Sports Bulletin

BIPIN DANI Sri Lankan sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe has decided to appoint a 6-member Fact Finding Committee to enquire not only about the players' behaviour in T-20 World Cup in Australia but also to ascertain whether the officials showed "real concerns" for the team members. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Dubai, where he is on a one-day visit, he said, "we have appointed a 6-member committee to report on the recent issues. The committee will be chaired by the Former High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini. One former cricketer is also in the committee. The other members of the committee are: Former ministerial secretary - Kingsley Fernando, Retired DIG in CID - Sudath Nagahamulla, Retired Rear Admiral - Ananda Peiris, Former cricketer - Nalin de Alwis and Attorney-at-Law - Shalani Roshana". "No time-frame is given to the committee but will ask the members to expedite the process". The minister also expressed his concern over the issues handled for Chamika Karunaratne. The 26-year-old has been given a one-year-suspended ban by the SLC. "He was dropped for his poor form or bad behaviour? He has been cleared to play international cricket. My opinion is that if the player is in poor form or facing disciplinary action, he should not be considered at all". The bowling all-rounder has already been named in the LPL team. "I will ensure that from next year onwards any out of form player or player facing disciplinary charges is not selected even to play league cricket". During his recent Dubai visit, which is mainly for the Rugby sports, the minister has no plan to meet the ICC at this stage. "No, I am not meeting any ICC officials now but will certainly meet them in near future", he added. The minister also denied the plan to appoint any interim committee but hinted there will be many changes in the year 2023. "We want the right people for all sports. Arjuna Ranatunga is helping me a lot and will continue to consult him for all important matters. We want to streamline everything. Cricket is a very popular sport in our country and will ensure public money put in the game is not wasted", the minister concluded.

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI: British High Commissioner in Islamabad Christian Turner on Friday visited Pindi Cricket Stadium here to see the 2nd day cricket match of Test and to encourage English players as well. On this occasion he said: “I am the number one cricket fan. The Rawalpindi test is going well and our boys inked a new record in the Rawalpindi Test. England team is playing Test cricket with an aggressive attitude, as the batters have the ability to play fast, I hope the result of the Rawalpindi test will be out”.

England score 657 runs in 1st innings, Zahid Mehmood takes 4 wickets in Pindi Test Abdul Jabbar Faisal RAWALPINDI: Two well-composed, flawless, and unbeaten innings, Imam-ul-Haq (90) and Abdullah Shafiq (89) responded positively to England, who gathered a gigantic total of 657 runs in their first innings. Green Shirts were 181 for 0 runs in 51 overs and the duo of opening batters amused the spectators of twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Friday. Abdullah Shafiq and Imam-ul-Haq began Pakistan's innings with buoyancy and did not try to play any needless strokes and waited patiently for the poor balls till the end of the day. Left-handed batter Imam-ul-Haq hammered 90 runs studded with 13 boundaries and a six while his partner Abdullah scored stupendous 89 runs innings, as he smashed 10 fours and a couple of sixes during his 158-ball innings. Both batsmen were unbeaten when the field umpires Ahsan Raza and Joel Wilson decided to call off the day-2 game owing to bad light. Hosts openers Abdullah Shafiq and Imam-ul-Haq will resume their first innings on Saturday morning at 181 for 0. No English bowler either spin or pacer could not impress with the ball on the day and flat batting pitch.   Earlier, on Friday morning, England restarted their first innings at an overnight score of 506 runs for 4 and the visitors threw their rest of six wickets in 125 minutes after adding 151 to their total of 657 runs. In the very first over of the day, they lost their vital wicket of captain Ben Stoke, who hit a six at the start of the innings, as it seemed that when he entered into the field the world record of the fastest Test century was in his mind, as he hit a huge six on the first ball that he faced but failed to achieve that a mindset target. Ben was clean bowled by Naseem Shah on the last ball of the first over of the day. He scored 41 runs in 18 balls. On the other side, Harry Brook continued his previous day batting pace and knocked 5 sixes and 19 fours during his 153 runs innings in 116 balls. Ollie Robinson (37) and Will Jack (30) were other main contributors in England’s total. Ollie hit six four and one six while Will smashed 4 boundaries during their 29 and 37 balls innings respectively. Zahid Mehmood was the most successful bowler for Pakistan, as he