Intikhab, Waqar call for Pakistan fresh start

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis and team manager Intikhab Alam called Tuesday for a fresh start for the national side after three key players were handed lengthy bans on corruption charges.

Riding high after winning the Test and one-day series in New Zealand, the Pakistan team flew home to Karachi and Lahore three days after an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal sanctioned the trio.

Salman Butt was banned for 10 years, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer for seven and five years respectively, after allegations surfaced during last year's tour of England that they were willing to deliberately bowl no-balls.

"It is important that it's finished now and we can start afresh," Waqar told reporters at Lahore airport.

"We can now make a fresh start after a lot of controversies affected Pakistan cricket and I am happy that it's over now."

Waqar was coach during England tour where the scandal erupted and gave testimony to the ICC tribunal in Qatar by tele-conference, but said the bans did not affect the successful New Zealand tour.

"The players didn't talk about it at any time, so there was no way it could affect the team's performances on the tour," said Waqar, who welcomed the 3-2 one-day series win in New Zealand.

"I am sure this one-day series win will give us a good build-up for the World Cup," said Waqar, who took over as coach in March last year.

"We have good momentum, having played South Africa recently and now this hard-fought win in New Zealand gives us good momentum for the World Cup."

Team manager Alam expressed sadness at the bans but added, "we must move on from here, for the sake of our cricket."

One-day captain Shahid Afridi, who earlier flew into Karachi from New Zealand, refused to answer questions on the bans.

Pakistan is in Group A of the 14-team World Cup which is hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka between February 19 and April 2.

They open their campaign against Kenya in the Sri Lankan town of Hambantota on February 23.

Inconsolable Amir shocked at ‘hard’ verdict

Teenage Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir said he was shocked and disappointed at being handed a five-year ban on Saturday.
“I am shocked and hugely disappointed. I wasn’t expecting that much of a ban,” Amir told AFP, just minutes after the anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced its verdict here.
Former captain Salman Butt was banned for ten years — with five suspended, Mohammad Asif for seven years — with two suspended — and Amir for five years.
The corruption charges relate to alleged incidents during a Test match against England at Lord’s last year, when Britain’s News of the World newspaper claimed the players were willing to deliberately bowl no-balls.
The newspaper alleged the players had colluded in a spot-fixing scam organised by British-based agent Mazhar Majeed.
Amir said he was still confident of being absolved.
“I was confident that I will get away without any punishment, but this is very hard on me.
“I have just come out of the hearing and have told my family who have tried to console me.
“I will sit with my lawyer and decide about appealing against the verdict.”
Amir’s lawyer Shahid Karim had hinted he would try to convince the tribunal that since his client was only 18, and had never committed any violation of the code before, he should be treated leniently.
The players have 21 days to appeal against the sanctions in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Switzerland.
On Friday, British prosecutors charged the three players, as well as Majeed, with corruption offences and summoned them to appear in a London court on March 17.
Karim said he is confident that Amir will appeal.
“It’s a sad day for Pakistan cricket,” Karim told AFP.
“I tried my level best, tried all the provisions which could have helped Amir but a five-year ban is too harsh.”
He is shocked, although he put on a brave face but it’s very tough to be consoled,” said Karim, hinting that the CPS’s announcement also changed the scenario.
“It shocked us,” said Karim of Friday’s developments.
“The CPS announcement came a day before the ICC judgment and it changed the scenario of the Doha hearing.”
Amir, only 18, was regarded as one of the hottest properties in international cricket and was compared to legendary Pakistani paceman Wasim Akram within two years of his emergence.
He was part of Pakistan’s World Twenty20 squad in 2009.
He has so far taken 51 wickets in 14 Tests, besides having a tally of 25 wickets in 15 one-day matches.

