Hockey goes into the blue for World Children's Day SB Report Lausanne, Switzerland:  Federation of International Hockey (FIH) is throwing its full support behind World Children’s Day by encouraging hockey communities across the world to don blue kit as they take part in hockey activities. Unicef’s World Children’s Day is a global day of action for children’s rights. Among the many celebratory activities taking place around the world, children will be taking over high visibility roles in sport and the media and participating in national summits, where they will discuss the issues of today and the future. With the colour blue symbolising World Children’s Day, famous landmarks around the world will light up in blue to show support for children’s rights. FIH is encouraging hockey groups in schools and colleges and national associations to get behind the movement. They can do this by running tournaments, matches or other hockey-related activities, or simply by putting on some blue kit and supporting World Children’s Day.

National Junior’s Hockey Championship from December 5, 2019 SB News LAHORE:-As a part of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Development Plan to groom our coaches and technical officials, a series of clinics are being organized on regular basis. In this regard, the National Coaches Course will be held at Lahore in conjunction with 36th National Junior Hockey Championship, which will be held from December 5 to 8, 2019 National Hockey Stadium Lahore. The course will be conducted by Khawaja Mohammad Junaid coordinated by Nadeem Khan Lodhi as Local Coordinator. The course because of importance will be more intensive and formal as National Course will be certified under the supervision of PHF.  The following should report to Kawaja  Junaid at National Hockey Stadium, Lahore on 5th December.  Ajmal Khan Lodhi (Sialkot), Rana Zaheer Ahmad Babar (SSGC), Waseem Ahmad (WAPDA), Kamran Ashraf (PIA), Mohammad Khalid (PIA), Mudassar Ali Khan (WAPDA), Zeeshan Ashraf (NBP), Mohammad Imran (MPCL), Syed Sameer Hussain (Karachi), Khawar Javaid (Gojra), Waqas Sharif (WAPDA), Mohammad Usman (PIA), Mohammad Ali (Customs), Muhammad Naeem (Customs), Asim Khan (NBP), Mohammad Sarwar (ABL), Rehan Butt (WAPDA), Muhammad Saqlain (ABL), Qamar Ibrahim (PIA), Zahid Afzal (ABL), Nasir Ahmad (PIA), Asif Ahmad Khan (NBP).

56th BoG meeting in Lahore on Friday  SB News LAHORE:-The 56th meeting of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Board of Governors will be held on Friday, 22 November, at 3pm at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.  Some of the matters that will be discussed are:  i)                    Chairman and CEO’s reports ii)                  Model constitution for Cricket Associations iii)                Creation and Demarcation of the first City Cricket Associations iv)                Approval of constitution for the Pakistan Deaf Cricket Association v)                  Updates on PCB Strategic Plan, Bugti Stadium, Pakistan v Sri Lanka Test series and HBL Pakistan Super League 2020

