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Usain Bolt expects the T20 World Cup in June to go a long way in raising the status of cricket in the USA

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2024Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth and a cricketer in his youth, has been unveiled as the ambassador of the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup, to be played in the West Indies and the USA in June.”Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, the sport has always held a special place in my heart, and I am honoured to be part of such a prestigious tournament,” Bolt, who grew up playing cricket in his native Jamaica, said in an ICC statement. “I look forward to bringing my energy and enthusiasm to the World Cup and contributing to the growth of cricket globally.”Bolt said he expects “dancing, music and high energy” in the matches in the Caribbean, and also for the World Cup to go a long way towards making the USA a bigger cricket centre than it currently is.”America believes a lot in sport and high intensity and for me to get into that market is big,” Bolt said. “When they follow a sport, they follow a sport properly and they go all in and I feel like if they can crack into it, they will get into it the right way. If we bring energy like I know we will for the T20 [World Cup] it is going to be wonderful.”The T20 World Cup won’t be the end, of course. In 2028, cricket will make a comeback to the Olympic Games – it last featured in 1900 in Paris – in Los Angeles, with men’s and women’s T20Is.”If you listen to NBA players and the way they talk about winning a gold medal, they have won NBA titles, they have their rings, but they are like ‘we went to the Olympics’,” Bolt said. “That is how big getting a gold medal is. Every sport tries to get into the Olympics because it is such a big thing and it is such a great feeling to be on a podium winning that gold medal.”

Anrich Nortje bowled express pace but Australia were dominant although Cameron Green also retired hurt

Firdose Moonda27-Dec-2022An epic David Warner innings in his milestone match. A 239-run partnership with Steven Smith, who brought up 1,000 runs at the MCG A scoring rate of 4.3 runs per over in the day, which peaked at 5.54 in the final session, in temperatures that touched 40 degrees. This was Australia’s day.They seized control of the Melbourne Test and the series and are on track to beat South Africa at home for the first time since the 2005-06 summer.Before the Test, amid questions over his long-format future, Warner promised to return to his old self and take on the bowling and he stayed true to his word. From his opening runs on the second day – a square cut off Kagiso Rabada’s first ball – to his final runs when an edge flew wide of slip and brought up his 200, Warner took the fight to South Africa. He became the second batter to score a double hundred in his 100th Test after Joe Root in a display of extreme determination, strong strokeplay and incredible fitness.Related

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In a minute less than six hours at the crease, Warner ran 63 singles, 14 twos, seven threes and three fours, in addition to the 16 fours and two sixes he hit. No South African bowler was spared but Warner asserted his authority over their spearhead Rabada with such assurance, it would not have given the rest much confidence. He scored 57 runs off the 60 balls he faced from Rabada and 72 off 81 from Keshav Maharaj.On a track that flattened out beautifully for batting, South Africa’s attack were never in the contest and may have some stern words for their line-up, who wasted the opportunity on the first day. Anrich Nortje was the most impressive of an energy-sapped pack and kept his pace above 150kph consistently. His fastest ball was clocked at 155kph. He was also the only one to enjoy some reward, when Smith upper cut a short ball to gully. By then, most of the damage was done.Smith and Warner put on the second-highest third-wicket stand by Australia against South Africa, after Marnus Labuschagne was run-out in the morning session. Smith was less fluent than usual but still managed to cash in on loose deliveries as the attack grew weary. But his time with Warner was not without its chances.The brutal Melbourne heat had its toll on the players•Getty Images

