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Brett Lee

Australia

Full name Brett Lee
Born November 8, 1976, Wollongong, New South Wales
Current age 30 years 128 days
Major teams Australia, New South Wales
Nickname Bing
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast
Height 1.87 m
Statsguru Test player, ODI player

Career statistics
Test debut Australia v India at Melbourne - Dec 26-30, 1999
Last Test Australia v England at Sydney - Jan 2-5, 2007
ODI debut Australia v Pakistan at Brisbane - Jan 9, 2000
Last ODI Australia v England at Sydney - Feb 11, 2007
Twenty20 Int. debut New Zealand v Australia at Auckland - Feb 17, 2005
Last Twenty20 Int. South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg - Feb 24, 2006
First-class span 1994/95 - 2006/07
List A span 1997/98 - 2006/07
Twenty20 span 2004/05 - 2005/06

Notes
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year - 2000
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2006

Profile

If Brett Lee were a Ferrari ... No. There is no if. He is already the fastest in the world, equal with Shoaib Akhtar at a flicker above or below 100mph, and always seems on the verge of striking a body or a wicket. At the 2003 World Cup, during which he took a ferocious hat-trick against Kenya, Lee was a polished star, while Shoaib was a novelty act. It was the same in the 2004-05 VB Series - Lee's pace was blinding; Shoaib's was hamstrung. When Lee releases the throttle and begins that smooth acceleration, the spectator stays his drinking hand. The leaping, classical delivery may produce a devastating yorker, a devilish slower ball or a young-Donald outswinger. Add a dash of peroxide, a fruity vocabulary, a trademark jump for joy, a stylish bat, a streak of sadism when bowling at tailenders, a pop group (Six And Out), and an endearing dedication to a job at a gentleman's outfitters, and you have the 21st century's first designer cricketer - not to mention a priceless pin-up boy.

While Steve Waugh unleashed him in a dramatic opening of 42 wickets in seven Tests before an elbow operation, Ricky Ponting gave Lee a blueprint for lasting success that didn't rely solely on bouncers or yorkers. "The way that Ricky has captained my personal bowling over the last couple of years has just been brilliant," he said early in 2006. "Going back two or three years, I wasn't really sure what they wanted me to do." Lee's next statistical goals are 250 wickets and an average below 30, while status as an allrounder is another wish.

Lee's career hasn't always been easy. He struggled against accusations of throwing, bean balls, stress fractures and other injuries, and had a strangely barren first Ashes series in 2001. Three years later he U-turned from ankle surgery, but was stuck in the pits of the dressing room as he ran drinks and sponges in nine consecutive Tests. He returned to the fold for the 2005 Ashes series and earned plaudits for his never-say-die attitude and brave performances with both bat and ball. He nearly pulled off a win for Australia with a battling 43 at Edgbaston, but his partner-in-crime Michael Kasprowicz fell at the contentious final hurdle. Andrew Flintoff's consoling of Lee seconds after the catch was 2005's defining image.

Lee's 2006 brightened further when he partnered Kasprowicz in a nail-biting win over South Africa that eased the pain of the previous near-miss. It was an important summer as he assumed the role of attack leader when Glenn McGrath first struggled for impact and then pulled out of tours to South Africa and Bangladesh to care for his sick wife. Lee moved into the position he had craved since crashing on to the Test scene with 5 for 47 against India, and he celebrated 89 international wickets for the season with lawnmower, hunting and leaping celebrations. A summer later he earned 20 wickets in the Ashes series and was on track for the World Cup before suffering an ankle injury in New Zealand.

Ricky Ponting

Australia

Full name Ricky Thomas Ponting
Born December 19, 1974, Launceston, Tasmania
Current age 32 years 87 days
Major teams Australia, ICC World XI, Somerset, Tasmania
Nickname Punter
Playing role Higher middle order batsman
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Height 1.78 m
Education Mowbray Primary; Brooks Senior High School, Launceston

Career statistics

Test debut Australia v Sri Lanka at Perth - Dec 8-11, 1995
Last Test Australia v England at Sydney - Jan 2-5, 2007
ODI debut Australia v South Africa at Wellington - Feb 15, 1995
Last ODI Australia v Scotland at Basseterre - Mar 14, 2007
Twenty20 Int. debut New Zealand v Australia at Auckland - Feb 17, 2005
Last Twenty20 Int. Australia v England at Sydney - Jan 9, 2007
First-class span 1992/93 - 2006/07
List A span 1992/93 - 2006/07
Twenty20 span 2004 - 2006/07

Notes
ICC Player of the Year 2006
ICC Test Player of the Year - 2003, 2004, 2006
One-Day International Player of the Year - 2002
Allan Border Medal 2004, 2006, 2007
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2006

Profile

Acclaimed by academy coach Rod Marsh as the best teenage batsman he had ever seen, Ricky Ponting began with Tasmania at 17 and Australia at 20, and was given out unluckily for 96 on his Test debut. He was and remains the archetypal modern cricketer: he plays all the shots with a full flourish of the bat and knows only to attack, and his breathtaking, dead-eye fielding is a force in the game by itself. A gambler and a buccaneer, he is a natural at one-day cricket. He has had his setbacks, against probing seam attacks and high-class finger-spin, which, when out of form, he plays with hard hands. In the 1990s there were off-field indiscretions that led him once to admit publicly to an alcohol problem, but he overcame the issues and became part of the heartbeat of one of Australia's most successful teams. After the retirement of Ian Healy he took over as the man who led the singing of the victory song, passing it on when he assumed the captaincy.

