Malik struggling to find a place in Pakistan team

September 29th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Pakistan all rounders Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik underwent regular dope tests here. This was the second such test conducted on Malik in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, The News reports.

September 29th, 2009 LAHORE - Impressed by their brilliant performances against India in the ICC Champions Trophy, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced cash award of 500,000 rupees each for Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf. Malik and Yousuf were involved in a record fourth wicket partnership of 206 runs which helped Pakistan post an imposing total of 303 for India to chase.

September 27th, 2009 CENTURION - Pakistan middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik has refused to open the innings in case the team management decides to send him up the batting order as the regular openers have not been so successful in the ongoing Champions Trophy, The News reports. According to sources privy to the Pakistani dressing room, Malik is reluctant to open the innings which has forced the team management to drop Misbah-ul Haq in order to accommodate captain Younis Khan.

September 26th, 2009 CENTURION - India were at last beaten by Pakistan in an International Cricket Council (ICC) event as they lost their Group A match by 54 runs in the Champions Trophy here Saturday. Riding on Shoaib Maliks robust century Pakistan posted a challenging 302 for nine after skipper Younis Khan decided to bat.

September 23rd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Pakistan struggled hard to manage a five-wicket win over West Indies in a Group A match of the Champions Trophy at the Wanderers here Wednesday. Chasing a paltry target of 134 runs, Pakistan's top order collapsed but Man of the Match Umar Akmal played a composed unbeaten 41 and stand-in skipper Shahid Afridi, leading in place of injured Younis Khan, remained not out on 17 to see his team home safely in 30.3 overs with five wickets in hand.

September 23rd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - The following is the scoreboard of the Group A match between West Indies and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy at the Wanderers here Wednesday. West Indies: Dale Richards c & b Aamer 1 Andre Fletcher c Imran b Naved-ul-Hasan 7 Devon Smith c Umar Akmal b Umar Gul Travis Dowlin c Kamran Akmal b Aamer 0 Floyd Reifer c Misbah-ul-Haq b Umar Gul 7 David Bernard b Aamer 6 Darren Sammy b Saeed Ajmal 25 Chadwick Walton lbw Umar Gul 0 Nikita Miller c Malik b Afridi 51 Tino Best st Kamran Akmal b Ajmal 8 Gavin Tonge not out 4 Extras (w 5, nb 1) 6 Total (all out in 34.3 overs) 133 (3.85 runs per over) Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Richards, 0.6 overs), 2-11 (Fletcher, 3.6), 3-14 (Dowlin, 4.5), 4-36 (Smith, 10.3), 5-43 (Bernard, 13.3), 6-47 (Reifer, 14.3), 7-47 (Walton, 14.4), 8-85 (Sammy, 24.5), 9-121 (Best, 31.1), 10-133 (Miller, 34.3) Bowling: Mohammad Aamer 7-1-24-3 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 7-0-26-1 Umar Gul 8-2-28-3 Shahid Afridi 8.3-0-39 Saeed Ajmal 4-0-16-2 Pakistan: Imran Nazir b Tonge 5 Kamran Akmal c Walton b Tonge 5 Shoaib Malik c Walton b Tonge 23 Mohammad Yousuf c Walton b Tonge 23 Misbah-ul-Haq c Walton b Bernard 6 Umar Akmal not out 41 Shahid Afridi not out 17 Extras (lb 2, w 9, nb 3) 14 Total (for five wickets in 30.3 overs) 134 Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Imran Nazir, 1.1 overs), 2-21 (Kamran Akmal, 5.1), 3-54 (Shoaib Malik, 13.3), 4-61 (Mohammad Yousuf, 15.1), 5-76 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 22.3) Bowling: Darren Sammy 7-0-29-0 Gavin Tonge 10-3-25-4 Tino Best 6.3-0-50-0 David Bernard 7-0-28-1 Result: Pakistan won by five wickets Man of the Match: Umar Akmal (Pakistan) Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Daryl Harper (Australia) TV umpire: Simon Taufel (Australia) Match referee: Javagal Srinath (India)

September 17th, 2009 KARACHI - Former Pakistan all rounder captain Shoaib Malik has described the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy tougher than the World Cup and said that any of the eight participating teams could win the coveted trophy as there were no favourites. "The Champions Trophy is more competitive than the World Cup and no team is favourite to win the title," Malik told media persons here.

