Sports Bulletin

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Rawalpindi:-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the title defenders, had a poor start to their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23 campaign as they faced a 134-run defeat by Balochistan at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Set 370 to win, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were bowled out for 235 in just 68.5 overs on what was the fourth and final day of the opening round after fighting 60s from one-drop Sahibzada Farhan (63 off 67) and number four Kamran Ghulam (61 off 109). Khurram Shahzad finished with seven wickets for the match – returning three for 61 in the last innings of the match. Balochistan’s Hussain Talat stroked a half-century, earlier in the day. The left-handed batter made 55 off 80. His team had started the day on 107 for four and declared on 187 for five. Northern - the finalists of the last season – trashed Southern Punjab by 10 wickets Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium. Northern were set eight to win, which they overhauled in nine balls, to occupy the top spot in the six-team points table with 25 points. Southern Punjab – following on – trailed by 117-run with Imran Rafiq and Usman Salahuddin at the crease. Usman could add 15 more to his overnight score before he was run out on 55 and Imran (not out on 34 yesterday) went on to score 90 off 228 balls, hitting 14 fours. Mehran and Musa Khan finished with three wickets each. The match between Central Punjab and Sindh ended in a draw. Tayyab Tahir, not out on 72, scored a century and was unbeaten on 152 off 252 (18 fours and three sixes) before his captain Mohammad Saad declared the innings on 277 for nine. Sindh, needing 338 to win, were 132 for four, with Khurram Manzoor top-scoring with 50 off 88, before the close of play. The second round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy begins on Monday – Balochistan play Central Punjab at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Southern Punjab lock horns at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium and Northern and Sindh face off at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. Scores in brief: Balochistan beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 134 runs at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium Balochistan 473 all out, 123 overs (Azeem Ghumman 78, Kashif Bhatti 71, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 69, Ali Waqas 59, Haseebullah 53, Khurram Shahzad 47; Arshad Iqbal 4-114, Mohammad Sarwar Afrid 2-55, Ihsanullah 2-104) and 187-5, 52 overs (Hussain Talat 55, Ali Waqas 37, Azeem Ghumman 28; Arshad Iqbal 2-33) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 291 all out, 85.4 overs (Kamran Ghulam 102, Khalid Usman 43, Rehan Afridi 35; Khurram Shahzad 4-67, Kashif Bhatti 2-43, Akif Javed 2-87) and 235 all out, 68.5 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 63, Kamran Ghulam 61, Rehan Afridi 28; Khurram Shahzad 3-61, Kashif Bhatti 2-43, Akif Javed 2-75) Match points – Balochistan (23), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (four) Northern beat Southern Punjab by 10 wickets at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Northern 529-5d, 133 overs (Mubasir Khan 170 not out, Abdul Faseeh 151, Umar Amin 89, Sarmad Bhatti 81; Hassan Khan 3-94, Ali Usman 2-143) and 8-0, 1.3 overs Southern Punjab 269 all out, 86.2 overs (Zain Abbas 120, Salman Ali Agha 36, Hassan Khan 34; Nauman Ali 4-73, Musa Khan 2-51, Mehran Mumtaz 2-63) and 265 all out, 104 overs (Imran Rafiq 90, Usman Salahuddin 55, Umar Siddiq 35, Zain Abbas 32; Musa Khan 3-39, Mehran Mumtaz 3-72, Mubasir Khan 2-55) Match points – Northern (25), Southern Punjab (three) Match drawn between Sindh and Central Punjab at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Central Punjab 428 all out, 102.2 overs (Abdullah Shafique 232, Aamer Yamin 70; Mir Hamza 3-72, Asif Mehmood 3-128) and 277-9, 90.4 overs (Tayyab Tahir 152 not out, Abdullah Shafique 61; Asif Mehmood 4-59, Mir Hamza 3-41) Sindh 368 all out, 85.5 overs (Fawad Alam 127 not out, Sarfaraz Ahmed 78, Saim Ayub 71, Saad Khan 30; Mohammad Ali 4-84, Aamer Yamin 3-80) and 132-4, 44 overs (Khurram Manzoor 50, Omair Bin Yousuf 37) Match points – Central Punjab (13), Sindh (12)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Rawalpindi:-The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday inaugurated the newly-renovated 501 Central Workshop Cricket Ground as known as Chaklala cricket ground Rawalpindi. According to a press release of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the cricket ground was upgraded to provide state-of-the-art sports facility to budding cricketers especially for the youth of twin cities, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. At this occasion, COAS Qamar Bajwa appreciated the efforts of Rawalpindi Corps for renovating the old cricket ground and providing an excellent cricketing facility for the city.

