Paris set to wear McGrath's jersey
perth: Australia's rookie pacer Joel Paris is set to don Glenn McGrath's No.11 jersey when he makes his likely international debut in the first cricket ODI against India on January 12. Paris, 23, is the same age as McGrath was when he made his ODI debut, with the fast bowling great going on to bag 381 wickets in his illustrious career. The left-arm pacer has done well for himself in the Australian domestic circuit, picking up 24 wickets in 13 list A games. With the Australian bowling ranks sans retired Mitchell Johnson and injured Mitchell Starc, uncapped Paris is likely to get the nod on home turf over fellow potential debutant Scott Boland for the first of five ODIs. With the WACA ground considered heaven for pacers, Paris is keen to exploit the conditions even while acknowledging the batting force of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side.
‘AB can be one of SA's best captains’
johannesburg: Newly-appointed Test skipper A B de Villiers has it in him to become one of South Africa's greatest captains, says Cricket South Africa (CSA) supremo Ali Bacher. "AB should just be the captain and focus on his batting," Bacher told the Afrikaans daily 'Beeld' following the appointment of de Villiers as captain after the surprise resignation by Hashim Amla last week. "With the self-confidence that A B exudes, I think he has the capacity to become one of the greatest South African captains," said Bacher, himself once a South African national team captain and the man largely credited with unifying the racially segregated cricket unions after the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990. Bacher, who spearheaded South Africa's return to the international cricketing fold after decades of isolation due to apartheid policies.
Ajmal accused of fraud
karachi: Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has been accused of fraud and misuse of facilities by the administration of the University of Agriculture in his hometown Faisalabad. The administration has ordered him to immediately vacate the land given to him to establish his cricket academy. The varsity administration claimed yesterday that Ajmal had charged admission fees of 15,000 from one student to join the academy and over 350 students became members. "He has not given any details of the nearly 5.3 million rupees he collected from the students, he has tried to forcibly occupy the land we gave him for the academy and he is now refusing to vacate it," an administration official claimed.
‘No special restrictions on Aamir’
karachi: Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam has debunked the impression that left-arm pace bowler Mohammad Aamir would face special restrictions or close scrutiny in NZ, where they play a limited over series this month. The former Test captain admitted that the tour to New Zealand will be a tough one for Aamir. "The Pakistan cricket board is also ready for any situation but we are placing no special restrictions on him," Alam said before the team's departure early Sunday. Aamir is making his first tour with the Pakistan team since returning to cricket after serving a five-year ban and jail time for his role in the spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010. He said that Aamir would follow same code of conduct guidelines that is laid out for others. "But he has been advised not to move out of hotel alone or entertain any guests without knowing management," he said.