Graeme Smith may miss the first Test against India in mid-December if the fracture to the little finger of his left hand, sustained during the recently completed series against Pakistan, requires surgery

Firdose Moonda24-Nov-2010There is a possibility that Graeme Smith may miss the first Test against India in mid-December if the fracture to the little finger of his left hand, sustained during the recently completed series against Pakistan, requires surgery. While the injury means Smith will not be able to play for at least three weeks, he could be out for even longer if the problem needs to be operated upon.”Only 10% of hand fractures require surgery,” Mike Solomon, the Cape Town based orthopaedic surgeon who will see Smith on Friday, told ESPNcricinfo. Smith will only have to go under the knife if there is a gap between the bones in his finger; what is known as a displaced fracture. Cricket South Africa management diagnosed the fracture as non-displaced, which means that the recovery period should be shorter.”Usually hand fractures heal in three to four weeks but they can take up to six weeks. I have no details about Graeme’s injury so I can’t say which category he falls into,” Solomon said.
Smith’s latest injury was caused when he was struck on the hand by a rising delivery from Shoaib Ahktar in the first one-day international of the series against Pakistan. It kept him out of the second and third match, but he returned to play in the last two ODIs and the two Tests, which caused the injury to flare up. “It was aggravated by the continuous wear and tear involved with fielding and batting”, Mohammed Moosajee, team manager said.Smith has now had five separate hand injuries in the past two-and-a-half years, which have often kept him out of limited-overs engagements but have yet to affect his participation in Tests. The fracture prior to his most recent injury was sustained while taking a catch during the IPL in April. The worrying thing about the latest injury is that, similar to the broken hand Smith suffered twice at the hands of Mitchell Johnson in the 2008/9 season, it was sustained while batting. Once again, questions will be raised about whether it’s Smith’s technique that makes him vulnerable to being hit or if he is just unlucky.”He has a very dominant bottom hand which could leave more of the hand exposed,” said Richard Pybus, the former Pakistan coach who is currently in charge of the Cape Cobras. “Usually batsmen grip the bat with their thumb, forefinger and middle finger but it’s possible he could expose his ring and little finger more than others because of his technique. I haven’t worked that much with him so I am not certain of the theory.”Jimmy Cook, who coached Smith when he was a schoolboy at the King Edward High School in Johannesburg, said that he tried to decrease Smith’s reliance on his bottom hand many times. “We tried to change it and moved it a lot but he couldn’t adjust too much,” Cook said.Smith’s technique has served him well over the years, helping him accumulate over 7,000 Test runs and allowing him to be “prolific on the leg side” according to Cook. “Eventually, I thought that if using the bottom hand like that is going to benefit him, he should leave it like that. He’s taken a few hits on the hand now, so I don’t think he is scared.”Smith is not the only South African with arm trouble. Also among the walking wounded is Hashim Amla. Amla was hit on the forearm by a Misbah-ul-Haq pull shot when he was fielding at short leg during the second session on Wednesday. He left the field for treatment and did not return for the remainder of the game, but was not taken to hospital for any scans. “He is under the physiotherapists’ watch and we are waiting to see how he responds to icing, compression and elevation. We will have a clearer picture a bit later,” said Moosajee.The first Test against India gets underway on the 16th of December at Centurion.

It was a day for burning up the record books at the Gabba as Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott produced a herculean unbroken stand of 329 to secure a comfortable draw for England

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan29-Nov-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook continued his commanding display as he moved to a maiden double hundred•Getty Images