BIPIN DANI Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan has been denied the US visa, it is learnt. According to the sources in Pakistan, the 51-year-old Khan was scheduled to leave for the USA this week as he is one of the three international nominees for the Cricket Hall of Fame award which is scheduled to be held in the USA on October 1. The Cricket Hall of Fame institution in the USA was founded in 1980 to celebrate the sport of cricket, its heroes and supporters who, in the true spirit of the game over the years, have served the game. The other two international cricketers to receive this award this year are : ex-windies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sir Richie Richardson, the former West Indies cricketer, who now is the ICC match-referee. "We received a note from Moin Khan's agent stating the rejection of Moin's visa. He will now be felicitated online", Michael Chambers, the Executive Director of the institution said over the telephone. In the meantime, Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) is hosting the World Cup 2022 Legends Tournament next month. "It will be held at the Central Broward Regional Park", Mahammad A. Qureshi, the CEO and the chairman of CCUSA said. "It is an ICC approved venue, which can accomodate 20,000 spectators and T-20I are being played", Qureshi added.

Ali Ahmed Ch Lahore:-Pakistan, for the second time in as many games, nullified the notion that the mantra to success in T20 cricket is to win the toss and chase. After edging England out by three runs in Karachi on Sunday, Babar Azam’s side on Wednesday defended their lowest score in Pakistan (145) in another thriller to go 3-2 up in the seven-match series at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium. Mohammad Nawaz was phenomenal with the new ball and derailed England’s run chase from its onset with the wicket of Alex Hales, who trying to swat the left-arm orthodox down the ground edged the ball into the hands of short third-man. Phil Salt picked up the only fielder guarding the leg-side boundary on the first ball of the fourth over when he flicked Haris Rauf to leave England at 19 for two. Mohammad Wasim Jnr bowled a brilliant fifth over, beating Dawid Malan four times by hitting the corridor of uncertainty and when Malan finally got off the strike with a thick edge on the fifth ball, Ben Duckett’s attempted cut ended into third-man’s hands. The introduction of spin further compounded problems for England. The pair of Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed bowled eight overs in tandem that allowed only 41 runs, but more importantly accounted for in-form Harry Brook and Malan. The overs seven till 10 allowed England only one boundary and Shadab, making his comeback into the side, got Brook LBW – when the on-field umpire’s decision was overturned through DRS. Iftikhar, after drinks, sent Malan back to the pavilion in a similar fashion. Shadab’s four overs allowed 25 runs, while Iftikhar gave away only 16 runs. That the match went till the final ball was because of Moeen Ali’s rearguard knock. The England captain scored 51 not out off 37 and took the game deep in the hope that he may target any weak link in the Pakistan bowling line-up. Debutant Aamir Jamal, who replaced Mohammad Hasnain, was given the task of defending 15 off six. The right-arm fast bowler was exceptional with his wide yorkers, sending down dots on his first two balls, and despite being dispatched for a six on the third legal delivery (the previous one being a wide outside off-stump), he made a terrific comeback to allow only a single – that off a penultimate ball. Pakistan had made two more changes with Haider Ali coming in for Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jnr replacing Shahnawaz Dahani. Moeen, after calling correctly at the toss, decided to stick with the set template of winning the toss and opting to chase a total down as England made a plethora of changes that brought back Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Malan into the mix.  Wood continued his brilliant return to international cricket – after a long elbow injury-induced layoff – as his sheer pace and intelligent lengths garnered him the key wickets of Babar Azam, Haider Ali and Asif Ali. Pakistan lost their captain – the hosts’ first wicket – in the third over as Babar pulled Wood into the hands of deep square-leg. Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood – with a 25-run partnership in 18 balls - looked on course to rebuild the innings and launch a counterattack but the latter, in his attempt to paddle David Willey over short fine-leg, edged the ball handing an easy catch to Duckett at backward point towards the end of the powerplay. Haider top-edged a pull for Wood to catch off his own bowling and four overs later Iftikhar followed him back to the pavilion, becoming Willey’s second and last wicket. Asif Ali was bowled off Wood in the next over, but Pakistan’s innings slid further into disarray in the 14th over as Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan were run out in the space of four balls that left Pakistan at a paltry 100 for seven. That Pakistan managed 145 was because of Rizwan’s gutsy half-century, his fourth in the series. The wicketkeeper – struggling to find a reliable partner at the other end - stayed at the crease till the 18th over and made 63 off 46 before his signature pick-up shot off Sam Curran landed in Adil Rashid’s hands. Like Willey, Sam also returned two for 23.  Wasim and Haris struck a four and a six, respectively, in the penultimate over, bowled by Chris Woakes, that lifted the hosts to 145 before the right-armer accounted for Haris on the last ball as Pakistan were bowled out with an over to spare.  Rizwan was named player of the match. Scores in brief: Pakistan 145 all out, 19 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 63; Mark Wood 3-20, David Willey 2-23, Sam Curran 2-23) England 139-7, 20 overs (Moeen Ali 51 not out, Dawid Malan 36; Haris Rauf 2-41) Player of the match – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan).

