Tag: Vitality Blast

WATCH: Wicketkeeper tricks Haider Ali to dismiss him in comical fashion

Posted on by A Sports

LONDON: Pakistan batter Haider Ali was stumped out in a bizarre manner, thanks to the shrewdness of the wicketkeeper, during the Vitality Blast match between Derbyshire Falcons and Birmingham Bears on Wednesday. 

The dismissal happened in the 11th over of Debyshire’s chase when Haider Ali was batting at 48 from 33 balls. The right-hander failed to connect with Danny Briggs’ overpitched delivery. While Birmingham’s wicketkeeper Alex Davies failed to grab the ball initially, Haider Ali tried to snatch a quick single assuming that the wicketkeeper was not in possession of the ball. But to his dismay, Davies dislodged the bails as soon as he was out of his crease.

Later, Derbyshire won the match by six wickets thanks to a match-winning knock by captain Leus du Plooy, who scored 66 from 25 balls. 

Notwithstanding the comical fashion in which he departed, Haider Ali, otherwise, played a handsome knock and gave a superb start to Derbyshire’s chase of massive 204 runs.

He stitched a 95-run opening stand with Luis Reece, who scored 57 from 38 balls.

It is pertinent to mention that the 22-year-old has scored 499 runs in 33 T20Is for Pakistan at an average of 18.48. He struggled with his form in the recent Pakistan Super League season 8, playing for Karachi Kings.

Haider Ali was also a part of the Pakistan side which finished as runners-up in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

The youngster joined Mickey Arthur’s Derbyshire County Cricket Club in April for the County Championship 2023 and Vitality Blast.

“I’m very excited, it’s my first time playing county cricket and I love the coaching of Mickey Arthur,” said Haider Ali at the time of his deal with the club.

“I think it’s difficult for anyone to play all formats, but I’m lucky to have the opportunity and I’m so excited to get started. It has been a dream of mine to play under Mickey, as soon as he called I said ‘I’m ready to play county cricket for Derbyshire.”

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Leicestershire rope in Naseem Shah for the start of Vitality Blast

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Pakistan star pacer Naseem Shah has been signed by Leicestershire County Cricket Club to play initial matches of the forthcoming T20 Blast season. 

Taking to Twitter, the club announced the recruitment of the right-arm speedster on a short-term contract for the start of the Vitality Blast.

Naseem will act as cover for Afghanistan international Naveen-ul-Haq, who is currently busy with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.

Naseem was due to arrive in England on Tuesday and be available for Leicestershire’s opening game against Lancashire on Thursday.

“Having Naveen in the IPL play-offs meant we had to make a quick call and we are extremely excited to have secured someone of Naseem’s calibre,” said Leicestershire Director of Cricket Claude Henderson.

“He’s proven to be a world-class performer in T20 cricket, and we look forward to seeing him in a Leicestershire shirt shortly.”
The 20-year-old represented Gloucestershire in the T20 blast last year, taking five wickets in three games. He was also roped in by Welsh Fire for the Hundred but withdrew due to national duty.
“I’m very excited to be joining the Foxes for the start of the Vitality Blast. I can’t wait to meet my teammates and help win games for Leicestershire,” said the young pacer.
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Worcestershire sign Usama Mir for Vitality Blast stint

Posted on by A Sports

WORCESTER: Worcestershire Rapids has signed Pakistan international leg spinner Usama Mir, one of the stars of the recent Pakistan Super League, for the opening three matches of the 2023 Vitality Blast.

Usama Mir will represent Worcestershire in the away game against Northamptonshire Steelbacks (May 24) and in the home fixtures with Yorkshire Vikings (May 26) and Leicestershire Foxes (May 29).

The 27-year-old is available to provide cover for Mitchell Santner for those games should his side Chennai Super Kings qualify for the latter stages of the Indian Premier League.

Usama Mir will be reunited with Central Punjab teammate Azhar Ali at New Road, who play together in Pakistan’s first-class tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

In that competition, he returned his career-best first-class figures of 6-91 against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last October.

Usama Mir made his debut for Pakistan in an ODI against New Zealand in January, and he has featured in a total of six 50-over internationals, all against the Black Caps.

He has taken ten wickets at an economy rate of 5.29, with a best of 4-43 in Karachi earlier this month.

Usama also significantly impacted the 2023 Pakistan Super League and finished as the fifth-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets at an economy rate of 7.93.

He helped his side Multan Sultans to reach the final, and he had figures of 3-24 against Lahore Qalandars only to lose out on title glory by one run.

Usama Mir was also part of the Muzzaffarabad Tigers team, which reached the final of the 2021 Kashmir Premier League and had his side’s best bowling figures of 2-25.

Worcestershire Cricket Steering Group Chair Paul Pridgeon confirmed: “We have signed Usama Mir for the first three games of the Blast following Mitchell Santner’s side reaching the knockout stages of the IPL.

“He is a leg spinner who bats a bit, and he is already the country. He is playing club cricket for Colwyn Bay and got 140 odd for them on Saturday.

