Speed Zone!, also known as Cannonball Run III or simply Cannonball Fever, released in 1989, is the third and final installment of the Cannonball Run series of movies. Like the first two films, it is a comedy set around an illegal cross-country race (inspired by the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash). This time the premise is that all the racers are arrested before the race begins, and the sponsors have to quickly line up new racers.

Cast[link]

Speed Zone! stars many alumni of SCTV, including John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. The cast includes Donna Dixon, Matt Frewer, Tim Matheson, Mimi Kuzyk, Melody Anderson, Shari Belafonte, Brian George, Art Hindle, Dick Smothers, Tom Smothers, Peter Boyle, Don Lake, John Schneider, Lee Van Cleef, Harvey Atkin, Michael Spinks, Brooke Shields, Alyssa Milano, Louis Del Grande, Richard Petty and Carl Lewis.

Jamie Farr cameos as "Sheik Abdul ben Falafel", who says in an interview that he is retiring from racing. Farr and his character are the only actor and character to appear in all three films of the Cannonball Run movie universe.

John Schneider makes a cameo as the driver of the Lamborghini Countach at the beginning of the movie and is seen wearing an orange racing suit with a confederate flag on it.

External links[link]

• Speed Zone! at the Internet Movie Database

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Richie Havens
Richie Havens in 2006
Background information
Born	(1941-01-21) January 21, 1941 (age 71) Brooklyn, New York City New York, United States
Genres	Folk rock, Funk
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, activist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, sitar
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Verve Forecast, Universal, Stormy Forest, MGM, A&M, PolyGram, Solar, Epic, SME, Rykodisc
Website	www.richiehavens.com

Richard P. "Richie" Havens (born January 21, 1941) is an African American folk singer and guitarist.^[1] He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Career[link]

Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children.^[1] At an early age, he began organizing his neighborhood friends into street corner doo-wop groups and was performing with The McCrea Gospel Singers at 16.^[1] At age 20, Havens left Brooklyn, seeking artistic stimulation in Greenwich Village. "I saw the Village as a place to escape to, in order to express yourself," he recalls. "I had first gone there during the Beatnik days of the 1950s to perform poetry, then I drew portraits for two years and stayed up all night listening to folk music in the clubs. It took a while before I thought of picking up a guitar."^{[citation needed]}

Havens' reputation as a solo performer soon spread beyond the Village folk circles.^[1] After cutting 2 records for Douglas Records, Havens signed on with Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, and landed a record deal with the Verve Forecast label. Verve released Mixed Bag in 1967, which featured tracks like "Handsome Johnny" (co-written by Havens and future Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr.), "Follow", and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman". By 1969, he had released five more albums. Something Else Again (1968) became Havens' first album to hit the Billboard chart and also pulled Mixed Bag back onto the charts.

Havens' reputation as a live performer earned him widespread notice. His Woodstock appearance proved to be a major turning point in his career.^[1] As the festival's first performer, he held the crowd for nearly three hours (in part because he was told to perform a lengthy set because many artists were delayed in reaching the festival location), and was called back for several encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child" that became "Freedom". The subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience. He also appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival in late August 1969.^[2][3]

Following the success of his Woodstock performance, Richie started his own record label, Stormy Forest, and delivered Stonehenge in 1970. Later that year came Alarm Clock, which yielded the George Harrison penned hit single "Here Comes the Sun", and became Havens' first album to reach Billboard’s Top 30 Chart.^[1] Stormy Forest went on to release four more of his own albums: The Great Blind Degree (1971), Live On Stage (1972), Portfolio (1973), and Mixed Bag II (1974).^[1] Memorable television appearances included performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. On the latter program, the audience reacted with such enthusiasm that when the applause continued even after the commercial break, Carson asked Havens to return the following night.

Havens performing in Hamburg, May 1972

Havens also branched out into acting during the 1970s. He was featured in the original 1972 stage presentation of The Who's Tommy,^[4] and appeared as Othello in the 1974 film Catch My Soul. He also appeared in Greased Lightning alongside Richard Pryor in 1977. In 1987, he landed a role in the Bob Dylan vehicle Hearts of Fire.^[5]

Increasingly, Havens devoted his energies to educating young people about ecological issues. In the mid-1970s, he co-founded the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children’s museum on City Island in the Bronx. That, in turn, led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization Richie describes as "a way of helping kids learn that they can have a hands-on role in affecting the environment. Children study the land, water, and air in their own communities and see how they can make positive changes from something as simple as planting a garden in an abandoned lot."^{[citation needed]}

During the 1980s and 1990s, Havens continued a world touring schedule and a steady release of albums. The release of 1993’s Resume, The Best Of Richie Havens Rhino collected his late 1960s and early 1970s recordings.

In 1982, Havens composed and performed a promotional slogan for NBC's 1982-83 television season entitled, We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now. He also performed slogans for CBS and ABC,^[6] and recorded commercials for Amtrak, singing the slogan "There's something about a train that's magic." Havens has also done corporate commercial work for Maxwell House Coffee as well as singing "The Fabric of Our Lives" theme for the cotton industry.