Lungi Ngidi found Warner’s edge with his third ball, but it flew past gully for four and Marco Jansen drew Smith forward and got a healthy nick, but it fell short of second slip. Then, Smith offered a genuine chance when he gloved Jansen down leg. Kyle Verreynne made good ground to his left but could not hold on before Warner inside edged Ngidi past the stumps.All those half-chances meant nothing when Warner reached 8,000 Test runs and then went on to bring up his hundred with a pull off Rabada. He celebrated with a jump and air punch. Rabada thought he had Smith before the former captain reached fifty but overstepped on the delivery Smith appeared to glove on the pull although replays were inconclusive. Smith brought up fifty soon after, with a cut past point off Jansen.Australia led by 42 runs at tea and and accelerated in the final session. They scored 83 runs in 11 overs in the post tea session – and 155 in 28 in total – as they ripped into Ngidi and Rabada. Both bowled a little too short in search of a wicket. Smith looked well on his way to a century of his own before Nortje got the better of him, with Warner eight runs away from a double hundred and starting to cramp severely.He seemed to barely have the energy to keep going but the motivation of a double ton kept him at the crease until he was able to reach for a wide Ngidi delivery and it flew off the edge to the boundary. His second hundred came off just 110 balls. Warner dropped to his haunches and raised both arms in a double salute but he struggled to get back up. Once he’d made his way to stand, he was helped off the field to an ovation from the 40,000 strong crowd. If he does not return to bat, his will be the highest individual innings in Test cricket to end retired hurt.South Africa took the second new ball as soon as it became available and it was shared by Nortje and Jansen. While Nortje asked questions again, Jansen only seemed easier to hit. As he searched for swing, Travis Head flicked him over square leg for six and then four and raced to a run-a-ball 48.Australia are likely to continue to bat for as long as they can, especially as their attack could be depleted for the second innings. Mitchell Starc injured his left middle-finger while fielding on the first day and will bowl only if required while Cameron Green was hit on the right index finger by Jansen while batting and it immediately swelled up. Green also retired hurt which could leave Australia with only Pat Cummins, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon to close out the match.

Contrary to local reports, ESPNcricinfo understands Boucher has not taken legal action against those who mentioned him in their testimonies

Firdose Moonda30-Jul-2021Mark Boucher, South Africa’s men’s national coach, will make a submission to Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) project in response to allegations in which he has been implicated. Although CSA as an organisation will not comment on the SJN proceedings while they are ongoing, Boucher in his personal capacity confirmed his intention to co-operate with and support the SJN.”I have been asked by the SJN to submit a written reply to the various allegations made during the hearings that have taken place. The documents that I have been furnished with, as well as the various reports in the media require my full attention and consideration, which I will be giving to them over the course of the next week,” Boucher said. “My intentions are to cooperate fully with all requests made by the Ombudsman, so that the objectives of the SJN can be achieved.”Related

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Boucher’s name has cropped up in a few statements by former players at the SJN hearings on racial discrimination in the game, leading to questions asked about him by the ombudsman Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza. Some testimonies imply the involvement of Boucher, usually as part of a group of players, in some of the incidents that have come out. The culture of the national team, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s and specifically at the 2007 World Cup, has come under scrutiny through stories from former players Paul Adams, Roger Telemachus and Loots Bosman.While it is not clear how many of the members of those teams will present to the SJN it is expected that those with current involvement in South African cricket are likely to exercise the right of reply afforded to anyone who has been named in the proceedings.Boucher was first asked for a reaction to the SJN testimony following South Africa’s 3-0 victory over Ireland in the T20I series last week, when his name was mentioned at the hearings. Then, he said: “I fully respect the sensitivity around this. I am not going to give a knee-jerk response. I will go back home, assess the information that’s on the table, that’s available to me and I will reply respectfully and appropriately to all of the allegations. And at the right time as well. I need to get home and have a look at what’s been said and then I will come through with a response.”Contrary to local reports, ESPNcricinfo understands Boucher has not taken legal action against those who mentioned him in their testimonies. He called accusations of seeking the legal way out “hurtful, factually incorrect and do not serve the greater good of our country or the intentions of the SJN in mending past hurts and building relations.”As things stand, a date and time for Boucher’s submission at the SJN has yet to be confirmed.

