By BIPIN DANI All five teams in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will have at least 1 or 2 Under-19 players and the management of these teams will have to ensure that they play "almost" every match.  This was revealed by Charith Senanayake, the new chairman of the technical committee.  Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, the former left-handed opener said, "it is one of my suggestions and the management have agreed in principle to implement".  "With the U-19 World Cup in sight, I have included this in my suggestion-list".  Senanayake's other suggestions are : 1) To increase the number of players a franchise can retain from 2 -6 with a certain criteria and categories. (2) Not to restrict the number of players in the draft and give maximum opportunity to domestic players "Hopefully, these will be accommodated along with the rules and conditions already in place. Will do what’s best as the league gets underway shortly", Senanayake, who also served the Sri Lankan team as manager in the past, added.  When asked about the appointment and his role as technical committee chairman Senanayake was first thankful to SLC for the opportunity but mentioned that the format of the tournament and the rules were already formulated and in place by the time of his appointment. However, upon discussing a few technical points, Tournament Director Mr. Ravin Wickramaratne agreed to consider the possibility of adopting the following favorably.  The other members of the Technical Committee are : Shane Fernando, Vinothan John and Tyron Hirantha Wijewardena.  

SPORTS REPORT SAINT JOHN'S:-West Indies Women beat Pakistan Women by six wickets in the third and final T20I to complete a 3-0 series win at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday. Pakistan’s defense of 102 was off to a solid start thanks to Diana Baig’s athleticism and excellent bowling. Diana took a scintillating catch in the second over off Anam Amin’s bowling as she dived to her right to send Hayley Matthews back to the pavilion. She followed up that effort with an incredible caught and bowled in the next over. Deandra Dottin looked in promising touch having struck Diana for a six and a four earlier in the over, but the right-arm pacer had the last laugh as she cleanly caught a strong punch off the frontfoot to end Dottin’s stay at the crease on the penultimate ball. On the last ball of the third over, Diana pitched the white kookaburra on the good length which induced an edge of Kyshona Knight’s bat to be safely caught by Sidra Nawaz. West Indies were now three down for 17. Diana ended-up with match figures of two for 17 in four overs. An unbeaten 48-run partnership between Stafanie Taylor (43 not out, 41 balls, 4x4s) and Kycia Knight (24 not out, 27 balls, 2x4s) helped hosts chase down the target with five balls spare. West Indies captain Taylor recorded a hat-trick in the last over of the Pakistan innings as the tourists were bowled out for 102, after opting to bat first. Taylor accounted for Aliya Riaz, who top-scored for Pakistan with 29 off 34, Diana (5 off 10) and Anam Amin (0 off 1), and finished with four for 17 from 3.4 overs. Pakistan lost their openers – Javeria Khan (six off eight) and Muneeba Ali (18 off 15) – in 4.4 overs and had their half of the batters back in the hut by 12.5 overs with 66 runs on board. It was a 22-run partnership between Aliya and Diana that ensured Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark after Anisa Mohammed, the most successful bowler in women’s T20Is, dismissed Sidra Nawaz and Ayesha Naseem in successive overs. Her first wicket was Nida Dar, who got bowled after scoring 17 off 19, in the 11th over. Pakistan were provided a 21-run start – with Muneeba playing a lead role in the partnership with her 18 off 15 at the back of three boundaries. It was Shamilia Connell who accounted for both openers. The right-arm pacer dismissed Javeria in the third over and picked up the wicket of Muneeba in the fifth. West Indies’ Mohammed and Connell finished with three for 24 and two for 24. Scores in brief: West Indies Women beat Pakistan Women by six wickets Pakistan Women 102 all out, 19.4 overs (Aliya Riaz 29; Stafaine Taylor 4-17, Anisa Mohammed 3-24, Shamilia Connell 2-24) West Indies Women 106-4, 19.1 overs (Stafanie Taylor 43 not out, Kycia Knight 24 not out; Diana Baig 2-17) Player of the match – Stafanie Taylor (West Indies) Player of the tournament – Shamilia Connell (West Indies)  