In 1993, Havens performed at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. Among the selections was the "Cotton" song, made famous by a series of television ads in the early 1990s.^[7] In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert for an audience of more than 100,000.^[8]

Havens also played a small role as a character named Daze in a 1990 film named Street Hunter starring John Leguizamo.

In 2003, the National Music Council awarded Havens the American Eagle Award for his place as part of America’s musical heritage, and for providing "a rare and inspiring voice of eloquence, integrity and social responsibility."

Collaborations[link]

In 2000, Havens teamed up with the electronic music duo Groove Armada for the retro 1970s-style song "Hands of Time". The track was featured on the soundtrack for the film Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx; the same song also used in the films Domino starring Keira Knightley, and Tell No One with François Cluzet. Havens was also featured on Little By Little and Healing on the band's third album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub).^[9]

He has collaborated with other artists including former Genesis members Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel, Bill Perry, Dayna Kurtz, and Anton Fig.^[9]

Present day career[link]

In 2000, Havens published They Can't Hide Us Anymore, an autobiography co-written with Steve Davidowitz. Havens has maintained his status as a folk icon, and continues to tour. In 2002, Havens released Wishing Well, followed by the 2004 album, Grace of the Sun.

On October 15, 2006, Havens was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.^[10]

In 2007, Havens appeared as "Old Man Arvin" in the Todd Haynes film I'm Not There. In a classic front-porch jam scene, he is shown singing the Bob Dylan song "Tombstone Blues" with Marcus Carl Franklin and Tyrone Benskin. Havens's version of the song also appears on the I'm Not There Soundtrack.

Havens was invited to perform at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival Opening Ceremony. He played "Freedom" in tribute to his fan and jury president Sean Penn. He also performed at the London, Ontario Blues Festival in July 2008.^[11]

In March 2008, he released a new studio album titled Nobody Left To Crown.^[12] The first single release was country-tinged "The Key"^{[citation needed]}, which is sold as a single MP3 at Amazon.com.^[13]

Richie Havens appears in the acclaimed 2009 film "Soundtrack for a Revolution," which provides a general history of the modern Civil Rights Movement, and has modern artists performing many of the era's musical classics. In that film, Havens does a haunting rendition of the old song, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." ^[14]

On May 3, 2009, Havens performed at the fundraising concert in honor of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday. In June 2009, Havens performed at the fifth annual Mountain Jam Festival. The event, hosted by Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule guitarist, Warren Haynes, was held at the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in Hunter, New York. As is tradition, the festival took place on the weekend following Memorial Day. On June 20, 2009, Havens performed at the Clearwater Festival. On July 4, 2009, Havens performed at the Woodstock Tribute festival in Ramsey, New Jersey. On August 8, 2010, Havens performed at Musikfest 2010 at Foy Hall at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

On March 20, 2012, Havens announced on his Facebook page that he will stop touring after 45 years, due to health concerns.^[15]

Charity work[link]

In addition to performing at charity benefit concerts, Havens formed the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children's museum on City Island in The Bronx. The museum led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization that educates children about the environment.^[16]

Havens won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, Massachusetts on April 12, 1991.^[17]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Live albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

Guest appearances[link]

• A Long Time Comin' by The Electric Flag - Sitar & Percussion (1968)
• Please Don't Touch by Steve Hackett (1978)
• Music and Songs from Starlight Express (1987) - performing "Light at the End of the Tunnel" and the "Starlight Sequence"
• Songs of the Civil War (1991) - "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and "Give Us a Flag"
• OVO by Peter Gabriel (2000) (Soundtrack to the Millennium Dome Show)
• "Freedom" on The Best of The Jammy's Volume One w/ The Mutaytor
• "The Long Road" (Duet with Cliff Eberhardt) on 1990 album The Long Road
• "Gay Cavalier" (Duet with Pino Daniele) on 1983 album Common Ground
• "All That I am Now" on Assembly of Dust's 2009 Some Assembly Required album
• Lifelines Live by Peter, Paul and Mary (1996)
• "El Lugar (The Place)" by Francesco Bruno (1995) where he appears as co-author and interpreter of the song
• Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) by Groove Armada (2001) - "Little by Little" and "Healing"
• Lovebox (Groove Armada) by Groove Armada (2002) - "Hands of Time"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Richie Havens official website
• Richie Havens at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Richie Havens by music critic Michael Wiles of Bmore Live
• Interview with Richie Havens
• College Crier's Richie Havens interview
• 2005 Richie Havens interview on Modern Guitars magazine
• Long Island Music Hall of Fame
• 2008 Interview with Richie Havens
• Richie Havens fan website
• Video interview with Richie Havens by the Transcendent Nation Foundation on the question of "how to save the world"

Shoaib Akhtar

Personal information
Full name	Shoaib Akhtar
Born	(1975-08-13) 13 August 1975 (age 36) Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname	Rawalpindi Express
Height	5 ft 11.75 in (1.82 m)
Batting style	Right hand bat
Bowling style	Right arm fast
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 150)	29 November 1997 v West Indies
Last Test	8 December 2007 v India
ODI debut (cap 123)	28 March 1998 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI	8 March 2011 v New Zealand
ODI shirt no.	14
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	T20I
Matches	46	163	15
Runs scored	544	394	21
Batting average	10.07	8.95	7.00
100s/50s	0/0	0/0	0/0
Top score	47	43	8*
Balls bowled	8,143	7,764	318
Wickets	178	247	19
Bowling average	25.69	24.97	22.73
5 wickets in innings	12	4	0
10 wickets in match	2	n/a	n/a
Best bowling	6/11	6/16	3/38
Catches/stumpings	12/–	20/–	2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 8 November 2010

Shoaib Akhtar (b. 13 August 1975) is a former Pakistani cricketer. Shoaib holds the record for being the fastest bowler in the history of international cricket, he made his Test debut in November 1997 and played his first One Day International four months later. He played on Pakistan's Cricket Team as an attack bowler.