claimed 4 wickets in his first Test match after conceding 235 runs. Pacer Naseem Shah chipped in 3 wickets for 140 runs, as he hit at the backbone of England's batting line in the morning session. Naseem’s spell restricted the visitors batting to score over 700. Pacer Mohammad Ali and Haris Rauf shared 2 and 1 wicket respectively. Summarized Scorecard (Day-1): Toss: England won and decided to bat England (Batting): 657 all out in 101 overs Harry Brook (153 runs, 116 balls, 4x19, 6x5), Zak Crawley (122 runs, balls 111, 4x2, 6x0), Ollie Pope (108 runs, 104 balls, 4x14), Ben Duckett (107 runs, 110 balls, 4x15, 6X0), Joe Root (23 runs, 31 balls, 4x3, 6x0), Ben Stoke (41 runs, 18 balls, 4x6, 6x2)   Pakistan Bowling: Zahid Mehmood (4 for 235), Naseem Shah (3 for 140), Mohammad Ali (2 for 124), Haris Rauf (1 for 78) Pakistan Batting: Imam-ul-Haq 90 runs not out (148 balls, 4x13, 6x1), Abdullah Shafiq 89 runs not out (158 balls, 4x10, 6x2) Pakistan (Playing XIs): Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain & WK), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mehmood England (Playing XIs): Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson Schedule of Tests: 9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan 17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI (December 2, 2022): Pakistan were 17 for 0 runs at the lunch on the 2nd day of the 1st Test match at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Friday, as Imam 11 and Abduulah 6 were not out batters. England’s all batters out in their first innings at 657 runs in 101 overs 30 minutes before the lunch break. Zahid Mehmood got 4 wickets. On Friday, England resumed their first innings at an overnight score of 506 runs for 4 and the visitors lost their all rest of six wickets in two hours after adding 151 runs to their total of 657 runs. , as they lost their vital wicket of captain Ben Stoke, who hit a six at the start of the innings, as it seemed that when he entered the field the world record of the fastest Test century was in his mind, as hit a huge six on the first ball that he faced but failed to achieve that. Ben was clean bold by Naseem Shah on the last ball of the first over of the day. Summarized Scorecard (Day-1): Toss: England won and decided to bat England (Batting): 657 all out in 101 overs Harry Brook (153 runs, 116 balls, 4x19, 6x5), Zak Crawley (122 runs, balls 111, 4x2, 6x0), Ollie Pope (108 runs, 104 balls, 4x14), Ben Duckett (107 runs, 110 balls, 4x15, 6X0), Joe Root (23 runs, 31 balls, 4x3, 6x0), Ben Stoke (41 runs, 18 balls, 4x6, 6x2)   Pakistan Bowling: Zahid Mehmood (4 for 235), Naseem Shah (3 for 140), Mohammad Ali (2 for 124), Haris Rauf (1 for 78) Pakistan Batting: Pakistan (Playing XIs): Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain & WK), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mehmood England (Playing XIs): Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson Schedule of Tests: 9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan 17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has shown the good gesture of allowing the "special trophy" to be taken away to Kabul. The 3-match inaugural bilateral ODI series between the Sri Lankan team and the visiting Afghanistan team was tied 1-1 (the second ODI was called off due to rain) and the physical trophy of the tournament was taken to Afghanistan. This was confirmed by multiple sources, who saw the Trophy being taken in the team bus directly from Kandy hotel to Colombo airport. Later confirmed by Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) media and communications manager Abdullah Khan Pakthani, he said, "yeah, the team will bring the trophy home". At the time of filing this report, the team was in transit at the Dubai airport. "This trophy will be kept in our museum, where other memorabilias are displayed. We feel very happy and wish our team more success in the future as well", he further added. Player of the Match award Sri Lanka leveled the series 1-1 after Asalanka, Wellalage were successful to chase the target of 314 runs. Ibrahim Zadran's score of 162 runs was almost doubled to the Player of the Match winner Asalanka. "It was an unanimous decision (to name Asalanka as player of the Match winner)", the two commentators (Sri Lankan Roshan Abeysinghe and Afghanistani Ahmad Farhad Fidai), who were part of the all five commentator adjudicators, confirmed.  The visiting commentator also had praise for all three new weds, who put on a performance for Lanka. Rajitha in his first spell, Pathum with the opening partnership and Aharith in the end. "They came to play although they got married a couple days ago, so no honeymoon for them. My view at the later stage of the game was that marriage/ wife brings  good omen as per Afghan beliefs and it seemed as marriages brought good omen to all three players and specially Asalanka and Rajitha", Fidai added. Rajitha's wife Chamaththi did travel to Kandy (from Colombo) to watch the final match on Tuesday and occupied the seat in the Players' Family Area.    

