Japanese-speaking fast bowler Dirk Nannes is desperate for the Netherlands to reach the World Twenty Super Eights so that he can take on the mighty Australians.The 33-year-old left-armer had harboured outside hopes of making the Australian team, but once that door was closed, he was more than happy to join the Dutch squad.Nannes has played for Middlesex in English county cricket as well as Victoria in Australia and qualifies for the Netherlands courtesy of his Dutch-born parents who settled down under.His first priority is to try and help his team negotiate a way out of Group B which features hosts England and 2007 runners-up Pakistan.That would likely set-up a chance against Ricky Ponting’s Australians in the Super Eights.”I’m not really that fussed that (Australia) are not picking me,” Nannes told a cricket website.”Of course I would like to play for them, but I’ve been given a really good opportunity by the Dutch team.”If I play for Holland, I will probably make the starting XI. If I was picked in the 30-man squad for Australia, the chances are I wouldn’t play and they’ll play other people.”Obviously I would like to play and I do think I would be one of the better players in their team, but they chose not to pick me.

Opener Imran Nazir, who has terminated his contract with the rebel Indian Cricket League, could face a three-game domestic ban and a fine of Rs 10,000 for his unsporting conduct during Pakistan’s national T20 championship in Lahore on Friday night.Match referee Mohammad Sami confirmed he had recommended a fine of Rs 10,000 and a three-match ban on Nazir after he was seen abusing umpire Nadeem Ghouri for giving him out leg before in the final.”The umpires also reported against him but I have sent my recommendations to the board and it is now up to them to enforce the penalties,” he said.”You don’t expect players to react in this manner to a umpire’s decision. It is not acceptable,” Sami said.Nazir, who played a crucial role in Pakistan’s runners-up finish in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, is one of the ICL players who is likely to make a return to the national team.However, the Pakistan Cricket Board has still not confirmed whether Nazir had cut off all ties with the ICL and had got clearance from the league to play for the country again.

The weight of New Zealand’s Twenty20 World Cup expectations rests heavily on the shoulders of Brendon McCullum and his burning desire to be recognised as the world’s best wicketkeeper-batsman.The diminutive gloveman is the key element in New Zealand’s game plan with his audacious batting at the top of the order and his lightning-fast reactions behind the woodwork.That the 27-year-old’s name is often mentioned as a contender to inherit the mantle of Australian great Adam Gilchrist speaks volumes for his ability.In the Indian Premier League, the Kolkata Knight Riders valued McCullum at 700,000 US dollars, the biggest offer for a New Zealand player, when they snapped him up last year.They were immediately rewarded when he launched the inaugural IPL series by smashing a record 158 off 73 balls and he ended the season with an average 62.66 with the bat at a strike rate of 204.35.New Zealand’s 2008 Player of the Year has also won high praise from Australia where a cameo McCullum performance helped New South Wales qualify for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in October.

After their numero uno status in one-dayers, South Africa are now keen to lay their hands on the Twenty20 World Cup as well, according to captain Graeme Smith.Smith pointed to South Africa’s away Test series win in Australia and England, apart from the ODI glory, and said he would love to cap it by winning the ICC World Twenty20 title on June 21. “We have had a wonderful past 12 months which has included winning away Test series in both England and Australia and winning home and away ODI series against Australia to gain top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC world rankings,” he said.”One of the boxes we still want to tick is to win a major ICC championship and we have two chances to do that in the ICC World T20 next month and again in the ICC Champions Trophy which will be held in South Africa at the end of September,” Smith was quoted as saying by Press Association (PA).”I have been very happy with the form our players have shown in the Indian Premier League in the run-up to the ICC World T20 and this augurs well for a good performance,” Smith said.South Africa coach Mickey Arthur too was optimistic of his team’s chances in the tournament and said, “We should be able to put a team in the field that has 10 batsmen and seven bowlers at any time.”

With the cream of IPL in his side, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Sunday his men are more equipped than their counterparts to handle pressure situations associated with the shortest format of the game when they defend their ICC World Twenty20 title. Dhoni said although other teams have players who featured in the IPL, his side has an upper hand in the biennial event starting here on June 5 as all the 15 members of the Indian squad have featured in the just-concluded IPL in South Africa.”The best thing is that we will know more how to handle pressure, when in the last over you need 10 or 15 runs, everyone in our side has faced that situation.

Din Salike Se Uga Raat Thikaane Se Rahi dosti apni bhi kuch roz zamaane se rahi chand lamhon ko hi banati hain musavir aankhen zindagi roz to tasveer banane se rahi is andhere mein to Thokar hi ujaala degi rat jangal mein koi shama jalaane se rahi faasla chaand bana deta hai har patthar ko door ki roshni nazdik to aane se rahi shaher mein sab ko kahan milti hai rone ki fursat apni izzat bhi