Shahid Afridi to lead in Asia Cup and England tour

	Shahid Afridi's decision to play Tests comes as a shot in the arm for a side seriously lacking in experience

Shahid Afridi has been named Pakistan's Test and ODI captain ahead of a busy summer which takes in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and then six Tests, five ODIs, as well as four T20Is, in England against Australia and the hosts. Pakistan's board and selectors also opened the door on a possible return for Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, two men only recently banned by the board for indiscipline. Another old hand at the indiscipline game, Shoaib Akhtar, has been called up in a 35-man list of probables, which will be culled down before the two events.

The squad announcements were among the most eagerly-awaited in some time, given the chaos that followed since the tour to Australia. Pakistan effectively have been without a Test and ODI captain since then and had punished seven leading players - including four former captains - over disciplinary issues. But in recent days, speculation had grown that Afridi, already the Twenty20 captain, would be appointed.

Once he had publicly announced that he would be available to play Tests, a format he had left four years ago, the decision was all but sealed to once again unite the leadership of all three formats under one man: "We requested Afridi to take on the Test captaincy and he very graciously accepted," Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, told reporters, flanked by Afridi and Mohsin Khan, chief selector. Today Afridi spent in meetings with Butt and the selectors to finalise a probables list.

Afridi now becomes the 27th man to lead Pakistan in Tests and the fourth captain since the start of 2009.The decision remains a risky one, given that Afridi played the last of his 26 Tests almost exactly four years ago on Pakistan's last tour to England. Until recently he has appeared unsure about a return to the format, but it is believed the appointment was part of an agreement to become the Twenty20 captain before the World Twenty20.

Afridi asked for patience in what he accepted will be a challenging role. "As a challenge I have accepted this," Afridi said. "Pakistan needs a senior player right now to lead them and that is why I accepted this. I don't think we should have too many expectations for Test cricket right now but I will try to get our ranking up to where it should be."

The other big decisions were recalling the two former captains Younis and Malik back into the squad. Their return is dependent on their appeals against the ban being overturned by an independent arbitrator, but having been selected it seems unlikely their bans will now stay. In any case the PCB has thawed in recent days, Butt telling reporters yesterday that he will review the punishments and praising Younis in particular. Younis was handed an indefinite ban by an inquiry committee after the Australia tour earlier this year and Malik was given a one-year ban; neither's indiscretions were specified, only a vague reference made to acts of indiscipline and unsettling the team.

But their potential return and that of Shoaib [Akhtar] was insisted upon by Afridi, who said the summer would require experienced heads at the helm. Shoaib last played an international for Pakistan in May 2009 and his last Test back in December 2007, but has this season turned out in domestic cricket in a bid to prove his fitness; he was particularly impressive in the Pentangular ODI cup in Karachi recently.

"It will be good if we can get back Younis and Shoaib because the team will be stronger with them in it," Afridi said. "England is always a difficult challenge as a tour and you need experienced players on it. The mix has to be right between juniors and seniors."

Afridi revealed that he had also spoken to Mohammad Yousuf in a bid to get him to take back his retirement and return to international cricket. Yousuf had walked away from the game earlier this year after also being handed an indefinite ban by the board and he is the only one of the seven players punished not to have appealed against his punishment. But Afridi said Yousuf was unwilling to change his mind.

Misbah-ul-Haq has been dropped once again, following disappointing results on his recall for the tours to New Zealand and Australia. Though he was picked for the World Twenty20 also, he didn't make any significant contribution towards Pakistan's semi-final run. The bigger surprise is perhaps the retention of Kamran Akmal; though he did well enough in the Caribbean with the bat, he remains as a result of this probables announcement, the likely first-choice wicketkeeper for the Test side. That is some achievement in itself given his performance in the last Test he played at Sydney (where he dropped four catches and fluffed a run-out), his behaviour in the aftermath of his subsequent axing and his generally shaky form with the gloves in Tests for a number of seasons now.

The 15-man squad for the Asia Cup will be decided in the first week of June after a short, five to six-day training camp in Karachi. The squad for England will be decided soon after that.

Probables: Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hassan, Azhar Ali, Azeem Ghumman, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Hasan Raza, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Aamer Sajjad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Tanvir Ahmed, Aizaz Cheema, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal (wk), Zulqarnain Haider (wk)

Brawn: We are making progress

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Having failed to deliver the results he in Monaco, Ross Brawn is confident the team will be back on the track in Turkey.

