Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report It has been a long climb back to the summit of international cricket for Zimbabwe but Blessing Muzarabani knows they are within touching distance of dining at the top table once more. The Chevrons were ineligible for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, following the agonising failure to secure a berth at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. Seamer Muzarabani believes his side are ready to remake their mark on the world stage but knows tough games lie ahead in ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier B before they can do that. “It has been really tough for us,” admitted Muzarabani when reflecting on the past few years of Zimbabwean cricket. “I’m happy with the team right now because the guys are really working hard in the nets and hopefully we will execute our plan. I’m happy that we are getting these opportunities. I am just looking forward to going out there and just express ourselves.  I’m sure we’re going to enjoy it and try and win every game.” Before the last edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the Chevrons had been mainstays, competing at every iteration since 2009. They now face three group stage games against Jersey, the USA and Singapore before the pivotal semi-final stage, with both finalists set to book their tickets to Australia. And with all games taking place on home soil in Bulawayo, Muzarabani is hoping the cricketers can put on a show for their country. “It’s going to be a good opportunity to go out there and play,” said the fast bowler. “We just need to win the game, that’s the first thing, and hopefully we will play well. We are going to make the crowd happy and our families happy. That’s our aim. We want to make our families proud, we want to make the supporters proud.” The qualifiers offer a chance for the Chevrons to begin a new era in Zimbabwe cricket and Muzarabani believes they have a good chance of doing so with an exciting batch of players coming through. “There’s some really good talent, some good young guys coming up,” he added. “There’s a really good batter, [Tadiwanashe] Marumani and there is Wesley [Madherve] as well. The future is looking bright but right now this is all about this tournament.” And for Muzarabani, the prospect of representing his country at the World Cup is one he can’t wait to go and grasp.  “I’d love to have that opportunity to play at the main World Cup because I’ve never been there,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of guys are looking forward to that. We’re going to give it our best so we get that opportunity to experience playing the World Cup. Hopefully it’s going to bring happiness to our supporters.”

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ireland confirm the big tickets to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia on Tuesday after reaching the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at Al Amerat. The two winning teams took the 13th and 14th spots for the tournament in Australia later this year, with the last two places to be decided at the Qualifier B in July. Chasing an imposing victory target of 176 to win, Nepal were rocked by the early strikes of UAE pacer Junaid Siddique. The quick, was in top gear, removing the top-three Nepal batters in his three-over spell. A sensational opening over saw Siddique sending back opener Aasif Sheikh and one-down batter Lokesh Bam off two successive balls. Nepal were 3-2 in six balls and the chase looked a tall order. Siddique then took the prize scalp of Nepal’s in-form batter Kushal Bhurtel in his second over. UAE skipper Ahmed Raza’s double-strike in the 13th over extinguished whatever hopes Nepal had as they were down to 83-6. Raza’s golden arm found him more success to wrap up Nepal innings for 107 and his five-wicket haul earning him the player of the match award. The experienced duo of Dipendra Singh Airee (38) and Gyanendra Malla were the only batters to reach double digits. Earlier, Vriitya Aravind, the new poster boy of UAE Cricket, continued with his blazing batting display. A whirlwind knock of 46 off 23 set the tone for his team’s impressive total. Opting to make the first use of the wicket, UAE plans to get off a fast start in the match were thwarted by Nepal bowlers. Chirag Suri was castled by Jitendra Mukhiya, who finished with a three-wicket haul, as UAE were 6-1 in 10 balls. Opener Muhammad Waseem regained his touch and along with Aravind took the rival attack to the cleaners. The teenager had hammered 5 fours and 3 maximums. He has now scored 267 runs so far to be the leading run-getter in the qualifiers. Waseem and Mohammad Usman then shared a stand of 64. Waseem cut loose in the 11th over smashing two boundaries and a six of Bohara. The opener reached his half-century in style with a six off Kamal Airee. With five overs