Author: ali.hassan

JOHANNESBURG: National women’s cricket team on Wednesday, reached South Africa to compete in the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, scheduled to commence on February 10.

Following a disappointing tour of Australia, the national women’s team turned their attention towards the biggest women’s cricketing event of the year, which will take place from February 10 to 26.

Following their arrival, the world cup bound squad will enjoy a rest day on Thursday and will start the training on Friday.

In a 10-team tournament, Pakistan is placed in Group B, alongside India, England, Ireland and West Indies.

The Green Shirts will start their campaign against arch-rivals India on February 12 before taking on Ireland, West Indies and England respectively.

PAKISTAN’s ITINERARY:

February 12: Pakistan vs India
February 15: Pakistan vs Ireland
February 19: Pakistan vs West Indies
February 21: Pakistan vs England

Pakistan’s Squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shams, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan.

READ: Pakistan beat Palestine to win West Asia Baseball Cup 2023

KARACHI: Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi said he had not witnessed any grouping within the current Pakistan team during his brief tenure as the interim chief selector. 

Afridi, who served as the chair of the interim selection committee for the recently concluded New Zealand series, while rejecting any alleged grouping among the players of the national team, admitted the fact that the liking-and-disliking culture did exist.

“There was no grouping found in the Pakistan team,” he said in a private ceremony on Monday. “I admit that captain’s liking and disliking do exist ”

“It had happened in the past and remained so during my tenure as well” he maintained.

Meanwhile, Afridi also expressed his interest in coaching the player at the under-19 level, saying that is where one should work really hard.

“I had expressed my wish for a coaching role in the under-19,” he said.

“It is welcoming to host an exhibition match of the Pakistan Super League in Quetta’s Bugti Stadium. We have seen players from Balochistan emerging in the under-19 team” he added.

Furthermore, the star cricketer also extended his condolences to the victims of the recent tragedies in Bella and Kohat and condemned the bomb blast in Peshawar today.

READ: Sethi vows not to ‘erode PCB’s integrity’ with any favouritism

CANBERRA: Young Pakistan all-rounder Fatima Sana has finally got a chance to interact with her childhood inspiration and one of the greatest female cricketers Ellyse Perry. 

Sana, who earlier expressed her wish to meet Perry for which she requested the latter’s compatriot Jessica Jonassen as she felt shy approaching the star all-rounder directly, at last, met her favourite cricketer after the final T20I between Pakistan and Australia in Canberra on Sunday.

In a video posted by Australian Women’s Cricket Team, Sana can be seen inquiring about techniques to increase the bowling pace during her meeting with Perry.

Australian veteran admired Sana’s dedication towards the game and her bowling besides sharing useful bowing tips with the youngster.

The part two you’ve all been waiting for!

When Fatima met Pez 🥹 https://t.co/9DCvhPRwoG pic.twitter.com/5XQ1mXLPDU

— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) January 29, 2023

Earlier after the final ODI of the three-match series, Australia Women’s Team shared a video on Twitter in which Sana could be seen requesting Jonassen to introduce her to Perry.

“Can I talk to Perry?” asked Sana to Jonassen who was standing with a few other teammates.

In reply, Jonassen told Sana that she could approach Perry directly while being empathetic to her hesitation.

“Do you look up to Ellyse?” she asked Sana. ” Yes I was 11 when she was winning the World Cup” Sana replied.

Perry, widely regarded as one of the prolific sportswomen, played a vital role in all of Australia’s four World Cup victories between 2010 and 2014, though she will forever be remembered for the 2013 Women’s World Cup final against West Indies, when, barely able to walk, she limped in to bowl 10 overs and took 3 for 19.

It is pertinent to mention here that the last match of the T20I series was abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled. Australia had already claimed the series 2-0 after they won the first two matches of the three-game series.

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LAHORE: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam opened up after winning the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year Award 2022.

Pakistan skipper Babar, who enjoyed a remarkable year with the bat in all three formats, bagged the ICC ODI Men’s Cricketer of the Year Award before getting his hand on the most coveted award – Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2022.

