Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the upcoming programme for the ICC Awards 2022, which seeks to celebrate the outstanding cricketers who excelled on the world stage during the calendar year. The year saw many memorable moments and performances across the global game, including the thrilling action which characterised the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, and the incredible drama of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. The ICC Awards 2022 will comprise a total of 13 categories, with awards honouring individuals who shone in specific formats, and also across multiple formats in the overall categories - the coveted Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year, and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year. Shortlist Announcements Shortlists for nine of the 13 categories will be revealed between 28 – 30 December on ICC official channels. Each shortlist will feature four names. 28 December sees the shortlists for ICC Emerging Men’s and Women’s Cricketers of the Year revealed. 29 December sees nominees announced for the Men’s and Women’s ODI Cricketers of the Year, and the Men’s and Women’s T20I Cricketers of the Year. 30 December will see the final shortlists revealed, the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year. Shortlists for these categories have been determined by a specialist panel of cricket writers and broadcasters, who identified the star performers based on statistics and overall achievements in international cricket through the calendar year. Voting Voting in the ICC Awards 2022 will then commence in early January 2023, where a wider selection of global media representatives, the ICC Voting Academy, will submit their selections alongside global cricket fans, who will once again be encouraged to vote at icc-cricket.com for their winners. Results of the ICC Voting Academy selections and the fans’ vote will be combined to determine the winner in each of these nine categories. ICC Men’s and Women’s Associate Cricketers of the Year will also be announced from the action in 2022. These categories will not feature shortlists and will be determined solely by the ICC Voting Academy. Also announced as part of the ICC Awards is the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award. This accolade honours an action, moment, gesture, or decision on the field of play in international cricket during the year which best reflects the Spirit of Cricket, with the winning entry selected by the ICC. Finally, the ICC Umpire of the Year Award will celebrate the outstanding umpire from the calendar year. This award is determined by votes collected from the Emirates Elite Panel of Match Referees, as well as playing captains from ICC Full Member nations. In addition to the individual awards, five ICC Teams of the Year will be also decided by the ICC Voting Academy, identifying the standout XIs from the international stage in men’s and women’s cricket. Following the conclusion of the voting period, winners of the ICC Awards 2022 will be announced later in January 2023. ICC Awards 2022 – categories: Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year ICC Spirit of Cricket Award ICC Umpire of the Year

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Salman Ali Agha stroked his maiden Test century in his sixth appearance before Pakistan were bowled out for 438 in their first innings against New Zealand in the first Test at the National Bank Cricket Arena on Tuesday. No.7 batter Salman, who was three overnight in Pakistan’s 317 for five, was the last batter dismissed after scoring 103 as the home side added 121 runs on the second day. New Zealand produced a strong reply, reaching 165 at stumps with openers Devon Conway batting on 82 and Tom Latham 78 not out. Conway’s 156-ball innings includes 12 fours, while Latham’s 126-ball innings is studded with eight fours as the visitors now trail the hosts by 273 runs. Conway, when 57, could have been dismissed off Noman Ali, but Aleem Dar failed to spot the inside edge and Pakistan also didn’t refer the decision to the third umpire, allowing the batter to consolidate his side’s position in the match. Earlier, Babar Azam failed to add to his last evening’s score of 161 when he became his opposite number Tim Southee’s second victim. Salman and Noman Ali then added 54 runs for the seventh wicket with the latter contributing only seven runs before becoming Neil Wagner’s only wicket of the innings. Mohammad Wasim Jnr departed three runs later as Pakistan slipped to 375 for eight, but Salman took control of the proceeding and added 63 priceless runs with the last two wickets of Mir Hamza and Abrar Ahmed, whose collective contribution was seven runs. Salman, whose first 50 runs came off 97 balls with seven fours, brought his second 50 runs from 49 balls with 10 fours. He eventually fell to Southee, who finished with figures of three for 69. Ish Sodhi, who was wicketless yesterday, picked up the scalps of Wasim and Mir Hamza to finish with two for 87. Scores in brief Pakistan (1st innings) (overnight 317-5) 438, 130.5 overs (Babar Azam 161, Salman Ali Agha 103, Sarfaraz Ahmed 86, Imam-ul-Haq 24, Saud Shakeel 22; Tim Southee 3-69, Michael Bracewell 2-72, Ish Sodhi 2-87, Ajaz Patel 2-112) New Zealand (1st innings) 165-0, 47 overs (Devon Conway 82 not out and Tom Latham 78 not out)

