Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI (December 26, 2022): Pakistan recovered from a precarious 110 for four to finish the opening day’s play in the first Test against New Zealand at 317 for five at the National Bank Cricket Arena on Monday. Captain Babar Azam benefitted from a dropped catch at 12 to end the day at a sublime 161 not out, his third century in fifth Test in Karachi and ninth overall in 46 Tests, while former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, returning in whites for the first time since January 2019, was dismissed for 86 when five overs remained in the day. The 35-year-old former captain, playing his 50th Test and first at his home ground, struck nine fours in his 256 minutes of batting and added 196 runs for the fifth wicket with Babar Azam. It was this partnership that rescued Pakistan after New Zealand had made a dream start to their first Test here since 1990 and first in Pakistan in 20 years by reducing the home side to 48 for three in the first hour before the hosts, aiming to avoid fifth straight defeat in their backyard, reached 115 for four at lunch. Babar and Sarfaraz then added 109 runs in the second session as Pakistan went for tea at 224 for four, while the last session yielded 93 runs for the loss of the latter. Babar, whose previous scores in Karachi were 60, 100 not out (vs Sri Lanka), 7, 30 (vs South Africa), 36, 196 (vs Australia) and 78, 54 (vs England), has struck 15 fours and a six in his 363 minutes of batting. World No.2 ranked batter survived a nervous moment in the final over of the day when he was declared leg before off Ajaz Patel, but television replays confirmed the ball would have gone over the stumps. During this knock, Babar also became the highest run-scorer in Tests in 2022, beating England's Joe Root who ended the year with 1,098 in 15 matches. Babar, who now has 1,170 runs in nine Tests this year, also beat Mohammad Yousuf's aggregate of 2,435 in all three formats of the game in 2006 -- the most by a Pakistan batter. He now has 2,584 runs in three formats this year. Earlier, Babar Azam made the right call on the spin of coin, but New Zealand made the most of the first hour’s play with the new ball when left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel and off-spinner Michael Bracewell had Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood stumped in a space of 16 balls as Pakistan slipped to 19 for two. This was the first time in the history of Test cricket when the first two batters on the opening day of the match had been stumped. New Zealand could have added the scalp of Babar at the score of 47 but Daryl Mitchell dropped a sitter in the first slip off Bracewell, who, one run later, had Imam-ul-Haq caught at mid-off by Tim Southee to leave Pakistan tottering at 48 for three. At that stage, Babar and local boy Saud Shakeel (22) put on 62 runs for the fourth wicket to take the score to 110. Saud wasted his wicket a stroke before lunch when he was caught at point by Henry Nicholls off Southee. However, the master and his disciple – Sarfaraz and Babar – held the innings together and played some delightful strokes to all parts of the field. Babar reached his half-century from 76 balls with seven fours, while he brought up his ninth Test century with his only six from 161 balls that also included nine fours. Sarfaraz completed his 19th half-century from 84 balls. Scores in brief: Pakistan (1st innings) 317-5, 90 overs (Babar Azam 161 not out, Sarfaraz Ahmed 86, Saud Shakeel 22; Michael Bracewell 2-61, Ajaz Patel 2-91)

BIPIN DANI Mirpur (Bangladesh): Team India is carrying the Killer Trophy (Indian sponsor company) to India after winning the second Test match and 2-0 series against Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla National Stadium SBNS) on Sunday. "It is not a rotational trophy but was made by our sponsor for this bilateral series", Mohammed Jalal Yunus, the chairman of Cricket Operations Committee, said. Incidentally, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has a plan in future to have a rotational trophy between the two teams. "We have a good relationship with the Indian cricket board and will certainly plan a permanent trophy to play between the two teams", he reveals.  "India already have a Gavaskar-Border trophy, which is being shared with Cricket Australia and Sri Lanka-Australia have a Muralitharan-Shane Warne Trophy. We will also plan to share a similar trophy with India". "It will be named after two legendary cricketers of two countries. India has been playing Test cricket since 1932 and obviously they have produced many legends, whereas we started playing Test cricket only in 2000 and our board would decide on whose name the trophy to be made", the chairman added. Sharing award   Indian spinner R. Ashwin, who won the Player of the Match award has shared the same with Shreyas Iyer. "Shreyas batted beautifully, if he wasn't the player of the series, I'd have shared this with him", Ashwin declared at the presentation. The Player of the Series award went to Cheteshwar Pujara. Ashwin's gesture of sharing the award with his colleague (Shreyas Iyer) with whom Team India could clinch the match and the series was well lauded by Ashwin's wife Preethi. Speaking exclusively from India (she was not travelling with the team), she said, "it is an amazing gesture by Ash. Shreyas equally deserved this. They both saw that India could overcome the difficult situation on Sunday". "Yes, it was a tough call by two batters and at one point of time it looked difficult but still we had a ray of hope".

