India vs Pakistan Friendship Cup at Glasgow 2007
IND vs PAK, Glasgow ODI : Match called off due to bad weather
Jul 3, 2007
The one-off cricket one-dayer between traditional rivals India and Pakistan was today called off without a ball being bowled due to inclement weather.
The handful of fans who had turned up at the Clydesdale Ground returned disappointed as the umpires decided to abandon the game after an inspection at 2.00 pm (6.30 pm IST) citing "unplayable" ground conditions.
"It is absolutely soaking and there is no chance of play," umpire Mark Benson of England said. There were intermittent showers right through the day and though the sun broke out briefly, it was not enough to dry the soggy outfield. "The problem is that the water table is very high and rain has accumulated on the top. It is very slushy."
Prince Charles, for whose charity trust the match was to raise funds, visited the dressing room of the two teams and interacted with the players. Later, he also posed for a group photo with them.
Rain threatens India-Pakistan match in Glasgow
Jul 3, 2007
ODI between India and Pakistan is in danger of being washed out, says Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith.
The arch-rivals were unable to train at the Glasgow ground on Monday because of a saturated outfield and intermittent rain. "We are just hoping that there is not enough rain over the next 12-14 hours to get the ground any wetter because it has rained so much over the last six weeks in Scotland," Smith said on Monday.
"For the last four or five days it has rained every day so, although we are remaining hopeful of getting play, the ground can't take a lot more rain." Smith said he was happy about security arrangements for the match, after members of a suspected al Qaeda cell rammed a fuel-packed jeep into a terminal building at Glasgow Airport on Saturday.
"We are very comfortable with the security," Smith said. "Security was always going to be tight and will be tomorrow, but it's about having to react to situations that are faced by us. "The police have been involved for five months in terms of planning the event. Everyone wants the event to go ahead smoothly and I'm sure we can control every situation, apart from the weather." India team (from): Rahul Dravid (Captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (vice-captain), Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Kaarthick, Ajit Agarkar, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Rudra Pratap Singh and S Sreesanth.
Pakistan team (from): Shoaib Malik (Captain), Salman Butt (vice-captain), Imran Nazir, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul.
Pakistan cricket team leaves for Scotland
Jun 27, 2007
Pakistan's cricket team left for Scotland on Wednesday where it would play two One-day matches.
Pakistani squad would play against Scotland on July 1. The Prince Charles Trust has organized a charity match between Pakistan and India, which would be played on July 3. The 14- member team and officials would reach Glasgow via Manchester. Younis Khan would join the team in England. While talking to the media before departure, captain Shoaib Malik said that all players including Shoaib Akhtar are completely fit and would deliver best performance in Scotland.
Team manager Talat Ali said the team is united and no differences exist regarding the captain or vice captain. Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said that he would prove his fitness during the tour of Scotland. He termed his comeback a privilege.
Pakistan favourite to win against India: Talat Ali
Jun 26, 2007
Pakistani cricket officials are confident that their team would beat India in Glasgow next week.
"India are a good team but we believe ours is a better side at the moment," Pakistan team manager Talat Ali said. "We are regaining our confidence and that can be achieved through positive results. That is one of the reasons why we are treating the forthcoming matches against Scotland and India as important ones," he added.
The Pakistani players have greatly benefited from a conditioning camp in Abbottabad that was supervised by army trainers, The News quoted him, as saying. He said return of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and batsman Younis Khan would make the Pakistan team stronger than the side that beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in a One-day Internationals (ODI) series in Abu Dhabi. "Our bowling attack is certainly among the best in the world and that should give us an edge over India," Ali said.
Pakistan will play Scotland on July 1 and then clash against India two days later during a brief tour of Scotland starting from Wednesday.
Akhtar, Younis recalled for India ODI
Jun 16, 2007
Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and senior batsman Younis Khan today returned to the Pakistan squad that will play a one-off ODI against India in Scotland next month.
Pakistan will face India in Glasgow in a match that will be a fund-raiser for Prince Charles charity on July 3 besides playing a possible series against a World XI. The 'Rawalpindi Express', who has not played an international tie since failing a dope test ahead of the Champions Trophy last October, was understandably delighted at his recall to the national team. Pakistan team: Shoaib Malik (Captain), Imran Nazir, Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami.