By Abdul Jabbar Faisal I stunned when few weeks back I came to know that Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has determined not to send the national team in forthcoming World Team Squash Championship 2019 that would be taken place in Washington DC, the capital city of United States of America (USA) next month in December. As many as 23 teams from all over the world will take part in the mega fixture of the squash world. One day, I planned to visit the office of federation, which is located at Mushaf Squash Complex in the premises of Pakistan Sports Complex (PSC).On September 23, 2019, I visited the PSF office around 11am, I knocked at the door of secretary office and honorary secretary Tahir Sultan was in his seat in good mood and his table was decorated with fruit, biscuits, tea etc. Probably, I was a new face for him. After introducing myself, I sat on the couch and start talking about the game of squash. With the permission of well dressed and smart man Tahir Sultan, I asked a question from him. “Why will, 6 times champions and 4 times runner-ups Pakistan team, not be participating in the mega World Team Squash Championship, which will be held in the mid December this year 2019?” After listening my question the face colour of squash official suddenly changed and started blaming me and shout at me, “Why are you not aware about this?”, as this decision was taken a month back in the Annual General Council Meeting (AGM) of the federation that was chaired by its president Mujahid Anwar Khan and decision was made by the house unanimously after a marathon discussion on this topic. I am not solitary responsible for this act, “he said While unfolding the reasons behind this unremarkable decision he further said, “We have no capable players to make an ideal team to send abroad for the said event, who could perform up to mark in the international squash event. In the last edition Pakistani guys were spotted at 19th position in the World Team Squash Championship and we do not want to waste money on this unproductive trip. We want to give full attention to the juniors. All squash experts, officials, mentors and even media say that senior players are not toiling hard and it will be wastage of money if we will send these guys for unfruitful trips, “he maintained. He further said, “We have not sufficient funds and we get finances from government and this money comes from public tax that cannot be thrown in the dustbin. Yes, if government provides us some resources for this trip then we can send of national team with green flag in the 23-nation international squash fixture. We host the international tournament and overseas players win while our senior players are crawling behind them. We provide maximum occasions to our guys to improve their ranking and get the place in top 20 and top 10, “he added.   It is pertinent to mention here that the first world team squash championship was held in 1967, which was won by Australia while Pakistan claimed this title first time in 1977 in the history of squash. Later on, Pakistan won the title four times in a row in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987. Last time Pakistan had won this prestigious squash event in 1993. As many as 26 years have been passed but Pakistan could not show impressive performance in the World Team Squash Championship fixtures so far. British Open Squash Championship is another high profile international squash fixture and every player of the squash world dreams to win this title. Pakistan has wonderful record and inked remarkable and great history in British Open. Pakistani players won this title 30 times so far. Jahangir Khan 10, Hashim Khan 7, Jansher Khan 6, Azam Khan 4, Roshan Khan, Mohibullah Khan and Qamar Zaman won this tournament one time apiece for their country. Last times, Jansher Khan won the British Open in 1997 by defeating Australian opponent Peter Nicole, unfortunately, next year 1998 same challenger Peter Nicole defeated Jansher Khan in the final. Almost, 22 years have been passed and Pakistan Squash Federation could not produce a solitary player, who could win this prestigious squash showpiece of the world.     It is fair and square to say that the standard of the squash going down day by day and the statics are showing real picture of squash and nobody can deny from this fact. In 1998, Amjad Khan had won high profile squash event in Karachi and that was Pakistan Open, after over two decades we could not produce a single players, who could fill the shoes of great Jehangir Khan and Jansher Khan. If there will be a long term policy to bring squash laurels back in Pakistan and we may resurrect our past and one could win the big titles for Pakistan but we are still crawling sadly. Unfortunately, owing to lack of comprehensive and long term policies we are not able to find way out from this situation. There is need to formulate some long term policies to accelerate the standard of game, which can prove fruitful and our talented players could bring squash glory back in the Pakistan. Our squash standard is going down day by day with full speed. High-ups must look into the affairs of squash federation to put the train on right track. According to Professional Squash Association (PSA) last month ranking, our top national player Tayyab Aslam is at 60th, Asim Khan 74th and Farhan Mehboob at 91st positions. After these facts, there is no need to comment on the performance of national players and squash federation. Standard is going down with full speed like the speed of F-16.

Sana Mir takes break from international cricket  Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD (November 20, 2019):-Sana Mir will miss next month’s ICC Women’s Championship ODIs and T20Is against England after deciding to take a break from international cricket.  In a statement, Sana Mir said: “I have decided to take a break from international cricket and, as such, will not be available for selection for next month’s series against England. I will utilise this time to plan and reset my future objectives and targets.  “My best wishes will remain with the Pakistan national women’s team in the series against England and I am sure they’ll produce their best cricket.” The 20-probable training camp for the ODIs and T20I series will commence at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi from 21 November, while the squads will be announced on 27 November.  The team will depart for Kuala Lumpur on November 30.  ICC Women’s Championship (seventh round schedule):  9 Dec – First ODI (ICC Women’s Championship), Kinrara Oval  12 Dec – Second ODI (ICC Women’s Championship), Kinrara Oval  14 Dec – Third ODI (ICC Women’s Championship), Kinrara Oval  17 Dec – First T20I, Kinrara Oval  19 Dec – Second T20I, Kinrara Oval  20 Dec – Third T20I, Kinrara Oval

