Sports Bulletin

BIPIN DANI The family of Sri Lankan batting all-rounder Charith Asalanka has a reason to celebrate his 25th birthday (which falls on June 29) one week in advance. The middle order left-hand batter registered his very first hundred in international cricket on Tuesday. "We are overjoyed with his maiden hundred", Charith's girl-friend, Kavindika, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, said on Wednesday morning. "Interestingly, June 29 is a significant day in his life. Last year he made his international debut on his birthday day (ODI against England at Chester-Le-Street)". Charith's first international hundred was witnessed by his family at the ground. "Charith's parents (father : Vijith Priyanth (businessman), mother (Tanuja, housewife) and two siblings (brother and sister) were at the ground. I could not go but watched the match at my home with Charith's one of the other sisters", the girl-friend, who has known Charith for the last ten years added. "The presence of his family at the R Premadasa Stadium was enough support for my boy-friend to hit the ton" Charith's parents have been very supportive. Even Charith's younger brother (Hiruk), who is studying now plays good cricket and is a future star. Charith's late grand-father had a dream to see his grand-children to play cricket for the country", Kavindika added. Charith's first coach at school, Dhanushka Denagama is hoping many more centuries from his ward. "I hope he will be the team leader in the future. His innings on Tuesday reminded me of his childhood day", the coach said. Incidentally, Charith's father could not resist thanking Dhanushka the day after his son was instrumental in the unbeaten series win. "His father called me and thanked me for making his son a world class player", the coach signed off.

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka's top order batsman Kusal Mendis has become father for the first time. This was revealed by his father, Dinesh Mendis. "Kusal's wife Nishelle gave birth to a baby girl this between 7 and 8 Monday morning. Both the newly born baby and her mother are absolutely fine', he said exclusively over the telephone from Colombo. The 27-year-old top order right-hand handed batter, who scored 87 runs in the winning match against Australia on Sunday night saw his daughter on Monday morning. "Kusal came to the hospital (Ninewells Hospital) on Sunday night immediately after the match. The delivery was not done at the time. He, however has seen the baby this morning", the father further added. Kusal was still in the hospital at the time of filing this report (1 pm) on Monday noon. The parents are likely to name the girl as Hailey. The duo had married last year on February 12.

Sports Bulletin Report LONDON:-England Men's selection panel have named a 14-strong squad for the third LV= Insurance Test match against New Zealand starting at Headingley on 23 June. Surrey seamer Jamie Overton has been called up to the Test squad for the first time and will join his brother Craig in the squad. The 28-year-old has been in excellent form for league leaders Surrey in the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One taking 21 wickets this season at an average of 21.61. The England Test squad will report to Headingley on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the match starting on Thursday. England lead the three-match series two-nil. England Men's Test squad v New Zealand: Ben Stokes (Durham) captain James Anderson (Lancashire) Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Harry Brook (Yorkshire) Zak Crawley (Kent) Ben Foakes (Surrey) Jack Leach (Somerset) Alex Lees (Durham) Craig Overton (Somerset) Jamie Overton (Surrey) Matthew Potts (Durham) Ollie Pope (Surrey) Joe Root (Yorkshire)

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-For the first time since the ICC ODI and T20I Player rankings were introduced, Pakistan batters have occupied the top two positions in the latest rankings, which the ICC released on Wednesday. Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam is joined by Imam-ul-Haq as the second-ranked ODI batter, while Mohammad Rizwan has moved up one place to second in the T20I rankings. Imam’s 199 runs in the ODI series against the West Indies in Pakistan’s 3-0 series win has helped him to move ahead of India’s Virat Kohli. Imam now leads Kohli (811 points) by four points, while Babar continues to sit on top of the tree with 892 points. Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman has joined India’s Shikhar Dawan at 13th position. Amongst the ODI bowlers, Shaheen Afridi has broken into the top-five for the first time in his career. The left-arm fast bowler, who is ranked fourth in Tests with 827 points, is now in fourth position (up by two places). The list is headed by New Zealand’s Trent Boult (726 points), followed by Josh Hazlewood (691 points) and Matt Henry (683 points). Shadab Khan has also made good progress, rising eight places to 30th, while Mohammad Nawaz has vaulted 53 places to enter the top-50 in 47th position. In the T20I player rankings, Babar Azam is ranked number-one with 818 points, while Mohammad Rizwan is second (794 points). South Africa’s Aiden Markram has slipped to third on 772 points. Fakhar Zaman is the next highest-ranked Pakistan batter in 46th position (490 points). Amongst the T20I bowlers, Shaheen Afridi is in 12th position, followed by Shadab Khan (16th), Haris Rauf (29th), Mohammad Nawaz (60th) and Hasan Ali (63rd). In the latest Test rankings, Babar Azam has retained his fourth position, while Azhar Ali and Mohammad Rizwan are 18th and 19th, respectively. Abid Ali is 23rd, Abdullah Shafique is 35th and Fawad Alam is 42nd. Apart from Shaheen Afridi, notable Pakistan bowlers in the Test rankings are Hasan Ali (15th), Mohammad Abbas (20th), Yasir Shah (37th), Nauman Ali (62nd), Naseem Shah (68th), Faheem Ashraf (73rd) and Sajid Khan (75th).