Younis Khan available for matches against India
Jun 11, 2007
Senior Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has made himself available for the upcoming one-dayers against India and Scotland in the United Kingdom.
The national selectors contacted Younis, who relented after refusing initially, sources close to the batsman said.
The selectors, however, will make an official announcement after getting approval from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Naseem Ashraf who is presently in India. Younis, who is currently playing for Yorkshire in England, had also declined to play in the Abu Dhabi series against Sri Lanka as he was committed to the county until late September which ruled him out of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa as well.
Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed had spoken to Younis and convinced him for giving priority to national team. Ashraf had recently rejected calls to take disciplinary action against Younis.
Shoaib Akhtar returns for charity tie against India
Jun 06, 2007
Pakistan have recalled mercurial pacer Shoaib Akhtar for the charity cricket one-dayer against India in Glasgow next month.
Akhtar, who has been out of action for the past 14 months due to fitness problems, is 'match-fit' and among the 20 players selected for a training camp from June 10 in Abbotabad.
"Shoaib is back because he has been training hard and working overtime on his fitness. But we still need to see his match fitness. No player including Shoaib would be considered for the matches if he is not 100 per cent fit," Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said. Although the match against India is a charity affair for the Prince Charles fund, Salahuddin said the fixture was being taken with all seriousness due to India being the opponent. Pakistan Team (from): Shoaib Malik, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Naved Latif, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Mohammad Yousuf, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Asif, Najaf Shah, Umar Gul.
Prince Charles invites India and Pakistan to Scotland for ODI match
May 18, 2007
Prince Charles has invited arch rivals India and Pakistan to play a one-day international charity match in Glasgow on July three to celebrate 60 years of independence from Britain.
The match, named the Friendship Cup, aims to raise more than five million dollars (2.5 million pounds) for charities in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Britain. Charles, the heir to the throne, came up with the idea of the match.
The match to be held at the Citylets Titwood in Glasgow, will organised by the British Asian Trust, a new subsidiary of the Prince's Charities Foundation. The match was confirmed by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and Cricket Scotland.
The two sides last met in a two-match series in Abu Dhabi 13 months ago, which ended tied 1-1.
The match will also foster on-going relations between the UK and South Asia, according to information in Prince's Charities Foundation website. Lalit Modi, Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said, "We are very pleased to confirm that the Indian cricket team will be playing this one day international against Pakistan under the banner of 'The Friendship Cup' benefiting The Prince's Charities." "This will be an amazing occasion as both our nations have not met outside the World Cup or the ICC Trophy in the United Kingdom. With such large Indian and Pakistani origin populations it will be a fantastic opportunity to play such a match in aid of such a wonderful cause.
"The game was His Royal Highness's idea and we are pleased that together with Cricket Scotland we have been able to put this into our tour of the United Kingdom," added Mr. Modi. Scotland's cricket community was celebrating an unprecedented coup last night after it was confirmed that a one-off match between the two sub-continental giants would be hosted by them.
Roddy Smith, Chief Executive of Cricket Scotland, said, "Hosting one of, if not the biggest game in world cricket is a hugely exciting event for the game in Scotland. Cricket Scotland is delighted and honoured that India and Pakistan have chosen our country as the venue for this game and we look forward to working with the two countries, Glasgow City Council and The Prince's Charities to deliver a great day. "It's fantastic news for the public to have two such games in the same week," said Peter Drinnen, the Scotland coach. "It's great for Cricket Scotland to attract such a fixture as India v Pakistan, and it's tremendous for our players to get another one-day game against a full member nation. We have a big Asian population who follow the game very closely, and to have both those teams in town at the same time would be a major, significant gain for any country. It will certainly raise the profile of cricket in Scotland," the coach added.
The one-day international will be relayed live to billions across the Asian subcontinent by Zee TV, and will also attract Scotland's largest cricket crowd since the 1999 World Cup, with 5,000 tickets on sale at 44 pounds each via a ballot and a corporate-hospitality capacity at Titwood of 1,000.