He has been involved in several controversies during his career, often accused of not being a team player but his presence was always felt by the opponents. Akhtar was sent home during the Test match series in Australia in 2005 for alleged poor attitude. A year later, he was embroiled in a drug scandal after testing positive to a banned substance. However, the ban imposed on him was lifted on court appeal. In September 2007, Akhtar was banned for an indefinite period for his fight with Pakistan team mate and fast bowler Mohammad Asif.^[1] On 1 April 2008, Akhtar was banned for five years for publicly criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board.^[2] In October 2008, the Lahore High Court in Pakistan suspended the five year ban and Akhtar was selected in the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 Quadrangular Tournament in Canada.^[3] Pakistani judge, Rana Bhagwandas stated once that, Akhtar is a legend of Pakistan cricket.^[4] He retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup.

Early years[link]

Akhtar was born at Morgah, a small town near Rawalpindi, Punjab in Pakistan.^[5] His father was a plant operator in Attock Oil Refinery, Morgah.^[5] Akhtar started his studies at Elliott High School, Morgah and then took admission in the Asghar Mall College, Rawalpindi.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

International career[link]

Akhtar's run of impressive performances started in the 1990s. In 1999, during a pre-World Cup series against India, he rose to prominence. It was followed by outstanding bowling performances in Sharjah and later in 1999 Cricket World Cup. His most significant performance was in India in 1999 when he captured eight wickets in the Asian Test championship match at Calcutta – including the wickets of Indian batsmen Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar off successive deliveries.

In 2002, he was selected for the Pakistan team against Australia and achieved success. However he performed poorly during the 2003 Cricket World Cup and after the tournament he was dropped from the Pakistan squad. He was selected back into the Pakistan squad in the 2004 Test match series against New Zealand, but struggled in a losing Test series against India in 2004. The series ended with a controversy when he left the field citing an injury leading to suspicions by former Pakistan captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, about his commitment to the team. As a result, his relationship with Inzamam-ul-Haq and former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer deteriorated. A medical panel was set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board to investigate the nature of his injury, however Pakistan officials dispelled all suspicions.^[6]

In 2005, Akhtar regained his reputation as a fast bowler for his side. Playing in a three Test home series against England, he made a series of impressive bowling performances. His effective use of slower deliveries proved to be unplayable by the English batsmen. Akhtar emerged as the highest wicket taker of the series with seventeen wickets. His comeback was also remarkable as prior to his return, he had been criticized from all corners-such as by the Worcestershire chairman John Elliot for his celebrity attitude and lack of commitment to team. His performance was also acknowledged by the English captain Michael Vaughan, who remarked "I thought he (Shoaib) was a big difference between the two teams".^[7] He is also known as the only bowler ever to break the 100 mph barrier in cricket bowling history, with a delivery of 101.3 mph, and this delivery stands as the fastest recorded to date. ^[8]

Struggle for form and consistent injuries (2007–2009)[link]

On 29 October 2007, Akhtar made his return to cricket, from his 13 match ban and performed well, taking 4 wickets for 43 runs against South Africa in the fifth and deciding One Day International series in Lahore in Pakistan. Subsequently, he was included in the 16 man Pakistan squad for the 2007 tour of India, which he completed successfully without further incident and injury.

Rehabilitation and final years (2010–2011)[link]

Akhtar made a return to international cricket albeit in the shorter format of the game. In May 2010, PCB named him in a list of 35 probables for the Asia Cup. On 15 June 2010, Akhtar made his return, taking 3 wickets for 28 runs in the first match of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka.^[9] He narrowly missed out a spot in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in place of the injured Umar Gul.

In July 2010, he was selected for the Twenty20 series against Australia but the selectors decided not to play him in the Test squad so that he would not get injured. He was subsequently selected for the ODI and Twenty20 series against England in September 2010.^[10]

Akhtar returned to the national side representing the country against England in the Twenty20 International. He bowled an impressive spell and returned with figures of 2 wickets for 23 runs.^[11] He continued to bowl well in the ODI series in the absence of regular fast-bowlers, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who were suspended by the International Cricket Council amid allegations of Spot-fixing. Despite his relatively good bowling form, Pakistani coach Waqar Younis insisted that the bowling attack must not become reliant on Akhtar, as he is 35 years of age and fitness troubles continue to affect him.^[12] Akhtar was selected for the tour of New Zealand and started his campaign off well with 3 wickets on Boxing Day in the first of two Twenty20 Internationals against New Zealand.