Sports Bulletin Report MULTAN:-Pakistan’s lower middle-order batting emerged successful from a stern test to help the home side win the third One-Day International by 53 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method and sweep the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against the West Indies by 3-0 here on Sunday night. In front of another packed to capacity crowd on a day that saw play halt for approximately an hour due to a dust storm, which reduced the match to 48 overs a side, Pakistan slipped from 85 for no loss in the 17th over to a precarious 117 for five in the 25th over before recovering to post a commanding 269 for nine. The bowlers then overcame the West Indies’ counterattack to dismiss the visitors for 216 in 37.2 overs. Akeal Hosein fought a lone battle, hitting two fours and six sixes in a 37-ball 60, while Keacy Carty scored 33 and Shai Hope and Keemo Paul contributed 21 runs apiece. The West Indies entertained a holiday crowd with 15 fours and 10 sixes after Pakistan had struck 20 fours and four sixes. Shadab Khan followed up his match-winning 86 with figures of four for 62, Hasan Ali took two for 29, while Mohammad Nawaz, who took four for 19 on Friday, bagged two for 56. Like Shadab, Nawaz was also returning to ODI cricket after recovering from an injury. Mohammad Haris, who had earlier earned a second-ball duck, kept wickets and accounted for three batters. Similarly, Shahnawaz Dahani, who became the 235th cricketer to represent Pakistan in ODIs, picked up a wicket in his second over to finish with figures of 6-0-36-1. The star of the match was all-rounder Shadab, who was playing his first complete ODI series since July 2021 and had been under fire for being ineffective and inconsistent since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. The 23-year-old pulled Pakistan out of a deep hole with a gutsy and courageous career-best 86 off 78 that included four fours and three sixes. Together with Khushdil Shah (34), Shadab added 84 runs for the sixth wicket and then another 40 for the eighth wicket with Mohammad Wasim. It was Shadab’s measured and well-constructed innings that helped Pakistan to collect 78 runs from the last 10 overs to reach 269 for nine, which looked highly unlikely after the middle-order had collapsed like a house of cards against Nicholas Pooran, who before this match, had only bowled three deliveries in international cricket. Pooran returned figures of 10-0-48-4, but more importantly broke the back of Pakistan’s middle-order at a time when they were ready to shift gears after Fakhar Zaman (35) and Imam-ul-Haq (62) had provided Pakistan an 85-run first wicket stand. Pooran picked up four of the five top-order batters, dismissing Fakhar, Imam, Mohammad Haris (0) and Mohammad Rizwan (11). Babar Azam, who suffered a rare failure when he scored just one, was trapped in front of the wickets by Hayden Walsh. Nevertheless, Shadab held the innings together and in partnership with Khushdil, rebuilt the innings on a wicket that had no demons. Shadab waited patiently for the lose deliveries but when they came his way, they were severely punished as he continued to nudge and push the ball around to keep the scoreboard moving. He was eventually out on the first ball of the last over as he attempted a ‘Dilscoop’ to find his middle stump disturbed. While Shadab dominated the match with 86 and four for 62, Imam stole the honours of the series when he finished as the leading run-getter with 199 runs at 66.66 with a strike-rate of just under 94. His last 10 scores in 50-over cricket have been 57, 0, 1, 56, 103, 106, 89 not out, 65, 72 and 62, a hallmark of a top batter. Pakistan have strengthened their fourth position in the Super League with 90 points in 15 ODIs of five series and have three series (9 ODIs) remaining. They will play the Netherlands in August and New Zealand in January, while time of the Afghanistan series is yet to be decided. Seven of the 13 sides in the Super League plus hosts India will qualify directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat West Indies by 53 runs (DLS Method) and won the series 3-0 Pakistan 269-9, 48 overs (Shadab Khan 86, Imam-ul-Haq 62, Fakhar Zaman 35, Khushdil Shah 34, Nicholas Pooran 4-48, Keemo Paul 2-57) West Indies 216 all out, 37.2 overs (Akeal Hosein 60, Keacy Carty 33, Shai Hope 21, Keemo Paul 21; Shadab Khan 4-62, Hasan Ali 2-29, Mohammad Nawaz 2-56) Player of the match – Shadab Khan (Pakistan) Player of the series - Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan)

