Tag: Pakistan vs England

KARACHI: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq walked off from the national men’s team’s ongoing training session ahead of the Karachi Test of the historic home series against England.

According to the details, Imam, who had been suffering from a hamstring injury, walked off from the team’s training session.

The left-handed batter was seen limping back to the dressing room after presumably feeling discomfort in his right hamstring.

Notably, Imam was taken to a local hospital in Rawalpindi for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans amid the second Test and did not bat at his usual batting position.

The left-handed opener, however, came out to bat at number five and scored an important half-century in the run chase, which went in vain as England sealed a dramatic victory to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

It is pertinent to mention that the final Test of the historic series between Pakistan and England will commence on December 17 here.

The Karachi Test is likely to be Pakistan veteran batter Azhar Ali’s last international match as the 37-year-old announced his retirement from red-ball cricket in a press conference here today.

READ: Azhar Ali announces retirement from Test cricket 

KARACHI: Pakistan top-order batter and former Test captain Azhar Ali has announced his retirement from red-ball cricket.

Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s one of the most successful batters, will hang his boots following the third Test against England, which begins on Saturday.

“It has been a great honour and privilege for me to represent my country at the highest level. Deciding on when to call it a day is always tough, but, after contemplating deeply, I realised that this is the right time for me to retire from Test cricket,” the 37-year-old batter said while addressing a news conference at National Bank Cricket Arena.

“There are many people who I am grateful to in this strenuous, yet beautiful journey. I want to make a special mention of my family without whose sacrifices; I would not have been where I am today. My parents, wife, siblings, and children have been my strength throughout.

“I have been blessed to share dressing room with some of the most outstanding cricketers with whom I share a strong bond. I feel much richer by calling these people my friends. I am also blessed to have played under some wonderful coaches to whom I will always remain grateful.

“I retire from international cricket as a fulfilled cricketer who ticked most of the goals he had set for himself. Not many cricketers go on to lead their countries, and that I was able to captain Pakistan is a matter of great pride for me. From being a kid who started as a leg-spinner to becoming a mainstay in the Test batting line-up, I had the loveliest moments of my life that I will cherish forever,” he added.

In a statement, PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja: “Azhar Ali has been one of the most committed and loyal servants of Pakistan cricket. His grit and determination have been an inspiration for many young cricketers and he is a role model for up and coming cricketers.

“I hope to see Azhar continuing to play a role in the development of Pakistan cricket and sharing his vast knowledge and experience with budding cricketers,” PCB chief said.

A LOOK AT HIS TEST CAREER

Azhar made his Test debut at the age of 25 in England against Australia at Lord’s cricket stadium and scored his maiden Test half-century in only his second match. He scored 34 half-centuries and went past the 100-run mark on 19 instances.

With 7,097 runs in 96 matches at an average of 42.49, Azhar is Pakistan’s fifth leading Test run-getter behind Younis Khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829) and Mohammad Yousuf (7,530).

Azhar, 37, is the only Pakistan batter to score a triple-century in a pink-ball Test – a feat that he achieved against the West Indies in Dubai in 2016. That unbeaten 302 remains his highest score in Test cricket.

Over the course of his 12-year career, Azhar also made 2 double-centuries – 226 against Bangladesh in Dhaka (May 2015) and 205 not out against Australia in Melbourne (December 2016) – and has, at least, one century in Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, the West Indies and Zimbabwe.

It is pertinent to mention here that the top order batter retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in 2018 – a year after helping Pakistan win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

READ: Here are complete squads of teams for PSL 8 

KARACHI: Pakistan held a full-strength training session on Thursday at the National Bank Cricket Arena before the final Test of the three-game series against England, starting on Saturday.

All the players of Pakistan’s Test squad participated in the first training session held in Karachi while only a few England players were present on the field today along with their coaches.

On Thursday, England’s players and coaches observed the pitch and evaluated the conditions of the venue for a long part before they return to the ground for the full-strength training session tomorrow.

On the other hand, Pakistan captain Babar Azam along with head coach Saqlain Mushtaq and batting Mohammad Yousuf also assessed the wicket keenly in order to plan accordingly for the last game.

Pakistan players engaged in rigorous batting, fielding and bowling drills throughout the day as they gear up for the final encounter and deny England a chance to clean sweep the series.

Preparations ahead of the third Test ✅

🇵🇰 and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 teams train at National Bank Cricket Arena, Karachi 🏏#PAKvENG | #UKSePK pic.twitter.com/GU95sK3l7I

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 15, 2022

It is pertinent to mention here that England have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after they beat Pakistan in Rawalpindi and Multan Tests.

READ: Williamson steps down, Southee to lead Kiwis Test side on tour of Pakistan

DUBAI: Pakistan middle-order batter Saud Shakeel made a significant gain in his batting rankings as the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, released the latest Test rankings.

The left-handed batter, who made his Test debut in Pakistan’s first Test against England in Rawalpindi, announced himself in the longest format in style as he smashed three half-centuries in just four innings.

Saud, has thus far, accumulated 270 runs in four innings at a hefty average of 67.50 and is currently Pakistan’s top-scorer in the historic series.

