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I grew up watching the incredible Sharjah cups compromising of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa etc which were really competitive and full of excitement. 

On the other hand we had the VB series in Australia. But in recent years, the number of Tri-Series' have diminished dramatically. its understandable with what happened with Sharjah Cup but it could have been shifted elsewhere too. 

Even the VB series became a bilateral one for 5 years. 

What is the reason behind this? has it got do with money or something? 

A Tri-Series is always more exciting and superior compared to a bilateral series. Especially when compared to a 3 match ODI series which is pretty meaningless. 

For example, the recent ODI series between Pakistan and India would have been much more intriguing had it been a Tri-Series between India, Pakistan and England who immediately after the Pakistan series, played a 5 match series with India.

Discuss!

Champions.

Click below to view the full list of winners of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Who will be the last winners of the trophy?

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There are a number of highly talented players in each team who can change the course of game on their own. Click below to view this user's list of players will be key for their respective teams.

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I read this article a couple of times - did it really mean danger signs?

South Africa, the team sitting on top of the world with a batting and bowling line up to die for is worried because they have a change in coach?

Is that "worry for the sake if it" or the sign of a side that will not let its guard down!
 

Discuss!

The most complex task is compiling the ultimate pace bowling combination in a team. Accuracy,pace,control,versatality,swing etc have all to be considered. Some paceman posessed a particular quality more than any other bowler. Waqar Younus, Alan Donald, Jeff Thomson, Michael Holding, Shoaib Akhtar stood out for pure pace, Glen Mcgrath and Richard Hadlee the ultimate for control, Joel Garner and Curtly Ambrose the kings for pure accuracy in the blockhole, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan the kings of reverse swing and the best with the old ball. On the other hand Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts combined all these qualities-be it pace, control, movement and variation.

Discuss the perfect combination here!

Tim May, the Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Association has revealed that Mahela Jayawardene's vote in favour of him as the players' representative for the ICC's cricket committee was "ignored" by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

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Media reports indicate that there is a threat but would that be a wise move by the BCCI?

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Openers

While this has long remained a problem in Pakistan cricket, it is quite refreshing to see a plethora of young talented openers in the domestic circuit such as the likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Azhar Ali, Imran Butt amongst many others. In the U19 World Cup in 2010, captain Azeem Ghumman had to bat in the middle-order due to the large number of openers in the squad. This seems to suggest there will be a lot of competition for the openers' spot in the future

Middle-Order Batsmen

While Pakistan cricket is known more for its bowlers than its batsmen, there are quite a few batsmen who could play in the middle-order for Pakistan in the near future such as the likes of Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Usman Salahuddin Haris Sohail and Sohaib Maqsood. Shafiq, Alam and Akmal have already enjoyed success in international cricket, Amin has managed to seal a place in the Champions Trophy squad and Salahuddin, Haris and Maqsood are turning the heat on Pakistan's senior batsmen. In the last two editions of the U-19 World Cup, many talented Pakistani middle-order batsmen were on show including the likes of Umar Waheed, Imam ul Haq and Rameez Aziz 

Fast Bowlers

"You shake a tree in Pakistan and fast bowlers fall like leaves" - Ravi Shastri

Pakistan has always been known for producing quality fast bowlers such as the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Aaqib Javed. While the quality of the current fast bowlers may not match those which Pakistan have produced before, they still possess a quality fast attack boasting bowlers like Umar Gul, Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Other fast bowlers who have achieved success in domestic cricket and may represent Pakistan cricket in the Champions Trophy include Ehsan Adil and Asad Ali. Zia ul Haq, Mohammad Aftab and Ahmed Jamal are other talented players who may represent Pakistan in the future

Spinners

Pakistan has also produced many quality spinners over the years such as Abdul Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Ajmal. In some recent matches Pakistan has fielded upto 4 spinners in some games! The spin dominance is likely to continue as there are many talented performers in the domestic circuit like Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hassan, Yasir Shah, Usman Qadir and Misbah Khan

All-rounders

This is one area where Pakistan seems to be lacking in. While Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq have performed well in the all-rounder roles recently, there seems to be a dearth of quality all-rounders to replace them in the future. In particular, it is the fast bowling all-rounders that are a diminishing breed with Hammad Azam and Anwar Ali being the only names that spring to mind while Mohammad Nawaz or Mansoor Amjad could play the spin all-rounder role

Wicketkeepers

This is another area where Pakistan seems to be lacking in. Pakistan have tried many players for this role in the recent past such as Kamran Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider, Mohammad Salman and Shakeel Ansar but none have performed satisfactorily underperforming either with the bat or gloves. Even in the U19 World Cups the performance of the wicketkeepers have been unsatisfactory with Pakistan often using make shift keepers. Mohammad Rizwan seems to be the only young talent who can fill in the wicket keeper role in the future. The best solution to this problem is to identify a good keeper-batsman and give him consistent chances.

Discuss!

Left handers XI 
Mathew Hayden 
Brian Lara 
David Gower 
Clive LLoyd (c) 
Graeme Pollock 
G Sobers 
A Gilchrist 
Wasim Akram 
Hedley Verity 
Alan Davidson 
BS Bedi 

Right Handers XI

Sir Jack Hobbs
Sunil Gavaskar
Sir Don Bradman
Viv Richards
Sachin Tendulkar
Imran Khan
Alan Knott
S Warne
Lillee
Marshall
Muralitharan/Fred Trueman


Who will win.

Discuss!

Brilliant Interview with former Scotland captain,Gavin Hamilton in which he talks about "that" game in the 1999 WC in which Scotland posted an imposing 261/6 after being 16/4 at one stage

Our thanks to Cricket Scotland for sharing this with us.

Read the interview!