Tag: England

ANTIGUA: Defending champions England have won the toss and elected to bowl first in a must-win ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 fixture against Oman here at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday.

England made one change to their Playing XI as Reece Topley came in for experienced Chris Jordan.

Notably, the defending champions are in a tough situation, pertaining to their qualification to the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 as they are fourth in Group B with just one point in two matches.

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The defending champions had their campaign opener against Scotland washed out before they succumbed to a 36-run defeat against arch-rivals Australia.

On the contrary, Oman lost all three matches they have played thus far and have already been out of contention to qualify for the Super 8s.

PLAYING XIs

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook,Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer. Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley

Oman: Pratik Athavale (wk), Kashyap Prajapati, Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kail, Ayaan Khan, Rafiullah, Shoaib Khan, Mehran Khan, Fayyaz Butt, Kaleemulah, Bilal Khan

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England head coach Matthew Mott has reacted to the comments made by Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood recently.

Hazlewood, after Australia’s nine-wicket victory over Namibia, hinted at the possibility of exploiting England’s difficulty in the tournament in the post-match press conference.

England are in a tough situation, pertaining to their qualification to the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 as they are fourth in Group B with just one point in two matches.

“We’ve had some real struggles against them [England] in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else’s I think,” stated Hazlewood.

However, the English coach stated that Australians have a mindset to win every game and expressed hope that Hazlewood was just ‘having fun.’

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“I am very much hoping it was an off-hand remark by a really good bloke who is having fun. Having grown up in Australia and the will to win every game, I am sure they will come to the fore,” Matthew Mott said.

“Knowing Josh, he has got a pretty dry sense of humour. I am hoping it was very much tongue in cheek.”

Notably, Australia will face Scotland in their last group-stage fixture which could decide England’s fate in the T20 World Cup 2024 even if they manage to beat Oman and Namibia in their remaining group matches.

Hazlewood’s comments hint at the possibility of Australia winning their match against Scotland with a narrow margin to knock England out of the tournament on net run-rate.

However, if they proceed with this tactic, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh may get banned for two matches ahead of the Super Eight stage, where each team will play three matches.

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Australia captain Mitchell Marsh could face a ban if his team is found guilty of manipulating any margin of victory over Scotland in an attempt to knock England out of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Former champions Australia blew away Namibia by nine wickets as they chased down the modest 72-run target in 5.4 overs to qualify for the Super 8s with one game to spare.

They will face Scotland in their last group-stage fixture which could decide England’s fate in the T20 World Cup 2024 even if they manage to beat Oman and Namibia in their remaining group matches.

Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood hinted at the possibility of exploiting England’s difficulty in the tournament in the post-match press conference.

“In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again and they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day,” stated Hazlewood.

“We’ve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else’s I think.

“It will be interesting to see, never really been in this position before as a team I don’t think.

“Whether we have discussions or not, or we just try and play again the way we played tonight, that will be up to people, not me.”

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Hazlewood’s comments hint at the possibility of Australia winning their match against Scotland with a narrow margin to knock England out of the tournament on net run-rate.

However, if they proceed with this tactic, their skipper may get banned for two matches ahead of the Super Eight stage, where each team will play three matches.

Mitchell Marsh could be charged under Article 2.11 of the ICC’s code of conduct, which is designed to prevent the manipulation of games for “inappropriate strategic or tactical reasons… such as when a team deliberately loses a pool match in an ICC Event in order to affect the standings of other teams in that ICC Event.”

The code of conduct also applies to “the inappropriate manipulation of a net run rate” and the captain would be held responsible, and charged with a Level Two offence.

The captain may face a minimum sanction of a 50% match fee fine, with a maximum of four demerit points and two suspension points, depending on the severity of the offence. Two suspension points would rule Marsh out of Australia’s first two Super Eight matches.

It is worth mentioning that reigning champions England are in a tough situation, pertaining to their qualification to the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup as they are fourth in Group B with just one point in two matches.

The defending champions had their campaign opener against Scotland washed out before they succumbed to a 36-run defeat against arch-rivals Australia.

READ: USA hit by first-ever ‘stop-clock’ penalty against India

Australia’s right-arm speedster Josh Hazlewood on Tuesday, stated that eliminating defending champions England from the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 would be “in our best interests as well as probably everyone else”.

Former champions Australia blew away Namibia by nine wickets as they chased down the modest 72-run target in 5.4 overs to qualify for the Super 8s with one game to spare.

