Ali Ahmed LAHORE (November 21, 2021):-Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa teams have been fined for maintaining a slow over rate during their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class match that ended at the Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan on Saturday evening. In the drawn game, Central Punjab were found three overs short of their target after taking into account time allowances and, as such, were charged under Article 2.22 of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which deals with the minimum over-rate offences. As such, all members of the playing XI were fined PKR28,000. Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were found two overs short of their target. As such, all members of the playing XI were fined PKR 16,000. Central Punjab captain Ali Zaryab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Khalid Usman accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Mohammad Javed. The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Qaiser Waheed and Saqib Khan.

Sports Bulletin Report DUBHAI (November 21, 2021):-The International Cricket Council (ICC) has congratulated Ranjan Madugalle on becoming the first Match Referee to officiate in 200 Test matches. Madugalle, who is the Chief Referee of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, reached the landmark in the first Test between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in Galle. To mark the achievement, he was presented with mementos on behalf of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the ICC by SLC Vice President Dr Jayantha Dharmadasa and SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, respectively. Apart from officiating in 200 men’s Test matches, 369 men’s ODIs and 125 men’s T20Is, Madugalle has also supervised 14 women’s ODIs and eight women’s T20Is. Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees: “Ranjan has been a tremendous asset over the years and a significant source of inspiration for others. We have benefitted from his experience and work ethic, as someone you can turn to for guidance. “On behalf of the ICC, I would like to thank Ranjan for his years of service to the game and congratulate him on a wonderful career. We hope to continue benefiting from his expertise in the years to come.” Ranjan Madugalle: “It is an honour and a privilege to be officiating in my 200th Test match, for it is not a milestone I had never imagined I would reach. Whilst it has taken a long time, it seems just the other day that I had taken on this role, because I have enjoyed every bit of the journey. “This is obviously what dreams are made of and I continue to be passionately involved with the game and in my role while liaising with my colleagues from the world over. “The passion obviously comes from my time as a player and it is my good fortune to have remained connected so closely with the game. “I thank the International Cricket Council, Sri Lanka Cricket and all my colleagues over the years for all their help. My thanks are also due to my family and friends, without whose support it would not have been possible to have come this far.” Emirates ICC Elite Panel Match Referee Jeff Crowe: ‘It is difficult just to think of 200 Test matches against your name, let alone be on-duty for all those days and years over four decades. “It is an astonishing statistic to be in office and reflects his passion for cricket. Ranjan is a Five Star General when it comes to serving the game. “On behalf of all the Match Referees and Umpires on the ICC panels, I congratulate Ranjan on reaching the milestone and wish him many more.” Madugalle enjoyed a decade-long international career for Sri Lanka as a cricketer, in which he played each of his country’s first 18 Test Matches and enthralled spectators with his stylish stroke-play. He captained Sri Lanka in his final two Tests. He was appointed an ICC Match Referee in 1993. His first assignment was the Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi that December with a first ODI shortly afterwards. A regular at all major ICC tournaments, he has served as ICC Match Referee for four ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Finals (1999, 2003, 2015 and 2019), three ICC Champions Trophy Finals (2004, 2006 and 2013) and four ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Finals (2007, 2010, 2016 and 2021).

Aamir Ali Janjua DUBAI (November 21, 2021):-The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed Geoff Allardice has been appointed as the organisation’s permanent CEO after more than eight months in the role on an interim basis. Allardice, a former first-class cricketer, was the ICC General Manager, Cricket for eight years having previously held a similar role at Cricket Australia. Greg Barclay, ICC Chair said: “I am delighted that Geoff has agreed to take the role of ICC CEO on a permanent basis. He has shown tremendous leadership during an extremely challenging period culminating in the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. “Geoff has unrivaled knowledge of the global cricket landscape and its stakeholders and has consistently demonstrated he is the right person to work in partnership with our Members to shape the sport for the next decade as we embark on delivering a new strategy and our next commercial rights cycle.”  Geoff Allardice, ICC CEO added: “It’s a great privilege to be appointed as the CEO of the ICC and I would like to thank Greg and the ICC Board for the opportunity to lead the sport as we enter an exciting new phase of growth. “My continued focus will be on doing the right thing for our sport and working closely with Members to deliver long-term success and sustainability. I would also like to thank the ICC staff for their commitment and support over the last eight months and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve  cricket with such a talented team.”