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (July 5, 2021):-An impressive bowling performance followed by Ayesha Zafar’s unbeaten 53 set an eight-wicket win for Pakistan Women ‘A’ in the third and final T20 against West Indies Women ‘A’ at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday. With the victory, the national women’s ‘A’ team won the three-match series 3-0. Pakistan chased down 100 with ease and comfort with eight balls to spare as right-handed opener Ayesha struck three fours and a six from 57 balls. She also become the highest run-getter of the series with 93 runs from three matches.  Pakistan bowlers, once again, bowled with discipline after Rameen Shamim elected to bowl. They bowled a total of 61 dots, with pacer Maham Tariq delivering the most – 18. Maham gave Pakistan their first breakthrough in the fifth over with the wicket of Rashada Williams, who was caught at cover. Aroob Shah picked up the wickets of Qiana Joseph and Sheneta Grimmond. The 17-year-old leg-spinner finished with two for 13 from three overs. West Indies captain Reniece Boyce top-scored with 42 off 44 balls. She struck four fours. The T20 series is followed by three-match one-day series, which kicks off on 10 July. The first one-day match will be played at Sri Vivian Richards Stadium. The last two matches will be played at Coolidge Cricket Ground on 13 and 16 July. Scores in brief: Pakistan Women ‘A’ beat West Indies Women ‘A’ by eight wickets West Indies Women ‘A’ 99-6, 20 overs (Reniece Boyce 42; Aroob Shah 2-13) Pakistan Women ‘A’ 100-2, 18.4 overs (Ayesha Zafar 53 not out, Kainat Imtiaz 19 not out)  

By BIPIN DANI In the opening match of the series against the West Indies (at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua), Nida Dar became the first bowler, male or female, to take 100 wickets in the shortest format of the game for Pakistan on Wednesday. She is Asia's first and world's 5th woman cricketer to achieve this feat. The other four women bowlers to have crossed the 100-wicket mark in the format are West Indie's Anisa Mohammed (120), Australia's Ellyse Perry (115), South Africa's Shabnum Ismail (110) and England's Anya Shrubsole (102). From the Asian teams, India’s Poonam Yadav, with 95 wickets is closest to her. "That's a tremendous achievement and we as a family and myself particularly are jubilant since I being a sportsman and film writer myself always gave confidence in her abilities", her brother, Hammad Hassan, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Gujranwala, said on Thursday. Among cricketing circles, she is known as Little Boom Boom. The original nickname is attached with Shahid Afridi. "Nida is a big hitter and she proved herself being the biggest hitter and somehow caught Shahid Afridi's style and therefore being called the little boom boom". Interestingly, her father, Rashid Hassan, who is admitted in the hospital now, was also a First-Class cricketer before being a teacher. "Our father is bed ridden. He survived covid but now has an obstruction in colon. He was hospitalized after Nida reached Caribbean island. My sister wanted to quit the series and return home. We persuaded her to play there for the country. She is very close to our father and my dad also wanted her to achieve 100 wickets", the brother added.  "Unfortunately, we just had glimpses of the match since our uncle died yesterday in another city and our father is in the hospital, but yeah we knew she would do it, anxious we were all but I was confident and she did it". "We are from a well-known family of Pakistan. Our father's first cousin K. H Khurshid was secretary to Jinnah and remained president of Azad Kashmir back in 1956", the brother concluded.