Top seven sides apart from hosts India will qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2020It has been delayed by a couple of months, but the inaugural ICC Cricket World Cup Super League will finally get going on July 30 when England and Ireland face off in the first of three ODIs in Southampton.Featuring 13 teams – the top 12 and Netherlands, who qualified by winning the ICC World Cricket Super League 2015-17 – the league will see each side play four home and four away three-match ODI series in a fixed timeframe, with the top seven sides apart from hosts India earning automatic qualification for the next 50-over World Cup, to be played in October-November 2023.Each team gets ten points for a win, five for a tie, no result or abandonment and none for a loss. The five sides failing to qualify directly will play along with five Associate sides in the World Cup Qualifier 2023, with two teams from the Qualifier making it to the ten-team World Cup.”The league will bring relevance and context to ODI cricket over the next three years, as qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is at stake,” Geoff Allardice, ICC’s general manager (cricket operations), said in a statement. “The Super League gives cricket fans around the world even more reasons to watch as the drama of league cricket unfolds.”The decision last week to move the World Cup back to late 2023 gives us more time to schedule any games lost due to Covid-19 and preserve the integrity of the qualification process, meaning it will be decided on the field of play, which is important.”Ireland are already in England, and their preparations haven’t gone particularly well so far. After an intra-squad warm-up game on July 22, they lost to England Lions by seven wickets on July 26 – both matches were played at the Ageas Bowl, the venue for the three ODIs.”It’s a privilege to be playing in the inaugural series of the ICC Men’s World Cup Super League. It is obviously going to be a huge challenge taking on the team that won the World Cup just a year ago but we have prepared well and have taken confidence from our form over the early months of 2020,” Andrew Balbirnie, the Ireland captain, said in the ICC statement. “What is important is that we are getting back on the field. I hope international cricket’s return is steady during these challenging times.”I look forward to the Irish side putting on a good performance in the upcoming series as we start our campaign for World Cup qualification.”Eoin Morgan, meanwhile, said, “Given the situation, it will be quite different to the last time we played at home, when we lifted the World Cup at Lord’s, but it’s nice to be starting our journey for the next edition of the tournament.”I’m sure cricket fans all over the world will be excited to see white-ball cricket resume and we’re looking forward to the challenge. Ireland are a talented team who have shown over the years that they can beat the best on their day. We look forward to what promises to be an interesting series.”The three matches will be played on July 30, August 1 and August 4.

Quetta Gladiators, who will be fielding their full-strength squad, have won all three of their meetings with Peshawar Zalmi so far this season

Umar Farooq in Karachi16-Mar-20192:40

Our biggest strength has taking wickets in the middle overs – Sarfaraz

Peshawar Zalmi might have finished at the top of the points table after the group stage but they are yet to taste victory against Quetta Gladiators in three meetings this season. Zalmi’s captain Darren Sammy has said there is no better time for the team to to set the record straight than in the final of PSL 2019.”I would like to be an underdog but to be fair Quetta has played some good cricket,” Sammy said on the eve of the match. “Quetta has had the better of us throughout the season and I always tell my boys that everything in life happens for a reason. If it is one time we chose to beat them why not in the final when it really matters. Hopefully, it’s a cracker of a game and we find ways and means to execute our plans against them and we will need that.”The two teams are meeting in the final for the second time. The last time, in 2017, Quetta were forced to field a depleted side with their overseas players refusing to travel to Pakistan. Zalmi, who were at full strength with all their overseas players making it to the Pakistan leg, bowled them out for 90 in a chase of 149.

We’ll try to remove the chokers tag – Sarfaraz Ahmed

Quetta Gladiators have lost both their PSL finals so far, and their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed wants to rid the team of the chokers tag.
“This time we are at our full strength, so we will do our best to play like we have done [so far] and win the tournament. We have not won so far, so we will give it the best shot.
“Karachi crowd has supported every team, the home support was there for the home team but for the two finalists it will be equal support and we will try to remove the tag of chokers, which I am hearing now.
“[Shane] Watson has played well throughout the tournament. It’s good that a top player like him is with us and we are at full strength. Umar [Akmal] is also in good form. The performance of the top four players is always important. If our top players give us the platform, then we can put up a good total against the opposition.”

But this time around, Quetta have their ideal combination, centered around Shane Watson, Darren Bravo and Rilee Rossouw.”At the end of the day whatever they [Quetta] bring at us we have to be able to conquer,” Sammy said. “If we want to win, I don’t think my guys are going into the final thinking that they can’t play any bowler. As you could see yesterday, the key was to go out an express yourself. They cope with pressure well… the pressure is not on us. This is our third final, they [Quetta] will be playing their third as well but never won a final and we know what it takes to be in the final.”I have guys in my dressing room who have won many finals. Wahab [Riaz] won T10, BPL. [Kieron] Pollard has won so many, [Chris] Jordan and myself [have won titles too]. We have guys who are accustomed to winning in final matches. Tomorrow there will no negative thought about any guy bowling spin. It’s all about going down and express yourself. That’s the message I have for my boys, no fear, no back down. Go and take the bull by the horns.”In the seven games in Karachi so far, the teams have breached the 185-run mark on seven occasions, with teams batting first winning five of them. Sammy had an interesting take on that.”In a do-or-die game, runs on the board has proven to add pressure on the opposition. So that’s something we may look at but ideally, when the wicket is so good, you would want to bowl first.”Sammy also said he was fortunate to have other experienced players around him to share the responsibilities of leadership.”Yes, I am the captain but we have so many leaders in the team. As captain, I encourage the guys to be leaders in the dressing room. You see Chris Jordan, Wahab Riaz, Misbah-ul-Haq – when he plays he is always talking to the bowler. Plus we have good players, not the superstars but the guys who are effective in the dressing room, and it makes my job easier to lead the side. Making to the finals constantly is an achievement.”

