Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Inzamam-ul-Haq (Saraiki, Punjabi, Urdu: انضمام الحق; born 3 March 1970 in Multan, Punjab Province, Pakistan), also known as Inzamam, nicknamed Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was national captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era. He rose to fame in the semi-final of the 1992 world cup, in which he scored 60 of 37 balls against a potent Kiwi side.On 5 October 2007, Inzamam retired from International cricket following the second Test match against South Africa, falling three runs short of Javed Miandad as Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. Following his retirement, he joined the Indian Cricket League, captaining the Hyderabad Heroes in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 competition. In the ICL's second edition, he captained the Lahore Badshahs, a team composed entirely of Pakistani cricketers.

Inzamam made his One Day International (ODI) debut in a home series against West Indies in 1991, and made a good start to his career by scoring 20 and 60 runs in two matches against West Indies. This was followed by 48, 60, 101, and 117 runs against Sri Lanka.

Handpicked by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan for the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, 22-year-old Inzamam was relatively unheard of before the tournament. To the surprise of many he was persevered with throughout the tournament, coming in at various positions in the batting line-up, despite not being very successful early on. Yet it was his performances at the most crucial stage of the competition that made fans and summarisers take note. Inzamam rose to fame in Pakistan's dramatic semi-final against New Zealand at Auckland. With his side in a precarious position, chasing 262 against an impressive New Zealand side, he hit a fiery 60 run innings from just 37 balls to rescue his side and guide them into the final.
The innings was regarded as one of the finest World Cup performances.[5] He hit a massive six in that match which was described by David Lloyd as the shot of the tournament.Inzamam made an equally vital contribution in the final of the World Cup, scoring 42 runs off just 35 balls, helping Pakistan reach a score of 249 after a sluggish start.

These innings established Inzamam's billing as a big-game player, although he was unable to replicate his World Cup success in later tournaments.

Inzamam regard his best least highlighted innings of 90 not out against west indies when Pakistan won their first ODI in the West
Indies on 27 March 1993.In total, Inzamam set a record for scoring the most half centuries in One Day Internationals, 83 – though this is now surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar.He also became the second batsman to score 10,000 runs in One-day Internationals (again after Tendulkar) and was named in the ICC World XI for both Tests and One-day Internationals in the 2005 ICC Awards. In his final ODI for Pakistan, playing against Zimbabwe in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he took three catches whilst fielding, including the last one of the match, ending his One Day career.Inzamam made his Test debut in 1992 against England at Edgbaston. However, he got little opportunity to make an impact in that match – he was not out with a score of 8. However, in subsequent matches he demonstrated a vulnerability against swing bowling which resulted in him being dropped for the final Test of the series after averaging a lowly 13.20 runs per innings. Pakistan went on to secure a famous win in the match, taking the series 2-1.[After the England series, Inzamam aimed to establish himself in the Test side and he achieved this brilliantly, helping his side to many memorable victories.[11] One of particular note came against Australia in Karachi, 1994, when he made 58 not out with the tail and helped Pakistan to a one-wicket victory and a 1-0 series win. As well as helping his side to become the top-ranked side in the world for a brief period. He achieved personal success by becoming ICC's number one ranked batsman in 1995He later went on to reclaim top spot in the rankings in 1997. He remained amongst the top 20 ranked batsmen up until his retirement. He was the number one batsman in the world three times and held the title of the 3rd best batsman several times in his career including an extensive run from 2004–2006 the last time being after his twin fifties at Lords against England in 2006The tour of England in 1996 was a particular success for both Inzamam and Pakistan, where Inzamam transformed his batting against seam bowling, averaging 64 runs per innings, with scores of 148, 70, 65, and 35.His Test career highlights include 329 against New Zealand in Lahore in the 2001-02 season, which is the second highest Test score by a Pakistani and the twelfth highest overall. He also scored a century (184 runs) in his 100th Test, becoming only the fifth player to do so (after Colin Cowdrey, Alec Stewart, Gordon Greenidge and Javed Miandad; Ricky Ponting subsequently emulated the feat). Inzamam made a century in each innings of the second Test match against England in 2005, to become Pakistan's leading centurion with 24 centuries, breaking Javed Miandad's record. His 25th century in the 2nd Test against India on 22 January 2006 made him the 10th player to score 25 or more centuries. He also managed 138 not out when the team was on the brink of a humiliating defeat against Bangladesh, eventually saving the Test match and leading his team to victory. His 92 not out against South Africa in late 2006 again showed his ability to bat in a crisis in a match winning manner.[ He scored twin half centuries when all appeared lost to draw the first test in Mohali against India in 2005, and also scored 184 runs in his 100th test match in the same away series causing the series to be drawn.[He still holds the record for most consecutive half centuries against a country with nine in nine innings against England. This streak started from 31 May 2001 and lasted till 13 July 2006.[After announcing that he will retire after the second Test against South Africa, at the stadium where he made his international debut, Inzamam needed 20 runs to surpass Javed Miandad for the record of most runs for a Pakistani Test cricketer.Inzamam made his debut in English county cricket in August 2007 at the age of 37. He joined Yorkshire County Cricket Club[as a replacement for Younus Khan who left to play for Pakistan in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. He was disappointing on the whole, making eight on debut at Scarborough's North Marine Road against Warwickshire before making nine and seven in his opening Pro40 games.

