Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): England captain Jos Buttler claims the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award after being at his remarkable best with the bat in his side’s charge to T20 World Cup triumph in Australia last month, while Pakistan opening batter Sidra Ameen is named ICC Women’s Player of the Month for posting mammoth scores in the recent successful ODI series against Ireland on home soil. Buttler and Ameen secure the awards following a global vote conducted among media representatives, ICC Hall of Famers, former international players, and fans registered at icc-cricket.com. England’s triumphant skipper Buttler once again underlined his reputation as one of the most fearsome batters in world cricket last month. November started with a Player of the Match performance in the dramatic 20-run victory over New Zealand in Brisbane. Making his 100th T20I appearance, the opener smashed 73 from 47 balls to provide some much-needed momentum to England’s campaign. After England had secured their passage to the knockout stages, he followed this display with arguably his highlight of the tournament. Chasing 169 for victory in the semi-final against India, he demonstrated the full array of his strokeplay in smashing 80 from 49 balls. His record-breaking opening partnership of 170 with Alex Hales saw them claim a historic ten-wicket win in Adelaide. Even though his scoring in the Final was somewhat quiet by his standards, Buttler registered a valuable 26 runs against a menacing Pakistan bowling attack. He then led the efforts in the field with his expert captaincy, forcing Pakistan to fall short, and claiming England’s second ever T20 World Cup trophy. Buttler claims the award from a field which also contained teammate and fellow World Cup winner Adil Rashid, and Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, both of whom played significant roles with the ball, guiding their sides all the way to the showpiece finale of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Reacting to his ICC Men’s Player of the Month prize, Buttler commented: “I want to thank the fans for voting for me as the ICC Player of the Month for November. This award is down to the efforts of my teammates in what was the most incredible month of cricket, culminating in winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. “It is right up there amongst the best months of cricket I’ve been involved in, and it was pretty special to lead a group of players to the ultimate accolade of becoming world champions." Former England international and ICC Player of the Month voting panel member Lydia Greenway, added: “Jos continues to show the world why he is one of the best white ball players to have graced the game. Fearless, skillful and a fantastic leader who, coming into the tournament had big shoes to fill following Eoin Morgan’s departure. Determined to do things his way paid off immensely in his own and his team’s performances.” Sidra Ameen secures the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award thanks to her dominant performances against Ireland in November’s ODI series, becoming the second successive winner of the prize from Pakistan after Nida Dar won back in October. Amassing 277 runs through the series and only being dismissed once, opening batter Ameen started the month with her highest score in ODIs, a remarkable 176 not out, as the hosts claimed a convincing 128-run victory in the first match. Ireland’s bowlers were left equally powerless to stop Ameen in the second ODI, as she posted another unbeaten score of 91 from 93 balls, this time to chase down the target in a nine-wicket victory. Despite finally losing her wicket in the third ODI, Ameen walked away with the Player of the Series award to cap off a memorable series, and a successful run of performances in 2022. Ameen claims her inaugural ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after beating two other prolific batters in the global vote – Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham and Ireland’s Gaby Lewis, who both piled on the runs in their respective matches during the month. On winning the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for November, Ameen commented: “I feel great to have won this award. It is also special following my teammate Nida Dar who won the award for October. This shows our team has displayed some great performances in the past few months in international cricket. “I would like to dedicate this award to my parents and to everyone who has always supported me and prayed for my success. My performance with the bat against Ireland which helped the side claim the sweep over Ireland in the ODI series at home will always remain close to my heart. “Individually, this year has been great for me, I have scored three ODIs centuries and all coming this year. And to top it off, ending the year by winning the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for November is just amazing.”  