I hope Amir comes back strongly: Wasim Akram

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram admitted that the lengthy bans handed out to Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir for corruption on Saturday represented a new low for the besieged sport in the country.
“I feel sad for all three of these kids, two just over 20 and one just 18,” Wasim told AFP.
“I feel for their families because they are key players. This is a low for Pakistan  cricket.”
The International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption tribunal on Saturday banned Butt for 10 years (five suspended), Asif for seven years (two suspended) and teenager Amir for five.
The bans were handed after an investigation into allegations made by the News of the World that the players deliberately bowled no-balls in the Lord’s Test against England in August.
Wasim said he hopes the punishments will serve as a lesson.
“Not only for cricketers in Pakistan, but also for the players of the world, this should be a lesson, and I sincerely hope that the ICC has set an example with this verdict and this will serve as a clean-up, not only in Pakistan cricket, but in world cricket,” said Wasim.
Wasim said Amir is a special talent.
“I was very happy to see Amir’s progress, but with this punishment his career will suffer. I hope he comes back strongly,” said Wasim, of the teenage left-arm paceman who has been compared to him.
Former Pakistan spinner Iqbal Qasim termed the decision as “upsetting”.
“All three players were the future of Pakistan cricket, so it’s a very upsetting day,” said former spinner Iqbal, who is also the head of the National Bank team for which all three players featured in domestic matches.
“All three had promising careers but it’s sad that they fell into a trap and couldn’t recover.
They could have earned more through playing international cricket,” said Qasim, also a former chief selector.
Qasim said the decision must serve as reminder for other cricketers as well as for Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“I hope these punishments will help future cricketers be more responsible.
I think it should also serve as a jolt for the PCB who should have curbed this before it happened,” said Qasim.
Former captain Rashid Latif said the loss of the three players will be temporary.
“To gain an honest system, and have unquestionable integrity, you have to lose something and players come and go – this will be a momentary loss for Pakistan cricket,” said Latif, who blew the match-fixing whistle against fellow players in 1994.
Former paceman Sarfraz Nawaz termed the decision as “pre-judged”.
“The ICC had decided to give punishments to the players because there was too much pressure on them to curb fixing,” Nawaz told AFP.
“It’s an important day for world cricket and very sad for Pakistan.”
Nawaz said Amir and Asif will be sorely missed in next month’s World Cup.
“Amir and Asif are a huge loss,” said Nawaz, of the new-ball pairing.
“They are the world’s best opening bowlers and will be missed, while Butt has matured into a solid opener.”
Fans in the street had a mixed reaction, some calling the decision a “conspiracy” against the Pakistan team.

Pak cricket team returns home today

Pakistan cricket team will return home here today after winning the Test and One-day International series against New Zealand.

After a long tour of two months, the national team is returning home from Auckland via Hong Kong.

Pakistan after tasting defeat in the Twenty20 series, won the Test series 1-0 and ODI series 3-2.

The Test team was led by Misbah-ul-Haq while the T20 and ODI team was captained by Shahid Afridi.

The national team after taking a three-day rest will leave in the night of February 10 for Bangladesh to participate in the ICC World Cup 2011.

The team in Bangladesh will attend the inaugural ceremony and play two warm-up matches before leaving for Sri Lanka for playing its World Cup games.

Pakistan will play their first match in the World Cup 2011 against Kenya at Hambanthota on February 23

Afridi named skipper for mega event: Intikhab

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) late on Thursday night resolved to retain Shahid Khan Afridi as captain to lead the Pakistan side in the cricket World Cup, to be held from February 19 to April 2 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam claimed this while talking to media after Pakistan won an ODI series against Kiwis by 3-1 after 17 years in New Zealand.

The PCB announced their 15-man squad for the showpiece event on January 18 but did not announce a skipper until today (Friday).

Pakistan’s current limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and the Test skipper Misbahul Haq were the two contenders for leading the team in the World Cup.

They downplayed the ongoing row but former players lashed out PCB, saying the decision was likely to harm team’s unity.

Afridi had earlier said: “It would not be an issue for me if I am removed from captaincy.”

“It doesn’t make a difference whether Misbah leads the side or I lead the side because we both are playing for our country.”

Afridi had also dismissed reports of differences with Misbah. “We don’t have any differences. He is a good player who remains focused on his job,” Afridi maintained.

ICC bans trio for minimum five years

DOHA: Former captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were banned for at least five years on Saturday after they were found guilty of corruption by an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal.

A statement read out at the tribunal said: "The tribunal heard the charges as Aamer agreed to bowl no-balls, and did bowl no-balls and Butt was party to the bowling of those deliberate balls, and the tribunal impose the following sanctions.

"On Butt ten years ineligibility, five years of which are suspended on the condition that he doesn't commit further breaches of the code, and that he participates under the auspices Pakistan Cricket Board in a programme of anti-corruption education.

"On Asif, a sanction of seven years of ineligibility, two years of which are suspended on the condition that he commits no further breach of the code and also participates in an anti-corruption programme.