BIPIN DANI Mirpur (Bangladesh): Playing in his second Test match here the Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat has made a special shoe in his shoe-pair having a hole at toe space in it. On the opening day of the Test match against Bangladesh, the TV cameraman spotted it and zoomed at it. He has especially done so to reduce pressure on the toe. This has been a practice many fast bowlers adopt, informs India's ex-fast bowler S. Sreesanth. Speaking exclusively, he said, a lot of bowlers who bowl yorkersand put a lot of effort (in bowling) take off a bit of part of his shoes, especially the landing leg. It is basically for the portion of big toe touching the soft leather of shoe to the hard surface of the ground and thereby chances of getting injured. To minimise this, the bowlers get the toe portion of the shoes removed".  Explaining the biomechanics, Australian expert, Mark Portus, who runs an Academy (called Pace Doctor), says, "It is relatively a common practice for the quicks, it helps relieve compaction of the big toe through the front foot contact phase. I am not aware of spinners doing it, not as much stress through the front foot for the spinners so probably not needed. The only disadvantage it can bring is to compromise the integrity of the shoe and it can break down quicker but most quicks will take this downside to reduce the trauma on the toe. It actually is quite painful". "Bowlers cut a hole in the cricket boots to relieve the pressure on the big toe. Sometimes the foot slips inside the boot and the big toe gets jammed on the end. So the hole cut out is to ease the pressure on the foot. The hole is cut from the upper part of the boot where the big toe is", says Ian Pont, who has been the fast bowling coach for several international and league teams and now works as a head of the National Fast Bowling academy in England.

BIPIN DANI Mirpur (Bangladesh): A cricket fan from Madaripur took everyone by surprise on the second day of the second Test between Bangladesh and India on Friday as he breached the security barrier of the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and entered the ground. "He has been arrested and will be produced before the Dhaka Court on Saturday", Md. Mostazirur Rahman, the Officer in Charge at Mirpur Model Police Station said. The incident took place in the 68th over of India's innings when Mehidy Hasan Miraz was bowling to Rishabh Pant. Play was stopped as a Shakib fan sitting in the north gallery climbed over the barbed wire fence and entered the ground. "He rushed to Shakib, knelt down and touched the captain's feet and greeted him. The security personnel who ran into the field from both sides, grabbed the pitch invader wearing the Bangladesh jersey and took him out". "During our preliminary investigation, it was found that this 16-year-old X standard student (Mohammad Arafat) is a die-hard fan of Shakib. He had no ill motives, no intention of drawing media or TV attention and also had no intention of hurting any players. He rushed to the ground out of his joy. Incidentally, this is the first time he has been to a cricket stadium". "In the court on Saturday, we will ask for some time to investigate him on whatever he has said. We will then submit our report to the court and the court will decide the further action. We cannot keep him in custody for more than 14 days", the Officer in Charge added.

