Sports Bulletin

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (July 5, 2021):-Sanath Jayasundara, a former performance analyst at Sri Lanka Cricket, has been banned from all cricket for seven years after the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. The ban is backdated to 11 May 2019, when he was provisionally suspended. Following a full hearing and presentation of written and oral argument, the Tribunal found Jayasundara guilty of: Article 2.1.3 – offering a bribe or other Reward to the Sri Lankan Sports Minister to contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an International Match Article 2.4.7 – obstructing or delaying an ACU investigation into possible corrupt conduct under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager – Integrity Unit, said: Jayasundara’s attempt to bribe a Minister is a grave transgression while the efforts to cover up his tracks and the lack of remorse are hugely disappointing. “We won’t tolerate corrupt conduct in our sport and my team will be relentless in preventing such behaviour. This ban should serve as a deterrent for anyone who may be tempted along the wrong path.”

SPORTS REPORT KARACHI (July 5, 2021):-West Indies-bound Pakistan national team’s Test players will attend a 10-day training and conditioning camp under bio-secure protocols at the National Stadium in Karachi from Wednesday, 7 July. The camp will conclude on 17 July, while the players will enter the bio-secure in a Lahore hotel on 21 July before departing for Barbados on 26 July. The camp will be supervised by National High Performance Centre coaches, headed by Saqlain Mushtaq (head of player development), and also include Mohammad Yousuf (batting coach), Mushtaq Ahmed (spin bowling coach), Umar Rashid (coach), Atiq-uz-Zaman (fielding coach), Imtiaz Ahmed (physiotherapist), Saboor Ahmed (strength and conditioning coach) and Imran Sultan (masseur). In addition to the 11 Test players, including Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Yasir Shah and Zahid Mahmood, the selectors have also invited six additional players. They are: Akif Javed, Irfanullah Shah, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Hassan, Mohammad Umar and Saifullah Bangash. The 25 players and player support personnel, along with five essential staff, on Sunday underwent Covid-19 testing and all have returned negative. As such, 30-member contingent will assemble in Karachi on Tuesday where they will undergo second testing before the camp resumes on Wednesday. Schedule of the camp: 7 July – Training session (1400-1700) 8 July – Day 1 of 4 of scenario match (0930-1730) 9 July – Day 2 of 4 of scenario match (0930-1300) 10 July – Day 3 of 4 of scenario match (1300-1700) 11 July – Day 4 of 4 of scenario match (0930-1730) 12-13 July – Rest days 14 July - Day 1 of 4 of scenario match (0930-1730) 15 July - Day 2 of 4 of scenario match (0930-1300) 16 July - Day 3 of 4 of scenario match (0930-1300) 17 July - Day 4 of 4 of scenario match (0930-1300)

SPORTS REPORT DERBY (July 5, 2021):-Middle-order batsman Haris Sohail is still feeling slight pain in his right leg and, as such, he will not take part in next two practice sessions  scheduled on 5 and 6 July in Derby. Haris had also missed the intra-squad practice matches due to the same injury last week. The left-handed batsman has already started his rehabilitation and will undergo an MRI scan on 6 July in Cardiff, following which decision on his availability for the 8 July ODI against England will be made. The three-match ODI series between Pakistan and England which is also part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League will commence from Cardiff on 8 July. Pakistan team is scheduled to travel to Cardiff on 6 July.  

By BIPIN DANI All five teams in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will have at least 1 or 2 Under-19 players and the management of these teams will have to ensure that they play "almost" every match.  This was revealed by Charith Senanayake, the new chairman of the technical committee.  Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, the former left-handed opener said, "it is one of my suggestions and the management have agreed in principle to implement".  "With the U-19 World Cup in sight, I have included this in my suggestion-list".  Senanayake's other suggestions are : 1) To increase the number of players a franchise can retain from 2 -6 with a certain criteria and categories. (2) Not to restrict the number of players in the draft and give maximum opportunity to domestic players "Hopefully, these will be accommodated along with the rules and conditions already in place. Will do what’s best as the league gets underway shortly", Senanayake, who also served the Sri Lankan team as manager in the past, added.  When asked about the appointment and his role as technical committee chairman Senanayake was first thankful to SLC for the opportunity but mentioned that the format of the tournament and the rules were already formulated and in place by the time of his appointment. However, upon discussing a few technical points, Tournament Director Mr. Ravin Wickramaratne agreed to consider the possibility of adopting the following favorably.  The other members of the Technical Committee are : Shane Fernando, Vinothan John and Tyron Hirantha Wijewardena.  

