H Shah MANCHESTER:-The England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed the 2022 fixtures for men’s county and women’s regional domestic competitions. The men’s domestic summer will begin on 7 April with the opening round of the LV= Insurance County Championship. The Vitality Blast, this year marking the 20th edition of the T20 competition, will run over a seven-week period (25 May – 16 July) before the Royal London Cup (2 August – 17 September). The 20-over Charlotte Edwards Cup will open the women’s regional summer from 14 May and will offer the first piece of domestic silverware, with Finals Day at The County Ground, Northampton on 11 June. The 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy starts on 2 July and will conclude with a showpiece final at Lord’s on Sunday, 25 September. With domestic fixtures released, supporters looking to plan their summer of cricket are encouraged to consider the following opportunities: Vitality Blast season tickets – secure your seats at the 20th edition of T20 cricket in England & Wales by purchasing a season ticket for every home group-stage match in the Vitality Blast. Visit ecb.co.uk/blast-tickets for links to every team’s season ticket pass and take advantage of multi-match savings Royal London Cup Final tickets – get access to a priority window to buy tickets before they go on general sale by registering your interest here Membership – visit county websites for details of the different membership packages available and benefits on offer E-calendar – synchronise your team’s fixtures to you r desktop or mobile calendar and don’t miss a match with reminders ahead of every matchday. Download your team’s schedule here LV= Insurance County Championship The LV= Insurance County Championship returns to a two-division structure – for the first time since 2019 – with defending champions Warwickshire to host Surrey in the opening round. The opening seven rounds of the LV= County Championship will be played from Thursday to Sunday on successive weeks. There will be five rounds played during June and July – an increase from the three rounds during the same period last summer. The Division One and Division Two titles are set to be decided in September, with the final round of fixtures to be staged from 26-29 September. Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Lord’s is set to stage the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy on Sunday 25 September to close what promises to be a memorable summer of women’s cricket. Heyhoe Flint was a pioneer of the game leading England to the first-ever Women’s World Cup title in 1973 and challenging convention and fighting for progress as a player, administrator and campaigner throughout her life. MCC announced last year that the North Gate at Lord’s would be named in Heyhoe Flint’s honour and the final bearing her name will conclude a bumper summer for women’s cricket that will also include the Charlotte Edwards Cup, Commonwealth Games, The Hundred in addition to the England Women’s schedule. Southern Vipers will bid to claim a hat-trick of Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy titles when the 50-over competition begins on 2 July. The play-off is to be played four days before the Lord’s final. Royal London Cup The Royal London Cup final will return to a Saturday with Trent Bridge to host the decider on 17 September. The 18 First-Class Counties will each play one warm-up match against a National County – with Somerset and Middlesex to play two games – ahead of the competition, which begins on 2 August. Defending champions Glamorgan are away to Derbyshire on the opening day and the group stage will conclude on 23 August. The competition will visit at least nine outgrounds, from Scarborough to Neath, before the knockout stages will be held on 26 August and 30 August. Charlotte Edwards Cup South East Stars won the first-ever Charlotte Edwards Cup title last summer and open their defence away to Sunrisers at the Cloud County Ground in Chelmsford on Saturday 14 May. The month-long Twenty20 competition will see the eight women’s regional teams split into two groups, and play six group-stage matches, before Finals Day on Saturday, 11 June. There will be 10 double-headers when Charlotte Edwards Cup and Vitality Blast T20 matches are played back-to-back at the same venue. Vitality Blast The 20th edition of domestic T20 cricket will begin on 25 May with champions Kent Spitfires to host Somerset in a re-match of last season’s final. The Vitality Blast group stage will take place over a 40-day period with 99 of the 126 matches to be played on a Thursday, Friday and at the weekend. The quarter-finals will be staged from 6-9 July before the sold-out Finals Day will be staged at Edgbaston a week later.

