“Mohammad Yousuf is for this series only and we will decide about the new captain after the tour of Australia,” The Daily Times quoted Ejaz Butt, PCB chairman, as saying.Pakistan had appointed Younis Khan captain for the tour of New Zealand in November-December last year, but he pulled out to take rest, forcing the PCB to hand over the captaincy to Yousuf.

Pakistan to get new captain after Australia tour: PCB

Yousuf was retained for the Australian tour as well, but he has failed to impress the selectors with his captaincy so far, as Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 in the Test series against Australia earlier this month and were defeated by five wickets in the first ODI played at the Gabba.

Younis, who has returned to the side after missing the Test series against New Zealand and Australia, is playing in the ODI series against Australia and appears set to recover his role as national skipper.
Pakistan will play Test series in England later in 2010 against Australia and England.

England was all out for just 180 on day one of the Fourth Test and their 1-0 lead in the series is now in serious jeopardy.

England batsmen ‘not good enough’ for Proteas: Collingwood

Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad all perished to poor shots.

top-scored with 47, said: “There were some good balls, but also some guys who will be disappointed with their shots.”

“On pitches like that you need to be 100 per cent committed to the shots you play. We weren’t good enough,” he said.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn took 5-51 to complete a set of five wicket hauls against all Test-playing nations.

Steyn, who got Andrew Strauss with the first ball of the Test, said: “I bowled better in Cape Town last week but got a couple of lucky wickets here.”

Steyn admitted South Africa were pleased that No 11 batting hero Graham Onions was dropped by England to accommodate Ryan Sidebottom.

“Ah, Sir Graham! He’d have been a handful on this wicket,” he added.

ANI

Pakistan lack skill, passion, fitness: Akram | Pakistan Cricket | Live Cricket Score

“In order to win Test matches against powerful teams one needed special talent, skill, passion and mental fitness. The present Pakistan side lacks these traits. Unlike Twenty20 and one-dayers, Test cricket is like a long race,” Akram said.

Akram suggested that cricket authorities of the country should give chance to new players after consistent failure of the senior players.

“When the seniors are creating problems for the team and getting out after making only few runs, then why not include younger players as they will learn in a year and serve the country for at least two decades. And for this, captain, board and selectors must sit together, communicate and plan,” he told Deutsche Welle Urdu Service.

“But, unfortunately, I can’t see that happening. Yousuf is an inexperienced captain and made few mistakes. But he will learn art of captaincy in the long run,” he said.

The pace legend also added that Pakistan lost the second Test in Sydney because of they were scared of defeat.

Meanwhile, former skipper and senior player Inzamam-ul Haq, defending his old friend and ex-teammate Mohammad Yousuf, has said that he must not be alone blamed for the defeats in New Zealand and Australia.

“Look at the circumstances he accepted the captaincy in. And in Australia specially in Sydney, Pakistan held the advantage on first three days but lost the match on the fourth day due to inapt performances from all sides.

“It is very sad that we lost the match at a time when we were very much close to victory but lost due to players bad show on last day so they are responsible for the team’s defeat,” Inzamam said.

India, already assured of a place in Wednesday’s final against Sri Lanka, raced to 249 for four with seven overs to spare after their bowlers had restricted Bangladesh to 247 for six from their 50 overs.

Kohli century scripts emphatic win

Kohli drove Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan to the mid-wicket boundary to complete the victory as well as his century which followed two fifties in his previous two matches. His unbeaten 102 off 95 balls included 11 fours.

Bangladesh had an outside chance of an upset win when Shakib took their fourth wicket with India still needing 48 runs in 14 overs. But Mohammad Ashraful dropped Kohli on 83 and Suresh Raina on 12 in successive overs and the opportunity vanished.

Earlier, Shakib made a solid 85 off 97 balls, his 13th ODI half-century, after Bangladesh had been reduced to 95 for five.

Put in to bat, Bangladesh had their back to the wall at 95 for five, but Shakib and Mohammad Mahmudullah (64 not out) stitched a 102-run partnership to take Bangladesh to a respectable total.

Bangladesh made a poor start after opener Imrul Kayes (9) and Mohammad Ashraful (4) paid the price for their poor shot selection and departed in successive overs.

India’s new-ball bowlers Sudip Tyagi and Sreesanth troubled the Bangaldeshi batsmen but the edges flew here and there to the boundary regularly.

Earlier, veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya was the first man to depart, inducing a top edge to Mohammad Aamer, the third man, off Umar Gul. He made just 15 runs as Sri Lanka suffered their first jolt in the 9th over. Next to fall was his fellow opener Upal Tharanga. Tharanga, who was hardly comfortable during his 44 ball stay, managed just 17 runs before Abdul Razzaq brought an end to his misery. Playing and missing on many occasions, he finally edged one well-pitched delivery to wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. Captain Kumara Sangakkara, along with Jayawardene, then tried to revive the Lankan innings with former indulging in some particularly sublime stroke-play. However, just as the duo seemed to have revived his team’s flagging fortunes, Sangakkara fell for 36 runs. Saeed Ajmal provided the vital breakthrough in the 22nd over, with the score at a paltry 93.  Kapugedera and Samarveera failed to create much impact as Pakistan bowlers further tightened the noose.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

Pakistan: Younis Khan (capt), Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilan Thushara.

Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS) and Asoka de Silva (SRI)

TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)

Match referee: Alan Hurst (AUS).