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Rawalpindi:-Pindi Cricket Stadium will always be dear to Abdullah Shafique as it is where he scored his maiden first-class double-century today. The 22-year-old smashed 232, a knock embellished with 28 fours and four sixes, at a remarkable strike rate of 89. His innings played a crucial role in Central Punjab pocketing maximum batting points (five) for being at 411 for eight at 100-over-mark before they were bowled out for 428 by Sindh on the second day of what is the opening round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23. Abdullah began the day at 189 and had the company of all-rounder Aamer Yamin, who scored a 77-ball 70. The pair added 135 for the seventh wicket. The fact that Aamer’s 70 was the second best score in the innings underscores the magnitude of Abdullah’s knock and sheds light on how he anchored Central Punjab’s innings. Sindh, in reply, had managed 270 for five by the close of play - after being reduced to 94 for three – thanks to an unbeaten 86-run stand between Fawad Alam (75 not out) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (42 not out). Twenty-year-old Saim Ayub – whose extraordinary batting at the top of the order helped Sindh to maiden National T20 title this month – showed his class on first-class debut with a solid 71 off 96 (nine fours and a six). At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Kashif Bhatti’s lower-order blitz helped Balochistan finish at 473 all out after they began the day on 324 for five. Kashif smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 84-ball 71 and was duly supported by number 10 batter Khurram Shahzad who made 47 in 69 balls (eight fours). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had lost five batters for 151 before stumps. Kamran Ghulam, with his unbeaten 64 off 105 (nine fours and a six) held Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s innings together after they were three down for 34 and added 67 runs with Adil Amin (39 off 60). Kamran will begin the proceedings on Thursday with Rehan Afridi, who is not out on 20. Northern posted a mammoth 529 for five against Southern Punjab at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium, courtesy an extraordinary 170 not out off 236 balls from Mubasir Khan, the last season’s player of the tournament. Mubasir smashed 22 fours and a six after starting the day on 74. Southern Punjab were two wickets down for 128. Opener Zain Abbas made a half-century and was batting at 69. Salman Ali Agha (35 not out) joined him at the other end. Scores in brief: Toss uncontested – Sindh opt to bowl against Central Punjab at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Central Punjab 428 all out, 102.2 overs (Abdullah Shafique 232, Aamer Yamin 70; Mir Hamza 3-72, Asif Mehmood 3-128) Sindh 270-5, 66 overs (Fawad Alam 75 not out, Saim Ayub 71, Sarfaraz Ahmed 42 not out; Aamer Yamin 2-50) Innings points – Central Punjab (six), Sindh (five) Northern choose to bat against Southern Punjab at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Northern 529-5d, 133 overs (Mubasir Khan 170 not out, Abdul Faseeh 151, Umar Amin 89, Sarmad Bhatti 81; Hassan Khan 3-94, Ali Usman 2-143) Southern Punjab 128-2, 47 overs (Zain Abbas 69 not out, Salman Ali Agha 35 not out) Innings points – Northern (five), Southern Punjab (one) Toss uncontested - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opt to bowl against Balochistan at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium Balochistan 473 all out, 123 overs (Azeem Ghumman 78, Kashif Bhatti 71, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 69, Ali Waqas 59, Haseebullah 53, Khurram Shahzad 47; Arshad Iqbal 4-114, Mohammad Sarwar Afrid 2-55, Ihsanullah 2-104) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 151-5, 45 overs (Kamran Ghulam 64 not out, Adil Amin 39, Rehan Afridi 20 not out; Khurram Shahzad 2-37) Innings points – Balochistan (five), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (two)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Islamabad:-The International Cricket Council will release its next Invitation To Tender (ITT) for media rights for the USA, Australia, Caribbean and Canada markets