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Shahid Afridi has said he was disappointed by the “petty things” PCB chairman Ijaz Butt brought up while justifying Afridi’s axing as Pakistan’s one-day captain.”I am disappointed because such petty things coming from the head of the board were unwarranted,” Afridi told the . “He himself made me captain, and everyone, from experts to fans, had praised my leadership and the unity in the team.”Afridi led Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup, their best performance at cricket’s flagship one-day event since 1999. After that, he led Pakistan to an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match one-day series in the West Indies before a selection meeting bust-up between him and coach Waqar Younis sparked off a controversy. Pakistan went on to lose the two dead rubber games, and Afridi was stripped of the one-day captaincy. He responded by announcing a “conditional retirement” from the game.Last week, Butt defended the move to axe Afridi by blaming him for the losses in the West Indies, and deeming him as “not captaincy material”, in an interview with television channel.Afridi, who is currently in England playing in the Friends Life t20 tournament, said he would consult with his lawyers before planning his next move. “I will unmask all these people who are running a smear campaign against me,” he said. “I don’t want to say anything right now because I am enjoying my time with Hampshire but when I return I will respond to them.”Meanwhile, Afridi’s legal counsel, Syed Ali Zaffar, said the player would have a case if he chose to take Butt to court over his statements. “Ijaz Butt’s statement that Shahid Afridi will not captain the Pakistan team again is not only very irresponsible but is like an order or direction to the governing council members [who choose the captain in consultation with the board chairman] and to the selection committee not to even consider him,” Zaffar told the . “In this regard, Mr Butt is usurping the authority of the governing council members and selection committee and is clearly acting illegally.”Afridi can take him to court if he so chooses. I will however add that I have had no discussion with Afridi in this regard. Mr Ijaz Butt is a loose cannon. Under Pakistan Cricket Board’s constitution the chairman virtually enjoys dictatorial powers.”

Sharjah will host its first Test in nine years this November, after Pakistan and Sri Lanka reached an agreement to play the last of their three Tests in the UAE at the venue. The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium has hosted more ODIs than any other ground but has not had any international cricket between top teams since 2003.With international stadiums being built in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it had looked unlikely that Sharjah would make a return as a venue for big matches. However, the Emirates Cricket Board has now said there will be a Test there starting November 3.”We’ve finally confirmed that Pakistan will play a Test in Sharjah,” Dilawar Mani, chief of the Emirates board, told the . “We offered Sharjah at the very beginning – apart from Dubai and Abu Dhabi – but it was necessary for both sides to agree to play in Sharjah. We’re now delighted to know that it has happened.”The other two venues for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test series are the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, which hosted their debut Tests during the Pakistan-South Africa series in November 2010.Sharjah was once a popular venue for neutral ODIs and tri-series and has hosted 200 one-day internationals, 24 of those between India and Pakistan. However, the venue received a blow when India, who had played 72 one-dayers in Sharjah, stopped playing there. The ground hosted its debut Test in 2002, but after 2003 did not have any international cricket till it was named as Afghanistan’s home ground in 2010, and hosted two ODIs between them and Canada.The stadium had disintegrated in the absence of top-flight cricket but is now being brought back up to top standard. “The renovation work is in full swing and we hope to be ready by November 3,” Mazhar Khan, the stadium administrator, said. “The venue was very keen to host a fixture during the two series that Pakistan will be playing [in the UAE]. After all, Sharjah has many Pakistani and Sri Lankan followers who will now be able to watch their teams.”Sri Lanka will play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 international against Pakistan from October 18 onwards in the UAE.

