SB News LAHORE (January 7, 2020):-Batting and wicketkeeping prodigy Rohail Nazir will be leading Pakistan in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020. But, four years ago, the Islamabad-born was not sure whether he had what it took to thrive in competitive cricket. Like numerous cricket stars in the country, his ‘love affair’ with the game had begun by playing tape-ball cricket in his neighbourhood. He took inspiration from his elder brother, Tahir Nazir, who is one of the prominent tape-ball players and growing up Rohail wanted to emulate his brother’s heroics with the bat. He shifted his focus to wicketkeeping on the advice of his coach while starting off his career. But, the start was not a rosy one. In 2015, Rohail was left disheartened after failing his first-ever PCB-Pepsi U16 trials. Next year, he returned again, and left with a thumping impression. In the PCB-Pepsi U16 two-day tournament in 2016, Rohail made 394 runs in four matches which earned him a spot in the U16 series against Australia in the UAE in 2017. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands; hitting two centuries in three innings in the one-day series on his way to 258 series runs. In three T20 matches, he accumulated 99 runs with the help of one half-century. He carried his good form over to the National U19 Inter-Regional One-Day Tournament 2017. In eight matches, he scored 406 runs at 67.67. In the three-day version, Rohail scored 508 runs in five matches with the help of one century and four half-centuries, averaging 63.50. In 2018, Rohail Nazir made his debut in first-class cricket. And, last year in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20, he scored 320 runs in the six matches he played, including two fifties in the final. In his team Northern’s first innings, Rohail scored a fighting 80 (115 balls, 12 fours) to rescue his side with a 155-run partnership with Faizan Riaz after they had collapsed to 69 for five. Rohail followed his first innings heroics with a 96-ball 70 with the help of nine fours.  Rohail’s admires Ahmed Shehzad and wants to pick his brains on the art of batsmanship. His favourite cricketer is AB de Villiers and has been mentored by Imad Wasim, with whom he used to practice in Islamabad. He enjoys playing the ball off the backfoot and the shot which he enjoys the most is the backfoot punch. Rohail Nazir on his early days, interest and ambition in cricket: “I aspired of becoming a cricketing star in my childhood and my family supported me from the beginning which made things easy for me. “I had failed in the 2015 PCB-Pepsi U16 trials which broke my heart. At that time I felt my strength is tape-ball cricket and maybe I would need to stick to that as hard-ball cricket was not meant for me. But on the insistence of my brothers and friends, I gave trials the next year and succeeded. “My performances against Australia U16 gave me tremendous confidence. Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim, who also hails from Islamabad, has been a great support to me. We used to practice at the Diamond Cricket Club in Islamabad and Imad used to encourage me a lot and used to praise me on my performances at various levels.” Rohail is already a sought-after property in the HBL Pakistan Super League. After having spent a season with Islamabad United, Rohail has been picked-up by Multan Sultans for the 2020 edition of the prestigious T20 league. The wicketkeeper-batsman has already represented Pakistan in ACC Youth U19 Asia Cup 2017, 2018 and 2019 besides playing the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018 in New Zealand. Arguably, the biggest moment of Rohail’s short career to date came in the recent ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup final in Bangladesh when his century against the hosts helped Pakistan annex the title. Rohail has also held his own in senior cricket, besides scoring a century for Islamabad Region against HBL on his first-class debut (130 off 194 balls, 15 fours, one six), Rohail has had impressive returns in Patron’s Trophy Grade II, National T20 Cup and Quaid-e-Azam One-Day Cup. Having featured in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018 besides his numerous appearances for Pakistan’s representative and age-group sides, Rohail will enter the 2020 edition of the U19 World Cup as one of the most experienced and established players at this level. Pakistan ICC U19 Cricket World Cup squad: Rohail Nazir (captain and wicketkeeper), Abbas Afridi (Peshawar), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Quetta), - Amir Ali (Larkana), Amir Khan (Peshawar), Arish Ali Khan (Karachi), Fahad Munir (Lahore),  Haider Ali (vice-captain), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Mohammad Haris (Peshawar), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot), Mohammad Irfan Khan (Lahore),  Mohammad Shehzad (Multan), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (North Waziristan), Tahir Hussain (Multan) Team management:-Ijaz Ahmed (head coach-cum-manager), Rao Iftikhar Anjum (bowling coach), Abdul Majeed (assistant coach), Saboor Ahmad (trainer), Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rasul (physiotherapist), Usman Hashmi (analyst), Emmad Ahmed Hameed (media manager) and Col (retd) Usman Riffat Anwari (security manager).