today. Following the successful conclusion of the Indian market media rights tender, the ICC is starting the next phase of its media sales process across targeted markets, including the USA. The packages will replicate the recently concluded India ITT in terms of men’s and women’s rights being sold separately, and prospective partners can bid for the events taking place from 2024, including 16 Men’s events (over 8 years) and six Women’s events (over 4 years). However, unlike in India, these packages will be for combined TV and digital rights, with no standalone TV and digital packages being offered. Interested parties must submit a bid for the first four years of men’s events. However, they also have the option of bidding for an eight-year partnership. ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said: “ICC events consistently attract huge audiences, and we saw from the media rights sales process in India that this drives significant interest from broadcasters. We look forward to seeing competitive bidding in the established cricket broadcast markets of the USA, Australia, the Caribbean and Canada, enabling passionate fans to follow the game globally. “The USA is one of the ICC’s targeted growth markets, and with 30 million cricket fans already enjoying the sport there, a World Cup scheduled to be co-hosted in that country in 2024 and our exciting ambition for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games, there couldn’t be a better time for cricket to find a broadcast partner to help grow the game across the region.”  

BIPIN DANI Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma is in the news for being the first woman cricketer to run out the England batter without delivering the ball. At Lord's on Saturday, she knocked off the stumps at non-striker's end when Charlie Dean was out of the crease and thus the first instance of the woman ODI ended abruptly. Indian spinner R. Ashwin, who had also ran out England batter Jos Buttler in a similar fashion in the IPL has praised Deepti Sharma's "presence of mind" and stated that the bowler should be credited with the wicket and be given the bravery award. He may have said this in jest as the bowler is never credited for the run out wicket but his comments have not gone well with the world's highest wicket taker Muthiah Muralitharan. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Cuttack, where he is playing the Legends League in India,legendary off-spinner Murali says, "what presence of mind ? No cricketer would play international matches if he or she has no presence of mind. I would have appreciated Deepti (Sharma) if she had given the warning to the non-striker first. It would have been in the right spirit of the game then".   Late reports coming from England suggest that the 25-year-old all rounder had warned the batter and also informed the umpires prior to running her out. However, England team has denied having received such warning.   "Yes, lawfully, she (Deepti Sharma) was right in running out the non-striker but that's in the law and not in the spirit of the game. The white ball game is a pressure game and in a tight situation the non-striker may have left the crease early and if this act by the non-striker is repeated, the run out is justified. Not otherwise in my opinion".  India's former wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani also echoed the same views. "Where is the Bravery & presence of mind “ and a  “BRAVERY AWARD” Hah !!! Sorry Ashwin, you have been a party to such Bravery in the past. Come on guys, bring back the gentleman spirit into the game". "If the Bowler feels that the non- striker is taking advantage of backing, the right spirit is to warn him / her ( like Courtney Walsh/ Viv Richards ). If a non-striker continues after warning then the bowler is legitimate to run him out", Kirmani added. Rita Dey, who was a selector when Deepti Sharma started playing cricket sees no point in warning. "Law is a law! The ICC made the rule then why there are irrelevant questions ? It's (running out) fair. The batter was completely out of crease by miles before the ball gets delivered and the rule is under ICC legitimate rules. No point in questioning if it's fair or not", she said.