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (July 3, 2021):-England Men’s Head Coach Chris Silverwood has named a 16-player squad for The Royal London ODI Series against Pakistan starting at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Thursday 8 July 2021. Somerset’s Tom Banton will remain with the squad after joining up for the third Royal London ODI against Sri Lanka in Bristol on Sunday 4 July. Names of selected players: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Captain Moeen Ali (Worcestershire) Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) Tom Banton (Somerset) Sam Billings (Kent) Sam Curran (Surrey) Tom Curran (Surrey) Liam Dawson (Hampshire) George Garton (Sussex) Liam Livingstone (Lancashire) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Joe Root (Yorkshire) Jason Roy (Surrey) David Willey (Yorkshire) Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) Mark Wood (Durham) Schedule of Royal London ODI Series 1st ODI: England v Pakistan, Thursday 8 July 2021, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (1.00pm BST) 2nd ODI: England v Pakistan, Saturday 10 July 2021, Lord’s Cricket Ground, London (11.00am BST) 3rd ODI: England v Pakistan, Tuesday 13 July 2021, Edgbaston, Birmingham (1.00pm BST).

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (June 20, 2021):-The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) National Selection Committee for women named two squads women’s national and ‘A’ teams for West Indies trip, as the national side would play the West Indies in three T20Is and five One-Day Internationals, while the two countries’ ‘A’ sides would compete in three T20s and as many one-day matches. This is the national women’s team third international tour in the last four months after they played three ODIs and as many T20Is against South Africa in Durban before traveling north to Harare to play Zimbabwe, a tour that was cut short due to flights restrictions. Despite travel-related limitations around the world due of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the PCB has continued to arrange the tours to provide its national women’s team competitive cricket to prepare for this year’s ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, followed by next year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Pakistan and West Indies are ranked seventh and sixth in the ICC Women’s Team Rankings for ODI and T20I, respectively. Prior to this tour, the national women’s team has played three ODI series, two T20I series and featured in two ICC Women’s T20 World Cups in 2010 and 2018 in the Caribbean. The last time these two sides faced off in bilateral series was in early 2019. Pakistan came back from behind in the United Arab Emirates to win the three ODIs 2-1 and the T20I series, played in Karachi, was won by West Indies 2-1, with the second match of the series going down the wire and the touring party winning it in the Super Over. The two teams last met in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the group-stage match was won by Pakistan as they comfortably chased down 125 with eight wickets and 10 balls spare. That the ‘A’ side will travel to Antigua with the national side – the first instance of the two teams traveling together – provides further boost to the women’s game in the country. The players who have remained on the fringes of the national side will have an opportunity to impress the national selectors and the high-profile coaching staff ahead of the important global events. This will also be the first tour that the ‘A’ side will undertake in the post-Covid-19 world. They last travelled to Sri Lanka in October 2019 for the ACC Emerging Women’s Asia Cup. PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “We are glad to announce that our senior and ‘A’ women teams will be traveling to the West Indies for competitive series in a year in which they have to feature in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers. “This tour presents a great opportunity to our players to further strengthen their skills by getting the desired match practice – against a quality side – under their belts and utilise it for their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers and the main event early next year that will be followed by the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. “Developing our women cricketers and providing them the required opportunities to develop themselves into world-class athletes is one of the key strategic objectives of the PCB, which we announced last year. “Our players have put in hard yards in the recent High Performance camps in Karachi and Multan and I am hopeful that they will deliver favourable results under the able guidance of head coach David Hemp.” The touring contingent will arrive in Lahore on Monday. Tour itinerary: 23 June – Departure for Antigua 24-27 June – Room Quarantine 28-29 June – Practice 30 June – 1st T20I between national sides and 1st T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 2 July – 2nd T20I between national sides and 2nd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Coolidge Cricket Ground 4 July – 3rd T20I between national sides and 3rd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 7 July – 1st ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 9 July – 2nd ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 10 July – 1st one-day between ‘A’ sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 12 July – 3rd ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 13 July – 2nd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 15 July – 4th ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 16 July – 3rd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 18 July – 5th ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground 19 July – Departure for Pakistan