In 2007, Inzamam joined the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League. In the inaugural competition, Inzamam captained the Hyderabad Heroes and scored 141 runs in 5 matches. In the 2008 competition in March, Inzamam captained the Lahore Badshahs, composed entirely of Pakistani cricketers. Lahore Badshah managed to win the ICL T20 tournament in 2008/09.

The move to the ICL has proved to be a controversial one for Inzamam. The PCB's stance on players joining unsanctioned leagues has meant that he has been banned from playing in any domestic competitions in Pakistan or any involvement with the international team.[27] However, given Inzamam's recent retirement, this is unlikely to affect him.

It is reported that he was paid Pakistani Rs. 10 Crore (US $1,100,000) which was the highest salary for any player participating in the league along with the likes of Brian Lara.

Inzamam has been known to be a very destructive batsman in both One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches. He has the ability to pick the length of a delivery very early and play very late. His footwork is generally considered to be fast, enabling him to position himself early for shots. He averaged just under 50 runs per innings in Tests and nearly 40 runs in ODIs, with a strike rate of 54.03 and 74.23 respectively. Inzamam is especially strong when playing shots off his legs and has been considered to be amongst the best employers of the pull-shot in world cricket.

His batting style has brought him fans from all over the world. He was called "the best batsmen in the world against pace" by Imran Khan, because "he seems to have so much time on his hands before the ball reaches him".[citation needed]

Inzamam does, however, have a reputation for being a poor runner between the wickets. He has the dubious distinction of being run-out the second highest number of times in ODIs having been run-out 40 times [behind Marvan Atapattu (41 times)].

Inzamam captained Pakistan in thirty Tests, winning eleven, drawing nine and losing ten. Only three players have captained Pakistan in more Test matches, but all have better win-loss records and only Imran Khan has a lower win percentage than Inzamam. Although the Oval Test match in 2006 was poised as a victory for Pakistan before the controversy took place and had it not occurred, Inzamam's record would have had a win more and a loss less. However, Inzamam held the captaincy until March 2007, the longest captaincy tenure since 1992, when Imran Khan retired.

Captaincy had a positive effect on Inzamam's batting, often leading by example in pressure situations, averaging greater as a captain (52) than without (50). In ODI's Inzamam also held the highest average as captain in ODI's

and is currently third on that list behind the current Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. After early failures in Australia, he took a depleted Pakistan side to India in 2005 and played an important role in securing a draw by winning the final test match from an unlikely position with an innings of 184 runs. He subsequently lead his side to an ODI success against West Indies (away), England (home) and Sri Lanka (away) as well as Test Series victories against England (home), India (home), Sri Lanka (away). Inzamam had seemed to have united the Pakistan side and victories lead them to 2nd place in the ICC Test Rankings and 3rd place in the ICC ODI Ranking. The latter part of Inzamam's tenure as Pakistan captain was less successful and the team was embroiled in many controversies culminating in a disappointingly early exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup at the hands of lowly ranked Ireland.

In the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Inzamam captained the Pakistani team to its first loss to associate ICC member Ireland (on St Patrick's Day). This result and their previous loss to West Indies, led to them being knocked out of the tournament. A day later he announced his retirement from One Day International Cricket and resignation as Test captain. The announcement was made the same day that Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, died in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica. He dedicated his final ODI to Woolmer to whom he shared a good relationship with for three years and affectionately called 'The Bob'.

Allan Lamb.