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (UAE):-Captain Harmanpreet Kaur leads a bunch of India players who have made rapid gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings after some excellent performances that helped complete a 3-0 sweep over England in their ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) series. Kaur, who smashed a match-winning 143 not out off 111 deliveries in the second match in Canterbury, has gained four slots to reach fifth position while opener Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma have also moved up in the latest update that considers performances in the last two matches of that series as well as the IWC series between the West Indies and New Zealand. Mandhana, a formerly top-ranked batter, who scored 40 and 50 in the two matches, has inched up one place to take sixth position while Sharma’s unbeaten 68 not out in the third match at Lord’s has lifted her eight places to 24th position. Pooja Vastrakar (up four places to 49th) and Harleen Deol (up 46 places to 81st) are other India players to move up the batters’ list while new-ball bowler Renuka Singh has galloped 35 places to take 35th position after grabbing four wickets each in the two matches. Fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, a formerly top-ranked bowler, retired in fifth position. England’s Danny Wyatt, who scored 65 in the second match, has gained two slots to reach 21st position among batters while Amy Jones is up four places to 30th. Charlie Dean has progressed 24 places to get to 62nd among batters and one slot to 19th among bowlers. West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has grabbed the No. 1 position for all-rounders in the ODI format for the first time in her career after aggregating 88 runs and grabbing five wickets in a 2-1 series win over New Zealand. Mathews, who has been a top ranked all-rounder in T20Is in the past, has also moved up three slots to 18th among batters and two places to sixth among bowlers. Lauren Down of New Zealand (up 15 places to 55th) is another batter to progress after the series while Hannah Rowe (up two places to 33rd), Amelia Kerr (up four places to 11th) and Jess Kerr (up one place to 21st) have moved up in the list for bowlers. West Indies leg-spinner Afy Fletcher is now in 41st position. In the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings, Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham, who was named Player of the Match for a valiant 64 off 51 deliveries in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2022 semifinal against Bangladesh, has moved up two places to 14th position while Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce is up one place to 19th position. Zimbabwe’s Sharne Mayers (up 18 places to 21st), United Arab Emirates’ Theertha Sathish (up nine places to 28th), Ireland’s Gaby Lewis (up one places to joint-29th, Papua New Guinea’s Brenda Tau (up nine places to 33rd) and Bangladesh’s Murshida Khatun (up 23 places to 36th) are among the others to move up the rankings for batters. Off-spinners Nattaya Boochatham (up one place to 14th) of Thailand and Precious Marange (up five places to 29th) of Zimbabwe and Ireland medium-pacer Arlene Kelly (up 39 places to 39th) are among those to move up in the bowlers’ list.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lahore:-The first phase of the Engro Cricket Coaching Project under the PCB Pathway Programme concluded at the National High Performance Centre, Lahore today. The revolutionary cricket camp aimed at delivering world class coaching, training and grooming for the future generation of Pakistan cricket lasted one month. The camp included 100 top performers of the PCB organized U13, U16 and U19 players. Renowned foreign coaches Gordon Parsons (fast bowling), Julian Wood (power-hitting), Julien Fountain (fielding), Nick Webb (strength and conditioning coach) and Toby Radford (batting coach) worked on enhancing the skills, temperament and technique of the participants while providing tactical awareness through various workshops and lectures held throughout the camp. The foreign coaches were supported by PCB employed local coaches including former Pakistan stars Arshad Khan, Ijaz Ahmed (Jnr) and Rao Iftikhar. Director High Performance Nadeem Khan said: “I am delighted with the progress we have made in a short span of time at the pathway level. I want to thank Engro and all our supporters who have remained aligned with us on our aims and objectives for the next generation of our cricket stars. “The first phase of the PCB Pathway Programme has remained a big success with the involvement of Gordon Parsons, Julian Wood, Julien Fountain, Nick Webb and Toby Radford who are all proven coaches at the pathway and senior levels. I am sure that the participants would have learned a lot from these coaches and their experience and skills would have also helped our local coaches who worked with them closely throughout the camp. “Four of these coaches [Parsons, Wood, Fountain and Radford] will now be involved in the Pakistan Junior League from next week, their involvement will help them ascertain the development of the players they coached at the Engro Cricket Coaching Project. “The pathway programme was linked with the PJL for this precise reason as we wanted to provide the players both a top-class camp environment as well as a world-class tournament platform for them to test their skills alongside some of the best junior talent in the cricketing world.” The players who took part in the camp will now head home for a break. The players selected for the Pakistan Junior League will return to Lahore to join their respective PJL sides on 1 October. The second phase of the camp is being planned for later this year. The details will be announced in due course. All five foreign coaches will also be engaged in the second-phase of the camp.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Dubai (UAE):-Thailand’s Rosenan Kanoh has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the ICC’s Expert Panel confirmed that the off-spinner uses an illegal bowling action. The 23-year-old was reported by the match officials following her side’s match against Bangladesh on 23 September. The Expert Panel reviewed match footage of Kanoh’s bowling action and concluded that she employs an illegal bowling action and as such, in accordance with Article 6.5 of the regulations, she is suspended from bowling in international cricket. Kanoh’s suspension shall remain in place until such time she submits to a re-assessment of her bowling action and the assessment concludes that her bowling action is legal.