Mercedes GP endured an exasperating weekend in Monaco, with Nico Rosberg failing to qualify as high as the team felt he could have and as a result failing to compete for a podium finish, while Michael Schumacher was dealt a 20-second penalty for his illegal passing manoeuvre on Fernando Alonso.

While admitting that Monaco had provided some testing times, Brawn has been buoyed by the progress the team has made during the initial stages of the European season.

"Monaco was a frustrating race for the team where we did not achieve our potential," said the team principal.

"We had a competitive and reliable car which proved to be the quickest in the race at various stages, we performed two excellent pitstops, one of which was the quickest of the race, but ultimately we did not deliver the results that we would have hoped for.

"However, I am encouraged that we have made progress over the last two races and that we have identified our areas of weakness which we are working hard to rectify."

Mercedes head to Turkey with another upgrade package, leaving Brawn to believe that the team could be competitive at Istanbul Park and beyond.

"We have some major and very challenging upgrades for the next few races which have been made possible by the commitment and hard work of everyone at the factory over the past weeks.

"In Turkey, we will return to our previous suspension system and longer wheelbase car, we have the latest iteration of our 'F-duct' rear wing plus further aerodynamic developments.

"It's a long road ahead to achieve the level of competitiveness that we are aiming for but each race is a step along the way and I am confident that we will get there," he added.

Button: We must stem Red Bull charge

enson Button is hoping Red Bull Racing prove fallible or they could prove unstoppable in their charge for Formula One glory.

Reigning world champion Button relinquished the lead of this year's world title race to Red Bull's Mark Webber following his Monaco Grand Prix victory on Sunday, the Australian's second successive triumph in the space of eight days.

It was a race in which Button suffered his first failure with McLaren this season as the 30-year-old retired after two laps following a mistake that should have been avoided.

That was when one member of the team left a cooling cover on a sidepod over the radiator, resulting in the engine overheating.

Coming the week after Hamilton crashed on the penultimate lap in Barcelona with a wheel-rim failure, the last two races have hardly cast McLaren in the best light.

Button, who now trails Webber by eight points in the standings, knows the situation has to improve, and believes it will, starting in Turkey in 10 days' time.

"This team have the resources, the manpower and the passion to succeed and to chase, and this is what they will do," Button told Press Association Sport at a promotional event for Vodafone's World of Difference campaign.

"Last year was a difficult season for this team, but they still won two races, and where they came from at the start of the year to where they ended up was extraordinary.

"So we're hoping we're going to see big improvements over the next few races.

"We've had a couple of issues in the last two races with reliability and mistakes, but we have to put those behind us now and focus on the next race in Turkey.

"We've got to come with a stronger car, and we can't make any mistakes."

McLaren have to show the kind of improvement as displayed by Red Bull in the last two races after problems dogged them in three of the first four grands prix when they should have won them all after starting from pole.

If not, then Button knows not just McLaren will have trouble trying to close the gap.

"They are going to be so hard to catch," added Button.

"It's a big lead they had in Barcelona, especially with a second in qualifying, but no-one is going to give up chasing them, especially not our team. We're going to do everything we can."

Otherwise it is a case of keeping fingers crossed they again suffer reliability issues.

"I hope they do fall by the wayside," said Button.

"As we saw at the start of the year, they didn't have the perfect start to the season, and hopefully we're going to see them make some more mistakes.

"That's what we need at this point in the season. We need to have the best race we possibly can and get the maximum out of our package, and hopefully they don't."

Hamilton: Time to end "terrible run"

Lewis Hamilton is burning with desire to step back onto the top step of the podium and help McLaren achieve "greatness" again.

Hamilton has so far endured a rollercoaster season that has resulted in frustration with the team's decision-making in Australia and Malaysia, a brush with the law Down Under, and a penultimate lap smash in Spain following a wheel-rim failure.

Despite claiming this season he is driving the best car McLaren have built for him, even better than his 2008 title-winner, victory continues to elude the far-from-happy 25-year-old.

For a driver so accustomed to taking the chequered flag in his first two seasons in Formula One, the last 18 months have been virtually barren by his high standards, as he has triumphed just twice in his last 24 grands prix.

