Sports Bulletin

Salman Khan MULTAN:-A career-best bowling performance by Mohammad Nawaz following impressive half-centuries by Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq earned Pakistan 120 runs victory over the West Indies in the second ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League fixture here on Friday night. The win lifted Pakistan from the pre-series 10th position to fourth spot. They are on equal points with the West Indies on 80, but are placed ahead of the two-time former world champions on net run-rate. In front of another full house, Nawaz turned the screws on the West Indies with his cunning and shrewd bowling to over and chasing return figures of 10-0-19-4 as the West Indies were skittled out for 155 in 32.2 overs after being 102 for three in the 19th over and chasing 276 for victory. This was Nawaz’s second career four-fer in 18 appearances after he had taken four for 42 against the same opposition in Sharjah in September 2016. Nawaz’s scalps included Shamarah Brooks (42), Brandon King (0), Nicholas Pooran (25) and Rovman Powell (10). Shaheen Shah Afridi, as he often does, provided a breakthrough in his first over when he dismissed last match’s centurion Shai Hope (4). But Brooks and Kyle Mayers repaired the damage with 67 runs second-wicket partnership. Mayers was ruthless on Pakistan’s fast bowlers, punishing them for four fours and two sixes in a 25-ball 33 before Mohammad Wasim disturbed the furniture behind the left-hander. Wasim finished with figures of three for 34. Nawaz got into action and claimed four straight wickets before Shadab Khan joined in the fun when he dismissed Romario Shepherd as the West Indies lost their last seven wickets for 83 runs to capsize for 155 without offering a real fight. Shadab added the wicket of Hayden Walsh to finish with two for 40. Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Fakhar Zaman suffered his second successive failure when he was dismissed for a 28-ball 17 but Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam stitched a 120-run second wicket partnership that proved to the cornerstone of Pakistan’s 275 for eight. Imam scored run-a-ball 72 with six fours before his innings concluded after his mate Babar preferred to look at the ball instead of his partner that stunned the left-hander and left him stranded at the middle of the pitch. This was Imam’s sixth consecutive half-century after he had scored 56 (against England), 103, 106, 89 not out (all against Australia) and 65 (against the West Indies on Friday). Babar Azam, whose previous five scores were 158, 57, 114, 105 not out, 103, was on course for a fourth successive century but was beaten in the flight off Akeal Hosein and was caught and bowled by the left-arm spinner. Babar scored a 93-ball 77 that included five fours and a six. Babar’s dismissal produced three wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (15), Mohammad Haris (6) and Mohammad Nawaz (3) for the West Indies. However, small contributions by Shadab Khan (22), Khushdil Shah (22), Mohammad Wasim (17 not out) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (15 not out) propelled Pakistan to reach a position from where they could dictate terms. Pakistan collected 27 runs in the last two overs, including 12 off the penultimate over by Anderson Phillip and 15 off the final over of the innings by Romario Shepherd that included three fours by Shaheen Shah Afridi. For the West Indies, Hosein was the pick of the bowlers with three for 52, while Alzarri Joseph and Phillip equally shared four wickets between them conceding 33 and 50 runs, respectively. The third and final ODI of the series will be played on Sunday. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat West Indies by 120 runs Pakistan 275-8, 50 overs (Babar Azam 77, Imam-ul-Haq 72, Shadab Khan 22, Khushdil Shah 22; Akeal Hosein 3-52, Alzarri Jospeh 2-33, Anderson Phillip 2-50) West Indies 155 all out, 32.2 overs (Shamarh Brooks 42, Kyle Mayers 33, Nicholas Pooran 25; Mohammad Nawaz 4-19, Mohammad Wasim 3-34, Shadab Khan 2-40) Player of the match – Mohammad Nawaz (Pakistan)