“He has played the last six ODIs for Pakistan and made a good impression, and he has also had a good impact in the most recent Pakistan Super League, which is a good pedigree.

“We hope that Usama can help us get off to a good start in the Blast before Mitchell joins us for the rest of the competition.”

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Zaman Khan joins Derbyshire for Vitality Blast

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NOTTINGHAM: Pakistan pace prodigy Zaman Khan has joined Derbyshire County Cricket Club for the upcoming Vitality Blast 2023, scheduled to commence on May 20.

According to the club, Zaman Khan has joined the squad and is upbeat about working under former Pakistan men’s cricket team director Mickey Arthur; terming it a dream scenario.

Zaman signed a deal with Derbyshire for this summer’s Vitality Blast, which begins with his side taking on Lancashire in the curtain-raiser on Saturday.

 

He also expressed his excitement about working under Arthur, who had a successful tenure as Pakistan’s head coach from 2016-19.

“Playing in England is something I’ve wanted to experience and to do it working with Mickey Arthur at Derbyshire is a dream scenario,” said Zaman Khan in a statement released by his club.

“Derbyshire have been impressive in T20 cricket over the last few years, so I’m looking forward to playing with this squad and seeing if we can challenge again this summer.”

Zaman, famous for his pinpoint yorkers and exceptional death bowling, has played 49 T20s in his blooming career so far, picking up 59 wickets at an average of 23.35 and with best figures of 4-16.

His consistent performances in the franchise leagues powered him to make his international debut for Pakistan during the three-match away series against Afghanistan in March.

The right-arm pacer has thus far represented Pakistan in six T20Is and picked up four wickets, maintaining a miserly economy rate of 6.66.

Zaman Khan has been enjoying a trophy-laden franchise league career as he has thus far won two Pakistan Super League (PSL) titles with Lahore Qalandars. He also lifted the silverware in the recent edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) with Jaffna Kings.

Nottinghamshire sign Shaheen for Vitality Blast 2023

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Nottinghamshire on Thursday announced the signing of Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for their Vitality Blast 2023 campaign. 

Taking to Twitter, Nottinghamshire welcomed the star Pakistan seamer to the Notts Outlaws for the upcoming T20 Blast season.

The 22-year-old recently led Lahore Qalandars to their second consecutive PSL title and became the only captain in the tournament’s history to defend the championship.

He was also signed by the Welsh Fire for £100,000 in the recently-held the Hundred draft for the third edition of the league.

“In Shaheen, we’ve got a world class player – which is really exciting – and a player with a point of difference with the ball, which is crucial when we are looking to recruit,” said Nottingham head coach Peter Moores.

Moores called Afridi a ‘box-office-player’ who would help Nott Laws to bounce back in the tournament after missing out on qualification for the knockout stages last season.

“We want to bounce back from last year’s campaign, and this signing invigorates the club; he makes impacts in big games, and is a box office player. Alongside Munro, who is one of the top run-scorers in the history of the format, we’ve got two very unique talents, both of whom will play a big role for us as we look to bring back silverware,” he added.

Shaheen is the second overseas signing of the club after top-order batter Colin Munro.

“Notts play an aggressive brand of cricket, which suits me well,” said Shaheen in a media statement by the club.

“They’ve had great success in recent years and the likes of Alex Hales, Colin Munro and Joe Clarke are players I have faced up against in recent years and been impressed by.”

“The goal is obviously to influence games to make the team as successful as possible. Having played at Trent Bridge, I know it is a fast-scoring ground and as a bowler you need to get your line and lengths right, but you also get the rewards when you do that.” he concluded.

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Sussex signs Shadab Khan for Vitality Blast 2023

Posted on by A Sports

SUSSEX: Sussex County Cricket Club on Tuesday, announced the signing of Pakistan’s Shadab Khan for the entirety of the upcoming Vitality Blast 2023.

Taking to Twitter, Sussex announced the signing with the Pakistan vice-captain for T20Is.

“We are delighted to announce the signing of Pakistan international all-rounder, [Shadab Khan] for the 2023 Vitality Blast,” wrote Sussex on Twitter.

 

Shadab, who represented Yorkshire in the last Vitality Blast season, will now be playing for Sussex in the upcoming edition of the English league.

In a statement released by Sussex, Shadab experienced his delight over joining the club and is eager to follow the footsteps of legendary Mushtaq Ahmed.

“I love playing in England. I know Mushtaq Ahmed is a legend at Sussex and it is an honour to follow in his footsteps,” said Shadab.

“Sussex has a proud history and I hope that my skillset will help the team achieve great things in the blast this year,” he added.

Sussex Bowling Coach, James Kirtley heaped praise on the Pakistan all-rounder and asserted that Shadab’s addition will bring an experience to the team.

“Shadab will provide amazing experience in our middle order, he is someone who has played all around the world and has experienced many situations, which can only benefit our team,” said Kirtley.

“He really does provide flexibility to our side as he can score runs and take wickets in crucial moments, but more than anything else he is an experienced head that Ravi can go to as captain to look for support when making crucial in-game decisions.

“I know that he will have a massive impact on our team this year.”

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