It is a statistic that catches Hamilton by surprise when it is mentioned to him at McLaren's state-of-the-art Technology Centre in Woking at a promotional event for Vodafone's World of Difference programme, of which he is an ambassador.

"That's not good. That sounds terrible," said Hamilton.

"There were 17 races last year, the majority of which were pretty poor because generally we had a bad car.

"This year I've been unfortunate, but this is racing. Lots of drivers go years and years without having a win or being on the podium.

"So I'm just grateful I've had some wins, and I know I'm in the early stages of my career, so hopefully I have many more to come."

Victory in Turkey in 11 days' time would certainly go some way to easing the unhappiness he is currently feeling as he readily concedes the first part of the season has been up and down.

"In terms of results it's not been a very good season for me so far. I'm not particularly happy with the results I've had, but it's been a learning experience," added Hamilton.

"I've had some great races, and it's great to know the car is competitive, as fast as some of the other guys.

"We at least have a good base to work from, and with 13 races left, there are plenty to win, and lots more points available.

"Apart from once in Spain, I've at least consistently scored points, which is a benefit. Even if you have a bad weekend and you only get one point, it could really help at the end of the year."

But it is the taste of victory again that matters most to Hamilton. He is aware the wait has been too long for a driver of his talent, and given the team behind him - one he knows is not living up to its status at present but which Hamilton remains confident will do.

"The desire to win is burning inside," insisted Hamilton.

"It's there the whole of the way through the season, even if you do have a win because you get that taste and you want to keep on getting it, so it's constantly burning.

"As a team we are also putting ourselves under extreme pressure, and we will continue to do so because that is how you achieve greatness. At least that's how I feel.

"I do feel we will get there. I reckon it's going to take a couple of races and then we will be back up there, back at the front."

Team-mate Jenson Button has at least savoured success in his debut campaign with McLaren this year, although he experienced heartbreak in Monaco on Sunday when he retired after two laps due to a simple mistake made by one member of the team.

That was when a cooling cover was left on a sidepod that covers the radiator, resulting in the engine overheating.

After Hamilton's unreliability in Barcelona, the team have let themselves down over the past two weekends, something Button is looking to be corrected in Turkey next week.

"I was happy before the last two races which were frustrating, especially Monaco with the problem I had," said Button.

"But to be leading into Monaco after five races with the team was not too bad, although I'm obviously not leading now.

"However, it's a lot easier to chase. It's a more difficult position when you're out in front because you're always looking behind to see where the others are coming from.

"But we're still in a good position, and we have a strong team here. Although we've had a couple of issues in the last two races, we have to put those behind us now and focus on the next one in Turkey.

"We've got to come with a stronger car, and we can't make any mistakes."

MotoGP: Lorenzo wins in Le Mans

Jorge Lorenzo beat Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi to victory at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France.

Lorenzo claimed his second win of the season in the third round at Le Mans and now lies nine points clear of Rossi atop the leaderboard.

Rossi, who began the race on pole, was second and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) was third.

The Spaniard's success made it three out of three for Yamaha this season.

Pole-sitter Rossi led into the first corner ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo.

Casey Stoner ran off on the second lap, leading to the Australian's second non-finish of the season.

Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) were also forced to retire prematurely.

Up front Lorenzo took the lead ahead of Rossi on lap seven, only to relinquish it soon after.

However, he went in front again on lap 10 and held on for victory.

In an intriguing battle for the final podium place, Dovizioso passed Pedrosa on the final lap and the Spaniard was later overtaken by Nicky Hayden to finish in fifth.

Lorenzo was thrilled after capitalising on Rossi's minor blip.

"If this had happened to me three or four years ago, maybe I would have done some crazy thing," the 23-year-old said on www.autosport.com.

"I now feel much more confident, now I can be more calm and ride better. Today was good for that.

"I was patient, I understood that Valentino would brake so late, so I waited for one mistake from him.

"He doesn't do many mistakes, so I just waited, and tried to exit the corners as close to him as possible.

"When I made it, it was easier than I expected."

Rossi is surprised Lorenzo, rather than Stoner, is his closest title rival.

"Nine points is better to have as an advantage than a disadvantage, but the championship is so long," said Rossi.