Sports Bulletin Report MULTAN (December 11, 2022): Pakistan will have to score further 157 runs to win the Multan Test and to level the series 1-1, as they have six wickets in hands at Multan Cricket Stadium. Pakistan were 198 for 4 al the end of day-3 game. The tourists who are already 1-0 up in the three-match Test series, will look to win Test match tomorrow at the Multan Cricket Stadium and take an unassailable lead. Meanwhile, the hosts will be eager to go all out to win this Test match and go into the Karachi Test with series levelled 1-1. Pakistan lost the key wicket of half centurion Imam-ul-Haq late on the third day to give England hope in the second Test on Sunday. England, which held a 79-run first innings lead, had set up a target of 355 runs after it was bowled out for 275 in its second innings today. England had defeated Pakistan by 74 runs in the first Test at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, which was also England’s first test in Pakistan for 17 years. The left-handed pair of Imam, who made 60, and Saud Shakeel (54 not out) had shared a 108-run stand and attacked the bowlers before Imam played a lose drive against Jack Leach and was caught in the slip late in the last session. England had earlier missed an opportunity to dismiss Imam soon after he completed his half-century. Television replays showed a tiny spike on Imam’s bat when he tried to glance Mark Wood down the legside delivery and was well caught by Ollie Pope. However, captain Ben Stokes didn’t go for the referral. James Anderson, OIlie Robinson and Wood showed great display of seam and swing bowling in the middle session, claiming three wickets for 17 runs before Imam and Shakeel dug in and took Pakistan to 136-3 at tea. Imam didn’t open the innings after feeling discomfort in his right hamstring and went to hospital for MRI scans, but batted confidently at No. 5 though Will Jacks had a chance to end his innings but couldn’t hold onto a sharp return. Harry Brook also couldn’t grab a low one-handed catch at forward short leg when Shakeel was batting on just four. Earlier in the day, Brook had hit his second successive century and made 108 off 149 balls before England were bowled out for 275. In the absence of Imam, Abdullah Shafique (45) and Mohammad Rizwan (30) batted fluently and provided a confident start of 66 before England’s seamers started to pressure the home team after lunch. Anderson dismissed Rizwan immediately after the break off a ball that left the right-hander just enough to knock back his off stump. Babar Azam (1) offered no shot to Robinson’s sharp incoming delivery and was also clean bowled. Wood switched ends and went through the defenses of Abdullah with a sharp fast delivery as Pakistan slumped to 83 for three. Mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed prospered again and ended up with match figures of 11 for 234, becoming only the second Pakistani after Mohammad Zahid to take 10 wickets on a Test debut. Fast bowler Zahid took 11-130 against New Zealand at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in 1996. Resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 202 for five, with 281 runs ahead, Stokes (41) stretched the sixth wicket stand with Brook to 101 runs as England scored at a brisk pace before losing five wickets for just 19 runs. Brook, 74 overnight, raised his second hundred with a pulled boundary from left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz before Stokes fell to a brilliant running catch by Mohammad Ali at deep mid-wicket. Abrar, who took seven for 114 in the first innings, claimed his fourth second-innings wicket by having Robinson clean bowled off a googly before leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood (3-52) took the last two wickets in one over shortly after England’s lead crossed the 350-run mark. Brook, who hit 14 fours and a six, was caught in the outfield when he swept Mahmood to deep square leg and Anderson was trapped leg before wicket. Scores in brief: England 281 all out, 51.4 overs (Ben Duckett 63, Ollie Pope 60, Mark Wood 36 not out, Will Jacks 31, Ben Stokes 20; Abrar Ahmed 7-114, Zahid Mehmood 3-63) and 275 all out, 64.5 overs (Harry Brook 108, Ben Duckett 79, Ben Stokes 41, Joe Root 21; Abrar Ahmed 4-120, Zahid Mehmood 3-52) Pakistan 202 all out, 62.5 overs (Babar Azam 75, Saud Shakeel 63, Faheem Ashraf 22; Jack Leach 4-98, Joe Root 2-23, Mark Wood 2-40) and 198-4, 64 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 60, Saud Shakeel 54 not out, Abdullah Shafique 45, Mohamad Rizwan 30)

BIPIN DANI Dr. Krishantha Samaranayake deserves all credit for bringing smile on all rounder Chamika Karunaratne's face. The player took Player of the Match in his last IPL match on Saturday. He looked normal as he got all his four teeth implanted earlier this week. The 26-year- old Chamika Karunaratne sustained an injury and lost four teeth while fielding in a game between Kandy and Galle  in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) at Hambantota. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Galle, the surgeon who was celebrating his 54th birthday on Saturday, said, "Chamika had a deep laceration on lower lip. Lip had been degloved from bone. It was repaired successfully. Two teeth had totally come out of the mouth. Another two teeth just hanged by oral mucosa. All 4 teeth retransplanted and splinted. Could get the normal position of teeth".  The consultant surgeon in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery did this surgery at Asiriya Hospital in Galle. This has been the first international cricketer being treated by him. However, as a medical student, he had witnessed former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin's teeth treatment in Kandy. Azhar had teeth injury in Kandy some 25 years ago. Unlike India's former cricketer Anil Kumble, who came to bowl with bandage on his face for the similar injury, Chamika will not need any such dressing on his jaw. "Chamika had no external injury. There was no damage to his skin", doctor added.