Sports Bulletin Report LONDON: England Men's selection panel have named a 15-man squad for the two-match Test tour of New Zealand starting in February, as Seamers Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts and Essex batter Dan Lawrence returned back in the Test squad. Nottinghamshire quick Olly Stone, who last played for England in June 2021 against New Zealand, will be looking to add to his three Test caps. Durham fast bowler Mark Wood, who was impressive in the recent 3-0 victory over Pakistan, will take a break from all international and franchise cricket in January to fully recover after a busy winter in all formats. He is expected to tour Bangladesh in March, where England will play three ODIS and three IT20s. Leg spinner Rehan Ahmed, as part of his management for this winter, will go to the UAE T20 League in January with a view to joining up with the white-ball team in Bangladesh if selected in March. Yorkshire and England batter Joe Root will play a handful of matches in the UAE T20 League ahead of the tour to New Zealand. He will then have a short break before joining up with the Test team. We believe this is the best way to enhance his game ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in the autumn of 2023. Those players involved in the ODI series in South Africa – Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Olly Stone and Will Jacks, who is playing in the South Africa T20 League - will fly directly to join the squad in New Zealand following the conclusion of that series. England Men's Test squad: Ben Stokes (Durham-Captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Will Jacks (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire) England Men's Test Tour of New Zealand Schedule: (All timings are local) Two-day warm-up (red-ball): NZ XI v England, 8-9 February, Seddon Park, Hamilton (11am start) Two-day warm-up (pink-ball): NZ XI v England 10-11 February, Seddon Park, Hamilton (2pm start) First Test (pink ball): New Zealand v England, 16-20 February, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui (2pm start) Second Test: New Zealand v England, 24-28 February, Basin Reserve, Wellington (11am start)

BIPIN DANI Jaydev Unadkat's inclusion in the playing eleven in the second Test against Bangladesh surprised many including former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who is in Mirpur as a commentator and player's own family in Gujarat. The final eleven was revealed at the toss by the stand-in captain KL Rahul, who along with Bangladesh captain Shakib, came with blazers on. The 31-year-old left-arm medium pacer has been playing his own second Test after a gap of 12 years. India played 118 Tests since he made his Test debut (against South Africa at Centurion on December 16, 2010). "Yes, it was a very pleasant surprise. We heard this sudden news only after watching the TV in the morning", Rinny, Jaydev's wife said over the telephone from Rajkot. "My in-laws are more emotional than me. Because, my wait is only for two years, whereas they have waited for this day for 12 years", she added. Jaydev and Rinny got engaged in 2020 and after a year-long dating they tied the knot in 2021. Unadkat's  was completely an arranged marriage as Rinny was selected by his parents. Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara had attended the ceremony. Interestingly, Rinny is an advocate but has stopped practising in the High Court. "After our marriage I have left this profession and now I am a complete house-wife. "Yes, it would have been an icing on the cake if I had traveled with the team to Bangladesh but the final eleven team is only decided on a day of the match or one day prior. It was so sudden and I am sure he will certainly miss me when I am not around", the wife added. Jaydev's father, Dipak also echoed his daughter-in-law's views. "Jaydev's inclusion was suddenly surprising but we are not nervous. Having bowled well in the domestic circuit, we are sure he will perform to his best ability". Another surprising fact was that coach Rahul Dravid's signed team sheet displayed Jaydev Unadkat's Test jersey number 61 instead of 91. Jaydev Unadkat has been wearing white jersey no. 91.

