Cricket - Int News
Sharjah groundsman is lucky to have witnessed two players' famous sixes
BIPIN DANI
Mohammad Jamil is one of the very few who have witnessed both sixes-Javed Miandad's sixer (against India, 1986, (Austral-Asia Cup) and Wednesday's Naseem Shah's last two (against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Jamil, who at the age of 21, started working at the Sharjah Stadium in 1982 as an Assistant groundsman is now the chief groundsman.
"Yes, I am lucky to have witnessed both players' sixes. Miandad's six had already found a name in the record books and people here are remembering it every now and then. Now Naseem's two sixes will also become equally famous. Both players' have played a significant role in Pakistan's victories. I don't under-rate any of their sixes. I will carry the fond memories of these sixes when I retire", he said exclusively.
Mazhar Khan, the General Manager at the Sharjah Cricket had also witnessed Miandas's famous six then.
Not to forget here that Naseem Shah's two sixes won the match and qualified to enter the Asia Cup final.
Asif Iqbal, who was a chief coordinator then, watched the Pakistan-Afghanistan match on TV at his home in England, where he resides.
Speaking exclusively over the telephone, he said, "Both sixes have been of great significance. Miandad’s will always take precedence as it was against India whereas Naseem Shah’s helped the team to qualify for the final which is still to be played. If Pakistan goes on to win the Asia Cup, then Naseem’s six will always be coined with the winning of the cup. Not to forget that Naseem Shah is a no. 10 batsman and was batting with no. 11. It was a wonderful game of T/20 which confirms that no match is over till it’s over and no match is won or lost till the last run is scored and the last wicket is taken".
Alex Hales added to England ICC T20 World Cup squad
Sports Bulletin Report
London (UK):-Nottinghamshire batter Alex Hales has been called up to England's ICC Men's T20 World Cup squad as a replacement for Yorkshire's Jonathan Bairstow after a left ankle injury sustained last week ended his chances of playing in the tournament. Hales, 33, represented England in March 2019, has also been added to the IT20 squad for the tour of Pakistan.
England T20 Squad for World Cup:
Jos Buttler (Lancashire+ Captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)
Travelling Reserves
Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Tymal Mills (Sussex)
England T20 Squad for Pakistan Tour:
Jos Buttler (Lancashire+ Captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire+ Vice-Captain), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Jordan Cox (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Will Jacks (Surrey), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Luke Wood (Lancashire), Mark Wood (Durham)
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 – England's Group Fixtures:
England v Afghanistan, Saturday 22 October 2022, Perth Stadium, Perth
England v Qualifier (B2), Wednesday 26 October 2022, MCG, Melbourne
England v Australia, Friday 28 October 2022, MCG, Melbourne
England v New Zealand, Tuesday 1 November 2022, The Gabba, Brisbane
England v Qualifier (A1), Saturday 5 November 2022, SCG, Sydney
England Men's Pre-World Cup tour of Australia:
1st IT20: Australia v England, Sunday 9 October, Perth Stadium, Perth
2nd IT20: Australia v England, Wednesday 12 October, Manuka Oval, Canberra
3rd IT20: Australia v England Friday 14 October, Manuka Oval, Canberra
England Men's IT20 Tour of Pakistan:
1st IT20: Pakistan v England, 20 September, National Stadium, Karachi
2nd IT20: Pakistan v England, 22 September, National Stadium, Karachi
3rd IT20: Pakistan v England, 23 September, National Stadium, Karachi
4th IT20: Pakistan v England, 25 September, National Stadium, Karachi
5th IT20: Pakistan v England, 28 September, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
6th IT20: Pakistan v England, 30 September, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
7th IT20: Pakistan v England, 2 October, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Indian star batter Virat fulfills dream of his Pakistani fan
BIPIN DANI
"I'm not here to fit into your world. I’m here to make my own noor'' the message with a flower emoji reads on Noor Qadri's social media account. The 21-year-old Karachi-based girl, now living with her parents in the UAE, has body controlling issues, which started at her age of 10. Before that, she was walking, running and playing with other kids like a normal girl. She now needs a little support to walk but this disability has not hampered her desire to grow her business of online selling of Pakistani clothes.
Recently, she came to the stadium to watch the Indo-Pak match. She watched the full match and enjoyed the fighting spirit of the Indian team. Last week, she came to meet his favorite Indian cricketer, Virat Kohli, who was attending the net sessions at the ICC Cricket Academy.