Sports Bulletin Report MULTAN: England finished Day two of the Multan Test with a lead of 281 runs as Pakistan took five English wickets in the second innings. It was yet another day of Abrar Ahmed entering the record books as he picked up his maiden ten-wicket haul in Test Cricket. Earlier in the first session Pakistan lost eight wickets while notching the total of 202 runs. Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel resumed Pakistan’s innings on the second day with the overnight score of 107 for the loss of two wickets. Saud soon raced to his second Test fifty off 66 balls. Ollie Robinson who did not get to bowl in the evening session on the opening day finally had the ball in hand as he struck on his second ball of the day. He bagged the prized scalp of Babar by getting through his defence. The partnership between Babar and Saud lasted for 91 runs off 126 balls as Babar departed for 75 runs. Mohammad Rizwan joined Saud on the crease as the scoring rate slowed down. Rizwan took 29 balls to get off the mark as he played a cracking drive through covers against Mark Wood. Saud survived an LBW scare as England challenged a Marais Erasmus decision but couldn’t get the decision overturned. Rizwan and Saud’s partnership-building effort soon came to a halt as Saud holed a Jack Leach ball to mid-on where he was taken by James Anderson. Leach also reached the milestone of 100 Test wickets with this scalp as well. Pakistan started losing wickets in a flurry as Rizwan went back to a perfectly pitched Leach ball that turned just enough to crash into his stumps. Leach just didn’t stop there, he came back again in his next over to remove Mohammad Nawaz who was caught at mid-off by Robinson. Joe Root was introduced to the bowling attack as Pakistan were losing track of their batting innings and he too chipped in to bag two scalps. Salman Ali Agha lobbed an easy catch to Ben Stokes at short mid-on while Mohammad Ali was dismissed for a four-ball duck. Faheem Ashraf tried forging a partnership with the tail-enders Zahid Mehmood and Abrar Ahmed. With Zahid, he managed to score 10 off 20 balls but Zahid did not disturb the scorers in his eight-ball stay on the wicket. Abrar and Faheem Ashraf added 23 vital runs off 40 balls before being caught on the deep backward square leg boundary. English openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett walked into bat in the second session of the day with a lead of 79 runs. Abrar did not take long enough to get his name back on the scorecard as he ran Crawley out with a direct hit as he ran in from mid-on. Will Jacks was promoted up the order, but his stay at the wicket was short. He immediately made an impact in his first over yet again as Jacks tried an ill-fated heave over midwicket only to have his furniture disturbed. England had a lead of 104 when Root joined Ben Duckett in the middle and put on a substantial third-wicket partnership of 54 runs from 80 balls. As has been the story of Pakistan’s bowling so far, Abrar struck again to remove well-set Root (21) courtesy a brilliant grab by Abdullah Shafique at short leg. As other bowlers failed to find breakthroughs, Abrar made sure English wickets keep on falling at regular intervals but Duckett and Harry Brook stalled the fall of wickets with a partnership of 68 runs from 90 balls. It was again Abrar who deceived Duckett with a ball that stayed low and went onto hit his stumps. Duckett fell 21 runs short and departed for 79 runs off 98 balls, becoming Abrar’s 10th scalp in the game. Abrar, with that wicket, became only the second Pakistani and 18th overall debutant to pick a ten-wicket haul in his first Test. The last wicket to fall in the second day’s play was of Ollie Pope who lost his wicket via a run out. With less than an hour to go in the day, Stokes joined Brook in the middle and forged an unbeaten partnership of 47 runs from 68 balls. As the teams walked back to the pavilion England had a lead of 281 runs with Brook and Stokes in middle batting at 74 and 16, respectively.