BIPIN DANI DHAKA: Team India's stand-in captain KL Rahul was set to address the pre-match media briefing after his batting practice on Wednesday but during the fag end of his net session, a throw-down from batting coach Vikram Rathore injured his hand. If he is not available for the 2nd Test commencing tomorrow, the team will be led by vice captain Cheteshwar Pujara (Pujara has been named vice captain by the BCCI and not by the outgoing selection committee, a member of the support staff confirmed) and in that scenario, the 27-year-old Abhimanyu Easwaran could earn a Test cap. After seeing the wicket on the eve of the Test, Team India's coach Rahul Dravid rushed to chief curator's (Gamini Silva) room. What discussions the coach had with this Sri Lanka-born curator is not known but the experts here believe that the wicket is likely to help the spinners. The first Test pitch was enjoyed by batters but here in Mirpur, the wickets may help the spinners. The wicket at the Shere Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur will assist spinners. The team winning the toss is likely to bat first, and thus avoid batting in the fourth innings. The weather is dry. The chief selector of Bangladesh cricket team, Minhajul Abedin "Nannu" has admitted that the Indian team has a very strong bench strength. "Indian team didn't have their regular captain and a key player Rohit Sharma, still they won the first Test in Chattogram. It is because the team has the strongest bench strength. I see India as a formidable side and not easy to beat". According to him, Virat Kohli will be a "big threat". Kohli is one of the greatest players the world has seen in recent times and though he could not capitalize big scores in the first Test, we can not underestimate his game". Echoing his views in the press conference, Team India's batting coach Vikram Rathore said, "Kohli is working very hard. Even when he was running in a lean patch, he was working hard. All players are working very hard and we are determined to play a good Test match and hopefully, it will produce result". Bangladesh may face an uphill task against Ashwin, Kuldeep and Axar Patel. However, the more encouraging news for Bangladesh came from their fast bowling coach Alan Donald. "Shakib has recovered well and as far as I know he is likely to play tomorrow", he said at the media conference. Doubts were raised about Shakib's participation in the match. Bangladeshi captain was suffering from shoulder and rib cage injuries and due to which he could bowl only 12 overs in the first innings in the first Test. However, both the chief selector and the fast bowling coach confirmed that the captain would and will not play merely as a batter. India (likely Playing XIs): Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara (vice captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel,  R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. Bangladesh (likely Playing XIs): Najmul Hossain Shanto, Zakir Hasan, Yasir Ali, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI (December 21, 2022): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named an uncapped middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam and fast bowler Hasan Ali in the 16-player squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand, which will commence at Karachi’s National Bank Cricket Arena on Monday, 26 December. Kamran has replaced Azhar Ali, who announced his retirement last week, while Hasan Ali has taken over from Mohammad Ali, who, like Faheem Ashraf, has been advised to participate in the ongoing Pakistan Cup in Karachi. Haris Rauf has not been included in the squad as he is recovering from an injury he sustained while fielding in the Rawalpindi Test. However, fast bowler Naseem Shah, who missed the Multan and Karachi Tests due to a shoulder niggle, has been being declared fit and as such, retained in the squad. Names of selected players: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood Names of Officials for Series: 26-30 December - 1st Test, Karachi. Alex Wharf and Aleem Dar (on-field), Ahsan Raza (third umpire), Asif Yaqoob (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed Malik (match referee) 3-7 January – 2nd Test, Multan. Alex Wharf and Aleem Dar (on-field), Ahsan Raza (third umpire), Rashid Riaz (fourth umpire); David Boon (match referee) 10 January – 1st ODI, Karachi. Aleem Dar and Asif Yaqoob (on-field), Ahsan Raza (third umpire), Faisal Afridi (fourth umpire); David Boon (match referee) 12 January – 2nd ODI, Karachi. Aleem Dar and Rashid Riaz (on-field), Asif Yaqoob (third umpire), Faisal Afridi (fourth umpire); David Boon (match referee) 14 January – 3rd ODI, Karachi. Aleem Dar and Ahsan Raza (on-field), Rashid Riaz (third umpire), Faisal Afridi (fourth umpire); David Boon (match referee).