SPORTS REPORT SAINT JOHN'S:-West Indies Women beat Pakistan Women by six wickets in the third and final T20I to complete a 3-0 series win at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday. Pakistan’s defense of 102 was off to a solid start thanks to Diana Baig’s athleticism and excellent bowling. Diana took a scintillating catch in the second over off Anam Amin’s bowling as she dived to her right to send Hayley Matthews back to the pavilion. She followed up that effort with an incredible caught and bowled in the next over. Deandra Dottin looked in promising touch having struck Diana for a six and a four earlier in the over, but the right-arm pacer had the last laugh as she cleanly caught a strong punch off the frontfoot to end Dottin’s stay at the crease on the penultimate ball. On the last ball of the third over, Diana pitched the white kookaburra on the good length which induced an edge of Kyshona Knight’s bat to be safely caught by Sidra Nawaz. West Indies were now three down for 17. Diana ended-up with match figures of two for 17 in four overs. An unbeaten 48-run partnership between Stafanie Taylor (43 not out, 41 balls, 4x4s) and Kycia Knight (24 not out, 27 balls, 2x4s) helped hosts chase down the target with five balls spare. West Indies captain Taylor recorded a hat-trick in the last over of the Pakistan innings as the tourists were bowled out for 102, after opting to bat first. Taylor accounted for Aliya Riaz, who top-scored for Pakistan with 29 off 34, Diana (5 off 10) and Anam Amin (0 off 1), and finished with four for 17 from 3.4 overs. Pakistan lost their openers – Javeria Khan (six off eight) and Muneeba Ali (18 off 15) – in 4.4 overs and had their half of the batters back in the hut by 12.5 overs with 66 runs on board. It was a 22-run partnership between Aliya and Diana that ensured Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark after Anisa Mohammed, the most successful bowler in women’s T20Is, dismissed Sidra Nawaz and Ayesha Naseem in successive overs. Her first wicket was Nida Dar, who got bowled after scoring 17 off 19, in the 11th over. Pakistan were provided a 21-run start – with Muneeba playing a lead role in the partnership with her 18 off 15 at the back of three boundaries. It was Shamilia Connell who accounted for both openers. The right-arm pacer dismissed Javeria in the third over and picked up the wicket of Muneeba in the fifth. West Indies’ Mohammed and Connell finished with three for 24 and two for 24. Scores in brief: West Indies Women beat Pakistan Women by six wickets Pakistan Women 102 all out, 19.4 overs (Aliya Riaz 29; Stafaine Taylor 4-17, Anisa Mohammed 3-24, Shamilia Connell 2-24) West Indies Women 106-4, 19.1 overs (Stafanie Taylor 43 not out, Kycia Knight 24 not out; Diana Baig 2-17) Player of the match – Stafanie Taylor (West Indies) Player of the tournament – Shamilia Connell (West Indies)  

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (July 5, 2021):-An impressive bowling performance followed by Ayesha Zafar’s unbeaten 53 set an eight-wicket win for Pakistan Women ‘A’ in the third and final T20 against West Indies Women ‘A’ at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday. With the victory, the national women’s ‘A’ team won the three-match series 3-0. Pakistan chased down 100 with ease and comfort with eight balls to spare as right-handed opener Ayesha struck three fours and a six from 57 balls. She also become the highest run-getter of the series with 93 runs from three matches.  Pakistan bowlers, once again, bowled with discipline after Rameen Shamim elected to bowl. They bowled a total of 61 dots, with pacer Maham Tariq delivering the most – 18. Maham gave Pakistan their first breakthrough in the fifth over with the wicket of Rashada Williams, who was caught at cover. Aroob Shah picked up the wickets of Qiana Joseph and Sheneta Grimmond. The 17-year-old leg-spinner finished with two for 13 from three overs. West Indies captain Reniece Boyce top-scored with 42 off 44 balls. She struck four fours. The T20 series is followed by three-match one-day series, which kicks off on 10 July. The first one-day match will be played at Sri Vivian Richards Stadium. The last two matches will be played at Coolidge Cricket Ground on 13 and 16 July. Scores in brief: Pakistan Women ‘A’ beat West Indies Women ‘A’ by eight wickets West Indies Women ‘A’ 99-6, 20 overs (Reniece Boyce 42; Aroob Shah 2-13) Pakistan Women ‘A’ 100-2, 18.4 overs (Ayesha Zafar 53 not out, Kainat Imtiaz 19 not out)  