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Blasters defeated Dynamites by seven runs in the final of the T20 Women’s Cricket Tournament 2022-23 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Friday. Besides lifting the glittering trophy, the Blasters team also pocketed PKR1million as the winning prize. Dynamites had to settle for a PKR500,000 runners-up cash prize. On Friday morning, PCB Dynamites were set a 146-run target, they fought hard but eventually finished their quota of 20 overs at 138 for eight. Blasters’ Maham Manzoor led the charge in the bowling with four for 17 in four overs. Masooma Zahra bagged two wickets for 25 in four overs. Nida Dar top-scored for the Dynamites with an unbeaten 22-ball 37, which included four fours and one six. Opener Nahida Khan scored run-a-ball 34, hitting three fours. Earlier, Blasters posted 145 for three in their allotted 20 overs. Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof who was later adjudged the player-of-the-tournament, returned undefeated on a 22-ball 45, smashing five fours. Sidra Amin top-scored for her side, scoring 49 off 45 balls, hitting seven fours. Nida Dar with her off-spin bagged two wickets for 23. Scores in brief: Blasters beat Dynamites by seven runs Blasters 145-3, 20 overs (Sidra Amin 49, Bimah Maroof 45 not out; Nida Dar 2-23) Dynamites 138-8, 20 overs (Nida Dar 37 not out, Nahida Khan 34, Sidra Nawaz 27; Maham Manzoor 4-17, Masooma Jafferi 2-25) Player of the match – Maham Manzoor (Blasters) Player of the tournament – Bismah Maroof (Blasters)

Sports Reporter ISLAMABAD: The Shifa International Hospital Islamabad beat Jaguars XIs by 39 runs in the Champions League Cricket Tournament match here at Ghouri Cricket Ground F-11 Islamabad. Jaguars Captain won the toss and invited to Shifa International team batting. Shifa International piled up 197 for 9 runs in the allotted 30 overs. Azmat Bashir 38, Shahzad Kiani 36, Irfan Khan 25, Captain Qutab Uddin Qureshi 23 and Nasir Mehmood 21 runs were their leading run-getters. Jaguars XI Saad (3 for 31), Sohail Qaiser (3 for 40) and Usman Khaleequ (2 for 41) were the other main wicket-takers. In reply, Jaguars XIs were bowled out for 158 runs in the 28th overs, Bedar (40), Usman Khaleequ (28) and Taha Kiani 24 were their main scorers. Imtiaz Alam bowled well and claimed 2 wickets for 17 runs in 6 overs, while Ali Mubashir (2 for 21), Tahir Akhtar (2 for 26) and Irfan Khan (2 for 36) bowled well for Shifa International. Azmat Bashir was declared “Man of the Match” for his impressive Performance.

Staff Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and England cricket team will hold their full practice session on Thursday at Multan Cricket Stadium for the preparation of the 2nd Test of the three-match Tie, as England have earned the 1-0 in the series by winning the Pindi Test by 74 runs. According to the media department of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the players of England and Pakistan will practice on December 8, 2022, from 10:00 am to 1:oo pm. A player from both teams will talk to media persons after practice sessions. The Multan Test will be played from December 9 to 13 at Multan Stadium, as the coin will be tossed at 9:30 am to decide which team will bat first. A player of the playing XIs from Pakistan and England will face the media at the end of each day’s game.