Akhtar was selected in Pakistan's 15-man squad to play in the 2011 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka in February to March. During the tournament, he announced that he would retire from international cricket at the end of the World Cup.^[13] In September, Akhtar released his autobiography, Controversially Yours.^[14]

Domestic career[link]

England county cricket[link]

Shoaib Akhtar signing an autograph for his fans.

Akhtar has played for three English county cricket clubs, including Somerset in 2001, Durham in 2003 and 2004 and Worcestershire in 2005. He did achieve his moments of success, such as taking 5 wickets for 35 runs for Durham against Somerset in the National League in 2003 and claiming 6 wickets for 16 runs in the same competition for Worcestershire against Glamorgan two years later, but he suffered from fitness problems, as well as a perception that he was less than interested in his task. This was particularly the case at Worcestershire: chairman John Elliott said "Players like that are no good to our club. In fact, Akhtar has been no good for any club he's been at. He's a superstar and just does what he wants."^[15]

Indian Premier League[link]

Akhtar made a successful return to cricket in his first game in the Indian Premier League, playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Delhi Daredevils. Defending a low score of 133 runs, Akhtar took four top order wickets which ultimately led to the Daredevils being restricted to 110 runs. He ended with figures of 4 wickets for 11 runs from three overs, a performance which earned him the player of the match award.^[16][17] Akhtar denied that he had any point to prove with his performance, stating, "I just wanted to win the game." Knight Riders' captain Sourav Ganguly also acknowledged Akhtar's performance, "He came to the country with lots [of things] happening behind him...But he showed a lot of character."^[18] It has been widely reported that the Knight Riders have released Akhtar from his contract due to his injury history but the Knight Riders' officials have denied these reports and said they are still in talks with the fast bowler.^[19]

He has also played for Cyclones of Chittagong in Bangladesh's NCL T20 Bangladesh.

Cricket controversies and injuries[link]

Akhtar's career has been plagued with injuries, controversies and accusations of poor attitude. After rising into international stardom at a young age due to his speed, due to his interesting personality and charisma glamour seemed to follow him, some say at the detriment of his sporting focus. Although he eventually crossed the 100 mph barrier, his attitude took its toll on his reputation as well as his fitness. After a poor performance in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, he got involved in a verbal conflict with former Pakistan captain and fast bowler Waqar Younis. Later on Akhtar was sacked along with other players, including Younis. In a triangular series in 2003 held in Sri Lanka, he was caught tampering with the cricket ball, making him the second player in cricket to be banned on ball tampering charges. The same year he was banned for one Test match and two One Day International matches for abusing South African spin bowler Paul Adams, during a match against South Africa.

In the 2004 home series with India, he struggled with wrist and back injuries, which raised questions about their commitment to the team. His relationship with the captain and the coach deteriorated further partially due to team politics.

He was sent back from the 2005 Australia tour with a hamstring injury amid rumors of indiscipline, lack of commitment and attitudinal complaints. He was subsequently fined by the Pakistan Cricket Board for avoiding a late night curfew.^[20] The rest of his cricketing career was riddled with ankle and knee injuries which forced him to undergo a surgery in February 2006, until finally he was banned for two years for allegedly using performance enhancing drugs.

In November 2006, an officer assigned to the Pakistan team in India, Anil Kaul, alleged that Akhtar had slapped former coach Bob Woolmer following a fight over the music to be played in the team bus on the eve of ICC Champions Trophy. Both Akhtar and Woolmer have strongly denied these allegations.^[21]

Drug scandal[link]

On 16 October 2006 Akhtar was suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board, along with Mohammed Asif after the pair were tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance nandrolone.^[22] They were consequently pulled out from the ICC Champions Trophy 2006.^[23] Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman later stated that he had always suspected Akhtar of substance abuse due to his consistent "reservations" to drug tests.^[24] Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq had also previously complained about Akhtar's drug abuse but was not reported to the Pakistan Cricket Board.^[25] Pakistan news reports state that federal capital police had arrested Shoaib along with drugs some three years ago.

Akhtar immediately declared his innocence and he declined knowingly taking any performance enhancing drugs. In a statement issued to the press, he claimed that he could never cheat team-mates or opponents.^[26] During a hearing with the Pakistan Cricket Board Anti-Doping Committee, he along with Asif maintained taking non-steroidal dietary supplements.^[27] He, however, failed to convince the committee of his innocence. In its report submitted to the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Anti-Doping Committee recommended a two year ban.^[28]

On 1 November 2006 the Pakistan Cricket Board handed down a two-year suspension to Akhtar and a one-year suspension to Asif, banning them from professional cricket during the period.^[29] Shoaib had subsequently been added to Pakistan Olympic Association list of doping offenders.^[30] However, on 5 December 2006 represented by his lawyer Abid Hassan Minto, Akhtar was cleared on appeal.^[31]

Acquittal[link]