Comilla took 19.3 overs to chase down 98, with quick wickets in the middle overs leaving their pursuit shaky

The Report by Mohammad Isam02-Dec-2017
Raton Gomes/BCB

Comilla Victorians made heavy weather of a target of 98, taking 19.3 overs to complete a four-wicket win over Rangpur Riders that put them in the playoffs. The win gave them a three-point lead over second-placed Khulna Titans in the points table.Rangpur had earlier lasted only 17.1 overs and were bowled out for 97, the lowest total of this season. Mahedi Hasan took a career-best 4 for 22 while Mohammad Saifuddin took three wickets.Comilla thrive on twin-spin act
Mujeed Zadran, the 16-year-old Afghanistan offspinner who is the youngest player in BPL, had Ziaur Rahman plumb in front of the stumps off the first ball of the match, but umpire Ranmore Martinesz turned down the appeal despite the ball hitting the batsman’s boot with the off stump visible. The decision didn’t cost Comilla too much as
Mahedi, the slightly more experienced offspinner in their revamped spin attack, removed both Chris Gayle and Ziaur in the next over.Both batsmen were bowled trying to blast Mahedi down the ground, with Gayle getting a first-ball duck. Mahedi later went on to remove Brendon McCullum in the 11th over, after a torturous 24 off 31 balls. Nahidul Islam was his fourth wicket, with the delivery sliding through the angle.Bopara’s run out drags Rangpur back
Once three wickets had fallen by the seventh over, Ravi Bopara and McCullum tried to lead Rangpur’s recovery, but Bopara didn’t have much of an impact. As he tried to complete a single, he stopped sliding his bat just short of the crease. Imrul Kayes scored with the direct hit as Bopara’s feet, too, were in the air as the ball hit the stumps.Rangpur succumb to pace too
Rangpur also struggled against the pace of Mohammad Saifuddin, who produced bouncers and yorkers. He finished with three wickets, getting Mohammad Mithun caught at cover and bowling pinpoint yorkers to bowl Mashrafe Mortaza and Sohag Gazi. Hasan Ali also bowled good yorkers but finished with one wicket, getting Chamara Kapugedera caught behind.Comilla’s chasing woes
Tamim Iqbal started the Comilla chase with a six over cover in the first over, and in the next over, he survived a stumping chance off Mashrafe Mortaza, who then went on to dismiss Liton Das in the fourth over.In the seventh over, Tamim fell to a superb catch at the long-on boundary. Nahidul, perilously close to the line, kept his balance and, after stepping over the rope, recovered well to leap back and finish the catch. Two overs later, Buttler was stumped off Nazmul Islam, and suddenly Comilla were in some trouble at 47 for 3.Nazmul sneaks one through Malik
Imrul Kayes and Shoaib Malik helped Comilla regain some footing, but Rangpur came back to dismiss the pair in the space of eight deliveries. Imrul played a pull off Mashrafe straight to Gayle at short midwicket before Nazmul got the ball to sneak between Malik’s legs as he tried to pad it away on the charge.Samuels drags it to the end
While the asking rate did not threaten Comilla, the slow pitch did not allow their batsmen to go after the bowling. This meant that they went into the last five overs needing 25 and that equation tightened to 10 off 12 balls. Bowling the penultimate over, Mashrafe had Saifuddin caught in the deep-midwicket boundary, before Hasan Ali’s big six brought the target down to two from the last over.Samuels could not score off the first two balls of the last over, which made the Comilla dressing room very nervous, but the feeling did not last too long.

