2013 in review: Tests

The past year gave fans enough reasons to feel seWith 43 matches having taken place, 2013 was a reasonably busy year as far as Test cricket is concerned. There were continued talks of the format’s future being in jeopardy, and various ideas aimed at ensuring it continues to flourish were mooted, including trials with pink balls and day/night Test matches.
 
However, the past year gave fans enough reasons to feel secure about the future of cricket’s oldest format. There were historic occasions galore, from India’s 4-0 sweep of Australia at home at the start of the year, to the amazing turnaround the Australians experienced while regaining the coveted Ashes urn at the end of the year. The Wanderers Test between India and South Africa was a match for the ages, containing every element needed to classify it as an all-time classic.
 
Thanks in part to the back-to-back Ashes series, Australia and England played more than two-thirds of the Test matches in the year, with 14 each. Its loss against India and the 0-3 defeat in the Ashes in England, however, meant that Australia suffered the most defeats in the year, losing seven matches.
 
South Africa, who is on top of the ICC rankings for Test teams since August 2012, had a very successful year. It won seven matches, the most by any team. In second place on the rankings table and most victories in the year was India, who won six matches.
 
In total, 44,338 runs were scored from 84695 balls for 1389 wickets lost. The extras column was filled with 605 byes, 908 leg-byes, 268 wides and 244 no-balls. There were also 5051 fours and 330 sixes hit, an average of more than 117 fours and 7 sixes per Test match.  
 
On the individual front, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Michael Clarke were the men who led the ICC Test Batting Rankings. The bowling chart was headed by Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, while Jacques Kallis, who retired at the end of the year, Shakib Al Hasan and R Ashwin topped the ICC Test All-Rounder Rankings. A total of 89 centuries, 193 fifties and 172 ducks were scored.cure about the future of cricket’s oldest format 

2013 in review: ODIs

India dominated the scene in the Men's game while West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor topped the batting, bowling and allrounder charts in the Women's game.

A young brigade leading India to glory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 and Pakistan’s series victory on South African soil were just a few of the highlights in One-Day Internationals in 2013. And though the crowds didn't mind playing conditions becoming overtly batsmen-friendly, as demonstrated by the run-feast during the India-Australia series in October-November 2013, a few bowlers might have been left scarred.

India and Pakistan were the busiest, playing 34 matches each out of the 136 ODIs in the year. India validated its position atop the ODI rankings table, with 22 victories to its name in 32 completed matches, followed by Pakistan who won 16 but also lost as many, the most by any team.

There were 59,437 runs scored in 69,684 balls for the loss of 1,939 wickets, at an average of almost 256 runs in a 50-over innings. The extras column contained 267 byes, 1,119 leg-byes, 1,991 wides and 147 no-balls. A total of 5,232 fours and 958 sixes were hit, at an average of more than 38 fours and seven sixes per game.

On the individual front, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli were the men who topped the batting charts. The ICC ODI Allrounder Rankings were topped by Mohammad Hafeez, while Saeed Ajmal topped the bowlers rankings. A total of 77 centuries, 279 fifties and 223 ducks were registered.

2013 was also a busy year for women’s cricket. A total of 56 Women’s ODIs were played. West Indies Women played 21 matches, the most by any team. However, it was also the least successful team, losing nine of those matches. England Women was the most successful team, registering 11 wins.

A total of 19,160 runs were scored off 28,518 balls for the loss of 835 wickets. The extras column contained 104 byes, 286 leg-byes, 977 wides and 75 no-balls. The fours tally was 1910, while the number of sixes stood at 104.

West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor displayed her dominance in the women’s circuit by topping the batting, bowling and allrounder charts. Mithali Raj (India), Sarah Taylor (England), Suzie Bates (New Zealand) and Charlotte Edwards (England) were the other women who topped the batting rankings, while England’s Katherine Brunt topped the bowler’s table.

A total of 17 centuries, 71 fifties and 110 ducks were scored.

2013 in review: T20

Shane Watson sat atop the all-rounder's rankings all year, while Aaron Finch's 156 against England at Southampton was the only century scored.

Twenty20 cricket may be a purist’s nightmare, but despite everything, the format’s thriving and getting bigger and bigger internationally.