On 5 December 2006 Akhtar and Asif were acquitted by the tribunal appointed to review their appeals against the drugs ban imposed on them by an earlier committee. After a clear hearing from Akhtar's lawyer Abid Hassan Minto, the three-man committee, headed by Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim, voted two to one in favour of the acquittal. Haseeb Ahsan, former Test cricketer and Ebrahim were in favour of the acquittal while the third member, Danish Zaheer, dissented. "Exceptional circumstances" were cited including discrepancies between the instantaneous offence charges of doping that were laid and the quick delivery of a very harsh verdict. The complete drug testing procedure was concluded to have been technically flawed as it did not follow standard procedures. Other established facts by the committee included that the duo were not aware of the banned drug to be present in their supplements because the Pakistan Cricket Board itself had not informed them of the dangers of contaminated supplements.^[32][33]

Both Akhtar and Asif were thankful to the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf for giving them a fair trial and their team mates, captain and coach for the moral support. However, in 2006, they did not play in the Test match series against the West Indies because the Pakistan Cricket Board has recommended that they play domestic games first to recover form and fitness.^[34]

However, WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency was to challenge Pakistan's decision to lift bans on fast bowlers Akhtar and Asif by taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.^[35] The ICC, cricket's world governing body, has supported the WADA appeal adding that it was committed to a dope free game.^[36]

On 1 March 2007 Akhtar and Asif were ruled out of the Pakistani squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup by team officials, minutes before the squad was to depart for the West Indies. The team management along with the Pakistan Cricket Board said their injuries were too severe to risk taking them to the Caribbean. Since neither of the two had been declared fit they had not undergone official doping tests.^[37]

On 2 July 2007 the Court of Arbitration for Sport dropped the case, ruling it had no jurisdiction to challenge the decision made by PCB.^[38][39]

On 21 May 2009, Akhtar was dropped from his country's World Championship Twenty20 squad because of genital viral warts, previously reported as a skin infection.^[40]

Other controversies[link]

In August 2007, Akhtar was reported to have used foul language against Pakistan Cricket Board protesting the imposing of fine of Rs. 300,000 for indiscipline during the national camp in Karachi.^[41] In the week before the inaugural World Twenty20, held in South Africa, Akhtar was rumoured to have hit Pakistani team mate Mohammad Asif with a bat, leaving a bruise on his left thigh. According to sources, the two were involved in a dressing room spat which resulted in Asif being struck by a bat on his left thigh. Sources said the fight between the two started after Asif and Shahid Afridi disagreed with Shoaib that he shared the same stature as Imran Khan in Pakistan cricket and even ridiculed him for making such a comparison.^[42] The injury was not thought to be anything more serious than a bruise but a team investigation into the matter was pending.^[43] After the initial inquiry, it would found that Akhtar was at fault and he was subsequently recalled from the Twenty20 World Cup squad^[44] and was sent home.^[45] He was also banned for 5 matches by the Pakistan Cricket Board and a lifetime ban may also seem imminent.^[46] Akhtar later claimed that Afridi was responsible for the fight, saying "He made some ill remarks about my family. And I could not tolerate them." Afridi however, denied these allegations adding that Asif would have suffered more injuries but for his intervention.^[47] Even Asif chipped in saying that Akhtar was lying and that "Shahid Afridi had nothing to do with the fight." saying that "he has not apologised to me."^[48] Akhtar later patched up with his team mates including Afridi and Asif

On 1 April 2008 Akhtar was banned for five years for violating the players' code of conduct. The ban extended to all cricket for and in Pakistan.^[49] Despite the ban not preventing him from playing in the Indian Premier League, the IPL governing council decided not to allow Akhtar to play in the tournament until the end of the ban or unless it is lifted. IS Bindra, a member of the council, was quoted as saying, "Even though they [the PCB] have cleared him to play for IPL, we felt that international discipline needs to be respected."^[50] Meanwhile, Akhtar vowed to go to great lengths to fight the ban, "I will appeal, as is my right. If that fails I will go to court, if that fails then I will go to the Supreme Court."^[51] On 3 April, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf served a legal notice on Akhtar, calling on him to retract statements he made to a news channel, alleging the ban was punishment in return for refusing to give the chairman a share of his earnings from the Indian Premier League, Ashraf also sought damages of Rs100 million (approximately US$1.6 million) for "defaming him personally" and an additional Rs100 million to the Pakistan Cricket Board for "sullying the name of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket team."^[52] A three-man appellate tribunal announced on 30 April that they had temporarily upheld Akhtar's five-year ban, deciding to revist the appeal hearing in June.^[53] Despite Akhtar's later retracting his claims and also issuing an unconditional apology for "any grief or embarrassment that may have been caused to the nation, particularly to the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf", Ashraf's legal counsel filed a Rs22 crore (approx US$3.37 million) defamation suit against Akhtar in a civil court in Lahore on 2 May.^[54] On 4 May, the Pakistan Cricket Board's appellate tribunal suspended the five-year ban for one month, until they reconvene on 4 June, allowing Akhtar to take part in the ongoing Indian Premier League.^[55] A day later, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced that they will no longer pursue the defamation suit following a reconciliation between Akhtar and chairman Nasim Ashraf at the house of Rehman Malik, a key political official, in Islamabad. "My honour has been vindicated and now the defamation lawsuit will not be pursued," Ashraf was quoted as saying.^[56]

On 4 September 2008, Akhtar was sent home by British immigration officials after landing at Heathrow airport without a valid working visa, authorities said he could not play without a working visa, though Akhtar had a valid visa to visit England but not a working visa, which is a prerequisite to play in county cricket. He subsequently obtained the necessary visa and returned to play with English county club Surrey.^[57]

