Gambhir almost fit for ODI series

Gautam Gambhir's participation in the ODI series against England looks likely with the Indian opener likely to be fit for the five-match rubber.

Team manager Shivlal Yadav confirmed this on Wednesday.

Yadav said Gambhir should be fine for next month's ODI series after his MRI scan did not show anything untoward.

He, however, said that the left-hander might not play in the practice game against Sussex on Thursday.

Gambhir is critical to India's plans in the ODIs now that his fellow opener Virender Sehwag has been completely ruled out for the five one-dayers and one-off Twenty20 match.

Gambhir suffered the concussion after he backpedalled at mid-on in a bid to catch a miscued pull off Kevin Pietersen during the Oval Test. The chance was fluffed when he fell back and hit his head on the ground with a thud.

Even though speculation over his availability has died down after the MRI scan, the left-hander did not come out to practice with his colleagues today.

The present series has been one of misfortune for Gambhir. He was painfully hit on his right elbow while fielding at forward short leg during the first Test at Lord's last month.

He subsequently had to miss the second Test at Trent Bridge. He did play the third Test at Edgbaston and scored 38 and 14 in the two innings.

Bradshaw resigns as MCC chairman

Bradshaw resigns as MCC chairman

Keith Bradshaw has resigned as chairman of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

The Australian, who has served in the role since 2006, will step down in October and return home for family reasons.

He said: "Following the recent loss of my mother, I am returning to Australia for family reasons. My five years at Lord's have been very special and I will leave with many treasured memories; it has been a great honour and privilege to serve the club.

"I have no doubt that MCC will continue to go from strength to strength as an innovative, independent voice in world cricket, which guards the Laws and Spirit of Cricket with great knowledge and passion.

"I will be proud to wear the club tie down under and I look forward to returning to Lord's - the best ground in the world - in the years to come."

Bradshaw, who played first-class cricket for Tasmania until his retirement in 1988, presided over the first floodlit matches at Lord's and the move which saw the traditional pre-season curtain-raiser between the reigning County Champions and an MCC representative side played in Abu Dhabi with a pink ball.

MCC president Christopher Martin-Jenkins said: "Keith has been a breath of fresh air at Lord's and he can be very proud of his numerous achievements at MCC.

"During his time here, Lord's has come to be seen not just as the home of cricket but as a welcoming place to all who love the game."

Akram: Nothing cool about Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s demeanour was hardly inspiring during the Test series against England, according to ESPN-STAR Sports expert Wasim Akram.
The four-nil drubbing against England has done no good to Dhoni’s reputation as a captain and former Pakistan skipper Akram is just not amused at the way Dhoni handled things during the Test series that concluded at The Oval on Monday.
In an exclusive chat with Mobile ESPN from London on Monday night, Akram, like other cricket pundits, was unhappy with the way Dhoni failed to lead India by example. Captain Cool has suddenly lost a few admirers and Akram is definitely one of them.
At The Oval on Monday, India lost seven wickets for 21 runs after Sachin Tendulkar (a lucky 91) and Amit Mishra (a defiant 84) held the Indian fort with a 144-run partnership. One of the culprits in this frequent middle-order capitulation has been the skipper himself. Dhoni was out for three, Stuart Broad once again exposing the captain’s batting limitation against a moving ball.
“His batting form is of great concern. In this series Dhoni repeatedly got out in the slips region. He may have got a couple of 70-plus scores in the third Test at Edgbaston, but what good are these runs when your opponent has amassed a 700-plus score?” asked Akram.
Akram feels a dressing room can never be a happy one until and unless a captain and coach communicates with the team and lifts their morale. Dhoni’s body language was definitely not motivating enough, felt Akram.
“I feel Dhoni needs to be even more involved in the game. New coach Duncan Fletcher is not a magician and will take time to settle down,” Akram said.
The serious lack of planning by the BCCI (for example, RP Singh arriving late for the third Test) and the communication gap between the team management and the Board bigwigs was eloquently clear. Akram agrees too.
“According to me, it seemed that no one had any idea in the Indian camp about what was going on. Dhoni did not look too involved with on-field proceedings. I know this has been his style, but when your team is getting thrashed, ‘Captain Cool’ can’t afford to freeze! At times, you have to change your style to get the best out of your players. This result should be eye-opener for Dhoni,” said Akram.
In spite of the criticism, Akram backed Dhoni as Indian skipper. Removing him is not a quick-fix solution, he felt.
“Our cricketing culture in the sub-continent doesn’t support a losing captain, but here is where we need to back Dhoni. He can surely prove the critics wrong in the ODI series. While that will work to India’s advantage, Dhoni can pick up his pieces as well,” said Akram.

Lahore teams continue to ignore Haider

Lahore: Zulqarnain Haider is searching for a team to play in the next month's National T20 Championship as he has not been selected in any of the two Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) teams.
The LCCA announced the two squads on Tuesday with Test players Abdul Razzaq and Taufiq Umar as the captains but didn't name controversial stumper Zulqarnain in either team.

Pakistan's Zulqarnain Haider returned to Pakistan after fleeing to London in fear of threat to his life from bookmakers

AP Photo

Brothers Kamran and Adnan Akmal have been named as the wicket-keepers in the Lahore teams.
"It is disappointing to not be considered in either of the two Lahore teams because this is my home region and if they don't play me, who will select me," Haider complained.
"I want to impress the national selectors and make a comeback but Lahore has ignored me. So now the only option I have is to try to play for some other association in the National T20 championship."
LCCA President Khawaja Nadeem said only those players were considered and selected in the Lahore teams who have played cricket in the last one year at domestic and international levels.
"Since Haider has not played any cricket since last November we didn't consider him," Nadeem explained.
But Haider vowed to fight back and impress the selectors.
"It is a long domestic season and I know I will get a chance with some regional or departmental team soon and I know I can impress because there is a lot of cricket left in me and the controversy is behind me now," he said.
Haider impressed with his cricket talents last year in England when he scored 88 runs on his Test debut and also kept wickets competently.
The enigmatic keeper is pinning for a comeback to the national team by performing well in the domestic season, which starts next month but the biggest issue for him is to find a team which will play him as Haider's reputation has been dented after his fiasco last year.
The keeper had fled the Pakistan team hotel in Dubai last November and flew to London where he sought asylum, claiming he was under threat from a bookmaker who had told him to fix matches of the one-day series against South Africa but he refused.
Haider, who played in the series and did well, also claimed his life was in danger in Pakistan and he fled as he didn't trust anyone in the Pakistan team.
After spending some six months in London, waiting for his asylum application to be processed, he finally returned home after assurances by interior minister Rehman Malik that he would be provided full security in Pakistan.
Malik is said to have also used his influence to get the Pakistan cricket Board to fine Haider just Rs. 5 lakh rupees for breaching the code of conduct which paved the way for the Board to clear him to resume playing cricket.