By BIPIN DANI In the opening match of the series against the West Indies (at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua), Nida Dar became the first bowler, male or female, to take 100 wickets in the shortest format of the game for Pakistan on Wednesday. She is Asia's first and world's 5th woman cricketer to achieve this feat. The other four women bowlers to have crossed the 100-wicket mark in the format are West Indie's Anisa Mohammed (120), Australia's Ellyse Perry (115), South Africa's Shabnum Ismail (110) and England's Anya Shrubsole (102). From the Asian teams, India’s Poonam Yadav, with 95 wickets is closest to her. "That's a tremendous achievement and we as a family and myself particularly are jubilant since I being a sportsman and film writer myself always gave confidence in her abilities", her brother, Hammad Hassan, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Gujranwala, said on Thursday. Among cricketing circles, she is known as Little Boom Boom. The original nickname is attached with Shahid Afridi. "Nida is a big hitter and she proved herself being the biggest hitter and somehow caught Shahid Afridi's style and therefore being called the little boom boom". Interestingly, her father, Rashid Hassan, who is admitted in the hospital now, was also a First-Class cricketer before being a teacher. "Our father is bed ridden. He survived covid but now has an obstruction in colon. He was hospitalized after Nida reached Caribbean island. My sister wanted to quit the series and return home. We persuaded her to play there for the country. She is very close to our father and my dad also wanted her to achieve 100 wickets", the brother added.  "Unfortunately, we just had glimpses of the match since our uncle died yesterday in another city and our father is in the hospital, but yeah we knew she would do it, anxious we were all but I was confident and she did it". "We are from a well-known family of Pakistan. Our father's first cousin K. H Khurshid was secretary to Jinnah and remained president of Azad Kashmir back in 1956", the brother concluded.

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (July 3, 2021):-England Men’s Head Coach Chris Silverwood has named a 16-player squad for The Royal London ODI Series against Pakistan starting at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Thursday 8 July 2021. Somerset’s Tom Banton will remain with the squad after joining up for the third Royal London ODI against Sri Lanka in Bristol on Sunday 4 July. Names of selected players: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Captain Moeen Ali (Worcestershire) Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) Tom Banton (Somerset) Sam Billings (Kent) Sam Curran (Surrey) Tom Curran (Surrey) Liam Dawson (Hampshire) George Garton (Sussex) Liam Livingstone (Lancashire) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Joe Root (Yorkshire) Jason Roy (Surrey) David Willey (Yorkshire) Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) Mark Wood (Durham) Schedule of Royal London ODI Series 1st ODI: England v Pakistan, Thursday 8 July 2021, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (1.00pm BST) 2nd ODI: England v Pakistan, Saturday 10 July 2021, Lord’s Cricket Ground, London (11.00am BST) 3rd ODI: England v Pakistan, Tuesday 13 July 2021, Edgbaston, Birmingham (1.00pm BST).

