Karachi, Jan : Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Director General Javed Miandad feels that cricket in the country will benefit more from batting-friendly strips.

The former Pakistan captain told reporters here that he has instructed the country's chief curator to prepare wickets that can enable high-scoring matches instead of green tops in domestic tournaments like the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Lahore, Jan 7 : Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik has said that he is ready to take the national team to the top of the cricket rankings after his tenure as skipper was renewed for an indefinite period.

The Pakistan Cricket Board last week opted to keep 26-year-old Malik on as captain for the foreseeable future, with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt saying there was "no reason to replace him" when his tenure expired on December 31.

The News quoted Malik as saying that the move had motivated him to take Pakistan to new heights.

Lahore, Jan 7 : Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has reiterated that Pakistan's priority is to host Australia's tour in their home country, but admitted that a neutral venue for the series remains a possibility.

Ijaz also said that he and chief operating officer Salim Altaf had not visited the facilities in Kuala Lumpur last week scotching reports that they had inspected the ground following a meeting at the Asian Cricket Council headquarters.

Dubai, Jan. 7: Australia has survived at the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table following its 103-run victory over South Africa in the third and final match of the series in Sydney.
But the pressure is still on Ricky Ponting's team as the gap at the top has been closed to just five ratings points following the historic 2-1 series defeat.

London, Jan 7: England captain Kevin Pietersen and cricket coach Peter Moores could be sacked after Hugh Morris was handed the mandate to sort out the civil war ripping the English team apart.

The England and Wales Cricket Board called an emergency meeting of its executive board on Tuesday night and the support has shifted from backing the captain to making changes at the top of the national team's management structure, The Telegraph reported.

Sydney, Jan. 7: Australia's cricket selectors are likely to give opening batsman Mathew Hayden a tap on the shoulder, saying that probably his stint in international cricket is over after over 15 years of yeoman service.

The Daily Telegraph says that Hayden is tipped to be axed from Australia''s one-day and Twenty20 squads today, and this could be the final straw.