"My daughter was excited to see Kohli coming near to him", the father Talart Qadri, who himself is a businessman in the UAE, says.
"Kohli asked Noor, :how are you ? '' They clicked some selfies, but then Virat suggested to my elder daughter (Nosheen) to change the directions towards the light from the lamp post to get more and better pictures".
"It was my daughter's dream to meet Kohli. She was excited to have been with Kohli for a few minutes. We waited there for about two hours for Kohli to come out from his training".
Noor is an English literate educated girl, who is computer oriented and does her social media activities independently. After getting her wish of meeting Kohli fulfilled, her wish is to meet more Indian celebrities.
Karthik Aryan, Varun Dhawan and Shahrukh Khan are his favorite actors, Neha Kakkar and Shriya Ghosal her favorite female singers and will not miss to hear male singers- Arjit Singh and Guru Randhwa.
Parents advise Arshdeep Singh to ignore social media criticism
Bipin Dani
Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh’s parents expected their son to face heavy criticism on social media the moment India lost their Asia Cup match to Pakistan on Sunday.
Arshdeep, 23, could not hold on to the catch offered by Pakistani batsman Asif Ali off Ravi Bishnoi and was the one who bowled the final over in which Pakistan reached their target for a five-wicket win.
Arshdeep’s parents have urged their son to ignore messages circulating on social media. “We have advised him not to pay any attention to such criticism, but concentrate on his next game,” Arshdeep’s mother, Baljit Kaur told mid-day from Chandigarh.
Arshdeep’s father Darshan Singh, mother, sister and uncle were at the ground on Sunday. “We could not stay there longer owing to some emergency work here, but have promised Arshdeep that we will be back for the final. We will watch Tuesday’s match against Sri Lanka on TV.”
While Arshdeep has been trolled on social media, the young gun has received support from other quarters. “Arshdeep has received good support not only from his India teammates but Pakistani players as well. When we were in Dubai, the Punjab minister [for education, Gurmeet Singh Hayer] called to extend his support to our son. He has also promised to receive Arshdeep when the team return with the Asia Cup,” Balit Kaur signed off.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium breaks Guinness World Record
Sharjah (UAE):-Saturday marked another red letter day in the history of the Sharjah stadium. The 28th T20 between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan made it the number one venue for staging internationals, nudging out the Sydney Cricket Ground from the top position. Sharjah has now hosted 244 ODIs, 9 Tests and 28 T20s giving it a total of 281.
Reacting to this distinction Abdulrahman Bukhatir said it was a very satisfying feeling and thanked all those thousands who have enjoyed the games these past 40 years. The match was also record-breaking in many ways, as the Sri Lanka completed the highest ever run-chase on the ground and the highest ever chase against Afghanistan in T20s. (Press Release)
Ex-Afghanistan coach Lance Klussner not in favor of coded signals
BIPIN DANI
Sri Lankan computer analyst Prad Navaratnam was seen sending coded messages to his team captain Dasun Shanaka during the two recent crucial Asia Cup matches against Bangladesh on Thursday and Afghanistan on Saturday. The codes read 2D, D5, A2, C4, D etc.
Apparently, the codes were sent in consultation with the head coach Chris Silverwood, who was sitting next to him in the dugout.
Sri Lanka seemed to have followed England, who also used real-time coded signals from the dressing room in the T20 series in South Africa in 2020. It was for communicating with the then skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Silverwood, who was a coach with the English team then was criticised by former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Lance Klussner, who was a head coach with the Afghanistan team till recently, does not see value in it. "No, I don't like this system (of sending coded signals to the captain). I never used it (during my time with the Afghanistan coaching)", he said over the telephone from Australia, where he is a batting coach with the Zimbabwe team, which won the third ODI against the hosts on Saturday.
"It may sound interesting, but it's not new and personally I don't see value in it. The coach can easily send the messages to the fielding side during over-breaks or drinks interval", he added.
"If you trust your captain while fielding and your batsman while batting to make the correct decisions there is no need for this messaging", he concluded.
There's nothing wrong in this, and no rocket science, believe Mickey Arthur and Grant Flower, who were recently the Head Coach and the batting coach with the islanders.
