Monday 18 July 2011

Brian Lara

Brian Charles Lara Biography
Birth Name
Brian Charles Lara
Height
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC (born 2 May 1969, in Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago) is a former West Indian cricketer, who is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen ever.He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing records. He holds the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the only quintuple hundred in first-class cricket history.He also holds the record for the highest individual score in a test innings after scoring 400 not out against England at Antigua in 2004.
Remarkably, he is the only batsman to have ever scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, a quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games over the course of a senior career.Lara also holds the test record of scoring most number of runs in a single over, when he scored 28 runs off an over by Robin Peterson of South Africa in 2003. Lara's match-winning performance of 153 not out against Australia in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1999 has been rated by Wisden as the second best batting performance in the history of Test cricket, next only to the 270 runs scored by Sir Donald Bradman in The Ashes test match of 1937.
Muttiah Muralitharan, rated as the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, nd the highest wicket-taker in both Test cricket and in One Day Internationals (ODIs), has hailed Lara as his toughest opponent among all batsmen in the world. He was awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World awards in 1994 and 1995. and is also one of only three cricketers to receive the prestigious BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, the other two being Sir Garfield Sobers and Shane Warne.Brian Lara is popularly nicknamed as The Prince of Trinidad or simply The Prince.
Trivia
Broke the test world record of 365 against England in Antigua 1994.
Reclaimed the world record that Matthew Hayden broke by scoring 400 not out against England in Antigua 2004.
First ever person to score 400 in a test match.
Scored a record 501 not out in English County cricket a record which still stands today.
Former captain of the West Indies.
Scored his 30th test match century against Pakistan at Kingston 2005.
In November 2005 he become test cricket's leading run scorer of all time, when passing the 11,174 total of former Australian captain Allan Border. Lara scored 226 in that innings verses the Australians.
Gave up as captain of the West Indies in March 2005. Has regained the west Indies captaincy for a third successive time may 2006
Played in 5 Cricket World Cups for the West Indies team in the years 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 & 2007.
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Brian Lara 400* at Antigua Part 2/2
Brian Lara 501* vs Durham 1994 - highest first class innings

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography
Kamran Akmal (born 13 January 1982 in Lahore) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played 38 Test matches and 88 ODIs for Pakistan. He is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved four centuries and two fifties in 31 Test innings. However, his first century was vital - his 109 from the number eight position at Mohali, coming in with Pakistan in a lead of 39 against India in the first Test, ensured that the visitors could draw the match. His form against the touring English in 2005 made him one of the most important players in the team. Naturally, he is a batsman that plays lower down the order but has sometimes opened in both Test and One-day cricket. As an opener he has scored two back to back centuries in ODIs against England. Coming in lower down the order in Test matches, he played one memorable innings. He saved Pakistan from a score of 39/6, scoring a century, to a competitive 245 which helped Pakistan win the match and series. His batting was highly productive in early 2006 as he scored seven international hundreds within the space of 6 months. Since his tour of England in Summer 2006 however his batting form dwindled and steadily become worse. His wicket-keeping also worsened and dropped many catches on both the England tour and on a tour to South Africa in early 2007. Since then he did not score an international hundred until the Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan in 2008. Kamran Akmal was dropped for the Asia Cup 2008 as a result of his poor batting form and very poor keeping. He was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed who has performed very well the domestic level. Kamran was named in the 30 man probable squad for the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy. On 12 November 2008, Akmal hit two consecutive 6s in the last over. As a result Pakistan won the first ODI in Abu Dhabi against West Indies. Akmal was also signed on to the Rajasthan Royals, and played in the inaugural season of the IPL. He played five matches in the tournament, as wicket-keeper and top-order batsman, including the final of the tournament against the Chennai Super Kings. He took two catches in the first innings, however he was run out for six runs during the Royal's chase. The Royals went on to win the tournament after a thrilling finish.
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1 over 17 Runs Required - How Kamran Akmal Survived
Gautam Gambhir Vs Kamran Akmal Clash | India Vs Pak Cricket Fight

Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq Biography
Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (born May 28, 1974) is a Pakistani cricketer. Misbah is known for his cool headed batting especially under pressure. Outside of cricket he has done an MBA from the University of Management Technology, Lahore. Misbah was initially noticed for his technique and his temperament in the Tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, as he scored two fifties in the three innings in which he played, however, over the next three Tests he played against Australia, he failed to score more than twenty runs and was soon dumped from the team. Having witnessed Pakistan being eliminated in the opening phase of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Misbah was part of the changes made to the team in the aftermath of these results, but failed to make much of an impact and was soon dropped again. At the age of 33, Misbah was chosen to play in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, filling the middle order spot vacated by Inzamam-ul-Haq. He had been regularly making runs in Pakistani domestic cricket and in the years before his recall he was consistently one of the top run scorers at each season's end, with his first-class average briefly climbing above 50. Misbah was one of the stars of the tournament, playing a large part in many thrilling run chases. The first was in the group stage against India where he scored a half century in a tied match. He was run out attempting the winning run off the last ball of the match. In their Super 8s encounter with Australia he was named Man of the Match with an unbeaten 66 off 42 deliveries to see his side home with 5 balls to spare. Another unbeaten innings in the semi final against New Zealand saw Pakistan book a spot in the final against India. He played an instrumental role in Pakistan's recovery in the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20 final against arch-rivals India, with 3 consecutive sixes. The sixes came off Harbhajan Singh's last over of the match. With 6 runs needed to win off 4 remaining balls, Misbah tried to scoop the ball over short fine leg, but was caught out by Sreesanth. Misbah scored his maiden Test hundred against India at Kolkata in the 2nd Test of the 2007 series. After India managed 616 in their first innings, Pakistan were at 5 for 150 in reply and in danger of following on when Misbah and Kamran Akmal put together a match saving 207 run stand. Misbah finished on 161 not out. In the 3rd & final Test of the series, Misbah made another fluent century this time finishing on 133 not out. 2008 began with some high points for Misbah as he was elevated to the post of Vice - Captain of the Pakistan team and was awarded a Grade A Contract. Since returning to International Cricket for Pakistan, Misbah has gone through a sustained patch of prolific run scoring. In his last 5 Test Match innings for Pakistan, he has notched up 458 runs at a very high batting average of 152.67 against India.In his last 5 ODIs as well, Misbah has made 190 Runs at an average of 63.33 & in Domestic Cricket for Punjab, he has amassed an astounding 586 runs at an average of 195.33 with 2 centuries and his highest first-class score of 208 not out.
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Misbah ul Haq Brilliance vs Harbhajan Singh Video
Misbah Ul Haq : The innings Builder

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal Biography
As explosive starts to one’s International careers go, few can rival Umar Akmal. He announced his entry with scores of 66 and 102* within his first 3 ODI innings (at Sri Lanka, 2009) in addition to a 129 and 75 on Test debut (at New Zealand, 2009). Those performances weren’t a surprise. At first class level, Akmal was renowned for his big scores amassed in quick time. 7 years prior to his debut, Umar’s elder brother Kamran had already gotten his taste of international cricket. By 2010, the siblings featured regularly, in tandem for Pakistan.
As a fearless, middle-order batsman, throughout Pakistan’s disappointing spree of series losses against Sri Lanka in 2009 and later at Australia in early 2010, Umar Akmal’s ascendance was one of their few positives. But as the series in Australia progressed, complacency began to creep into Akmal’s Test form, which started to dip. In ODIs though, a hundred and five fifties by his 18th outing maintained a steady average. It was enough to justify an inclusion in Pakistan’s 2010 T20 World Cup squad. He finished the tournament as Pakistan’s 3rd highest-run getter towards their semi-final run.
While still protected as a batsman, featuring at 3-down, in a Pakistan side that lacks specialist batsmen with the temperament for all forms of the game, Umar Akmal is their most proven rookie to fill the void for the years to come.
Fast Facts
Akmal’s total of 204 runs on his Test debut (against New Zealand) is the 8th highest ever.
It’s also the second highest for a Pakistani debutant behind Yasir Hameed’s 275 in 2003.
Akmal’s 129 on Test debut is the 4th highest for a Pakistani, making him one of only 7 players from his country to score a century on debut. Among those on the list, Akmal is the only centurion to have achieved the feat on foreign soil.
It took Umar Akmal 38 matches (6 Tests, 18 ODIs and 14 T20s) until playing for Pakistan in Pakistan, the third most behind teammate Mohammad Aamer (41) and Sri Lankan Greame Labrooy (53).
Along with brother Kamran Akmal, the Akmals are the 4th blood brothers to feature for Pakistan in the 60-odd years of cricket history.
Among top order batsmen, Akmal has the 4th best strike rate overall (Test, ODI and T20) for Pakistani players. (Minimum of 40 matches).
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UMAR AKMAL vs AUSTRALIA HD
Umar Akmal First ODI 100 VS Sri Lanka

