We need to get some answers from Amir: PCB

KARACHI: Pakistan cricket authorities plan to question banned pace bowler Mohammad Amir following his return home on Sunday from Britain after serving a jail sentence for corruption.    
Amir, 19, was released from prison this month after serving a three-month sentence for his role in a spot-fixing scandal during the 2010 test against England at Lord’s. He had been banned for five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Obviously we will be meeting him to find out the root cause of the spot-fixing issue in Pakistan cricket,” Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad told Reuters.
“We will talk to him to find out how and why he got involved in this corruption. Initially he was not very honest with us so we need to ask him questions. We also want to discuss his rehabilitation with him.”
Amir and his team mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were banned by the ICC last year for arranging for deliberate no-balls to be delivered in the Lord’s test. Butt and Asif are still serving jail sentences.

India facing must-win ODI against Australia

SYDNEY: India must beat Australia in Sunday’s one-day international in Sydney to retain any hope of reaching the tri-series finals, and they must do it while denying claims of changing room unrest.
The World Cup champions are four points adrift of second-placed Australia ahead of two crucial ODIs in three days. It is likely they will have to win both if they are to play in next month’s best-of-three finals.
India have slipped behind after back-to-back losses to Sri Lanka and Australia following their tie with Sri Lanka in Adelaide on February 14.
If India lose on Sunday they will fall at least eight points behind Australia and will need a bonus-point (five points) win over Sri Lanka in their last match next Tuesday to Hobart to have any chance of reaching the March 4-8 final series.

India’s big showdown comes after Indian media reported differences between captain M.S. Dhoni and two senior batsmen, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and the continuing slump in form of Sachin Tendulkar.
Dhoni, who was suspended from India’s 51-run loss to Sri Lanka in Brisbane last Tuesday denied Saturday there was any rift within the team over the rotation policy of the opening batting positions.
“Will play like a unit against Australia,” said Dhoni, adding that the team was looking forward to building momentum after their recent losses.
All-rounder Irfan Pathan also downplayed talk of differences in the team.
“Everyone is working hard. There is no difference of opinion in the team,”he told reporters on Saturday.
“I have been hearing things, but it’s nothing like that. Things are pretty good.
“It’s a matter of winning big games. Once we start winning the big games, these things are going to vanish,” he said.
There is concern over the form of Tendulkar, the greatest run-scorer in ODIs and struggling in his pursuit of his elusive 100th international century during the tour of Australia.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has said Tendulkar needs to reconsider his decision to continue playing one-day cricket.
“Sachin has to ask himself whether he is good enough to play one-day cricket day in and day out,” Ganguly said this week.
“Whether it’s helping him missing tournaments and playing a one-day series after eight-nine months, whether it’s helping him as a one-day player or if it’s helping the Indian one-day team.
“If Sachin can’t get an answer to these questions, he has to go.”Tendulkar has scored just 90 in five bats in the tri-series and is 19th in most runs scored among all the three competing teams.
Tendulkar, who took a sharp knock to his shin off an edged stroke from Peter Forrest against Australia in Brisbane last weekend, batted in the Sydney nets for an hour on Saturday.
Sunday’s game could also feature the international return of Australia allrounder Shane Watson after his lengthy injury spell, with out-of-form opener David Warner under pressure to hold down his spot.
Forrest, who scored the only century in the tournament with his 104 in Friday’s three-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Hobart, said the challenge of keeping a spot with Watson waiting in the wings was one the whole batting order needed to rise to.
“It puts all the batsmen on notice to make sure they’re scoring runs,” he said.
Skipper Michael Clarke is looking for an improvement from his Australia team in Sunday’s sellout match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
“There’s no doubt our death bowling needs to improve, that’s for sure,” he said.
“We’ve tried plenty of guys and we’ve got the right crew, we just have to execute better than we have in this series.”

Mohammad Amir to return on February 26

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Aamer will return to Pakistan on February 26 after getting his passport from the British government, Aamer’s brother Saleem confirmed.
Aamer, who was convicted of spot-fixing and given a sentence of six months, also faces a ban of five years on playing cricket from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The former fast bowler will be appealing his ICC ban with assistance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Two other Pakistani cricketers, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt were also convicted of spot-fixing last year and are still serving their jail terms.

