Author: Zahid Noor

DUBAI: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who played a match-defining 42-run knock in the high-octane Asia Cup Super Fours clash on Sunday, revealed that he was promoted in the batting order to maintain left-hand right-hand combination.

Nawaz spoke to the presser here after his match-winning knock and unveiled the strategy behind his promotion in the batting order.

“The captain and the management decided that I should be sent to maintain a left-right combination,” said Nawaz.

“I tried to give the best performance for my team which was seen today. There was no plan to change my number earlier,” he added.

The all-around player then asserted that playing under pressure had been very beneficial to him and pledged to get better as the burden of responsibility increased on him.

“I benefited a lot from playing under pressure. As an all-rounder, the onus has also increased on me to improve myself,” Nawaz stated.

The left-handed batter then revealed his game plan with Mohammad Rizwan as the duo decided to take the game till the end and lay a solid foundation for Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali.

“I had discussed with Rizwan about taking the match to the end so that Asif and Khushdil can play better,” shared Nawaz.

“The first match against India was also very close, we played under pressure which was quite good for us. Our focus was solely on winning and we will continue to do so. In this match, we were thinking that we might need to tackle short pitch deliveries and we were prepared for that,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan avenged their Group A defeat by edge pasting arch-rivals India by five wickets in the Asia Cup Super Fours on Sunday. Nawaz played a match-winning knock for the Green Shirts as he scored a blistering 42 off a mere 20 deliveries after returning with match-winning bowling figures of 1/25.

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KARACHI: Somerset County Cricket Club announced to initiate the supporting efforts to raise awareness and funds for those affected by devastating flooding in Pakistan recently.

The club will utilize their County Championship fixture against Gloucestershire, scheduled today (September 5) to launch a special online auction, featuring donations of items from the Somerset playing squad, as well as raising awareness through the SCCC live stream and in the ground.

According to the details, the items put on auction – that will run until Sunday – are England’s jersey signed by the entire team from their third Test against South Africa, a signed match-worn shirt of Tom Abell from Somerset vs Gloucestershire, and a signed England 2022 Test shirt each of Jack Leach and Craig Overton.

The county club will also put on the signed match-worn shirt of Pakistan left-handed batter Imam-ul-Haq for auction, who is representing Somerset in the ongoing County Championship 2022.

NEWS: SCCC have launched a special online auction to support those affected by recent floods in Pakistan 🇵🇰

Lots include…

🏏 England Shirt signed by entire team from the 3rd Test

🏏 Canvas print signed by Lord Botham

🏏 Signed shirts from SCCC players

⤵️⤵️#WeAreSomerset

— Somerset Cricket 🏆 (@SomersetCCC) September 4, 2022

Furthermore, a canvas print signed by Lord Ian Botham and a signed bat from the 1995 West Indies touring side, will also be put on the auction to raise funds for the flood victims in Pakistan.

Reportedly, tens of millions of people are affected by relentless monsoon rains and one of the worst-hit floods in the country’s history that have submerged a third of the country and claimed more than 1,100 lives.

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LONDON: England’s aggressive batter Jonathan Bairstow has been ruled out of the third Test of the ongoing home series against South Africa and the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 due to a limb injury.

According to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the right-handed batter sustained a lower limb injury while playing golf in Leeds and therefore, has been ruled out of the rest of the summer season.

“England and Yorkshire batter Jonathan Bairstow has been ruled out of the rest of the summer and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after sustaining a lower limb injury in a freak accident whilst playing golf on Friday in Leeds,” the statement read.

“He will see a specialist next week to ascertain the full extent of the injury.”

Following this, the Nottinghamshire batter Ben Duckett has been added to England’s squad for their third Test against South Africa, scheduled to commence on September 8.

Whereas, a further announcement will be made regarding Bairstow’s replacement in England’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad.

READ: ‘None of our bowlers can make up for Shaheen’s absence’ claims Rizwan 

DUBAI: Pakistan Men’s Cricket reached here from Amsterdam to participate in the upcoming Asia Cup, scheduled to commence on August 27.

Pakistan contingent, after concluding the ODI series against the Netherlands, has now reached the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the forthcoming Asia Cup.

Upon their arrival here, the team will enjoy a rest day in the hotel before starting their training for the multi-national event tomorrow.

National players including Iftikhar Ahmed, Usman Qadir, Haider Ali, and Asif Ali will reach here in the afternoon from Lahore. Whereas, right-arm young pacer Mohammad Hasnain will join the squad after reaching here from the United Kingdom (UK).

It is pertinent to mention here Hasnain was not part of the initial squad, announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the Asia Cup, and got the opportunity to make his way back into the team after a gruelling knee injury to Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The Green Shirts will start their Asia Cup 2022 campaign on August 28 as they take on their arch-rivals India in an anticipated clash.

READ: Shaheen Afridi appeals to fans to pray for his speedy recovery, comeback

AMSTERDAM: Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi requested his fans to pray for his speedy recovery and comeback to the national team.

Shaheen, on his way to Dubai along with the national squad, talked to this reporter here and appealed to the nation to pray for the speedy recovery of the left-arm pacer.

“I request the fans to pray for my quick recovery. I’ll be back soon Inshallah,” he stated.

On his departure to Dubai, the left-arm pacer also interacted with the fans and also posed for selfies with them.

Earlier, PCB Medical Advisory Committee and independent specialists suggested the star pacer to rest for four to six weeks in light of the latest scans and reports.

Following this, the left-arm pacer was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 and the home T20I series against England and is likely to make his comeback in the home series against New Zealand.

