ICC clears Pakistan spinner Ajmal's bowling action

Updated at: 1102 PST, Monday, May 25, 2009

NEW DELHI: Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has received a timely boost after an International Cricket Council (ICC) expert cleared his bowling action, which had been reported by umpires last month.

Ajmal, due to play in the World Twenty20 starting in England on June 5, was cleared after a biomechanics expert in Australia ruled his elbow extension, while bowling was within the permitted 15 degrees, an ICC statement said.

The 31-year-old off-spinner, who has played 10 one-day internationals, was reported for a suspect bowling action by umpires after the second one-dayer against Australia in Dubai.

Iftikhar replaces Akhtar in Twenty20 squad

ISLAMABAD: Rao Iftikhar was confirmed as replacement for fellow pace-man Shoaib Akhtar in the Pakistan squad Monday for next month's Twenty20 World Cup.

The Pakistan Cricket Board dropped Akhtar from its squad last week due to a skin infection, prompting it to seek approval to replace him from the Twenty20 World Cup organizers.

``The ICC has confirmed the event technical committee of the World Twenty20 has approved Iftikhar as a replacement player for Shoaib Akhtar,'' the International Cricket Council said in a statement.

Akhtar is ruled out of the entire Twenty20 World Cup after the ICC also said that once a player is replaced he is ineligible to return to the squad for the tournament.

Pakistan is drawn in Group B along with the Netherlands and host England for the Twenty20 tournament, which begins from June 5. The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the Super Eight stage.

Iftikhar, 28, has played one test, 58 limited-overs internationals and a Twenty20 match for Pakistan, including during last month's series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates. He was also a member of the Pakistan side, which lost to India in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup final at South Africa in 2007.

Mentally tough' Pakistan ready for World Twenty20

Monday, May 25, 2009
By Khalid Hussain

KARACHI: Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam is hoping that a series of one-to-one sessions with a sports psychologist will help his charges attain the sort of mental toughness that is needed to win major events like next month's World Twenty20 Championship in England.

Pakistan reached the final of the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 but fell to India in the title clash.

This time, Intikhab is hopeful that a series of preparatory measures taken by Pakistan will help them go all the way in the June 5-21 spectacle to staged in London and Nottingham.

One of the new steps taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was to rope in a seasoned psychologist to help the England-bound players cope up with pressure and give their best in the Twenty20 tournament.

The PCB hired Maqbool Bari, a well-known psychologist, for a series of sessions with the players on the sidelines of three practice games in Lahore last week.

"One of our primary tasks is to make the players mentally tough," Intikhab told 'The News' in an interview. "Mental toughness is one of the key elements needed to win a major title and we believe that the players can improve in that area with help from steps like having a psychologist around for a while," he added.

Babri spent two hours with each of the cricketers. He carried out one-to-one sessions with the players separately.

Intikhab is confident that when the Pakistani squad will leave for England on May 30, it will be fully ready for the tough challenge.

"Our aim is to win the title and England and thankfully our preparations are on the right track," he stressed.

Pakistan warmed up for the World Twenty20 by comprehensively beating Australia in a one-off Twenty20 International in Dubai on May. Later, the national cricketers attended a conditioning camp in Bhurban and then played a series of practice games in Lahore. The players will now compete in the RBS National Twenty20 Cup getting underway in Lahore from Monday (today). The Pakistan team players will only compete in matches on the first three days of the five-day contest.

"We have decided to give the boys a two-day rest because its also equally important to rest and rejuvenate," said Intikhab, a former Pakistan captain.

"We are preparing for a major event and want our boys to be in peak physical and mental condition for the England assignment," he concluded.

Pakistan will play a couple of practice games in their buildup for the World Twenty20. They will meet South Africa at Trent Bridge (Nottingham) on June 1 and will then feature in an eagerly-awaited clash with old rivals India at The Oval on June 3. Bracketed with England and minnows Netherlands in Group B of the event, Pakistan will open their title campaign with a match against the hosts on July 7 at The Oval.

Twenty 20 World Cup 2009 Schedule

ICC World Twenty20, 2009
Fixtures/Schedule of all Matches of all Teams
The 20-20 world cup tournament is to start in June this year, and it would be held in United Kingdom (England). Here we the schedule for you - see the fixtures:
JUNE 2009
Fri 517:30 local, 16:30 GMT
1st Match, Group B - England v NetherlandsLord’s, London
Sat 610:00 local, 09:00 GMT
2nd Match, Group D - New Zealand v ScotlandKennington Oval, London
Sat 613:30 local, 12:30 GMT
3rd Match, Group C - Australia v West IndiesKennington Oval, London
Sat 617:30 local, 16:30 GMT
4th Match, Group A - Bangladesh v IndiaTrent Bridge, Nottingham
Sun 713:30 local, 12:30 GMT
5th Match, Group D - Scotland v South AfricaKennington Oval, London
Sun 717:30 local, 16:30 GMT
6th Match, Group B - England v PakistanKennington Oval, London
Mon 813:30 local, 12:30 GMT
7th Match, Group A - Bangladesh v IrelandTrent Bridge, Nottingham
Mon 817:30 local, 16:30 GMT
8th Match, Group C - Australia v Sri LankaTrent Bridge, Nottingham
Tue 913:30 local, 12:30 GMT
9th Match, Group B - Netherlands v PakistanLord’s, London
Tue 917:30 local, 16:30 GMT
10th Match, Group D - New Zealand v South AfricaLord’s, London
Wed 1013:30 local, 12:30 GMT
11th Match, Group C - Sri Lanka v West IndiesTrent Bridge, Nottingham
Wed 1017:30 local, 16:30 GMT
12th Match, Group A - India v IrelandTrent Bridge, Nottingham
Thu 1113:30 local, 12:30 GMT
13th Match, Group F - TBC v TBCTrent Bridge, NottinghamD1 v A2
Thu 1117:30 local, 16:30 GMT
14th Match, Group E - TBC v TBCTrent Bridge, NottinghamB2 v D2
Fri 1213:30 local, 12:30 GMT
15th Match, Group F - TBC v TBCLord’s, LondonB1 v C2
Fri 1217:30 local, 16:30 GMT
16th Match, Group E - TBC v TBCLord’s, LondonA1 v C1
Sat 1313:30 local, 12:30 GMT
17th Match, Group E - TBC v TBCKennington Oval, LondonC1 v D2
Sat 1317:30 local, 16:30 GMT
18th Match, Group F - TBC v TBCKennington Oval, LondonD1 v B1
Sun 1413:30 local, 12:30 GMT
19th Match, Group F - TBC v TBCLord’s, LondonA2 v C2
Sun 1417:30 local, 16:30 GMT
20th Match, Group E - TBC v TBCLord’s, LondonA1 v B2
Mon 1513:30 local, 12:30 GMT
21st Match, Group E - TBC v TBCKennington Oval, LondonB2 v C1
Mon 1517:30 local, 16:30 GMT
22nd Match, Group F - TBC v TBCKennington Oval, LondonB1 v A2
Tue 1613:30 local, 12:30 GMT
23rd Match, Group F - TBC v TBCTrent Bridge, NottinghamD1 v C2
Tue 1617:30 local, 16:30 GMT
24th Match, Group E - TBC v TBCTrent Bridge, NottinghamD2 v A1
Thu 1817:30 local, 16:30 GMT
1st Semi-Final - TBC v TBCTrent Bridge, Nottingham
Fri 1917:30 local, 16:30 GMT
2nd Semi-Final - TBC v TBCKennington Oval, London
Sun 2115:00 local, 14:00 GMT
Final - TBC v TBCLord’s, London