PCB suspends Shahid Afridi's contract

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday suspended the central contract of former one-day captain Shahid Afridi, who had announced his retirement from international cricket, a board statement said.

At the same time it revoked all no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the player, meaning he will not be officially permitted to play abroad, the PCB said.

Afridi, a hugely popular big-hitting all-rounder, had been expected to play for Hampshire in the Twenty20 league in England next month, and also in the Sri Lanka Premier League a month later.

The 31-year-old, who was stripped of the Pakistan one-day captaincy earlier this month, announced his retirement from all international cricket on Monday following a spat with coach Waqar Younis.

"PCB has initiated action against Afridi in response to the multiple breaches he has committed under the central contract signed with PCB," the statement said.

"Afridi's central contract has been suspended with immediate effect. Consequently, all NOCs granted to him have been revoked. All payments on account of central contract have been suspended."

Afridi is in the "A" contract category, receiving a monthly salary of 250,000 rupees (about $2,900).

The PCB said Afridi must explain within seven days why he levelled allegations against the Board.

"In passing disparaging remarks about the board and its officials Afridi is in breach of clause 4.4 dealing with media obligations," said the statement.

Afridi had said he would not play under the current PCB set-up, headed by chairman Ijaz Butt, and accused the administration of mistreating the players.

Butt said Afridi's decision to retire was acceptable.

"If he has decided not to play under us then its his decision and we welcome it," the official told reporters. "Afridi has violated players' code of conduct and we have served show notice on him."

The player had lashed out at Waqar for undue meddling in team selection.

"Everyone should do his job and must be held accountable for that," Afridi said, without naming anyone, on his return from the West Indies where he led the team to a 3-2 one-day series victory earlier this month.

When asked about his differences with Waqar, Afridi replied: "The differences are not at a stage where they cannot be solved."

Afridi had withdrawn from Pakistan's latest matches, a one-day series against Ireland which finished in a 2-0 win on Monday, to attend his ailing father in the United States.

England on course for 2nd rank in Tests

England's stunning victory against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Cardiff has kept them on course to reclaim second position on the ICC Test Championship table for the first time in more than three years.

Although the Test Championship table will be updated only at the end of the series, a 3-0 series win will put England one ratings point ahead of South Africa. England last occupied the second position in November 2007.

England players Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, who engineered the stunning innings and 14-run victory over Sri Lanka, also achieved their career-best rankings in the list released on Tuesday.

Swann, who bagged 4/16 in the second innings to finish with figures of 7/94, has strengthened his second position on the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, which is still headed by Dale Steyn of South Africa.

Tremlett, who claimed 4/40 in the second innings to earn match figures of 5/121, has gained seven places and is now on a career-best ranking of 27th.

Among the Test batsmen, man of the match Jonathan Trott, who scored 203, has moved up one place to join former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara in third position.

Ian Bell was also rewarded for his innings of 103 not out with a jump of three places to the 18th position for the first time in his career.

Skipper Alastair Cook also earned 15 ratings points for his innings of 133 which has put him on 818 ratings points and just 38 points behind the pair of Trott and Sangakkara.

Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavithana and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardena moved up one place to 44th spot and six places to 51st position respectively.

Tendulkar is India's cricketer of year

Record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday received India's cricketer of the year award for his outstanding performances in 2009-2010.

Tendulkar, the world's leading scorer in both Test and one-day cricket, won the Polly Umrigar award, named after a former India captain, at a function held by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai.

The master batsman scored 1,064 runs, including one double-century and five hundreds, in 10 Tests during the year in question, October 2009 to September 2010, at an average of 82.

Tendulkar also scored 695 runs in 12 one-day internationals, including the first double-century in one-dayers, against South Africa in Gwalior in February 2010.

Former Test all-rounder Salim Durani received the C. K. Nayudu award, named after another former India skipper, for his lifetime contribution to the game.