It was a day for burning up the record books at the Gabba as Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott produced a herculean unbroken stand of 329 to secure a comfortable draw for England. Cook scored his maiden double-century and Trott hit his second hundred against Australia, making it the first time England’s top three had scored Ashes tons, before Andrew Strauss declared at a mind-boggling 1 for 517, which left Australia to face 41 overs.There was never a realistic chance of a result with England 296 in front, but they wanted to try to secure further psychological points ahead of Adelaide. Stuart Broad, wicketless in the first innings, made an early breakthrough when Simon Katich edged to slip, however, Ricky Ponting put two days of fielding frustration behind him to notch a brisk half-century as he and Shane Watson batted out the remainder of the match and lifted Australia’s spirits a little. It had been a sobering time in the field, as they claimed a single wicket in 26 overs.While Cook and Trott extended a stand that was already worth 121 overnight, it was difficult to keep up with each new landmark. On a personal level, Cook’s 200 came from 306 balls while Trott’s elegant, composed hundred took 213 and his was an innings studded with wonderful driving. In 2005, Cook cracked a double-hundred against the touring Australians but that wasn’t a first-class match and this innings left his previous Test-best of 173, made against Bangladesh at Chittagong, well behind.In a mark of what Cook achieved, he also broke a record held by Don Bradman for the highest individual score at the Gabba, while his match aggregate bettered that of Matthew Hayden in the 2002-03 Ashes encounter. Trott, meanwhile, continued the prolific start to his Test career and made it two second-innings hundreds in two Tests against Australia following his debut ton at The Oval.The partnership rattled through the records. It became the highest for England in Australia and banished the Michael Hussey-Brad Haddin alliance to second place for any stand at Brisbane less than two days after it was set. They finished with the highest-scoring innings for the loss of a single wicket. For the England fans, who far outnumbered the locals on the final day, it will have been the performance of Ashes dreams.England began the day knowing they weren’t out of danger despite yesterday’s heroics and there were more than a few mentions of what happened in Adelaide four years ago. However, this time there was no Shane Warne to spin the batsmen into submission. Instead, Cook and Trott continued as they had done the previous evening by scoring at a rapid pace against unthreatening bowling and by lunch it was just a question of how many overs England wanted at demoralised opponents.Ponting set fairly defensive fields and a number of edges flew through gaps in the slips, but Australia couldn’t even take the one chance that came their when Michael Clarke dropped a sitter at slip when Trott, on 75, tried to guide Watson to third man. Ponting just continued to chew his gum and the home side were deflated.Mitchell Johnson, meanwhile, went through a horrid spell to give his confidence another pounding. He tried over and round the wicket to both batsmen, but his match was summed up when he sprayed a terrible bouncer miles down the leg side against Trott which flew for five wides. Johnson ended wicketless in a Test for the first time and faced a nervous wait to see what his immediate future held.England teams have been through years of pain in Australia, and especially at the Gabba, and the two batsmen were in no mood to let up. Both batsmen start to open their shoulders; Cook used his feet against the spinners while Trott continued to show his sweet straight driving. Even when Doherty found turn from the footmarks, two deliveries beat Brad Haddin for four byes.Australia thought they’d finally broken through at 1 for 457 when Cook chipped Doherty to short midwicket, where Ponting dived forward for the catch, but the celebration was so low-key that Cook stood his ground and it went to the TV umpire. As so often, the cameras added doubt although it appeared Ponting had got his fingers under the ball and he was angered when the decision was ruled not out.Just to add to Ponting’s pain, he then spilled a tough late chance at slip and when England passed 500 courtesy of four more byes all he could offer was a gentle clap and strained smile. Ponting, though, has determination in bucket-loads and was desperate not to hand England his wicket during the final session.The quick bowlers tried to pepper him with short balls, and Finn struck his helmet, but the pitch was too docile to cause major concerns. James Anderson, meanwhile, had plenty to say to both batsmen and had to be spoken to by Aleem Dar. Graeme Swann was denied a confidence-boosting scalp when Paul Collingwood spilled Watson at slip in what proved to be the last significant chance they created. Ponting sped to a 40-ball half-century to ease his tension a little.At the start of the final hour Strauss approached his opposite number and the two captains shook on a draw but, once again, the final outcome doesn’t reflect the drama of the five days. Battle will be resumed in Adelaide, on Friday, where it’s unlikely to be any easier for the bowlers.

Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, has said he’s not worried by his side’s miserable performance in their tour opener against Auckland

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2010Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, has said he’s not worried by his side’s miserable performance in their tour opener against Auckland, folding for 91 in a Twenty20 match which they lost by five wickets. Pakistan’s brittle batting failed to last 20 overs at Colin Maiden Park in what was their only Twenty20 warm-up match of the tour, and Auckland chased down their target with more than six overs remaining.”It wasn’t the ideal start but that happens sometimes when you’ve just arrived in the country and you don’t really know much about the pitch conditions,” Waqar said. “I’m not really worried about it.”Pakistan’s batting fragility has hurt them plenty of times this year, and it was no different against Auckland. “The batting had been undergoing a good deal of work but the batsmen failed to click in the game and no-one had taken responsibility to anchor the effort.”Pakistan’s next match is the first of three Twenty20s against New Zealand, on Boxing Day. “I think they’ve learned the lesson and hopefully in the next game it will be a different ball game,” Waqar said. “We have done badly today, and we have spoken about it. We have to work hard over the next couple of days so we don’t repeat this type of performance.”