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI (November 21, 2021):-The 18th Westbury Ranking Tennis Championships commenced at Defense Authority (DA) Creek Club with an upset victory of Zain Nawab, who eliminated 4th seed , former  Sindh Number 1 player Ibrahim Iltifat in the first Round of Men’s Singles 2-0. Final score-line was 6-0 and 6-2. Results (Day 1): Men’s Singles (Qualifying Round): Shariq Rameez beat Salman Ahmed 7-5. 6-3 Bilal Soomro beat Mohammad Awais 6-1, 6-2 Imran KC beat Durraiz Vazeer 6-4, 6-1 Mustafa Tariq  beat Zeeshan Vazeer 6-3, 6-1 Main,s Singles (Main Round-I): Ali Asif beat Fahad Abid 6-2, 6-2 Raahim Veqar beat Ibadur Rehman 6-1, 6-1 Zain Nawab beat Ibrahim Iltifat 6-0, 6-2 Under 17 Singles (Round-I) Ahsan Ahmed beat Ali Hasan 6-0, 6-0 Samer Zaman beat Kashan Tariq 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 Under 15 Singles (Round-I): Dhuraf Das beat Ayan Allawala   4-0, 4-2 Abdullah Razaq beat Imdad Ali 3-5, 4-2, 4-2 Samer Zaman beat Rayyan Khan 4-1, 4-1 Natalia w/o Abdul Nafay Ahsan ahmed  beat Kazim Gheewala  4-0, 4-0 Under 13 Singles (Round-I): Abdullah Razaq beat Mahad Shehzad 5-3, 4-0 Hamza Tahir beat Mohammad Bilal Siddiqui 4-1, 4-2 Under 11 Singles (Round-I): Hamza Tahir beat Aman Sheikh 4-2, 4-2 Mahad shehzad beat Mohammad Qasim 4-1, 4-1 Zayd Zaman beat Eshal Zain 4-1, 4-1 Yahya Faraz beat Fariha Imran 4-0, 4-0 Aahil Imran beat Rohan Das 5-4, 4-2

Sports Bulletin Report Harare, Zimbabwe (November 21, 2021):-After by a comprehensive win over Ireland Women in the warm-up match, Pakistan Women enter the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier with confidence. The national women’s team will play the opening match of the nine-team tournament against Bangladesh Women at Old Hararians Sports Club on Sunday. Pakistan, who are drawn in Group B, will then play Thailand Women, Zimbabwe Women and USA Women on 23, 27 and 29 November. The top three teams from the two groups will qualify for the Super 6 stage, from where top three teams will join the five sides – four teams that secured qualification by finishing in top four on the ICC Women’s Championship points table and event hosts New Zealand – for the event proper in March-April next year. Each and every match in the tournament holds significance as the points earned in the first round group matches will be transferred to the Super Six stage. Stressing on the importance of starting well, Pakistan captain Javeria Khan said, “Our match against Bangladesh is very important as it will set the tone of the tournament for us. As is the format, we will be carrying forward the points that we earn in the group stage, so this match is vital for us. “Every win uplifts the side and it was very good to see everyone contributing in the win against Ireland in the warm-up. This warm-up match helped us in accessing the conditions here and it provided us welcome match practice.” Pakistan squad: Javeria Khan (captain), Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wicketkeeper), Nashra Sundhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper) Reserves players: Aiman Anwar, Maham Tariq and Rameen Shamim.

Sports Desk ISLAMABAD (November 21, 2021):-The first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab World will begin as the world’s best national teams meet in Qatar. The tournament will be like no other, offering fans the opportunity to discover the culture of the host country, and the chance to attend more than one match per day during the group stage. “We will enjoy being all together in one place,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “Fans will be treated to top-class football in eight state-of-the art stadiums. We are looking forward to the opportunity to bring people from different backgrounds together. “What I see here is a country that is preparing to welcome the whole world, and every fan, but also looking into where improvements are needed and taking real steps to do so in many different areas, particularly in relation to human rights and workers’ welfare.” The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will kick off at the stunning Al Bayt Stadium, which will be inaugurated just in a few days’ time when Qatar face Bahrain in the opening match of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™. On the same day, the innovative Stadium 974 (Ras Abu Aboud) will also open its doors for the first time, leaving only one of the eight FIFA World Cup arenas – Lusail Stadium, the venue for the final – to be inaugurated early next year. “We are thrilled to celebrate the one-year-to-go milestone. We are on track to deliver a tournament that will set new benchmarks for social, human, economic and environmental development, a tournament that will forever be remembered as innovative, sustainable and transformative, when people came from all over the world to visit the Middle East and Arab world for the first time and have life-changing experiences,” added HE Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. “This is a unique and special moment for Qatar as the host country. After 11 years of hard work and lasting progress, we are well on the way towards delivering the first World Cup in our region, one that will leave a profound legacy for Qatar, the region and the entire world.”

