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Call for fans to be part of ICC Women World Cup 2022
Aamir Ali Janjua
Dubai (December 15, 2021):-New Zealand sports fans are being urged to pack the Bay Oval in Tauranga and kick off the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 in style as the final schedule for the event is unveiled with hosts New Zealand taking on the West Indies in the opening match on 4 March.
The WHITE FERNS will take centre stage for the first game and will play at all six host city venues during their campaign. The schedule was confirmed after Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies all qualified for the event, joining hosts New Zealand, Australia, England, India and South Africa in the event with the final being played under lights at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 3 April.
CWC22 CEO Andrea Nelson said: “What better way to launch CWC22 than with a full house under lights at the Bay Oval watching WHITE FERNS against the West Indies? It’s going to be a great day out, with some amazing opening celebrations planned before our WHITE FERNS stars including Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr take on the West Indies and some greats of the game like Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin!
“I’d encourage you all to get your friends and family along to the Bay Oval on 4 March for a spectacular start to what is going to be a memorable event! There is also free pop up childcare thanks to our partners PORSE meaning all the family can enjoy themselves.”
Other highlights for newly qualified teams include:
Classic rivals India and Pakistan will meet under lights at Bay Oval on 6 March
A battle of the qualifiers between Bangladesh and Pakistan at Hamilton’s Seddon Park on 14 March
A replay of the 2013 Final between Australia and the West Indies at the iconic Basin Reserve in Wellington on 15 March
“Locking in the last places is great news for supporters planning their summer, and our host cites, who can start connecting with fan communities in their area,” said Nelson.
The World Cup will see 31 matches being played over 31 days across six host cities. Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, the West Indies and hosts New Zealand are the eight teams in the fray.
Bangladesh, Pakistan and the West Indies were confirmed in the schedule after the qualifying tournament in Harare had to be called off due to COVID-19 concerns.
Pakistan bowlers make significant gains in ICC Test Ranking
Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Australia batters Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head have gained from their fine performances in Brisbane, attaining career-best positions in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, as has Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi after the Dhaka Test.
Labuschagne’s first innings 74 in the first Test against England has lifted him two slots to a career-best second position while Player of the Match Travis Head’s pacy 152 has helped him gallop 16 places to 10th in the list. Labuschagne’s previous best ranking was third while Head’s best was 17th.
Other batters to move up after the first Ashes Test, which Australia won by nine wickets, include Australia opener David Warner (up three places to sixth) and England’s Dawid Malan (up 18 places to 77th) while the bowlers’ rankings see England’s Ollie Robinson (up four places to 31st) and Mark Wood (up two places to 50th) progress in the list led by Australia captain Pat Cummins.
Shaheen headlines the bowling rankings in the latest weekly update for men that is carried out on Wednesdays and includes the second Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan, which Pakistan won by an innings and eight runs to clinch full ICC World Test Championship points from the series.
Shaheen has continued his ascent with three wickets in the match while off-spinner Sajid Khan has zoomed up 52 places to 49th after a 12-wicket haul that won him the Player of the Match award. Mohammad Rizwan (up five places to 18th) and Fawad Alam (up seven places to 20th) have moved up in the batters’ list after their useful half-centuries.
For Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan scored 33 and 63, advancing eight places to 35th. He has also gained one slot to reach fourth place among all-rounders, overtaking Ben Stokes along with India’s Ravindra Jadeja, who is now third in the list.
In the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, Dawid Malan is back to number one among batters with Pakistan captain Babar Azam unable to hold on to the top spot after two matches of their series against the West Indies.
Pakistan’s Haider Ali has gained 86 slots to reach 98th position after scores of 68 and 31 while the rankings for bowlers see spinner Shadab Khan back in the top 10, moving up five slots to ninth position.
Fast bowler Haris Rauf is up three places to 19th while Mohammad Nawaz has gained 29 slots to reach 54th position. For the West Indies, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosen has gained 73 slots and is now 68th among bowlers.
LPL: Wives of players remain in bio-bubble till LPL final
Bipin Dani
The family members of the players and the support staff participating in the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) will continue to be with them in Hambantota also.
The second leg of the second edition of the LPL will begin in Hambantota from December 20.
"Our policy for the family members will be the same at the second venue also", one of the sources in the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board said on Tuesday morning.