Ponting’s dumping not ‘personal’: Clarke

SYDNEY: Captain Michael Clarke says he is confident his friendship with Ricky Ponting will endure despite his role in this week’s axing of the Australian great from the one-day team, reports said Friday.
The former skipper said he had been informed by selectors that he did not fit into their plans for the one-day team, but despite speculation about his future, he was not retiring from Test cricket.
Clarke faced an early test of his new role on the selection panel by making the tough call to dump Ponting after 375 ODI appearances over 17 years.
He said the pair would continue to work together as teammates and batting partners in the Test team, next in action in the West Indies in April.

“I’m 100 percent part of the selection panel,” Clarke told newspapers Friday ahead the tri-series match against Sri Lanka in Hobart, the capital of Ponting’s home state Tasmania.
“That’s now part of the captain’s job. We’ve made this decision as a panel.
“It is tough not having the great Ricky Ponting out there playing for us but that’s the decision we’ve made. Obviously the 2015 World Cup is something we have spoken about as a panel. I’m 100 percent part of that.”
Clarke, who took over the Test and one-day captaincy from Ponting early last year, said Ponting knew the decision to axe him was not personal.
“Ricky was captain for a long time and while he wasn’t a selector he played a big part in selecting the 11 players that took the field,” he said.
“I remember getting dropped after the Test match against the West Indies and ‘Punter’ (Ponting) was the one who came up and told me I hadn’t been selected.
“He certainly knows it’s not personal. I’m very confident our friendship is a lot stronger than that.”
I’ve been great friends with Punter for a long time and that certainly won’t change. But I’ve also played a lot of one-day cricket with him and it’s going to feel really weird looking around the field and not seeing him there.
“I’ll miss his guidance out on the field, his guidance off the field, his friendship, his experience around the group, his knowledge of this game.”

Misbah calls for patience as Pak eye T20 series

Dubai: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq on Friday hit back at criticism after his side's 4-0 defeat in the one-day series against England, urging a change of mindset among detractors.
"I have said that even after the Test series win that we have to keep patience," said Misbah following his team's eight-run win in the first of three Twenty20 internationals against England on Thursday.

Pakistan routed England in the three-Tests 3-0 but suffered a 4-0 reverse in the following one-day series, prompting former cricketing greats and media commentators to call for changes in the team and captaincy.
"We should talk of the ground realities but we talk on other points," said Misbah in response. "We should talk of the bad performance (and) the areas where we showed weaknesses.
"We must talk of ground realities and the media should be positive. We committed mistakes: they scored four hundreds, we managed only four fifties and their bowlers took wickets, ours didn't," said Misbah of the one-day series.
The Pakistan skipper said the country had under-performed in the past because of such a response to defeats, insisting that his side had not become bad players overnight just because of the loss of the one-day series.
"We have to change this thinking if we are to lift Pakistan cricket," he said, calling for a more reasoned debate about strengths and weaknesses rather than a potentially counter-productive knee-jerk response to change personnel.
Misbah has not lost a Test series since taking over the Pakistan captaincy in October 2010 and the defeat against England was his first since taking charge as one-day captain in June last year.
Pakistan had won the preceding two one-day series before he took over.
"Drastic changes will not help. These same players won us the last six series. Now if, on one defeat against a top team, we change players and captains then we could change six captains till the 2015 World Cup," he said.
"That can never bring improvement in Pakistan team."
Misbah said he hoped Pakistan will carry the momentum in the next two Twenty20 matches, which take place in Dubai on Saturday and Abu Dhabi on Monday.
"England is a good team and can come back strongly, so we have guard against complacency and do our best," he added.

Bad news for India, SL beat Australia

Hobart: Mahela Jayawardene hit an aggressive half century to help set up Sri Lanka's thrilling three-wicket win over Australia in a limited-overs tri-series match on Friday.
Man of the match Jayawardene hit six boundaries and a six to make 85 off 81 balls, and Dinesh Chandimal brought up an assured 80 at Bellerive Oval as the Sri Lankans scored 283-7 to overhaul Australia's 280-6 with four balls to spare.