Akhtar also threatened to sue the Pakistan Cricket Board after it was revealed that he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease (genital warts) and thus dropped from the 2009 world Twenty20 championship.^[58]

International bowling records[link]

Test cricket: Five-wickets in an innings[link]

Test cricket: Five-wickets in an innings
Number	Figures	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Season
1	5/43	3	South Africa	Durban, S.A.	Kingsmead	1998
2	5/75	13	Sri Lanka	Peshawar, Pakistan	Arbab Niaz Stadium	1999
3	5/24	16	West Indies	Sharjah, UAE	Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium	2002
4	6/11	19	Australia	Colombo, Sri Lanka	PSS	2002
5	6/50	25	Bangladesh	Peshawar, Pakistan	Arbab Niaz Stadium	2003
6	5/48	27	New Zealand	Wellington, New Zealand	Basin Reserve	2003
7	6/30	27	New Zealand	Wellington, New Zealand	Basin Reserve	2003
8	5/60	30	Sri Lanka	Faisalabad, Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	2004
9	5/99	31	Australia	Perth, Australia	WACA Ground	2004
10	5/109	32	Australia	Melbourne, Australia	MCG	2004
11	5/71	36	England	Lahore, Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium	2005

Test cricket: Ten-wickets in a match[link]

Test cricket: Ten-wickets in a match
Number	Match Figures	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Season
1	10/80	25	Bangladesh	Peshawar, Pakistan	Arbab Niaz Stadium	2003
2	11/78	27	New Zealand	Wellington, New Zealand	Basin Reserve	2003

One Day International: Five-wickets in an innings[link]

One Day International: Five-wickets in an innings
Number	Match Figures	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Season
1	5/19	42	New Zealand	Karachi, Pakistan	National Stadium	2001
2	6/16	60	New Zealand	Wellington, New Zealand	Basin Reserve	2002
3	5/25	64	Australia	Brisbane, Australia	GABBA Ground	2002
4	5/54	127	England	Lahore, Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium	2005

Career Best Performances[link]

as of 8 November 2010

	Batting				Bowling
	Score	Fixture	Venue	Season	Score	Fixture	Venue	Season
Tests	47	Pakistan v  India	Faisalabad	2006	6-11	Pakistan v  New Zealand	Lahore	2002
ODI	43	Pakistan v  England	Cape Town	2003	6-16	Pakistan v  New Zealand	Karachi	2002
T20I	4	Pakistan v  England	Cardiff	2010	2-11	Pakistan v  Canada	Ontario	2008
FC	59*	KRL v PIA	Lahore (CCA)	2001	6-11	Pakistan v  New Zealand	Lahore	2002
LA	56	KRL v Habib Bank	Lahore	2003	6-16	Pakistan v  New Zealand	Karachi	2002
T20	14	Islamabad Leopards v Peshawar Panthers	Karachi	2006	5-23	Rawalpindi Rams v Quetta Bears	Lahore (CCA)	2005

References[link]

External links[link]

• Player profile: Shoaib Akhtar from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Shoaib Akhtar from CricketArchive
• Shoaib Akhtar's Official Website
• www.skysports.com - Shoaib Akhtar's article

v t e Pakistan squad – 1999 Cricket World Cup Runners-up 1 Wasim Akram (c) 2 Moin Khan (wk) 3 Saleem Malik 4 Ijaz Ahmed 5 Waqar Younis 6 Saeed Anwar 7 Mushtaq Ahmed 8 Inzamam-ul-Haq 9 Saqlain Mushtaq 10 Shahid Afridi 11 Azhar Mahmood 12 Abdul Razzaq 13 Yousuf Youhana 14 Shoaib Akhtar 15 Wajahatullah Wasti Coach: Mushtaq Mohammad

v t e Pakistan squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup 1 Waqar Younis (c) 2 Abdul Razzaq 3 Azhar Mahmood 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq 5 Mohammad Sami 6 Rashid Latif (wk) 7 Saeed Anwar 8 Saleem Elahi 9 Saqlain Mushtaq 10 Shahid Afridi 11 Shoaib Akhtar 12 Taufeeq Umar 13 Wasim Akram 14 Younis Khan 15 Yousuf Youhana Coach: Richard Pybus

v t e Pakistan squad – 2007 Cricket World Cup 1 Inzamam-ul-Haq (c) 2 Younis Khan 3 Azhar Mahmood 4 Danish Kaneria 5 Iftikhar Anjum 6 Imran Nazir 7 Kamran Akmal (wk) 8 Mohammad Hafeez 9 Mohammad Sami 10 Mohammad Yousuf 11 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 12 Shahid Afridi 13 Shoaib Malik 14 Umar Gul 15 Yasir Arafat Coach: Woolmer Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq were named in the original squad but injuries led to them being withdrawn. Mushtaq Ahmed acted as temporary coach for Pakistan's final group game following the death of Bob Woolmer.