SPORTS REPORT ISLAMABAD (June 9, 2021):-Pakistan Cricket Board and Unilever have further strengthened their partnership with Surf Excel becoming Pakistan national men's cricket team’s official detergent partner for the year 2021. The partnership with Surf Excel covers an exciting season of home cricket including series against England, New Zealand and the West Indies. PCB and Unilever joined hands last year for a historic social awareness campaign with Lifebuoy around hygiene behavior. The budding partnership then grew into a domestic cricket partnership with Surf Excel and a yearlong Pakistan men’s cricket team partnership with Lifebuoy. PCB Director – Commercial, Babar Hamid: “Our partnership with Unilever is strengthening with the passage of time and we are delighted to have Surf Excel as our official detergent partner for Pakistan national men’s team’s home series. “Pakistan cricket fans have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming home season with tours from England, New Zealand and the West Indies. Our partners like Unilever are extremely valuable to us as their contributions go a long way in ensuring that we deliver top quality domestic and international events and bi-lateral series. “In the recent days, we have overcome some big challenges to ensure that the Abu Dhabi-leg of the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 takes place. We would now set our focus on our upcoming home assignments in our pursuit of further improvement in all aspects and world-class delivery of our international home season. “The passionate cricket fans of the Pakistan team both in Pakistan and around the world have a lot to look forward to and we hope to live up to their expectations both with on-field performances and top-class delivery of the home season in our own stadiums.” Unilever Director Marketing Home, Care Munir Hasan: “Surf Excel believes that ‘Jo Koi Nahi Karsakta.. wohi tow champion karta hai’. And there could not be more apt words to describe our beloved cricket team as well. “This is why we have partnered with the PCB to introduce first of its kind ‘Daaghon ka champion’ trophy, to encourage our young stars to play their best game on the field and recognize their uninhibited cricket spirit. All without bothering about the stains, after all Surf Excel hai na.”

SPORTS REPORT ISLAMABAD (June 4, 2021):-Pakistan cricket selectors have recalled four experienced players and included uncapped Azam Khan in the squads for the tours of England and West Indies. The side will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in England from 8-20 July, before taking on world champions West Indies in five T20Is that will be followed by two Tests. Middle-order batsman Haris Sohail has been named in the ODI side, while Imad Wasim has returned to bolster the T20I side. Fast bowlers Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah have returned to the Test side. Yasir Shah’s inclusion is subject to fitness as the wrist spinner is yet to fully recover from the knee injury that sidelined him from the Zimbabwe Tests. The selectors have retained leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood along with left-arm spinner Nauman Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan for the Jamaica Tests. Uncapped Saud Shakeel has also reclaimed his spot after missing South Africa ODIs due to an injury. Salman Ali Agha, who has lost his Test spot, has been called-up for ODIs. Fakhar Zaman has maintained his place in the original squad after being drafted as an additional player for Zimbabwe T20Is following a stellar performance in South Africa. Quetta Gladiators’ Azam Khan, the 22-year-old hard-hitting batsman, is the new face in the T20I squad. Squads (in alphabetical order): ODIs: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Haris Sohail (Balochistan), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper) (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab). T20Is: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Azam Khan (Sindh), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imad Wasim (Northern), Mohammad Hafeez (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper) (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sharjeel Khan (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab). Tests: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper) (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imran Butt (Balochistan), Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Naseem Shah (Central Punjab), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper) (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh), Yasir Shah (Balochistan, subject to fitness) and Zahid Mahmood (Southern Punjab). Chief selector Muhammad Wasim: “We have remained consistent in our selection and kept the same core of cricketers who have been in the set-up for a while. This is an extremely important and critical tour for Pakistan as we will be playing the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs against England as well as the T20Is against England and the West Indies as part of our preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The Jamaica Test will count towards the ICC World Test Championship. “As such, keeping in view the above and in consultation with captain Babar Azam and head Misbah-ul-Haq, we have tried our best to maintain the winning combinations but at the same time recalled four experienced players and rewarded uncapped Azam Khan for his domestic performance, while