Allan Joseph Lamb (born 20 June 1954 in Cape Province, South Africa) is a former England cricketer and captain who played for the first class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire, the latter as an Overseas player. He joined Northamptonshire so he could enhance his career and eventually play Test cricket for England, as his native country South Africa were to be banned from International cricket due to the apartheid régime. He retired in 1995 at the age of 41 and currently works for Sky Sports and other foreign T.V cricketing broadcasts as an analyst.Allan Lamb was born to British parents in Langebaanweg, South Africa. His father Mickey was a journeyman club bowler and his mother Joan was an ardent spectator who never willingly missed a match. He attended Wynberg Boys' High School and Abbots College where he played cricket to an 'outstanding' level.In January 1973, Allan made his first team debut at the tender age of 18 when he played for the Western Province in the Currie Cup. He batted at number three and made 59 and 36 against the Eastern Province.[1] He then had a two year absence from the game and joined the National Service in the South African Air Force building airfields before returning to the club. Western Force then experimented with Allan as an opener, at 5 and 6 but 4 was always his true and regular position in the batting order for Western. Lamb then had one year playing for Orange Free State where he scored his highest first class score of 294, before moving back to the Western Province for the rest of his South African domestic career.

Lamb came to England along with two young other cricketers, Peter Kirsten and Garth le Roux, in search of fame and a county contract and it was Northamptonshire who signed Lamb as a relatively unknown overseas player in 1978. He went on to become a fixture in the side for 17 years, 13 as an England international, winning the 1980 Benson & Hedges Cup Final and the 1992 NatWest Trophy, and in his final season as captain in 1995 he very nearly took Northamptonshire to their first County Championship with 12 wins in their final 17 matches.

In 2001, Northamptonshire honoured him by naming a room in the club's Indoor Centre 'The Allan Lamb Room'.
In 1970, South Africa were banned from international cricket indefinitely because of its government's policy of apartheid, an overtly racist policy, which led them to play only against the white nations and field only white players. This stopped Lamb from playing International cricket unless he emigrated to another nation. It was while in England that he was persuaded to play for them and his obvious talent led him to be selected for the national team only four years after moving there. He made his test debut against India in 1982,

and had also made his ODI debut a few days earlier.

Lamb, who would go on to play a total of 201 international matches for England (79 Tests, 122 One-Day Internationals), was regarded as a fine player of fast bowling, but like a large number of South African-born batsmen he had a comparative weakness against spin, and his final average of 36 in Tests from over 4,500 runs did not do justice to his ability. Of his 14 Test hundreds, 6 of them came against the West Indies in 22 matches, when he came up against some of the game's finest fast bowlers from Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall to Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop. However, only one of those centuries, in Jamaica in 1990, was in a winning cause, the other 5 seeing England fall to defeat.

Lamb was a member of two successful Ashes campaigns (in 1985 and 1986-87), but did not score a century in either series. In fact his sole Ashes century came at Headingley in 1989 in yet another losing cause. In 20 Ashes matches he scored 1138 runs at an average of over 34. He captained England in three Tests with disappointing results.

Lamb had considerably more success as a One-day player, averaging a shade under 40 with over 4,000 runs and being one of only fifteen Englishmen to play in over 100 matches. He played in two World Cup Finals in 1987 and 1992, but perhaps his most famous innings came in the 4th match of the 1987 Benson & Hedges World Series Cup against Australia, where England needed 17 runs to win off the final over to be bowled by Bruce Reid, who was a whole foot taller than him. Lamb hit Reid for 18 runs in 5 balls (2,4,6,2,4) to seal an
improbable victory.That over would be the subject of a cheeky banner used for the next match between the two sides which read "Can Bruce Reid please call Allan Lamb on 24624". England, who had earlier won the Ashes and the four-nation Perth Challenge, would go on to round off their triumphant tour by winning the tournament, which also featured the West Indies.Since retiring from all forms of cricket in 1995, Lamb has published his Autobiography called 'Silence of the Lamb', which he released in 1996. He has also done a lot of television work including working on the British TV channels Sky Sports and Channel 5 as an analyst. He alongside Ian Botham, have teamed up with English Beef and Lamb Executive to create an advertising campaign for Quality Standard Beef and Lamb in which they use their names, 'Beefy' and 'Lamby' and cartoon characteristics as a selling point. He was also a contestant on a special Cricketers Edition of the Weakest Link, where he was voted off in the second round.

Enforcing the follow-on.

If the side batting second in a five-day match scores 200 or more runs fewer than the side batting first, the captain of the side batting first may elect to enforce the follow-on, forcing the opposition to bat its second innings immediately and saving his side's own second innings until after, if required.

