Zaka Ashraf Reinstated As Pakistan Cricket Board Chief.......!

A Pakistan court on Wednesday restored suspended cricket board chief Zaka Ashraf, official media said, the latest development in an embarrassing legal scandal in the cricket-mad nation.

The process, which began after Ashraf was suspended following dubious elections in May last year, has tarnished the reputation of the country's cricket authorities and led to widespread ridicule.

The Islamabad High Court accepted Ashraf's appeal to be reinstated, with a detailed judgement expected on Thursday.

But despite the judgement, confusion reigned at the PCB's headquarters in Lahore. The board's legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said he could not comment until he gets a detailed judgement. "Till I read the full judgement I can't say whether Ashraf has been restored conditionally or otherwise,"

Pakistan Look To Pitch To Level Sri Lanka Series........!

Pakistan will be desperate to get a helpful pitch for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the third and final Test starting in Sharjah on Thursday.

Captain Misbha-ul Haq was frustrated over the two unresponsive pitches, the first in Abu Dhabi where Sri Lanka batted resolutely to salvage a draw and then in Dubai where a first-day seaming pitch undid Pakistan's batting and later blunted their bowling.

Sri Lanka, helped by their new-look pace attack and a fighting century from their old campaigner Mahela Jayawardne recorded their biggest-ever win of nine wickets over Pakistan to take a 1-0 lead.

The lack of spin on the pitches reduced Pakistan's match-winning bowler Saeed Ajmal into a mere runner with only five wickets in two Tests so far and the look of the Sharjah stadium pitch suggests it will only turn on the last two days.

Pakistan will be forced to bring in a bowler in place of paceman Bilawal Bhatti who injured his hamstring during the second Test. He will either be replaced with fast bowler Mohammad Talha or left-armer Abdul Rehman, if Pakistan decide to play with two spinners.

Pakistan are also likely to tinker with their top-order batting with opener Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez - who both failed in Dubai - making way for Shan Masood or Azhar Ali.

Sri Lanka will have no such problems, hoping Jayawardene recover from a finger injury which did hamper his batting in the second Test.

Both the teams will also try to give their coaches - Dav Whatmore of Pakistan and Graham Ford of Sri Lanka - a winning farewell as both leave their post after the match.

Teams (from):

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Bilawal Bhatti, Abdul Rehman, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Talha.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Suranga Lakmal, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Pradeep, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Vishwa Fernando.

Luke Ronchi Heaps Further Misery On West Indies As New Zealand Win T20 Series.....!

New Zealand inflicted a further defeat on the West Indies in their second Twenty20 international on Wednesday to bring a dismal end to the visiting team's tour.

The four-wicket win gave New Zealand the Twenty20 series 2-0 to go with their 2-0 win in the Tests. The one-day internationals were shared 2-2, the West Indies' only success on their six-week tour.

After New Zealand won the first Twenty20 by 81 runs, they were struggling at 79-5 in the second match before a 68-run partnership between Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi turned the innings around.

Taylor played the anchor role with 39 off 41 balls while Ronchi belted an unbeaten 51 off 28 deliveries in an innings that included four fours and two sixes.

New Zealand next host India starting with the first of five one-day internationals next Sunday to be followed by two Tests.

Kiwis Name 'Settled' Squad For ODI Series Against India........!

New Zealand on Wednesday named a virtually unchanged squad for the upcoming ODI series against India with the selectors keeping faith in players who drew the recent five-match home assignment against the West Indies.

The 13-player squad, which drew the series 2-2 against the Caribbeans, was more or less retained with reserve batsman Colin Munro, who will return to play for his provincial side, being the only omission.

New Zealand ODI squad to face India:

Brendon McCullum (captain), Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Jimmy Neesham, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne.

Djokovic Extends Australian Open Win Streak To 23 Matches........!

Novak Djokovic ran his Australia Open winning streak to 23 matches Wednesday with a straight-set, second-round victory over Leonardo Mayer.

Djokovic claimed nearly 80 percent of the points on serve in a 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 pasting of Mayer. Djokovic won 25 of the 33 first-set points and had a total of eight unforced errors in taking the second and third sets.

Djokovic, seeded second this year, is a three-time defending champion in Melbourne. The two wins this year in Melbourne also give him 26 straight wins overall in ATP competition.

Serena Williams Ties Match Win Record At Australian Open..........!

Serena Williams dropped only three games Wednesday in advancing to the Australian Open third round with a record-tying 60th match win at the tournament.

Williams, the world's No. 1-ranked player and seeking a sixth Australian Open title, needed only 63 minutes to get by Vesna Dolonc 6-1, 6-2. Williams won more than 70 percent of the points on serve and saved the only break point she faced.

She won more than half the points (25-of-48) off Dolonc's serve and converted four of her seven break chances.

The win was the 60th for Williams in Melbourne, tying Margaret Court for most match victories at the Australian Open. Court, who won the Australian Open women's singles title 11 times (1960-73), is one of two players with more championships at the tournament than Williams.

Williams will be going for the outright match record in a third-round pairing against 31st-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, against whom Williams is 8-1 all-time. The only Hantuchova win in the series came in second round of the 2006 Australian Open.

Weather was again an issue in Melbourne, where temperatures topped 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat spell was predicted to last through Friday but break dramatically Saturday when highs in the upper 60s are forecast.

Australia Open: Maria Sharapova Advances To Second Round.......!

Third seed Maria Sharapova clawed her way into the Australian Open second round on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands as she seeks her first Grand Slam title since the 2012 French Open. 

The glamorous Russian, on the comeback trail from a shoulder injury that forced her off the tour in August, battled past the tough American 6-3, 6-4 but her game was marred by too many errors and a serve that failed to fire.

Sharapova, who won the Australian Open in 2008 and made the final in 2007 and 2012, next plays Italy's Karin Knapp as she looks to go one better than last year, when lost to Li Na in the semi-finals.