remaining, UAE were 131/2. They put the pedal on the metal but lost two wickets in the 17th over off Bohara, who dismissed Usman and Waseem. Waseem’s 48-ball 70 was laced with 4 fours and 4 sixes. Zawar Farid’s big hits got UAE a productive over, but he perished in the same over. UAE added another 21 in the last two overs to reach 175. Ireland ease to victory Batting first after losing the toss, Ireland posted a total of 165/7. Gareth Delany top scored with a masterfully constructed 32-ball 47. Oman began the Powerplay well as Ireland’s usually reliable opening pair – Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie - failed them this time. However, Delany and Harry Tector erected an 82-run fourth wicket stand to put the pressure back on the hosts. Tector was the aggressor early on, but once Delany settled in, fireworks ensued on both ends of the wicket. Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood in particular endured a difficult afternoon with the ball as Delany devoured his only over, smashing three consecutive sixes. Bilal Khan had dismissed both the openers earlier and Kaleemullah matched his strike partner’s efforts by plotting Tector’s demise for a well-made 35. Lorcan Tucker followed suit in the very next ball, and with Khawar Ali sending Delany back in the following over, Oman had their tails up for the final stretch of the innings. With good reason too, as Ireland were placed precariously at 106/5 at the end of 14 overs. George Dockrell chipped in with a valuable 16-ball 18, but it was Andy Mcbrine that provided the fuel to take Ireland past 150. His quick-fire 36 included 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Sports Bulletin Report OMAN:-Bowlers dominated the afternoon session of day 3 in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at Al Amerat on Monday aiding Nepal and hosts Oman to advance to the semi-final of the tournament from Group A. Nepal defeated Canada by eight wickets while Oman raced to a nine-wicket win over the Philippines. Having bowled out Canada for 80 in 15 overs, Nepal were never in trouble, chasing down the target in 14.1 overs for the loss of Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Malla’s wickets. Kushal Bhurtel, who became only the third Nepalese batter to score a T20I century on Saturday against the Philippines, stayed unbeaten on 34. Along with Dipendra Singh Airee (27), the side cantered to victory.   Nepal emerged as the Group A topper with a clean slate after recording three successive wins for six points. Oman with two victories finished a runner-up with four. Nepal will take on the Group B runner-up UAE while the hosts will face Group B topper Ireland in the semi-finals, which will be played on Tuesday. Both the matches begin at 14.00 hrs (local time). At Oman Academy 2 ground, Oman missed a chance to script history. They recorded one of the largest margins of victory in a T20 International by bowling out Philippines for 36 in 15.2 overs, their lowest-ever T20 International total, the hosts chased the target in just 2.5 overs, scoring 40-1. The huge win for Oman, with 103 balls remaining was just a ball more than the world record margin achieved by Austria. On 31 August 2019, Austria had defeated Turkey in a T20I match with 104 balls remaining in Ilfov County, Romania. Electing to bat first, Philippines was rocked by the pace attack of – Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt. Khan gave away just seven runs in his three-over spell on a trot to build the pressure. Kaleemullah and Fayyaz Butt complimented each other as they sent back the top-order by the eighth over. Khawar Ali and Aamir Kaleem then spun a magical web as wickets fell at regular intervals. Philippines, who are making their debut in the global qualifiers, were bowled out for 36 in 15.2 overs. Ali bagged four for 11 in 3.2 overs while Kaleem had figures of 2-1-2-2. Butt and Kaleemullah also bagged a brace each. Oman lost Kashyap Prajapati off the second ball of their innings but with a small total, it turned out to be a stroll in the park for the hosts. Khurram Khan smashed a quick fire 12-ball 33, which included 5 fours and 2 sixes, and along with Jatinder Singh, wrapped up an easy win. Nepal skipper Sandeep Lamichhane led from the front with a three-wicket haul (3-12) to bowl out Canada for 80. Kamal Airee and Abinash Bohara picked two wickets apiece. The Canadian innings were rocked by two run out dismissals with in-form opener Rayyan Pathan triggering a collapse. Three balls after Pathan’s exit, Ravinderpal Singh followed him in the pavilion with the team’s total at 39-4. The Canadian batters were stifled against some accurate bowling and could never recover from the double-wicket loss in the sixth over. A procession continued as the next five batters were dismissed for the addition of just nine runs, which included another run-out dismissal [Saad Zafar]. At 48-9, Canada were in a precarious situation with nearly ten overs remaining. Dilon Heyliger and No 10 Salman Nazar adopted a counter-attack strategy to push the score to take it to 80 with a crucial 32-run stand. Heyliger smashed 2 sixes and a four in his unbeaten 22-ball 24 while Nazar made 10.