"What I didn't expect is to be fighting just with Jorge. After the winter I'd expect Stoner - maybe also Dani, but especially Stoner - to be closer.

"Sometimes, on some races and some days, you don't have enough speed to try to win.

"In the past with different bikes and different tyres, it was possible to invent something during the race.

"Now if you don't have the pace, you just crash, so these 20 points are not bad."

Webber coy over Red Bull future

Championship leader Mark Webber has refused to end speculation about his Red Bull future, saying "things change very fast".

Webber's contract ends at the end of this season and although he is in the form of his life, there are plenty of rumours that Red Bull could replace him with Kimi Raikkonen next year.

Team boss Christian Horner says everyone is "relaxed" over the contract negotiations, but insists nothing has been discussed yet.

"The team and Mark are very relaxed about the situation," said Horner.

"He is an important member of the team and he is driving fantastically well at the moment. He enjoys driving here, and we enjoy having him.

"But we have not spoken and have no real interest in speaking with any of our drivers so, when the time gets to it, we will sit down and look at the paperwork."

Webber, who is coming off back-to-back pole positions and race victories in Spain and Monaco, refused to nip any rumours in the bud.

"I've just won two races, back-to-back, and people are asking me where I'm going to drive next year," he told The Mail on Sunday.

"I'm very close to the guys at Red Bull, we've been through a lot and I have a great relationship with them. Yet things happen and change very fast in this business and you never know what's around the corner.

"At the moment, I'm only thinking about the next race, in Turkey next weekend. The rest will take care of itself. There are hundreds of points up for grabs and I'm concentrating on the job in hand.

"I imagine the picture will be clearer in another six weeks or so. But what matters most is I still have a great desire driving me."

Afridi to lead Pak in all formats

Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi is all set to take over the reins of the ODI and Test side as well for the upcoming Asia Cup and the tour of England.

Although the Board was yet to make a formal announcement in this regard, sources confirmed that Afridi along with team manager Yawar Saeed on Tuesday met Butt in his office to discuss the future tours where the flamboyant all-rounder was offered the captaincy for all three formats of the game.

"The meeting also discussed the scenario in view of yesterday's meeting of the National Assembly standing committee on sports which recommended that the bans and fines on players be removed," a source said.

"Afridi was asked by the chairman whether he had any problems accepting Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik back in the team and he said no he was fine with their presence in the Test side," the source added.

This is the first time that Afridi will lead Pakistan in Tests and the all-rounder himself has not played any since mid 2006 in England.

"Yawar's presence indicates how influential a role he is wielding these days in the cricket affairs because he was the one who convinced Afridi to make himself available for the Tests as well," another source said.

After their meeting, Afridi and Butt went into a discussion with the national selection committee at the Gaddafi stadium for the finalisation of the names of 30 probables for the Asia Cup and England tour.

Former captain, Younis Khan, who on Tuesday left for England to play for county Surrey until mid-July, is expected to be named in the probables for the England tour. Fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar is also expected to be recalled in the short list of players.

Pakistan, after playing in the Asia Cup in June, will leave for England to play two-Test series against Australia and then a four-Test series against England.

They will also feature in four T20 internationals and five one-dayers on the tour. Afridi recently led Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies where they lost to Australia in the semifinals.

Robbie keen to earn his Spurs

Robbie Keane is preparing to head back to Tottenham to fight for his place as they begin their Champions League campaign.

The Republic of Ireland captain had been on loan since January at Celtic, where he appeared to rediscover the form that persuaded Liverpool to part with £20million in 2008 after impressing in his first spell at Spurs.

His lack of playing time at Anfield, however, turned the move into a disaster, with the 29-year-old heading back to White Hart Lane after just six months with the Reds.

Keane never really got back to his best after returning to Spurs, having to compete with the likes of Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko for a starting place.

However, he now feels that he is back to somewhere near his best, with 16 goals in 19 appearances during his time at Parkhead.

"I just think I was maybe in a little bit of a rut at Liverpool and going back to Tottenham," he said.

"I did well when I went back first and then did well at the start of the season, and then I just didn't have that hunger that I had and I think I maybe needed to go away to get that back.

"I certainly got that back at Celtic. It certainly got me back on track and really enjoying my football again.