"It was one of those days when most of your shots went to the gaps," Jayawardene said.
Sri Lanka now leads the tri-series with 15 points, one more than Australia, ahead of the finals starting March 4.
"The youngsters are learning a lot from these games," Jayawardene said. "We are top of the table, but we still need to do a lot of hard work."
Sri Lanka's hopes of the win looked in doubt when Angelo Mathews miscued a Dan Christian (3-53) delivery with 14 runs required from nine balls, but Thisara Perera hit a four and a six off the next two balls, and Nuwan Kulasekara hit a four in the last over to seal the victory.
"Unfortunately we couldn't get over the line, but full credit to Sri Lanka," Australia captain Michael Clarke said. "Our execution with the ball wasn't good and the top four could do better."
Sri Lanka opener Tillekeratne Dilshan made just 3 before he was caught by Peter Forrest at deep square-leg off Ben Hilfenhaus in the eighth over.
Kumar Sangakkara edged a Christian ball to David Warner for 22, and Jayawardene was stumped by wicketkeeper Matthew Wade when he was beaten by a Xavier Doherty delivery.
Lahiru Thirimanne added 24 before becoming Christian's second victim, caught by Hilfenhaus.
Chandimal hit seven fours in his knock. He was trapped lbw by Ryan Harris and Farveez Maharoof had added just 5 when he lofted a ball to Harris off Hilfenhaus.
Forrest earlier scored 104 for his maiden international century in what appeared to be a challenging Australian total. His century was the first of the tri-series tournament, which also involves India.
Clarke made a quick-fire 72 off 79 balls in a 152-run, third-wicket stand with Forrest to steady Australia after an early collapse.
Australia made a poor start to the match after winning the toss and opting to bat when opener Matthew Wade was caught by Jayawardene at wide mid-off for 5 in just the second over.
Opening partner Warner was caught behind for 7 shortly after while defending a Maharoof delivery.
Perera claimed an athletic catch on the mid-wicket boundary to give Mathews (2-43) the valuable wicket of Australia captain Clarke.
Forrest had hit 10 boundaries and two sixes when he offered a simple catch to Maharoof off a slower Mathews ball.
Michael Hussey made 21 off 14 balls before being bowled by Lasith Malinga and Christian was stumped by wicketkeeper Sangakkara after he charged up the wicket at a Rangana Herath delivery.
David Hussey was unbeaten on 40 with Brett Lee on 20 at the end of the Australia innings.

Our bowling lacked execution: Clarke

Hobart: Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke felt his bowlers were just not good enough on Friday after his side lost by three wickets to Sri Lanka despite posting a competitive 280 on the board in a league match of the ongoing ODI tri-series here.
"Another tight one but unfortunately we couldn't get over the line, but full credit to Sri Lanka. Our execution with the ball wasn't good. The top four could also do better. They need to set it up for the rest," Clarke said after Australia by three wickets.

"Sri Lanka showed tonight that if you hang in, you can take it home," he added. Clarke said now Sunday's game against India assume greater significance for the hosts.
"Big game for us against India in Sydney, we need perform well in that," he said.
Back to lead the side after missing a couple of matches due to a hamstring strain, Clarke said his back is troubling him a bit right now.
"I am still a bit stiff in the back, but I will be fine. I will get treatment from the physio and will be fine," he said.
Clarke lauded young Peter Forrest, who took the number three slot in place of the axed Ricky Ponting, and responded with his maiden ODI hundred.
"Peter was excellent today, all credit to him," he said.
His opposite number Mahela Jayawardene, who was adjudged man-of-the-match for his 85-run knock that set the tone for the successful chase, said his young team is shaping up well.
Sri Lanka are the unlikely table-toppers right now with 15 points from six matches.
"The youngsters are learning a lot from these games. We are top of the table, but we still need to do a lot of hard work," he added. Talking about his own innings, Jayawardene said he was lucky to get more strike.
"I probably got more of the strike than Dilly (Tillakaratne Dilshan). I was in a zone and it was one of those days when most of your shots went to the gaps," he said.
"We needed a good start and we went through the history of this ground. One side of the ground is smaller, so it was a tough ground to defend on. We have to continue playing well, our goal is to get to the final," he added.
source: cricketnext

Ponting ODI career may not be over: Clarke

Sydney: Australia captain Michael Clarke admitted on Friday that he supports the decision to drop Ricky Ponting from the one-day international squad, but says the former captain's ODI career may not be over.
Speaking for the first time since Ponting was dropped, Clarke said it was unlikely but Ponting could still return to the 50-over line-up.

