Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI:-Half-centuries by Ali Razzaq, Ali Zoraiz and Moiz Rana helped Central Punjab U19 Whites to a respectable score against Northern U19 Whites at the NBP Sports Complex on the opening day of the National U19 Championship on Saturday. The other two matches of Pool B and one match of Pool A was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain. In the Pool B match, after being put into bat by Northern Whites, Central Punjab Whites managed to score 312 for the loss of eight wickets from 83 overs. Opening pair of Ali Zoraiz and Moiz provided a solid 127-run stand for the first wicket. Ali scored 65 off 118 balls, hitting eight boundaries. Moiz chipped in with a 115-ball 61, which included nine fours. Ali Razzaq coming to bat at number four top-scored with a 98-ball 67. The right-handed batter struck nine fours during his 180 minutes stay at the crease. For Northern U19 Whites, Abdul Basit with his right-arm leg-spin bagged four wickets for 100 from 23 overs. He was supported by Abuzar and Mohammad Nabeel, both picking two wickets apiece. In return, Northern U19 Whites were five for no loss from three overs when stumps were drawn. Pool A fixtures: At the Hanif Mohammad HPC Ground in Karachi, Northern U19 Blues captain Shamyl Hussain scored an unbeaten half-century as his side scored 77 for two from 27 overs against Central Punjab U19 Blues. Due to rain, no further play was held after lunch break. Opting to bat first, left-handed Shamyl and Ali Abbas provided a 58-run start to the Northern innings. After the departure of Ali (17, 55b, two fours), Saad Masood was next to go just on the verge of lunch with 76 runs on the board. Shamyl remained unbeaten on 56 off 85 balls, which included seven fours and one six. At the TMC Ground in Karachi, only 25 overs of play occurred as no play took place in the first two sessions due to rain and wet outfield. After being put into bat by Southern Punjab U19 Blues, Balochistan U19 Blues opening pair provided an unbroken 78-run partnership for the first wicket. Basit Ali scored 40 off 70 balls, hitting three fours, while Ikramullah struck five boundaries during his 80-ball 38-run knock. Scores in brief – Pool A: Central Punjab U19 Blues v Northern U19 Blues at the Hanif Mohammad HPC Ground, Karachi Northern U19 Blues 77-2, 27 overs (Shamyl Hussain 56 not out) Balochistan U19 Blues v Southern Punjab U19 Blues at the TMC Ground, Karachi Balochistan U19 Blues 78-0, 25 overs (Basit Ali 40 not out, Ikramullah 38 not out) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues v Sindh U19 Blues at the KCA Ground, Karachi First day’s play abandoned due to rain Scores in brief – Pool B: Central Punjab U19 Whites v Northern U19 Whites at the NBP Sports Complex, Karachi Central Punjab U19 Whites 312-8, 83 overs (Ali Razzaq 67, Ali Zoraiz Asif 65, Moiz Rana 61; Abdul Basit 4-100, Mohammad Nabeel 2-55, Abuzar 2-66) Northern U19 Whites 5-0, three overs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites v Sindh U19 Whites at the Rashid Latif Academy Ground, Karachi First day’s play abandoned due to rain Balochistan U19 Whites v Southern Punjab U19 Whites at the UBL Sports Complex, Karachi First day’s play abandoned due to rain

Bipin Dani The International Cricket Council (ICC) has added four women cricketers in their match officials’ panels. All four women have been added to the ICC's Development panel.  Out of these four women cricketers, Nimali Perera and Dedunu de Silva will act as umpires, and Michelle Perera and Vanessa De Silva are the match-referees. Incidentally, Dedunu de Silva and Vaneesa de Silva have played for the national team and other two- Nimali Perera and Michelle have played for the "A" team. Janani Narayanan, Vrinda Rathi, G. S. Lakshmi (India), Shivani Mishra (India-born, now based in Qatar) are few of the other Asian women in the ICC panel of umpires and match referee. They have been getting a chance to officiate in the men's matches. More to learn Officiating in the men's match will give more confidence, says Nimali Perera. "Doing men's matches gives me more confidence. The game is so hard, we have to concentrate more in men's matches than in women's", she said. "It is rather more difficult to officiate in a men's match but it gives us a lot of experience and a lot more to learn", she added. Umpiring is rather harder than playing in a match. One wrong decision can change the entire match", she added.