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-Pakistan’s tennis star, Aisam ul Qureshi and his partner Alexander Nedovyesov from Kazakhstan claimed an upset victory after overcoming 7th seed pair Nicholas Mahut, former World No.1 and French lad Fabrice Martin 2-1 in a three sets contest in the Doubles Event of Australian Open on Thursday at Melbourne Park Australia. The final score-line was7-6, 5-7 and 6-2, as the match lasted 2 hours 27 minutes. According to available information from Melbourne, the first set went neck-to-neck to tie break without any side succeeding to break the serve of each other. Aisam and his partner convincingly grabbed the set at 7-6. In the second set Pak/Kazakh duo broke their opponents at 2-2 and were unable to close the match when serving at 5-4 as French pair came back strongly and the French went on to win the set 7-5. In the third set, however Aisam-ul-Haq and Alexander displayed top quality tennis by showing excellent combination and understanding to the next level and broke first the serve of Fabrice and then of Mahut consecutively and then finished the set and the match with 6-2 score in the third.

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-The 3rd Islamabad Open Rapid Chess Tournament Championship will be held on January 23 (Sunday) at Islamabad under the banner of Islamabad Chess Association (ICA) in collaboration with Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI). According to an official, the tournament will be played on Swiss System in which three categories competitions will be held including Men’s, Women’s and Under-15, as the tournament will start at 11:00 am in the Hall of ICCI G-8 / 1 Islamabad, as players will have to report one hour before. Top eight players will be awarded prize money along with trophies and medals. First position holder will get 5000 cash while 3000 and 2000 respectively will be given to second and third position holders.  

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD:-One India player at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Undr-9 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently isolating. Five other India players are also isolating as a precaution pending the results of PCR testing by the official event testing provider.    

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD:-India made it two wins from two at the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup thanks to a brilliant batting performance against Ireland. The four-time champions made 307 for five from their 50 overs on the way to a 174-run win that puts them top of Group B. Meanwhile, three-time champions Australia were pushed by an impressive Scotland team but managed to seal a win that marks the perfect response after their defeat to Sri Lanka on Monday. India show class to defeat Ireland India followed up Saturday’s 45-run win over South Africa with a comprehensive victory against Ireland at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago. Opener Harnoor Singh set the tone for his team, back to his best form after only scoring a solitary run in the win over South Africa on Saturday. This time he made 88 before Matthew Humphreys trapped him lbw. However, by that point India were already closing in on 200, helped by Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s 79. They then set a daunting target of 308 for Tim Tector’s team, who started the tournament with a 39-run over Uganda, to hunt down. The powerplay proved tricky for Ireland to get a foothold in the match and keep up with the required run rate. And when spinner Rajvardhan Hangargekar struck in only the third over to send Jack Dickson back to the dressing room, they were left reeling. Any hopes of a fightback finally went when Joshua Cox’s thick edge was caught at the second attempt by wicketkeeper Dinesh Bana as he headed back to the pavilion for 28. Ireland were eventually bowled out for 133, Aneeshwar Gautam perhaps the pick of the Men in Blue attack with figures of two for 11 at an economy of 2.75. India next face Uganda, where a win would see them secure top spot in Group B, while Ireland face South Africa. Australia’s batters see them through tricky Scotland test Wednesday’s opening game saw two teams with a point to prove go head-to-head. Australia sent Scotland in to bat first at the Conaree Cricket Centre, a decision that looked like it might backfire when Scotland’s openers made a positive start. Charlie Tear and Oliver Davidson took their team beyond 80 before Davidson (33) was run-out. Wicketkeeper Tear, hit nine boundaries on the way to a half-century, before falling to an Issac Higgins delivery just three overs after his fellow opener departed. However, Thomas Mackintosh kept up Scotland’s momentum after surviving a close lbw appeal facing his second delivery. Joined at the crease by Samuel Elstone, Mackintosh found his touch and the pair put on an impressive 71 partnership, before an outside edge from Elstone found Cooper Connolly. Although some good fielding from William Salzmann saw skipper Charlie Peet run out on his very first delivery, Scotland ended on a respectable 236 for eight. But their opponents’ response started well, with run-machine Teague Wyllie and Campbell Kellaway attacking the powerplay. The pair stuck 100 on the scoreboard without loss, before Kellaway (47) departed just shy of a half-century. That couldn’t stop an impressive Australia chase, with his replacement at the crease Aidan Cahill smashing 72 from 45 balls. Wyllie (101 not out) reached his century to help complete the job as Australia reached their target with seven wickets remaining. Despite a third straight loss in the tournament, Scotland will enter the Plate quarter-finals with their confidence boosted after producing their best all-round performance in their final Group D game.