With many lessons learned, Ponting's growing maturity was acknowledged by the ACB when he saw off competition from Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist to succeed Steve Waugh as Australia's one-day leader early in 2002. It was a seamless transition: Ponting led the successful 2003 World Cup campaign from the front, clouting a coruscating 140 not out in the final, and acceded to the Test crown when Waugh finally stepped down early in 2004. A broken thumb suffered in the Champions Trophy in England forced him to watch Gilchrist lead Australia's first series victory in India for 35 years from the dressing room, although he returned for the final Test. Batting-wise his first year as captain was one to forget, but he began his second with 207 against Pakistan, joining Don Bradman and Greg Chappell as the only Australians to reach four double-centuries.

By the time the eagerly-awaited 2005 Ashes series got underway the cracks in an almost invincible Australian side were beginning to appear. A humiliating one-day loss to Bangladesh caused the first ripple of dissent against his leadership style, and this grew as the contest progressed. A heroic 156 helped save the Old Trafford Test, but on September 12, 2005, Ponting became the first Australian captain since Allan Border in 1986-87 to taste defeat in an Ashes series. The result hurt and the pain lingered throughout the next summer, but he regrouped and reglued to start an amazing streak of 16 wins in 17 Tests, culminating in the 5-0 demolition of England to regain the urn in the most emphatic way. However, the summer was tarnished slightly when England handed Australia their first tri-series finals loss for 14 years and he missed the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy defeat with a back injury. In the Tests Ponting was Man of the Series as Australia became the first team in 86 years to achieve an Ashes cleansweep and his 576 runs at 82.28 confirmed him as the game's modern master.

Waugh believes his successor will hold the game's run-scoring record when he retires. The world's leading strokeplayer, he finished 2005 with 1544 runs and posted twin hundreds three times in five months, joining Sunil Gavaskar as the only other man to achieve the feat, and the double effort in his 100th Test at the SCG was magnificent. He followed up with another 1333 runs in 2006 and owns more centuries than anyone but Sachin, Brian and Sunny. Frighteningly, he is far from finished.

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Sharad Dravid (Kannada:?????? ???? ????????) (born 11 January 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh) is an Indian cricketer, and the current captain of the Indian cricket team. He grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka. He started his international cricket career in 1996. He is, at present, ranked the 7th best Test batsmen by the ICC in world cricket and has the highest Test batting average of any Indian batsman in history. He became the 6th player in history and the 3rd Indian to score 10,000 runs in the ODI cricket.

Early years
Born in Indore, Dravid's family relocated to Bangalore, Karnataka, where his father worked for Kissan, a company known for jams and preserves. This lead to him earning the nickname Jammy from his teammates at St. Joseph's, Bangalore. Dravid first came to prominence whilst attending a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium where his talents were spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at the clinic [1]. He went on to score a century on debut for his school team and was selected for the U-15 Karnataka cricket team, scoring a double century against the U-15 Kerala cricket team[citation needed]. Along with the batting, he was keeping wickets. However, he later stopped keeping wickets on advice from former Test players Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and Tarapore. He was selected to make his Ranji Trophy in February 1991 against Maharashtra in Pune (while still attending college at St.Joseph's College of Commerce in Bangalore), alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, scoring 82 in a drawn match after batting in the No. 7 position . his first full season was in 1991-92, when he scored two centuries to finish with 380 runs at an average of 63.3 , and was selected for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy, for whom he has been subsequently chosen annually. He had a stronger season in 1992-93, scoring 582 runs at an average of 83.1 including a double century but managed only one game in the Duleep Trophy, scoring 14. In the following year, he had another strong Ranji Trophy scoring 644 runs at an average of 80.5 including two centuries but again had a disappointing Duleep Trophy campaign, averaging just 13. However, in the 1994-95 season, Dravid played only once in the Ranji competition, but he scored 191 in his only innings and averaged 52 in the Duleep Trophy [8]. In the 1995-96 Ranji Trophy season, he scored 153 as captain against Hyderabad in the semi-final [9] to advance to the final, in which he scored another century against Tamil Nadu [10]. In total he scored 460 runs at an average of 57.50 [11] and was the second highest run-scorer in the Duleep Trophy behind V. V. S. Laxman as well as topping the averages [12]. Dravid became a contender for International duties after being selected for the India A team in a domestic tournament in the 1994-95 season [13] and again in the 1995-96 season [14], where he top-scored for his team in the match against India B [15] and the final against the senior Indian team [16]. However, he was overlooked from the Indian team for the 1996 Cricket World Cup held on the Indian subcontinent.


International career
Dravid made his international debut in one-dayers against Sri Lankan cricket team in the Singer Cup in the Singers ground in Singapore immediately after the World Cup in March 1996, replacing Vinod Kambli. After scoring just 21 runs in four matches , Dravid was dropped during the Sharjah tournament and did not play again until Sanjay Manjrekar was injured on the tour of England .