Sports Bulletin Report LONDON: England Men are scheduled to play three ODIs and three IT20s against Bangladesh in March 2023 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed the tour dates. The tourists will return to Bangladesh for the first time since 2016 and will play internationals in Dhaka and Chattogram. The tour will start with three ODIs, the first two matches taking place at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS), Dhaka on Wednesday 1 March and Friday 3 March. The final match of the series will take place on Monday 6 March at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS), Chattogram. The three-match IT20 series starts on Thursday 9 March at ZACS in Chattogram. The final two matches are on Sunday 12 March and Tuesday 14 March at SBNCS, Dhaka. The last time both teams played each other in 2016, England won the ODI series 2-1. The England party are expected to play two warm-up fixtures ahead of the ODIs. The warm-up schedule will be announced in due course. Clare Connor, ECB Interim Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is exciting that the England Men’s white-ball squad will return to Bangladesh for the first time since 2016. The atmosphere generated in Dhaka and Chattogram for this eagerly-anticipated tour will be fantastic. “There is a great passion for cricket across Bangladesh, and we expect a tough challenge against a side who have an excellent record in home conditions.” England Men’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh Schedule: Three-Match ODI Series 1st ODI: Bangladesh v England, 1 March, SBNCS, Dhaka 2nd ODI: Bangladesh v England, 3 March, SBNCS, Dhaka 3rd ODI: Bangladesh v England, 6 March, ZACS, Chattogram Three-Match IT20 Series 1st IT20: Bangladesh v England, 9 March, ZACS, Chattogram 2nd IT20: Bangladesh v England, 12 March, SBNCS, Dhaka 3rd IT20: Bangladesh v England, 14 March, SBNCS, Dhaka

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)

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Najam Sethi chaired the first meeting of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Management Committee at the National High Performance Centre on Friday. The Management Committee received a detailed update on the HBL Pakistan Super League 8 and desired to add Quetta as the fifth venue for the eighth edition of the PCB’s annual marquee event, which is scheduled to be held from 13 February to 19 March. To ensure Bugti Stadium was ready to host the HBL PSL 8 matches, the Committee agreed that PCB will work closely with the local administration for upgradation and renovation of the Bugti Stadium, while separate discussions will take place between PCB security experts and local authorities to ensure the safety and security of all the participants, officials and spectators. Najam Sethi: “I am delighted that seven years after launching the HBL Pakistan Super League, I am today announcing our commitment to add Bugti Stadium in Quetta as the fifth venue for our marquee event. Bugti Stadium is the home ground of Quetta Gladiators and we still remember the incredible scenes when the Gladiators visited the city after winning the 2019 tournament. “The passionate cricket fans of Quetta have been waiting for long to watch high-profile cricket in their backyard and I am pleased that we will now bring HBL PSL 8 matches to their doors. In this relation, I have already spoken with influential officials in the Balochistan province, who have assured me of their complete support from event delivery perspectives.” The Committee also discussed Peshawar as a potential venue to stage HBL PSL and international matches, and agreed that subject to there being no restrictions imposed by the provincial and federal governments and the stadia boasting international standard facilities for cricket, broadcast, spectators and media, matches will be held in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital. The Management Committee also held preliminary discussions on The Women’s League with further discussions to take place in due course. The Management Committee discussed the domestic cricket structure under the PCB Constitution 2014 and, in the best interest of the players and event, decided to let the Pakistan Cup complete on 3 January. On the domestic structure, which mirrors the PCB Constitution 2014, it was agreed Najam Sethi, Shakil Sheikh and Haroon Rashid will prepare the first draft, which will be shared with the Committee for further discussions.

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.