"On Aamer a sanction of five years ineligibility. No further sanctions are imposed on any player."

The decisions came after a lengthy nine-hour hearing at the Qatar Financial Center, and following much argument after the players' lawyers requested the verdict be adjourned as it could affect the criminal case against the players in London.

The charges relate to alleged incidents during a Test match against England at Lord's last year, when Britain's News of the World newspaper claimed the players were willing to deliberately bowl no-balls.

The newspaper alleged the players, who are currently provisionally suspended from international cricket, had colluded in a spot-fixing betting scam organised by British-based agent Mazhar Majeed.

The members of the tribunal, headed by Michael Beloff, heard the case for six days last month before deferring the announcement on the request of players' lawyers.

Last month Beloff revealed that while Asif and Aamer were absolved of the charges relating to another match, the third Test at The Oval (played before the Lord's match) one charge against Butt remained under investigation.

In a separate development on Friday, British prosecutors charged the three players as well as their agent with corruption offences and summoned them in court on March 17.

The Pakistan trio have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and had shown confidence of resuming their careers.

The bans on Pakistan players have come just a fortnight before the tenth World Cup starts in the sub-continent, highlighting the difficult times the game of cricket is facing against corruption.

Butt, Aamer and Asif became the first players banned in spot-fixing, the latest innovation in which players obey specific orders during the game pre-arranged with bookmakers.

The players have 21 days to appeal against the sanctions in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Switzerland.

ICC verdict will indicate its sincerity in tackling corruption’

The three-member tribunal heard the case against Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif last month for more than 45 hours spread over six days, poring over oral and written testimonies, watching video recordings and listening to tapes and forensic submissions.
The cricketers face career-threatening bans if they are found guilty of so-called ‘spot-fixing’ during Pakistan’s test series in England last year. All three have consistently denied wrongdoing.
A British Sunday newspaper report alleged that they had taken bribes to arrange for deliberate no-balls to be delivered at pre-agreed times in the fourth test at Lord’s for the benefit of gamblers.
Saturday will be the judgment day at the Qatari capital and many cricket observers see the verdict as an indication of the governing body International Cricket Council’s (ICC) sincerity in tackling corruption in the game.
“The verdict will tell us how serious ICC actually is about corruption,” cricket historian Boria Majumdar told Reuters.
“At the end of the day, it’s the fans who matter most and the scandal has shaken their belief. It’s for ICC to restore their belief.”
The governing body declined to comment in advance of the hearing when approached this week by Reuters.
“Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has failed to deal firmly with the issue. It’s time for ICC to live up to its zero-tolerance policy on corruption,” Majumdar said.
The mood is already sombre in cricket-mad Pakistan ahead of the verdict.
“I think these players are going to be lost to Pakistan cricket for some years, which is sad,” former PCB chief Tauqir Zia told Reuters.
“But if it is proven beyond doubt they were guilty of corruption in the sport, they (tribunal) must make an example of them for a better future of the sport.”
Zia headed the PCB which in 2000 banned former captain, Salim Malik, and pacer Ata-ur-Rehman for life and fined five other players for their involvement in match-fixing.
Former Pakistan skipper Aamir Sohail added: “When the PCB didn’t do anything the ICC acted and now I don’t think these players are going to be shown any leniency by the ICC.”
Another former captain, Rashid Latif, praised the way ICC had tackled the issue but was not convinced that the menace can be rooted out altogether.
“This is a good start. I hope the players have got a fair hearing,” he said.
“…it is time the ICC took steps to discourage spot-fixing although this menace can never be eliminated completely from any sport.”
Latif felt 18-year-old Amir, if found guilty, might get away with a lighter punishment because of his age but Pakistan batting great Zaheer Abbas advocated stringent action against anyone found guilty.
“No leniency should be shown to anyone who tries to defame cricket because nowadays players are being paid well for their efforts, far more then we earned in our days.”