Zak Crawley (122), Ollie Pope (108), Ben Duckett (107) and Harry Brook (101) runs not out hit tons By Abdul Jabbar Faisal RAWALPINDI (December 1, 2022): Four blistering innings, Zak Crawley (122), Ollie Pope (108), Ben Duckett (107) and Harry Brook (101) runs not out, helped England to post a historical total on the scoreboard of 506 for 4 in 75 overs on the opening day of 1st Test match of three-match Tie that commenced here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Also, English broke the 112 years old record of the most runs on the opening day of a Test match, as the previous record was 494 runs created by Australia against South Africa in 1910. At the end of Day 1, visitors were 506 for 4 in 75 overs, as umpires called off the game due to poor light. Harry Brook 101 (81 balls) and captain Ben Stoke 34 (15 balls) were on the pitch at the stumps. Zahid Mehmood claimed two wickets for 160 runs while Haris Rauf and Mohammad Ali shared one wicket each a piece after conceding 78 and 98 runs respectively. Both batsmen will resume their innings on Friday morning at the same venue. Harry Brook knocked an unbeaten sparkling innings of 101 runs, as he faced just 81 balls. He smashed two huge sixes and 14 boundaries while skipper Ben Stoke wasted merely 15 balls for his 34 runs innings that was a blend of 4 fours and a single six. Both batters were not out at the end of day one game that was 15 overs short from 90 overs per day fixture. Pakistani bowlers, both pacers and spinners could not take a sigh of breath at any stage of the match, as there was no mercy word in the opposition batters’ dictionary for them. Zahid Mehmood conceded 160 in 23 overs, Naseem Shah 96 in 15 overs, Mohammad Ali 96 in 17 overs, Haris Rauf 78 in 13 overs, Agha Salman 38 in 5 overs and Saud Shakeel 30 in 2 overs. Except, Mohammad Ali, rest of the bowlers conceded runs with the average of 6 runs per over.     Earlier, in the morning English skipper Ben Stoke won the coin’s battle and decided to bat first at a dry pitch and a simple batting track of Pindi ground. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett showed full aggression and plundered 174 runs in just 27 overs at lunch break. Both batters hit excellent strokes and were on the wicket with 91 and 77 runs respectively and hit 17 and 11 boundaries too. After the lunch break, Zak completed his feisty ton in 86 balls studded with 19 boundaries, as he was judged LBW by umpire Ahsan Raza on the bowling of Naseem Shah at 99, as TV umpire Marais Erasmus asked the field umpire to change his decision, as the ball was going down the leg-side and was missing the stump clearly. England batters completed 200 total in the 30th over of the innings, as Zak contributed 106 while his partner scored 88 runs. No one Pakistan bowler could make any trouble for the batsmen, who were smashing four all around the ground. Ben Duckett reached his hundred in 106 balls including 14 fours in the 34th over of the inning, as the total was 331. Finally, debut Zahid Mehood succeeded to get a wicket for Pakistan when Ben Deckett’s effort to play reverse-sweep and umpire Joel Wilson declared him not out on a big shout for LBW, as on review he had to change his decision in the favour of the bowler. He scored 107 runs in 110 balls with the help of 15 boundaries. Both aggressive batters collected 233 runs for the first wicket and provided a solid start to their team in the first Test clash of the three-match series. Zak Crawley was 2nd batter, who went back in the pavilion at 235, when pacer Haris Rauf clattered his stumps in 37th over of the English innings. Zaka scored 122 runs in 111 balls and smashed 21 fours. Joe Root, the most experienced batter of the visiting team, could score only 23 runs, as he faced 31 balls and hit three fours. He was also judged LBW on the bowling of Zahid Mehmood. The total was 286 on the scoreboard. He along with Ollie Pope aggregated 51 runs for the third wicket. At Tea Break, England batsmen managed 332 for 3 runs in 54 overs, as this session was a little bit in the favour of Pakistan, as the bowler got rid of three opponent batters. Zahid Mehmood claimed two while Haris Rauf one. Ollie Pope was not out on 48 runs while Harry Brook was on 22 not out both batters faced 51 and 23 balls respectively. Ollie hit 8 fours while Brook smashed two fours and only six of the match till the tea break. Ollie Pope was the third England player, who smashed a century in the Pindi Test. Wicketkeeper batter scored 108 runs in 104 four balls, as his strike rate was over hundred. He sent the ball 14 times over the boundary line.   