In all, 53 T20 Internationals were played in 2013. Pakistan and Kenya were the most involved, playing 12 matches each. However, Pakistan won eight of those to end 2013 as the most successful team in the format, while Kenya’s six losses made it the least successful.  

A total of 15,437 runs were scored in 11,958 balls for the loss of 650 wickets, at an average of almost 155 runs per innings. The extras were made up of 73 byes, 297 leg byes, 454 wides and 48 no-balls. The fours tally stood at 1283, while the sixes added up to 474, an average of more than 24 boundaries and almost nine sixes per match.

Shane Watson, Brendon McCullum and Alex Hales topped the ICC T20 batting rankings. Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine topped the bowlers’ charts, while Watson sat atop the all-rounder’s rankings all year.

Aaron Finch’s spectacular 156 off 63 balls against England at Southampton in August was the only century, while 61 fifties and 76 ducks were scored.

On the women’s front, 37 matches took place, with West Indies playing the most – 21. It also won the most number of matches, with nine victories. Sri Lanka’s six defeats were the highest for any team.

A total of 8015 runs were scored off 8417 balls for the loss of 428 wickets. The extras contained 59 byes, 112 leg byes, 294 wides and 19 no-balls.

The tally of fours and sixes stood at 626 and 63 respectively. Seventeen fifties and 59 ducks were registered. tury scored

Pakistan v Sri Lanka Test Series - 1st Test Score card

Sri Lanka 204

Pakistan 46/1 (18.1 ov)

Pakistan trail by 158 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Stumps - Day 1

• Pakistan v Sri Lanka Test Series - 1st Test
• 
  

	Sri Lanka 1st innings		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	FDM Karunaratne	c Asad Shafiq b Junaid Khan	38	62	5	0	61.29
	JK Silva	c Mohammad Hafeez b Bilawal Bhatti	20	81	2	0	24.69
	KC Sangakkara	c Ahmed Shehzad b Junaid Khan	16	32	1	0	50.00
	DPMD Jayawardene	c †Adnan Akmal b Bilawal Bhatti	5	8	1	0	62.50
	LD Chandimal	c Mohammad Hafeez b Bilawal Bhatti	0	2	0	0	0.00
	AD Mathews*	st †Adnan Akmal b Saeed Ajmal	91	127	15	0	71.65
	HAPW Jayawardene†	c †Adnan Akmal b Junaid Khan	5	14	1	0	35.71
	SMSM Senanayake	c †Adnan Akmal b Junaid Khan	5	15	1	0	33.33
	HMRKB Herath	b Junaid Khan	0	1	0	0	0.00
	RMS Eranga	c †Adnan Akmal b Saeed Ajmal	14	44	2	0	31.81
	RAS Lakmal	not out	1	5	0	0	20.00
	Extras	(b 4, lb 4, nb 1)	9
	Total	(all out; 65 overs)	204	(3.13 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-57 (Karunaratne, 19.3 ov), 2-67 (Silva, 26.4 ov), 3-76 (DPMD Jayawardene, 28.2 ov),4-76 (Chandimal, 28.4 ov), 5-82 (Sangakkara, 31.6 ov), 6-104 (HAPW Jayawardene, 35.5 ov), 7-124 (Senanayake, 39.2 ov),8-124 (Herath, 39.3 ov),  9-185 (Eranga, 58.3 ov), 10-204 (Mathews, 64.6 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Junaid Khan	20	4	58	5	2.90
	Rahat Ali	16	3	41	0	2.56
	Bilawal Bhatti	15	1	65	3	4.33	(1nb)
	Saeed Ajmal	14	3	32	2	2.28

	Pakistan 1st innings		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	Khurram Manzoor	run out (Mathews/†HAPW Jayawardene)	21	57	4	0	36.84
	Ahmed Shehzad	not out	25	52	3	0	48.07
	Extras		0
	Total	(1 wicket; 18.1 overs)	46	(2.53 runs per over)

To bat Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal†, Bilawal Bhatti, Rahat Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan

Fall of wickets 1-46 (Khurram Manzoor, 18.1 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	RAS Lakmal	7	2	17	0	2.42
	AD Mathews	1	0	6	0	6.00
	RMS Eranga	5	1	18	0	3.60
	HMRKB Herath	5	3	5	0	1.00
	SMSM Senanayake	0.1	0	0	0	0.00

Match details

Toss Pakistan, who chose to field

Test debuts Ahmed Shehzad and Bilawal Bhatti (Pakistan); SMSM Senanayake (Sri Lanka) Player of the match tba

Umpires RA Kettleborough (England) and BNJ Oxenford (Australia) TV umpire S Ravi (India) Match referee J Srinath (India) Reserve umpire Shozab Raza (Pakistan)

Close of play - day 1 - Pakistan 1st innings 46/1 (Ahmed Shehzad 25*, 18.1 ov)

Junaid, Bhatti fire as Pakistan take first day

Paceman Junaid Khan grabbed five wickets and Bilawal Bhatti finished with three as Pakistan enjoyed the better of the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Junaid claimed his fourth five-wicket haul, taking figures of 5-58, while Bhatti took 3-65 in his first Test as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 204 after Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and opted to bowl first on a greenish Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch.

By the close on the opening day Pakistan reached 46-1 with debutant opener Ahmed Shehzad not out on 25. Fellow opener Khurram Manzoor ran himself out after making 21, leaving Pakistan trailing by 158 runs but with nine first-innings wickets remaining.

Amidst the collapse in the Sri Lankan innings, skipper Angelo Mathews stood out, defying the Pakistan attack for 160 minutes for his 91.

He added an invaluable 61 for the ninth wicket with Shaminda Eranga (14) to lift Sri Lanka from a precarious 124-8.

Mathews hit 15 boundaries during his fighting knock, improving on his previous best of 64 not out against Pakistan at Colombo in 2009 before he was the last man out, stumped off Saeed Ajmal, who finished with 2-32.

Junaid said the pitch needed bowlers to keep line and length.

“It's a good pitch and if you bowl line and length then you get success,”said Junaid, who now has 47 wickets in his 14 Tests.

“I have improved a lot after getting good tips from legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and our bowling coach Mohammad Akram.”Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to field first had looked unwise as Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne (38) and Kaushal Silva (20) gave their team a sound start, putting on 57 for the first wicket.

But, from 66-1, Sri Lanka lost seven wickets for the addition of 101 runs in the afternoon session.

Bhatti, making his Test debut, took three wickets off just eight balls after lunch.

He had Silva caught at slip off the fourth ball after the resumption and then had the experienced Mahela Jayawardene (5) caught behind in his next over.

A ball earlier, Jayawardene had been caught behind only to see the umpire call it a no-ball.

Two balls later, Bhatti had Dinesh Chandimal caught in the slip by Mohammad Hafeez for a duck to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 76-4.

It was left to Junaid to do the rest.

The left-armer dismissed Sri Lanka's most reliable batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, caught off an uppish drive at point for 16, and had both Prasanna Jayawardene (5) and Sachitra Senanayake (5) caught behind.

He then bowled Rangana Herath for a duck to complete his fourth five-wicket haul -- all four have come against Sri Lanka.

It was a different story in the first session, however.

Karunaratne hit three boundaries in the first three overs, and five in all, before he miscued a drive off Junaid and was smartly snapped up at gully by Asad Shafiq.

Pakistan strove hard for wickets in the first hour and wasted one review when they appealed for a catch behind against Silva off Junaid. Replays showed the batsman had not touched the ball.

Pakistan also gave a Test debut to Shehzad after he had played 40 one-day internationals in the last four years, while spinner Senanayake was given his Test debut for Sri Lanka.

The second Test will be played in Dubai (January 8-12) and the third in Sharjah (January 16-20).

Asia Cup organisers mull Bangladesh switch

Organisers of Asia Cup will hold talks next month to decide whether to move February's tournament out of violence-plagued Bangladesh, a top official said on Thursday.

Asian Cricket Council chief executive Syed Ashraful Haque said the council would meet in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on January 4 to discuss alternative venues in light of the growing unrest in Bangladesh.

“As of now the Asia Cup will be held in Bangladesh as scheduled,” Haque told AFP.