The concussion substiute rule will be activated in this season’s domestic limited-overs competitions in New Zealand – the McDonald’s Super Smash T20 and the 50-over Ford Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2016New Zealand Cricket is set to introduce the concussion substitute rule in this season’s domestic limited-overs competitions – the McDonald’s Super Smash T20, which begins on December 4, and the 50-over Ford Trophy, which begins on January 15, 2017.The move came after two players – Canterbury opener Chad Bowes and Otago wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Duffy – were forced out of games after being struck on the head.Bowes, who was hit by a Scott Kuggeleijn bouncer in Canterbury’s second innings against Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield game in Christchurch, was forced to retire hurt on 9 and missed the following two rounds.A bouncer from Lockie Ferguson resulted in Duffy falling onto his stumps after being struck in the second-round Plunket Shield match between Otago and Auckland. Duffy has not played since.New Zealand Cricket, however, will not have the concussion substitute rule in the Plunket Shield as the ICC had earlier rejected the idea for first-class cricket.The rule was used for the first time in the Matador Cup Elimination final in Sydney in October. New South Wales batsman Daniel Hughes was struck by a bouncer from Peter Siddle and was forced to retired hurt, before eventually being ruled out of the match.Under the new rule introduced by Cricket Australia this summer, the Blues were then entitled to pick a concussion substitute. The replacement player, Nick Larkin, then officially became part of the playing XI, and came in to bat at No. 8.In Australia, only a like-for-like player can be activated as a concussion substitute. In New Zealand however, the 12th man will be the replacement player to create a level playing field for away teams who travel with only 12 players, as opposed to Australia where sides carry more reserve players.

A round-up of the Group A games of the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 season on October 16, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Arup Das and Krishna Das shared all 10 wickets from the Odisha innings•PTI

Seamer Krishna Das took 7 for 21 to bowl Odisha out for 88 and give Assam, who had made only 92 yesterday, an almost inconceivable first-innings lead. Assam then managed to cobble a total in triple-figures, finishing on 137 for 8 at stumps. The Cuttack pitch afforded 15 wickets on Thursday and 13 today, so any advantage seems vital and the visitors are 141 runs ahead.Krishna and Arup Das, who took 3 for 45, took care of all the Odisha batsmen. Only Natraj Behera and Anurag Sarangi managed to get double-figure scores and Odisha’s best partnership – 22 runs – was put on by the ninth wicket.But the help that was available to the fast bowlers meant the hosts were able to reel in some of the ground they lost. Suryakant Pradhan struck twice in the second over of Assam’s second innings to dismiss Kunal Saikia and Gokul Sharma for ducks. At the other end, Basant Mohanty removed Amit Verma, also for a duck, to leave the visitors on 13 for 3.By the 45th over Assam were 86 for 6. But coming in at No. 7 Syed Mohammad struck 42 off 158 balls with four fours to record the highest score of the match so far and perhaps tempt his team into contemplating an away victory.
ScorecardOvernight rain followed by intermittent showers on the second day resulted in only 16.2 overs being bowled in the Group A game between Bengal and Rajasthan at the Eden Gardens.The start of the match was delayed by an over hour. Resuming from 104 for 3, Rajasthan lost two wickets while putting on 38 runs. Pragyan Ojha got the first when he went through the defences of Ashok Menaria in the 43rd over while Ashok Dinda had Puneet Yadav caught for 14 in the 50th.Ojha came back to dismiss Arjit Gupta for 5 in the 59th over but then the weather intervened. Only 59.4 overs have been possible after two days. Karnatka v Vidarbha in Bangalore – Satish 81* leads VidarbhaDelhi v Haryana in Delhi – Sehwag threat looms

Strengthening Royal Challengers Bangalore’s pace attack at the IPL auction, new captain Virat Kohli has said, was something he “insisted on”