Pakistan need to name World Cup captain, says Imran

Pakistan have harmed their World Cup chances by delaying naming a captain for the Feb. 19-April 2 tournament being held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, former skipper Imran Khan said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced their 15-man squad for the showpiece event on Jan. 18 but have yet to choose a skipper. Shahid Afridi is captaining the Pakistan side for the ongoing one-day series in New Zealand.
“It’s just three weeks before the World Cup starts. But we still don’t know who the captain is,” a fuming Imran told reporters on Wednesday.
Khan, flanked by former World Cup winning captains Clive Lloyd of West Indies, India’s Kapil Dev, Australia’s Allan Border and Steve Waugh and Sri Lankan Arjuna Ranatunga, was in Mumbai for a promotional event.
“Pakistan has put themselves at a big disadvantage by not planning ahead,” the 58-year-old former all-rounder, who led Pakistan to World Cup glory in 1992, said.
“You can’t have just three weeks before the World Cup and the captain has not been announced.
“All these captains here will tell you that it takes time to know your team… Its strengths… Its weaknesses… To develop your strategy…”
Imran said Pakistan’s chances of a successful World Cup tournament were reduced by the absence of pace duo Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, both suspended by the International Cricket Council.
“I think they were the best opening bowlers in the world. They would have given Pakistan an edge in the World Cup,” Imran said. “I think their suspension will hurt Pakistan.”

Pakistan win series despite losing 6th ODI against Kiwis

Jesse Ryder scored his second one day international century to help New Zealand earn a face-saving 57-run victory over Pakistan at Eden Park on Saturday in the sixth and final match of their series.

The win was just New Zealand's second in their last 16 completed ODIs and was sorely needed to give them a hint of self belief before they head to the World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Ryder scored 107 and combined in a 123-run partnership with Martin Guptill (44), while a 120-run partnership between Scott Styris (58 not out) and Nathan McCullum (65) at the end of the innings helped New Zealand to an imposing 311 for seven.

Wicketkeeper Kamral Akmal top-scored for the visitors, who held an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series before the match at Eden Park, with 89, including three glorious successive sixes into the lower deck of the impressive new grandstand at the ground.

Captain Shahid Afridi (44) also provided some late jitters for the New Zealanders as he combined with Sohail Tanvir (30) before being caught by Nathan McCullum off Hamish Bennett, who finished with for four for 46.

All rounder James Franklin captured three for 50 to give the small crowd something to cheer about when Pakistan were dismissed for 254.

Ryder, who was struggling with a leg injury and needed a runner for the latter part of his innings, blazed his way to his first 50 runs off 34 balls before the Pakistani bowlers restricted New Zealand through the middle overs.

The 26-year-old Ryder still managed to bring up his century off 82 balls with a flick off his hip to fine leg for his seventh boundary. He also smashed six sixes into the stands.

Styris and Nathan McCullum then batted intelligently for the final overs for a 120-run partnership, which included 71 runs in the third powerplay block of five overs before McCullum holed out in the deep.

Pak bowl first against Kiwis

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bowl first in the final one-day international against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday.

With the series in the bag for Pakistan, the dead rubber gives them a chance to rest leading players Misbah-ul-Haq and Wahab Riaz to give Asad Shafiq and Sohail Tanvir more game time ahead of the World Cup, starting this month.

For New Zealand, it is a face-saving exercise after winning the first game by nine wickets and then being convincingly beaten in the past three matches after the second game was washed out.

After losing the fifth game in Hamilton on Thursday, to give Pakistan an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the series, the New Zealand players spent 90 minutes locked away in a soul-searching session.

All-rounder Jacob Oram said some "home truths" were laid out as the players evaluated why they had won only one of their past 16 games.

"There was a lot said and that's going to stay within the changing room, but it's basically about guys doing their jobs, not looking for excuses or explanations, and just winning matches for New Zealand," Oram said.

"We were just trying to get to the bottom of what's going on because it's happening too often for it to just be a coincidence."

New Zealand have made two changes from the Hamilton side with Tim Southee and Luke Woodcock coming in for Oram and Jamie How.

Oram was injured in the match warm-up, while regular captain Daniel Vettori remains sidelined with a hamstring strain. Ross Taylor will lead the side.