Australia will face Scotland in their last group-stage fixture which could decide England’s fate in the T20 World Cup 2024 even if they manage to beat Oman and Namibia in their remaining group matches.

Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood, who returned brilliant figures of 2/18 in his side’s statement victory over Namibia, hinted at the possibility of exploiting England’s difficulty in the tournament in the post-match press conference.

“In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again and they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day,” stated Hazlewood.

“We’ve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else’s I think.

“It will be interesting to see, never really been in this position before as a team I don’t think.

“Whether we have discussions or not, or we just try and play again the way we played tonight, that will be up to people, not me.”

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Josh Hazlewood was then pressed to reveal what would Australia’s tactics be to knock England out of the tournament.

“Not too sure really. Whether you get close and just knock it around, drag it out.

“There are a few options there, but to take confidence from winning and winning well, I think that’s almost more important than potentially trying to knock someone else out.

“They [England] have still got a lot to do on their behalf as well. So, I think it will become clearer the closer we get to that sort of stuff.”

It is worth mentioning that reigning champions England are in a tough situation, pertaining to their qualification to the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup as they are fourth in Group B with just one point in two matches.

The defending champions had their campaign opener against Scotland washed out before they succumbed to a 36-run defeat against arch-rivals Australia.

READ: India avoid USA scare to reach T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8s

England have acquired the services of Manchester City’s psychologist David Young for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, starting from June 1.

Young works as head of psychology with Manchester City, who recently won their fourth consecutive Premier League title.

He previously worked with England’s cricket team from 2016 to 2020 and was instrumental in turning things around for the team that went on to win the ODI World Cup in 2019.

White-ball head coach of England Matthew Mott revealed that he was hired as a consultant for the mega-event to help the team in their T20 World Cup title defence.

“He’s previously been with the team and he’s already been a great ally in messages back to me, making sure my messages are clear,” Mott said.

“It’s always good to have someone who’s a little bit removed from the squad to make sure you’re landing your messages… He’s still doing other roles but we’ve got him for this series, and the start of the World Cup as well.”

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Young joined the team ahead of the ongoing T20I series against Pakistan and will travel with the team to the Caribbean for the early part of the World Cup.

England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler and fast bowler Mark Wood have previously credited Young for helping them during the 2019 World Cup.

However, the English side failed to defend the title in World Cup 2023, as they were knocked out of the competition in the group stage.

“In India, all of us were guilty of being a bit insular and trying to problem solve ourselves,” said Mott. “We’ve made a commitment to open up and be a bit more vulnerable as a group so that we’re helping each other.”

Young was brought back in order to avoid the same fate during their T20 World Cup defence.

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LEEDS: England women have won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan in the third T20I of the three-match series here at Headingley on Sunday.

PLAYING XIs

England: Maia Bouchier, Danielle Wyatt, Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight (capt), Amy Jones (wk), Danielle Gibson, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell

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Pakistan: Sidra Ameen, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Nida Dar (capt), Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Diana Baig, Waheeda Akhtar, Sadia Iqbal.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches 16, England 15, Pakistan 1

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LEEDS: Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten is set to join the team ahead of the T20I series against England here on May 19.

The four-match series will commence on May 22 at Headingley, followed by the second match at Edgbaston on May 25.

Kirsten will be joined by fielding coach Simon Helmot and Mental Performance Coach David Reid in the team management.

The former South African batter expressed his excitement about his new role with the Pakistan team.

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” I am excited to start a new journey with Pakistan. The new management and all the players are determined to deliver solid results,” said Gary Kirsten.

After the conclusion of the series, the Pakistan team will depart for the United States of America (USA) to participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Notably, the Pakistani cricket team is currently in Ireland, competing in a three-match T20I series, which is tied at 1-1. The final match will be played later today in Dublin.

Pakistan squad for Ireland and England T20Is

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan.

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LEICESTER: Pakistan women’s team participated in the training session on the third day at Uptonsteel County Cricket Ground here on Wednesday for the white-ball series against England.

The players will participate in the robust training session until 1 PM local time, before the first practice match.

Pakistan women’s team will play a warm-up match against England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Development XI on May 9, starting at 11 AM local time.

The team will then leave for Birmingham, where they will play the first match of the three-match T20I series against England on May 11.

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The second T20 match of the series will be played on May 17, while the third and final match will be played on May 19, followed by the ODI series, starting from May 23.