A two-judge bench of India’s Supreme Court has asked former BCCI president AC Muthiah to approach the Chief Justice of India over his petition to stop the board’s president-elect N Srinivasan from officially taking over as president at next month’s annual general meeting.According to , Muthiah’s petition is based on the grounds that in April, a two-judge bench returned a split verdict on whether there was a conflict of interest concerning Srinivasan’s ownership of the Chennai Super Kings while being an office bearer of the board. The verdict meant the case had to be referred to a larger bench, and Muthiah contended that since it was yet to come up for hearing, it would be inappropriate to continue allowing Srinivasan to discharge his duties as an office bearer.”This Hon’ble Court may be pleased to grant an order of interim injunction restraining the second respondent [Srinivasan] from functioning as the Secretary of the first respondent BCCI or assume office as the president,” Muthiah pleaded.However, Justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar chose not to issue an order on the fresh application, directing Muthiah’s counsel, Nalini Chidambaram, to approach the Chief Justice.In April, Justices JM Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra disagreed on the legality of the amendment to the BCCI constitution allowing Srinivasan to be part-owner of the Chennai Super Kings while being a serving member of the board.The BCCI had amended clause 6.2.4 of the regulations for players, team officials, umpires and administrators in September 2008, shortly after the first season of the IPL. Before the amendment the clause read: “No administrator shall have, directly or indirectly, any commercial interest in the matches and events conducted by the board.” After the change, it read: “No administrator shall have directly or indirectly any commercial interest in any of the events of the BCCI, excluding IPL, Champions League and Twenty20.”Muthiah’s argument was that the exclusion of IPL and Twenty20 events was made specifically to benefit Srinivasan. In September 2010, Mishra had suggested Srinivasan resign from his position in the board .”You introduce an amendment where the IPL will be an exception. You are a prominent industrialist holding a key position in the board and have a stake in the bidding,” Mishra had told Srinivasan at the time. “In order to avoid suspicion and be above board, you should have got your membership suspended.”Our nagging question is: can you continue in a dual capacity? That is the core issue.”

Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has demanded more from his batsmen following their first-innings surrender for 174 in the second Test against Australia in Pallekele. He threatened numerous changes to the team if performances did not improve.Dilshan was one of a series of batsmen dismissed cheaply as Sri Lanka lurched to 76 for 5 at lunch on the first day, a position from which they never recovered despite an excellent batting pitch. The start seemed to reflect the chaotic nature of the hosts’ lead-in to the Test, with Rangana Herath (finger) and Ajantha Mendis (back) ruled out on the morning of the match due to injuries.”Definitely there is something wrong in the batting,” Dilshan said. “We are talking, discussing, we are doing a lot of hard work in the training and we are discussing a lot of things, but now is the time to deliver.”We can’t say the wicket is bad. They’ve bowled really well but we’ve played the last series in England, where there was a better attack, and on a difficult wicket we batted really well. Now the players should put their hands up and deliver, they have to deliver, now is the time, we can’t wait anymore.”This is the third time we’ve got out cheaply [including 82 on the final day against England in Cardiff]. They bowled really well in the start but our batsmen didn’t bat well, that is why we got out. It is a good wicket, we are playing seven batsmen, we can’t expect 174 all out.”Several ideas have been tossed about in Sri Lanka’s dressing room, including the employment of the sports psychologist Rudi Webster at the conclusion of the series. Dilshan also said the older batsmen, including himself and Thilan Samaraweera, had to take more responsibility or risk being dropped. Their struggles contrasted with the success of Angelo Mathews, who followed a second-innings 95 in Galle with 58 here.”He’s batted really well in the No. 7 position,” Dilshan said. “We have problems with the middle order and the top order. We don’t want to change someone batting really well at No. 7, but we have to think about the second innings. Maybe change the batting line-up and send someone in top.”Dilshan described the changes to the side minutes before play as “unfortunate”. They necessitated the inclusion of the offspinner Suraj Randiv, who was going to be dropped, and the legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, making his debut.Herath was struck on the finger during a fielding drill on the eve of the Test, while Mendis had a back problem that worsened in the lead-up to the game. “We thought he [Herath] would be okay but today he tried to grip the ball and he couldn’t, his finger was very sore,” Dilshan said. “Ajantha had a back injury in last one-dayer but he managed to play, but today morning he talked to the physio, he was worse than the last few weeks. I don’t want to take a chance and play him, so that is why we gave a youngster a chance. Unfortunately we had to make two changes in the morning.”

ScorecardSri Lanka Women eased to an 82-run win against Bangladesh Women in Dambulla, in the first of three limited-overs games on Bangladesh Women’s tour of Sri Lanka. The win was set up by an all-round show by Shashikala Siriwardene, who scored an unbeaten half-century and then picked up two wickets.After choosing to bat, Sri Lanka built their innings around three steady stands: Inoka Galagedara and Chamari Atapattu put on 65 for the second wicket and, after a wobble, Sandamali Dolawatte and Siriwardene steadied the innings with 49. Siriwardene then added 42 with Dilani Manodara, the captain and wicketkeeper, to carry Sri Lanka past 200.Chasing 239, Bangladesh crawled to 67 for 2 in the 26th over, before a Siriwardene double-strike made sure Sri Lanka were firmly in charge. None of the Bangladesh batsmen could build an innings, the top score being 35 by Rumana Ahmed and Lata Mondal. Mondal stalled Sri Lanka late in the innings, before Suwini de Alwis came and cleaned up the tail with her left-arm spin.