Durani, an exciting stroke-player and effective left-arm spinner, played 29 Tests from 1960 to 1973, scoring 1,202 runs and taking 75 wickets, including a major role in India's maiden Test series victory in the West Indies in 1971.

Then, he dismissed key batsmen Gary Sobers and Clive Lloyd in the second Test in Trinidad to help India win by seven wickets.

Manish Pandey, a 21-year-old from Karnataka, won the best batsman award in domestic cricket for scoring 882 runs in nine matches in the country's premier first-class tournament, the Ranji Trophy.

Karnataka paceman Abhimanyu Mithun, who bagged 47 wickets in nine matches in domestic cricket, won the best bowler award.

India's World Cup-winning squad was also congratulated at the event.

India can do well in Windies: Fletcher

India's newly-appointed coach Duncan Fletcher said Tuesday the team had the potential to perform well on its upcoming tour of the West Indies despite missing key players.

"There is a lot of talent in India and my job is to prepare these youngsters," said former Zimbabwean all-rounder Fletcher, who was named coach last month.

"India have a plan to stay at the top. The young players have the potential and this tour will show the depth of talent we have. But any team playing at home is difficult to beat so we should not be complacent."

India are without Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh for a five-match one-day series starting in Trinidad on June 6.

Batting superstar Tendulkar, World Cup-winning captain Dhoni and paceman Zaheer have been rested while openers Gambhir and Sehwag, and all-rounder Yuvraj are unfit.

Fletcher said he had followed a rotation policy when he was the England coach.

"While I was in England, I started the rotation policy resting senior guys and was criticised. It's important to do that considering the heavy schedule. We need to look into the matter as we go into the future," he said.

Stand-in India captain Suresh Raina said the tour was a good opportunity for youngsters to show their talent.

"It's a great opportunity for the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket and I hope they will do well," said Raina.

"I am really honoured to be leading the side. I am happy with the side as we have some very good batsmen in Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Subramaniam Badrinath and Shikhar Dhawan who have done well in first-class cricket."

The Caribbean tour opens with a one-off Twenty20 international in Trinidad on June 4. India will also play three Tests after the one-day series.

T20 and one-day squad: Suresh Raina (capt), Harbhajan Singh (vice-capt), Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha.

Trott wins England player of the year award

Jonathan Trott's run-scoring feats during the past 12 months were recognised when he was named England's cricketer of the year by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) at a ceremony at Lord's here on Wednesday.

The award, voted for by the British cricket media, is given to the player who has had the greatest impact upon England's performances from the start of the 2010 international season until the end of the World Cup.

In that time the South Africa-born Trott played 32 times for England, scoring 2,246 runs at an average of 68.06.

This included seven hundreds and a highest score of 226, against Bangladesh in a Test at Lord's last year.

His Ashes average of 89 was second only to Alastair Cook, whilst his first over run out of Simon Katich during the second Test Match in Adelaide, helped set England on the road to Ashes victory.

"I am both extremely humbled and proud to have been named England Cricketer of the Year after what has clearly been the most enjoyable year of my cricketing career so far," Trott said.

"It is an honour to represent England and it has been a privilege to be involved in such a successful, hard working team," the 30-year-old Warwickshire batsman added.

"I wouldn't have won this award without the commitment and support of my team mates. This award really belongs to the entire England squad and management team that have provided such a supportive and professional environment that has allowed me to prosper as a cricketer and a person.

"There is still much hard work to be done and improvement to be made and I look forward to making further contributions to a successful England team for a long as possible."

Trott's good form continued with 203 during England's recent innings win in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Cardiff.

That left him with a Test average of 66.67 -- second only to that of Australia great Sir Donald Bradman's mark of 99.94 among batsmen who've played at least 20 Test innings.

It is Afridi's personal decision: Butt

The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ijaz Butt has reacted cautiously to the flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi's announcement that he didn't want to play under the current board set-up.

"It is his personal decision to retire. But we have not dropped him, neither did we tell him not to play," Butt said.