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (UAE): Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne has overtaken England’s Joe Root to grab the top spot for batters in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after becoming just the eighth player to score a double-century and a century in the same Test. Labuschagne, who was just two points behind Root before the two ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Tests completed over the past week, now enjoys a healthy lead at the top even as Root has slipped to fourth place – behind Steve Smith and Babar Azam. Smith himself has gained two slots after contributing to the win with unbeaten scores of 200 and 20, along with Labuschagne registering the fifth instance of two Australians scoring double-centuries in the same Test. Smith’s tally of 893 rating points is his highest since January 2021. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has moved up one place to 15th among bowlers after an eight-wicket haul that helped complete a 164-run victory and consolidate his team’s top position in the WTC points table. For the West Indies, captain Kraigg Brathwaite is back in the top 20 after scores of 64 and 110 in the Perth Test while Kyle Mayers has progressed to 41st in the bowlers’ rankings. England’s epic 74-run win in the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi reflects in the rankings for their batters as well as the seam bowling pair of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, who finished with five wickets each in the match. Centurions Zak Crawley (up two places to 46th), Harry Brook (up 90 places to 70th), Ben Duckett (re-entered at 127th place) and Ollie Pope (up two rating points) have all gained in the weekly update as have Anderson (up two places to third) and Robinson (up seven places to a career-best eighth). Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (up five places to 15th) and Imam-ul-Haque (up 12 places to 38th) have attained career-best rankings after slamming centuries in the first innings and figuring in a 225-run stand. Naseem Shah has progressed five places to 54th with five wickets in the match while other fast bowler Zahid Mahmood’s six-wicket haul helps him enter the rankings in 109th position. In the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, India’s Shreyas Iyer has moved up seven places to joint-20th after scores of 24 in the first match of their ongoing series against Bangladesh and 49 in the preceding final match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against New Zealand. Charith Asalanka of Sri Lanka (up three places to 34th), Lokesh Rahul of India (up four places to 35th) and Afghanistan’s Najibullah Zadran (up four places to 41st) are among the others to progress in the rankings for ODI batters. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan has gained four slots to reach sixth in the ODI bowlers’ rankings after grabbing four for 37 in the last match of their Super League series against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh’s star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has hopped seven places to reach ninth among bowlers after his five-wicket haul against India while Sri Lanka leg-spinner Wanindu Hasanranga and Indian pacer Mohammad Siraj are in joint-26th position. New Zealand seamer Tim Southee (up five places to 29th) and India’s Shardul Thakur (up nine places to 42nd) have also progressed.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Pakistan international and Sindh’s Aroob Shah will lead Pakistan in the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup which will be played from 14 to 29 January 2023 in South Africa. Women’s selector Asmavia Iqbal announced a 15-player squad and five reserves players. These players were selected after their performances in this year’s Women U19 T20 Tournament held at Lahore Country Club in Muridke from 13 to 22 August. Later, the top performers of the six-team tournament had undergone two skills and training camps staged at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre, Multan in September and at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi in November. To further assess their fitness and skills, the U19 players had also featured in the first phase of T20 Women’s Cricket Tournament held at Lahore’s LCCA Ground from 26 November to 