New Zealand have also ended the experiment of batting Brendon McCullum down the order in a spot he occupied years ago and he will return to opener where he has been in recent seasons.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Scott Styris, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Luke Woodcock, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir

Captain Afridi has widespread support: Butt

 Shahid Afridi will take the field for the final One-day International against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday (today) knowing for sure that he will be leading Pakistan in the World Cup.
After weeks of uncertainty, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally announced on Friday that it has retained the seasoned allrounder as the national captain for World Cup 2011 which gets underway on February 19.
The PCB announcement ended speculations that the Board might give the job to Misbah-ul-Haq, the experienced middle-order batsman who led Pakistan to a rare Test series triumph over New Zealand last month. Misbah has been appointed as vice-captain for the World Cup.
It was 17 days ago that the PCB announced Pakistan’s final 15-man squad for the World Cup but decided against naming the team’s captain.
Officially, the Board refrained from giving any reason for the delay but privately some of its officials hinted that Ijaz Butt — the PCB chief — wasn’t happy with Afridi’s performance as Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket.
Misbah’s prolific form and his success as Test captain added weight to speculations that he is being seen as the most suitable man to lead Pakistan in the World Cup.
But most experts warned the PCB that it would be disastrous to change the team’s captain so close to the World Cup.
Butt took it upon himself to ‘resolve’ the captaincy issue and went to New Zealand to carry out meetings with all stakeholders. In the end, he finally found out that Afridi was still Pakistan’s best bet as the World Cup captain.
Butt, a former Test cricketer, announced on Friday that Afridi enjoyed widespread backing from his teammates.
“I had detailed discussions with team management and players in New Zealand regarding captain and vice-captain and am pleased to state that everyone fully endorsed these decisions,” Butt said in a statement.
Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan took a swipe at the Board for its self-created headache.
“The Board paved the path for needless speculations,” he said. “Afridi was the obvious choice and should have been named captain for the World Cup when the team was announced,” he added.
Other former cricketers including Rashid Latif, Abdul Qadir and Zaheer Abbas urged Pakistan to rally behind Afridi so that the national team can do well in the World Cup.

Pakistan coach Waqar questioned over World Cup comment

Pakistan team coach Waqar Younis has been asked to explain himself to the national cricket board after criticising it for a delay in naming their captain for next month's World Cup (Feb 19-April 2).

A spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a notice had been sent to Waqar over his comments made from New Zealand following their 2-1 Test series win there.

"We have asked him to explain his statement over the captaincy," media manager Nadeem Sarwar said.

Former Test captain Waqar, who guided Pakistan to their first Test series win since 2006 by winning the two-match series in New Zealand on Wednesday, had told Geo Super channel that he was surprised by the board decision.

"I am surprised that the board has delayed announcing the captain. I don't know the reasons for this but personally I think the captain should have been named with the team," Waqar said.

The PCB on Tuesday announced its 15-member World Cup squad but said it would name the captain later although all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been given the responsibility of leading the team in the forthcoming one-day series in New Zealand.

Former Test captains and ex-selectors have criticised the PCB decision to delay announcing the captain, claiming it would lead to internal problems in the team and make players insecure.

Pakistan seal New Zealand series with draw

 Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-haq led from the front, scoring his second half century of the match, to ensure his side batted out the final day to draw the second Test against New Zealand on Wednesday and claim their first series victory since 2006.

Misbah finished the day on 70 not out, following on from his 99 in the first innings, as Pakistan reached 226 for five at the close of play, 48 runs short of their victory target of 274.

Adnan Akmal was two not out as the visitors claimed their first series win since they beat the West Indies 2-0 at home five years ago.

Misbah had shared in an 118-run stand with Younis Khan (81) -- their second century-stand of the match -- after New Zealand had threatened to spoil the visitors' day when they reduced them to 42-3 in the first session.

Chris Martin was particularly aggressive in the first session, taking 2-24 off nine overs and had the Pakistani batsmen frantically trying to see him off.

New zealand captain Daniel Vettori also provided some concerning moments for the visitors, introducing himself in the eighth over and getting bounce from the harder ball and some turn out of the footmarks.

Misbah and Younis, however, slowly but assuredly ground down the attack and for long periods during the session between lunch and tea looked to have given up any pretence of chasing down the target before they slowly began to increase the scoring rate.

New Zealand were given the slightest hope of a final session victory when Younis was caught by Reece Young off Tim Southee in the final over before tea.

Misbah, who faced 172 balls and hit his fifth boundary to bring up his 50 after 255 minutes at the crease, and Asad Shafiq, however, continued to combine stoic defence and flirting with the possibility of launching a frantic final assault.

In the final hour, Vettori trapped Shafiq in front for 24 to leave Pakistan 215-5 and while the New Zealand bowlers attempted to rattle them with several vociferous appeals, Akmal and Misbah negotiated their way through until the close.