Enforcing the follow-on allows the side with the lead to potentially win the game without having to bat its second innings. If it does need to bat again, it will know how many runs are needed, and the captain will not face the decision of when to declare his side's final innings in order to provide the best chance of winning. This can save time in a game, which is important if time is beginning to run out. In terms of simple figures concerning runs and time remaining, enforcing the follow-on is a valuable advantage. It can also demoralise the opposition, which may also make it easier to win.

However, enforcing the follow-on means that the captain's side will have to field for two consecutive innings, without resting in between while its players bat. If the opposition's first innings has taken a long time or the weather is particularly enervating, the bowlers may well need this time to rest and recover their strength before bowling at the opponents a second time.

When given the option, captains usually enforce the follow-on because of the clear advantages it provides in the strategic position of the game. Occasionally, if the bowlers need some rest before attacking the opposition again, the captain may decide to decline the follow-on and bat with the goal of declaring and setting a difficult target for the opponents in the final innings.

Spin bowling.

Spin bowlers adopt similar sorts of tactics to fast bowlers, but with a different variety of balls in their arsenal.

Spin bowlers will have a stock ball that makes up most of their deliveries. For an off spinner this is usually the off break, for a leg spinner it is usually the leg break. They will bowl this ball repeatedly, with slight variations in flight, line, and length, to get the batsman into a rhythm, and then break it up with a variation such as an arm ball for an off spinner, or a googly or flipper for a leg spinner. If the batsman does not pick the variation, the different spin and bounce of the ball can cause him to miss it entirely, possibly getting him out bowled or LBW, or to hit it with the edge of the bat and produce a catch for close fielders such as silly mid off or shortleg.

Good spin bowlers can be dangerorus to bat defensively against, as they will usually have support with close fielders in positions to catch the ball if it flies in the air even a few metres from the bat. The variation in spin and bounce a spinner gets can cause this to happen off defensive shots even if the bat is angled to hit the ball straight into the pitch, because if the ball moves and catches the edge of the bat, the batsman's gloves, or comes off the bat into the batsman's leg pads, it can fly to a close catcher.

Spinners pitch the ball closer to the batsman that fast bowlers, because:

they have less speed on the ball, so they don't need to pitch as short to gain significant bounce by the time the ball reaches the batsman;
it gives the ball more time in the air before bouncing to drift;
it gives the batsman less time to react after the ball bounces;
there are often scuff marks on the pitch close to the batsman caused by the bowlers at the other end following through their run ups - this provides variable bounce and spin if they can pitch the ball in the scuff marks.

There are some options for spinners to get batsmen out that are not available to fast bowlers. Firstly, a spinner may tempt the batsman to come on to the front foot and then advance down the pitch by pitching balls successively shorter. If the batsman becomes confident in his ability to hit the ball, he may step out of his crease in order to get near the pitch of the ball and hit it for runs. At this point, a variation ball that does something unexpcted can get past the batsman and through to the wicket-keeper. Since the wicket-keeper stands right behind the wicket for a spin bowler, he can catch the ball and stump the batsman out if the batsman is too slow to return to his ground. This can also happen if the batsman simply misjudges a ball and misses it while out of his crease.

If the bowler has a ball that spins a long way from leg to off for a particular batsman (this may vary depending on the handedness of the batsman), he can sometimes pitch a ball far enough outside the leg stump that it passes behind the batsman's legs, but spins back far enough that it hits the wicket. This happens only rarely, and some batsmen will simply leave the ball, assuming it can't spin far enough to hit the wicket, while some may try to play at it but miss.
Bowling Over or Around the Wicket
Bowlers may choose freely whether to bowl over the wicket or around the wicket. They usually choose to bowl over the wicket, as this means their bowling arm is close to the middle of the pitch.

Bowlers will only switch to around the wicket for particular tactical reasons. These may include:

Changing the angle of attack to provide variation to a batsman who has settled in and looks difficult to get out.
Changing the angle of attack to produce a line that is either angled more in towards the batsman or across him and away to the off side. This can be done to batsmen known to be weak to one of these approaches.
A spin bowler changing his angle to allow a better chance of hitting scuff marks at the striker's end of the pitch.

Bowling the over.

The bowling of the six balls in an over involves a tactical decision by the bowler on what each of the six balls is designed to achieve. Each ball is bowled in the context of the balls around it, rather than in isolation. The sequence is designed to set up the batsman and then try to get him out.
Fast Bowling
A typical sequence of attack by a fast bowler is to pitch the ball on a good length just outside the batsman's off stump. If he can achieve some outswing, all the better. The goal here is to create some doubt in the batsman's mind as to whether the ball might hit the wicket or not. If the batsman has any doubts, he must play at the ball, and the more he plays the more likely he is to make a mistake and be caught by a fielder or play on to the wicket. A secondary goal is if the batsman is skilled enough to judge the line and let balls outside off stump go. In this case, persisting with this line will eventually test the patience of the batsman, who may be tempted to play an attacking shot and risk getting out.