Few family members of almost all LPL franchise teams have joined the same bio-bubble. Even few foreign players have also brought their life-partners, it is learnt. The decision to allow them was taken by the medical panel.
"Bubble life is very tough. We must not forget that the mental pressure on players is immense. Some had not seen their family members for months and hence this decision was taken". Prof. Arjuna de Silva, the chairman of the medical panel of the SLC, who is also the Medical Director for the LPL 2021, said over the phone.
"They (family members) travel separately to the ground and have been watching the matches from the special enclosure", he added.
CLIMBING - Int News 14 Dec, 2021
Islamabad (Sports Desk):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), the Alpine Association of Slovenia, and the Chinese Mountaineering Association announced the cities of Koper, Slovenia, and Wujiang to host IFSC World Cup competitions in 2022.
The fifth largest city in Slovenia, Koper will host an IFSC World Cup for the first time, from 2 to 3 September, extending a long-lasting tradition that saw the city of Kranj, Slovenia, organise 25 World Cup competitions between 1996 and 2021.
After welcoming World Cup competitions for seven consecutive years – from 2013 to 2019 – Wujiang will make its return to the IFSC World Cup circuit with the 13th and closing act of the 2022 season, set to take place from 30 September to 2 October.
The IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Bali, Indonesia, has also been rescheduled and will now take place from 24 to 26 September.
IFSC World Cup Series 2022 calendar:
1-3 April – Moscow (RUS) – Boulder, Speed
8-10 April – Meiringen (SUI) – Boulder
29 April-1 May – TBD location in Japan – Boulder
6-8 May – Seoul (KOR) – Boulder, Speed
20-22 May – Salt Lake City (USA) – Boulder
27-29 May – Salt Lake City (USA) – Boulder, Speed
22-25 June – Innsbruck (AUT) – Boulder, Lead
1-3 July – Villars (SUI) – Lead, Speed
8-10 July – Chamonix (FRA) – Lead, Speed
22-23 July – Briançon (FRA) – Lead
2-3 September – Koper (SLO) – Lead
24-26 September – Bali (INA) – Lead, Speed
30 September-2 October – Wujiang (CHN) – Lead, Speed
LPL: Jaffna Kings demolish Dambulla Giants by 7 wickets
Colombo (SB Report):-Thisara Perera's Jaffna Kings continued their king-sized domination of the Lanka Premier League 2021 by demolishing Dambulla Giants by 7 wickets to pick up their fifth successive triumph on Monday at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. With the win, the Jaffna Kings confirmed a spot in the playoffs.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, the Kings bundled out Dambulla Giants for 69 with Chaturanga de Silva coming to the party, picking up 4 wickets for 16 runs.
Perera's decision to bowl on a spinning track proved to be the correct one as off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana gave early blows to Dambulla Giants, dismissing Niroshan Dickwella and Sohaib Maqsood in the first over itself. In his next over, Theekshana dismissed Nuwanidu Fernando for 2 runs, forcing the Giants on the back-foot.
Afterward, De Silva’s magical spell began, as he cleaned up the Giants' middle-order in quick succession. Philip Salt, who was the only one who showed a bit of resistance, was dismissed by star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga for 23 runs as the Giants were bowled out in just 14.1 overs, setting up a meager total for the Kings to chase.
In the chase, Jaffna Kings lost Upul Tharanga early on, but the side made a surprise call, promoting Wanindu Hasaranga to bat at No.3. The pinch-hitter rose to be the darling of the spectators as he bludgeoned an 18-ball 37 to set the tempo in that victory charge.
Upfront, Avishka Fernando infused the razor edge as he belted the bowling, scoring 22 runs in 17 balls with six and 2 fours in his innings, making a short work of the target. The game came to a close as hard-hitting opening batsman Fernando slammed the second delivery of the ninth over by Ramesh Mendis over mid-wicket for a six, finishing off the chase in style.
BB Shaheed Tennis: Top seeds move into next round
Abdullah Asjad
ISLAMABAD (December 14, 2021):-The 7th Benazir Bhutto Shaheed National Tennis Championship started here at Islamabad Tennis Complex (ITC) G-6, as the all seed players of the Men’s Singles event moved into next round after beating their opponents on Tuesday.