"I think the one thing is the door is never closed on anybody. Who knows what can happen in this very weird and tough game that we play, but there is no doubt Ricky not being in the team has shown that we are looking towards the 2015 World Cup and giving some young guys an opportunity," Clarke said.
Clarke said his role in dropping Ricky Ponting from the ODI squad will not strain his relationship with the former skipper.
Clarke said he did not let his friendship with Ponting come in between his role as a selector and playing a crucial role in ending the legendary batsmen's illustrious ODI career. Ponting accepted the end of his ODI career but has vowed to carry on in Test cricket.
Clarke said he will continue to enjoy playing with Ponting in Test cricket.
"He's certainly going to be missed. I've been great friends with Punter for a long time and that certainly won't change. But I've also played a lot of one-day cricket with him and it's going to feel really weird looking around the field and not seeing him," he said.
Clarke said his friendship with Ponting is strong and won't be affected by this decision.
"Ricky was captain for a long time and while he wasn't a selector he played a big part in selecting the 11 players that took the field. I remember getting dropped after the Test match against the West Indies and Punter was the one who came up and told me I hadn't been selected. He certainly knows it's not personal. I'm very confident our friendship is a lot stronger than that," he said.
"I'm 100 percent part of the selection panel. That's now part of the captain's job. We've made this decision as a panel. It is tough not having the great Ricky Ponting out there playing for us, but that's the decision we've made. Obviously, the 2015 World Cup is something we have spoken about as a panel. I'm 100 percent part of that."
Former coach Tim Nielsen, however, said Ponting deserved a farewell at his home ground.
"Sometimes I wonder if we look after our greatest well enough. One more ODI would have no impact on planning for 2015 WC (World Cup). Even if RP didn't want it, talk to him enough that he understands that people close to him and especially in Tas [Tasmania] would enjoy and maybe deserve that one last game," he said.
courtesy: cricketnext

Starc hoping to get recall for ODI finals

Melbourne: Australia's left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc hopes that his current form for New South Wales will help him get back into Australia's one-day squad before the tri-series finals.
Starc, who took just one wicket in the last three one-day Internationals, was replaced by Ryan Harris in Australia's 13-member squad for the Friday's match against Sri Lanka and the next game on Sunday against India.

But the 22-year-old bowler took it in his stride and went on to claim 4-39 in NSW's four-wicket one-day win over Western Australia.
"If I can keep taking wickets and the ball keeps coming out all right, then anything can happen," Starc told Australian Associated Press.
Starc, who has played three Tests and seven ODIs, will next play for NSW in the Sheffield Shield against Queensland at the SCG, to be held from March 1-4.
But with the first final of the tri-series to be played in Brisbane on March 4, Starc knows he will have to keep performing well for NSW.
"I'll be ready to go if called upon. I've just got to keep learning...and if I can keep contributing to wins for NSW, that's the main thing."
"If I start focusing on trying to get back into the team, it's not going to do me any good. I'm happy with how the ball's coming out and the body's feeling good," he said.
courtesy: cricketnext

NZ set South Africa 254 to win 1st ODI

Wellington: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum took advantage of second and third chances to top score with 56 in his team's total of 253-9 batting first in Saturday's opening one-dayer against South Africa.
McCullum was twice given out, including to the first ball of his innings, and twice had those decisions reversed by replays, allowing him to play a key role in New Zealand's low-key batting effort.