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (UK):-Barbados women handed a 15-run defeat to Pakistan women in their opening match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 at the Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday night. Chasing 145 to win, Pakistan lost four wickets with 49 runs on the board. Iram Javed (first-ball duck), Muneeba Ali (17, 19b, three fours), Omaima Sohail (10, 14b, two fours) and Bismah Maroof (12, 28b, one four) were all back in the hut in the 11th over but Nida Dar’s unbeaten half-century kept Pakistan in the run-chase. Coming to bat at number five, Nida collected 20 runs from Shamilia Connell’s final over and 15th over of the innings. The over included three fours and a huge six from Nida’s bat. The pair of Nida and Aliya Riaz went on to collect 11 runs in the 17th over with 39 runs required from the last three overs. The pair scored eight runs from the 18th over. Aaliyah Alleyne broke the partnership on her last ball of the spell with Aliya going for a shot over mid-off, but was held by Connell in the 19th over. Aliya scored a 24-ball 14 and added 69 runs for the fifth wicket with Nida. With 27 runs required off the final over, Pakistan managed to score 11 runs with Ayesha Naseem striking a six off the second ball of the over. Nida brought up her half-century in the final over and returned undefeated on 50 off 31 balls. Her innings included seven boundaries and one six. For Barbados, Alleyne, Connell, Dottin and Matthews bagged a wicket each. Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to field first, Bismah Maroof-led side restricted Barbados to 144 for four from their allotted 20 overs. Deandra Dottin was the first Barbados batter to return to the pavilion when she tried to play too many shots in the opening over of the match and was caught by Bismah bowled Diana Baig for eight with nine runs on the board. Captain Hayley Matthews was joined by wicketkeeper-batter Kycia Knight and both batters scored runs at all parts of the ground. The pair knitted a 107-run partnership for the second wicket – the highest in the match. Matthews scored a 50-ball 51, hitting four fours and one six. Knight returned undefeated on 62 off 56 balls, which included nine boundaries. For Pakistan, right-arm fast Fatima Sana was the most successful bowler with two for 41 from four overs. Diana was the other wicket taker with one for 14 from two overs. Pakistan will now take on the arch-rivals India on Sunday, 31 July at the same venue. Scores in brief: Barbados women beat Pakistan women by 15 runs Barbados women 144-4, 20 overs (Kycia Knight 62 not out, Hayley Matthews 51; Fatima Sana 2-41) Pakistan women 129-6, 20 overs (Nida Dar 50 not out)

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (UK):-Despite the rain affected tri-series in Ireland which hampered the team preparations, the Bismah Maroof-led Pakistan are confident of a good show in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The green shirts, placed in Group A, open their campaign against Barbados with a day-night match at Birmingham’s famous Edgbaston Stadium. After the Barbados clash, Pakistan play arch-rivals India on Sunday, 31 July followed by a match against T20 world champions Australia on Wednesday, 3 August. The top two sides from each of the two pools (four teams in each pool) will progress to the semi-finals that will be played on 6 August with the third position playoff and final scheduled to take place on 7 August. All 16 event matches will be staged at the Edgbaston Stadium. In the Ireland tri-series, only one out of Pakistan’s four matches were completed. Nida Dar’s all-round performance which won her the player of the match award, guided the team to a 13-run win over the hosts courtesy the DLS method. The two matches against Australia had to be called-0ff midway while the other group match against Ireland was abandoned without a ball bowled. Rain interruptions also hampered the pre-tour camp in Islamabad earlier this month. David Hemp, the team’s head coach though believes that Pakistan will stay competitive in the Commonwealth Games as the squad aspires to impress and show their mettle regardless of the challenge of three formidable sides in Group A. Head Coach David Hemp: “Unfortunately the matches in Ireland got curtailed due to the weather but we did manage to complete all practice sessions. The players experiencing different conditions in the UK was a very valuable exercise. We were looked after very well in Ireland and want to thank the organisers for making the tour an enjoyable one. “Since arriving in Birmingham we have completed one practice session which was last night at Edgbaston and the players are really excited about the event. The game on Friday is what we have our eyes as we played two practice matches against MCC yesterday, the idea was to utilise all players in the squad in the two games and give them match exposure before the formal start of the event. “The match against Barbados will be a big challenge as they are a formidable unit as most of the players’ make-up the West Indies side. It is a great opportunity to play at a venue like Edgbaston and we hope the weather will be kind to us and we get to play all three pool games in the coming week.” Squad: Bismah Maroof (captain), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza (wicketkeeper), Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wicketkeeper), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal and Tuba Hassan. Support staff: Ayesha Ashhar (Manager), David Hemp (Head coach), Saleem Jaffer (Bowling coach), Muhammad Zubair Ahmed (Analyst) and Rifat Asghar Gill (Physiotherapist). Schedule of Pakistan matches: vs Barbados – 29 July, Birmingham vs India – 31 July, Birmingham vs Australia – 3 August, Birmingham Semi-finals – 6 August, Birmingham Third position playoff and final – 7 August, Birmingham