v t e Pakistan squad – 2007 ICC World Twenty20 Runners-Up 1 Salman Butt 2 Shahid Afridi 3 Imran Nazir 4 Shoaib Malik 5 Iftikhar Anjum 6 Misbah-ul-Haq 7 Kamran Akmal 8 Fawad Alam 9 Mohammad Asif 10 Yasir Arafat 11 Sohail Tanvir 12 Abdur Rehman 13 Umar Gul 14 Younis Khan 15 Mohammad Hafeez Coach: Geoff Lawson Shoaib Akhtar was replaced by Sohail Tanvir due to a dressing room incident before the tournament.

v t e Pakistan squad – 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Winners (1st Title) 1 Younis Khan 2 Abdul Razzaq 3 Ahmed Shehzad 4 Fawad Alam 5 Iftikhar Anjum 6 Misbah-ul-Haq 7 Kamran Akmal (wk) 8 Mohammad Amir 9 Saeed Ajmal 10 Salman Butt 11 Shahid Afridi 12 Shahzaib Hasan 13 Shoaib Malik 14 Umar Gul 15 Yasir Arafat 16 Sohail Tanvir Coach: Intikhab Alam Shoaib Akhtar and Yasir Arafat were named in the original squad but injuries led to them being withdrawn. Abdul Razzaq was sent as a replacement for Yasir Arafat.

v t e Pakistan squad – 2011 Cricket World Cup Semi-Finalists 8 Mohammad Hafeez 10 Shahid Afridi (c) 12 Abdul Razzaq 14 Shoaib Akhtar 19 Ahmed Shehzad 22 Misbah-ul-Haq 23 Kamran Akmal (wk) 36 Abdur Rehman 47 Wahab Riaz 50 Saeed Ajmal 55 Umar Gul 75 Younus Khan 81 Asad Shafiq 96 Umar Akmal 99 Junaid Khan Coach: Waqar Younis Sohail Tanvir was named in the original squad but injuries led to him being withdrawn. Junaid Khan was sent as his replacement

Brett Lee

Personal information
Born	(1976-11-08) 8 November 1976 (age 35) Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Nickname	Bing, Binga, The Speedster.
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
Relations	S Lee (brother)
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 383)	26 December 1999 v India
Last Test	26 December 2008 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 140)	9 January 2000 v Pakistan
Last ODI	19 February 2012 v India
ODI shirt no.	58
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1995 –	New South Wales
2011	Wellington
2011–	Sydney Sixers
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	76	216	116	256
Runs scored	1,451	1,088	2,120	1,263
Batting average	20.15	17.00	18.59	16.40
100s/50s	0/5	0/3	0/8	0/3
Top score	64	59	97	59
Balls bowled	16,531	10,979	24,193	13,229
Wickets	310	374	487	431
Bowling average	30.81	23.25	28.22	23.98
5 wickets in innings	10	9	20	10
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	2	n/a
Best bowling	5/30	5/22	7/114	5/22
Catches/stumpings	23/–	53/–	35/–	61/–
Source: Cricinfo, 23 March 2012

Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian cricketer.

After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. In each of his first two years, he averaged less than 20 with the ball, but since then has mostly achieved figures in the early 30s.^[1]

He is an athletic fielder and useful lower-order batsman, with a batting average exceeding 20 in Test cricket. Together with Mike Hussey, he has held the record for highest 7th wicket partnership for Australia in ODIs since 2005–06 with 123.^[2]

Lee is known by his nickname 'Binga', which refers to 'Bing Lee', a chain of electronics stores in New South Wales.

Brett Lee also plays for Kolkata Knight Riders,who won the IPL season five against Chennai Super Kings.^[3]

Style[link]

Lee is known for his pace and regularly clocks 150 km/h and above. He ranks behind only Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar (161.3 km/h, 100.2 mph) as the fastest bowler in contemporary cricket during most of the 2000s.^[4] The strain of consistently bowling at 150 km/h caused a string of stress fractures and recurring injuries and forced him to alter his strategy, which he has done effectively.^[5] Rather than relying on pace alone, he uses a wide array of deliveries aimed at wearing down the batsman.

Early in his career, Lee was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, but was cleared,^[6] and was also heavily criticised after bowling a series of beamers at batsmen during a number of ODIs in 2005. Captain Ricky Ponting defended Lee saying that it was not intentional.^[7][8]

Batting[link]

Lee is also a competent lower-order batsman. His aggressive style and his strong physique often yields many sixes, including one six which flew out of the Gabba into the practice nets during a Test match against the West Indies in 2005, billed as the biggest six ever hit at that ground.^{[citation needed]}

During the 2005 Ashes series, Lee had numerous defiant innings, including a stand of 43 not out in the Second Test at Edgbaston, Australia's highest individual score in that innings. This innings nearly won the match for Australia but the other batsman Michael Kasprowicz was caught behind by Geraint Jones and England won by just two runs. After the memorable match, England bowler and captain Andrew Flintoff went over to console Lee, a moment which came to symbolise a hotly contest series.^[9]

On 2 April 2006, Lee hit his highest Test score of 64 in 68 balls against South Africa at Johannesburg. His previous highest score in Tests was 62 not out which he made against the West Indies in 2000 at the Gabba. Lee nearly surpassed this score on 3 January 2008 against India when he made 59 off 121 balls. Lee had also once again nearly surpassed his highest test score when he had made 63 not out, but unfortunately Ricky Ponting had declared the innings in the 2nd test against the West Indies. As a result of this, he fell one run short of his highest test score.