Salman Khan MULTAN:-A career-best bowling performance by Mohammad Nawaz following impressive half-centuries by Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq earned Pakistan 120 runs victory over the West Indies in the second ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League fixture here on Friday night. The win lifted Pakistan from the pre-series 10th position to fourth spot. They are on equal points with the West Indies on 80, but are placed ahead of the two-time former world champions on net run-rate. In front of another full house, Nawaz turned the screws on the West Indies with his cunning and shrewd bowling to over and chasing return figures of 10-0-19-4 as the West Indies were skittled out for 155 in 32.2 overs after being 102 for three in the 19th over and chasing 276 for victory. This was Nawaz’s second career four-fer in 18 appearances after he had taken four for 42 against the same opposition in Sharjah in September 2016. Nawaz’s scalps included Shamarah Brooks (42), Brandon King (0), Nicholas Pooran (25) and Rovman Powell (10). Shaheen Shah Afridi, as he often does, provided a breakthrough in his first over when he dismissed last match’s centurion Shai Hope (4). But Brooks and Kyle Mayers repaired the damage with 67 runs second-wicket partnership. Mayers was ruthless on Pakistan’s fast bowlers, punishing them for four fours and two sixes in a 25-ball 33 before Mohammad Wasim disturbed the furniture behind the left-hander. Wasim finished with figures of three for 34. Nawaz got into action and claimed four straight wickets before Shadab Khan joined in the fun when he dismissed Romario Shepherd as the West Indies lost their last seven wickets for 83 runs to capsize for 155 without offering a real fight. Shadab added the wicket of Hayden Walsh to finish with two for 40. Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Fakhar Zaman suffered his second successive failure when he was dismissed for a 28-ball 17 but Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam stitched a 120-run second wicket partnership that proved to the cornerstone of Pakistan’s 275 for eight. Imam scored run-a-ball 72 with six fours before his innings concluded after his mate Babar preferred to look at the ball instead of his partner that stunned the left-hander and left him stranded at the middle of the pitch. This was Imam’s sixth consecutive half-century after he had scored 56 (against England), 103, 106, 89 not out (all against Australia) and 65 (against the West Indies on Friday). Babar Azam, whose previous five scores were 158, 57, 114, 105 not out, 103, was on course for a fourth successive century but was beaten in the flight off Akeal Hosein and was caught and bowled by the left-arm spinner. Babar scored a 93-ball 77 that included five fours and a six. Babar’s dismissal produced three wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (15), Mohammad Haris (6) and Mohammad Nawaz (3) for the West Indies. However, small contributions by Shadab Khan (22), Khushdil Shah (22), Mohammad Wasim (17 not out) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (15 not out) propelled Pakistan to reach a position from where they could dictate terms. Pakistan collected 27 runs in the last two overs, including 12 off the penultimate over by Anderson Phillip and 15 off the final over of the innings by Romario Shepherd that included three fours by Shaheen Shah Afridi. For the West Indies, Hosein was the pick of the bowlers with three for 52, while Alzarri Joseph and Phillip equally shared four wickets between them conceding 33 and 50 runs, respectively. The third and final ODI of the series will be played on Sunday. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat West Indies by 120 runs Pakistan 275-8, 50 overs (Babar Azam 77, Imam-ul-Haq 72, Shadab Khan 22, Khushdil Shah 22; Akeal Hosein 3-52, Alzarri Jospeh 2-33, Anderson Phillip 2-50) West Indies 155 all out, 32.2 overs (Shamarh Brooks 42, Kyle Mayers 33, Nicholas Pooran 25; Mohammad Nawaz 4-19, Mohammad Wasim 3-34, Shadab Khan 2-40) Player of the match – Mohammad Nawaz (Pakistan)