"For me, it is just about playing games. I have got that back now and it's up to me now to go back to Tottenham and get myself in that team and stay in that team if I get that opportunity.

"As a player, you lose confidence sometimes and I lost confidence maybe a small bit.

"But it is important that you try to get that back as soon as possible, and maybe going to Celtic was the best thing that happened to me."

Keane revealed that not playing regular football at Anfield was a reason for hia failure to find form, stating that he wanted to be playing in every minute of every game.

But despite the rumours of unrest at White Hart Lane, Keane insisted he was happy to go back to Spurs and try to force his way back into Redknapp's plans.

"I am not one of these people who like to sit on the bench and pick up their money and be happy with that," Keane added.

"As a kid, you don't dream of playing bits and bobs of games, you want to play every game.

"As a player, that's where you get your sharpness and your fitness.

"I don't like to train every day of the week and then come Saturday, not play. I have always been like that.

"I am going back to Tottenham to start pre-season and to be at Tottenham unless Harry pulls me in or the chairman pulls me in and says otherwise."

Agent: Torres to remain at Anfield

Fernando Torres' agent has assured Liverpool fans the Spain striker "will continue at Liverpool next season".

Speculation has suggested many of Europe's most powerful clubs have been circling the prolific forward, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid strongly linked with the striker.

However, despite Liverpool's disappointing seventh-placed finish in the Barclays Premier League, Torres' agent Jose Antonio Peton told Punto Radio in Spain: "For the moment I can assure fans that Fernando will continue at Liverpool next season.

"Everything is down to Liverpool's attitude but for the time being Fernando is happy at the club and has a good contract.

"Liverpool have not spoken to us about his future, so he is just concentrating on playing at the World Cup."

Torres scored 18 times in last season’s Premier League despite a number of injuries, and is expected to be one of Spain’s top performers at the World Cup in South Africa next month.

Verbeek criticises Cahill and Grella

Australia coach Pim Verbeek criticised Vince Grella and Tim Cahill for a lack of professionalism in the 2-1 win over New Zealand.

New Zealand manager Ricki Herbert was also quick to condemn Grella and Cahill, arguing both men should have been sent off for two separate tackles on Leo Bertos in the space of three minutes in the first half which resulted in the Wellington Phoenix winger being carried from the field with a leg injury.

Herbert revealed after the game that Bertos had suffered some "bad contact" to his shin area as a result of the tackles and would undergo scans to ensure he has not suffered any structural damage before being cleared to play in the World Cup.

"I am probably a little disappointed with those tackles and I think in a normal game we would have been up against nine (men)," Herbert said.

Verbeek added: "I think in the World Cup (as opposed to a friendly) that would have been two red cards.

"I cannot accept this (type of tackle) of course and the players know you should not play the game like this because you cannot afford to go into whatever game and make tackles like that."

Verbeek substituted both men at half-time but said he thought about taking them off straight away as he feared the visitors would seek retribution on two players he cannot afford to lose to injury so close to the World Cup.

"I was ready to take them out of the game immediately to protect them," he said.

"If I was on the field with the other side I would have been angry so you could expect them to cop something back and that is what they deserved.

"But you can only give compliments to the New Zealand players and the way they behaved themselves.

"They were professional, my players were not."

The challenges added to a disappointing night for Australia.

Although they won the game 2-1 thanks to Brett Holman's last-gasp strike, it was a wholly unconvincing performance.

Dutchman Verbeek was not panicking afterwards though.

"I know we trained hard during this week but you expect more from the players and they started very rusty," Verbeek admitted.

"There was no confidence, no communication and the things they normally do very well were not there.

"But if we were to play in the World Cup in three or four days I should get worried but we still have three weeks (to get ready) so we are still on track."

Fergie: England won't win World Cup

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has serious doubts over the Three Lions' ability to win the World Cup.

Various pundits have professed that this outfit is the strongest to leave English shores in years - with options aplenty across the pitch.

And the media hype is ratcheting up as the finals draw nearer. One man who does not think England can win the Jules Rimet trophy is Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Scot was quoted in News of the World as saying: "England, with Fabio Capello, will be thereabouts. But, from there to winning the World Cup, I don't think so."

Fergie is backing European champions Spain and Samba boys Brazil to do the business, but feels Serbia have an outside chance of doing something special.