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (June 20, 2021):-The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) National Selection Committee for women named two squads women’s national and ‘A’ teams for West Indies trip, as the national side would play the West Indies in three T20Is and five One-Day Internationals, while the two countries’ ‘A’ sides would compete in three T20s and as many one-day matches. This is the national women’s team third international tour in the last four months after they played three ODIs and as many T20Is against South Africa in Durban before traveling north to Harare to play Zimbabwe, a tour that was cut short due to flights restrictions. Despite travel-related limitations around the world due of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the PCB has continued to arrange the tours to provide its national women’s team competitive cricket to prepare for this year’s ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, followed by next year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Pakistan and West Indies are ranked seventh and sixth in the ICC Women’s Team Rankings for ODI and T20I, respectively. Prior to this tour, the national women’s team has played three ODI series, two T20I series and featured in two ICC Women’s T20 World Cups in 2010 and 2018 in the Caribbean. The last time these two sides faced off in bilateral series was in early 2019. Pakistan came back from behind in the United Arab Emirates to win the three ODIs 2-1 and the T20I series, played in Karachi, was won by West Indies 2-1, with the second match of the series going down the wire and the touring party winning it in the Super Over. The two teams last met in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the group-stage match was won by Pakistan as they comfortably chased down 125 with eight wickets and 10 balls spare. That the ‘A’ side will travel to Antigua with the national side – the first instance of the two teams traveling together – provides further boost to the women’s game in the country. The players who have remained on the fringes of the national side will have an opportunity to impress the national selectors and the high-profile coaching staff ahead of the important global events. This will also be the first tour that the ‘A’ side will undertake in the post-Covid-19 world. They last travelled to Sri Lanka in October 2019 for the ACC Emerging Women’s Asia Cup. PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “We are glad to announce that our senior and ‘A’ women teams will be traveling to the West Indies for competitive series in a year in which they have to feature in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers. “This tour presents a great opportunity to our players to further strengthen their skills by getting the desired match practice – against a quality side – under their belts and utilise it for their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers and the main event early next year that will be followed by the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. “Developing our women cricketers and providing them the required opportunities to develop themselves into world-class athletes is one of the key strategic objectives of the PCB, which we announced last year. “Our players have put in hard yards in the recent High Performance camps in Karachi and Multan and I am hopeful that they will deliver favourable results under the able guidance of head coach David Hemp.” The touring contingent will arrive in Lahore on Monday. Tour itinerary: 23 June – Departure for Antigua 24-27 June – Room Quarantine 28-29 June – Practice 30 June – 1st T20I between national sides and 1st T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 2 July – 2nd T20I between national sides and 2nd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Coolidge Cricket Ground 4 July – 3rd T20I between national sides and 3rd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 7 July – 1st ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 9 July – 2nd ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 10 July – 1st one-day between ‘A’ sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 12 July – 3rd ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 13 July – 2nd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 15 July – 4th ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 16 July – 3rd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 18 July – 5th ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 19 July – Departure for Pakistan

SPORTS REPORT ISLAMABAD (June 9, 2021):-Pakistan Cricket Board and Unilever have further strengthened their partnership with Surf Excel becoming Pakistan national men's cricket team’s official detergent partner for the year 2021. The partnership with Surf Excel covers an exciting season of home cricket including series against England, New Zealand and the West Indies. PCB and Unilever joined hands last year for a historic social awareness campaign with Lifebuoy around hygiene behavior. The budding partnership then grew into a domestic cricket partnership with Surf Excel and a yearlong Pakistan men’s cricket team partnership with Lifebuoy. PCB Director – Commercial, Babar Hamid: “Our partnership with Unilever is strengthening with the passage of time and we are delighted to have Surf Excel as our official detergent partner for Pakistan national men’s team’s home series. “Pakistan cricket fans have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming home season with tours from England, New Zealand and the West Indies. Our partners like Unilever are extremely valuable to us as their contributions go a long way in ensuring that we deliver top quality domestic and international events and bi-lateral series. “In the recent days, we have overcome some big challenges to ensure that the Abu Dhabi-leg of the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 takes place. We would now set our focus on our upcoming home assignments in our pursuit of further improvement in all aspects and world-class delivery of our international home season. “The passionate cricket fans of the Pakistan team both in Pakistan and around the world have a lot to look forward to and we hope to live up to their expectations both with on-field performances and top-class delivery of the home season in our own stadiums.” Unilever Director Marketing Home, Care Munir Hasan: “Surf Excel believes that ‘Jo Koi Nahi Karsakta.. wohi tow champion karta hai’. And there could not be more apt words to describe our beloved cricket team as well. “This is why we have partnered with the PCB to introduce first of its kind ‘Daaghon ka champion’ trophy, to encourage our young stars to play their best game on the field and recognize their uninhibited cricket spirit. All without bothering about the stains, after all Surf Excel hai na.”