Lee's highest score in ODI matches is 59 against West Indies at West Indies in March 2012.

Early career[link]

At age 16, Lee began playing first grade cricket for Campbelltown, where he managed to claim the wickets of a few New South Wales cricketers, and Mosman,^[10] where at one point, he shared the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar and briefly played alongside England batsman Andrew Strauss.^[11][12]

Lee was called up to the Australian Under 17 & 19 teams. In March 1994, he was forced out of the Australian under-19 team to tour India due to stress fractures in his lower back and it forced him to remodel his bowling action to minimise the impact on his back. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the AIS Australian Cricket Academy in the 1995–96 season.^[13] His contemporaries included fellow internationals Jason Gillespie and Mike Hussey.^[14]

Prior to making his first-class debut, Lee played for Mosman and played in the final of the 1996-97 Sydney Grade Cricket competition.^[15]

Domestic career[link]

Lee has played domestic cricket for his home state team, the New South Wales Blues, since 1997. He was first named in the squad as the twelfth man for the 14–16 November match against Queensland in the 1997-98 Sheffield Shield.^[16] The following week, he made his first-class debut for the Blues against Western Australia and took 3 wickets at 114, including that of the captain Tom Moody.^[17] It would be his only appearance in the Sheffield Shield for the rest of the season.^[18] He ended a memorable month by taking a 5-wicket haul in the Sydney grade Limited-Overs Cup final against Bankstown on 30 November.^[19]

During the 1998-99 season Lee was a more regular presence in the latter stages of the Sheffield Shield. He took 14 wickets, including a 5-wicket haul against Tasmania in the second innings.^[20] He started the 1999-2000 season by claiming 8 wickets in his first two matches. Such strong performances culminated in his Test debut in December 1999 and he finished the season as the Blues' second-highest wicket taker in the Pura Cup, 24 wickets in 5 matches.^[21]

In 2009 he battled back from injury and was a key player in the Blues' success during the Champions League Twenty20. He was named Man of the Match in the final^[22] and also won the Man of the Series award.^[23]

International career[link]

One month after making his first class debut, Lee was chosen to represent the Australian A team on a tour to South Africa. He claimed two wickets but in that very match, stress fractures in his back from the previous injury had re-opened and Lee was in a back brace for over three months.

Test career[link]

By the late 1990s there were calls for Lee to be included in the national squad. Captain Steve Waugh, who also played with him for New South Wales, was impressed by Lee's debut and pushed for his inclusion into the national team. He was eventually chosen in the final 14 for the Test series against Pakistan in 1999 but failed to make the starting 11. By the time the Test series against India came around, he was twelfth man. However, he duly made his Test debut for Australia in December 1999 against the touring Indians, becoming Australia's 383rd Test cricketer.

Bowling first change, Lee took a wicket in his first over in Test cricket when he bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh with his fourth delivery. He also captured Rahul Dravid in his first spell before returning to take three wickets in six balls to finish the innings with figures of 5/47 from 17 overs.^[24] Lee took thirteen wickets in his opening two Tests at the low average of 14.15.

Lee won the inaugural Donald Bradman Young Player of the Year Award at the Allan Border Medal award ceremony in 2000 soon after his debut.

Lee took 42 wickets in his opening three series, the most by any Australian bowler in the seven matches he played.^[25] He was selected for the Test series against the West Indies in late 2000. During the first Test he scored his first half-century in test cricket and in the next Test, took seven wickets including a five wicket haul in the second innings.^[26] However, he suffered a stress fracture of the lower back which kept him out of the next three Tests. He returned against Zimbabwe but soon suffered another setback a month later when he broke his right elbow and was sidelined until May 2001.^{[citation needed]}

Return from injury[link]

Lee returned to the international team for the 2001 Ashes series after recovering from an elbow injury. His comeback saw less success than his debut, managing only nine wickets in five Tests at 55.11. However, Lee was back as Australia's leading wicket-taker in the first and third Test against New Zealand later that year, in a series which he captured 5 wickets in the second innings and made a contribution of 61 with the bat in the first Test match. The series ended in a 0–0 draw. He finished the series with 14 wickets at 25.14. The two home and away series against South Africa were not as productive, yielding 19 wickets in six Tests at 38.42.

Lee only took five wickets in a match on three occasions between the New Zealand series and the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Lee came under pressure for his position after taking only five wickets at 46.50 in the three-Test series against Pakistan in 2002. Andy Bichel, who was filling for the injured Jason Gillespie, took eight wickets at 13.25. With the other frontline bowlers all taking wickets at less than 13,^[27] Lee was dropped when Gillespie returned for the first two Tests during the 2002–03 Ashes series. He returned for the Perth Test, after claiming a five wicket haul in a Pura Cup match against Queensland for New South Wales. He took thirteen wickets at 41.23 in three matches, compared to Bichel's ten at 35.1.^[28] After the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Lee took 17 wickets at 28.88 in four Tests against the West Indies. It was the first series in two years where he averaged under 30, and only the second in that period where had averaged under 40.