This is the 3rd time Pakistan have qualified for the Women's World Cup after previous experiences in 1997, 2009 and we will see them take the field in 2013 as well. Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar are amongst the well-recognised names in the Pakistan side to look out for.

 ICC WWC will be held in February in India. This will be the 10th edition of the championship. England were winners during the previous edition in Australia vs. New Zealand in the final 2009 and therefore Charlotte Edwards and side enter this World Cup as defending champions of the title. Australia is the most successful side in the WWC with 5 of the 9 titles belonging to them, England are in second place with 3 titles and New Zealand have won it once before. The above 3 teams are the major sides and the strongest as well.

A short, but much awaited, series against arch rivals India is around the corner and Pakistan will be looking to leave their mark. Pakistan’s recent record against India is quite poor and that is something that they will be looking to make amends on. India was a team that Pakistan would play on a regular basis and beat them at will – the tables have turned over the last few years. The question arises as to why is this the case and how Pakistan can overcome this decline.

I don’t for a minute believe that India have a better set of players than Pakistan at this present moment. India having a superior batting line-up and Pakistan a superior bowling attack has always been the case. Nothing is actually different right now too. What India has and Pakistan doesn't is the mental attitude to handle these games – an advantage the Pakistani teams of the past had over India. As is with all derby games, half the battle is won with the attitude you approach the ground with.

Pakistan should play with two specialist spinners vs India in India during the upcoming tour.

My tweets in tribute to Faf's 110* from 376 to keep the series at 0-0 with 1 to play. I can be followed @maza786

Time consuming match saving unbeaten century in Australia against Australia on test debut with a mountain to climb. @Faf1307, take a bow

It was a display of dogged persistence, enduring discipline, unflustered composure, determined obduracy and he was there to the close

Cracking test at Adelaide. Australia dominated, but RSA fought back more than once when they were pushed into a corner

RSA today showed why they are worthy of being no1. Dug themselves out of a mammoth hole when they had their backs to the wall

He got us into the WT20 semis,but forget that as today he has just played a classic in the format where men become men

Not to forget ABDs contribution – 220 balls of repetitive survival to wear the Aussies down and eat up time

ABDs 33 from 220 is the longest/most crucial 30 odd from memory with Tavare‘s 35 from 240 (81/82) and Bob Taylor’s 36 from 200 (77)

The RSA LOI captain + wicket keeper has turned into Boycott/Mudassar Nazar: 29* from 114 and now 33 from 220 #adaptability

In 10 years time teams will be taking inspiration from innings like @faf1307 ’s today when they need to bat 5 sessions to hang on for safety

Today witnessed the best match-saving innings in my watching career/by a South African, for me this beats Rudolph at Perth and Neil at Lords

On this day 2 years ago Misbah completed his first series as Pakistan Captain. Misbah had the highest batting

average by a Pakistan batsman, Azhar and Misbah had the most 50+ scores, Azhar had the longest crease

occupation rate, Younis was the sole centurion, Rehman was the leading wicket taker for them in the series.

It was a creditable drawn outcome which was a triumph for the side for all the turmoil they had been through.

It was seen as a series win in many ways and rightly so:

1)      They had lost 10 out of their last 15 tests coming into the series

2)      They had played no tests at home for over a year, not even in UAE and it was being felt

3)      They had just been through their most shameful controversy in the previous test played

4)      The Zulqarnain events building up to the test series would have caused distractions

5)      South Africa carried the momentum, winning the T20 and ODI legs fairly convincingly

By Muhammad Asif Khan

KARACHI: Reacting sharply to the petition filed by former captain, Rashid Latif, the legal adviser of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Taffazzul Rizvi, termed it a bid to distort the relevant facts attached to the PCB affairs. Talking to this correspondent from Lahore the legal adviser vowed to comply with the directives of the honourable court.

“The petition by Rashid Latif is actually based on half truth as the honourable court was not completely appraised of the relevant facts.” said Taffazzul Rizvi

“Complying with the court’s order, all the legal reservations will be raised before the honourable judges”, added PCB’s legal adviser.

Earlier, The Sindh High Court bench consisting of Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Sarwar Korai issued a notice to the Pakistan Cricket Board, after accepting Rashid Latif's petition that challenged PCB's constitution and sought a 'fair and transparent' functioning of the board.

By: Muhammad Asif Khan

Whenever a decision is made, its impact in the coming days is, or should be, the foremost concern of the decision maker. The more sensitive one’s position is, the greater amount of responsibility gets attached to a decision. In Pakistan, after President and the Prime Minster, the post of the Cricket Board chairman is seen as the most watched slot, hence, a single wrong step attracts a great deal of criticism.

The past era of Ijaz Butt was by far the most talked about tenure, but has the situation changed since the new Chairman – Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf – took the reigns of the Pakistan Cricket Pakistan (PCB)? Quite honestly, it has been a mixed bag in terms of making various decisions made by the incumbent chairman. An overview of the last one year – since Zaka Ashraf assumed the office – gives an impression of him being a man desperate to make his mark, however, he has also pressed a few wrong buttons in the process.

Zaka Ashraf started off really well by taking everyone on board. He met with former PCB heads as well as a fair amount of ex-cricketers. He also wrote letters to the cricket fraternity to seek support. During other relevant meetings as well, he tried to put his point across pretty efficiently, but a few wrong calls on important issues have somewhat spoiled the party for him.

His man-of-the-match award in Georgetown 1988 against the feared West Indies side is unforgettable. Imran was contemplating retirement, but knew the significance of the tour and was persuaded to carry on. Teams during this time went to the Islands, expecting to lose, but hoping to lose respectfully, minimising the levels of ruthlessness. However, to win a test by a margin of 9 wickets and prevent them from beating you’re side in the series required a lot of skill, courage & hard work. Imran managed to achieve it and for me this was his biggest feat. Imran was on the brink of defeating the best number 1 side in the world for many old folks. The World Cup in 1992 was the icing on the cake and a sensible time to bow out which completed his CV as Pakistan became the 4^th winner of the trophy, but there is much more to him as a player and leader before that which tends to go unnoticed amongst today’s youth.