The right-handed batter also featured in the ICC ODI and Test Team of the Year 2022 and became only the second cricketer to be named in all formats of ICC Team of the Year.

Following his dominance in this year’s ICC Awards, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released a video of the Pakistan captain expressing his delight for soaring high in the ICC Awards.

“It is an honour for me to win this award. I can’t express my happiness in words because I’m now part of an elusive list of legends who have won this award,” said Babar.

“My family, teammates and fans deserve credit for this award since they have always supported me,” he maintained.

Babar also credited his consistent performances throughout the year for winning prestigious awards while also thanking the International Cricket Council (ICC) for acknowledging his efforts.

“There is a lot of hard work behind this award since you have to perform consistently in both home and away conditions,” he said. “There is a lot of cricket happening these days and you have to quickly switch between formats. However, this helps in improving a player’s performance since he becomes mentally strong while also ensuring proper focus on fitness.”

“Winning this award gives me confidence and I will try to continue performing in the same manner in the future as well. I also want to thank the ICC for considering me as a suitable choice for this award,” he concluded.

READ: Australia Women hammer Pakistan in second T20I to seal series

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, formally wrote to the 27 leading departments in a bid to seek their interest in participating in the upcoming Domestic Cricket Season 2023-24, scheduled to commence in August.

According to the PCB, the cricketing governing body dispatched letters to the leading departments on behalf of the chair of the Management Committee Najam Sethi to confirm their participation in the domestic cricket season, while also ensuring maximum coverage and publicity through the traditional and new media.

“The letters were dispatched to the departments on behalf of Mr Najam Sethi, Chair of the PCB Management Committee, in accordance with the PCB Constitution 2014 and on the specific instructions of PCB’s Patron, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is keen to see the return of the department to play their integral role in the growth and development of Pakistan cricket,” said PCB in a statement.

“In the letters, the PCB has not only invited the departments to confirm their participation in the upcoming season at their earliest convenience that can help them prepare the season’s calendar, but have also encouraged to set up strong cricket sides, assuring them maximum coverage and publicity through the traditional and new media,” the statement added.

Some of the prominent departments, who have been sent letters for participation in the PCB Domestic Season 2023, include: Ghani Glass, Income Tax, K-Electric, Karachi Port Trust, Khan Research Laboratory, National Bank of Pakistan, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Omar Associates, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan International Airlines, Port Qasim Authority, Pakistan Television Corporation, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL).

It is pertinent to mention that the chairman of the PCB management committee Sethi formally approved the notifications for the restoration of Departments/Services Organisations, Regions and District/Zonal Cricket Associations under the PCB Constitution 2014, earlier this month.

Following the approval, the upcoming edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will feature 16 regional cricket associations, while eight departments will partake in the Patron’s Trophy during the 2023-24 season, beginning in August.

Furthermore, Grade-II, 50-over and 20-over events will also be organised for the regional and departmental sides during the 2023-24 domestic cricket season, whose details will be announced in due course.

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KARACHI: After a stellar comeback on the final day, holder Waheed Baloch defended his title at the 12th Rashid D. Habib Memorial National Professional Golf at Karachi Golf Club on Sunday.

Waheed, who was trailing by two-under-par to Muhammad Zubair at the conclusion of day 3, scored 11-under-par on the final day to lift the trophy for the second time in a row and claim PKR928,000 as his share out of the total prize money of PKR10 million.

Whereas, Karachi’s Muhammad Shahzad finished as runner-up with ten-under-par followed by Shabbir Iqbal of Islamabad in third with eight-under-par.

Chief Guest on the occasion, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi appreciated the efforts of Abbas D Habib, Managing Director of a private bank, in the promotion of golf in Pakistan. Admiral Niazi distributed prizes among the winners.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Ashas Amjad won a brand-new car for his hole-in-one in the junior professional category.

READ: ICC to announce winners of 2022 Awards next week

KARACHI: Home town’s Muhammad Zubair took the lead with an under-par score of 10 following the conclusion of the third day’s action in the ongoing 12th Rashid D. Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament 2023 at Karachi Golf Club (KGC) here on Saturday.