Sports Bulletin Report Galle (Sri Lanka):-The national side will depart for Pakistan via Dubai today at 2035 from Colombo airport. The team will arrive in Pakistan on the morning of 29 July. According to an official of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Azhar Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Faheem Ashraf will arrive in Lahore while Haris Rauf, Yasir Shah and Mohammad Nawaz in Islamabad. Nauman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Fawad Alam and Sarfaraz Ahmed will arrive in Karachi while Hasan Ali will stay in Dubai

Sports Bulletin Report Galle (Sri Lanka):-Left-arm-spinner Prabath Jayasuriya (player of the series) continued his dream start to Test cricket (29 wickets in three Tests) as his five-wicket haul earned Sri Lanka a comprehensive 246-run win in the second match of the ICC World Test Championship series against Pakistan at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday. Hosts Sri Lanka’s win tied the two-match series 1-1. The Babar Azam-led Pakistan had won the first Test by four wickets last week. The defeat has sent Pakistan to the number five spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 rankings while Sri Lanka have moved up to number three. On Thursday – day-five of the Test, Pakistan resumed their second innings in pursuit of the 508-run record target at 89 for one and had to endure a big blow on the 13th ball of the day. Opener Imam-ul-Haq fell one short of his half-century with Ramesh Mendis inducing an edge that was neatly held by wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella. Imam’s 49 was compiled off 90 balls and included four fours. Mohammad Rizwan joined Babar and ensured that Pakistan continue to keep the scoreboard moving with an enterprising approach of strike rotation and the odd boundary whenever an opportunity appeared. The pair added 79 runs for the third-wicket while weathering some anxious moments before Rizwan was bowled by Jayasuriya while offering no-shot to a ball that straightened after pitching. Rizwan scored 37 off 69 balls (six fours), his dismissal triggered a middle-order collapse as Pakistan lost Fawad Alam (1) and Salman Ali Agha (4) by lunch. Fawad was run out while attempting a quick single while Salman was brilliantly caught at short-leg by Kusal Mendis off Jayasuriya. Pakistan took lunch at 188 for five, 320 runs short of the target. Once play resumed, Jayasuriya delivered a series of probing overs and was eventually rewarded with the prized wicket of Babar who fell lbw for 81 in the 66th over of the innings, prior to the dismissal, Babar was dropped in the slips in Jayasuriya’s previous over. Babar’s typically elegant innings included six fours and one six, he faced 146 balls. Mohammad Nawaz (12) was caught in the covers while attempting a big hit off Ramesh Mendis. Yasir Shah scored a quickfire 27 (25 balls, six fours) before falling to Jayasuriya with Kusal Mendis taking a sharp catch. Hasan Ali (11) was bowled by Ramesh Mendis in the next over. The match ended when Naseem Shah was caught at the mid-wicket boundary off Ramesh Mendis for 18 off 21 balls. Pakistan were bowled out for 261 in 77 overs. Jayasuriya bowled 32 overs and conceded 117 runs for his five-fer. Ramesh Mendis took four for 101 in 30 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva who scored a century in the second innings and led Sri Lanka on the field in the absence of the injured Dimuth Karunaratne was named player of the match. Scores in brief: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 246 runs Sri Lanka 378 all out, 103 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 80, Niroshan Dickwella 51, Oshada Fernando 50; Naseem Shah 3-58, Yasir Shah 3-83) and 360 for 8, 91.5 overs (Dhananjaya de Silva 109, Dimuth Karunaratne 61, Ramesh Mendis 45 not out; Naseem Shah 2-44, Mohammad Nawaz 2-75) Pakistan 231 all out, 88.1 overs (Salman Ali Agha 62, Imam-ul-Haq 32; Ramesh Mendis 5-47, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-80) and 89 for 1, 28 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 46 not out, Babar Azam 26 not out; Prabath Jayasuriya 1-46) and 261 all out, 77 overs (Babar Azam 81, Imam-ul-Haq 49, Mohammad Rizwan 37; Prabath Jayasuriya 5-117, Ramesh Mendis 4-101) Player of the Match: Dhananjaya de Silva Player of the Series: Prabath Jayasuria

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique and Sri Lanka spinner Prabath Jayasuriya continue to soar in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after splendid performances in the first Test of their ICC World Test Championship series in Galle. Abdullah, who was declared Player of the Match for his second innings knock of 160 and has amassed 720 runs in his first six Tests, advanced 23 slots to reach 16th position with a Pakistan record of 671 rating points. The previous best by a Pakistan batter after six Tests was Saeed Ahmed’s 614 rating points and only two batters have ever had more points after six Tests – Sunil Gavaskar (692) and Donald Bradman (687). Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya, whose 21 wickets rank him joint-third in terms of most wickets after two Tests, has moved up 11 places to 44th position with 481 rating points, the fourth highest by any bowler after two Tests. Narendra Hirwani (519), Alec Bedser (500) and Bob Massie (494) had higher rating points after two Tests. Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s scores of 119 and 55 see him overtake Australia’s Steve Smith to reach a career high third ranking with a career best rating of 874 points. Babar is currently top ranked in both ODIs and T20Is and remains the only batter in the top 10 of all three lists. Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is another Pakistan player to gain in the latest weekly update, moving up one place to a career best-equaling third position after grabbing four wickets in the first innings. Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah have gained a slot each to reach 13th and 32nd positions, respectively. Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal has gained 11 slots to reach 18th position after scores of 76 and 94 not out while Kusal Mendis (up two places to 47th) and Oshada Fernando (up 11 places to 58th) too have made headway in the Test rankings. In the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock has progressed two places to fourth after his 92 not out in the third match against England that was washed out by rain, ending the series at 1-1. England fast bowler David Willey has moved up to 23rd position among bowlers. Performances in the first two matches of the West Indies versus India series were also considered in the latest weekly update. India captain Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a match-winning 97 in the first ODI, has moved up one place to joint-13th while Shreyas Iyer is up 20 places to joint-54th among batters. Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj is in the top 100. For the West Indies, opener Shai Hope is up three places to 12th after his valiant 115 in the second match while fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has gained two places to reach 16th position after grabbing two wickets each in both matches. In the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, New Zealand players Glenn Phillips (up three places to joint-27th among batters) and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson (up five places to 35th among bowlers) have made notable progress, as have Ireland bowlers Mark Adair and Joshua Little, who are in 43rd and 44th positions, respectively.

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (UAE):-The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is eagerly looking forward to conducting its much-awaited Asia Cup tournament from August 27th to September 11th, 2022, as scheduled. However, considering the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, the ACC after extensive deliberation has unanimously concluded that it would be appropriate to relocate the tournament from Sri Lanka to the UAE. The ACC is mindful of the passionate Sri Lankan fans, hence the final decision to change the venue has been very difficult, but has been one that was deemed necessary. However, the thoughts of all ACC members remain in solidarity with the cricket-loving nation of Sri Lanka. The ACC remains committed to supporting the sport and all its fans and is deeply thankful for the unwavering efforts made by SLC in ensuring the tournament continues as scheduled. Jay Shah, President, ACC said: “Every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation. The UAE will be the new venue while Sri Lanka will continue to retain hosting rights. This edition of the Asia Cup is extremely important as it will help Asian nations prepare for the ICC World Cup, and I thank the SLC and the Emirates Cricket Board for their understanding and cooperation.” Shammi Silva, President, SLC said: “We were really looking forward to hosting our Asian neighbours in Sri Lanka for the much-anticipated Asia Cup. While I fully stand by the ACC’s decision to shift the Asia Cup to UAE considering the current context and the magnitude of the event, Sri Lanka Cricket will work closely with the ACC and Emirates Cricket Board to ensure that we still have an exciting edition of the Asia Cup”. Khalid Al Zarooni, Vice-Chairman, ECB said: “ The Emirates Cricket Board takes great pride in UAE being named the new venue for the Asia Cup. The ECB is always ready to help fellow Member Boards and the ACC and Sri Lanka Cricket have our full support. He further said; we have the required infrastructure in place and look forward to welcoming the teams to the UAE”.  