Once the batsman has settled into a rhythm of playing or leaving balls outside his off stump - either towards the end of an over, or after more than one over - the bowler might try a sudden variation of line and length. A good example would be a yorker aimed at the wicket. A yorker is difficult enough to play at the best of times, but if the batsman has become weary or complacent and is surprised by it, it becomes even more dangerous. Other possibilities include changing to inswing, using cut, bowling a slower ball to induce a mistimed shot, or pitching short and aiming at the batsman to force a back foot defensive that may result in a misplaced hit into the air.

If the batsman is playing shots at balls pitched outside off stump, the bowler may try pushing the ball wider, tempting the batsman to play farther from his body. This increases the chances of getting an edge from either side of the bat, resulting in the possibilities of being caught by the wicket-keeper or slips, or playing on.

Generally, the primary goal of a fast bowler is not to aim at the batsman's wicket in an attempt to hit it, because this provokes an obvious response from the batsman - he must defend the wicket. It is more productive for the bowler to put doubt into the batsman's mind over whether or not he needs to play at a ball, and entice him to try to score runs, with the goal of inducing a mistimed shot and producing a catch.

A few other tactics used by fast bowlers:

Bowlers may attack the leg stump, directing most balls towards the leg stump or even into the batsman's legs. The batsman must play at these balls, to avoid being bowled or LBW. This means the bat is protecting the leg stump, leaving the off side of the wicket unprotected. A variation ball with outswing, seam, or a leg cutter can be devastating, either hitting middle or off stump, or catching the outside edge of the bat for a catch behind the wicket.
If a batsman is being aggressive and playing a lot of front foot drives, the bowler may respond by pitching the ball shorter, so it bounces higher as it reaches the batsman. This makes front foot shots less attractive and can push the batsman on to his back foot. A predominantly front foot batsman will find it harder to score effectively from the back foot, and will need to spend more time on defensive batting. This can upset his rhythm and force errors of judgement and timing.
Short pitched bowling can be used to upset the rhythm of a batsman who is scoring well, or who is trying to settle into his innings. A good batsman will usually evade a short ball easily, but it disrupts the flow of facing balls pitching closer and prevents the scoring of easy runs. Poorer batsmen can be intimidated by short bowling, especially if aimed at the body, unsettling their mental state. A short ball aimed at the body at waist to shoulder height is tricky to deal with, and can provoke a poor defensive shot in an unprepared batsman, resulting in the ball flying off the bat or the batsman's gloves for a catch. A bowler will not bowl many short pitched balls because once a batsman is prepared for them they become easier to evade or otherwise play safely.
On the other hand, if a bowler successfully pushes a batsman on to the back foot with short pitched bowling, and keeps him playing back foot shots for a while, he can follow-up with a yorker. If the batsman has relaxed into expecting a short pitched ball, this can be devastating, because the speed needed to react and bring the bat down fast enough to defend against a yorker will be lost in his slowed reaction time.
And then bowlers sometimes defy these conventions and bowl an unexpected delivery on the first ball of a new over. If the previous over was all good length, outside off stump, the batsman may expect the next over to start the same way. Switching to a yorker or short pitched ball to start the over can be a surprise that the batsman may struggle to deal with.

Note that these tactics can be interrupted if the batsman scores runs and the non-striker comes to the striker's end. This is why batsmen like to swap ends frequently if they can. Part of the bowler's goal in preventing the batsmen from scoring runs is simply to keep one batsman on strike so he can work a tactical sequence of balls against him (as well as preventing the batsman's side from accumulating runs, of course).

Taking the new ball.

After 80 overs have been bowled with a ball (in a Test match), the fielding captain has the option of requesting a new ball. Usually this is a straightforward decision and the captain will request the new ball almost immediately, since a new ball provides better bounce, pace, and movement for the fast bowlers, and so can quickly produce wickets, especially against lower order batsmen.

However, if there are spin bowlers who are performing very well with the old ball, and the pitch is crumbling and more conducive to spin than to pace bowling, the captain may decide to continue with spin bowlers using the old ball. Sometimes, if bowlers are managing to get the old ball reverse swinging, the captain will also keep the old ball and maintain the attack with reverse swing - perhaps alternating with spin at the other end of the pitch.