Sports Bulletin Report LONDON:-The Hundred Overseas Wildcard Draft has seen yet more international men’s and women’s superstars sign up to take part in The Hundred this summer. In a world first for cricket, overseas men’s and women’s players have been drafted together ahead of an exciting summer of world-class sport and family-friendly entertainment. The big signings include: Oval Invincibles selected Pakistan quick bowler Mohammad Hasnain as the first men’s pick while Afghan teenage spin sensation Noor Ahmad heads to Welsh Fire The Aussies are coming to the women’s competition with Welsh Fire picking up Nicola Carey as their first pick and Trent Rockets snapping up Elyse Villani South African star Imran Tahir will return to Birmingham Phoenix after lighting up The Hundred last year with the competition’s first hat-trick Other international stars in the women’s game include India’s Deepti Sharma heading to Birmingham Phoenix while New Zealand internationals Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr and Suzie Bates join Manchester Originals, London Spirit and Oval Invincibles respectively. For the first time in any cricketing competition, women’s players are being drafted along with the men as The Hundred takes another step towards providing an equal platform for women’s and men’s cricket. Mohammad Hasnain said: “I’m overjoyed to be joining Oval Invincibles. The Hundred looked like great fun last year and I can’t wait to get involved. The opportunity to play alongside stars like Sunil Narine, Jason Roy and the Curran brothers is hugely exciting. I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the field again.” Nicola Carey said: “I’m really excited to be heading to Welsh Fire. We’ve already got a strong Aussie contingent with Rachael Haynes and Annabel Sutherland and combine that with Tammy Beaumount as skipper and we’ve got the makings of a really strong squad. I’ve never played at Cardiff before and I’m looking forward to seeing the Welsh Fire fans making lots of noise at Sophia Gardens.” Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of The Hundred said: “It is brilliant news to welcome 16 more international stars to The Hundred. Players from seven countries have been selected and it’s great to welcome the likes of Mohammad Hasnain, Deepti Sharma and Suzie Bates to The Hundred this year. This continues to take the quality of cricket to another level and we can’t wait for a second summer of incredible sporting action.” Team-by-team – Overseas Wildcard Draft highlights Welsh Fire selected Australian star and World Cup winner Nicola Carey as the first women’s overseas selection. Afghanistan teenage spinning sensation Noor Ahmad will be heading to Cardiff after turning heads at the recent ICC U19 Men’s World Cup. Oval Invincibles chose exciting Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain as the first men’s overseas selection. They selected New Zealand batter Suzie Bates, one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the women’s game, in an impressive pair of picks. Trent Rockets named experienced Australian batter Elyse Villani as their women’s overseas pick while Australian Daniel Sams joins after impressing with Mumbai Indians in the IPL and Essex Eagles in the Vitality Blast. Northern Superchargers picked up Namibian allrounder David Wiese as the second men’s pick. Australian international Heather Graham joins after being part of her country’s recent World Cup winning squad. Manchester Originals snapped up New Zealand fast bowler Lea Tahuhu who will link up with her wife and fellow New Zealand legend Amy Satterthwaite at Emirates Old Trafford. The men selected Australian batter Ashton Turner who is currently captaining Durham in the Vitality Blast. New Zealand bowler Jess Kerr will link up with her sister Amelia at London Spirit. On the men’s side they secured powerful Australian batter Ben McDermott off the back of his great form for Hampshire Hawks in the Vitality Blast. Birmingham Phoenix retained South African spinner Imran Tahir with their men’s pick. Tahir provided one of the moments from the first year of The Hundred with his match winning hat-trick against Welsh Fire, the first in the competition. The women’s side selected India spinning allrounder Deepti Sharma who featured for London Spirit in the first edition of The Hundred. Southern Brave secured Australian spinner Molly Strano, the top wicket taker in the history of the Women’s Big Bash League, and explosive New Zealander batter Finn Allen with the last men’s pick. The window for the women’s sides to sign players remains open with teams having until 30 June to complete their squads. The men’s squads will be completed with the domestic Vitality Wildcard draft on 7 July.