"Those are signals that keep and give the captain options, that's all. You remind the captain of potential matchups and give him an option. It is then upto the captain whether he wants to use them or not '', Arthur, speaking exclusively, said.
"It is only done when the team is fielding".
"I am not sure how their system works but I imagine that it is a signal telling them which bowler to bowl and when. Then it's up to the captain to make a call", Flower said.
Arthur, during his stint with the Sri Lankan team didn't use this tactic.
Fresh start for Asia Cup, says co-director Salman Hanif
BIPIN DANI
It is a "fresh" Asia Cup tournament now, Salman Hanif, the co-director of the event said.
Speaking exclusively, he said, "First round points and NRR (Net Run Rates) will not be considered in the Super 4 round. All four qualified teams in the second tour (Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan) have started with zero points".
The Super Four stage is following a format where all four teams battle it out against each other once. Thus, each team gets to play three matches. The top two teams at the end of this stage will see each other in the summit clash.
Dubai Sports City, which includes the Dubai International Stadium and the ICC Academy, and Sharjah Cricket Stadium are the potential venues for the glitzy Asia Cup T20 tournament.
Kusal Perera undergoes successful shoulder surgery in London
BIPIN DANI
Sri Lankan wicket-keeper and batter Kusal Perera has successfully undergone shoulder surgery in England. The surgery was performed by Dr. Andrerw Wallace, who is a specialist in Sports injuries, shoulder arthroscopy, rotator cuff tears and arthritis.
"Yes, the surgery was performed at King Edward VII's hospital", Dr. Wallace, who has treated several cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar for his shoulder elbow, said over the telephone from London.
The 32-year-old Kusal Perera who has been carrying right shoulder injury for quite sometime and was last seen in action during the LPL last year and missed a lot of international cricket due to this injury.
"He went to London on Monday and the surgery was done on Wednesday", his manager, Ravi De Silva, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, said.
"He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday and his rehabilitation and recuperating process began yesterday (Friday). He has been given a 14-day chart for rehabilitation and will again be examined by the doctor on 14th September '', the manager further added.
"He is relaxing in the hospital and fine. Hope he recovers soon".
Perera's participation in the upcoming World Cup can only be determined by Dr. Wallace, once he sees him but at present it looks highly unlikely.
HK players thank to Virat on his great gesture
BIPIN DANI
After two successive defeats against India and Pakistan, the Hong Kong is elimiated from the ongoing Asia Cup but won the hearts of the fans and spectators to what HK players showed gesture to Team India's out of form Virat Kohli.
"Virat, Thank you for inspiring a Generation. We stand with you. There are many incredible days ahead. With strength, with love : Team Hong Kong". The message displayed on a jersey was presented to Virat Kohli.
It is hoped that this combined wish of players will bring luck to Kohli, who last scored an international hundred more than 1000 days ago.
"It was one of the players' ideas and all agreed to do it as a "Thank You" gesture to Virat Kohli for being an idol to youngsters and motivation", Smita Chhetri, who is the only woman team manager in the Asia Cup, said exclusively.
"It's a HK shirt-Scott's shirt, our team jersey. We used our wicketkeeper Scott McKechnie's shirt", Ravi Nagdev, the General Manager : Cricket Hong Kong revealed.
Virat had spent an hour with every young player of the Hong Kong team.
"Our players have not faced the bowling of 145 plus speed but they have got good experience playing with the senior players of other leading teams", Ravi Nagdev, the General Manager, Cricket Hong Kong, said.
"The members of the HK team will be spending three days in hotel quarantine on their return. The hotel expenses for the team will be borne by the government as we represent HK. They will also undergo a 4-day self monitoring quarantine".
"Kinchit Shah who recently proposed to a girl in the stadium will head to India for a while for a break", Nagdev added.
Bairstow ruled out of the third Test and ICC T20 World Cup
Sports Bulletin Report
London (UK):-England and Yorkshire batter Jonathan Bairstow has been ruled out of the rest of the summer and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after sustaining a lower limb injury in a freak accident whilst playing golf on Friday in Leeds. He will see a specialist next week to ascertain the full extent of the injury.
Nottinghamshire batter Ben Duckett has been added to the Test squad for the LV= Insurance third Test at the Kia Oval starting next Thursday. A further announcement will be made in due course on who will replace Bairstow in England’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad.
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