September 16th, 2009 KARACHI - Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has declared that his team's Pool A match against old rivals India in the Champions Trophy will be the 'match of the tournament'. Malik told reporters at the National Stadium here Tuesday night that no other game in the elite eight-nation contest will be able to match the intensity of the Pakistan-India clash.

August 20th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan cricket selection committee led by chief selector Iqbal Qasim has decided to get a feedback from coach Intikhab Alam and captain Younis Khan before selecting the 15-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in South Africa in September. According to sources, Qasim has decided to consult both Alam and Younis Khan before picking the team for the mega event.

August 5th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistani skipper Younis Khan has blamed the flawed domestic set-up for Pakistan cricket team's dismal ODI series loss to Sri Lanka. "Instead, the poor structure back home is to blame.

July 15th, 2009 KARACHI - Former Pakistan cricketers have blamed poor team spirit for the team's defeat to Sri Lanka in the Colombo Test. The Pakistan batting order collapsed like a house of cards in the second innings of the second Test match on Tuesday resulting in a seven wicket loss.

June 30th, 2009 LAHORE - With the return of middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf in the team, the Pakistan team management is undecided over how to utilize all rounder Shoaib Malik, and is now thinking of pushing the former captain up the batting order. Malik, who has been in indifferent form with the bat in the recent past, may be asked to open the batting with Salman Butt in the first Test against Sri Lanka, which begins from July 4 in Galle, team sources said.

June 18th, 2009 NOTTINGHAM - Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 semi-final between Pakistan and South Africa. Pakistan Kamran Akmal c Morkel b Steyn 23 (12) Shahzaib Hasan c van der Merwe b Parnell 0 (2) Shahid Afridi c de Villiers b Duminy 51 (34) Shoaib Malik c Botha b van der Merwe 34 (39) Younis Khan not out 24 (18) Abdul Razzaq not out 12 (15) Extras (lb-2, w-3) 5 Total (for four wickets in 20 overs) 149 Fall of wickets 1-8 (Shahzaib Hasan, 1.2 overs), 2-28 (Kamran Akmal, 2.3), 3-95 (Shahid Afridi, 12.1), 4-124 (Shoaib Malik, 15.4) Bowling Dale Steyn 4 0 28 1 Wayne Parnell 4 0 26 1 Jacques Kallis 2 0 14 0 Albie Morkel 2 0 13 0 Roelf van der Merwe 4 0 29 1 Johan Botha 2 0 23 0 Jean Paul Duminy 2 0 14 1 South Africa Jacques Kallis c Shoaib Malik b Saeed Ajmal 64 (54) Graeme Smith c & b Mohammad Aamer 10 (14) Herschelle Gibbs b Shahid Afridi 5 (4) AB de Villiers b Shahid Afridi 1 (5) Jean Paul Duminy not out 44 (39) Albie Morkel run out (Fawad Alam) 2 (4) Mark Boucher not out 0 (0) Extras (b-4, lb-11, w-1) 16 Total (for five wickets in 20 overs) 142 Fall of wickets 1-40 (Smith, 5.5 overs), 2-46 (Gibbs, 6.6), 3-50 (de Villiers, 8.3), 4-111 (Kallis, 17.1), 5-134 (Morkel, 19.3) Bowling Abdul Razzaq 3 0 19 0 Mohammad Aamer 4 0 30 1 Shahid Afridi 4 0 16 2 Saeed Ajmal 4 0 23 1 Shoaib Malik 1 0 5 0 Umar Gul 3 0 19 0 Fawad Alam 1 0 15 0 Man of the match: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

June 18th, 2009 NOTTINGHAM - Pakistan shocked South Africa by seven runs to storm into the final of the World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge here. Brief scores: Pakistan 149/4 in 20 overs (Shahid Afridi 51, Shoaib Malik 34; Wayne Parnell 1-26) beat South Africa 142/5 in 20 overs (Jacques Kallis 64, Jean Paul Duminy 44 not out, Shahid Afridi 2-16).

June 6th, 2009 LONDON - Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has played down his teams sluggish showing in the warm-up games of the World Twenty20 and is confident that the 2007 finalists will put up a better show in the tournament. Malik said that that the morale in the Pakistan camp remains high in spite of two big defeats against South Africa and India.