Afridi rocked Pakistan cricket last night when he announced his retirement from international cricket, insisting he had been given no respect by the Board and that he didn't want to play under such "disgraceful" administrators.

The former Pakistan limited-over skipper made it clear that if the board is changed and people wanted him to continue to play, he would reconsider his retirement decision.

Afridi reacted after Butt sacked him as captain for the two-match Ireland ODI series on disciplinary grounds and in his place appointed Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq to lead the team in the One-dayers as well.

Misbah led the team to a 2-0 win over Ireland. Butt said he would not like to comment in detail on the issue until the team returned home and he had discussions with the team management.

"Let the team return and then we will elaborate on lot of things," he said.

But the PCB chief clarified that the board had selected Afridi to play in the Ireland series and it was the all-rounder's decision to opt out of the series because of the illness of his father, who is undergoing treatment in the United States.

Well placed sources in the board said that the chairman had spoken to his senior officials and some members of the governing body on the Afridi issue but at present the board is unclear on what line of action to take after the scathing criticism they had received at the hands of Afridi.

Afridi even accused a particular group from Punjab in the board of scheming against him and turning the chairman against him.

"There is no doubt he has violated the code of conduct with his utterly reckless comments on board and team issues. We will release a proper official statement later today on this issue," an official said.

Murali says Sri Lanka are on their own

Retired Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan has said there isn't much he can do for his compatriots as they struggle to come to terms with their dramatic first Test defeat.

The tourists were dismissed for just 82 in under two hours in Cardiff on Monday as England grabbed an unlikely innings and 14-runs win to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.

Spin star Muralitharan bowed out of Test cricket with a record 800 wickets before retiring completely from international matches following Sri Lanka's World Cup final defeat by India in Mumbai in April.

As well as Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's attack is also missing the likes of retired seamers Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, while pacemen Nuwan Pradeep and Dilhara Fernando were both forced out on the eve of the first Test because of injury.

But Muralitharan, due to play for Gloucestershire in this year's English county Twenty20 tournament, insisted he could not be swayed out of his decision to quit international cricket.

"I have finished my career and they have to handle themselves," the 39-year-old said Tuesday in an interview with Gloucestershire's website.

"The coach (former Australia batsman Stuart Law) is there and the captain (Tillakaratne Dilshan) is there and they have to handle themselves.

"I can't help them. I'm not there.

"Cricketers go through these patches, but they come through. I just retired, I want to concentrate on my things. Sri Lanka are in good hands.

"Sometimes you have a disaster but that doesn't mean they're a bad side. They will bounce back."

The second Test starts at Lord's on Friday.

Former players slam Afridi

                                 Afridi has come under criticism for announcing his retirement.

Shahid Afridi's shock retirement out of anger at being sacked as Pakistan's ODI captain has found no sympathy in the country's cricket community with former players calling the flamboyant all-rounder immature.

"I don't understand why he needed to do this. Today he is blaming this board but he has forgotten it was this board that supported and backed him even during his ball-tampering incident in Australia and even when he didn't perform," former captain Zaheer Abbas said.

"Even when the team reached the World Cup semi finals, the board not only rewarded him but gave him lot of respect," he added.

Zaheer said if Afridi had any issues with the team management, he should have waited until board Chairman Ijaz Butt had met all stakeholders in the team to sort out things.

"The sort of language he has used while announcing his retirement is unacceptable at any level. There is no excuse for him to behave this way," Zaheer said.

Former Test leg-spinner and ex-chief selector Abdul Qadir also slammed Afridi for making a mockery of the retirement word.

"Nowadays, it has become a joke to announce your retirement. Our players are doing it regularly and backing out and only causing embarrassment for Pakistan cricket," he said.

Qadir said even if Afridi had any issues with the team management or board, he should have talked to the Chairman first before taking a decision.

"I don't think there were any circumstances to behave in this matter. He is part of the management and it is his responsibility to ensure internal issues are sorted out internally," he added.