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-Unbeaten half-centuries by Kashyap Prajapati and skipper Zeeshan Maqsood powered hosts Oman to a nine-wicket win over Canada in the Group A match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, at the Oman Academy ground in Al Amerat on Saturday. In the second game of the morning session, Nepal strolled to a 136-run win over Philippines to top the group with four points after their back-to-back victories. Canada and Oman have two points each now. Oman’s win helped them bounce back to keep their hopes alive for a spot in the semi-finals. The top-two teams in each group will advance to the knockout round. Chasing a target of 156 to win, hosts lost opening batter Jatinder Singh in the fifth over with the total at 30. Maqsood joined Prajapati in the middle and the pair exhibited some fine strokes all around the park. The duo took the attack to the bowlers to share a 129-run unbroken partnership to secure a comfortable win with 12 balls to spare. Prajapati was unbeaten for 74 off 56 balls. His knock was studded with five boundaries and four sixes. Maqsood displayed more attacking intent to race to his 76 off just 44 balls, with six boundaries and five maximums. Jatinderpal Matharu’s second over cost him 19 runs as Maqsood hammered three fours and a six. Along with Prajapati, the skipper continued the attack as they smashed the bowling attack for a total of 47 runs in just three overs to wrap up the win. Rayyan Pathan and Matharu went for plenty in their spell as they gave away 24 and 23 runs respectively in their two-over spells. Earlier, Ravinderpal Singh anchored Canada’s innings with a partnership with Saad Zafar to guide the team to 83 before Maqsood broke the stand. Canadian opening pair Rayyan Pathan and Matthew Spoors – got off to a bright start. Pathan was in fine form as he found the early boundaries in the Power play but was run out in the fifth over for 26 that included four boundaries. Matthew Spoors, who made century on his T20I debut on Friday, followed his partner in the pavilion soon as Kaleemullah came up with a splendid wicket-maiden sixth over. Canadian skipper Navneet Dhaliwal departed in the next over to leave the side at 43-3. Singh and Zafar revived the innings with a 42-run stand. Oman bowlers restricted their opponents to a 62-3 at the halfway mark. Hamza Tariq and Singh gradually accelerated the run-rate as they took 12 off Syed Aamir Kaleem’s 14th over. Singh finally fell in the 17th over caught brilliantly by Prajapati off Bilal Khan. Dilllon Heylinger struck some hits in the death overs, blasting a six and two successive boundaries in the 18th over to stay unbeaten on 21 off ten balls. Tariq ended Canada’s innings with a six to help the team’s total of 155 for six. Navneet Dhaliwal, Captain Canada said, “Catches win matches is an age-old saying. We dropped some big catches, of their opener [Kashyap Prajapati]. If we had taken those chances, the match could have gone differently. We only have ourselves to blame. I think Oman bowled really well, so credit goes to them. But we were quite happy with the total we put up.” Ahead of their must-win match against Nepal on Monday, Dhaliwal said: “We know it is a big game. The good thing is we are not out of the tournament yet so we will try our best.” Zeeshan Maqsood, Captain Oman said: “We really needed this win, and it was great to achieve it. After Jatinder got out, coach [Duleep Mendis] supported my decision to come out at one down. “The way KP (Kashyap) played was crucial. We were getting runs on both the ends so that put pressure on Canada. I was also happy that we could restrict Canada to 155.  We had a complete performance and the way we won underlines it.” Bhurtel ton in Nepal’s victory Kushal Bhurtel slammed an unbeaten 61-ball century as Nepal defeated the Philippines by 136 runs in the second game at Oman Academy 2 ground on Saturday. Coming out to bat after the Philippines won the toss, Nepal scored 218/3 in their 20 overs. Opener Aasif Sheikh was sent back for a duck in the second over and soon after, Kushal Malla followed. A 171-run fourth-wicket stand between Bhurtel and experienced Dipendra Singh Airee (83 off 47) meant that Philippines went into the break, looking at a target even larger than the 216 that Canada had posed on Friday. Dipendra’s inning included six fours and four sixes while Bhurtel’s inning was studded with 13 boundaries and one maximum. Philippines were then restricted to only 82/8 with contributions from Daniel Smith, Jordan Alegra and captain Jonathan Hull.