SB News KARACHI (January 7, 2020):-In a bid to prepare for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, a three-team T20 tournament will be held at Karachi’s National Stadium from Thursday. The National Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship is an eight-day-long tournament, in which PCB Blasters, PCB Challengers and PCB Dynamites will come face to face for national glory. The final, to be played on 16 January, will be played under floodlights. To maximise the reach of the women’s game, the contest will be live-streamed on the PCB’s YouTube channel. To provide opportunities to fans to watch the action up-close and promote the game amongst girls, Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad enclosures will be opened throughout the tournament with free entry for spectators. The winning team will bag PKR500,000, while the runners-up will get PKR250,000. The best performer of the tournament, the player of the championship, will be awarded PKR25,000 and the player of the match, for every game, will get PKR10,000. Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, said: “The upcoming T20 tournament provides a great opportunity to the players to prepare for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. This is also an opportunity for all the participating players to leave a mark and put forward their case for the selection. “The decision to play the final of the tournament under lights is taken to emulate the conditions in the T20 World Cup as Pakistan will be playing two of their four group matches under floodlights. “The profile of women’s cricket has grown over the past few years and the decision to live-stream the final is going to attract more fans towards the game.” Schedule: Thursday, 9 Jan: PCB Blasters v PCB Dynamites, 12pm – Match referee: Ahmer Saeed, On-field umpires: Khalid Mahmood Snr and Nazir Butt Friday, 10 Jan: PCB Blasters v PCB Challengers, 12pm – Match referee: Ali Gohar, On-field umpires: Imtiaz Iqbal and Saleema Imtiaz Saturday, 11 Jan: PCB Dynamites v PCB Challengers, 12pm – Match referee: Athar Liaq, On-field umpires: Alay Haider and Abdul Qayyum Sunday, 12 Jan: PCB Dynamites v PCB Blasters, 12pm – Match referee: Amiruddin Ansari, On-field umpires: Shamim Ansari and Shakeel Ahmed Monday, 13 Jan: PCB Challengers v PCB Blasters, 12pm – Match referee: Aleem Moosa, On-field umpires: Tahir Rasheed and Azizur Rehman Tuesday, 14 Jan: PCB Challengers v PCB Dynamites, 12pm – Match referee: Mohammad Javed, On-field umpires: Imran Jawed and Nuzhat Sultana Thursday, 16 Jan: FINAL, 7pm – Match referee: Iftikhar Ahmed, On-field umpires: Khalid Mahmood Snr and Imtiaz Iqbal Squads: PCB Blasters - Rameen Shamim (c), Aliya Riaz, Anum Amin, Ayesha Nasim, Hurraini Sajjad, Javeria Khan, Javeria Rauf, Maham Tariq, Natalia Pavaiz, Neha Sharmin Nadeem, Noreen Yaqoob, Sadaf Shams, Sidra Nawaz and Tuba Hassan Team officials – Waqar Orakzai (coach), Shakir Qayyum (assistant coach), Mahlaka Mansoor (manager) and Riffat Asghar Gill (Physiotherapist) PCB Challengers - Bismah Maroof (c), Aiman Anwar, Aroob Shah, Ayesha Zafar, Fatima Sana, Hafsa Khalid, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi, Nida Dar, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal, Waheeda Akhtar, Hafsa Amjad and Khadija Chishti Team officials – Amir Iqbal (coach), Shahid Mehmood (assistant coach), Aisha Jalil (manager) and Saima Malik (physiotherapist) PCB Dynamites – Nahida Khan (c), Diana Baig, Fareeha Mehmood, Ghulam Fatima, Irum Javed, Kainat Hafeez, Kainat Imtiaz, Lubna Behram, Masooma Jaffri, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, Sana Mir, Sidra Amin and Umme Hani Team officials – Kamran Hussain (coach), Ali Niazi (assistant coach), Rabail Khalid (manager) and Sajida Fajar (physiotherapist)