All-round Razzaq Helps Big Victory Against New Zealand

Abdul Razzaq pummeled an 11-ball 34 to propel Pakistan to 183, before returning to flatten the New Zealand top order with the new ball, as the visitors stormed to a 103-run victory in the third Twenty20 in Christchurch.

Razzaq capitalised on some inexperienced death bowling from Adam Milne to hammer 31 from the last nine deliveries of the innings, and picked up three wickets for 13 as New Zealand imploded dramatically, effectively surrendering the game within the first three overs of their chase.

To chase a big total of 184, New Zealand had made 11 runs for the loss of five wickets from their first five overs. Pakistan were 51 for no loss at the same stage.

It had begun as the top four batsmen all collected ducks. Martin Guptill began the catastrophic collapse when he edged Razzaq to point, pushing away from his body with hard hands to one that nipped away a touch. Jesse Ryder turned in his continue failure of the series in the following over when he top edged a pull, and Dean Brownlie's decision to sneak a quick single to get off the mark backfired when Shahid Afridi effected a rare Pakistani direct hit.

Ross Taylor was unfortunate to be adjudged lbw to one that struck him slightly above the knee roll, but didn't do himself any favours by playing all around the straight delivery.

Three overs into the innings, New Zealand had lost four wickets for three runs, and when James Franklin lost his head, and his middle stump, two overs later, there was only one direction the match was heading.

Earlier, Pakistan shrugged off the indifferent form that has dogged their New Zealand tour to reach 183/6 in a sparkling display.

Openers Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez went after New Zealand's bowlers from the outset, scoring at a rate of almost 10 an over for a partnership of 81 to give Pakistan their best start of the series.

Hafeez made a slower start but was keeping the scoreboard humming with 34 from 23 balls before mistiming a wide pitched delivery from James Franklin and falling to a leaping one-handed catch from Ross Taylor.

Shehzad followed in Franklin's next over, trapped lbw for 54 off 34 balls.

Pakistan then hit a mid-innings wobble as Younis Khan was run out for five and Asad Shafiq was dismissed for eight after charging Nathan McCullum and providing Kyle Mills with an easy catch on the boundary.

Skipper Shahid Afridi tried to steady his team but threw away his wicket stepping away from the stumps in an attempt to scoop a full toss from Southee over fine leg.

Abdul Razzaq had more success after being dropped by McCullum on two, going on to make 34 off 11 balls, including three sixes.

Pakistan Opt to Bat As Gul Rested, Akhtar Dropped

Pakistan will bat after winning the toss in the third Twenty20 in Christchurch, as they attempt to restore pride and gain some winning momentum ahead of the Test series.

Both skippers will be happy at the toss result as Ross Taylor said he would have bowled first due to the grass cover on the pitch.

Shahid Afridi shuffles down the order to bat at his regular position for Pakistan, as Ahmed Shehzad moves up to open. Umar Gul rested at ahead of Test series while Shoaib Akhtar have been left out of the side, after having had indifferent outings in Hamilton on Tuesday, with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman and fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed replacing them.

New Zealand too, have rung in the changes, as Dean Brownlie and Adam Milne return to the team at the expense of Luke Woodcock and Ian Butler.

Afridi Arrived Pakistan to Pick World Cup Probables

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi will meet board chairman Ijaz Butt at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters in Lahore on Monday to finalise the probables for the 2011 World Cup and also the 15-man squad for the ODI series in New Zealand.

Afridi arrived in Lahore on Friday night from Christchurch after the end of the three-match Twenty20 series for the meeting. He will leave on Monday night to join the team in Hamilton for the first Test against New Zealand starting Jan 7.

A top official in the PCB said that Butt wants to discuss the probables with Afridi before giving the green signal to national selectors to announce the preliminary squad for World Cup 2011 as well as the squad for the seven-match ODI series against New Zealand.

Pakistan are to name their 30-man provisional squad for World Cup 2011 by Jan 5. The national selection committee headed by former Test opener Mohsin Khan is also supposed to decide the 15-man ODI squad for the series against the Black Caps within the next few days.

All participating teams of World Cup 2011 were asked to name their preliminary squads by Dec 19, two months before the quadrennial spectacle gets underway in the sub-continent. But Pakistan were unable to meet the deadline because their three key players are seeking a 'clearance' for national duty.

Following a PCB request, Pakistan were allowed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to name their squad by Jan 5.