Sports Report MULTAN:-Multan’s 14-year wait for the return of international cricket was rewarded with a record-breaking century by Babar Azam and Khushdil Shah’s whirlwind knock as Pakistan defeated the West Indies by five wickets in a last-over thrilling first ODI of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League on Wednesday. After scoring 114 and 105 not out in the last two ODIs against Australia in Lahore on 31 March and 2 April, respectively, Babar Azam struck another signature 103 off 107 balls that turned out to be the cornerstone of Pakistan’s effort of overhauling the West Indies’ 305 for eight with just four balls remaining. When Babar Azam struck his ninth boundary to reach the magical figures, he achieved three rare records. The world No.1 became the first batter in the history of ODI cricket to record three consecutive centuries on two different occasions, completed the fastest 1,000 ODI runs as captain and became the quickest to 17 ODI centuries. In September/October 2016, Babar had scored 120, 123 and 117 to become the third Pakistan batter after Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar and eighth overall to hit three successive centuries. In reaching 1,000 ODI runs in his 13th innings as captain, he eclipsed Virat Kohli’s record who had achieved this milestone in his 17th innings. Babar’s 17th career century came in his 85th innings that bettered Hashim Amla’s record who had scored his 17th century in 98th innings. Babar had joined Imam-ul-Haq at the score of 26 for one and added 103 runs for the second wicket with the left-hander who departed after scoring 65 off 71 balls with six fours. The Pakistan captain then put on 108 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Rizwan, who contributed a 61-ball 59 with two fours and a six. However, the dismissals of Babar and Rizwan in a span of 19 balls with 50 runs required off 32 balls created a bit of panic in the home team’s camp. However, Khushdil Shah rose to the occasion and repeated his heroics in the second ODI against Australia by slapping four sixes (three off successive deliveries from Romario Shepherd) and a four in a 23-ball 41 not out. In the second ODI on 31 March, Khushdil had struck two fours and two sixes in a 17-ball 27 not out as Pakistan achieved the 349-run target with six balls to spare. Earlier, Shai Hope stroked his 12th ODI century and put on 154 runs for the second wicket with Shamarh Brooks as the visitors collected 305 for eight in 50 overs after electing to bat first. Hope scored 127 off 134 balls with 15 fours and a six, while Brooks’ 83-ball 70 contained seven fours. Cameos by Nicholas Pooran (21 off 16 balls with three sixes), Rovman Powell (32 off 23 balls with five fours) and Romario Shepherd 25 off 18 balls with two sixes) helped the visitors cross the 300-mark. For Pakistan, Haris Rauf was the most successful and expensive bowler when he picked up four wickets conceding 77 runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi took two for 55, while Mohammad Nawaz picked up one wicket. Shadab Khan, returning to ODI action after a long lay-off, was impressive with the ball – giving away 37 runs in his 10 overs and picking up a wicket. In addition to the caught and bowled, he took an athletic one-handed catch at short third man to dismiss a dangerous looking Brooks to end the second wicket partnership. The second ODI will be played on Friday, while the third ODI will be held on Sunday. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat the West Indies by five wickets West Indies 305-8, 50 overs (Shai Hope 127, Shamarh Brooks 70, Rovman Powell 32, Romario Shepherd 25, Nicholas Pooran 21; Haris Rauf 4-77, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-55) Pakistan 306-5, 49.2 overs (Babar Azam 103, Imam-ul-Haq 65, Mohammad Rizwan 59, Khushdil Shah 41 not out; Alzarri Joseph 2-55) Player of the match – Khushdil Shah (Pakistan)

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has divided the fielding responsibilities of the national cricket team between the two coaches-Anton Roux and Manoj Abeyeickrama-, it is learnt.    Anton Roux, who was till now working at the High Performance Centre, has joined the Sri Lanka national team's coaching staff. The USA-born Roux, who turned 41 on Sunday will be the fielding coach for the white ball games. Manoj Abeywickrama, who last was with the national Test team on Bangladesh tour will take over the fielding charge for the Test matches. The team had an optional training on Monday, a day before the first T-20I night match on Tuesday. The team is also assisted by eight net bowlers, who come from their respective homes at the ground.  TV commentary Former Australian wicket-keeper batter Brad Haddin is one of the TV commentators for the bilateral matches against Sri Lanka, commencing Tuesday, it is confirmed. The 44-year-old Haddin has the highest experience of playing 226 international matches (34 T20Is, 126 ODIs and 66 Tests) among all five commentators. This has been his first Sri Lanka tour as a commentator. The other fIve commentators are regular faces in Sri Lanka. They are : Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Roshan Abeysinghe, HD Ackerman and Aamer Sohail. Both Arnold and Sohail have also played over 200 international matches for Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively, although Sohail has not played the T-20Is.

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board will hire the services of two different experienced computer analysts for the upcoming national matches against the visiting Australian team, it is learnt. According to the sources in the SLC, Prad Navaratnam will be the analyst for the white ball matches (three T-20Is and five ODIs), whereas Shirantha Niroshana will manage the two Test matches. Incidentally, Prad Navaratnam, who was a head of the Brain Centre and had resigned to move to Australia has now returned as a Lead Analyst for the National Team for the white ball games. In the meantime, India's Sridharan Sriram has reached Colombo to join the Australian team as its support staff. Australian players are in Sri Lanka from different destinations in batches.   Sri Lanka's former batter and wicketkeeper Upul Fernando (now settled in Australia), who has played over 150 First Class matches, will bring Melbourne West Cricket Academy U-16 team to Sri Lanka. On their 12-day tour from June 25, the players will also have their parents on this tour, it is confirmed by Upul Fernando.