Kane Williamson also scored a half century while James Franklin and opener Rob Nicol made decent contributions, but the home team was pegged back by the South Africa bowling attack, with Lonwabo Tsotsobe recording the best figures of 2-41 from his 10 overs.
Coming in at first drop, McCullum was judged lbw first ball when he played no shot to a delivery from Tsotsobe and was struck on the pad. He challenged the decision and replays showed the ball bouncing over the stumps.
McCullum had moved on to 3 and New Zealand was 43-1 when he was given out caught by wicketkeeper A.B. de Villiers off the bowling of left-arm spinner Robin Peterson. Again, McCullum called for the review and again replays proved he was not out.
McCullum went on to reach his 21st half century in one-day internationals from 62 balls and with two fours and two sixes. He put on 79 for New Zealand's third wicket with Williamson before being caught by Peterson off the bowling of Jacques Kallis in the 30th over when New Zealand was 137-3.
Williamson then became New Zealand most effective run-gatherer, giving some impetus to an innings which was otherwise restricted by accurate and varied South African bowling.
He reached his half century from 59 balls with four fours, before falling in the 41st over when New Zealand was 194-5.
New Zealand was unable to break the shackles or fully justify McCullum's decision to bat on winning the toss. Even in the batting powerplay, which was forced on it in the 35th over after it had found no chance to take it earlier, New Zealand went almost four overs without hitting a boundary.
New Zealand hoped to take the powerplay with big-hitting Jesse Ryder still at the wicket but he played a poor shot and was caught on the boundary just before the powerplay was taken.
Peterson bowled superbly, completing his 10 overs with 2-45; Kallis also took 2-45 from his seven overs. Morne Morkel, who bowled effectively at the death, took 2-49 from nine.
Dale Steyn, in his first international in almost a month, swung the ball at pace, taking 1-37 from nine overs and suggesting he will be a handful for the New Zealand batsmen in the three test series that starts next month. Steyn, Kallis and Graeme Smith all missed the Twenty20 series but returned to the Proteas lineup on Saturday for the first of three one-day internationals.
courtesy: cricketnext

India face must-win tie against Australia

Sydney: India are in a race against the clock when they play Australia in the Commonwealth Bank Series at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Needing two wins in their last two matches to reach the finals, the time has come for India to show some real action. So far it's been a disastrous tour for them, and desired results over the next two games can have a tempering effect on both players and fans alike.

The good thing is that MS Dhoni has reportedly patched up with Virender Sehwag, hopefully putting an end to the last few tumultuous days in Indian cricket. He will also return to the Indian eleven after serving a one-match ban for failing to finish India's overs in time against Australia last Sunday. Dhoni's return means Parthiv Patel will go out. Irfan Pathan, who did well with both bat and ball in India's defeat to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, is likely to be persisted with despite Zaheer Khan's predicted return.

After all that has transpired in the last few days, it is safe to say that for the second time in the series, the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are likely to take the field together with the rotation policy out of the picture now. They played together against Sri Lanka as well but that was actually down to Dhoni's ban. The trio's coming together again may not be a bad thing considering the importance of the upcoming matches and that the youngsters in the side haven"t been up to the mark so far.
The SCG is the ideal place for the Indian players to turn it around. The conditions here are closest to the ones in the sub-continent. The pitch, though good for batting, has often helped the spinners in the past and the Aussies aren't the best players against spin. This boosts India's chances.
Australia too are feeling the heat, for quite obvious reasons. They have lost two successive matches to Sri Lanka; one on account of a poor batting performance, the other on account of some poor bowling. They failed to defend a total of 280 in Hobart on Friday, and clearly not everything is right with them. They have to sort out their problems as soon as possible because despite being in a better position than India, things can change pretty fast for them with another defeat on Sunday.
After six matches, the Lankans lead the table on 15 points ahead of Australia (14) and India (10). With two matches to go, it's still unclear as to which two teams will reach the best-of-three finals.
Squads
India: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan.
Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson, Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner.
courtesy: cricketnext

All teams go through transition: Srinivasan

New Delhi: "All powerful teams go through a period of transition" - this was BCCI President N Srinivasan's take on the future of Indian cricket team but he gave no indication as to when the much-talked about phaseout of seniors will happen.
"I do not know when it will happen. I am not a selector but history has shown that all powerful teams go through a period of transition. It is not fair to talk of seniors right now," Srinivasan said.

