Sethi threatens to quit if courts continue to interfere

KARACHI: Najam Sethi, caretaker chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said on Tuesday he would quit if the courts continued to interfere with his job.

Sethi has been stopped by the Islamabad High Court from carrying out his full duties and ordered to hold new board elections.

“I can't pick the chief selector nor any of the selectors or take any decisions for Pakistan cricket,” he said.

“No one is listening to us and we have a series against South Africa ahead of us,” he added in reference to next month's matches in the United Arab Emirates.

“We have challenged the court decision and it will be heard on the 23rd of this month. If for some reason the hearing is not held I will then go to the Prime Minister.

“I will give him my resignation because I can't afford to carry on like this,” said Sethi. In July, the court prevented Sethi from exercising his full duties after he was appointed acting chairman by the government.

The court had earlier declared as null and void the election of Zaka Ashraf as PCB chairman in May.

McCullum powers Otago to win

MOHALI: Brendan McCullum essayed a captain’s innings to help Otago Volts beat Faisalabad Wolvees by eight wickets in the first qualifying games of the Champions League T20, 2013.

It was a captains’ day as Misbah-ul-Haq’s knock of 46 had helped Faisalabad recover from a poor position and took them to 139 for eight in their 20 overs. Otago chased the target with 13 balls to spare.

Chasing 140, Otago got off to a tough start when Neil Broom inside-edged one from Samiullah Khan onto his pads and it carried to first-slip. Brendon McCullum then took control of things with Hamish Rutherford. The latter looked in great touch as he belted two sixes effortlessly and was in control of proceedings.

Watching McCullum and Rutherford in command, Misbah summoned his main weapon, Saeed Ajmal. The off-spinner started with a wide, but had Rutherford immediately as the batsman tried to loft him over the leg-side. The fielder in the deep, Asif Ali, took a good catch diving forward.

Faisalabad then pulled things back and there were a few quiet overs that put pressure on the Otago batsmen. However, McCullum broke the shackles when Ehsan Adil came to bowl the 12th over. Derek de Boorder hit a six and a four and get his innings going as Otago milked 17. In the next over, McCullum was dropped at long-off as Asad Ali misjudged it and fumbled. McCullum got to his 50 at a run a ball and it was a responsible innings on the day.

Earlier Misbah-ul-Haq's 46 off 34 deliveries powered Wolves to 139 which was respectable considering the sedate start by the Pakistan franchise. McCullum's blitz was too hot to handle for Wolves who now need to win their remaining games in order to qualify for the next stage of the competition.