It is pertinent to mention here that the 22-year-old pacer sustained the injury amid Pakistan’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

READ: ‘Opportunity for new players to show talent’ Babar on Shaheen’s absence 

ROTTERDAM: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam urged the new players in the team to showcase their talent and deliver performances in the absence of the team’s main strike Shaheen Shah Afridi from Asia Cup 2022 and the upcoming T20I home series against England. 

“We will definitely miss Shaheen for his outstanding performances and contributions to the team but it’s an opportunity for newcomers to show their skills and talent,”  said Babar.

Shaheen Afridi has been ruled out of the Pakistan squad for the Asia Cup as he has been recovering from a knee ligament injury. Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain will replace the left-arm pacer for the tournament.

While commenting on the team’s performance after they whitewashed the Netherlands in the recently concluded three-match ODI series, the skipper stated that as a captain his plan was to bat in difficult conditions and then the bowlers defend the target.

“The wicket was difficult early on and bowlers were getting help due to moisture and seaming conditions but our batters did well,” he said.

Babar lauded the young pacer Naseem Shah for his sensational bowling as he grabbed five wickets and played an instrumental role in the team’s victory in the last match.

“I’m giving the hundred per cent credit to the fast bowlers, spinners and fielders for the win, especially the way Naseem Shah bowled with the new ball and the way he finished in the death overs, it was outstanding,” he added.

Furthermore, the skipper hailed the Netherlands team and their cricket board and expressed gratitude to the fans for coming out in numbers from different countries and showing their support for the team.

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AMSTERDAM: Pakistan cricket team is set to begin its Asia Cup 2022 journey today as the national team reached the Amsterdam airport to take a flight to Dubai after concluding the three-match ODI series against the Netherlands in Rotterdam.

According to details, the Pakistani contingent will depart for the United Arab Emirates under the leadership of team manager Mansoor Rana.

Meanwhile, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Usman Qadir will leave for Dubai from Pakistan in the wee hours of Tuesday. They will replace Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood, who were part of the 16-member ODI squad against the Netherlands.

Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain will join the squad from the United Kingdom where he is representing Oval Invincible in The Hundred tournament, as a replacement for the injured Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Pakistan will face the arch-rivals India on August 28 in their first encounter of the Asia Cup 2022, while their second group fixture will be against a qualifier (UAE, Kuwait, Singapore or Hong Kong) in Sharjah on September 2. The Super Four matches will be played from September 3 to 9.

Pakistan squad for ACC T20 Asia Cup:

Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.

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ROTTERDAM: Pakistan team head coach Saqlain Mushtaq lauded the young fast bowler Naseem Shah for his phenomenal performance in the recently concluded ODI series against the Netherlands while he expressed his concern over the absence of the team’s main strike Shaheen Shah Afridi from Asia Cup 2022 after he was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

“Shaheen’s absence from Asia Cup will hurt the team,” he said in an interview with this reporter.

” Shaheen is currently the top performer in international cricket. He has proven himself all over the world,” he added.

When asked about the left-arm pacer’s possible replacement in the team for the upcoming tournament, Saqlain replied that it would be tough to find an alternate for a key player of your team.

While commenting on the national team’s average performance against a lower-ranked side, the head coach stated that the team needed at least ten days to adjust itself to the foreign conditions.

“Whenever a team visits a country, it takes at least ten days to get familiar with the new conditions,” he said.

Furthermore, Saqlain heaped praises on the 19-year-old Naseem, who made his ODI debut during the tour and remained inspirational with the ball as he bagged a five-wicket haul in the last match.

“Naseem Shah is a match winner and he has proved this. He has bowled with so much control during the series” he said.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan whitewashed the Netherlands in the three-match ODI series and gained 30 crucial points in ICC Cricket World Cup Super League following the victory.

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ROTTERDAM: Pakistan leg-spin all-rounder Shadab Khan opined regarding ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi’s exclusion from the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 and acknowledged that the team will miss his services.

Shadab, while interacting with media here, expressed his displeasure on Shaheen’s injury update which resulted in him crashing out on the Asian event and the final ODI against the Netherlands, while clarifying that the national selectors will decide the latter’s replacement.

“Shaheen Shah Afridi has been ruled out of the team for six weeks. He will not be available for selection for the Asia Cup,” Shadab confirmed.

“We will miss him tomorrow. He is our best bowler, so his unavailability will be felt by the entire team. Now, the selectors will decide who’s going to replace him,” he maintained.

The deputy captain of the Pakistan ODI side then went on to share the team’s approach for the third ODI against the Netherlands as the touring side eye to complete a clean sweep against the hosts.

“We will play tomorrow’s match aggressively as per our team’s approach,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan lead the ongoing three-match ODI series against the Netherlands 2-0.

The third ODI will take place tomorrow at 2 PM (PST). The ongoing series is being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and simultaneously being streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.

READ: Major blow for Pakistan as Shaheen Afridi ruled out of Asia Cup 2022

ROTTERDAM: The national ODI squad held a practice session ahead of their final encounter with the Netherlands in the ongoing three-match series.

The national players carried out robust practice sessions on Saturday ahead of the third ODI against the Netherlands, scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also shared pictures of the ODI squad partaking in an enduring practice session. The players engaged in vigorous fielding drills alongside net sessions for bowling and batting practice.

Preparations 🔛 track for the final ODI tomorrow 🏏#NEDvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/KQ7UpZ2aO5

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 20, 2022

Pakistan lead the three-match series 2-0 and will be looking to clean sweep the victory to earn vital points in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

Following their victory in the second ODI, the Green Shirts jumped two places to capture the third position in the standings, while a victory in the third match can bolster the touring side to claim the second position.

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