Sports Bulletin ISLAMABAD:-Bangladesh and Scotland registered wins against Kenya and Malaysia respectively on day two of the CWG2022 Qualifier. Bangladesh romped to an 80-run win over Kenya before Scotland overcame Malaysia by 31 runs on the second day of the ICC Commonwealth Games Qualifier 2022 at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Bangladesh beat Kenya by 80 runs An unbeaten partnership of 75 for the seventh wicket between Salma Khatun (33 off 32 balls) and Ritu Moni (39 of 34) propelled Bangladesh to 125 before Player of the Match Nahida Akter broke the back of the Kenyan run chase with impressive figures of five for 12. Kenya won the toss and elected to bowl in their first match of the five-team tournament, being played to decide one remaining slot at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. Australia, Barbados, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa have already qualified. Lavendah Idambo delivered a nervous first over, leaking 16 runs, including two boundaries and three wide deliveries. However, she hit back with the wicket of opener Shamima Sultana before Mercyline Ochieng trapped Nigar Sultana in front and dismissed Rumana Ahmed first ball. Murshida Khatun struck a few boundaries to the off side fence before getting a leading edge to Queentor Abel who made no mistake, taking the catch off her own bowling. In her very next over, Abel picked up the scalps of both Sobhana Mostary and Fargana Hoque to leave Bangladesh reeling at 50 for six at the end of nine overs. A period of consolidation followed as Ritu Moni and Salma Khatun opted to rotate the strike and play out Abel’s remaining overs. After getting their eye in, they accelerated the run rate with Ritu Moni lofting Sarah Bhakita into mid-wicket for a boundary. They picked up 30 runs in the final three overs to lift Bangladesh to a respectable 125. In reply, Kenya’s innings never got going. Veronica Abuga edged Salma Khatun through to keeper Shamima Sultana in the first over. Bowling the second over, Suraya Azmim trapped Queentor Abel in front for nine. A brilliant direct hit from Murshida Khatun caught Sylvia Kinyua short of her crease before Kenyan skipper Margarte Ngoche was trapped in front by a Nahida Akter arm ball. Akter was able to extract turn from the wicket squaring up Venasa Ooko with a delivery that spun in before straightening to clip her off stump. Amidst the chaos, Sharon Juma’s 24 off 20 balls was the only resistance of note from Kenya’s batting line-up as they fell 80 runs short of Bangladesh’s total. Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana was all praise for the partnership between Salma Khatun and Ritu Moni. “How they batted in that situation, controlling the pressure. It was absolutely wonderful to watch,” she said. Kenya Skipper Margaret Ngoche was frank in her assessment of Kenya’s batting. “The main areas that we really need to improve on is patience, we were really in a hurry to get runs, even when wickets were falling we did not give ourselves time to recover,” she said. Player of the Match Nahida Akter kept things simple and executed her plans. “From the beginning my plan was to bowl to my strength as much as I can,” she said. Scotland beat Malaysia by 31 runs Kathryn Bryce’s unbeaten 62 helped Scotland post 148 before Katherine Fraser took four for 19 to deliver a 31-run win over Malaysia. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Scotland enjoyed a productive Powerplay. Sarah Bryce clipped a couple of boundaries off her toes with fellow opener Abbi Aitken-Drummond joining in the party. However, left-arm spinner Arianna Natasya dismissed Sarah in her very first over to put a lid on the scoring. Scotland skipper Kathryn Bryce then walked in at three, putting on a 63-run partnership with Aitken-Drummond. Just as it looked like Scotland was pushing a total in the region of 160, they lost four quick wickets. Nik Atiela had both Aitken-Drummond and the aggressive Katie McGill stumped before Mas Elysa chipped in with a pair of wickets for herself. Kathryn Bryce, however, held strong, and continued to pepper the leg side boundary. Her seventh delivery came off the final delivery of the innings as Malaysia were set a target of 149. In reply, Malaysia came storming out of the blocks. Three cover drives from Winifred Duraisingam set the tone for the innings with Wan Julia joining in the fun, walloping left-armer Rachel Slater for four down the ground. However, the tide turned when off-spinner Katherine Fraser was introduced into the attack. Wan Julia chipped a catch to Aitken-Drummond before Duraisingam played inside one to lose her off stump in the very same over. Soon after, Yusrina Yakoop was trapped in front before Mas Elysa lobbed a catch to Kathryn Bryce for Abtaha Maqsood’s first wicket. Leg-spinner Maqsood grabbed her second wicket when she trapped Nur Ilya in front for a duck. When Ainna Hamizah was dismissed by Hannah Rainey, Malaysia were reeling at 69 for seven. However, Intan Jaafar and Nur Zulaika would put on a 45-run partnership with every one of their scoring shots cheered by a vociferous Malysia dugout. The hosts ended on 117 for eight. Malaysia skipper Duraisingam was especially impressed with Malaysia’s ability to keep Scotland’s batters in check through the second half of the first innings. “Yes, Scotland did get off to a good start, but I’m happy that we restricted them,” she said. Scottish captain Kathryn Bryce was pleased with the eventual result but felt that Scotland let Malaysia’s batters stretch the game out on the back of Katherine Fraser’s impressive four-wicket haul. “We didn't execute with the ball at the top of the innings and let them get away, but Katherine Fraser bowled very well again to get us back on top,” she said. Skipper Bryce was also awarded the Player of the Match award, admitting she enjoyed the conditions for batting. “The surface was really good again today with a fast outfield. The ball has been keeping slightly low, but you get rewarded for playing strong shots,” she said. Brief Scores: Bangladesh beat Kenya by 80 runs. Bangladesh 125/6 in 20 Overs; Kenya 45 All Out in 12.4 Overs. Player of the Match: Nahida Akter Scotland beat Malaysia by 31 runs. Scotland 148/5 in 20 Overs; Malaysia 117/8 in 20 Overs. Player of the Match: Kathryn Bryce