“However, if the participating countries see that the security situation in Bangladesh prevailing at that time is not convenient for that, the question of shifting the venue arises.

“The alternative venue, as prevalent in every international tournament, will be decided in our meeting on January 4,” Haque added.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are due to take part in the 50-over one-day tournament from February 24 to March 7.

All the matches are scheduled to take place in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, which has badly hit by violent protests and strikes in the build-up to a general election on January 5.

Bangladesh is also due to host the Twenty20 World Cup from March 16 to April 6, although the president of the national cricket board has admitted the violence could prevent the tournament from going ahead as planned.

The danger posed to teams was underlined earlier this month when a small bomb exploded outside the hotel of the West Indies Under-19 team in the port city of Chittagong, prompting them to cut short their tour.

Haque, who was previously the Bangladesh board's general secretary, said postponing the event was not an option because the cricketing calendar was so crowded. It was therefore essential to decide on a possible alternative venue.

“We cannot let the slot of Asia Cup go away, so we have to keep an alternative venue ready,” he said.

Bangladesh is also scheduled to host the Sri Lanka team for a bilateral series from January 24 to February 22.

Talha, Hafeez makes the cut for Sri Lanka Tests

Mohammad Hafeez has been rewarded for his three centuries in four one-day internationals by being named in Pakistan's 15-member test squad for a series against Sri Lanka.

“I take pleasure in bowling on dead wickets”: Mohammad Talha

Hafeez was dropped for the test series against South Africa due to poor form, but smashed 122, a career-best unbeaten 140 and 113 not out against Sri Lanka in the one-day series in the United Arab Emirates.

Hafeez scored only 102 runs in his last 10 test innings as he struggled against South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn before regaining his much-needed form against struggling Sri Lankan bowling attack in the UAE.

Fast bowler Mohammad Talha was also recalled after playing his only test match against Sri Lanka in March 2009 in Lahore when gunmen attacked the tourists' team bus that killed six police officials and a van driver.

The incident has since forced foreign teams to play international matches in Pakistan and the Pakistan Cricket Board has opted UAE as its second home with Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah hosting matches of its home series.

Talha forced his way back into the test team by claiming 11 wickets in the recent domestic first class match while representing Port Qasim Authority.

The other test specialists include openers Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood, middle order batsmen Younis Khan and Azhar Ali, wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, and fast bowler Rahat Ali.

Fast bowler Umar Gul also returned to the test team after recovering from knee surgery that sidelined him for nine months from international cricket. Gul impressed selectors with his form and fitness after taking six wickets in the last two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.

Pakistan has dropped left-handed batsman Umar Amin and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar from the team that drew the test series against South Africa 1-1 in Oct.

Tall fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who troubled the Proteas in the test series, was left out after fracturing his hip while bowling during a limited-overs series against South Africa.

The three-test series begins in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 31 with Dubai and Sharjah hosting the remaining two test matches.

Pakistan took an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the one-day series when it defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the fourth match on Wednesday with Hafeez equaling Zaheer Abbas' Pakistan record of three centuries in a bilateral ODI series. The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement Thursday that flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who doesn't play in test matches, will miss the fifth and final one-day international on Friday to be with his ill daughter in Pakistan.

Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asaf Shafiq, Younis Khan, Adnan Akmal, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Rahat ali, Mohammad Talha.

Triumph in South Africa paved way for success: Hafeez

Return to form batsman Mohammad Hafeez said Pakistan's first-ever win in South Africa raised the confidence of the team which helped them beat Sri Lanka in the ongoing five-match series.

Pakistan registered a thumping eight-wicket win in the fourth match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to take an unbeatable lead with the fifth match here on Friday left inconsequential.

The victory gave Pakistan their seventh one-day series win in the calendar year, beating the previous best of six achieved in 2011.

Hafeez said Pakistan carry forward the confidence of their 2-1 one-day series win in South Africa last month.

“The confidence we got from our South Africa win helped us in this series,” said Hafeez after Wednesday's match. “It was a big motivation to win in South Africa for the first time and we carried that momentum here.”