Playing in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is a long-awaited dream comes true for all of us. We have played three T20 World Cups but have never played an ODI one, so we are very excited and very eager to perform on the biggest stage. We want to make the most of this opportunity and make it count. We have never played against England, Australia or New Zealand in ODIs, so it will be a new experience. We have followed them on the TV and the internet as we knew that someday we would play against them, and our analysts have given us information about their strengths and weaknesses to help us prepare. Generally, the outlook of Bangladesh cricket changed after our Asia Cup win in 2018. People are showing more interest now because they know the Bangladesh women’s team exists - before that, some people may not even have known that a Bangladesh women’s team existed. Now, people are showing interest and they want to know where and how we're going to play. The media is showing interest and when we qualified for the World Cup, the whole nation was very happy – you could see that through the reception on social media. Bangladesh is a cricket-loving nation and now they are also there for the women’s team. This brings some pressure but it’s good pressure, as we feel a desire to do well for them as well. This competition is a huge opportunity for us because we can show we have potential and we are improving as a team. If we do well here, more teams will be interested in playing against us, more international cricket will come to the country and the Bangladesh Cricket Board will try to increase domestic matches as well. From there, they will try to find more young talented cricketers because of the need to have a pipeline of new players coming through. The cricket board is working on the under-19s, under-17s and the emerging side so there are a lot of cricketers there who are eager for us to do well here because they know if we do well, they will have a good future. Of our current squad, openers Murshida Khatun and Sharmin Akhter Supta played well in the qualifiers and are in very good touch. Rumana Ahmed has always been there when our team needed her and Salma Khatun is one of the best all-rounders in the world. In the bowling attack, we have added a fast young bowler, Suraiya Azmin, who the cricket world hasn’t seen very much of yet, and Fariha Trisna offers a left-arm option. We have three former captains – Salma, Rumana and Jahanara Alam – in our team, who are helping me a lot and I’m taking on board all their advice. On a personal level, it is a great opportunity for me to lead the team into our first ever World Cup. If we could do well here, it’s going to be a great historical moment for all of us.