also giving him the required confidence for the future challenges. “Mohammad Abbas has regained his form, Naseem Shah and Haris Sohail have reclaimed the required fitness standards, while Imad Wasim has been recalled considering the T20 World Cup is likely to be held in the UAE and he enjoys an excellent record there. “The return of these four players meant we had to leave some players, which is never an easy decision. But we have collectively opted for what was in the best interest of the side, taking into consideration the opponents and the requirement of the formats on the upcoming tours. “The players who have missed on selection will remain part of our strategy, and, as such, they will continue to work on their technical game at the National High Performance Centre under the watchful eyes of Mohammad Yousuf and Saqlain Mushtaq. “Yasir Shah’s inclusion is subject to clearing his fitness test. He was sidelined due to a knee injury after the second Test against South Africa earlier this year and was expected to reclaim complete fitness for the West Indies tour. It, however, has not been the case, but we remain hopeful that he will complete his rehabilitation before the departure. “The side since the home series against South Africa have maintained an upward movement, but still there are a few lose ends that we would like to close by the end of the England and West Indies tours so that there is absolutely clarity on our compositions for the post West Indies tour engagements. “I strongly believe the changes will plug those gaps and will put us in a strong position in our endeavours to feature in the top three across all formats by the end of 2023.” Tour itinerary: 25 June – Departure for Manchester 6 July – Arrival in Cardiff 8 July - 1st ODI, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff 10 July – 2nd ODI, Lord’s, London 13 July – 3rd ODI, Edgbaston, Birmingham 16 July – 1st T20I, Trent Bridge, Nottingham 18 July – 2nd T20I, Headingley, Leeds 20 July – 3rd T20I, Old Trafford, Manchester 21 Jul – Arrival in Barbados 27 Jul – 1st T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados 28 Jul – 2nd T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados 31 Jul – 3rd T20I, Providence Stadium, Guyana 1 Aug – 4th T20I, Providence Stadium, Guyana 3 Aug – 5th T20I, Providence Stadium, Guyana 6-7 Aug – Two-day practice match, Guyana 12-16 Aug – 1st Test, Sabina Park, Jamaica 20-24 Aug – 2nd Test, Sabina Park, Jamaica 25 Aug – Departure

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (June 1, 2021):-Umair Saleem has won the title of 1st Night Golf Tournament that was organized by AAA Associates organized in collaboration with Garden City Golf and Country Club, Bahria Town. The event was attended by the notables from Military and different segments of the society. Among Participants are some well-known personalities like Ex-COAS Ashfaq Parvez Kiani (R), Gen Zahirul Islam (R), Gen Hilal (R), Air Marshal Asim Zaheer (R)Ex VCAS PAF, Chairman AAA Associates Mr. Sheikh Fawad Bashir, MD Lt.Col Shahzad Ali kiani (R) and Maj Gen Guftar Shah (R) also graced the event with their esteemed presence. Around 100 local residence and players participated in this night Tournament with display of magnificent lighting array make the event more attractive. AAA Associate has plan to organized similar Night Golf tournament in other cities of Pakistan to encourage this sport among local community. Golf is considered an expensive game and associated with elite section of our society. AAA Associates organized this match to put an end to this stereotype by promoting Golf sports among Middleclass community of the twin cities. They offered participants with discounted membership of the Club and inexpensive Golf Kits to encourage local community to take active part in this healthy game. After a fierce competition, the golfers with top 3 score were awarded with shields and prizes. In female category, Amna Kiani scores 42 to become Gross winner and followed by 2nd position secured by Saeeda Akhtar and Manaza with third position in the row. In men’s Gross category, Umair Saleem scored 39 to secured first position followed by Aslam Raja and Shoaib-ud-din both scored 37 holes each. Top three Net scores are Zubair Shah 38, Maj Abid and Maj General Suleman score 33 each. Chairman AAA Associates Sheikh Fawad Bashir and MD Lt. Col Shahzad Ali Kiani (R) distributed the prizes among the winners. On this occasion Chairman AAA Associate Sheikh Fawad Bashir said that AAA Associate took pride in organizing First Night Golf tournament of twin cities with the aim to bring out best talent from our local community to be recognized at National level. “We are committed to make this sport accessible for every section of society to end this perception of up-class game. Similarly in our Business niche, we are striving to revolutionize existing business model by implementing innovative practices to break stereotypes of associating big businesses with rich community, “he added. MD AAA associate Lt.Col Shahzad Ali Kiani (R) also said ‘  We encourage sports in all form as essential part of our business model to engage our internal and external stakeholder in healthy activity. AAA Associate always supports local Organization and community in organizing sport related activities. We’ll continue to offer our support for sport related activity that involve local community engagement at large level”. AAA Associate has been active in supporting various sport activity in the twin city which involves organizing Cricket, Football and other sports tournament that play vital role in encouraging local talent and promoting Healthy environment in the community.