South Africa’s cricketers have lent their support to the Sri Lanka players, who have not been paid their salaries for eight months, saying it was a credit to the Sri Lanka team that they had kept going but the issue needed to be resolved soon. South Africa are set to host Sri Lanka for three Tests and five ODIs, but Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers, the Test and ODI captain respectively, chose to speak out against the Sri Lankan board, who have withheld their players’ salaries due to a severe financial crunch.”We want to show our support for Tillakaratne Dilshan and our fellow professional cricketers from Sri Lanka on this issue,” Smith said in a South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) release. “It is far from ideal that the Sri Lankan team is about to start a tough Test series and ODI series here in South Africa without having been paid any of their remuneration for the last eight months.”Sri Lanka Cricket is waiting on payments of around US$ 4.3 million from the ICC for co-hosting the World Cup, but that will only arrive after the ICC complete their audit and the ICC have said it is SLC’s responsibility to pay their players. “In this age of professionalism in cricket this kind of thing should not be happening,” de Villiers said. “It’s a credit to the players that they’ve kept playing for their country since March despite all of this. We hope it gets sorted out soon.”The Sri Lankan Cricketers’ Association (SLCA) has contacted the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) to seek assistance on what can be done to ensure the players are paid, and SACA’s chief-executive Tony Irish said he hoped for positive progress before Sri Lanka started their tour game against South Africa A on December 9. “It’s difficult to understand how a board which has just co-hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup can find itself in such a desperate financial situation that it can’t pay its national team of fully contracted professionals for months on end”, Irish said. “We know that the players association in Sri Lanka is doing what it can to sort this out for the players and we hope for some positive progress before the first match of the tour starts against.”SLC has been in a financial crisis following the construction of new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and the renovation of the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for the World Cup.Upali Dharmadasa, the chairman of SLC’s interim committee, was critical of the previous administration for spending expansively on those stadiums. He had said he was hopeful the players would be paid soon as he understood that the ICC audit had been completed and SLC would receive the remainder of the World Cup payment due to them.Meanwhile, the three stadiums were handed over to the military earlier this month because the board was struggling to maintain them. The World Cup had left SLC in debt to the tune of $23 million and the board had to ask for a grant from the Sri Lanka government.

ScorecardPeshawar’s trio of seamers – Riaz Afridi, Waqar Ahmed and Afaq Ahmed – bowled Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited out for 202 on the first day of the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two 2011-12. SNGPL chose to bat but lost a wicket off the second ball, Afridi dismissing Naeemuddin. After a 62-run partnership between Azeem Ghumman and Ali Waqas, wickets fell regularly. Afridi and Waqar ripped through the top order, and then Afaq made sure the tail did not wag.Waqar, who was second in the wicket-charts during the group phase, took 3 for 80, Afridi had 4 for 55, and Afaq finished with 3 for 48. Usman Arshad’s 41 was SNGPL’s top score. Four other batsmen got starts but there were also five single-digit scores and SNGPL slumped to a disappointing total.Peshawar got off to a blazing start in their response, with the openers putting together a partnership of 82 runs in just 12.1 overs. Israrullah was dismissed for 36 and Iftikhar Ahmed fell for a first-ball duck to give SNGPL some respite at the end of the day. But Mohammad Fayyaz was 43 not out off 40 balls at stumps and Peshawar will look to get the first-innings lead on the second day.