With Manjrekar sidelined, he then made his debut in the Second Test against England along with Sourav Ganguly, scoring 95 . He held his position on Manjrekar's return for the Third Test, scoring 84 . After moderate home series against Australia and South Africa, Dravid broke through on the 1996-97 tour of South Africa. He batted at No. 3 in the third Test in Johannesburg, scoring his maiden century with 148 and 81, the top score in each innings to claim his first man of the match award . He also finally made his first half-century against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in 1996, scoring 90 in his 10th ODI .

In the 18 months ending in mid-1998, he played in an away series against the West Indies, home and away series against Sri Lanka and a home series against Australia, he scored consistently, with 964 runs at an average of 56.7. He scored eleven half-centuries but was unable to convert them to triple figures [4]. He scored his second century in late 1998 against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test match, top-scoring in both innings with 148 and 44, but was unable to prevent an Indian defeat [5]. He then became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score centuries in both innings of a match during the 1999 New Year's Test match against New Zealand with 190 and 103* to force a draw [6], batting for a total of 653 minutes [21]. He had a moderate subcontinental season in early 1999, scoring 269 runs at 38.42 with one century before scoring 239 at 39.8 including a century against New Zealand in late 1999[7]. This was followed by a poor away series against Australia and another poor home series against South Africa, accumulating just 187 runs at an average of 18.7. He then scored 200*, his first double century, against Zimbabwe in Delhi which along with 70* in the second innings helped India to victory. It was the first time he had passed 50 in 12 months and he followed this with a 162 in the following Test, giving him 432 runs in the two match series at an average of 432 [8].


Dravid's style
With a strong technique, he has been the backbone for the Indian cricket team. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. Of late, however, Rahul Dravid has defied early perceptions to become the mainstay of the Indian batting line-up in ODIs[citation needed]as well as in Tests. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency. Dravid has scored 23 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 58.75, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers though he has an average of 40.05, and a strike rate of 70.70. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away matches than at home, averaging over 10 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches. As of 9 August, 2006, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 65.28 as against his overall Test average of 58.75, and his average for away ODI stands at 42.03 as against overall ODI average of 40.05. In matches that India has won, Dravid averages 78.72 in Tests and 53.40 in ODIs.

Dravid's sole Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test against the West Indies during the 2001-2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one who has averaged 63.51 in matches played since 1 January, 2000.

Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is the present world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200*, 217, 222, 233, 270).

Also, Dravid is the current world record holder for the highest percentage(%) contribution of runs scored in matches won under a single captain, where the captain has won more than 20 Tests. [22] In the 21 Test matches India won under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, Dravid played his part in every single one of those wins, scoring at a record average of 102.84 and piling up an astonishing 2571 runs, with nine hundreds - three of them double-centuries - and ten fifties in 32 innings. He contributed nearly 23% of the total runs scored by India those 21 matches, which is almost one run out of every four runs the team scored.


Rahul Dravid's career performance graph.He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000.

In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September, 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). Dravid's batting average of 95.46 in the past year has made him the only Indian to be in the Test team of the year. On 18th March, 2006, Dravid played his 100th Test against England in Mumbai.

In 2005, a biography of Rahul Dravid written by Devendra Prabhudesai was published, 'The Nice Guy Who Finished First'.

In the 2005 ICC Awards he was the only Indian to be named to the World one-day XI.

In 2006, it was announced that he would remain captain of the Indian team up to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.


Personal Records

Tests
Dravid has the second highest Test batting average among those who have scored over 8,000 Test runs. (September 2006) [23]
Scored nearly 23% of the total runs put up by India (with a batting average of 102.84) in the 21 Test matches won under Ganguly's captaincy. This is the highest percentage contribution by any batsman in Test cricket history in matches won under a single captain where the captain has won more than 20 Tests.[24]
Longest streak of consecutive Tests since debut (96)
Only player to score a century against every Test playing nation away from home (until the ICC decides to add more nations to the list of Test playing nations his record can only be equalled, not broken).[25]
Involved in highest partnership made away from home for any wicket for India with vice captain Virender Sehwag of 410 runs vs Pakistan at Lahore in 2006 (the highest partnership between a captain and the vice captain).
He is the fastest to reach 9000 runs in Test cricket. In all he took 176 innings to do this, bettering the previous record set by Brian Lara by 1 innings.
Dravid is one among the only three batsmen to hit Test centuries in four consecutive innings. The other two are Jack Fingleton and Alan Melville. Dravid achieved this by hitting scores of 115, 148, 217 and 100* in three successive matches against England and one against the West Indies. Only Everton Weekes, with centuries in five consecutive innings, has achieved a longer sequence of consecutive Test hundreds.
With scores of 50 or more in 7 consecutive Tests Dravid bettered the previous Indian record of 50+ scores in 6 consecutive Tests for a single batsman. This record was shared by Vijay Hazare, Chandu Borde, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sadagoppan Ramesh. As of October 2006 this streak is unbroken.
He is currently joint 4th along with Brian Lara among batsmen who have scored most away runs in Tests (5288 as of August 9th 2006). Only Sachin Tendulkar, Allan Border and Vivian Richards have scored more away Test runs.
9th batsman to score twin hundreds in a Test twice, and only the 2nd Indian to do so, after Sunil Gavakar.
1st Indian to score 5 double hundreds, each bigger than the previous (200* vs Zimbabwe, 217 vs England, 222 vs New Zealand, 233 vs Australia, 270 vs Pakistan).

