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Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, pleaded for a revival of his cricket career, frozen by a long ban for spot-fixing in the infamous Lord’s Test against England in 2010.

All I want is an opportunity to get back into cricket whilst I am still young, said Salman Butt. © Getty Images

Butt, 28 years old, was banned for ten years, with the possibility of five suspended, for his role in arranging no-balls to order in the match, but will appeal against the sentence at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday.

Butt, who was jailed by a British court over the scandal, said the suspension was a career-ending punishment.

“It may be easy for some people to say that a five-year ban from cricket is all right but what they don’t realise is that for a sportsman like me, this is like a lifetime ban,” said Butt in a statement issued by his lawyer. “My whole family and my life is disturbed.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned butt, along with Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, in 2011 after being found guilty of deliberately contriving no-balls.

Aamer, banned for five years, pleaded guilty in court and decided not to appeal against the ICC ban, while Asif appeared at the CAS on Thursday to contest his ban of seven years, with the possibility of two suspended.

Matthieu Reeb, head of the Swiss-based tribunal, said the hearing was due to end at 6:00 pm local time (1700 GMT), and that fast bowler Asif was there in person to fight his case.

“It’s a high-profile case of two world-class players with the whole cricket world focused on it and we will fight to get the ban overturned,” said Ravi Sukul, Asif’s lawyer, earlier this week. “Asif was a terrific bowler and it was terribly unfortunate that a bowler of his class suffered this, but we will try our best to get this ban overturned and Asif is in high spirits.”

Butt, whose wife gave birth to their second son on the day he was jailed by the British court, said he wanted another opportunity to play for Pakistan.

“Cricket is my life and every single day that has passed has been so painful because I have not been able to play. All I want is an opportunity to get back into cricket whilst I am still young and I can still play well,” said Butt.

Yasin Patel, the lawyer representing Butt, said the ban was harsh. “We are appealing the sanctions that were imposed upon us and they should not have been so high,” said Patel in the statement.

The ICC was being represented by their legal firm Bird and Bird along with the head of their legal department. The court is not expected to issue a ruling in their case this week.

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Shakib could miss Sri Lanka Tests

   Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan could miss the two Tests against Sri Lanka next month after scans revealed that he is suffering from exertional compartment syndrome on his shin bone, a condition that can be caused by frequent running, which leads to pain and swelling.

One of the methods to treat this condition is "controlled participation in sports", according to the Bangladesh board physician Debashish Chowdhury, who suggested Shakib could be playing only the limited-overs matches in Sri Lanka.

"The CT and bone scan didn't reveal any major damages. His problems can be managed by physiotherapy, physical exercise and controlled participation in sports," Chowdhury said. "Whether he will play Tests will depend on Shakib and the selectors."

Shakib had missed the limited-overs leg of the home series against West Indies late last year and was given six weeks rest. He has played six BPL matches for Dhaka Gladiators, missing two due to a hamstring strain.

A decision on Shakib's participation in the Test series will be taken at a meeting of BCB's cricket operations committee. Chief selector Akram Khan said he would like to see Shakib be ready for the Test series in Zimbabwe in April rather than next month. "If required, we would let him be fit for the Zimbabwe Tests in April, because we didn't do well there in 2011. We want to take our best side for that series."

Bangladesh will play two Tests in Sri Lanka in March, as well as three ODIs and a Twenty20. According to the BCB, Bangladesh will travel to Zimbabwe for a full series in April, though the number of Tests has not been announced.

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India retain No. 3 spot in ICC T20 rankings

India [ Images ] managed to retain their third rank among T20 teams, while Virat Kohli [ Images ] has held on to his sixth spot in the ICC [ Images ] rankings for Twenty20 [ Images ] batsmen issued Thursday.

India placed at third with 119 points in the ICC T20 Championship table, is headed by reigning T20 champions Sri Lanka [ Images ] followed by the West Indies [ Images ].

Sri Lanka are the clear leaders with 131 ratings points, nine ratings points ahead of second-placed ICC World Twenty20 2012 champion West Indies.

Meanwhile, even the Indian batsmen figuring in top-20 list have also managed to cling on to their respective positions. Star India batsman Kohli has retained 731 points, while Suresh Raina [ Images ] remains at ninth place with 719 points.

Other Indians in the list includes Yuvraj Singh [ Images ] (13) and opener Gautam Gambhir [ Images ] at the 17 position.

New Zealand [ Images ] wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum [ Images ] leads the T20 batting chart with 794 points, followed by destructive West Indian opener Chris Gayle [ Images ] (792), Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene [ Images ] (768) and Australia's [ Images ] Shane Watson [ Images ] (767).

In the T20 bowlers category, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, ranked 16, is the only Indian to have found out a place in the top-20 list.

Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal [ Images ] leads the bowlers' table with 756 points followed by Ajantha Mendis [ Images ] of Sri Lanka (731) and England's [ Images ] Graeme Swann [ Images ] (720).

Former cricketer Maninder Singh offers to be Team India's spin coach

TAGS:Maninder Singh|Spinner|R Ashwin|Off-spinner

Indian off-spinner R Ashwin.

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Amid growing concern over the Indian spinners' poor show with the ball in the last few series, former Indian cricketer Maninder Singn growing to appoint a full time spin coach to guide young spinners. And, former bowler Maninder was the first to throw his hat in the ring.