Sports Bulletin Report OMAN (Muscat):-The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A, supported by Dream 11, begins at the Oman Academy grounds in Al Amerat on Friday. A lot is at stake for the eight participating nations – Ireland, Nepal, UAE, Canada, Germany, Philippines, Bahrain, and hosts Oman – as they vie for the two spots available at the Qualifier A from 18 to 24 February. Fixtures: February 18th, Friday: 10:00 (local time start): Oman Academy 1: Oman v Nepal, Oman Academy 2: Canada v Philippines; 14:00: Oman Academy 1: Ireland v UAE, Oman Academy 2: Germany v Bahrain. February 19th, Saturday: 10:00: Oman Academy 1: Oman v Canada, Oman Academy 2: Nepal v Philippines;  14:00: Oman Academy 1: UAE v Germany, Oman Academy 2: Ireland v Bahrain. February 20th, Sunday: Rest Day. February 21st, Monday: 10:00: Oman Academy 1: Ireland v Germany, Oman Academy 2: UAE v Bahrain; 14:00: Oman Academy 1: Nepal vs Canada, Oman Academy 2: Oman vs Philippines. February 22nd, Tuesday: 10:00: Oman Academy 1: A3 vs B4 (3rd in Group A v 4th in Group B), Oman Academy 2: B3 v A4 (3rd in Group B v 4th in Group A); 14:00: Oman Academy 1: Semi-Final 1 (winner Group A v Runner-up Group B), Oman Academy 2: Semi-Final 2 (Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A). February 23rd, Wednesday: Rest Day. February 24th, Thursday: Oman Academy 1: 10:00: 5th and 6th Play off (Winner of A3 v B4 v Winner of B3 v A 4), Oman Academy 2: 7th and 8th Play off (Loser of A3 v A4 v Loser of B3 v B4). 14:00: Oman Academy 1: Final (Winner of A1 v B2 v Winner of B1 v A2), Oman Academy 2:3rd and 4th Play off (Loser of A1 v B2 v Loser of B2 v A1). Participating squads: Bahrain: Shahbaz Badar, Junaid Aziz Mohd Aziz, Waseeq Ahmed, Imran Javed Anwar, Prashant Kurup, Muhammad Younis, David Keelan Mathias, Umer Imtiaz, Sarfraz Ali (captain), Veerapathiran Sathaiyah, George Aaron Aaxtel, Haider Ali, Shahid Mahmood, Faiz Ahmed. Canada: Navneet Dhaliwal (captain), Rayyan Pathan, Matt Spoors, Harsh Thaker, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Zafar, Hamza Tariq, Shreyaas Movva, Salman Nazar,Junaid Siddiqui, Rishiv Joshi, Dilon Heyliger, Jatinderpal Matharu, Kaleem Sana. Germany: Venkat Ganesan (captain), Michael Richardson, Dieter Klein, Fayaz Nasseri, Dylan Blignaut, Justin Broad, Nooruddin Mujadady, Vijay Shankar, Faisal Mubashir, Shoaib Azam Khan, Muslim Yar Ashraf, Sri Vishnu Baratheon, Talha Khan, Rasul Ahmadi. Ireland:  Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young. Nepal: Sandeep Lamichhane (captain), Sharad Vesawkar, Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Airee, Kushal Bhurtel, Arif Sheikh, Asif Sheikh, Abinash Bohara, Jitendra Mukhiya, Kamal Airee, Bibek Yadav, Lokesh Bam, Sagar Dhakal, Gulshan Jha. Oman: Zeeshan Maqsood (captain), Syed Amir Kaleem, Muhammad Naseem, Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Muhammad Nadeem, Ayaan Khan, Sandeep Goud, Kashyupkumar Prajapati, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan, Ahmed Fayyaz Butt, Shoaib Khan, Khurram Khan. Philippines: Jonathan Hill (captain), Dan Smith, Henry Tyler, Grant Russ, Richie Goodwin, Jordan Alegra, Sachin Biddappa, Vimal Kumar, Siva Mohan, Huzaifa Mohammed, Gurbhupinder Chohan, Muzammil Shahzad, Miggy Podosky, Hern Isorena. UAE: Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Ahmed Raza (captain), Zohoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Muhammad Boota, Mohammad Usman, Rahul Bhatia.