Summarized Scorecard (Day-1): Toss: England won and decided to bat England (Batting): Zak Crawley (122 runs, balls 111, 4x2, 6x0), Ollie Pope (108 runs, 104 balls, 4x14), Ben Duckett (107 runs, 110 balls, 4x15, 6X0), Joe Root (23 runs, 31 balls, 4x3, 6x0), Harry Brook (101 runs not out, 81 balls, 4x14, 6x2), Ben Stoke (34 runs not out, 15 balls, 4x6, 6x1)   Pakistan Bowling: Zahid Mehmood (2 for 160), Haris Rauf (1 for 78), Mohammad Ali (1 for 96) Pakistan (Playing XIs): Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain & WK), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mehmood England (Playing XIs): Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson Schedule of Tests: 9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan 17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi

BIPIN DANI Sri Lankan all rounder Wanindu Hasaranga "obliged"  4-5 kids by inviting them in the dressing room and even made a few of them on his lap. This happened during the Sunday's rain affected second ODI match against Afghanistan in Kandy when these kids displayed a placard (prepared by a 5-year-old Nursery boy, Thameera Gimhan) which read "Uncle Wanindu. You are my favorite. Please come to me". "My son started watching matches when he was 3 1/2 year old. Being his fan, my son has been watching Wanindu's all matches. Since the tour was announced, he expressed his desire to meet him and the best way to invite Wanindu's attention was to make a placard and a group of kids displayed this during the match", the boy's father, Dhanushka Amarawansha, who works as a site manager for a private construction company in Kandy, said over the telephone. "To our surprise, Wanindu sent a message to invite these kids to the dressing room. My son was accompanied by all his cousins-Rajinda Harshal, Thursa,  Imasha and Janindu". "I like your bowling action and your inside out shots", my son told the all rounder". "It was a proud moment for all these boys.. They all were very happy and impressed by the player's modesty", the dad concluded.

Abdul Jabbar Faisal RAWALPINDI (December 1, 2022): England were 332 for 3 runs in their first innings of the Pindi Test at tea break, as Debuted Zahid Mehmood captured two wickets while Haris Rauf got one for hosts here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Earlier, in the morning English skipper Ben Stoke won the coin’s battle and decided to bat first at a dry pitch of Pindi ground. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett showed full aggression and plundered 174 runs in just 27 overs at lunch break. Both batters hit excellent strokes and were on the wicket with 91 and 77 runs respectively hit 17 and 11 boundaries too. After the lunch break, Zak completed his feisty ton in 86 balls studded with 19 boundaries, as he was judged LBW by umpire Ahsan Raza on the bowling of Naseem Shah, as TV umpire Marais Erasmus asked him to change his decision, as the ball was going down the leg-side and was missing the stump. England batters completed 200 total in the 30th over of the innings, as Zak contributed 106 while his partner scored 88 runs. No one Pakistan bowler could make any trouble for the batsmen, who smashed four all around the ground. Ben Duckett reached on his hundred in 106 balls including 14 fours in the 34th over of the inning, as the total was 331. Finally, debuted Zahid Mehood succeeded to get a wicket for Pakistan when Ben Deckett’s effort to play reverse-sweep and umpire Joel Wilson declared him not out on a big shout for LBW, as on review he had to change his decision in the favour of bowler. He scored 107 runs in 110 balls with the help of 15 boundaries. Both aggressive batters collected 233 runs for the first wicket and provided a solid start to their team in the first Test clash of the three-match series. Zak Crawley was 2nd batter to go back in the pavilion at 235, when pacer Haris Rauf clattered his stumps in 37th over of the English innings. Zaka scored 122 runs in 111 balls and smashed 21 fours. Joe Root, the most experienced batter of visiting team, could score only 23 runs, as he faced 31 balls and hit three fours. He was also judged LBW on the bowling of Zahid Mehmood. The total was 286 on the scoreboard. He along with Ollie Pope aggregated 51 runs for the third wicket. At Tea Break, England batsmen managed 332 