In a thrilling final, Usman Salahuddin hit a four off the last ball to give Lahore Ealges a one-wicket win against Khan Research Laboratories at the National Stadium in Karachi

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a thrilling final, Usman Salahuddin hit a four off the last ball to give Lahore Eagles a one-wicket win against Khan Research Laboratories at the National Stadium in Karachi. Lahore needed three to win off the last ball and seamer Mohammad Irfan pitched short. Salahuddin pulled it away to the midwicket boundary and took his side to the title.With seventeen required off the last seven balls, KRL were favourites, but Lahore’s No. 11 Emmad Ali hit the first ball he faced to long-off for four and then cleared the same boundary off the second ball of the final over. Emmad turned the strike back to Salahuddin, who was not out on 50, and he only managed two off the next two balls. But he held his nerve to take the required runs off the last ball.Lahore’s chase was looking on course, as they reached 200 for 2, with Hamza Paracha batting on 109. Parcha fell in the 39th over and the wickets kept falling as Lahore tried to keep up with the required rate. Mohammad Irfan took four wickets in his five-over spell between overs 41 and 50, giving him five for the match, and the required rate had gone up to 10.66 with three overs remaining. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Asif hit two fours in the 48th over before falling to Irfan, and then Emmad and Salahuddin did the job in the last two overs.Paracha set the base for Lahore’s chase with a measured innings and he was given company by first Mohammad Hamza, who made 24, Rana Adnan, who made 36, and then Salahuddin.KRL’s innings had got off to a slow start, and they found themselves 80 for 3 after 20 overs. Bazid Khan and Ali Naqvi concentrated on ones and twos, hitting only one boundary between overs 19 and 31. Naqvi got boundaries of each of the next overs and then smashed spinner Kashif Nizami for consecutive boundaries through the covers in the 34th over. There was another lull in the scoring before Bazid Khan took on legspinner Saad Nasim in the 40th over, smashing him over long-on for six to reach his half-century and then hitting him for a four to long-on off the next ball.Bazid was out two overs later, hitting Asif into the hands of long-off, but Naqvi, who had already got his half-century, kicked on. Naqvi smashed three boundaries in the 45th over, got to his century with a six in the 47th, and got a four and a six off the first two balls of the 48th, before becoming Nasim’s second wicket off the last ball of that over. Nasim went on to take three more wickets in the last over of the innings to fnish with figures of 5 for 55, but KRL had taken 90 runs of the last ten overs. Their total of 281, though, didn’t prove enough in the end.

Kenya batsman Collins Obuya has said the inclusion of Jonty Rhodes as part of the team’s support staff for the 2011 World Cup has been a major boost for preparations ahead of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2011Kenya batsman Collins Obuya has said the inclusion of Jonty Rhodes as part of the team’s support staff for the 2011 World Cup has been a major boost for preparations ahead of the tournament. Rhodes was hired as Kenya’s fielding coach and took charge during a three-week training camp in Pretoria in November last year.”Jonty’s had a good rub-on-effect on all of us,” Obuya, who began his career as a legspinning allrounder and is now a frontline batsman, said at the team’s press conference in Colombo. “He has infused confidence that we can just go out there and play.”Kenya have played every World Cup since 1996 and have pulled off a couple of surprises. They beat West Indies in the 1996 World Cup in Pune and qualified for the semi-final in 2003 with victories over Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the lead-up to the knockout stage. Their squad includes two veterans who featured in the 1996 edition – Steve Tikolo and Thomas Odoyo – and is led by offspinning allrounder Jimmy Kamande.”The 2003 semis spot was a dream for us,” Kamande said. “We will take each game as it comes, and try to be consistent with bat, ball and fielding.”We are looking at building our team over the next 10 years. For that we have to be consistent.”Kenya begin their World Cup campaign on February 20, taking on New Zealand in Chennai.