Sports Bulletin Report Canberra, Australia:-Excitement is building for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, with General Ticket allocations for two match-days sold out on the first day of going on sale to the public (Monday, February 7). General Ticket allocations have all been sold for India v Pakistan at the MCG on 23 October and the double-header that features South Africa v Bangladesh and India v Group A runner-up at the SCG on 27 October. This comes after 200,000 tickets were sold during the pre-sale period across the 45 matches being played in Australia from 16 October – 13 November later this year. Such was the demand to see one of world cricket’s biggest rivalries, the allocations for the India v Pakistan match were sold within five minutes of going on sale. Over 800,000 fans are expected to attend the global showcase for men’s T20 cricket when it comes to Australia for the first time, and there is still plenty of opportunity for fans to secure seats to all other fixtures in the general public sale. The top five selling matches are:  1. India v Pakistan, Sunday 23 October (MCG)  2. The Final, Sunday 13 November at the (MCG)  3. South Africa v Bangladesh & India v Group A runner-up, Thursday 27 October (SCG)  4. Australia v New Zealand, Saturday 22 October (SCG)  5. Australia v England & Afghanistan v Group B runner-up, Friday 28 October (MCG)

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-Tickets to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 go on sale to the general public, giving fans the opportunity to secure their seats to see the world’s best players from 16 international teams fight for the ultimate prize across Australia from October 16 – November 13. Tickets will go on sale at t20worldcup.com from 1200 Midday (AEDT) on Monday 7 February for all 45 T20 World Cup matches, including the Final, which will be played at the MCG on 13 November 2022. Children’s tickets are available for every First Round and Super 12 match from $5, with adult tickets available at selected matches at each venue from $20. To mark the occasion of tickets going on sale, a new campaign ‘This is the Big Time’ was launched featuring some of the giants of international T20 cricket to showcase the unmissable nature of the most vibrant and action-packed global event Australia will host in 2022.  The larger-than-life concept features stars of the game peering into skyscrapers, emerging from iconic waterways and making the city streets tremble with their imposing size. Australia’s big-hitting Glenn Maxwell, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and India’s rising star wicketkeeper-batter, Rishabh Pant, feature in the three-part TVC campaign, with Williamson’s released today (February 7) and the Maxwell and Pant versions to be aired later this month. It’s the first time that Australia will host T20 cricket’s global showpiece for men, with matches to be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. The fixture for the event was recently announced with the First Round to get underway in Geelong and Hobart featuring former champions West Indies and Sri Lanka, before hosts and defending champions Australia take on New Zealand in the opening match of the Super 12 at the SCG on Saturday 22 October in a re-match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Final. Australian Men’s Captain Aaron Finch said: “The ICC T20 Men’s World Cup is going to be a great spectacle and a huge honour for us to defend the trophy in front of our home fans. “There are so many great sides with the very best players in the world coming to Australia. It’s an amazing opportunity for Australian fans to see the world’s best. “We've felt the power of home crowd support at the 2015 One-Day Cricket World Cup and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup last year. “It will be great to have the whole country behind us and make it another World Cup to remember.” ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Local Organising Committee CEO Michelle Enright said: “We’ve worked really hard to make families and communities a priority in ensuring the T20 World Cup is accessibly priced, so a family of two adults and two kids will be able to see World Cup cricket in all our host cities from just $50. “There’s nothing bigger in cricket than a World Cup and the T20 format is such a fun, energetic, vibrant celebration of cricket and culture – it really is the big time and that’s exactly what the campaign we are launching today is all about. “To see stars of the game towering over our host cities and making their presence felt through sheer size and entertainment speaks to the impact we want to make with fans. I really hope it puts smiles on faces and gets Australia excited to witness the best players go head-to-head in our own backyard.”

Aamir Ali Janjua DUBAI (UAE):-Excitement is building for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, following the announcement of the fixtures for the October 16 – November 13 event. The world's best cricketers from 16 international teams will clash in 45 matches as the pinnacle global event in men’s T20 cricket comes to Australia for the first time. In the First Round, 2014 champions Sri Lanka and Namibia will play the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 at Kardinia Park, Geelong on Sunday 16 October. They’ll be joined by two qualifiers in Group A. Two-time champions West Indies will also start in the First Round, joined in Group B by Scotland and two qualifiers in Hobart. In the Super 12, hosts Australia are in Group 1 with world number one England, New Zealand, Afghanistan plus the winner of Group A and the runner-up in Group B from the First Round. Group 2 features India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, plus the winner of Group B and runner-up in Group A from the First Round. Hosts and defending champions, Australia will play New Zealand in the opening match of