One Dayers
Partnership Records

The only batsman to have been involved in two ODI partnerships exceeding 300 runs.
First batsman to be involved in a 300 run partnership in a Cricket World Cup along with Sourav Ganguly in the 1999 World Cup match against Sri Lanka at Taunton.
Involved in the highest partnership in the history of ODI cricket with a 331 run partnership along with Sachin Tendulkar vs New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999-2000.
Has the record of not being dismissed on duck for 120 consecutive ODI matches
World Cup Records

He was the leading run scorer in the 1999 World Cup with 461 runs.
Highest score by a wicketkeeper in a World Cup.
Captaincy Records

He is tied with Sachin Tendulkar in fourth place for having captained India in the most victorious matches
Has the highest ODI batting average as captain of 45.58 (as of 4/7/06), among all captains who have captained more than 10 ODIs.

Captaincy
Achievements
Rahul Dravid led India to a historic Test series win, against the West Indies in their home soil in 2006. Since 1971, India had never won a Test series in the West Indies. This is also their first prominent series win outside the Indian subcontinent (barring the win against Zimbabwe in 2005) since 1986.
Under Dravid's captaincy the Indian team tied the previous record of most consecutive One-Day International wins for an Indian team thus equalling the record run that the Indian team had achieved under Sourav Ganguly in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa (8).
During his captaincy the Indian team broke the 14 match West Indies record for most consecutive won matches in One-Day Internationals while chasing a total. For this 17 match run, Dravid was the captain for 15 matches and Sourav Ganguly was the captain for the other two. This streak was broken on 5/20/06, when India lost to the West Indies by one run, at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
Rahul Dravid is the first captain to lead India to victory against SA in South-African soil.

Criticism
One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as captain for an injured Sourav Ganguly. The Indian first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. [26]
Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests. India lost the Karachi Test in 2006, giving Pakistan the series 1-0. In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling Flintoff's men to draw the series 1-1. While the loss in Karachi could be put down to several Indian batsmen playing badly, the defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase.
After India failed to qualify for the Finals of the DLF Cup, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions.When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team .

Teams

International
India (current)
ACC Asian XI
ICC World XI (Current captain of the Test Team)

Indian first-class
Karnataka (current)

English county
Kent
Scotland

Timeline
1973 - Born 11 January 1973, in Indore
1984 - Attended a summer coaching camp at KSCA's Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, where his talents were spotted by former cricketer turned coach Keki Tarapore (There was another Keki Tarapore [Mumbai, deceased] with whom people confuse this gentleman who also passed on.)
Scores his first century in an unofficial match for his school team St.Joseph's against St. Anthony's.
Scores a double hundred for the Karnataka schools team which he smashed against Kerala.
Selected for the under-15 Karnataka team.
Stops keeping wickets on advice from Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and coach Keki Tarapore.
1985 - Gets recognised in Bangalore as a prodigy after becoming the first ever to score a century in the Cottonian Shield inter school tournament (Juniors) for St. Josephs High School against Baldwin Boys' High School, in the final.
1991 - Ranji debut against Maharashtra.
1996 - Double century in Ranji finals, vs. Tamil Nadu.
1996 - Test debut at Lords, England after Sanjay Manjrekar was injured and Navjot Singh Sidhu flew back home after a fracas with captain Azharuddin. Makes 95.
1997 - Maiden Test hundred (148), vs. South Africa, third Test, Johannesburg.
1997 - First one day hundred (107), vs. Pakistan, Independence Cup, Chennai.
1998 - Dropped from One Day squad for the ODI tournament in Bangladesh.
1999 - Hundred in both innings (190,103) against New Zealand in Hamilton.
1999 - Makes 461 runs, including three 50s and two 100s in World Cup.
1999 - Signs up with Kent for the 2000 English county season.
2001 - Scores 180, while V. V. S. Laxman makes 281, in a fifth-wicket stand of 376 as India defeat Australia at Eden Gardens, ending 16 Test-winning streak by Australia.
2004 - Career best 270 against Pakistan, at Rawalpindi.
2005 - Succeeds Sourav Ganguly as Test and ODI captain.
2005 - The Nice Guy Who Finished First by Devendra Prabhudesai, released by coach Greg Chappell.
2006 - Scores first century as captain, at Lahore, vs. Pakistan.
2006 - Leads India to snatch their first ever test victory on South African Soil.
2007 - Leads India in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, held in West Indies.

Career highlights

Tests
Test Debut: vs England, Lord's, 1996


Dravid's best Test batting score of 270 was made against Pakistan, Rawalpindi, 2003-2004
His best Test bowling figures of 1 for 18 came against West Indies, St. John's, 2001-2002
He is only the third Indian to score over 8,000 Test runs, following Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
Rahul Dravid is the fastest batsman in the history of Test cricket to make 9,000 runs. The Indian captain brought up the landmark in his 176th innings playing against West Indies in 2006 and broke the earlier record of Brian Lara

One-day internationals
ODI Debut: vs Sri Lanka, Singapore, 1995-1996


Dravid's best ODI batting score of 153 was made against New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1999-2000
His best ODI bowling figures of 2 for 43 came against South Africa, Kochi, 1999-2000
6th player and and 3rd Indian to score 10,000 runs. He broke the barrier by scoring 66 against Sri Lanka and levelling the series 1-1.