The third day of the ongoing Golf tournament witnessed the former leader Muhammad Shahzad and Zubair swapping places after the latter scripted an astounding comeback on Saturday to finish at the top of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, Shahzad, who took the lead on Friday, slipped to the joint-second spot with defending champion Waheed Baloch with an under-par score of eight; two behind leader Zubair.

Furthermore, Matloob Ahmed, who finished with an under-par score of five, managed to secure a joint-fourth place in the leaderboard alongside Amir Khan and Shabbir Iqbal.

However, despite concluding the third day’s action on fifth place, Ashat Amjad stole the show with his hole-in-one, which earned him a brand new car from a private bank.

It is pertinent to mention that the final round of the Rashid D Memorial Gold Tournament will take place on Sunday.

READ: Bowlers power India to unassailable lead over New Zealand

SYDNEY: Pakistan’s pacer Diana Baig has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 and the T20I series against Australia due to an injury to her right hand.

Earlier, Diana sustained the injury in the seventh over of Australia’s innings as she made a desperate attempt to wobble a catch off her own bowling.

Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield came down the track and drove hard, hitting it back to Diana at knee height and it burst through the latter’s hands.

Despite sustaining the injury, Diana completed her spell of 10 overs and picked up two wickets for 56 runs.

She was then taken to a local hospital here where X-Rays confirmed the pacer to have fractured her right hand’s finger.

Following this, Diana has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against Australia – scheduled from January 24 to 29 – and also the upcoming mega event in South Africa.

Consequently, right-handed batter Sadaf Shams, who was a part of the team’s travelling reserves for the Australia Tour and T20 World Cup, has replaced Diana in the squad.

It is pertinent to mention that Beth Mooney’s magnificent century powered Australia to thump Pakistan by 101 runs and complete clean sweep in the three-match ODI series on Saturday.

READ: Steve Smith joins elusive list with back-to-back T20 centuries 

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board will release the complete schedule of the hotly-anticipated Pakistan Super League season 8 today. 

Chairman of PCB Management Committee Najam Sethi will reveal the schedule later today in a press conference at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium

Tentatively, the six-team tournament will take place from February 13 to March 19 in Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi. Meanwhile, the PCB head had earlier announced Quetta to be one of the host cities for PSL 8 matches.

As per the sources, Quetta will host an exhibition match ahead of the tournament between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi.

The final schedule has reportedly been compiled with the final consultations between the teams and the board.

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KARACHI: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was pleased by his side’s historic ODI series triumph over Pakistan after Glenn Phillips’ scintillating knock powered them sailing through in the third and final ODI here on Friday.

Williamson talked to the media at the post-match press conference, commented on his team’s first ODI series victory in Pakistan and was pleased with the outcome.

“There are a number of unknowns when you arrive and you haven’t played in Pakistan before and so we tried to access that and tried to get some game plans together which varied throughout the series which I think, is just the characteristic of the international game when you play in different countries and it was very pleasing for us as a team to be able to do that,” said Williamson.

“Not just the conditions in general but I think from game to game they did change when we saw around you know a lot of different pep threats with the ball at different stages and tryna work out ways to score.

“There are a lot of positives but also a number of things to touch on and keep working on it as a side to keep moving forward.”

The New Zealand skipper also termed the conditions on offer in the ODIs very competitive with a nice balance between bat and ball.

“I think there have been very competitive pitches, been a nice balance between bat and ball. We’ve seen some that spun a lot and some that haven’t. But, you know as a side you just try to adjust to being effective with the bat and the ball,” Williamson stated.

“It was almost reflective of tournament cricket really when you play at multiple venues although we’ve only been here in Karachi we’ve seen a variety of conditions and I think the time of year has probably to do with that.

“So to come here and play well as a unit throughout the series and getting a series win is a very good effort by the team and another great opportunity to take a lot of learnings from it as well,” he maintained.

It is apropos to mention that Phillips’ brisk 66-run match-winning knock in the third and final ODI powered New Zealand to their first series triumph over Pakistan in their backyard.

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