Southern Punjab 149 for two in reply of Northern’s 463 for seven  Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD:-Batsmen continued to dominate on the second day of the four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture between Northern and Southern Punjab at Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium.  Hammad Azam’s sixth first-class century propelled Northern to 463 for seven, scored at an impressive run-rate of 4.22, and, in their reply, the tourists made 149 runs for the loss of two wickets at the back of half-centuries from Umar Siddiq and Zeeshan Ashraf.  Hammad scored an unbeaten 100 after resuming his innings on 48. The all-rounder crafted a 109-run stand for the sixth-wicket with his overnight partner Jamal Anwar, who made 44 from 106 balls. The 28-year-old cracked six fours and two sixes in his 154-ball stay at the crease and also knitted a 66-run partnership with his side’s captain, Nauman Ali (37). The Northern declared their innings with the fall of Nauman’s wicket.  With the scores of 90 and 73 on day one, Umar Amin and Ali Sarfraz had provided impetus to Northern to target an imposing first innings score. Northern bagged five batting points – the maximum – while Southern Punjab managed two points for taking seven wickets. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Irfan returned his second five-wicket haul of the tournament taking five wickets for 158 runs in 38.4 overs.  Southern Punjab, in reply, lost Sami Aslam (nine), top run-getter of the season, early but Umar and Zeeshan stitched a timely 116-run stand until the latter perished for a 101-ball 57 – which was studded with nine boundaries. Opener Umar, who has to date scored 58 from 121 balls and has hit six fours, and Irfan (15) were at the crease when curtains were drawn on the second day’s play. For Northern, Waqas Ahmed and Shadab Khan took a wicket each.  Scores in Brief:  Northern 463-7d, 109.4 overs (Hammad Azam 100 not out, Umar Amin 90, Ali Sarfaraz 73; Mohammad Irfan 5-158)  Southern Punjab 149-2, 42 overs (Umar Siddiq 58 not out, Zeeshan Ashraf 57)  ………………………………………………………………………………. Tabish takes five to give Sindh advantage over Central Punjab SB News KARACHI (November, 19 2019):-Pacer Tabish Khan took a five-wicket haul while Khurram Manzoor and Jahid Ali scored half centuries to give Sindh the upper hand against leaders Central Punjab on day two of the four-day eight round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class match being played at the National Stadium in Karachi on Tuesday.  Sindh enjoyed a slender nine runs lead on the first innings after they ended the day on 255 for four with Fawad Alam (42) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (39) having put on 65 for the unbeaten fifth wicket partnership. Earlier Tabish took five wickets for 85 to help bowl out Central Punjab for 246 in the morning session. It was Tabish’s 37th five wicket haul in a first-class career of 126 matches and 565 wickets. Punjab had resumed on 216 for seven with Usman Salahuddin on exactly 50 but at the total of 234, Tabish trapped him leg before for 57 from 155 balls, Sohail Khan then dismissed the other overnight batsman, Ehsan Adil for 23 runs. Tabish also picked up the wicket of Waqas Maqsood to end the visitors innings.  Sindh collected full three bowling points for bowling Central Punjab out inside 110 overs, while Central Punjab had to settle for one batting point. Sindh winless in the tournament were given a solid start by openers Khurram (85 from 118 balls) and Jahid (72 from 175 balls) who put on 140 runs.  Khurram in particular after a cautious opened up to play some big shots against the pace bowlers and spinners, Zafar Gohar and off-spinner Bilal Asif who finished with three for 64. But his eagerness to get boundaries also led to Khurram’s downfall when he holed out to long on to give Bilal his first wicket, the right-hander smashed 11 fours and one six. Bilal also bowled Shehzar Mohammad for two to rock the home side and his third victim was Jahid who went after a patient knock bowled by a straight one.  Seasoned pacer, Aizaz Cheema was the only Central Punjab pacer to enjoy success when he had Saad Ali caught behind by Kamran Akmal for seven. The experienced duo of Fawad and captain, Sarfaraz took control in the final session for a productive partnership with the latter hitting five fours in his unbeaten 52 balls innings.  Scores in brief:  Central Punjab 246 all out, 94.3 overs (Kamran Akmal 59, Usman Salahuddin 57, Ahmed Shehzad 48; Tabish Khan 5-85, Anwar Ali 2-27, Sohail Khan 2-51)  Sindh 255 for 4, 72.3 overs  (Khurram Manzoor 85, Jahid Ali 72, Fawad Alam 42 not out; Bilal Asif 3-64