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography
Shoaib Akhtar is a popular cricketer of Pakistan. He is one of the fastest bowlers in the world, through this, he got the nickname Rawalpindi Express.He was born on 13th August, 1975 in Rawalpindi, Punjab. He is a mostly right arm fastest bowler and right handed batsman. Akhtar’s tallness is 5.11 feet and great individuality player of the Pakistani cricket team. His father is a worker in the Attock Oil Refinery, Morgah, Punjab.
Akhtar set a world record by fastest bowling 160.9 km/h. He is a talented player and has a great capability to bowl fast Yorkers, swinging deliveries; reverse swing, well slow bowling and sharp bouncers have made him extra fatal on pitch.
Akhtar demonstrated his first outstanding bowling appearance in the pre-World Cup series that was against India in the year 1999.
He took superbly nine wickets in the Asian Test Championship match at Calcutta, and it was an surprising memorable performance. Akhtar has become well recognized bowler on the international level but some due to controversies and bad attitude of his; He was prohibited by the Pakistan cricket board for an unsettled period.
He was interdicted for five years for publicly criticizing the policies of the Pakistan cricket board in the year 2008. He played his last game against Newzealand in 2011 World Cup.
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Rahul Dravid (The Wall) is Shoaib Akhtar (Rawalpinidi Express) BUNNY
Shoaib Akhtar at his Best

Shahid Khan Afridi

Shahid Khan Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (born 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency), popularly known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani cricketer currently playing for the Pakistani national team in the international circuit. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya in Nairobi and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia at Karachi. He is known for his aggressive batting style, and currently holds the highest career strike rate in the history of international cricket. In a recent survey, Afridi was named as the most popular cricketer in Pakistan. He also holds the record for the fastest one day century which he made in his debut innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI.
Style
His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname “Boom Boom Afridi” for his fastest One Day International century just in 37 balls. As of 22 May 2007, he has an ODI strike rate of 109.38 runs per 100 balls, the highest in the game’s history. This attitude has been transferred to Test cricket as well, with Afridi scoring at a relatively high strike rate of 86.13 in Tests. He has an approach to batting that can change the tempo of a game and inspire the mood of an audience, as shown when a mass exodus of spectators occurred in Pakistan in late 2005 following his dismissal from the crease. He hits many sixes long and high, favoring straight down the ground or over midwicket. A trademark shot is a crossbatted flick to the leg-side to a ball outside off stump. This explosive style has led to some memorable shots, most notably the first ever 12 in power cricket in 2002, where Afridi successfully hit the roof. However, his aggressive style increases his risk of getting out and he is one of the most inconsistent batsmen in cricket. This is reflected by the fact that he is the only player to score more than 5000 ODI runs at an average under 25.
Bowling-wise, his stock ball is the leg break, but his armory also includes the conventional off break and a ‘quicker one’ which he can deliver at nearly 80 mph in the style of a medium-pacer. He bowls at a high speed for a spinner, resulting in lesser turn, and relying more on variations in speed. He occasionally sends down a bouncer to a batsmen, which is very rare for a spin bowler.
International career
In October 1996 at the age of sixteen he was brought into the ODI team as a legspinner as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed. He then gained notability as a pinch-hitter and began opening with Saeed Anwar. He holds the record for scoring the fastest century in one-day internationals (off 37 balls), scored in only his second match and his first ODI innings. He also shares with Brian Lara the record for the third-fastest century in ODIs (off 45 balls). One of Pakistan’s most useful all-rounders, he has an extremely aggressive batting style, which has garnered him over 5,000 ODI runs (including an erstwhile world-record 249 sixes, recently broken by Sanath Jayasuriya), as well as taking over 250 wickets at ODI and 47 at Test level.
For various reasons, including a perception that he lacks patience in his batting, Afridi had limited opportunity in Test matches, although he currently averages in the high thirties and mid-thirties with bat and ball respectively. As it is, Afridi has featured in less than one third of the Test Matches played by Pakistan over the course of his career. However, he made his presence felt in the third Test against India in March 2005, scoring a quick-fire second-innings half-century and taking five wickets in the match (including Tendulkar twice) to help Pakistan to win the game and register a series draw.
It is perceived that his batting struggles on bouncy pitches and against opponents like Australia, although his record against the Australians has improved over time. Although he has had success as an opener on sub-continent pitches, Afridi is often moved into the lower order as well.
Afridi was more consistent with his batting and bowling throughout 2005, starting with the tours of India and West Indies and through to the England tour. The Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer helped Afridi to reach a fuller potential by improving his shot selection and giving him free rein over his batting attitude.
In the 2007 World Twenty20, he performed poorly with the bat but brilliantly with the ball, earning the Man of the Series award, though he failed to take a wicket in the final and was out for a golden duck.
Career Highlights
On 4 October 1996, playing his maiden international innings, Afridi hit the fastest One-Day century off 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi. His innings included 28 runs off one of Sanath Jayasuriya’s overs, whose record he broke.
Youngest player in history to make an ODI century at just 16 years and 217 days with his 37 ball ton against Sri Lanka. It included 11 sixes and 6 fours.
Made a half-century from 26 balls and took 3 second-innings wickets in Pakistan’s series-drawing Test victory against India in March 2005.
Holds the joint record with Brian Lara for the third fastest ODI century off 45 balls in April 2005 against India. This actually was the first match that witnessed the Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri make him the nickname Boom Boom Afridi.
Equal highest aggregate sixes scored in the 50-over game, shared the legendary Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, and he the most sixes per innings record.
Scored four consecutive sixes off a Harbhajan Singh over in a Test match against India in January 2006, matching a feat that Kapil Dev achieved in 1990.
Was the first player to score 12 runs off one ball, by hitting the roof of the Millennium Stadium. This took place in a game of Power Cricket.
Holds four of the top eight fastest ODI half centuries, twice completed in 18 balls and twice in 20 balls. He has also scored a half century off just 21 balls.
Made 32 runs off a Malinga Bandara over in an ODI game at Abu Dhabi in 2007. He struck four consecutive sixes and it was the 2nd most expensive over in ODI history.
Afridi is only third player in ODI history to achieve the combination of 5000 runs and 200 wickets. The other players being Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and South African Jacques Kallis.
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Shahid Afridi's Fastest Century
Shahid Afridi Tribute