Notably, the ODIs in the series are part of ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 and this will be Pakistan’s eighth and final series in the current event cycle.

Pakistan are currently sitting in fifth position with 16 points in the 10-team ICC Women Championship 2022-25 standings.

The top five teams from this championship, along with hosts India, will directly qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

Pakistan women squad for England tour

Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Player support personnel: Nahida Khan (manager), Mauhtashim Rasheed (interim head coach), Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), Hanif Malik (fielding coach), Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager), Rabia Siddiq (physiotherapist), Zubair Ahmed (analyst) and Hina Munawar (chief security officer)

Tour Schedule

9 May – T20 warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Uptonsteel County Ground (11.00 am local time)

11 May – 1st T20I, Birmingham (2.30 pm local time)

17 May – 2nd T20I, Northampton (6.30 pm local time)

19 May – 3rd T20I, Leeds (1.00 pm local time)

21 May – One-Day warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Northampton (11.00 am local time)

23 May – 1st ODI, Derby (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

26 May – 2nd ODI, Taunton (11.00 am local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

29 May – 3rd ODI, Chelmsford (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

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LAHORE: All-rounder Salman Ali Agha earned his maiden call-up, while fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali have returned to the Pakistan squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England.

The national selection committee members Abdul Razzaq, Bilal Afzal, Mohammad Yousuf and Wahab Riaz announced the 18-member Pakistan squad during a press conference here on Thursday.

Rauf recovered from his shoulder injury, which he suffered during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine against Karachi Kings in February.

He missed most part of the PSL 9 and the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand due to the aforementioned injury.

Along with Rauf, wicketkeeper Azam Khan was also sidelined for the New Zealand T20Is due to a calf injury, while middle-order batter Muhammad Irfan Khan and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan were rested from the two T20Is in Lahore due to niggles.

The four cricketers underwent fitness assessments at the National Cricket Academy on Tuesday afternoon, showing significant improvement.

This progress has provided confidence and encouragement to the PCB Medical Panel and the team management regarding their potential availability during the seven T20Is.

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Meanwhile, Agha was called up on the back of his impressive performance in the PSL 9, where he scored 310 runs for Islamabad United at a strike rate of 140.27.

Hasan Ali, who last played a T20I match against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2022, was called back owing to his extensive experience, having featured in 50 T20Is and excelling in bilateral series and ICC Events. He claimed 14 wickets in 10 games during PSL 9.

Meanwhile, leg spinner Usama Mir, who was the highest wicket-taker in the PSL 9, and pace bowler Zaman Khan were dropped from the squads for the Ireland and England series.

The team is scheduled to depart for Dublin on 7 May following a three-day training camp in Lahore from 4-6 May.

The national team will play a three-match T20I series against Ireland from 10 May, followed by a four-match series against England.

Pakistan will announce the squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 after the first T20I against England, scheduled on 22 May.

Pakistan Squad for Ireland & England Tour

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayyub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan

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KARACHI: The newly-appointed seven-member women’s national selection committee on Wednesday announced a 17-player squad for Pakistan women’s upcoming tour of England.

Nida Dar will continue to lead the side, which will feature in three T20Is from 11-17 May and three ODIs from 23-29 May.

The ODIs are part of ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 and this will be Pakistan’s eighth and final series in the current event cycle.

Pakistan are currently sitting in fifth position with 16 points in the 10-team ICC Women Championship 2022-25 standings.

The top five teams from this championship, along with hosts India, will directly qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

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In addition to the six white-ball international matches, the tourists will also play two warm-up games (T20 and One-Day) against ECB Development XI on 9 and 21 May during their first England tour since 2016.

Pakistan women squad for England tour

Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Player support personnel: Nahida Khan (manager), Mauhtashim Rasheed (interim head coach), Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), Hanif Malik (fielding coach), Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager), Rabia Siddiq (physiotherapist), Zubair Ahmed (analyst) and Hina Munawar (chief security officer)

Tour Schedule

9 May – T20 warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Uptonsteel County Ground (11.00 am local time)

11 May – 1st T20I, Birmingham (2.30 pm local time)

17 May – 2nd T20I, Northampton (6.30 pm local time)

19 May – 3rd T20I, Leeds (1.00 pm local time)

21 May – One-Day warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Northampton (11.00 am local time)

23 May – 1st ODI, Derby (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

26 May – 2nd ODI, Taunton (11.00 am local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

29 May – 3rd ODI, Chelmsford (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

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