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has hired the services of a new computer analyst for the senior national team for the upcoming series against the West Indies, it is learnt. According to highly placed sources at the SLC headquarters, Shirantha Niroshana has taken over and joined the team bio-bubble in Galle.  "Sri Lanka's Brain Centre head Prad Navaratnam was an interim arrangement",  a top SLC official, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo said. Prad has also resigned from the job after his last assignment with the team in the World Cup. He resigned on November 9.    This is Shirantha Niroshana's first assignment with the senior men's team, though he has worked with the women's team in the past. Niroshana has also an ICC level 2 cricket coaching qualification and more than 10 years domestic and international analysis experience and 5 years cricket coaching experience at school level. He has also worked as an analyst with the Burgher Recreation Club. The 15-members, who were engaged with the 4-day match against the visiting Windies team in Colombo, joined the squad in Galle on Wednesday night. They are not required to undergo quarantine as they have arrived from the bio-bubble. These 15 players with the other seven members- captain Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera, and Praveen Jaywickrama who practiced for two days, will train till the first Test begins from today (Sunday). 

Sports Bulletin Report Dhaka (November 20, 2021):-Batters Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan made light work of a 109-run chase as Pakistan won the second T20I by eight wickets to secure a 2-0 series win with one match of the three-match T20I series to spare against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium Mirpur, Dhaka on Saturday. Player of the match Fakhar who scored 34 runs in yesterday’s four-wicket win at the same venue, top-scored with a blazing unbeaten 57 off 51 balls (three sixes, two fours) while Rizwan contributed 39 off 45 balls (four fours) as Pakistan went past the target in the 19th over with 11 balls to spare. Fakhar finished the match in company of Haider Ali (six not out). Rizwan and Fakhar added 85 for the second-wicket after the tourists lost captain and opener Babar Azam for one in the third over of the innings. Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi who replaced Hasan Ali in the Pakistan eleven struck in his first over as Saif Hassan was dismissed lbw for a first ball duck. Mohammad Wasim Jnr dismissed the other opener Mohammad Naim (2) in the second over to leave the hosts tottering at five for two. Najmul Hossain and Afif Hossain added 46 runs for the third-wicket for what was the best partnership of the innings. Afif was dismissed for 20 by Shadab Khan with wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan taking the catch behind the stumps. Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals as Pakistan bowlers’ maintained control of the proceedings on another challenging pitch. Najmul top-scored with 40 off 34 balls (five fours). Afif who scored 20 was the only other batter to make a significant contribution. For Pakistan Shaheen and Shadab took two wickets each, Wasim, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz took a wicket apiece. The third and final match of the series will be played at the same venue on Monday, 22 November. Scores in Brief: Pakistan beat Bangladesh by eight wickets Bangladesh 108 for 7, 20 overs (Najmul Hossain 40, Afif Hossain 20; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-15, Shadab Khan 2-22) Pakistan 109 for 2, 18.1 overs (Fakhar Zaman 57 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 39; Mustafizur Rahman 1-12) Player of the match: Fakhar Zaman