Hafeez scored another match-winning 113 not out in Pakistan's successful chase of 226-run target, his third hundred in the series.

He became the sixth batsmen in all one-day cricket to score three hundreds in one bilateral series and the first Pakistani to do so behind legendary Zaheer Abbas who achieved the honour in 1982.

“It's a great honour to be named alongside Abbas,” said Hafeez, whao also crossed 4,000 one-day runs on Wednesday.

Hafeez admitted he was under pressure before the series, having scored only 147 in his last eight matches.

“There is no doubt that I was under pressure and there were suggestions that I bat lower down the order, but my captain and the team staff gave me the needed confidence and it helped me a lot,” said Hafeez.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews conceded his team was disappointing.

“I would say that overall we could have done better,” said Mathews, whose team beat New Zealand and South Africa at home this year.

“We had couple of see-saw games early on but the last few games we were well short of our standard.”

Mathews praised Pakistan team.

“We knew that its going to be a tough series for us as Pakistan has a good bowling attack,” said Mathews.

“We will have to play for our pride in the last game, win it and end the series on a good note.”

Pakistan's dashing allrounder Shahid Afridi will not be available for the fifth match after he returned home to attend to his ill daughter.

Pakistan clinch last-ball win over Afghanistan

Pakistan overcame stiff resistance from minnows Afghanistan to win the first-ever Twenty20 international between the two countries by six wickets in Sharjah on Sunday.

Chasing a challenging 138-run target, Pakistan were held to the final over of the match and won on a wide off the last delivery of the match.

Skipper Mohammad Hafeez kept his cool to finish with a 37-ball 42 not out as Pakistan needed six off the final over bowled by Dawlat Zadran and one off the last delivery.

Hafeez hit two boundaries and a six during his knock and avoided any major hiccup against a fighting Afghan team.

Pakistan got off to a solid start with a stand of 47 between Ahmed Shehzad (35) and debutant Sharjeel Khan (18) by the eighth over.

Shehzad, who hit six boundaries during his 37-ball knock, holed out while Sharjeel miscued a drive off Mohammad Nabi in the tenth over.

Despite a tight line and length by Afghanistan's bowlers, Hafeez and Akmal kept their cool, taking Pakistan close to their victory target.

Akmal hit two sixes in his 28 off 23 balls.

Afghanistan, who won the toss and batted, had a poor start as they lost both their openers Mohammad Shahzad (two) and Nawroz Mangal (one) by the fifth over.

But Najibullah Zadran (38) and Nabi (15 off ten) gave solidity to the innings, adding 35 for the fourth wicket in quick time.

But once left-arm paceman Junaid Khan came on to bowl he put the brakes on the Afghanistan batting, cleaning Najibullah and Samiullah Sinwari (16) in quick succession to finish with 3-24 in his four overs.

Najibullah hit three boundaries and two well-timed sixes during his 30-ball knock.

Mirwais Ashraf made a 22-ball 28 not out with two boundaries and a six to take Afghanistan to 137-8, their highest against a Test playing country.

Afghanistan had made 136 against India at Colombo in last year's World Twenty20.

Left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir finished with 2-11 with two of his four overs maidens.

Pakistan now play Sri Lanka in the two Twenty20 games in Dubai on Wednesday and Friday while Afghanistan take on Ireland in the final of the ICC Inter-Continental Cup in Dubai from Tuesday.

De Kock leads South Africa to series win over India

Batting prodigy Quinton de Kock hit his second successive century to set up a convincing, series-clinching 134-run win for South Africa in the second one-day international against India at Kingsmead on Sunday.

De Kock made 106 in a South African total of 280 for six in a match reduced to 49 overs a side after a late start because of a wet outfield.

India lost four early wickets against the South African fast bowlers and limped to 146 all out, enabling South Africa to clinch the three-match series with a game to spare.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe took four for 25 and Dale Steyn three for 17 as India, the world's top-ranked one-day team, were humiliated for the second time in four days.

They were beaten by 141 runs in the first match in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Hashim Amla also hit a century for South Africa, making exactly 100. De Kock and Amla put on 194 for the first wicket to follow up their opening stand of 152 in the first international in Johannesburg on Thursday.