By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (January 7, 2020):-The wheelchair marathon race will be taken place in capital city Islamabad on January 9, 2020, said an official of organizing committee Agha Hussnain Raza on Tuesday. Pakistan Sport Council of Person with Disabilities (PSCPD) in collaboration with Saaya Association of Persons with Disabilities, Milestone, Disabled Welfare Association and Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) will stage this event, which will also be supported by Handicap International (HI) and UN-WOMEN. The race will be held on Thursday morning from 10:00am to 12:00Pm at F-10 Roundabout near Macdonald. The athletes from twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad will take part in the marathon race and trophies and other prizes will be distributed among the special athletes at closing ceremony.

MB Khan ISLAMABAD ( January 6, 2020):-Under the control of Inter Board Sports Committee (IBSC) and Baluchistan Education Board (BEB) the Pakistan Inter Board Sports Girls Gala started at Pakistan Sports Complex (PSC) Islamabad on Monday. Member National Assembly (MNA) and Parliament Secretary Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) Saima Nadeem graced the opening ceremony as chief guest and she inaugurated the sports gale in a colourful ceremony. She said on this occasion, “Sports are very important for health and sports are also significant for girls”. Moreover, she added that it was the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan that government should make plans for the progress in the girls’ sports and promote it.  Badminton: Secondary Education Board Karachi beat Education Board Larhkana 2-0. In the second match, Educational Board Gujranwala beat Peshawar Board 2-0. Hockey: Educational Board Lahore beat Intermediate Education Board Karachi 10-0. Table Tennis: Education Board Shaiwal beat Swat Board 2-0. In second match, Punjab Technical Board Lahore beat Intermediate Karachi 2-0 and in the third match Education Board Bannu beat Secondary Board Karachi 2-0. Five games will be played in the Girls Sports Gala 2020 which games are hockey, Badminton, Table Tennis, Athletics and Wolli ball and this Championship is going to be start from 6th to 9th January, sponsored by Pakistan Sports Board.        

By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (January 6, 2020):-Sarfaraz Ahmed, the captain of the Pakistan side which lifted the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2006, made a visit to the ongoing Pakistan Under-19 camp at the National Cricket Academy on Monday and shared his experience of playing the biggest age-group cricket tournament. Pakistan boasts two U19 World Cup wins – the last one came under the wicketkeeper-batsman’s captaincy in 2006 with a memorable win over arch-rivals India by 38 runs in a low-scoring final in Colombo. After leading his country to the title, Sarfaraz made his debut for Pakistan national men’s team the next year in an ODI against India at Jaipur. He believes the upcoming ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, which will be played in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February, will serve as a stepping stone for the teenaged cricketers in the squad. Sarfaraz Ahmed said: “I have told the boys this is a perfect platform to graduate to the next level as we had also gone through this route. “Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi are prime examples, as they came from this set-up and are now a part of the national team. “I have a feeling that this team has the capability to beat any team in the competition and has the fire power to win the tournament. The momentum is on their side. They’ve had a good 2019 as they performed very well in South Africa and other recent series. “I have great memories of my time in the U19 side. The best one is the final which we won in the 2006 World Cup. The way we won it, I am going to remember it for the rest of my life. We had a brilliant time and we played like one.” Pakistan start their ICC U19 World Cup campaign on 19 January against Scotland U19. The Rohail Nazir-led side is in Group C with Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Scotland. Pakistan ICC U19 Cricket World Cup squad: Rohail Nazir (captain and wicketkeeper), Abbas Afridi (Peshawar), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Quetta), Amir Ali (Larkana), Amir Khan (Peshawar), Arish Ali Khan (Karachi), Fahad Munir (Lahore),  Haider Ali (vice-captain), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Mohammad Haris (Peshawar), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot), Mohammad Irfan Khan (Lahore),  Mohammad Shehzad (Multan), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (North Waziristan), Tahir Hussain (Multan) Team management – Ijaz Ahmed (head coach-cum-manager), Rao Iftikhar Anjum (bowling coach), Abdul Majeed (assistant coach), Saboor Ahmad (trainer), Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rasul (physiotherapist), Usman Hashmi (analyst), Emmad Ahmed Hameed (media manager) and Col (retd) Usman Riffat Anwari (security manager).