Results:
Men’s Singles Matches (First Round):
Mohammad Shoaib beat Mohammad Talha khan 6-0,6-2
Barkat ullah bt Parbhat Kumar 6-2, 7-6(4)
Yousaf Khalil bt Ahmad Asjad 6-2, 6-1
Muzammil Murtaza bt Israr Gul 6-0, 6-1
Mudassir Murtaza bt Mohammad Huzaifa Khan 6-1, 6-1
Hamid Israr bt Ilham Khan 6-3, 6-4
Hasheesh Kumar bt Mohammad Hamza aasim 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-0
Aqeel Khan bt Faizan Fayyaz 6-0, 6-1
Shahzad Khan bt Ahmed Kamil 6-2, 6-1
Sami Zeb Khan bt Nofil Kaleem 6-2, 6-1
Heera Ashiq bt Waqas Malik 6-2, 6-1
Ladies Singles (First Round):
Kainat Ali bt Amara khan 6-1, 6-1
Oreen Jasia bt Maryam Fazal 6-0, 6-0
Syeda Eraj Batool bt Mahnoor sohail 6-2, 6-1
Asifa Shahbaz bt Azeena Aleem 6-2, 6-4
Zahra Suleman bt Marium Shahid 6-0, 6-1
Saher Aleem bt Sunila 6-0, 6-0
Boys Under-18 Singles (First Round):
Shaeel Durab bt Mohammad Talha khan 6-1, 6-2
Kamran Khan bt Azan Sajid 6-1,6-0
Mohammad Zaryab Khan bt Raza ghaus 3-0 (Retd)
Asad Zaman bt Umer Masood 6-1, 6-1
Nalain Abbas bt Hasan ali 6-4, 6-4
Farman Shakeel bt Mohammad Ahtasham 6-3, 6-0
Uzair khan bt Faizan fayyaz 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
Mohammad Salaar bt Inam Qadir 6-0, 6-0
Mohammad Hamza Aasim bt Mohammad Abdullah 6-1, 6-0
Ahtesham Humayun bt Huzaima Abdul Rehman 6-2, 7-5
Mohammad Talha Khan bt Sami Zeb Khan 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-2
Boys Under-14 Singles (First Round):
Nabeel Ali Qayum bt Rayan Khan 4-1, 4-0
Zohaib Afzal bt Mohammad Talha Khan 5-3, 4-2
Mohammad Junaid bt Ihsan ullah 4-2, 4-0
S. Hamza Hussain bt Safi ullah 4-0, 4-0
Mohammad Salaar bt Abdul Basit 4-1, 4-2
B/G U-12 Singles (First Round):
Samer Zaman bt Arsalan Khan 4-0, 4-1
Shayan Afridi bt Saqib Ali 4-0, 4-0
Razik Sultan bt Sameer Maqsood 4-0, 4-1
Mohammad Haziq Aasim bt Lalarukh Sajid 4-0, 4-1
Abdul Basit bt Mahd Mehmood 4-1, 4-0
Mohammad Ayaan Sherdil bt Awais Ali 5-3, 4-1
B/G U-10 Singles (First Round):
Anis Khan bt Arshman Maqsood 4-0, 4-0
Abdul Wasay bt Qasim ul Khair 4-1, 4-0
Amir Masood bt Wishal Arshad 4-1, 4-0
Arsalan Khan bt Fatima Maqsood 4-0, 4-0.
Pakistan crush West Indies by 63 runs in first T20
Special Report
KARACHI (December 13, 2021):-Pakistan crushed West Indies by 63 runs in the first T20 International of three-match series at National Cricket Stadium Karachi on Monday night. While chasing 201 runs, West Indies all out on 137 runs in 19 overs.
Earlier, Pakistan scored 200 for 6 runs in allotted 20 overs, as the major contributors were Mohammad Rizwan, Haider Ali and Mohammad Nawaz, who scored 78, 68 and 30 runs respectively.