"They (the seniors) are still there and it is for the selectors to decide what they want to do," he told 'The Week' magazine in an interview.
The Indian team is going through one of its worst phases in recent memory, having suffered consecutive Test whitewashes in England and Australia besides strong speculation of rift between skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and senior members such as Virender Sehwag in the team.
Talking about the performance of the team, Srinivasan said, "On the field, we did well in India but our performance in Australia in Tests has led to lot of criticism. We should not make any comments while the tour is on. Let us wait and see."
Apart from the poor show on the field, Indian cricket is also grappling with sponsorship and broadcast rows but the BCCI chief was unfazed.
"On the broadcaster issue, the matter is before the court, so I cannot speak much except that it is a contractual matter and the BCCI has exercised its rights under the contract," Srinivasan said referring to the termination of the broadcast deal with Nimbus following which the company took the matter to court.
"As regards sponsorship, the BCCI has appreciated the role Sahara has played. In every relationship, there are stressful times. We have dealt with it, I think, to the sponsor's and the BCCI's satisfaction," Srinivasan explained referring to the recent row with the corporate giant during which it threatened to pull out both as India sponsor and an IPL team owner.
The BCCI is also at loggerheads with the ICC with regards to the recent Woolf Committee recommendations seeking an overhaul of the governing body's administrative structure.
"The report talks of fundamental changes in the way the ICC is structured. It wants the number of full members to be increased from 10 to 12. It proposes a Board of Directors which includes four independent directors.
"It also proposes that the ICC director cannot hold a post in the full-member board. The role and position of full members are being reduced, which is not acceptable to the ICC," he said.
Srinivasan brushed aside suggestions that he was arrogant in his handling of issues.
"I am not arrogant, I don't think so. I believe in systems and processes, coming from the background that I do.
However, it is a fact that now BCCI meetings are of shorter duration, to the point.
"I have a tenure and I will move on after that. The BCCI is not my grandfather's company," he said.
courtesy: cricketnext

Irfan keen to fill allrounder spot for India

Sydney: Irfan Pathan said he is keen to fill in the position of the medium-pace bowling allrounder in the Indian team that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni craves for all too often.
Dhoni has often rued the absence of a medium-pace bowling allrounder who could lend balance to the side, and Pathan feels he is good enough to bowl 10 overs and hit some lusty blows.

"I think I am a bowler who can bat. If you look at me in the nets, I always make sure I give equal importance to both aspects. When I am bowling, I make sure I need to bowl length with the start, use variations and try to finish it off with death over bowling and variations," said Pathan.
"Same in batting, I make sure that I finish my batting with regular bowlers. I try to do some extra bowling, thrown by coaches, and bat extra. In a match, when I bowl I'm a bowler and when I am batting, I try to think as a batsman."
Pathan admitted that when he is able to chip in with some wickets, his batting also improves and vice-versa.
"The best thing for me would be to take wickets. When I keep taking wickets, it helps my batting and vice-versa. When I look at myself, I feel its 60-40 - 60 bowler, 40 batsman."
The 27-year-old also claimed that he is ready to bat or ball wherever his team requires him to.
"I am ready to bat wherever the team demands. It is not an issue for me. In terms of bowling as well, I am willing to bowl wherever the team wants me to, with the new ball or old ball. As long as I am playing, I am happy."
In previous matches, Pathan was once sent in at number seven, while in the other game he batted at number nine.
"I want to be ready to bat at any position as I have batted at all positions. What is important is what the team management and captain think. I want to let things come to me than keep using my mind a lot. It is better to be relaxed and let things come. Sometimes you bowl good balls and don't get wickets and sometimes you bowl bad balls and get wickets," he said.
Pathan, who has taken six wickets in the two ODIs he has played so far in the ongoing tri-series besides smashing a brilliant 47, said he does not want to keep looking at the past but wants to instead concentrate on making the most of his chances in the current series.
"You have to be realistic. What you have done in the past is totally in the past. You have to look at the current scenario. R Ashwin has batted really well...he has a Test hundred and batted well in Australia. You want to get higher but have to be realistic too," he said.
This is the Pathan's third tour to Australia, and reflecting on that, he said, "On three tours, the difference is my hairstyle. As far as playing is concerned, I have enjoyed touring Australia. This is a special place as I made my debut here and a lot of good things happened here for me."
"If we look at the last tour, it was special as we won the CB series. Very few visiting teams have won the tri-series. Being part of that team was good, as was the Perth Test."
In 2003-04, Pathan made his Test debut. On the next tour in 2007-08, he played a significant role in India's win in the Perth Test. On this tour, he has made a successful comeback.
"By God's grace, it's been good so far. What I wanted to do in this trip is to make myself a circle, where I am happy no matter what happens. Even if I play, don't play, do well, don't do well. I have realised that there are certain things that are important in life. I am trying to stay in that circle. I am not thinking about results...take it as it comes."
"Even for my short-term plans, I like to not think too much ahead, not think too much back and stay in that circle. Like in last two games, I was didn't think I would play but I played."
In his two matches, Pathan has been tried with the new ball, as a first bowling change and also bowled in the final overs, and he has stood up to the stern test. He confessed that his changed action is doing good to his career.
"I have worked with my action. I have changed it as in between there were some issues. I worked with TA Sekhar and I am able to find the areas a bit more consistently. Working with Eric Simons has also helped me. Getting help and getting the basics right is helping me bowl the yorkers and different variations. I am trying to get better. That's what I try."
"Sometimes the results come, sometimes they don't. Obviously you need the help of the right people at the right time, which I've been lucky to get," Pathan explained.
"I've realised what is my strength. I don't need to bowl any faster than that. Rather than being a fast bowler, I need to be a good bowler. If you take the example of [Nuwan] Kulasekara, he was the best bowler in the last game against us and his average speed was 125-126 kmph. If I work with my limitations and get better with that, that is going to take me forward, rather than do something I am not capable of. I have come to terms with my limitations and try to become a good bowler."
Comparing his action in 2003 with the present, Pathan said, "When I came in 2003, I had a natural action in which I used to twist (my wrist). When you are 19 and when you are 27, there is a difference. My action went wrong because of the twist. I kept going even more round arm, side on. That hurt me as I couldn't bowl in the right areas, the speed that I was bowling with 130-132 kmph. I was bowling a lot slower and the swing was coming out of the hand."
"When I went to Sekhar Sir, I worked on my action. It took 4-5 months to change it to feel what I am feeling now. It's a long and slow process. When I worked with him in 2007, I started with just walking for a week. It took a month just to get a feel of it. Then it took 4-5 months to change action."
"Because I am keeping my hand straighter, I am getting the line and length better. There is still a chance to get my action better. Now I am feeling it is coming out naturally. I am not thinking about the action during the match. If I think of action, I won't be able to concentrate," Pathan said.
He also feels hard work in the Ranji Trophy is now paying off for him.
"Playing the early matches in the Ranji Trophy gave me a lot of confidence. I enjoyed playing for Baroda this year as we had Santh Kumar as the coach. He handled the team well and his input was important. It is important to play matches. I don't want to miss matches."
Pathan said the Indian team is determined to do well the next two one-dayers.
"The whole group now only wants to win the next two matches. That's what we have come here to do. Sometimes we have an optional practice but most of the times, the guys practice hard because we want to win."