Follow-on on cards after Junaid Khan, Usman Shinwari orchestrate Balochistan collapse SB News  KARACHI (November 19, 2019):-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Junaid Khan and Usman Shinwari shared seven wickets between them as Balochistan were skittled out for 146 on day two of the four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi.  The left-arm pacers, operating in tandem, had Balochistan reeling at 19 for four in reply of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 385 all-out. Junaid took four wickets for 36 while Usman picked up three wickets for the same amount of runs. The pair only faced resistance from Hussain Talat (25) and Bismillah Khan (35) as they stitched a 62-run partnership for the sixth-wicket.  Ahmed Jamal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Fakhar Zaman were the other bowlers to have checked their wickets’ column with a wicket each. As the day concluded with the last wicket of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will take a call on enforcing the follow-on on Wednesday morning. If Fakhar decides to put Balochistan in, the Imran Farhat-led side would be confronted with an arduous task of surmounting 239-run first innings deficit.  Earlier, Zohaib Khan cracked his second century of the tournament and Usman recorded his second first-class half-century. After resuming his innings on 76, the all-rounder smashed 16 fours in his 133 off 232 balls. Usman, batting at 10, hit four sixes and three fours in his 136-ball 51. Mohammad Asghar picked another wicket on day two to record the figures of six for 121.  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ended the day with seven points in their account – four for batting and three for bowling – while Balochistan bagged only two points as they had taken eight opposition wickets by 110-over cut-off and failed to cross the 200-run mark, the minimum benchmark to get batting points, in their innings.  Scores in brief:  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 385 all-out, 114.3 overs (Zohaib Khan 133, Ashfaq Ahmed 54, Usman Shinwari 51; Mohammad Asghar 6-121)  Balochistan 146 all-out, 51 overs (Bismillah Khan 35, Hussain Talat 25, Khurram Shehzad 22; Junaid Khan 4-36, Usman Shinwari 3-36)

 Sindh restrict Central Punjab to 216 for seven on day one SB Report Karachi, 18 November 2019: Usman Salahuddin and Kamran Akmal produced fighting half centuries to lift Central Punjab to 216 for seven on day-one of the four-day eight round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class match at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday. Kamran continuing his good form in the tournament reached his 13,000 runs in first-class cricket during a punchy innings of 59 from 70 balls and Usman stood firm with 50 from 130 balls at stumps. The umpires called off play due to bad light with seven overs remaining in the day. Kamran and Usman came together with their team struggling on 89 for four and forged a partnership of 92 runs to ensure Central Punjab were not bowled out on the first day after electing to bat first. On a pitch with a tinge of grass cover and offering some assistance to the pace bowlers, Central Punjab decided to field spinners Zafar Gohar and Bilal Asif while Sindh went in with four pacers and a lone spinner in southpaw teenager, Amir Ali. Sindh pacers were on song most of the time as Sohail Khan struck early on by trapping Salman Butt leg before for one to rock the visitors but Ahmed Shehzad (48 from 127 balls with seven fours) and Muhammad Saad (31 from 93 balls) ensured no more wickets fell till lunch. It was in the post lunch session that Sindh struck three blows with youngster, having Saad caught Umar Akmal fell to Tabish Khan for eight while Anwar Ali who bowled economically throughout the day had Ahmed caught at point. With three wickets falling after lunch, Central Punjab were in trouble but Kamran strode to the crease and produced some spanking shots hitting ten fours before he edged a wide ball from Tabish to Sarfaraz shortly after tea. Zafar Gohar also went caught behind off Anwar Ali as Sarfaraz took a fine diving low catch to his left side. Sindh also snared Bilal Asif for one with Khurram Manzoor taking a smart catch at first slip but Ehsan Adil (9 from 16 balls) proved to be an able ally to Usman as the two batted till stumps. Scores in brief: Central Punjab 216 for 7, 83 overs (Kamran Akmal 59, Usman Sallahuddin 50 not out, Ahmed Shehzad 48; Tabish Khan 3-66, Anwar Ali 2-27)

Mohammad Asghar records his eighth first-class five-wicket haul SB Report Lahore, 18 November 2019: Balochistan’s Mohammad Asghar recorded his second five-wicket haul of the tournament on the first day of his side’s four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at UBL Sports Complex in Karachi. The 20-year-old left-arm spinner removed four of the opposition’s top five batsmen and returned five for 90 in 30 overs as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa managed 290 runs for the loss of eight wickets before stumps were drawn six overs earlier due to fading light. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Ashfaq Ahmed, the second highest run-getter in the tournament, and Zohaib Khan put resistance with 54 and 76 not out respectively. An 86-run partnership for the second-wicket between Israrullah and Ashfaq gave Khyber Pakhtunkhwa control of the proceedings after Sahibzada Farhan (nine) was removed by pacer Khurram Shehzad with only 16 runs on board. But, Asghar changed the course of the innings in the afternoon session as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa slipped to 206 for six from 106 for two. Zohaib crafted a solid half-century to rescue his side from a collapse. The all-rounder, to date, has scored 76 runs from 137 balls, which include eight fours. He was joined by Usman Shinwari (20) when the first day’s play came to an end. Asghar, after returning his eighth first-class five-fer, now sits at the third spot on the list of the bowlers with the highest wickets in the tournament. He has 24 scalps at 30.04 runs apiece. Balochistan will be eyeing Zohaib’s wicket when the second day’s play commences as getting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s nine or more wickets inside 110 overs will garner them maximum bowling points (3). Scores in brief:  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 290-8, 84 overs (Zohaib Khan 76 not out, Ashfaq Ahmed 54, Israrullah 42, Sajid Khan 29; Mohammad Asghar 5-90, Khurram Shehzad 2-64) vBalochistan