On both occasions, South Africa were sent in by Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"The bowlers did well," said Dhoni. "They learnt quite a bit from the last game. Batting-wise, the guys played quite a few shots. The shot selection wasn't the problem, the execution wasn't there." Dhoni acknowledged the strength of the South African fast bowlers.

"Their pace bowling attack are very accurate. They bowl in the same areas for consistent periods of time."

It was the third century in 15 one-day internationals for the left-handed De Kock, who turns 21 on December 17. He hit nine fours in a 118-ball innings.

His successful partnerships with Amla at the top of the order have put the one-day international career of Test captain Graeme Smith in doubt.

Smith was released from the rest of the three-match series in order to concentrate on his preparation for two Test matches against India, starting on December 18.

Unlike in the first match, where there was a torrent of 206 runs in the last 20 overs, with South Africa finishing on 358 for four, India fought back after breaking the opening stand with the first ball of the 36th over, the third of the batting power play.

On a slower pitch than that used at the Wanderers, six wickets fell in the last 14 overs and produced 86 runs, including 20 in the last over.

India got off to a bad start when Shikhar Dhawan slapped Steyn to backward point and was out without scoring.

Virat Kohli survived some hostile short-pitched bowling from Steyn before being caught behind off Tsotsobe, also without scoring.

Ajinkya Rahane was caught behind off Morne Morkel for eight and India crashed to 34 for four when Rohit Sharma (19) pulled Tsotsobe powerfully and Amla held a superb reflex overhead catch at short midwicket.

Both teams wore black armbands and the players and crowd stood for a minute's silence in memory of former South African president Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday.

Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, the former Archbishop of Cape Town, said a prayer before the singing of the national anthems.

"It was a very emotional day," said South Africa captain AB de Villiers.

"To get two wins in a row against the number one team in the world is very satisfying."

New Zealand cricketers in fixing investigation

New Zealand media reported that up to three of the country's former cricketers are being investigated by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit for possible involvement in match or spot fixing.

The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported Thursday that members of the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit have been in New Zealand over the past four months investigating the participation of New Zealanders in fixing ''in more than one country.''

The newspaper said the findings of the investigation would likely result ''in the biggest sports scandal in New Zealand's history.''

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said ''it's a difficult situation. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to comment further and all inquiries have to be directed to the ICC.''

An ICC spokesman said ''the ICC does not comment on any anti-corruption or ACSU activities taking place.''

In a front page story Thursday, the Herald said the ICC investigation was focused on ''historic matches involving international stars.''

It said the probe ''has concentrated on cricket at a domestic or franchise level'' and it was not known whether it would reveal any attempt to fix international matches.

The newspaper said none of the New Zealand players involved was still playing professionally.

The New Zealand government last week announced measures to combat drug taking, match fixing and the involvement of organized crime in sport, including the introduction of new laws which will make fixing a criminal offense. Those laws have yet to be enacted.

Hip bone fracture likely to rule Irfan out of Sri Lanka series

Pakistan paceman Mohammad Irfan has been advised to take six weeks' rest after fracturing his hip, officials said Wednesday, making him doubtful for the series against Sri Lanka starting later this month.

The 7ft one inch Irfan -- the tallest man ever to play international cricket -- fell during the second Twenty20 international against South Africa in Dubai on November 15.

Pakistan Cricket Board director Intikhab Alam said Irfan will need at least six weeks to recover.

“Irfan was perfectly all right when he played that game but unfortunately he fell on his hip bone and MRI scans showed it's a fracture,” Alam told reporters on the sidelines of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series launch.

Irfan, 31, was not named in Pakistan's Twenty20 squad which will play a one-off match against Afghanistan in Sharjah on Sunday -- the first-ever T20 between the two countries -- followed by two games against Sri Lanka on December 11 and 13.

That will be followed by five one-day games between December 18-27 while the three-match Test series starts from December 31.

The squads for one-dayers and Tests will be named later.

Former Pakistan players have accused the team management of overworking Irfan -- he played two Tests, five one-dayers and two Twenty20s against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates between October 14 and November 15.

He bowled 117 overs in the nine matches, taking 16 wickets, before breaking down in the last game.