SB News ISLAMABAD (January 6, 2020):-Japan boast a global reputation for productivity but their rapid emergence onto cricket’s global scene has surprised even the most positive of supporters. Later this month, Dhugal Bedingfield’s side will rub shoulders with India, England, Australia et al, ready to pit their wits against the biggest forces in the game at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. But three years ago they didn’t even have an U19 team let alone one capable of sharing a global stage with players who possess IPL contacts, such as India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Anuj Rawat. Still, Japan is known for creating things: cars, electronics and robots are its specialism, but in this case a pathway from school fields to international fields has been formed. Japan may not be regarded as a cricket powerhouse but it may just become one. A summer camp in August 2017 convinced Japan Cricket there was sufficient talent and enthusiasm to build a U19 team. That came after four years of sweat, blood and toil in promoting the game after a structure was first put in place following an ICC grant for a targeted pilot participation programme. They ambitiously bid and won the rights to stage the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier last year, selecting a young group of players they were hoping to blood for 2021. However, they beat Samoa by 170 runs in the tournament opener and qualified with ease – going unbeaten through the tournament. As anyone who has ever visited Tokyo can attest, things tend to happen rather quickly in Japan. “People might be surprised that Japan is playing cricket and there might not be an historic culture in the country, but that is not to say we can’t be good at it,” said Alan Curr, head of operations at Japan Cricket. “Eleven of the boys that played in the qualifiers are able to play again in two years, which shows how far we have come. We are two years ahead of what we expected. “We are not expecting to knock over India but we are hoping to come away with our reputation as a cricketing nation enhanced. “A lot of people have said how great it is but we are not there to make up the numbers. We don’t expect to tear up any trees but if we can bag a win or two then that would be great.” It would be unwise to discount Japan. They boast plenty of talent, led by Marcus Thurgate, who scored a half-century in each of their qualifiers. He is also the team’s captain, wicket-keeper and star batsman – filling in anywhere in the top order. Neel Date, an opening batsman, is another to look out for while off-spinner Yugandhar Retharekar has the best economy figures in the Japanese senior league last season, despite being just 16 years old. His five for 18 helped set-up a four-wicket win against Fiji in Japan’s final qualifier, while fellow spinner Masato Morita will hope to find pitches that suit his leg-breaks. “If we can maintain the learning curve we are on right now then we will only get better,” Curr added. “We only meet up four times a year and we have qualified for a World Cup. We knew we would have to do a lot of work with them. With the tournament being in January and February, which is in the middle of our winter and there are no indoor training facilities in Japan, we have had to get creative. “We had a coach called Rohan O’Neill come over from Victoria to work with the boys for six weeks, so they have been through some intense training and they have improved – although there is a long way to go.” There might be. But Japan has already gained considerable ground.

Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD (January 6, 2020):-The upcoming limited overs series between the West Indies and Ireland will be contested trialing technology that will authorise the third umpire to call front foot no balls, like during West Indies’ recent ODI and T20I tour of India. During the trial, which will be carried out in all three ODIs and three T20Is, the third umpire will monitor each ball for any front foot infringement and communicate it to the on-field umpire to call a no ball. The on-field umpires will not call any front foot no balls unless instructed by the third umpire, but will remain responsible for other on-field decisions in the usual way. The benefit of the doubt will lie with the bowler, and if a late no ball call is communicated, then the on-field umpire will rescind a dismissal (if applicable) and signal a no ball. The outcomes of the trial will be used to gauge whether the system has a beneficial impact on the accuracy of no ball decisions and whether it can be implemented while minimizing disruption to the flow of the game. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had trialled no ball technology for the first time during a one-day series between England and Pakistan in 2016.