Sri Lanka are toying with the idea of throwing in all three of their spinners into the XI for their match against Australia on Saturday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Colombo04-Mar-2011Sri Lanka are toying with the idea of throwing in all three of their spinners into the XI for their match against Australia on Saturday, which is expected to see a full house of 35,000 spectators at the R Premadasa Stadium.”That’s a possibility that we’re exploring,” Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said. “I think that’s the best way to play Australia. We’ve got three main spinners and some part-time spinners in the squad. So we’ll have to make a decision on that.”Sri Lanka has in their ranks the highest wicket-taker in ODI and Test cricket, the wily Muttiah Muralitharan, as well as unorthodox legspinner Ajantha Mendis and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. They also have the spin options of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera, who bowl offbreaks, and Chamara Silva, who can chip in with some legbreaks.Attacking Australia with spin is nothing new. In the Champions Trophy semi-final at the Premadasa in 2002, Sri Lanka threw in five spinners: Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Upul Chandana, Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva, and beat Australia by seven wickets.While Sri Lanka’s attack may be built around spin, Sangakkara is aware Australia will rely on their quicks. “The real strength of Australia is their pace attack. They’ve got four quality pace bowlers who are pretty quick. They probably will come at us very hard, right from ball one.”If we can absorb the pressure and try to be as positive as we can, maybe we can capitalise when spin is introduced. But still, [Jason] Krejza is a very good spinner. He bowls an attacking line.”Kumar Sangakkara says he is not worried about winning the toss at the Premadasa•AFP

While there might be changes in Sri Lanka’s bowling combination, Sangakkara said there would not be any changes in the middle order, which is considered the weak link of their team. “I don’t think we need any drastic changes. When the middle order score runs, I don’t think people will ask the same questions.”Chamara Silva replaced Chamara Kapugedera after Sri Lanka’s first game, against Canada, and got a half-century in the match against Pakistan. Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews are yet to play a substantial knock in the competition.The Premadasa pitch will be in focus once again for the Sri Lanka-Australia match. It was re-laid before the World Cup, and in three matches in the tournament so far, the ground has seen the team batting first win twice. Prior to being re-laid, the Premdasa had a reputation of being a ground where it was difficult to chase under lights – only three of the last 21 day-night matches there have been won by the team batting second. However, Sangakkara said he would not be too worried about the toss.”The toss is a crucial factor no doubt, but you don’t’ have to worry about that too much. Most sides probably want to bat first and to put up a big total on this wicket. But the Premadasa has changed over the years and I think it’s pretty well balanced, whether you’re chasing or batting first.We lost the game against Pakistan by some 10-odd runs. I think we could have got those 10 runs earlier on in the game. We lost four quick wickets and that was a big drawback. Having looked at the Pakistan game, it goes to show that whether you win or lose the toss, the real important thing is to win the match.”Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, missed the first two matches of the campaign, but returned for the third game and took 6 for 38 against Kenya. Sangakkara said he wanted Malinga to play in all the remaining games of the tournament.”We want him to be as fit as he can be and play all our games. If he’s available and ready to play he will play. When you have guys like Malinga, Mathews and Murali you expect them to deliver. You look up to your star bowlers and then the responsibility falls onto the support bowlers to do their bit. We’ll try and focus on how we share that responsibility and give freedom to guys like Lasith to express themselves.”

Pakistan’s limited-overs’ captain Shahid Afridi has made himself available for the upcoming tour of West Indies that begins on April 18

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2011Pakistan’s limited-overs’ captain Shahid Afridi has made himself available for the upcoming tour of West Indies that begins on April 18. Afridi had indicated he wanted to be rested for the tour, following a hectic schedule for the Pakistan side culminating in their semi-final exit at the World Cup, but has changed his mind.”I had decided to skip the tour because I wanted to take a break from the game, but some former players and my family and friends told me to change my decision at this crucial time for Pakistan cricket,” Afridi told . “One of the main reasons I wanted to take a break was because I wanted to be with my father who is not keeping well. But my father insisted that I carry on with the Pakistan team.”Pakistan had a draining run-up to the World Cup, starting with the World Twenty20 in April 2010 followed by the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, and a tour of England, which included full series against Australia and the home side. Next was another full-fledged bilateral series in the UAE against South Africa, and a long tour of New Zealand, before the team returned to the subcontinent for the World Cup. In addition to their gruelling on-field commitments, the Pakistan team also hurtled from one off-field controversy to another, including the spot-fixing scandal and Zulqarnain Haider’s mysterious exit from the team hotel in UAE. They weren’t expected to be a force in the World Cup, but ended up topping Group A before bowing out in the semi-finals against eventual champions India.Afridi led his side from the front, taking 21 wickets to finish as the join top wicket-taker along with India’s Zaheer Khan. Afridi believed the West Indies tour would help continue his side’s renaissance following the turbulent times in 2010. “There are indications that Pakistan cricket is on the right track and on the coming tours to West Indies and Zimbabwe we can form an ideal one-day combination,” he said. “That is why I want to be part of the team on the coming tour and carry on the momentum we got from the World Cup.”The West Indies tour includes a Twenty20, five one-dayers and two Tests, and begins on April 18, which allows the players less than three weeks of rest after their World Cup campaign