Sports Bulletin Report DUBAI:-Australia’s Travis Head has reached a career-best fifth position among batters in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after his Player of the Match performance in the fifth match of their ICC World Test Championship series against England. Head, who scored 101 in the first innings in Hobart to finish with a series topping 357 runs that also got him clinch the Player of the Series award, has advanced seven spots to joint-fifth with Rohit Sharma. Head’s previous best ranking was the 10th position that he occupied last month. All-rounder Cameron Green is another Australia player to gain after the 146-run victory that helped Australia win the series 4-0 and climb to second in the WTC Points Table powered by MRF Tyres. Green is up 23 places to joint-66th after his scores of 74 and 23 and has also moved up 13 places to 62nd in the bowlers’ list. Scott Boland has moved from 49th to 43rd with four wickets in the match. England opener Zak Crawley has progressed nine places to 68th after scores of 18 and 36. Among their bowlers, Stuart Broad has moved up two places to 12th position after finishing with six wickets in the match while Ollie Robinson (up one place to 24th) and Mark Wood (up seven places to 31st) have also advanced. In the latest weekly update that also takes into account the third match of the South Africa-India series in Cape Town that the host side won by seven wickets to clinch the WTC series 2-1, Keegan Petersen has shot up 68 places to 33rd after match-winning scores of 72 and 82. He scored the maximum runs to claim the Player of the Series award, his 276-run aggregate helping him surge up after starting the series in 158th position. Temba Bavuma (up seven places to 28th) and Rassie van der Dussen (up12 places to 43rd) are the other South Africa batters to move up while fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada (up two places to third) and Lungi Ngidi (up six places to 21st) have also made notable progress. Virat Kohli has moved up two places to seventh after scores of 79 and 29 in his last match as Test captain. Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten century in the second innings has lifted him 10 places to14th. Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah’s six wickets have lifted him back to the top 10. In the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings that considers performances from the last two matches of the West Indies-Ireland series and the first two of the Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe series, Ireland off-spinner Andy McBrine has gained 17 slots to move into the top 10 with two four-wicket hauls. West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein has moved up two places to joint-59th. In other major movements, Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams has advanced eight places to 40th after scores of 100 and 40 and Sri Lanka batter Kariyawasa Asalanka’s knocks of 71 and 23 have helped him move up 16 places to 52nd.