Awards
1999 - Ceat Cricketer of the 1999 World Cup
2000 - Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000
2004 - Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy Winner (Awarded for ICC Player of the Year)
2004 - Padma Shri
2004 - ICC Test Player of The Year
2006 - Captain of the ICC's Test Team

Man of the Series awards

3 Awards in Test cricket
# Series Season Series Performance
1 India in England Test Series 2002 602 (4 Matches, 6 Innings, 3x100, 1x50); 10 Catches
2 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India in Australia Test Series) 2003/04 619 Runs (4 Matches, 8 Innings, 1x100, 3x50); 4 Catches
3 India in West Indies Test Series 2006 496 Runs (4 Matches, 7 Innings, 1x100, 4x50); 8 Catches


ODI cricket
Rahul Dravid has not won a Man of the Series award in ODI Cricket

Man of the Match awards

9 Awards in Test cricket
S No Opponent Venue Season Match Performance
1 South Africa Wanderers, Johannesburg 1996/97 1st Innings: 148 (21x4); 1 Catch
2nd Innings: 81 (11x4); 1 Catch
2 West Indies Bourda, Georgetown 1996/97 1st Innings: 92 (8x4, 1x6)
3 England Headingley, Leeds 2002/03 1st Innings: 148 (23x4)
2nd Innings: 3 Catches
4 England The Oval, London 2002/03 1st Innings: 217 (28x4); 3 Catches
5 New Zealand Motera, Ahmedabad 2003/04 1st Innings: 222 (28x4, 1x6); 2 Catches
2nd Innings: 73 (6x4); 1 Catch
6 Australia Adelaide Oval, Adelaide 2003/04 1st Innings: 233 (23x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
2nd Innings: 72* (7x4); 2 Catches
7 Pakistan Rawalpindi 2003/04 1st Innings: 270 (34x4, 1x6)
2nd Innings: 1 Catch
8 Pakistan Eden Gardens, Kolkata 2004/05 1st Innings: 110 (15x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
2nd Innings: 135 (15x4)
9 West Indies Sabina Park, Kingston 2006 1st Innings: 81 (10x4)
2nd Innings: 68 (12x4); 1 Catch


13 Awards in ODI
S No Opponent Venue Season Match Performance
1 Pakistan Toronto 1996 46 (93b, 3x4)
2 South Africa Kingsmead, Durban 1996/97 84 (94b, 5x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
3 New Zealand Taupo 1998/99 123* (123b, 10x4, 1x6)
4 New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland 1998/99 51 (71b, 5x4, 1x6)
5 West Indies Toronto 1999 77 (87b, 6x4, 2x6); 4 Catches
6 Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2001 72* (64b, 7x4, 1x6)
7 Sri Lanka Edgbaston, Birmingham 2002 64 (95b, 5x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
8 UAE Dambulla 2004 104 (93b, 8x4); 1 Catch, 1 Stumping
9 West Indies Dambulla 2005 52* (65b, 7x4), 1 Catch
10 Sri Lanka Vidharba CA Ground, Nagpur 2005/06 85 (63b, 8x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
11 South Africa Mumbai 2005/06 78* (106b, 10x4)
12 Pakistan Abu Dhabi 2005/06 92 (116b, 10x4); 1 Catch
13 West Indies Sabina Park, Kingston 2006 105 (102b, 10x4, 2x6); 1 Catch

Personal life
Rahul Dravid married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur, on Sunday, 4 May, 2003; their son, Samit Rahul Dravid, was born on 11 October, 2005.

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Inzamam-ul-Haq

Pakistan

Player profile

Full name Inzamam-ul-Haq
Born March 3, 1970, Multan, Punjab
Current age 37 years 19 days
Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Faisalabad, ICC World XI, Multan, National Bank of Pakistan, Rawalpindi, United Bank Limited
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox


Profile

Inzamam-ul-Haq is a symbiosis of strength and subtlety. Power is no surprise, but sublime touch is remarkable for a man of his bulk. He loathes exercise and often looks a passenger in the field, but with a willow between his palms he is suddenly galvanised. He plays shots all round the wicket, is especially strong off his legs, and unleashes ferocious pulls and lofted drives. Imran Khan rates him the best batsman in the world against pace. Early on he is vulnerable playing across his front pad or groping outside off stump. He uses his feet well to the spinners, although this aggression can be his undoing. Inzi keeps a cool head in a crisis and has succeeded Javed Miandad as Pakistan's premier batsman, but his hapless running between wickets is legendary and most dangerous for his partners. There were no such problems against New Zealand at a boiling Lahore in 2001-02, when Inzamam belted 329, the second-highest Test score by a Pakistani and the tenth-highest by anyone. However, he was then dogged by poor form, scoring just 16 runs in Pakistan's ill-fated World Cup campaign in 2003. He was dropped from the team briefly, but then roared back to form, scoring a magnificent unbeaten 138 and guiding Pakistan to a thrilling one-wicket win against Bangladesh at Multan. He was rewarded with the captaincy of the team, and despite leading them to victory in the Test series in New Zealand, question-marks about his leadership qualities surfaced when Pakistan were beaten in both the Test series and the one-dayers against India. But the selectors persevered with him and this bore results when he took a team thin on bowling resources to India and drew the Test series with a rousing performance in the final Test, Inzamam's 100th. After scoring a magnificent 184, Inzamam led the team astutely on a tense final day and took Pakistan to victory. Since that day, Inzamam has gone from strength to strength as captain and premier batsman. By scoring a hundred against West Indies in June 2005, he kept up a remarkable record of matchwinning centuries, amongt the best of modern-day batsmen. A magnificent year ended with Inzamam leading his team to triumph over Ashes-winning England; personally the series was arguably his best ever. He never failed to make a fifty, scored twin centuries at Faisalabad for the first time, going past Miandad as Pakistan's leading century-maker and joining him as only the second Pakistani with 8000 Test runs. As captain, he never looked more a leader, uniting a young, inexperienced team and turning them, once again, into a force to matter globally. The turn of the year brought contemplation; he missed the Test victory over India at Karachi with a persistent back injury. The subsequent ODI thrashing also raised concerns about Inzamam as ODI captain, none of which were entirely wiped away during ODI and Test wins in Sri Lanka. Pakistan were then beaten comprehensively in the Test series in England though all was forgotten - including Inzamam's own poor form - by events at The Oval. There, Inzamam, astonishingly for a man perceived as so insouciant, became the most controversial figure in cricket for a week, leading his side off the field in protest at charges of ball tampering made by umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair. They refused to come out at first, then delayed the start before eventually forfeiting the Test, the first time in the history of the game. In Pakistan, he became a national hero, saviour of a country's pride and honour. Though nobody is saying it just yet, the World Cup 2007 is likely to be his last act.

