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Former England captain Mike Atherton on Sunday gave Mohammad Asif full credit for an effective display from Pakistan in the fourth Test here at The Oval.

“Pakistan have raised their game and the key difference has been the inclusion of Mohammad Asif after a two-month layoff with an elbow injury,” Atherton wrote in his column headlined ‘Oval mourns dead rubber’ in The Telegraph. “He has given Inzamam-ul-Haq both an attacking edge and an element of control,” he added.

Atherton believes England have been affected by the dead rubber syndrome. He blamed them for dropping too many catches saying that at The Oval.

When Mohammad Hafeez came out to open the innings for Pakistan here at The Oval, he began a comeback to the highest form of cricket after a gap of almost three years.

“Coming back to play a Test after such a long time obviously put a lot of pressure on me,” said Hafeez who scored 95, the highest total by a Pakistani opener in this four-match Test series against England, to justify his inclusion in the Pakistani line-up.

Hafeez gave the credit for his emphatic comeback to the “useful tips” from his skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq and the team’s premier batsman Mohammad Yousuf.

World cricket boss Percy Sonn said on Sunday that he was disappointed at South Africa’s decision to abandon the tour of Sri Lanka for security reasons, but declined to impose sanctions on the Proteas.

“I am deeply disappointed at their decision to go home,” Sonn, a South African lawyer who heads the ICC, told a media conference in the Sri Lankan capital.

South Africa last week cancelled a limited-overs tri-series against India and Sri Lanka following a blast close to their team hotel on August 10 which killed seven people and wounded eight.

Maverick speedster Shoaib Akhtar is all set to make his Pakistan return with the one-day series against England later this month, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on Saturday.

Abbas zaidi, Director of Board Operations, told reporters that the good showing from pacers Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Shahid Nazir in the fourth Test against England pose no problem for a Shoaib Akhtar comeback in the ODI contest.

“With the sort of pace he has, Shoaib remains our key strike bowler and now that he is fit, there is no way he is going to sit out (in the one-dayers),” said Zaidi.

Stephen Harmison insisted he has no major concerns about his form heading into the Ashes series against Australia despite a faltering display in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan here at The Oval.

England’s spearhead fast bowler, who is suffering from a back injury, had a wretched day Friday but recovered Saturday to take four for 125 in 30.5 overs as Pakistan piled up 504 all out.

The one-day series between India and Sri Lanka has been cancelled after the first two of three scheduled games were rained off, a Sri Lankan official said on Sunday.

“There is no point going on with the series because the weather is showing no signs of improving,” the official told on condition of anonymity before an official announcement. “The series will be rescheduled at a later date after consultations between the two countries,” he added.

The three-match series was hurriedly organised in lieu of the tri-series, which was cancelled last week. South Africa pulled out due to security fears following a bomb attack near their hotel on August 10.

Inspite of all the character and pride shown by the Pakistani team, headed by their captain and all the officials of the PCB, its Darrel Hair who has the last laugh. Pakistan lost a match which had only one winner since the first morning. They were disgraced over this stupid act. With Inzi facing a possible four Test or eight ODI match ban, one wonders what solace would Pakistan captain take from all this mess in the final scenario.

Here is what I have sent to the ICC:

Hello,

Kashif Aziz

All readers are encourage to submit their complaints at this link.

The South African cricket team arrived back in Johannesburg on Saturday saying that they felt the decision to abort their tour of Sri Lanka was fully justified after a bomb blast close to the hotel they were staying in.

Seven people were killed on Monday when a bomb exploded in the Liberty Plaza shopping mall, 600 metres from the team’s Colombo hotel and often frequented by the players. “The criticism was upsetting and a tough pill to swallow,” Mark Boucher, who captained the team in the absence of the injured Graeme Smith, said.

Pakistan were penalised five runs for altering the condition of the match ball unfairly on the fourth day of the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval here on Sunday.

At the end of the 56th over, pace bowler Umar Gul’s 14th over, with England 230 for three the umpires inspected the match ball.

Veteran Australian umpire Darrell Hair, standing with West Indian official Billy Doctrove, then signalled to the scorers that five penalty runs were to be added to England’s total, taking it up to 235.