By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (January 6, 2020):-As many as six players from Punjab and two from Khyber Pakhtoonkawa (KPK) reached in the quarterfinal stage of the Jubilee Insurance Under-16 Juniors Snooker Championship after posting victories on the third day of the championship at Billiard and Snooker Hall, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Islamabad.  Hamza Ilyas (Punjab), Zubair Tahir (Punjab), Shabban Butt (Punjab), Faheem Liaquat (KPK), Ahsan Ramzan (Punjab), Malik Muzammil Khan (KPK), Adnan Aslam (Punjab) and Zain Ali (Punjab) qualified for the top eight stage of the national snooker showpiece. The quarterfinal will be played on Tuesday at same venue. Results (Day-3): Malik Muzammil Khan (KPK) beat Shamir Ali (Sindh) 3-0 (94-28, 74-18, 58-11) Hamza Ilyas (Punjab) beat Mohammad Musa (KPK) 3-0 (68-14, 79-11, 76-01) Amanullah (Balochistan) beat Zulqarnain Abbasi (Islamabad) 3-0 (50-27, 53-08, 59-28) Adnan Aslam (Punjab) beat Shabban Butt (Punjab) 3-1 (58-18, 61-20, 13-52, 61-37) Ahsan Ramzan (Punjab) beat Iftikhar Ali (Bal) 3-0 (62-18, 89-0(62), 56-16) Zubair Tahir (Punjab) beat Khubab Warsi (Sindh) 3-0 (walk over) Zain Ali (Punjab) beat Haroon Saleem (Sindh) 3-0 (94-32, 57-29, 64-29) Faheem Liaquat (KPK) beat Imaad Rafiq (Sindh) 3-0 (61-17, 58-20, 43-17) After League Round Group Position Group A:  Ahsan Ramzan (Punjab), Zubair Tahir (Punjab) Group B:  Faheem Liaquat (KPK), Zain Ali (Punjab) Group C:  Hamza Ilyas (Punjab), Malik Muzammil Khan (KPK) Group D:  Adnan Aslam (Punjab), Shabban Butt (Punjab) Quarterfinals Fixtures (7 Frames) Hamza Ilyas (Punjab) v Zubair Tahir (Punjab) Shabban Butt (Punjab) v Faheem Liaquat (KPK) Ahsan Ramzan (Punjab) v Malik Muzammil Khan (KPK) Adnan Aslam (Punjab) v Zain Ali (Punjab)    

Faraz Ahmed Kayani ISLAMABAD (January 5, 2020):-Pakistani teenager Mohammad Hamza Khan qualified for the final of Under-15 fixture of British Juniors’ Open Squash Championship 2020 after beating Yassin Shohdy of Egypt 3-0 in the semifinal at Birmingham, UK on Saturday. The final score-line was 11-5, 11-8, 11-7. He will take on Yousuf Sheikh from England in the final on Sunday at same venue. Results: Boys’ Under-15 (Semifinals) Mohammad Ammad (Pakistan) lost to Yousuf Sheikh (England) 9-11, 6-11, 7-11 Mohammad Hamza Khan (Pakistan) beat Yassin Shohdy (Egypt) 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 Boys’ Under-17 (Semifinals) (9/16) Noor Zaman (Pak) lost to (1) Sam Todd 6-11, 1-11, 1-11.  

MB Khan RAWALPINDI (January 5, 2020):-Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) XI have won the Rawalpindi Women’s T 10 Cricket League Tournament after beating Multan by 44 runs in the final at Wiqar-un-Nisa College ground on Sunday. The brilliant player of the winner team Nameera was declared best player of the decisive fixture. Multan’s captain was announced the best player of the tournament. Multan team’s captain Bakhtawar won the toss and invited the opponent to bat first. DC Elevens piled a massive score 105 for 5 runs 10 overs. Amna scored 21 runs and Ayesha scored 19 runs while Multan Captain Bakhtawar got 2 wickets and the other brilliant bowler Samiya, Nadia and Maida got 1 wicket each. Mutlan could manage 61 for 6 runs on the board in allotted 10 overs.  Losing captain was not out on 40 runs, which made her performance prominent. DC Eleven team player Nameera got 3 wickets whereas Saba got 1 wicket. DSO Shams Toheed distributed the prizes along with the president of Youth Education and Sports Welfare society Zahid Awan. Professor Maryam, Nasir Aslam Raja, Snober Gul, Shafqat Niazi and Doctor Mohammad Hussain were also present on this occasion. In the final match Saleem Butt and Waqar performed the duty of empires and Saba Malik took the responsibility of scoring.