for 3 runs in 54 overs, as this session were bit in favour of Pakistan, as bowler got rid of three opponent batters. Zahid Mehmood claimed two while Haris Rauf one. Ollie Pope was not out on 48 runs while Harry Brook was on 22 not out both batters faced 51 and 23 balls respectively. Ollie hit 8 fours while Brook smashed two fours and only six of the match till tea break. Summarized Scorecard (Day-1): Toss: England won and decided to bat England (Batting): Zak Crawley (122 runs, balls 111, 4x2, 6x0), Ben Duckett (107 runs, 110 balls, 4x15, 6X0), Joe Root (23 runs, 31 balls, 4x3, 6x0),   Pakistan Bowling: Zahid Mehmood Haris Rauf Pakistan (Playing XIs): Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain & WK), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mehmood England (Playing XIs): Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson Schedule of Tests: 9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan 17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi    

Abdul Jabbar Faisal RAWALPINDI: Debuted Zahid Mehmood and Haris Rauf got each one wicket for Pakistan, as England reached at 235 for 2 in 36 overs here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Earlier, in the morning English skipper Ben Stoke won the coin’s battle and decided to bat first at a dry pitch of Pindi ground. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett showed full aggression and plundered 174 runs in just 27 overs at lunch break. Both batters hit excellent strokes and were on the wicket with 91 and 77 runs respectively hit 17 and 11 boundaries too. After the lunch break, Zak completed his feisty ton in 86 balls studded with 19 boundaries, as he was judged LBW by umpire Ahsan Raza on the bowling of Naseem Shah, as TV umpire Marais Erasmus asked him to change his decision, as the ball was going down the leg-side and was missing the stump. England batters completed 200 total in the 30th over of the innings, as Zak contributed 106 while his partner scored 88 runs. No one Pakistan bowler could make any trouble for the batsmen, who smashed four all around the ground. Ben Duckett reached on his hundred in 106 balls including 14 fours in the 34th over of the inning, as the total was 331. Finally, debuted Zahid Mehood succeeded to get a wicket for Pakistan when Ben Deckett effort to play reverse-sweep and umpire Joel Wilson declared him not out on a big shout for LBW, as on review he had to change his decision in the favour of bowler. He scored 107 runs in 110 balls with the help of 15 boundaries. Both aggressive batters collected 233 runs for the first wicket and provided a solid start to their team in the first Test clash of the three-match series. Zak Crawley was 2nd batter to go back in the pavilion at 235, when pacer Haris Rauf clattered his stumps in 37th over of the English innings. Zaka scored 122 runs in 111 balls and smashed 21 fours.       Summarized Scorecard (Day-1): Toss: England won and decided to bat England (Batting): Zak Crawley (122 runs, balls 111, 4x2, 6x0), Ben Duckett (107 runs, 110 balls, 4x15, 6X0) Pakistan Bowling: Zahid Mehmood Haris Rauf Pakistan (Playing XIs): Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain & WK), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mehmood England (Playing XIs): Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson Schedule of Tests: 9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan 17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi    

Abdul Jabbar Faisal RAWALPINDI: Zak Crawley 91 not out and Ben Duckett 77 not out disarmed the local pace battery, as England reached 174 runs in 27 overs at lunch break here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Earlier, in the morning English skipper Ben Stoke won the coin’s battle and decided to bat first at a dry pitch of Pindi ground. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett showed full aggression and plundered 174 runs in just 27 overs. Both batters hit excellent strokes and were on the wicket with 91 and 77 runs respectively hit 17 and 11 boundaries too. Pakistan (Playing XIs): Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain & WK), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mehmood England (Playing XIs): Ben Stokes (c), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson Schedule of Tests: 1-5 December – 1st Test, Rawalpindi 9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan 17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi