Sports Bulletin

SPECIAL REPORT Dubai (November 11, 2021):-Pakistan set a-177-run target for Australia in the second semifinal of ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2021 at Dubai International Stadium Dubai on Thursday night. Pakistan (Playing XIs): Babar Azam (Captain), Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shahdab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf Australia (Playing XIs): Aaron Finch (Captain), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade (Wicketkeeper), Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.  Scorecard: Pakistan Batting: Australia Bowling: Australia Batting: Pakistan Bowling:  

H Shah MANCHESTER (November 11, 2021):-In my capacity as England captain and as a senior player at Yorkshire, I feel compelled to address the current situation that has consumed the sport and YCCC. I just want the sport to be a place where everyone is enjoying it for the beautiful game it is and feels equal and safe. It hurts knowing this has happened at YCCC so close to home. It’s my club that I care passionately about it. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting. There is no debate about racism, no one side or other. It is simply intolerable. These events have fractured our game and torn lives apart. We must now recover and come back together as fans, players, media, and those who work within cricket. We have an opportunity to make the sport I love better for everyone. I want to see change and actions that will see YCCC rise from this with a culture that harnesses a diverse environment with trust across all communities that support cricket in the county. We need to educate, unify and reset. I will reach out to YCCC new Chair, Lord Patel, to offer support however I’m able. We have to find a way to move forward and make sure this never happens again. In my opinion, this is a societal issue and needs addressing further afield than just cricket. That being said, we, as a sport, all have to do more. How can we all help shape things moving forward positively? What can everyone from myself, the ECB, counties, players, officials and others in the sport do to improve the state of the game? I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I think we need to educate more and earlier; we must call it out straight away and have our eyes and ears open more. Inclusivity, diversity and anti-discrimination is something over the past few years the England teams I have been involved in have spent a lot of time talking about and are very passionate about improving and making a big difference. It’s a big part of our culture, and we want to celebrate our diversity. We are representing England, and in that, we are representing the multicultural society we live in. We want all the fans to be able to enjoy what we do on the field and feel proud about who’s representing them. “With the Ashes fast approaching, I’d really like the fans back home to unite and get behind us as a team. We will be playing for you all, “Root said in his statement.

BIPIN DANI: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board has empowered former captain Mahela Jayawardene, who is a member of the National Sports Council to suggest the new coach for the national team, it is learnt. The discussion on Mickey Arthur's fate was discussed by some members in the Ex-co meeting, which was held at the SLC on Tuesday. It is also learnt that the services of head coach Mickey Arthur and few other coaching staff will be discontinued after the home series against the visiting West Indies team. Roshan Mahanama, who was one of the choices of the Aravinda de Silva-led cricket advisory committee is no more a front-runner. Muthiah Muralitharan had expressed very high opinion about him but because of lack of coaching experience Mahanama may not be at the helm, it is understood. Few of the Ex-co members are persuading Mahela to take up the head coach post but because of Mahela's other commitments, Sri Lankan coaches will also be considered along with the few overseas coaches.

SPECIAL REPORT Lahore (November 10, 2021):-Abid Ali stroked his third century of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 on the opening day of the pink ball first-class match between Discover Pakistan Central Punjab and GFS Sindh at the Gaddafi Stadium. The Pakistan Test opener smashed 11 fours and a six and was unbeaten for 113 as Central Punjab made 238 for two in 75.3 overs. Central Punjab openers gave their side a solid 138-run start after Sindh opted against contesting the toss and elected to field. Ahmed Shehzad, Abid’s opening partner, made 104-ball 78, which was studded with 11 fours. Sindh bowlers made the most of the twilight hour – termed to be most productive for the bowling side in a pink ball affair with the natural light fading and artificial lights taking over – as two of the batting side’s wickets to fall in the day came in this span. Ahmed was the first one to fall as he was bowled by left-arm orthodox Mohammad Asghar. Mohammad Hasnain’s lethal bouncer sent Azhar Ali packing as the Central Punjab skipper edged the ball on its way to wicketkeeper’s gloves. Mohammad Saad, with 44 off 102, put up strong resistance against Sindh bowlers following the two dismissals and he will resume the 97-run stand with Abid on Thursday. Meanwhile, the play will begin at 1130 from Thursday. The match timings for the next three days are: 1130 – 1330 (session one), 1330 – 1410  (lunch), 1410 – 1610 (session two), 1610 – 1630 (tea), 1630 – 1830  (session three). Scores in brief: Central Punjab 238-2, 75.3 overs (Abid Ali 113 not out, Ahmed Shehzad 78, Mohammad Saad 44 not out) Innings points – Central Punab 2, Sindh 0

Sports News Abu Dhabi (November 10, 2021):-New Zealand reached into the final of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after beating England by 5 wickets in semifinal at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Chasing 167, the Black Caps were on the back foot when key duo Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson were dismissed by Chris Woakes inside the first three overs of the reply. But the ship was steadied by Mitchell and Devon Conway, who added 82 for the third wicket, before Jimmy Neesham blasted 26 from 10 to turn the tide in his side’s favour. And Mitchell was on hand to hit the winning runs from the final ball of the 19th over, finishing with 72 from 47 as Williamson’s men gained revenge for their dramatic 2019 Cricket World Cup final defeat against the same opponents. Moeen Ali’s unbeaten 51 had earlier propelled England to 166 for four and though Liam Livingstone (2/22) impressed with the ball, their ambitions of becoming the first men’s team to hold both ICC World Cups at once are now over. England were put in and new-look opening pair Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler were given a thorough test early on as New Zealand’s seamers probed with the new ball. Buttler got into his stride with back-to-back boundaries off Trent Boult but lost his partner following the introduction of Adam Milne, whose first delivery was chipped by Bairstow to a diving Williamson at mid-off. England had been flying starters with the bat in the Super 12s but reached the end of the powerplay here on 40 for one, at which point Williamson turned to spin to keep the squeeze on. Buttler released some of the pressure with a reverse swept boundary off Mitchell Santner but the same shot brought his downfall as he was struck on the knee roll by Ish Sodhi and departed for 29. That brought Moeen and Dawid Malan together and the latter benefited from a let-off on ten when Conway put down a tough low chance to his left off Neesham. Malan responded by unfurling a glorious cover drive to take England to the halfway stage in style and went inside out through the same region twice in three balls against Glenn Phillips as the run rate ticked above seven. Moeen was equally quick to punish anything loose, cutting Sodhi to the point boundary before working Boult through fine leg to leave the innings delicately poised on 110 for two after 15. England’s momentum was checked when Malan feathered an edge behind the ball after pulling Tim Southee for the first six of the match but his departure saw Moeen step on the accelerator, with Sodhi and Milne deposited into the stands. New man Liam Livingstone did not take long to find his range, launching Milne for an 88-metre straight six in an 18th over costing 16, though he couldn’t muster the same power off Neesham and picked out Santner at long-off. Moeen brought up his 36-ball half-century later in the final over which ended with Morgan dropped by an off-balance Phillips in the deep as England set the Black Caps 167 to win. The total appeared about par but any hopes New Zealand had of making quick inroads were quickly dashed as Morgan’s men – and specifically Woakes – made a dream start with the ball. The reply was just three balls old when Guptill, who had struck his first delivery for four, saw a leading edge easily taken by Moeen at mid-on. And Woakes’s work was not done there as he went on to claim the huge early scalp of Williamson, whose attempted scoop did not have the legs to clear Adil Rashid at short fine leg to leave New Zealand 13 for two. Mitchell and Conway were tasked with repairing the damage and began to pick up valuable boundaries as they negotiated the remainder of a powerplay which was brought to a close by an excellent cover drive by Conway. Just 14 runs came between the sixth and ninth overs, though Conway released the shackles by lofting Livingstone down the ground for a much-needed boundary as the required rate neared 11. He followed up by flaying Mark Wood over backward point for a remarkable six and Mitchell soon cleared the ropes himself – despite a magnificent effort by Chris Jordan on the long-off boundary – as the pair continued to keep Black Caps dreams alive. Enter Livingstone, who struck twice in quick succession as Conway was stumped for 46 and Phillips picked out Sam Billings on the long-off boundary to leave New Zealand needing 57 from the final four overs. But the pendulum swung towards the Black Caps during a dramatic 17th over as Neesham ran riot. Two sixes off Chris Jordan, the second of which saw Bairstow’s knee land on the rope just before he released the ball to Livingstone, contributed to 23 runs in all and there was no let-up when Rashid returned. Neesham and Mitchell both slammed maximums, the latter bringing up his half century in the process, though the game took another twist when the former couldn’t clear Morgan at cover to leave 20 runs needed from the final two overs. They needed just one to complete the job, however, as successive Mitchell sixes took the target into single figures before a boundary behind square leg allowed the celebrations to begin. New Zealand will now take on either Australia and Pakistan in Sunday’s final as they look to add T20 glory to their ICC World Test Championship crown. Summarized Scorecard: Toss: New Zealand won the toss and decided to field first England Batting (166 for 4 in 20 overs): Moeen Ali 51 not out (37 balls, 4X3, 6X2), Dawid Malan 41 (30 balls, 4X4, 6X1), Liam Livingston 17 (10 balls, 4X1, 6X1) New Zealand Bowling: (167 for 5 in 19 overs) Tim Southee (1 for 24), Adam Milne (1 for 31), Ish Sodhi (1 for 32) New Zealand Batting: Daryl Mitchell 73 (48 balls, 4X4, 6X4), Devon Conway 46 (38 balls, 4X5, 6X1), James Neesham 27 (10 balls, 4X1, 6X3) England Bowling: Liam Livingston (2 for 22), Chris Woakes (2 for 36), Adil Rasheed (1 for 39) Player of the match: Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)

SPECIAL REPORT:After almost a month of action, it all comes down to five days, four teams and three matches at the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2021. And I reckon this could be Australia’s year. England are the favourites from here but I sense the belief in the Australia camp and I think there is some real momentum there. Everything is clicking nicely ahead of Thursday's semi-final against Pakistan. Go back a month and Australia didn’t have any form on the eve of this tournament but their big players have caught fire. I was speaking to David Warner before it started and told him 'I have you down to be Australia’s leading run-scorer, so don’t let me down!' I did that on the belief that he is a big-match player, a big tournament player and that has not changed. Aaron Finch has found some form, Mitchell Marsh is hitting the ball well and Glenn Maxwell will come good. They have been underdogs in this tournament and going under the radar has really helped them. When you go in as one of the favourites like England, with their history and success, it breeds confidence but also expectations. If England don’t beat New Zealand and make the final, people will be asking questions, just like India, who started slowly and didn’t peak at the right time. I think we have the right four teams in the semi-finals and it’s interesting to note that only one of them is from the sub-continent. We thought the conditions would favour the likes of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan but it just didn’t happen for them. A key reason for Australia's success is how they have utilised spin. With the bat, we have some great players of spin and they have shown that in this tournament, but the big weapon is Adam Zampa. His form spinning the ball has been key and Australia have embraced a different T20 style with him. Before, the method was always to try to score 170-odd and then try and blow teams away with the quicks. But they know they can’t do that in the UAE and introducing a bigger spin element has helped massively. These are the games we live for as cricketers and the team that wins the tournament will be the one that does the basics the best – and I mean things like making sure there are no stupid run outs, not bowling no-balls, running the twos very hard. I love those things. There is the old cliché that it’s just another game but it’s obviously not. It’s a World Cup semi-final! How you deal with your emotions and execute those plans that will allow you to either win or lose at that final hurdle. The advice I would give is to enjoy it. Enjoy how far you have come. Focus on the strengths, and the strengths for all four teams are they have done the basics far better than most other teams. T20 cricket is about match-winners, big runs and big totals. But it is also about the one per-cent moments. Australia are experienced in these situations. Some of these boys won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015 and then reached the semi-finals four years later and that counts for so much in those pressure situations at the death. If you have been there and done it, whether you have won or lost, you will have learnt from that experience and playing under that pressure. Perhaps my favourite part about Thursday’s game is that it will pit two of my old teammates against each other. Who would have scripted two great mates in Justin Langer and Matty Hayden on opposite sides? Justin is the head coach of Australia and then Matty is the batting consultant for Pakistan, two lads who opened the batting together for years and are two of Australia’s greatest run-getters ever in Test cricket. They have shown that bromance on the field and I know that when they go out, there will be so much respect for each other. They will be fighting hard for their teams but it’s fun! It’s a great feather in Matty’s cap. Pakistan have always had the talent but it’s how you massage that talent and bring it together that creates a good side and Matty has done that. He’s always been a great leader and him being there is great for Pakistan and I also think it’s been healthy for cricket. We don’t want to look too far ahead but if Australia win then they are guaranteed a big rival in the final, with England playing New Zealand. It would be cool to see an Australia v England final, but a lot is going to happen between now and Sunday, anything can happen.

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD (November 10, 2021):-Papua New Guinea (PNG) have withdrawn from the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 in Zimbabwe as they are unable to send a team due to several members of the squad testing positive for COVID-19. PNG were to take on defending champions the West Indies on the opening day of the tournament, which runs from 21 November to 5 December across four venues in Harare. There will be no replacement for PNG in Group A, which will now consist of four teams - Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and the West Indies. The five-team Group B comprises Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the United States. ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said: “Obviously we’re incredibly disappointed not to be able to welcome PNG to the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifer, but they have been unable to field a team because a number of the squad have contracted COVID-19. The safety of the players and everyone involved in our events is paramount and we will go ahead with the tournament maintaining our bio-security standards. “I really feel for the PNG players, who have been preparing extensively for this event and for whom it would have been a wonderful experience playing against several top sides in Harare, with the opportunity to qualify for the Women’s World Cup and the next round of the ICC Women’s Championship. We hope that they are back playing international cricket soon and continue to develop as a team.” The Zimbabwe event is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April, joining five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand. The three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.

BIPIN DANI: The visiting West Indies team, which arrived in Colombo on Monday will spend three days in hotel room quarantine before they begin their training, it is learnt. According to the sources in the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board, the players and the support staff members are arriving in different batches. The team will be playing a 4-day warm up match (November 14-17) in Colombo before heading to Galle for the two Test matches (Nov. 21-25 & Nov. 29-Dec.3). The home team which arrived on Saturday is not required to be in quarantine. "The players are given a short break and they will assemble in Galle on November 13", the source further added.

Sports Reporter ISLAMABAD (November 10, 2021):-Shifa International Hospitals Islamabad beat Afshan Colony Lions Club Rawalpindi by 7 wickets in the friendly match played at at Margallah Cricket Ground Islamabad. Shifa International Captain Qutab Uddin Qureshi won the toss and invited Afshan Lions to bat first, Afshan Lions posted 100 runs for all out on the board in the in 24th overs. Wajahat (22), Yazdan (20) and Huzaifa (10) were the key contributors. For, Shifa International Abrar Ikhlaq bowled well and claimed (3 for 20) in 3 over, While Syed Mudassar Ahmad (2 for 31), Muzammil Rana (1 for 8) and Naveed Malik (1 for 12) were the other main wicket-takers. In reply, Shifa International achieved the target in the 13th over for the loss of three wickets. Captain Qutab Uddin Qureshi and Shahzad Kiani contributed 88 runs in 4th wicket partnership when their team’s main batsmen were bowled out at the crucial stage. Captain Qutab Uddin Qureshi (41 not out) and Shahzad Kiani (39 not out) were their main scorers. For Afshan Lions Saad took (2 for 19).

Jamil Siraj Sydney, Australia (November 10, 2021):-Cricket Australia has fined Victoria player James Pattinson 100 percent match fee, as he was found guilty of a Level 2 offence under the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct. Pattinson was charged and found guilty under Article 2.7 of the Code for throwing a ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during a match. Pattinson was fined 100% of his match fee for the Marsh Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales held on November 5-8, 2021. He also received one suspension point and will be ineligible for selection in the Victoria v New South Wales Marsh One-Day Cup match on November 12. Pattinson has the right to appeal the decision.