Younis Khan

Pakistan

Player profile

Full name Mohammad Younis Khan
Born November 29, 1977, Mardan, North-West Frontier Province
Current age 29 years 113 days
Major teams Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited, Nottinghamshire, Peshawar Cricket Association
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium, Legbreak

Statsguru Test player, ODI player

Profile

A middle-order batsman, Younis Khan is fearless, as befits his Pathan ancestry. He plays with a flourish and is especially strong in the arc from backward point to extra cover. He is prone to getting down on one knee and driving extravagantly. But this flamboyance is coupled with grit. His main weaknesses are playing away from the body and leaving straight balls. Younis was one of the few batsmen who retained his place in the team after Pakistan's disastrous World Cup campaign in 2003, but lost it soon after due to a string of poor scores in the home series against Bangladesh and South Africa. He came back for the one-day series against India, but failed to cement a place in the Test side. He is among the better fielders in Pakistan and he took a world-record four catches in one innings as substitute during Pakistan's demolition of Bangladesh in the 2001-02 Asian Test Championship. He displayed further versatility by keeping and winning the Man of the Match award against Zimbabwe in the Paktel Cup. But it was his return to the side in October 2004, at the pivotal one-down, against Sri Lanka in Karachi that laid the groundwork for his emergence as a force in Pakistan cricket. He was the top run-getter in the disastrous 3-0 whitewash in Australia immediately after and on the tour of India, for which Younis was elevated to vice-captain, he blossomed. After a horror start to the series he came back strongly, capping things off with a matchwinning 267 in the final Test. Since then, barring minor troughs such as the 2005-06 series against England at home, his career has been one elongated peak, scoring hundreds against India and England for fun and becoming Pakistan's most successful one-down in recent memory. More importantly, the tour to India also showcased his potential as a future captain of Pakistan and his energetic and astute leadership has impressed many people. As captain in Inzamam's absence he led the side to a disastrous loss against the West Indies in 2005 but also to a memorable win against India in Karachi in January 2006. He blotted his book by suddenly resigning from the captaincy in Inzamam's absence for the Champions Trophy 2006, only to return a day later and lead a scandal-afflicted side to a disappointing first round exit. But as the 2007 World Cup approached, Pakistan at least have a plan of succession for the leadership. And also a very good one-down.

Shahid Afridi

Pakistan

Player profile

Full name Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi
Born March 1, 1980, Khyber Agency
Current age 27 years 21 days
Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Griqualand West, Habib Bank Limited, ICC World XI, Karachi, Leicestershire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium, Legbreak googly

Statsguru Test player, ODI player

Profile

In cricket, Shahid Afridi is the maddest of mad maxes. A flamboyant allrounder introduced to international cricket as a 16-year-old legspinner, he surprised everyone but himself by pinch-hitting the fastest one-day hundred in his maiden innings. Afridi is a compulsive shot-maker and although until 2004 it was too often his undoing, causing him to float in and out of the team, a combination of maturity on and off the field and a sympathetic coach in Bob Woolmer, saw Afridi blossom into one of modern-day cricket's most dangerous players and a vital cog in Pakistan's revival in 2005. A string of incisive contributions from June 2004 culminated in a violent century against India in Kanpur in April 2005; remarkably it was the joint second fastest ODI century in terms of balls faced. A few weeks before, by smashing the joint second fastest Test half-century at Bangalore and taking crucial last day wickets, Afridi had helped Pakistan memorably level the Test series. So his year continued; a Test century against the West Indies and contributions against England at the end of the year. He went berserk against India on the flattest of pitches with two centuries, including a Test best 156 in January 2006. An Afridi virtuoso is laced with fearless lofted drives and short-arm jabs over midwicket. He is at his best when forcing straight and at his weakest pushing at the ball just outside off. The biggest improvement has been in Afridi's legspin; previously underrated, they are now integral in the ODI side and curiously effective at key moments in Tests. When the conditions are with him, he gets turn as well as some lazy drift, but his box of tricks is the key, boasting a vicious faster ball and a conventional off-spinner as well. His allround skills are completed by agile fielding and among the strongest arms in the game; he also possesses the firmest handshake in international cricket. Again he shocked everyone but himself when, after finally becoming a fixture in the Pakistan side, and a thrillingly bombastic one at that, he announced a temporary 'retirement' from Test cricket, citing an increasingly heavy playing schedule. To less surprise, he retracted his retirement two weeks later. Since then he has been dropped again from the Test team in England and his place in the ODI side has been in flux. He remains, though, an original and a dangerous one at that.