Nikita Bastian in Bangalore03-Apr-2013At the IPL auction in February, Royal Challengers Bangalore picked up three of the five Indian seam bowlers on offer in RP Singh, Jaydev Unadkat and Pankaj Singh, apart from West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul. Strengthening the pace attack, new captain Virat Kohli has said, was something he “insisted on”.”In Bangalore, if the wicket’s nice and fresh, the ball does seam around. Last year we were not to our 100% because of injuries to bowlers – we had to persist with a set of bowlers that did not probably work for us. So, this year, I insisted that we pick a lot of bowling options,” Kohli said on the eve of Royal Challengers’ game against Mumbai Indians.”With Indian bowlers, if you don’t have the regular guys doing well, then you always have six or seven fresh options who can come into the side and are confident.”Kohli, who will be the full-time captain of a senior side for the first time on Thursday night, said that decision demonstrated his faith in his team’s batsmen: “Our batting has been doing well for the last three years consistently. I was showing confidence in the batsmen.”Royal Challengers had a disappointing IPL 5, failing to make it to the playoffs. Over the last couple of years, Kohli had lead the team when regular captain Daniel Vettori had fitness issues. He admitted he had made a few mistakes, but said he hoped to learn from all that: “I’ve always enjoyed captaincy, last year and the year before that too. There were a few off moments, like in 2011 we played Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala and I got the bowling combination wrong, and we ended up giving 220 runs on a green wicket. I was not too good with the field placements either but, yes, all that was a good learning curve.”Apart from missing out on the experience of the injured Zaheer Khan in the Mumbai game – recovering from a side strain, Zaheer is “70-80%” fit – Royal Challengers will also not have Anil Kumble to lean on. Kumble, for the first time, will be part of the opposition camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, having joined Mumbai Indians as chief mentor after stepping down from a similar role with the Bangalore franchise. Kohli said he learnt a lot by observing Kumble’s working style: “He was always someone who would help the players in any way we wanted. Whether it was any sort of issues or about cricket.”One thing he liked was always giving his 100% on the field, and he expected the other players to be the same. He kept pushing the players to perform but if he thought the players were down, he would then pull the load off the team all by himself. So that was something that was very striking in his captaincy and it’s something I would like to implement in our team as well.”Mumbai, too, will take the field with a new captain and minus their pace spearhead – Lasith Malinga is recovering from a sore back and will only join the team on April 5. Ricky Ponting takes charge for them, and he said he was looking forward to the challenge after a “refreshing” Australian domestic season. “I knew my time was up as far as captaincy in Australian cricket is concerned, so finishing the season with Tasmania and being just a regular player in the side was quite refreshing for me.”But I’ve known about the captaincy of Mumbai Indians for a couple of months now and I’ve been excited about that. With the squad of players we’ve got to work with, why won’t you be excited?”Unlike Royal Challengers, Mumbai’s main concern is the batting. Last season they fielded 24 players in all, and tried several opening combinations without much success. This is something he is looking to address, Ponting said: “Over the last couple of seasons we’ve swapped and changed and had different combinations opening. Guys have gone in and out of the side quite regularly. That tends to happen when you’re not winning games.”What we want to do this year is get off to a good start, and try and keep a pretty settled group of players together through the tournament. Barring injuries, hopefully we’ll be able to do that.”Much talk in the lead-up to the tournament has centred around Ponting having to share a dressing room with Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar, both of whom played central roles in the 2008 Sydney Test’s controversy. Ponting said the trio was getting along fine. “I’ve really enjoyed their company over the last couple of days. Just having those experienced minds around will hold the team in good stead through the tournament.”

Shahid Afridi has expressed relief after playing a key role with both bat and ball in Pakistan’s win against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup final

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2012Shahid Afridi has expressed relief after playing a key role with both bat and ball in Pakistan’s win against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup final. Afridi scored a critical 32 runs when Pakistan were in trouble and then bowled his 10 overs for just 28 runs to stifle Bangladesh’s batsmen.”It lifted a lot of pressure off my shoulders but more importantly it helped Pakistan win the title,” Afridi told Pakistani daily the .Before the final, Afridi had only managed two wickets in the Asia Cup, against Bangladesh, having failed to make an impression against India and Sri Lanka. He had similar problems against England in the UAE where he took three wickets in four ODIs. His poor batting form has not helped either, with only one score above 50 in his previous 11 innings. Consequently, he has attracted criticism. Prior to the present slump, Afridi had picked up 23 scalps in nine games against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.”To my critics, I will say just one thing: haven’t you heard of players going through a lean patch?” Afridi said. “It happens to even the greatest sportsmen then why is that I cannot be spared during my bad patch?”Questions have been asked about his fitness in the media. However, Afridi refuted such doubts by saying that he has been fortunate to be injury-free for most of his playing career. “I’m fully fit at the moment and plan to continue working hard to make sure that I give my 100% for Pakistan each time I represent the country.”He said he would quit one-day internationals the day he was not able to give his best to the national side and concentrate on Twenty20 cricket. This season, Afridi has played Twenty20 matches for local franchises in Australia and in Bangladesh. However, he has opted out of the ongoing Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup in which he represented Karachi Dolphins for the past six seasons.Edited by Devashish Fuloria