Summarized Scorecard:
Toss: West Indies won and decided to field
Pakistan Batting: (200 for 6 in 20 overs)
Mohammad Rizwan 78 (52 balls, 4X10), Haider Ali 68 (39 balls, 4X6, 6X4) Mohammad Nawaz 30 (10 balls 4X3)
West Indies Bowling: Romario Shapherd (2 for 43), Akeal Hosein (1 for 19), Oshena Thomas (1 for 38)
West Indies batting:
Shai Hopes 31 (26 balls 4X4), Odean Smith 24 (16 balls 4X2, 6X2) Rovman Powell 23 (15 balls 4X1, 6X2), Romario Shapherd 21 (10 balls 4X2, 6X1)
Pakistan Bowling:
Mohammad Wasim (4 for 40), Shadab Khan (3 for 17), Mohammad Nawaz (1 for 24)
Results:
Man of the Match:
Pakistan (Playing XIs):
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi
West Indies (Playing XIs):
Nicholas Pooran (c), Shai Hope (Wicketkeeper), Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Devon Thomas, Rovman Powell, Odean Smith, Dominic Drakes, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Oshane Thomas
Schedule:
13 Dec – The first T20I (Pakistan beat West Indies by 63 runs)
14 Dec – The second T20I will begin at 1800
16 Dec - The third and final T20I will begin at 1800
18 Dec – The first ODI will start at 1300
20 Dec – The second ODI will start at 1300
22 Dec – The third ODI will start at 1300.
Warner and Matthews named ICC Players of the Month
Aamir Ali Janjua
DUBAI (December 13, 2021):-Australia opener David Warner and West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews have been adjudged the ICC Players of the Month for November after their superb performances during the voting period.
Warner’s crucial efforts in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 helped him pip Pakistan opener Abid Ali and New Zealand seam bowler Tim Southee to grab the men’s award while Matthews’s all-round show in ODIs won her the women’s award ahead of left-arm spinners Anam Amin of Pakistan and Nahida Akter of Bangladesh.
Warner won the award on his maiden nomination following his Player of the Tournament show at the T20 World Cup, in which he smashed 53 in the final against New Zealand after 49 in the semifinal against Pakistan. He was also named Player of the Match in an earlier Super 12s match against the West Indies for a blistering 89 not out off 56 balls. Warner aggregated 209 runs at an average of 69.66 and a strike rate of 151.44 in four T20Is during the period.
Jury member Russel Arnold said about Warner: “David was back to his scintillating best during the T20 World Cup and his aggression at the top of the order was outstanding. His 209 runs at a strike rate of 151 in four innings simply tells the story. There was no recovering from the early onslaught by Warner and his stroke play was pleasing to the eye.”
Matthews won the award on her second nomination. She was earlier nominated in July along with captain Stafanie Taylor, who was the winner then. Matthews scored 141 runs and grabbed nine wickets at an average of 13.11 during the period. She starred in a series win over Pakistan, scoring 57 runs and taking three for 31 in the first match before a four for 26 runs in the second.
Jury member Irfan Pathan said about Matthews: “Hayley was the star, performing with both bat and ball. Her all-round performance was one of the reasons the West Indies won against Pakistan, and she deserves to be the women’s Player of the Month.”
SPORTS NEWS - National 13 Dec, 2021
LAHORE (December 13, 2021):-The elections of Punjab Modern Pentathlon Association (PMPA) held on Monday, as House elected Zulfiqar Ahmed Ghumman as the president of PMPA for the term of next 4-years.
Rao Shahid Qayyum was elected Senior Vice-President, Ch Mohammad Ashraf, Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Amir Raza Khan, Tahir Mahmood Vice-Presidents, Mohammad Ashfaq Secretary General, Amir Shah Finance Secretary, Kaleemullah Farooqi Associate Secretary and Oksana Lyman was elected as Chairperson Women Wing. The members of Governing Body are: Sana Arshad, Khawar Mateen, Shah Muhammad, Qaiser Ali and Mohammad Sajid. (Press Release).
Kaun-Baney-ga Punjab ka Boxing Champion event concludes
Sports Report
LAHORE (December 13, 2021):-The boxing competitions of ‘KaunBaneyga Punjab ka Boxing Champion’ concluded at Nishtar Park Sports Complex Gymnasium Hall on Monday. Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum was the chief guest on this occasion. He also witnessed thrilling boxing competitions of the event.
Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum distributed prizes among the successful teams at the closing ceremony where the participating teams also had group photographs with him. Punjab Boxing Association (PBA) organized the grand boxing event with the collaboration of Sports Board Punjab in which around 180 boxers from all nine divisions of Punjab took part in the boxing event.
Addressing the prize distribution ceremony, Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum appreciated the boxing skills of young male and female pugilists belonging to different divisions of the province. “Kaun-Bane-yga Punjab ka Boxing Champion’ provided a suitable platform to talented boxers of the province. “Sports Board Punjab will continue to hold more such boxing events in future,” he added.
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