Cricket Kenya chairman Samir Inamdar has hit back at criticisms levelled against the board by sports minister Paul Otuoma

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2011Cricket Kenya chairman Samir Inamdar has hit back at criticisms levelled against the board by sports minister Paul Otuoma.Questioned about Kenya’s poor showing at the World Cup, Otuoma said: “The officials are responsible for the current rot in the game.”Inamdar countered that despite several invitations, Otuoma had yet to sit down with CK officials or even acknowledge attempts to arrange meetings”It’s unfortunate that, in these circumstances, [he] has chosen to air his ill-advised views publicly and to condemn the Cricket Kenya board without any proper consultation or discussion,” Inamdar said. “He appears to be clearly unaware of the history of the sport in Kenya, its challenges or the work carried out by the current administration since the inception of Cricket Kenya five years ago. Nor does he appear to be aware that the ICC regularly reviews Cricket Kenya’s operations, finances, development programmes, performances and governance.”Inamdar, who took over following the ousting of Sharad Ghai in 2005, inheriting a board is chaos and with no money, dismissed Otuoma’s suggestion the board should resign en masse. “[We] take exception to the apparent suggestion that constitutionally elected officials of a national sports association should either be replaced or compulsorily resign because the national team concerned has performed poorly.”The board is mandated by its constituent member clubs and by the ICC to govern the sport in Kenya and it fully intends to carry out its obligations in doing so.”CK has instigated a top-to-bottom review of the game’s structure following the World Cup, and both the captain and coach have been dismissed.”This review will include all aspects of the team’s preparations and performances with input from the entire team management, players and officials,” Inamdar said. “The ICC will be an integral part of that review and its representatives are due to fly into Kenya to discuss these matters with Cricket Kenya. The ICC will provide its own report on the performances of all the non-Test playing members (including Kenya) at the World Cup.”CK is conscious of the fact that far-reaching changes need to be made in the way cricket is played, managed and structured in Kenya if playing standards are to improve. The review is aimed at providing a long-term answer to this.”CK has invited the minister to meet with board members and the ICC’s officials at any time convenient to him to discuss the ongoing review and our future plans. It is sincerely hoped he accepts the invitation on this occasion.”

Paul Winslow, who played five Test for South Africa as a middle-order batsman in the decade after the war, has died at his home in Johannesburg

Peter Martin29-May-2011Paul Winslow, who played five Tests for South Africa as a middle-order batsman in the decade after the war, has died at Rosebank Netcare Clinic, Rosebank, Johannesburg. He had turned 82 earlier in the week.Winslow gained the reputation of a big hitter and throughout his career attacked the bowling, in contrast to most of the batsmen of his era.His most memorable innings came in the third Test at Old Trafford in 1955. South Africa went into the match trailing 2-0, and in reply to England’s 284, were 245 for 5 when Winslow joined wicketkeeper John Waite. The pair added 171 for the sixth wicket, Waite scoring 113 and Winslow 108. Winslow brought up his maiden first-class hundred with a towering straight six off Tony Lock which sailed out of the ground.Set 145 at a little over a run-a-minute, South Africa scrambled home by three wickets with minutes to spare, Winslow making a rapid 16.Winslow failed in the fourth Test – also won by South Africa – and thereafter did nothing of note in his career except for scoring 81 and 139 for Rhodesia against the touring Australian team of 1957-58 in Salisbury.There was talk of him being recalled for the Test series, but this did not happen. He did, however, play for a South African XI in a match at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, scoring 12 and 22.Winslow was educated at King Edward VII and represented the SA Nuffield XI in 1947 and 1948 before playing for Sussex second XI in 1949. He played in one first-class match for Sussex against Cambridge University two weeks before his 20th birthday. Returning to South Africa, he played for Transvaal in two matches against Lindsay Hassett’s 1949-50 touring Australian team, making his Test debut in the fourth match of the series at Ellis Park, with little success.In 1954-55 he had a successful season for Transvaal, scoring 379 runs (42.11) with a highest of 94 and was recalled for the tour of England. In 22 matches on tour he scored 758 runs at an average of 23.68, 156 of the runs in the three Tests he played (26.00). Against Lancashire he smashed 61 in only 43 minutes, smiting spinner Jack Ikin for 30 (4,4,6,6,4,6) off an over.He retired at the end of the 1959-60 at the age of 30 to concentrate on his business career, having scored 2,755 runs in 75 matches (ave 23.34) with two centuries and 13 fifties.He is survived by his wife, Moira, who he met on the 1955 tour. She was the co-ordinator of Drive Alive after the death of four family members in 1989.