Cricket was well represented at the BBC’s Sports Personality awards with England taking the Team of the Year award, while Andy Flower picked up Coach of the Year.The team award came in a year where they completed their 3-1 Ashes series victory in Sydney early in January, before climbing to the top of the Test rankings following their 4-0 whitewash against India – in between they beat Sri Lanka 1-0. Their one-day form was less convincing with a poor World Cup and heavy losses in Australia and India, but they did secure home series wins against India and Sri Lanka.It was the third time in seven years England’s cricketers had won the team award following their Ashes successes in 2005 and 2009. They beat Premier League champions Manchester United and Wales’ rugby union team. The winner was decided by a panel of sports editors from national and regional newspapers, and magazines.Flower, meanwhile, picked up further plaudits for his role in masterminding England’s climb to the top of the Test rankings. Last month he was named coach of the year at the UK Coaching Awards.Flower has formed a critical partnership with captain Andrew Strauss after the pair was thrown together following the double sacking of Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores almost three years ago. Since then, England have only lost one Test series – the first that Flower was in charge of, against West Indies in early 2009 – and have secured back-to-back Ashes triumphs.Strauss and Alastair Cook were also on the shortlist for the Sports Personality of the Year award but neither made the top three, with the prize going to cyclist Mark Cavendish.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPP), after being made to follow on by Sind, showed stiff resistance at the National Stadium in Karachi. They went from 160 for 6 – after KPP had made 403 in their first innings – to 192, and then slumped to 13 for 2 in the second innings before the fightback began.Yasir Hameed put on a 125-run stand with Shoaib Khan, and after he was out for 82, Shoaib built another steady stand with Akbar Badshah. The pair had put on 80 runs by stumps, and KPP ended the day seven runs ahead. Mohammad Sami was the pick of the Sind bowlers, extending his match haul to six with his early double-strike in the second innings.Federal Areas (FA) made slow but steady progress on the third day at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad, to move into a position of relative strength against Punjab. FA had resumed on 29 for now loss following Punjab’s three-run first-innings lead, and went on to get to 259 for 8 by stumps.While opener Umair Khan was their top scorer on the day with 71, No. 8 Hammad Azam helped them recover from 168 for 8 with an unbeaten half-century. Left-arm spinner did most of the damage for Punjab, and will have a chance to complete a five-for on the final day.

Mark Boucher is likely to announce his retirement after South Africa’s tour of England in July this year.”I would like to go England and then start a process of trying to get another keeper involved. I think I’ve still got a lot to offer in that department,” Boucher, who is part of South Africa’s Test squad touring New Zealand, told ESPNcricinfo. “My body is getting a little sore, to be honest. The back is starting to play up a bit. If I can manage myself form-wise and it all goes to plan, then after England I will probably look at my career and my retirement.”Although South Africa have not picked their squad to England yet, Boucher was hopeful of being included, depending on his performances in New Zealand. He has been on three tours to England, and said his experience could merit a fourth visit.”I am pretty well-equipped mentally for what’s going to happen,” he said. “Even the English keepers will tell you that in England you will drop the odd ball. You just have to try and hold on to the catches, because it does move around there a lot.”Boucher has been South Africa’s premier wicketkeeper for 15 years and has only missed three Tests since making his debut in 1997.His first tour to England, in 1998, Boucher said, played an important part in his overall development. “When I first went there, it was a big eye-opener for me in terms of my technique. I thought keeping in South Africa on some occasions was quite difficult but it’s actually a lot harder keeping in England. The second time I went there [in 2003] was actually a lot easier because I wasn’t blind to what I was going to do and it went a lot better for me. Hopefully, third time round I will be able to keep even better.”If selected, Boucher will have to play the dual role of keeper and mentor, as Cricket South Africa – which, for the first time since it introduced contracts in 1998, signed a second wicketkeeper for the 2012-13 season – prepares for life without him.Thami Tsolekile, who took over from Boucher in 2004, has been earmarked as his successor once again, but Andrew Hudson, the convenor of selectors, said Tsolekile was not guaranteed a place in the national side simply by virtue of his contract and that other keepers around the country, such as Heino Kuhn and Dane Vilas, are all eligible for selection.Hudson said Boucher would groom his successor; the process for appointing one is likely to start on the England tour, for which the panel will consider sending two keepers.Although he has not clearly identified a replacement, Boucher has helped monitor the situation at his own franchise, the Cobras, where he has played a part in Vilas’ development.”I’ve been working hard with Dane Vilas. He’s extremely talented,” he said. “He has a couple of things to do as a keeper but he is improving every day and improving fast. As a batter he could fit into any side. He is extremely talented, he is aggressive, which is just perfect for Twenty20, one-day and Test cricket. I’m not saying he is the next guy to take over but he certainly has potential.”For now, Boucher said he is focused on the tour of New Zealand, which could set the tone for South Africa’s next year of travel. Boucher arrived with the remaining members of the Test squad last Thursday, and as one of only four players to have been to New Zealand before, on the 2004 tour, is looking forward to the challenge a second time around.”We haven’t been to New Zealand for a long time and it looks like the conditions have changed a lot from the past. It looks like there might be a bit of assistance for our bowlers. New Zealand are very similar to us in the way that they walk around, they are very confident, bordering on arrogant, which is a good thing. It will be a good contest.”