Bipin Dani The father of Zimbabwe's captain Craig Ervine has been following the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka on the internet as there is no live telecast of these matches in his country.  Rory Ervine was disappointed when Craig could not complete the century in the second ODI. "Missing a century is always disappointing but winning the game is rather more important", he said over the telephone from Harare.   He was bowled in Nervous Nineties. "Out is out, whether bowled or caught. It is the same. It was unfortunate. I think the batter has to keep playing the best he can for the sake of the team", he added. Incidentally, Craig is born in a sports loving family. Father played First Class matches, two brothers-Sean and Ryan and uncle Neil also played cricket. "Having family members to play cricket helped Craig to hone his skills", the dad added.         Craig almost had a hand amputated in his early teens following a freak accident where he slipped and fell on broken glass in his family's living room. His mum Judy, who is still a nurse, immediately helped his son from excessive bleeding. The injury required a three-hour reconstructive operation to his right hand.

Sports Report KARACHI:-As many as 12 Futsal and 5 cricket match were played in the ongoing Pakistan Students Olympic Games 2022, at Karachi. General Manager, The City School Pakistan, Col. Asif Bukhari, Coordinator, City School DK, Shakeel, President, Pakistan Students Olympic Association, Maqbool Arain were also present on the occasion. Results:Futsal (A Level Boys): Whales College blue bt Meritorious College by 2-0 goals; Whales College blue bt Z.B College by 3-0 goals; Meritorious College bt Z.B College by 3-0 goals. I.A.B School bt Meritorious College by 3-2 goals; I.A.B School and Whale played 1-1 goals draw. I.A.B School bt Z.B College by 3-0 goals; The City School PAF bt Whales College White by 4-1 goals; The City School PAF bt The City School DK by 1-0 goals, The City School DK bt Whales College White by 2-1 goals; Whales College White bt The City School URS by 12-0 goals; The City School DK bt The City School URS by 6-0 goals; The City School PAF bt The City School URS by 3-0 goals. Results (Cricket): Varitas bt TCS D.K by 5 Wickets Ladybird Grammar school bt Head Start (Gulshan) by 64 Runs T.C.S (PAF) bt T.C.S D.K by 7 Wickets M.S.B bt Head Start (Gulshan) by 5 Wickets T.C.S (PAF) bt Varitas School by 5 Wickets

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-The Subh-e-Nau National Ranking Ladies Tennis Tournament, pursing Rs. 200 thousands prize money, will start from January 30 instead of January 23 at SDA-PTF Tennis Complex, Garden Avenue Islamabad. Chairperson of Subh-e-Nau, Shahida Kausar Farooq, who is also director tournament, told this reporter that tournament was scheduled to start from January 23 but due to weather reports regarding, as heavy rain forecasted in the twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad in these days, now, the matches will start from January 30 at same venue. “The final will be played on February 3, 2022, as top national female players will take part in the annual tennis fixture of Subh-e-Nau. The tournament will be organized by Subh-e-Nau in the collaboration with Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF). Ladies’ Singles, Ladies’ Doubles and Under-14 Singles categories competitions will be held during the 5-day national tennis tournament, “she added.