the Super 12 at the SCG on Saturday 22 October in a re-match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Final. The Black Caps will also face England at The Gabba on 1 November in a re-match of their epic semi-final encounter at the 2021 event. Two of world cricket’s biggest rivals will go head-to-head at the MCG, with India taking on Pakistan on Sunday 23 October. It will be the first World Cup clash between the two nations at the MCG and comes before two more fierce rivals, Australia and England, meet at the same venue on Friday 28 October. The state-of-the-art Perth Stadium will host a huge Sunday double-header on Sunday 30 October with South Africa taking on India in the evening match. Earlier in the day, Pakistan will be in action against the runners-up from Group A. The semi-finals will be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval on 9 and 10 November, respectively. It will be the first time the Adelaide Oval will host a World Cup semi-final. The MCG will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Final, which will be contested under lights on 13 November 2022. International Cricket Council CEO Geoff Allardice said: ““T20 is the global growth format for cricket and the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 will play a huge role in inspiring our next generation of players and fans as the world’s best players descend on Australia and showcase the very best of our sport. The release of fixtures is always a great moment in the delivery of a World Cup as fans start to get excited about opening games, head to heads and knock-out stages. “This schedule offers so much, from the 2014 Champions Sri Lanka opening the event, to our defending champions Australia starting with a rematch of the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup Final against New Zealand and of course India taking on Pakistan at the MCG. We know that hundreds of thousands of passionate cricket fans will turn out to support every single one of the 16 teams across all seven of our host cities which is what makes it so special for the players. You only need to cast your mind back to the brilliant ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia to know that this is going to be a wonderful event for players and fans alike.” ICC T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee CEO, Michelle Enright said; “The release of the fixtures gives fans the opportunity to start planning their T20 World Cup experience, which is now just 268 days away.” “By having matches spread across the nation in seven host cities and making tickets accessibly priced, we are hoping as many people as possible will be able to experience the incredible atmosphere that international fans bring to global sporting events, as well as the unique, fast-paced and unpredictable nature of T20 cricket.” “World Cups are about bringing people from all backgrounds and cultures together and we hope to safely host over 800,000 fans at Australia’s iconic cricket venues later this year.” FIXTURES HIGHLIGHTS Adelaide will see 10 different teams play Super 12 matches in a festival of cricket with India to feature on the first night at Adelaide Oval against Bangladesh on 2 November. Australia will be in action on a Friday night against local Adelaide favourite Rashid Khan and Afghanistan on 4 November. Brisbane will host four Super 12 matches with Australia, England and New Zealand to feature on consecutive nights on October 31 and November 1 respectively. 2014 champions Sri Lanka will feature in the opening match of the event against Namibia at Kardinia Park, Geelong on 16 October 2022 in the First Round. Hobart will see the power-hitters of West Indies play three First Round matches at Bellerive Oval, starting on 17 October 2022.  Hobart will also host three Super 12 fixtures The state-of-the-art Perth Stadium will host five Super 12 matches with defending champions Australia to play a night match against the winners of Group A on 25 October. Perth Stadium will also be lit up on the opening night of the Super 12 with world number one England taking on Afghanistan Sydney will host a massive double-header on 5 November with England to take on the winners of Group A, before Pakistan take on South Africa in the evening match,

ISLAMABAD (SB Report):-An in-match penalty for slow over rates in men’s and women’s Twenty20 Internationals comes into effect this month, with the updated playing conditions also providing for an optional drinks interval midway through the innings in bilateral T20 international cricket. The over rate regulations are captured in clause 13.8 of the playing conditions (here), which stipulate that a fielding side must be in position to bowl the first ball of the final over of the innings by the scheduled or rescheduled time for the end of the innings. If they are not in such a position, one fewer fielder will be permitted outside of the 30-yard circle for the remaining overs of the innings. The change was recommended by the ICC Cricket Committee, which regularly discusses ways to improve the pace of play in all formats, after considering reports on the effectiveness of a similar regulation that was included in the playing conditions for the Hundred competition conducted by the ECB. The in-match penalties are in addition to the sanctions for slow over rate outlined in Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. In another change, an optional drinks break of two minutes and thirty seconds may be taken at the mid-point of each innings subject to agreement between Members at the start of each series. The first men’s match to be played under the new playing conditions will be the one-off tie between the West Indies and Ireland at the Sabina Park in Jamaica on 16 January while the first T20I of the three-match series between South Africa and the West Indies in Centurion on 18 January will be the first women’s match played under the new playing conditions.