CA wants to pay players according to performance

Melbourne: Cricket Australia (CA) is all set to implement the Argus review's central and most contentious recommendations, which says that a player's pay must be weighted towards team and individual performance.
The decision may lead to an unrest between the players and the management as it plans to move away from a fixed player payment pool.

Currently the players get 26 per cent of revenue and the central contracts are paid from that, but the CA wants the percentage to be on a sliding scale, in which the players would be rewarded when the team excels and punished when the team fails.
The policy of allocating 25 lucrative central contracts per year is certain to be amended and it would probably be reduced to 20.
CA chief executive James Sutherland is keen to introduce a policy based on paying "the right money to the right players at the right time for the right performance".
"It's something everyone is familiar with: you get paid more if you perform better. On the flipside of that, if you don't perform well then why should you get paid the same amount?," asked Sutherland.
"Our players get paid the same amount whether we win 4-0 against India or we lose 0-4. Does that make sense? I don't think it really does. There's an argument to say (under the current system) 'if they perform crap then next year their contracts are going to be re-appraised and they'll find they'll get demoted in the rankings', but what if there's no other players to replace them?
"If there's no other players who are better, then they'll still be in the same ranking spot and they'll still get the same pay," he added.
Sutherland said that he became unhappy with the fact that the players who were being given central contracts mid-year fail to live up to the mark and fall below uncontracted players, who play regularly enough to earn an upgrade.
The CA chief wants "a smaller group that they (selectors) have greater confidence in".
"No one's going to be worse off by this because their performances are going to justify it, and the right people will get the right money.
"There's probably four or five players who get a contract at the start of the year and don't play enough games   if they weren't contracted -- to actually get an upgrade...there's another misallocation of funds," said Sutherland.
Meanwhile, ACA chief Paul Marsh confirmed CA's decision to pay players more than 26 per cent of cricket-related income, if they perform well but he felt the proposed pay model was against the players.
"The upside is a lot less than the downside, in terms of the quantum...and the benchmark is reasonably high," said Marsh.
"I don't think we're in a position to deliver to our players a model that's worse than what we've got currently, just like CA aren't going to want to deliver a model that's worse (for them)," he added.
courtesy: cricketnext