Sports Reporter LAHORE (November 20, 2021):-Balochistan secured a thrilling draw against Northern at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad thanks to Gohar Faiz and Taj Wali. Balochistan had to knock off 285 runs with nine wickets in hand to secure their first Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 win when the final day’s play of the fifth round began on Saturday, but Mehran Mumtaz’s four for 89 – which included wickets of Azeem Ghumman (21), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (54), Ayaz Tasawar (90) and Jalat Khan (38) – pushed the Imran Butt-captained side on the back foot. They finished the day on 278 for nine. Abdul Wahid continued his run of form with a remarkable 97-ball 54. The youngster, who is playing his first Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season, smashed seven fours. It was Ayaz who provided stiff resistence with a 194-ball 90 (nine fours and a six) in the middle order, before he fell to Mehran. Kashif Ali and Raza Hasan shared four wickets equally between them. Both sides, for securing draw, shared five points each. The other four sides also secured five points each as the other two matches also ended in a draw. At the Gaddafi Stadium, Tayyab Tahir and Azam Khan scored half-centuries for Southern Punjab and Sindh’s Mohammad Asghar picked up four for 96. Tayyab top-scored with 179-ball 75, while wicketkeeper Azam smashed 67 off 71 (four fours and five sixes). At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Mohammad Ali’s three wickets instilled hope in Central Punjab’s camp, but Adil Amin’s 105-ball 10 not out and Rehan Afridi’s 65-ball 32 not out ensured the match between the joint-winners of the 2020-21 edition end in a draw. Ali followed up his brilliant six for 52 in the first innings with three for 42 as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 109 for five before both captains shook hands. Central Punjab set 349-run target after declaring their second innings on 290 for eight. Zafar Gohar remained unbeaten on 49, while captain Ali Zaryab converted his overnight 102 int0 131 before he was dismissed by Khalid Usman. The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 now moves to Karachi, where they last five rounds and the final will be played. Scores in brief: Balochistan and Northern play a draw at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Northern 244 all out, 84.4 overs (Abdul Faseeh 47, Rohail Nazir 41, Umar Amin 37, Muhammad Huraira 33, Mehran Mumtaz 23, Aamir Jamal 22; Kashif Bhatti 5-92, Raza-ul-Hasan 2-37, Jalat Khan 2-68) and 259-6, 76.4 overs (Abdul Faseeh 94, Mohammad Huraira 65, Umar Amin 42; Taj Wali 5-47) Balochistan 211 all out, 74.1 overs (Bismillah Khan 64, Akbar-ur-Rehman 50, Gohar Faiz 22; Raza Hasan 4-67, Mehran Mumtaz 3-80, Mubasir Khan 2-21) and 278-9, 85 overs (Ayaz Tasawar 90, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 54, Jalat Khan 38, Bismillah Khan 34, Azeem Ghumman 21; Mehran Mumtaz 4-89, Kashif Ali 2-24, Raza Hasan 2-87) Match points – Northern 11, Balochistan 11 Sindh and Southern Punjab play a draw at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Southern Punjab 310 all out, 101.3 overs (Umar Siddiq 84, Imran Rafiq 68, Umar Siddiq 61 not out, Zain Abbas 45, Yousuf Babar 36, Tayyab Tahir 24, Zia-ul-Haq 22; Sohail Khan 4-62, Tabish Khan 2-81, Mohammad Asghar 2-91) and 239-8, 74.4 overs (Tayyab Tahir 75, Azam Khan 67, Umar Siddiq 25; Mohammad Asghar 4-96, Mir Hamza 2-30) Sindh 350-9, 85 overs (Saad Khan 90, Ahsan Ali 70, Asad Shafiq 48, Tabish Khan 29 not out, Sohail Khan 22, Mohammad Hasan 21; Ali Usman 4-75, Aamer Yamin 2-70) Match points – Southern Punjab 12, Sindh 12 Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa play a draw at Multan Cricket Stadium Central Punjab 270 all out, 88.3 overs (Mohammad Saad 98, Ahmed Shehzad 36, Imran Dogar 32, Zafar Gohar 24, Saif Badar 23, Zafar Gohar 21 not out; Sameen Gul 3-55, Asif Afridi 3-57, Imran Khan Snr 3-97) and 290-8, 77.2 overs (Ali Zaryab 131, Zafar Gohar 49 not out, Junaid Ali 35, Saad Nasim 23; Khalid Usman 3-26, Imran Khan Snr 3-42) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 212 all out, 50.2 overs (Asif Afridi 61, Musadiq Ahmed 46, Asif Afridi 42 not out, Adil Amin 26, Sahibzada Farhan 24; Mohammad Ali 6-50, Waqas Maqsood 2-41) and 109-5, 47 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 35, Rehan Afridi 32 not out; Mohammad Ali 3-42) Match points – Central Punjab 14, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 10

LAHORE (Sports Reporter) The 12-day Coaches Education & Certification System (CECS) Level – I course concluded today at Punjab Stadium Lahore. The participants of course gained a lot of knowledge from this course. On the occasion of closing ceremony of course Maj Gen (R) Mohammad Akram Sahi, President Athletics Federation of Pakistan / Vice President Asian Athletics Association distributed the certificates among the participants of course. It is further apprised that twenty seven (27) coaches from all affiliated units of AFP attended this course.  Tariq Mehmood Sidhu and Talha Iftikhar (CECS Level – I qualified lecturers of World Athletics) conducted this course.