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (May 22, 2021):-A comprehensive 5-1 victory over the USA means Great Britain have moved to fifth in the FIH Hockey Pro League with a 51 per cent win rate. The USA remained in ninth position, with one match left to play [against Great Britain]. Great Britain women started strongly as they sought to impose themselves early on an USA team still smarting from their double defeat at the hands of Belgium the previous weekend. A driving run by Lily Owsley in the opening minute won her team a penalty corner but Kelsey Bing, in the USA goal, was alert to the danger. The next 14 minutes followed a similar pattern, with the Great Britain midfield and attackers probing and pushing for a breakthrough. That breakthrough eventually came in the 15th minute. The USA gave away possession in the centre of the pitch to Lily Owsley. She slipped an unselfish pass to Isabelle Petter, who shot home past Bing. Prior to that, there had been some promising signs for the Great Britain team that players were finding their connections as Susannah Townsend, Sarah Jones and Owsley all combined well to create a number of chances. Despite some spirited defending and some strong individual runs from the hard-working USA players, it was Great Britain who scored the second goal. It was Petter again who found the back of the net. It was a goal that had been coming: the Great Britain midfield were finding their connections with increasing regularity and creating all sorts of problems for their opponents. Petter’s second goal came from a penalty corner – Grace Balsdon’s strike was deflected by the midfielder past Bing. In the second half, Great Britain began to turn the screw on their opponents, pressuring the goal and forcing the USA deeper into their defensive half. The pressure was rewarded when a pass from Player of the Match Fiona Crackles found Sarah Robertson, who was able to slot the ball home. The fourth goal came from a penalty corner strike by Anna Toman. The initial shot was helped on its way by the outstretched stick of Nicole Woods. The fifth goal came as the space opened up across the pitch as the USA went in search of a goal. Great Britain were able to take advantage of the gaps and Elena Rayer was on hand to shoot home after good build up play by Laura Unsworth and Sarah Jones. The USA scored a consolation goal when Kelsey Briddell flicked the ball high past Hinch after a penalty corner shot rebounded freely into the circle. While Great Britain will be pleased with the result, the fact that they had 23 shots, 10 penalty corners and 46 circle entries will be of concern to the Head Coach and his team. Speaking at half time, Head Coach Mark Hager had called on his players to make the most of the opportunities they were creating. Player of the Match Fiona Crackles said: “We are just super happy to get so many goals. Normally we have a lot of near misses. We had real fire in our belly. We have been working hard on being ruthless. "It's great seeing things that we are doing in training coming together in the matchplay." Captain of the USA, Amanda Magadan: "Great Britain put out a good hockey performance but we gave a few things to them as well. It is good to be able to put the ball in the back of the net. "Just being able to build on our game from Belgium. We need to take away the positives but also take the harder feedback to. Great Britain are one of the best in the world, so that is who we want to play."