Shahid Afridi’s legal counsel has said the PCB’s disciplinary proceeding against Afridi is “a sham” and has called for a transparent hearing for its client

Osman Samiuddin05-Jun-2011Shahid Afridi’s legal counsel has said the PCB’s disciplinary proceeding against Afridi is “a sham” and has called for a transparent hearing for its client, in which he “be given the opportunity to properly defend himself through counsel.” The latest in a brief flurry of legal communication between Mandviwalla & Zafar Associates and the Pakistan board has upped the stakes of an individual player-board dispute, swiftly becoming the most significant of recent years.As ESPNcricinfo had reported, Afridi had employed lawyers in a bid to resolve the dispute on June 2 (reported on June 3). The PCB replied on June 4, again outlining the violations Afridi committed, as well as raising serious concern about his accusations of a Punjab-Lahore “lobby” being behind his ouster.To this communication, barrister Syed Ali Zafar sent the latest letter, a four-page response on Afridi’s behalf in which he questions, among other things, the “pre-judged sentence” and the “non-transparency of the hearings”, and also states his client is not guilty. The last seems to be an apparent reversal of Afridi’s earlier stance in which he accepted he had violated the code of conduct.Afridi returned to Karachi from London on Sunday night, having been in touch with various political figures over the last week regarding his case. A crowd of cheering fans gathered at the airport to greet him, showing support for the sacked captain and chanting slogans against PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. There were signs and banners supporting Afridi in parts of the city as well.The latest letter from Afridi’s lawyers to the PCB, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, does not clarify whether Afridi will appear before the disciplinary committee on June 8. Afridi’s management in the UK had indicated that he would, but reports since have indicated he might not.”It appears that the PCB has already made up its mind and has come to the conclusion that Shahid Afridi is “guilty”, has violated his central contract and the disciplinary code, and accordingly our client’s central contract is liable to be suspended/terminated and NOCs revoked,” the letter reads. “Since PCB has already come to the conclusion, as is evident from your letter under reply, that our client is guilty as charged, the disciplinary proceeding is in fact a sham.”The question of whether Afridi will appear seems to hinge on whether or not he will be allowed legal representation at the hearing. The letter points out that the PCB, in detailing the disciplinary process to be followed, has said that “the proceedings shall be conducted in camera and no stranger (outsider),” which seems to indicate that Afridi will not be allowed a lawyer inside. A board official, when asked specifically whether lawyers are allowed to represent players in such hearings, told ESPNcricinfo only “the code says no outsider is permitted to attend.”There is precedent either way in earlier cases. In a disciplinary hearing involving Mohammad Asif in a doping case, his lawyer wasn’t allowed to be inside, but in the case of Younis Khan last year, for example, his lawyer was allowed inside the hearing (though that was an appellate tribunal). The PCB, incidentally, will have legal representation in the committee set up to look into the matter, and at least one eminent lawyer, involved in board-player cases previously, believes “that the principles of natural justice should allow a lawyer inside to defend him.”More complication is expected on the question of whether or not Afridi has accepted guilt, and he has earlier accepted violations of the code. Now, the letter says, “As far as the allegations …are concerned our client did not intend to plead guilty, as he is not guilty.” It argues that the reason Afridi wrote the initial email to the board was “a gesture of goodwill to play the ongoing T20 tournament in England for which the PCB had already sanctioned and given him the permission through due process.” It adds Afridi had not sought legal help at that stage to “understand the implications of the show cause notice.”Finally, the letter states again that due process has not been followed and that the board in a “proper, honorable and dignified way,” should have issued him a show cause notice and “waited for his response before taking any action … or announcing the formation of a disciplinary committee.” Significantly, the letter also calls into question the legality of any central contract in which clauses “have the effect of restraining the freedom of our client to pursue his profession … or which are in restraint of trade” and thus violating the country’s constitution and law. The possibility of challenging such clauses, the letter says, remain open, probably in a court of law.As conclusion, the letter draws on the spiralling nature of the dispute, and asks – dramatically perhaps – the PCB to “treat this matter as one of national importance,” and revoke the suspension order and provide the NOC once again. “Our client is one of the most important players for Pakistan’s cricket…and we request PCB to act in accordance with law and not force our client to resort to litigation in this regard.”