Abul Razzaq

Pakistan

Player profile

Full name Abdul Razzaq
Born December 2, 1979, Lahore, Punjab
Current age 27 years 110 days
Major teams Pakistan, ACC Asian XI, Khan Research Labs, Lahore, Middlesex, Pakistan International Airlines
Also known as Abdur Razzaq
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium

Statsguru Test player, ODI player

Profile

Abdul Razzaq was once rapid enough to open the bowling and remains composed enough to bat anywhere, though he is discovering that the lower-order suits him nicely. His bowling - the reason he was first noticed - is characterised by a galloping approach, accuracy, and reverse-swing. But it is his batting that is more likely to win matches. He boasts a prodigious array of strokes and is particularly strong driving through cover and mid-off off both front and back foot. He has two gears: block or blast. Cut off the big shots and Razzaq gets bogged down, although patience is his virtue as he demonstrated in a match-saving fifty against India in Mohali in 2005. Just prior to that he had also played a bewilderingly slow innings in Australia, scoring four runs in over two hours. When the occasion demands it though, as ODIs often do, he can still slog with the best of them: England were pillaged for a 22-ball 51 at the end of 2005. and then again for nearly 60 runs in the last three overs of an ODI in September the following year.

It has hardly been smooth sailing though through his career. He suffered a slump, particularly in his bowling, between 2002 and 2004 when, though his place in the team wasn't under threat, there was uncertainty over how best to use him. But there have been signs recently that he is rediscovering some of his old guile if not his pace and nip. And if the pitch is in anyway helpful to seam - as it was in his first and only Test five-wicket haul at Karachi in 2004 or against India at the same venue in January 2006 - he can be a proper danger. Though Kamran Akmal's hundred overshadowed all in the Karachi win over India, Razzaq's performance was easily his most emphatic as an allrounder: he scored 45 and 90 as well as taking seven wickets in the match. Since then, a combination of injuries and poor form have called his Test place into question. He missed the Test series against South Africa with an injury and looked terribly rusty in the ODI thumping thereafter, something which Pakistan will hope he can shed before the 2007 World Cup. Early in his career he promised to be Pakistan's most complete allrounder since Imran Khan, and though for a variety of reasons he hasn't translated that into achievement, his country wouldn't mind having just a very solid allrounder

Imran Nazir
Pakistan
Player profile

Full name Imran Nazir
Born December 16, 1981, Gujranwala, Punjab
Current age 25 years 96 days
Major teams Pakistan, National Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan Reserves, Sheikhupura Cricket Association, Sialkot Cricket Association, Water and Power Development Authority
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak
Test debut Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Lahore - Mar 4-8, 1999 scorecard
Last Test Australia v Pakistan at Sharjah - Oct 11-12, 2002 scorecard
ODI debut Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Visakhapatnam - Mar 27, 1999
Last ODI Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Kingston - Mar 21, 2007 scorecard
Only Twenty20 Int. South Africa v Pakistan at Johannesburg - Feb 2, 2007
First-class span 1998/99 - 2006/07
List A span 1998/99 - 2006/07
Twenty20 span 2004/05 - 2006/07

Batting Averages:

Tests Matches 8
Innings 13
Runs 427
Highest score 131
Average 32.84
Strike Rate 58.49
100's 2
50's 1

ODI matches 68
Innings 68
Runs 1674
Highest score 160
Average 25.36
Strike Rate 79.37
100's 2
50's 9

Profile :

Another of Pakistan's prodigiously gifted players, but the suspicion was that Imran Nazir offers more genuine promise than most. An opener who is particularly strong off the back foot, he loves forcing through the covers. An aggressive approach has had him labelled as a one-day player, but Imran didn't fare badly in his first few Tests. Eventually, however, his technique and lack of footwork was found out rather cruelly by Glenn McGrath and Co in two Tests against Australia. Imran was then upstaged by the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, but a series of consistent domestic performances saw him recalled to the national squad against South Africa in 2006-07. A typically explosive 39-ball 57 saw him get selected for the 2007 World Cup squad though three failures in that series took the gloss off a touch. He is one of the best fielders in Pakistan, though, and is supposed to be the first Pakistani to cartwheel (while intercepting a square cut).

Shoaib Malik - Pakistan


Full name Shoaib Malik
Born February 1, 1982, Sialkot, Punjab
Current age 25 years 51 days
Major teams Pakistan, Gloucestershire, Gujranwala Cricket Association, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Reserves, Sialkot Cricket Association
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

BIOGRAPHY:

Shoaib Malik (born 1 February 1982 in Sialkot) is a Pakistani cricketer who is a member of the Pakistani cricket team. He made his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh and One Day International (ODI) debut in 1999 against the West Indies.

