Osman Samiuddin

Shoaib Malik and Paul Harris were the stars of the day

Two left-arm spinners took six wickets between them today in the first Test between Pakistan and South Africa. Is the art of left-arm becoming fashionable again?

Win the toss, bat first, top order fires, score big; as first-day plans go, it is hardly out of the box, but when it comes off, down to the last letter as it did today for South Africa, tried, trusted and tested will do

A semi-final appearance in a major tournament after the year Pakistan have had, including only a seventh win from 35 matches in any type of game against Australia since 1999, is reason enough to overplay the significance of this tournament

The only active internationals to sign for the ICL are from Pakistan - an indictment of the players, the PCB, and the relationship between the two

Nothing illustrates more lucidly the mysterious, whimsical workings of Pakistan selection committees than the decision not to select Mohammad Yousuf in the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa

The latest pace bowling camp in Lahore was as good a finishing school as any in Pakistan

Even on the sidelines, Shoaib Akhtar is a magnet for the spotlight and plays his starring role to perfection

The coaching clearout that has followed the World Cup

Cricket's spiritual base in the subcontinent has shifted from its long-time home in India and Pakistan southwards to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

What lies ahead for Pakistan cricket as they search for a new captain, coach and selection committee

Like Bob Woolmer, this is not the way Inzamam-ul-Haq should have bid adieu to cricket, or at least ODI cricket, stumbling out of the World Cup disastrously

In fact, if you inhale hard enough, you might just catch a whiff already of an impending clear-out post-World Cup, just like 2003

Kamran Akmal's wicketkeeping form has slumped alarmingly since 2006. Osman Samiuddin speaks to Rashid Latif and Wasim Bari to try and spot the reasons for the decline

The highs and lows of 2006 relived

Shoaib Akhtar's ommission from the Pakistan squad to tour South Africa is just another twist in the saga that is his career

Osman Samiuddin on the fickle relationship between Shahid Afridi and Pakistan cricket

In the absence of West Indian journalists, it was left to the local breed to express surprise at the dropping of Ramnaresh Sarwan. No injuries, it was pointedly announced, so it must have been form

Attendees were to formulate a strategy to enable Pakistan to win the World Cup