"Spain and Brazil remain the great favourites. I see Serbia pulling something off and I am counting, too, on the Portugal of my friend Carlos Queiroz with Ronaldo who, in my eyes, remains the best player in the world. And Italy, as usual, will be around."

"Above all, I want my players to perform well and come back pumped up by a good World Cup."

Captains positive despite low scores in Florida

	The Florida games were dominated more by ball than by bat.

It wasn't quite the home-run derby that the Americans had been led to expect, but Daniel Vettori and Kumar Sangakkara hope cricket's Florida experiment will continue. The two-match Twenty20 series in Lauderhill over the weekend was drawn 1-1 but the result was of little consequence.

This series was more about the chance to gain exposure for the sport in the world's third most populous country. But the first two international cricket matches in the USA proved to be dour affairs, with a slow, low pitch and only two sixes hit in each game, and the Sri Lankan captain Sangakkara hoped the nature of the contests didn't turn American fans away.

"That's one of the subtleties of cricket, that a low-scoring game can be exciting if you analyse it properly," Sangakkara said. "The wicket wasn't conducive to big hitting but ideally it should have been a high-scoring two games, 180 to be chased down would have been great out there on a ground like this with fans watching cricket for the first time.

"For the players and the die-hard fans the excitement is the same but probably for an introduction maybe we could have had a lot more scores. The ground facilities are pretty good, there's great seating, the atmosphere is brilliant to play cricket in. You just need to keep playing cricket on tracks like this, the more you play the better the tracks become."

In the first game, New Zealand battled to 120 for 7 from their 20 overs and then dismissed Sri Lanka for 92, while in the second match New Zealand never recovered from losing four wickets in the first three overs. Their final score of 81 was New Zealand's lowest in a Twenty20 match but the captain Vettori said apart from some improvement in the pitch, there were few other problems with the Lauderhill venue.

"Most international grounds probably need those off-field facilities where you can train while the game is going on, it makes it a little bit easier," Vettori said. "There's not too much more. The standard of the wicket could improve a little bit but apart from that I think the ground has everything going for it.

"It's certainly given USA cricket a profile, and I think that's the biggest thing to come from that. Both teams really enjoyed coming here and in the future, when we talk to other players from around the world we'll tell them how good a time we had and how good the facilities are, and you'll get other teams coming along and enjoying it just as much as we did. USA cricket has come along way just from this week."

New Zealand now have a two-month break before they tour Sri Lanka for a tri-series also involving India and Vettori was hopeful of a better performance next season.

"I think all the guys are ready for it. They've been going non-stop for about nine to10 months so everyone's due a break," Vettori told NZPA. "We've got to make sure that we use this break to try and improve as a side and when we go to Sri Lanka we're ready to try and win over there."

Frustrated Younis looks for return

	Younis Khan: "[Shoaib] Malik thought that I contrived to replace him as captain, which wasn't true" .

Younis Khan, the former Pakistan captain who has been banned indefinitely by the PCB, denied having created any problems within the team and hoped to make a comeback to the national fold.

"I was banned without being given a chance to clarify my position and I want justice because I want to play for my country again," Younis told the parliamentary committee investigating Pakistan's performance during the disastrous tour of Australia.

Younis stepped down as captain and player ahead of the tour to New Zealand, which preceded the Australia series, over differences with his team-mates. He missed the Australia Tests, and did not make an impact during the ODIs under Mohammad Yousuf's leadership. Following the tour, PCB came down strongly on seven national players, including Younis who was banned for creating infighting within the team - an accusation he staunchly refused.

"I pointed out problems within the team to the PCB and they banned me. [Shoaib] Malik thought that I contrived to replace him as captain, which wasn't true. My career has been derailed because of this ban and although I am getting offers to play in England and South Africa, I want to play for my country, for my people," Younis said.

Six of the seven punished cricketers, barring Yousuf who has since announced his retirement, have lodged formal appeals against PCB's punishment. The appeals are now being evaluated by an independent arbitrator, Irfan Qadir, a retired high court judge. Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, assured the committee that the PCB would review their sanctions based on the findings of the arbitrator.

Butt also came out in support of Younis, appreciating his commitment to the national side. "Younis is a patriot and has always played for the country and I am sad that his career was derailed by same baseless allegations of match-fixing by a parliamentary committee member," Butt said. Younis' appeal is set to be heard on May 29.