Following his remarkable start, the left-handed batter jumped 32 places to secure his career-best 61st place with 488 ranking points.

Three successive half-centuries in his first two matches 👏

🗣️ @saudshak sheds light on his impressive start to Test cricket#PAKvENG | #UKSePK pic.twitter.com/get0VkHKH6

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 12, 2022

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who smashed his eighth overall Test century in the Rawalpindi Test, managed to hang on to his third spot, while wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, who is going through a rough patch, slipped four spots and dropped down to the 21st place.

Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, on the other hand, who missed the historic home Test series against England due to injury, managed to retain his fifth spot in the Test bowling rankings and is currently the only Pakistan bowler in the Top 10.

Australia’s star batter Marnus Labuschagne continued to reign supreme in the Test batting rankings and added another feather to his cape as he drew level with India’s top batter Virat Kohli’s Test rating record on the all-time list.

Marnus Labuschagne strong on top 👏
Virat Kohli climbs ⬆
Travis Head jumps into top 10 💪

Lots of movement in the @MRFWorldwide Test and ODI Men's Player Rankings this week 📈📉

— ICC (@ICC) December 14, 2022

 

“In-form Australia star and newly-crowned No.1 Test batter in the world Marnus Labuschagne has added to his bulging resume by drawing level with India great Virat Kohli on the all-time list and bringing up a new career-high rating on the latest ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings,” stated ICC in a press release.

“Labuschagne only claimed the top ranking from England’s Joe Root earlier this month, but the 28-year-old has moved further ahead at the top of the list for Test batters following an outstanding series against the West Indies.

“The right-hander amassed a whopping 502 runs for the two-match series, with his magnificent knock of 163 during the first innings of the second Test in Adelaide helping Labuschagne join Kohli on a career-high rating of 937 points.”

England Test players also enjoyed notable surges in the Test rankings following their series win over Pakistan with Harry Brook climbing 15 places on the Test batting rankings to 55th spot, courtesy of his two centuries against Pakistan in each of the first two Tests.

Whereas, season pacer James Anderson and his fellow youngster Ollie Robbinson got the rewards of their impressive outing against Pakistan as the former soared a place to claim the second spot while the latter jumped three spots to bag his career-best sixth spot.

READ: Fakhar headlines list of players in platinum category for PSL 8 Draft 

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez advised to give wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan ‘a break’ and include Sarfaraz Ahmed in the Playing XI for the upcoming Karachi Test.

Hafeez, in an interview with a local channel, commented on the debate of replacing Rizwan with Sarfaraz and threw his weight behind former Test captain Sarfaraz, emphasizing the fact that the former needs a break.

“Sarfaraz has been with the team for the last three years but only as a traveller and could not play a match and at several points, he can be given a chance to play,” said Hafeez.

“And I still think that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s think tank and even Babar should think that if Rizwan could not deliver well in this format then they should give him a break and Sarfaraz or even any other option they have, should be utilized in a best possible way,” he added.

Notably, besides Hafeez, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik also advised including Sarfaraz and Shan Masood in the upcoming Karachi Test; claiming Sarfaraz will bring much experience & Shan will help this team to have more stability.

“In my opinion, Pakistan should include Sarfaraz Ahmed & Shan Masood in playing 11. Sarfaraz will bring much experience & Shan will help this team to have more stability. I hope our team will perform well in Karachi insha’Allah.” he tweeted.

Malik’s suggestion for changes in the team came at a time when Pakistan faced two consecutive defeats and lost the home series 2-0 against England.

England sealed a dramatic win earlier today as they beat Pakistan by 26 runs in Multan Test on Day 4.

It is pertinent to mention that Sarfaraz was captain of the side when he played his last Test in January 2019 and has since been unable to find a spot in the Playing XI.

READ: Yan Bingtao joins list of suspended Chinese snooker stars amid fixing probe 

LAHORE: Young right-arm pacer Naseem Shah has been ruled out of the Karachi Test of the ongoing historic series between Pakistan and England due to a shoulder injury, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed.

According to the PCB, a niggle in his right shoulder resulted in him missing the last match of the historic home series against England.

Notably, discomfort in his shoulder also barred Naseem from partaking in the recently concluded Multan Test.

The PCB also shared that the right-arm pacer will now get rehabilitation at the National High Performance Centre (NHPC), while the team management had not requested his replacement as of yet.

“The fast bowler will travel to Lahore where he will undergo further assessment at the National High Performance Centre before beginning rehabilitation,” PCB stated.

“The team management has not requested for his replacement at this stage,” PCB added.

It is pertinent to mention that the squads of Pakistan and England will land in Karachi tomorrow afternoon to lock horns in the last Test of the series, scheduled to take place from December 17 to 21.

READ: Pakistan U19 captain Aroob Shah gets four-year scholarship

RAWALPINDI: The pitch used in the Rawalpindi Test – the first of the three-match series between Pakistan and England – has been rated below average by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday. 

The pitch which yielded around 1768 runs throughout the course of five days, has earned its second demerit point within a year for providing little to no assistance to the bowlers.