Prior to the commencement of the World Cup Malik is ranked as 7th best all-rounder in the world on the LG ICC Cricket Rankings. As a batsman he is ranked 29th and as a bowler 47th, which indicates that he is a batting all-rounder.

He started his career as an off spinner, and is now regarded as a useful batsman with a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket. In Tests, he has a better batting average against Sri Lanka and South Africa than other nations. In ODIs he has a better batting average against India, South Africa, and the West Indies than his overall career average. During his Test career he has batted at 5 different positions, mainly either opening or at 6th position. Malik has the unusual record of batting at every position except 11th in ODIs. Pakistan's recent poor opening statistics have lead to Malik being alloted the position of opener in Test matches.

As with most Test-playing nations selection in the final XI is very competitive; particularly for an allrounder in Pakistan as there are 2 other accomplished allrounders in Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi. Razzaq's current injury and Malik's good recent form have ensured that Malik has retained his position in the team.

Malik is regarded as a flexible player. He is capable of hitting big shots and has a strike rate of 77.01 runs per 100 balls, which compares favourably to players such as Rahul Dravid and Inzamam ul-Haq. His most brazen display of "power hitting" came in 2003 against South Africa when he scored 82 from 40 balls. As is required of most modern players he also has displayed good defensive batting at times. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets at an average under 35 and economy rate below 4.5.

Shoaib Malik's father died on January 25th 2006 when he succumbed to an illness that had afflicted him for a long period. Consequently, Malik missed the 3rd Test played between Pakistan and India. However, he returned for the ODI series with impressive form, including scores of 90, 95, and 108.

In Test cricket he made a big impression with his match-saving innings against Sri Lanka, in which he batted for the whole day and finished with 148 runs not out. His bowling has been effective at times, especially in one-day cricket where his best bowling figures are four wickets for 19 runs (4/19) in addition to many 3-wicket hauls.

the fav. of all pakistani hearts... one and only ::
WAQAR YOUNIS..

Waqar Younis (Urdu: ?) (born November 16, 1971 as Waqar Younis Maitla) is a Pakistani cricketer, a fast bowler, from Burewala, Punjab. He is arguably the greatest fast bowler produced by Pakistan. At his peak, he received international acclaim for his ability to reverse swing the ball. He attended Sadiq Public School in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Pakistani College, Sharjah and Government College, Vehari. Playing as a fast bowler, he took 373 Test wickets and 416 wickets in One-day Internationals.

Contents [hide]
1 Career
2 Masters of Reverse Swing
3 International Records
4 Controversies and Trivia
5 References
6 External links



[edit] Career
He debuted for Pakistan against India on November 15, 1989. He made an immediate impression with his pace, and was promptly nicknamed in the media as the "Burewala Express". Later, along with Wasim Akram, Younis opened bowling regularly for Pakistan. His most recognized delivery was an in-swinging yorker. At his peak, he developed into an effective bowling option towards the closing stages of the one day game. Waqar Younis holds the record for the highest strike rate among bowlers with 200 or more wickets. During the late 90's, he stayed out of the team for quite a long time allegedly due to his alleged conflicts with once bowling partner and captain Wasim Akram. His comeback came with him being appointed the Captain of the national side - a position he held till his side failed to make an impact in the 2003 World Cup. He retired after the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.

In March, 2006 he was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan[1]. He resigned from this position on January 6, 2007 in order to protest against PCB's decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not for the subsequent series of five ODIs. [2].


[edit] Masters of Reverse Swing
Waqar is one of a long line of Pakistanis (starting with Sarfraz Nawaz) who have been effective at using the art of reverse swing. In partnership with Wasim Akram, Younis spearheaded the Pakistan bowling attack in the early to mid 90's. Following their 1992 series versus England, the English media, were suspicious of the then 'mysterious' art of reverse swing. This led to cries of foul play and allegations of "ball-tampering" from some quarters. Waqar Younis's bowling against South Africa in Sheikhupura, Pakistan, is remembered for his effective use of the short-pitched delivery.


[edit] International Records
Waqar Younis is the only bowler to have taken 5 wicket hauls in 3 consecutive ODIs. He has taken 4+ wickets on 27 occasions in ODIs, also a record. In terms of balls bowled, he has taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in ODI matches and the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 wickets in Test matches.

Although primarily a bowler, Waqar scored 1010 Test runs. As of September 2005, Younis was the only man to pass the thousand run mark without ever scoring a fifty. He is now married with a son and a daughter. Recently, he has become a television cricket commentator for Australia's Nine Network.

From March 2006 to January 2007, he served as the bowling coach for Pakistan, but quit after only being asked to coach the squad during the course of the test series against South Africa and not the ODIs.[1]


[edit] Controversies and Trivia
In 1989 home series against India, he became involved in an incident with the Indian captain, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who was given out lbw by the umpire off Waqar Younis. Srikanth appeared unhappy with the decision, and reluctantly walked towards the pavilion. Imran Khan, the then Pakistani captain, invited Srikkanth back to the crease, only to be caught behind off Younis on the very next delivery.
Following a poor showing in 2003 World Cup, he got involved in an in-media verbal spat with Shoaib Akhtar.
External links
Mashhur.com - History of the Total International Series 1993 (Pak,SA,WI)