2 December. The players were part of Team Conquerors, one of the three participating teams in the event. Aroob Shah, who has featured for Pakistan in two ODIs and five T20Is, will have the services of hard hitting right-handed batters Eyman Fatima and Shawaal Zulfiqar. Besides the duo, Aroob who herself is a leg-spinner, will have promising spinners in the likes of Rida Aslam (left-arm spinner), Quratulain Ahsen (leg-spinner), Anosha Nasir (off-spinner) and Mahnoor Aftab (off-spinner). The squad also includes four fast bowlers in Areesha Noor, Haleema Azeem Dar, Haniah Ahmer and Zaib-un-Nisa. Chief Selector Asmavia Iqbal: “I want to congratulate the 15 players who have made into the squad for the inaugural U19 event. I remain confident that this side has the capability and potential to do well in the mega event. These players were selected after a rigorous and robust process and I want to congratulate the coaches who have worked tirelessly hard on the skills of the players to get them ready for the event. Pakistan Squad: Aroob Shah (Captain) (Sindh), Aliza Khan (Sindh), Anosha Nasir (Sindh), Areesha Noor (Central Punjab), Eyman Fatima (Central Punjab), Haleema Azeem Dar (Central Punjab), Haniah Ahmer (Sindh), Laiba Nasir (Central Punjab), Mahnoor Aftab (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Quratulain Ahsen (Central Punjab), Rida Aslam (Central Punjab), Shawaal Zulfiqar (Central Punjab), Warda Yousaf (Central Punjab), Zaib-un-Nisa (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Zamina Tahir (Central Punjab) Reserves Players: Aqsa Yousaf (Southern Punjab), Dina Razvi (Sindh), Maham Anees (Northern), Muskan Abid (Central Punjab) and Tahzeeb Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Support Staff: Aisha Jalil (Manager), Mohsin Kamal (Head coach), Mohammad Kamran Hussain (Assistant coach), Saboor Ahmad (Strength and Conditioning coach), Mohammad Usman Shahid (Analyst), Rabia Siddiq (Physiotherapist) and Dr Hafiz Salman Asif (Team Doctor). Schedule: 15 January – vs Rwanda, Potchefstroom 17 January – vs England, Potchefstroom 19 January – vs Zimbabwe, Potchefstroom

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Nahida Khan’s second half-century in as many matches led Dynamites to their first win in the four-team second phase of T20 Women’s Cricket Tournament 2022-23 in Lahore on Tuesday. In another match, Iram Javed’s unbeaten half-century helped Strikers beat Blasters by eight wickets. At the LCCA Ground, after being put into bat, Dynamites scored 137 for eight in 20 overs. Opening batter Nahida top-scored with a 36-ball 51, which included seven fours. Her opening partner Gull Feroza scored run-a-ball 33, laced with three fours. The pair added 80 runs for the first wicket. Challengers’ Anoosha Nasir was the pick of the bowlers with four for 24. In return, Challengers managed to score 125 for five in 20 overs and were 12 runs short of the target. Dua Majid was the top run getter for her side, scoring 41 off 39, smashing five fours. Captain Omaima Sohail scored 28 off 21, hitting two fours and one six. At the Lahore Gymkhana, Irum Javed’s quick-fire 33-ball 54 not out helped Strikers chased down the 142-run target for the loss of two wickets in the 18th over. In the run-chase, opening batters Muneeba Ali and Javeria Rauf provided a solid 50-run start to the innings. After the departure of skipper Muneeba (38, 33b, five fours, one six), Javeria was joined by Iram and both added 59 runs for the second wicket. Javeria contributed 43 off 34 balls, hitting six fours. Iram’s unbeaten knock included four sixes and one four. Earlier, after opting to bat first, Blasters scored 141 for eight in their 20 overs. Opening batter Shawal Zulfiqar top-scored with a 41-ball 36, studded with five fours. Captain Fatima Sana returned undefeated on 34 off 24 balls, which included six boundaries. Scores in brief: Dynamites beat Challengers by 12 runs Dynamites 137-8, 20 overs (Nahida Khan 51, Gull Feroza 33; Anoosha Nasir 4-24) Challengers 125-5, 20 overs (Dua Majid 41, Omaima Sohail 28, Aliya Riaz 26) Player of the match – Nahida Khan (Dynamites) Strikers beat Blasters by eight wickets Blasters 141-8, 20 overs (Shawal Zulfiqar 36, Fatima Sana 34 not out, Ayesha Naseem 30) Strikers 146-2, 17.5 overs (Iram Javed 54 not out, Javeria Rauf 43, Muneeba Ali 38) Player of the match – Iram Javed (PCB Strikers)