Sports Bulletin Report Galle (Sri Lanka):-Pakistan made an impressive start to their 508-run chase on day-four of the second ICC World Test Championship match against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium on Wednesday. Bad light followed by rain curtailed the day as play was called-off with 26 overs left undelivered. After a promising start, the visitors lost Abdullah Shafique for 16 after a 42-run opening stand. Imam-ul-Haq finished the day at an unbeaten 46 off 80 balls (four fours). Imam and captain Babar Azam have so far added 47 runs for the second-wicket, Babar was not out on 26 off 38 balls (two fours and one six). On the fifth and final day, Pakistan need another 419 runs to register a world record chase. If the visitors bat out the remaining overs, the match will end in a draw earning Pakistan a 1-0 series win. On Wednesday, Dhananjaya de Silva was Sri Lanka’s second innings’ star performer. The right-hander scored the ninth century of his Test career to spearhead his side’s progress to their 500 plus overall lead. Resuming at 176 for five, de Silva and captain Dimuth Karunaratne took their sixth-wicket partnership to 126. Nauman Ali provided Pakistan their first breakthrough of the day when he had Karunaratne smartly caught by Abdullah at short-leg. Karunaratne scored 61 off 105 balls with the help of three fours. Sri Lanka continued to progress at a healthy rate as Pakistan bowlers searched for wickets. Debutant Dunith Wellalage fell for 18 to Mohammad Nawaz, Sri Lanka took lunch at 297 for seven – overall lead of 444. De Silva completed his century off 159 balls, the seasoned batter found an able ally in Ramesh Mendis who followed his first innings all-round exploits (35 and five wickets) with an unbeaten 45 (54 balls, five fours). The pair added 82 for the eight-wicket before de Silva was run out via a direct hit by Yasir Shah. Sri Lanka declared their innings at 360 for 8. Naseem Shah and Nawaz took two wickets each for Pakistan.  Scores in brief: Sri Lanka 378 all out, 103 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 80, Niroshan Dickwella 51, Oshada Fernando 50; Naseem Shah 3-58, Yasir Shah 3-83) and 360 for 8, 91.5 overs (Dhananjaya de Silva 109, Dimuth Karunaratne 61, Ramesh Mendis 45 not out; Naseem Shah 2-44, Mohammad Nawaz 2-75) Pakistan 231 all out, 88.1 overs (Salman Ali Agha 62, Imam-ul-Haq 32; Ramesh Mendis 5-47, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-80) and 89 for 1, 28 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 46 not out, Babar Azam 26 not out; Prabath Jayasuriya 1-46)

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Adelaide Oval’s chief curator Damien Hough has completed his 12-day visit of Pakistan during which he visited four Test centres and worked with the ground staff, curators and coaches on pitch and outfield preparation methods. Hough, started his visit at the headquarters of Pakistan cricket, Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. From Lahore, Hough travelled to Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi before coming down to spend the last weekend in Karachi. Besides a thorough inspection of the city’s Test venue – National Stadium, Hough also made a visit to the Naya Nazimabad Ground. Besides inspecting the pitches and the outfield in the four cities, Hough also delivered lectures on pitch making and outfield inspection which were attended by local coaches, ground staff and curators. Hough meanwhile, has termed his trip very useful and enjoyable one as besides making the pitch and ground related visits, delivering lectures and presentations, he also got an opportunity to understand and learn about pitch making in Pakistan. The visit according to him was also about exchanging ideas and collaboration. Hough also lauded the Pakistan Cricket Board’s efforts and interest in experimenting with imported Australian soil and called it a world class approach. Damien Hough said: “There were two parts to the plan of coming over to Pakistan, like it was about providing information and understanding on how we prepare pitches at the Adelaide Oval, the grass we leave on to assist with the pace, bounce and carry which was conveyed through presentations to the coaches and participants of the lectures at the four cities we visited. We also went on the ground and rolled out a pitch to explain how we do things. “The other part was about a visit to the different venues and to meet the grounds team and the staff and understand how they do things, the outfields, the machinery and to go home and put together a report about what I have seen. There have been a lot of positives to take away and it has been a really enjoyable tour. “The engagement from the curators and the coaches was extremely positive. The challenges in Pakistan are different with regards to the environment and busy schedules for the curators but the good thing was that everyone was willing to learn and progress, it was about exchanging ideas and having a collaborative approach as a lot of things are done similarly both here and in Australia. “There are a lot of things that are being done already and the curators and the ground staff are ready to learn and up skill. The commitment of the staff is exactly the same as Australia which is commendable. The machinery here is good, it is all about how to use it and about providing some advice on how it can be best used to get the results. Every year or so the equipment gets advanced. It is the same challenge for us back home as we are always trying to update and see what new machinery we need to add because it makes our job easier and of course helps improve the surface. “The experiment with the soil is outstanding, to be in a position to put it all out in the middle of your grounds is world class thinking. The work that has already been done really excites me, it shows to me that the board is constantly looking for improvement and they deserve a round of applause. Using different clay is very exciting, these are kind of things that are very important for cricket around the world. Even if it doesn’t work there will be a lot of positives to take from this, it shouldn’t be considered a failure. “In Australia we use different clay in all cricket academies and we try and experiment all the time. It started in Brisbane where clay from all over Australia was brought and the same we have now tried in Adelaide. To provide your team an opportunity of preparing for bouncier pitches and giving them great preparation is a great approach especially when the team fronts up to the challenge of bouncer pitches in places like Australia and South Africa. “I will be providing the PCB a feasibility report on the idea of a drop-in pitch and it would be up to them on how they want to proceed on the matter.”