Javed Miandad

Javed Miandad Biography
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan  (born June 12, 1957), popularly known as Javed Miandad is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975-1996. He is the Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is widely known for his big Six against India in 1986 where 4 runs were required out of 1 ball. After his playing career, he has remained the coach of Pakistan cricket team at various occasions, as well as held positions in the Pakistan Cricket Board. He had three coaching stints with the Pakistan national team.
Career
Javed Miandad made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lahore on October 9, 1976. He scored 163 in this match, to become the youngest player at the time to do so at an age of 19 years and 119 days.In the same series he scored a double century, and on his way broke George Headley's 47 year record, to become the youngest player to achieve the feat. Miandad made his One Day International debut against the West Indies at Edgbaston, Birmingham in the Cricket World Cup 1975. Interestingly, his last ODI was also a world cup match, in both innings he was run out and Pakistan lost the match. More, he scored 2 fours and 0 sixes and his strike rate was below 100 in both of his, first and last ODI innings.
Miandad's inclusion in the Pakistan team was itself an achievement. A formidable batting line-up of Majid Khan, Sadiq Muhammad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Mushtaq Muhammad and Wasim Raja was hard to create any replacements, but Miandad's raw talent made it possible and he become an integral part of Pakistan's strong batting line.
Javed Miandad played 124 Test matches, batting in 189 innings. His aggregate of 8,832 Test runs is a Pakistani record. Even though his test career spanned 17 years, he failed to make it into the top-most category of batsmen with test aggregates of over 10,000 runs. Miandad's 23 centuries and 43 fifties were Pakistani national records, until they were broken by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Miandad's Test career batting average of 52.57 is among the highest for Pakistani batsmen. He scored six double centuries which is the most by a Pakistani and 6th overall. He made his highest score of 280 not out against India.
Javed Miandad is the first (and one of the only two, other being Sachin Tendulkar ) player to have played in six World Cups, the first six, from 1975 to 1996.
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Javed Miandad's Famous SIXER @ Sharjah
Javed Miandad 271 vs NZ 3rd test 1988/89