Speaking toHeadlines Today,Maninder categorically said that he was ready and willing to become the spin coach.

The likes of R. Ashwin and h has offered to be the spin coach of the Indian team.

The Indian spinners have endured a torrid time in both Tests and ODIs in the last few months and the calls have beePragyan Ojha have endured a rough patch in the last couple of months and Maninder's invaluable experience could come in handy for them. In fact, Ashwin's sudden loss of form has severely hurt the team's chances in recent matches and help from an expert could be crucial at this stage.

Maninder has played 35 Tests and 59 ODIs and was rated as one of the craftiest spinners in the game. His offer comes even as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly been on the lookout for a fulltime spin coach.

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Match referee calls pacer Praveen Kumar mentally unfit in its report to BCCI

In his report to the board, match referee Dhananjay Singh made the shocking remark as he charged the bowler with level-2 and level-4 offences which suggest that he was reported for misbehaving with the umpires.

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'Big role' for Australia's fast men in India - Siddle

Peter Siddle says patience is the key to bowling in India © Gett

                                                          

The wickets in India might be considered a spinner's paradise but Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle feels his team's chances of winning the upcoming Test series there would depend on how well its pacers perform on the dustbowls.

India were shocked by England, who relied on their spinners to wreck the famed the batting line-up of the hosts, but Siddle feels every team has to play to its strengths.

"The best way of attacking India is with whatever your best line-up is. The way we've won Test matches for years now has been with our pace and I think that is going to play a big role," Siddle told The Age.

"But Nathan (Lyon) is going to play a big role at the other end, and his game is going to flourish even more with the pressure we build at our end.

"Combined, we'll do well and definitely be able to take 20 wickets. We're strong, we've got a good set of quicks going over and we've got good back-up for Nathan over there with spin," he added.

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Raina ton dominates free-scoring day

  

Mumbai 155 for 2 (Jaffer 80, Rahane 55*) trail Rest of India 526 (Raina 134, Vijay 116, Chavan 3-56) by 371 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Suresh Raina boosted his chances of making the Test team with a century © Associated Press  Enlarge

It's a battle of the bats at the Irani Cup, as Mumbai responded strongly to Rest of India's 526 on the second day at the Wankhede Stadium.

As was the case on the first day, there was much that unfolded on the second to keep the national selectors interested ahead of the Australia Tests: Suresh Raina reached his second first-class hundred this season to stake his claim for a possible opening in India's middle order, Sreesanth, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ishwar Pandey and Harbhajan Singh each got a bowl, and Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane continued to have a productive time in the middle. As the game seemed to meander towards another high-scoring encounter, the focus remained on individual performances.

On the eve of the match, Raina had spoken of his aim to play more than 50 Tests and seeking advice from VVS Laxman about batting with tailenders. He did his Test prospects no harm with an attacking century, and received excellent support from Abhimanyu Mithun at No.8 - the two had made their Test debuts in the same series, in Sri Lanka in 2010. Mumbai's bowling continued to be lackluster - the left-arm spinners picking up wickets long after enough damage had been inflicted and the seamers largely ineffective - claiming just one wicket on the second day and unable to break a 153-run stand for the seventh wicket between Raina and Mithun.

Raina had moved smoothly to 36 at stumps on the first day, and Ambati Rayudu had matched him in a sprightly partnership. He took a while to take charge on the second, scoring his first boundary almost 50 minutes into the morning session after he'd lost Harbhajan Singh. Mithun looked assured at the other end, defending well, and scoring fluently, starting off with a lovely flick off Dhawal Kulkarni through square leg. Raina brought up his fifty off 103 balls, but opened up when part-timer Rohit Sharma was brought on to bowl. He took him for three boundaries in an over, cutting him past point then launching him twice over extra cover.

Even as the field spread out, Raina picked up boundaries with ease through point, targeted the spinners through mid-on and midwicket and struck the seamers hard down the ground. He took just 37 balls to get from 50 to 100, celebrated animatedly after reaching the landmark, and stepped out to Vishal Dabholkar and Ankeet Chavan to smack three more sixes before holing out. Mithun's confidence had grown in the company of his senior partner and he didn't hesitate to dispatch length balls from Kulkarni down the ground, pull and cut him for fours and play the slog-sweep against the spinners en route to his own half-century. Only their pursuit of quick runs appeared to give Mumbai a chance of claiming a wicket, which they did but only after conceding a huge first-innings score.

The Mumbai batsmen, too, were beneficiaries of excellent conditions to score in, and the three-pronged Rest of India pace attack including Sreesanth, Mithun and Pandey could do little against the in-form Jaffer and Rahane until the close. Sreesanth and Mithun offered considerable room for Jaffer to cut and drive which he did with flair, before feasting on a couple of freebies on the leg side from Mithun after tea to raise his fifty. Sreesanth dismissed Jaffer shortly before stumps when he belatedly tried to withdraw from playing a good-length delivery outside off and nicked to the keeper.

Rahane has been in contention for a Test place for a long time. He was watchful at the start but got going against Pandey, reaching out to drive through extra cover for two fours in an over. He was the more restrained during a century stand with Jaffer, but comfortably ended any quiet spell with a boundary, once lofting Pragyan Ojha over mid-on. He reached his half-century with an off-drive off Pandey and set about, not for the first time, pushing his case for a Test berth.