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy eighth round starts on Monday  By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (November 17, 2019):-As the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy enters its last three rounds, the competition to secure berths in the final of the country’s premier first-class tournament keeps on getting intense. The eighth round, which begins on Monday, 18 November, promises to generate more excitement in what has been a riveting tournament so far.  Northern return to Rawalpindi to host second-ranked Southern Punjab, who are 11 points ahead of them, at the KRL Stadium. The two teams played out a draw the last time they came face-to-face in the tournament. But, with the competition getting fierce with every round, both sides, this time, will enter the competition with guns blazing.  With 15 points on offer for the winning side, a victory for Northern (placed fourth with 71 points) will see them leapfrog the opposition. Northern turned heads with a surprise maiden win against Sindh, at Karachi’s National Stadium, which has established them as strong contenders to be one of the two finalists.  For the most part of the season, Northern, the only side to have lost two matches in the tournament before the beginning of the seventh round, languished at the bottom of the points table and were almost out of the tournament. But, traveling to the metropolis brought a much-needed change in their fortunes.  An incredible double-century by Faizan Riaz helped his side post an imposing 408 all-out from 14 for three after which Northern captain Nauman Ali, the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 36 wickets, spun a web with five for 58 and four for 51  in his side’s 145 runs victory over the hosts.  Southern Punjab will pin hopes on Sami Aslam, the leading run-getter of the tournament with 833 runs at an average of 138.83. The left-handed opener cracked a century in his side’s last round fixture against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium and has four scores of 100 and above – which include an unbeaten 243 – in the tournament, to date.  Sindh v Central Punjab  Sindh, now at the bottom with 58 points, must have gone back to the drawing board and chalked out strategies as they take on table-toppers Central Punjab, who are 50 points ahead, in a contest which will be live-streamed at the PCB’s YouTube Channel.  The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy experienced arguably the most-ferocious battle when the two sides met in Faisalabad in the fifth-round. Sindh edged out in securing a draw in a high-intensity competition, marked by gutsy performances in all facets from both sides. Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Sindh captain, will bank on Fawad Alam, the only batsman from his side to score two centuries this season, and pacers like Tabish Khan, leading wicket-taker for Sindh with 17 wickets, Mir Hamza and Sohail Khan. Early call-offs due to bad light on all four days in their last match against Balochistan at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, meant Central Punjab were in the field for only 217.2 overs. Their batsmen and bowlers, however, made put some notable performances. Forty-year-old pacer Aizaz Cheema, upgraded to the first XI side after impressing in the non first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament, returned a five-fer and Usman Salahuddin and Umar Akmal cracked 94 and 78. Regardless of the two teams standing on the extreme ends of the points table, fans will witness an exciting competition with tensions expected to be high when the rivals meet at the National Stadium. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Balochistan  Karachi will be host to another first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. This match was shifted out of Abbottabad due to unexpected weather conditions, which hampered the matches from going full distance.  Balochistan’s Imran Butt has been in sublime form of-late. The 23-year-old racked up his second century of the tournament at the Gaddafi Stadium and is the third-highest run-getter this season with 673 runs at an average of 67.30. He has also cracked three half-centuries.  His teammate Mohammad Asghar, left-arm spinner, sits at the fifth place in the list of the highest wicket-takers with 19 wickets - which include a five-fer - and accounted for the prized scalps of Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal in the last round.  Balochistan, however, will be wary of Khyber Pakhtunkwa, placed third on the points table. They might not have secured a win this season, but they remain the only side to have not lost a match either.  Their in-form batting lineup – spearheaded by Ashfaq Ahmed, the second best amongst the run-getters this tournament with 675 runs including four centuries – has accumulated the most batting points (26) from all six teams, to date.  The onus of delivering with the ball will be on their pace unit which boasts Pakistan internationals Junaid Khan and Usman Shinwari. The pace-attack has been bolstered by the introduction of 31-year-old right-arm medium-fast Ahmed Jamal, who returned a first innings six for 93 against Southern Punjab in Abbottabad in the last round.  Upcoming fixtures (18-21 Nov)  Northern v Southern Punjab, KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi  Sindh v Central Punjab, National Stadium, Karachi  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Balochistan, UBL Sports Complex, Karachi