South Africa edge home despite Sammy heroics

South Africa 300 for 5 (Amla 92, Kallis 85, Pollard 2-39) beat West Indies 283 (Bravo 74, Sammy 58*, Morkel 3-58) by 17 runs 

	Once Chris Gayle fell to Morne Morkel, South Africa looked to have the result certain

A stunning late assault from Darren Sammy couldn't prevent South Africa sealing a 17-run victory set-up by fifties from Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis in a high-scoring game at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium.

The match had looked all but over after West Indies had slipped to 236 for 8 in the 45th over, still 65 short of their target but Sammy launched six sixes and two fours on his way to the fastest ODI fifty by a West Indian - from 20 balls. He took the equation to 18 needed off 13 but successive run outs sealed a tense result that had looked a formality for almost the whole game.

Earlier South Africa batted with typical efficiency to post 300 for 5. There was no Sammy-style assault on the bowling at any point in their innings, instead slowly and methodically they advanced to an imposing position. Amla pierced the off-side ring with a series of punchy drives early on, before working the ball around with total ease to progress serenely to 92 of 95 balls. Kallis was similarly authoritative, making 85 from 89 balls with just four fours. With David Miller underlining his promise to finish the innings with a quick-fire 26, South Africa reached the 300 mark which looked well clear of what West Indies could chase.

Chris Gayle, so often the inspiration in the Caribbean, lifted West Indies' hopes with a couple of crunching blows early on - including one murderous thump over extra cover off Lonwabo Tsotsobe - but with his dismissal to Morne Morkel there was a collective groan as the vocal crowd realised their main hope of a contest had vanished.

The reliance of the home side on their captain is similar to the days where Brian Lara's fortunes determined West Indies' but Sammy's performance, alongside a skilful 74 from Dwayne Bravo, proved the pool of talent runs a little deeper.

Ramnaresh Sarwan could have made a real difference, but in the over following Gayle's fall, he pulled a hamstring running a sharp single and hobbled off the field. It left West Indies without a senior batsman and with question marks lingering over the fitness of a number players in the side. Sarwan had been left out of the team for Zimbabwe's tour in March on fitness grounds and he hasn't returned in top condition. Dale Richards, into the side for Andre Fletcher, struggled through the second half of his innings with a pulled muscle himself and earlier Nikita Miller was forced off in the middle of his third over with a rib injury.

Each blow proved important as West Indies ultimately fell short. For all the West Indies' self-inflicted faults, South Africa were impressive. The local supporters must have recognised something faintly familiar about Morkel's performance. Until Sammy got hold of him at the end Morkel recalled memories of local-boy Curtly Ambrose, as he used his long levers to extract bounce that no other bowler could find on his way to three wickets.

Through the middle overs West Indies' middle order were choked, not only by the quality of South Africa's bowling and fielding, but by their lack of deftness and ability to work singles. The contrast with Amla and Kallis could not be more apparent. Narsingh Deonarine, batting ahead of Bravo, picked the fielders with frustrating frequency before ending his own anguish by chipping Tsotsobe tamely to mid on.

Richards, meanwhile, though never looking dominant, had worked his way to 51 and shared a useful partnership Bravo, but could never quite resist the vice South Africa were slowly closing on his side. His dismissal brought Kieron Pollard to the wicket with West Indies pleading, once again, for a big-hitting miracle. By the time the Batting Powerplay was taken in the 36th over, West Indies needed 9.53 an over and Pollard ended up toe-ending Steyn soon after to be smartly caught by Johan Botha sliding in off the long on boundary.

It was Bravo who first gave something for the home crowds to cheer about - and set an example for his team-mates to follow. His 74 came quicker than a run a ball but featured just three fours. He ran superbly and almost laid the foundations for an unexpected victory. His dismissal brought a vaguely farcical scenario where Sarwan took an eternity to drag himself on to the field, only to fall first ball and hobble all the way back off.

At that stage the game was as good as done but Sammy had other ideas. He took to his impossible mission with gusto but ended up crestfallen as Miller - using Pollard as a runner - attempted a single to Smith at cover, only for Smith to throw down the stumps and secure a result Sammy had almost ambushed