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI (December 19, 2022): Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed became the youngest debutant to take five wickets in an innings and set England on course for a victory after three days of play in the third and final Test in Karachi on Monday. Ahmed, who at 18 years 126 days old on Saturday became the youngest ever to play a Test for England, grabbed five for 48 to bundle Pakistan out for 216, giving his team a target of 167 runs with 75 minutes and two days to play. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett plundered 87 by the 12th over before spinner Abrar Ahmed dismissed Crawley for 41 and Rehan Ahmed for 10. Duckett was unbeaten on 50 and skipper Ben Stokes 10 as England, 112 for two at close, need just 55 runs to inflict a first-ever whitewash on Pakistan on home ground. England, on Pakistan's first Test tour in 17 years, won the first Test in Rawalpindi by 74 runs and the second in Multan by 26 runs. Pakistan fell prey to a spin-assisted National Bank Cricket Arena pitch, losing their last seven wickets for a mere 52 runs with skipper Babar Azam scoring 54 and Saud Shakeel 53. Rehan Ahmed said the feeling was great. "I don't think it has sunk in yet, but yes I am very grateful," he said, admitting Azam's scalp was special. "I bowled better balls and not get wickets so to get a wicket is a wicket and it is nice, especially when it is Babar." Rehan Ahmed built on fellow spinner Jack Leach's three wickets off just six balls in the morning session by taking his first three off just 17. He left Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins behind who, at 18 years 193 days old, took five wickets in his debut Test against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2011. Surprisingly, he had not bowled in the first session, which saw Pakistan reach 99 for three. Ahmed came on after Babar and Saud had put on a valiant rebuilding effort through a fourth wicket stand of 110 runs. The pair took Pakistan to 164 before the skipper made an uncharacteristic misjudgement, soon after he reached 1,000 Test runs for the year. Leach had Pakistan reeling after he knocked over openers Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique and veteran Azhar Ali, appearing in his last match, with only one run added. Ahmed oversaw an equally brutal passage of play, removing Babar (54), Mohammad Rizwan (7) and Saud in the space of six overs for the addition of a paltry 13 runs. Mohammad Wasim (two) and Salman Agha (21) also fell to Ahmed. Saud admitted Pakistan batters committed mistakes. "We ourselves didn't want this situation to come," said Saud. "We committed mistakes especially Babar and I played loose shots and that caused a collapse from which it was tough to overcome." Pakistan started the fourth day on nearly even footing, with openers Abdullah and Shan looking set and erasing England's 50-run lead without the loss of a wicket. But any optimism was snatched away by England's methodical spinners. Leach bowled Shan -- attempting an ill-advised reverse sweep -- for 24, which brought down the first cluster of wickets. Earlier in the day, top-order stalwart Azhar Ali was denied a fairytale ending to his storied career that has spanned 97 Tests and 7,142 runs. Azhar was beaten by spin as he played a forward push on the final ball of Leach's momentum-changing double-wicket maiden. His stumps shattered, Azhar walked off the field for the last time, ending 12 years as a first-team regular. The England players clapped as Azhar trudged back to the dressing room, while Pakistan's players raised their bats at the boundary for a ceremonial guard of honour. Among the handful of spectators were Azhar's wife and three sons.

BIPIN DANI Former India allrounder Manoj Prabhakar, who left the Nepal coaching job after only four months was "asked to resign", it is learnt. According to well-placed sources in Nepal, the 59-year-old Prabhakar was asked to submit his resignation. "The players were not happy with his method of coaching. He was ignoring the senior players. He used to change the settled batting line-up often and was trying to make the batsmen bowlers. In short, we were not happy with this style of coaching and didn't want the CAN (Cricket Association of Nepal) to suffer. It was a bad experience to have him as our coach", one of the sources explained. He had been appointed to the role for a one year tenure in August this year. "We had asked him to resign and his contract was terminated prematurely".  When contacted, Manoj Prabhakar initially refused to talk, but when pressed more, he said, "yes, I have left coaching the team. It was the best decision to resign for the sake of self-respect". He also defended the decision to change the batting order. "The decision to change the batting order was taken in the interest of the team keeping in mind the bowling strategy of the opposite team. And, how can I change the batsman to a bowler? I asked the all-rounders to bowl. During my stint, we won against Kenya and the UAE". Sadly, the CAN's last three coaches (Dav Whatmore, Pubudu Dassanayake and Manoj Prabhakar) have resigned before the expiry of their contracts.  Prabhakar returned to Delhi on December 12. Manoj Prabhakar had brought the new Indian trainer (Abdul Sattar) with him. "Sattar, the former cricketer is a good trainer and we have retained him", the source further added. The CAN is trying to hire the services of a new coach soon. Their team is scheduled to play League-2 matches against Scotland and Namibia in February 2023.