According to the ICC, match referee Andy Pycroft released his findings on Tuesday and the venue received its second consecutive rating of ‘below average’ since the same rating was given to the pitch after the first Test between Pakistan and Australia in March, earlier this year.

“It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match.” Pycroft said.

“Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be “below average” as per the ICC guidelines.” he added.

Pycroft’s report has also been forwarded to the Pakistan Cricket Board

After receiving consecutive demerit points under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, the venue is at serious risk of getting suspended from hosting any international cricket if more demerit points are lost.

According to ICC guidelines, when a venue accumulates five demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months, while a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months when it reaches the threshold of 10 demerit points.

It is pertinent to mention here that many batting records were tumbled on the flat Rawalpindi surface during the first Test, including the highest total scored and four centurions on the opening day of a Test match. England smashed 506/4 with help of astounding hundreds from Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Ollie Pope on the first day.

England sealed a sensational 74-run win against Pakistan in Rawalpindi Test following a tense final session on the final day.

DUBAI: The disappointing outcome of the Multan Test which cost Pakistan a 2-0 series loss against England, also took a heavy toll on Pakistan’s aspirations to play the 2021-2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Prior to the series, Pakistan had a decent chance of earning one of the top two slots in the WTC standings, but back-to-back defeats in the first two games slipped Pakistan to no.6 on the table.

With a percentage of 42.42 after the recent defeats, Pakistan’s Test Championship run is virtually over. In addition to winning the final Test against Pakistan, they must also defeat New Zealand when they visit Pakistan next month and still hope that other outcomes in the championship go their way.

Australia are currently sitting at the top of the WTC table with 75 PCT and it will be nearly impossible to displace them from the top position. Meanwhile, South Africa also seem firm on no. 2 with 60 PCT but has a crucial away series in Australia which will decide their fate.

England, on the other hand, with very little to no chances to play the Test Championship final has jumped ahead of Pakistan in the standings with Sri Lanka and India on third and fourth, respectively.

New Zealand are the reigning World Test Champions after they beat India in the WTC final in Southhampton in 2021.

READ: PAK v ENG: PCB puts tickets on sale for final Test in Karachi

KARACHI:  The tickets for the final Test between Pakistan and England, scheduled from December 17 to 21 at National Bank Cricket Arena Karachi, will be available for purchase from Tuesday.  

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced it had kept the ticket prices at nominal rates, starting from Rs150, in order to ensure that the action would be accessible for all cricket fans.

According to the details, the ticketing price for the General enclosure – Nasim-ul-Ghani, Iqbal Qasim, Muhammad Brothers, Intikhab Alam and Wasim Bari- has been set ticket at PKR150, and a  First-Class enclosure – Asif Iqbal, Waqar Hassan and Majid Khan – ticket is for PKR250.

Meanwhile, a Premium enclosure – Imran khan, Quaid, Wasim Akram and Zaheer Abbas – is for PKR300 and a VIP enclosure – Hanif Muhammad, Javed Miandad and Fazal Mehmood – is for PKR500.

The physical tickets can be purchased from Asghar Ali Shah Stadium in Nazimabad, RJ Mall (Pakistan Physical disability cricket association) and Sector-35-F, Korangi n0.4.

Furthermore, van booths at Do Talwar Clifton and Numaish Cowrange will also be set up by the PCB, through BookMe, to further facilitate the fans in obtaining the tickets.

It is pertinent to mention here that the visiting side has an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after they sealed a dramatic win by 26 runs in the second Test in Multan earlier today and also triumphed over Pakistan in a tense finish in Rawalpindi in the first game.

READ: ‘Pakistan should include Sarfaraz, Shan in Playing XI’ suggests Malik

LAHORE: Pakistan former captain Shoaib Malik has put his weight behind wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and opener Shan Masood to be included in the Playing XI for the final Test of the historic three-match series between Pakistan and England. 

Taking to Twitter on Monday, Shoaib suggested two changes in Pakistan’s batting lineup for the third Test, scheduled to take place in Karachi from December 17 to 21.

“In my opinion, Pakistan should include Sarfaraz Ahmed & Shan Masood in playing 11. Sarfaraz will bring much experience & Shan will help this team to have more stability. I hope our team will perform well in Karachi insha’Allah.” he tweeted.

– In my opinion, Pakistan should include @SarfarazA_54 & @shani_official in playing 11. Sarfaraz will bring much experience & Shan will help this team to have more stability. I hope our team will perform well in Karachi inshaAllah. #PakistanZindabad

— Shoaib Malik 🇵🇰 (@realshoaibmalik) December 12, 2022

Malik’s suggestion for changes in the team came at a time when Pakistan faced two consecutive defeats and lost the home series 2-0 against England.

England sealed a dramatic win earlier today as they beat Pakistan by 26 runs in Multan Test on day 4.

Shan, who batted at No 3 for Pakistan in the recently concluded T20 World Cup was Pakistan’s automatic choice to open in the red-ball format before he was sidelined since January 2021, when he played his last Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

Sarfaraz, on the other hand, was captain of the side when he played his last Test in January 2019 and has since been unable to find a spot in the Playing XI.

READ: ‘We think the ball touched ground first’ Babar on Saud’s dismissal