Sports Bulletin Report LONDON:-The Hundred Overseas Wildcard Draft has seen yet more international men’s and women’s superstars sign up to take part in The Hundred this summer. In a world first for cricket, overseas men’s and women’s players have been drafted together ahead of an exciting summer of world-class sport and family-friendly entertainment. The big signings include: Oval Invincibles selected Pakistan quick bowler Mohammad Hasnain as the first men’s pick while Afghan teenage spin sensation Noor Ahmad heads to Welsh Fire The Aussies are coming to the women’s competition with Welsh Fire picking up Nicola Carey as their first pick and Trent Rockets snapping up Elyse Villani South African star Imran Tahir will return to Birmingham Phoenix after lighting up The Hundred last year with the competition’s first hat-trick Other international stars in the women’s game include India’s Deepti Sharma heading to Birmingham Phoenix while New Zealand internationals Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr and Suzie Bates join Manchester Originals, London Spirit and Oval Invincibles respectively. For the first time in any cricketing competition, women’s players are being drafted along with the men as The Hundred takes another step towards providing an equal platform for women’s and men’s cricket. Mohammad Hasnain said: “I’m overjoyed to be joining Oval Invincibles. The Hundred looked like great fun last year and I can’t wait to get involved. The opportunity to play alongside stars like Sunil Narine, Jason Roy and the Curran brothers is hugely exciting. I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the field again.” Nicola Carey said: “I’m really excited to be heading to Welsh Fire. We’ve already got a strong Aussie contingent with Rachael Haynes and Annabel Sutherland and combine that with Tammy Beaumount as skipper and we’ve got the makings of a really strong squad. I’ve never played at Cardiff before and I’m looking forward to seeing the Welsh Fire fans making lots of noise at Sophia Gardens.” Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of The Hundred said: “It is brilliant news to welcome 16 more international stars to The Hundred. Players from seven countries have been selected and it’s great to welcome the likes of Mohammad Hasnain, Deepti Sharma and Suzie Bates to The Hundred this year. This continues to take the quality of cricket to another level and we can’t wait for a second summer of incredible sporting action.” Team-by-team – Overseas Wildcard Draft highlights Welsh Fire selected Australian star and World Cup winner Nicola Carey as the first women’s overseas selection. Afghanistan teenage spinning sensation Noor Ahmad will be heading to Cardiff after turning heads at the recent ICC U19 Men’s World Cup. Oval Invincibles chose exciting Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain as the first men’s overseas selection. They selected New Zealand batter Suzie Bates, one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the women’s game, in an impressive pair of picks. Trent Rockets named experienced Australian batter Elyse Villani as their women’s overseas pick while Australian Daniel Sams joins after impressing with Mumbai Indians in the IPL and Essex Eagles in the Vitality Blast. Northern Superchargers picked up Namibian allrounder David Wiese as the second men’s pick. Australian international Heather Graham joins after being part of her country’s recent World Cup winning squad. Manchester Originals snapped up New Zealand fast bowler Lea Tahuhu who will link up with her wife and fellow New Zealand legend Amy Satterthwaite at Emirates Old Trafford. The men selected Australian batter Ashton Turner who is currently captaining Durham in the Vitality Blast. New Zealand bowler Jess Kerr will link up with her sister Amelia at London Spirit. On the men’s side they secured powerful Australian batter Ben McDermott off the back of his great form for Hampshire Hawks in the Vitality Blast. Birmingham Phoenix retained South African spinner Imran Tahir with their men’s pick. Tahir provided one of the moments from the first year of The Hundred with his match winning hat-trick against Welsh Fire, the first in the competition. The women’s side selected India spinning allrounder Deepti Sharma who featured for London Spirit in the first edition of The Hundred. Southern Brave secured Australian spinner Molly Strano, the top wicket taker in the history of the Women’s Big Bash League, and explosive New Zealander batter Finn Allen with the last men’s pick. The window for the women’s sides to sign players remains open with teams having until 30 June to complete their squads. The men’s squads will be completed with the domestic Vitality Wildcard draft on 7 July.

Sports Report MULTAN:-Multan’s 14-year wait for the return of international cricket was rewarded with a record-breaking century by Babar Azam and Khushdil Shah’s whirlwind knock as Pakistan defeated the West Indies by five wickets in a last-over thrilling first ODI of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League on Wednesday. After scoring 114 and 105 not out in the last two ODIs against Australia in Lahore on 31 March and 2 April, respectively, Babar Azam struck another signature 103 off 107 balls that turned out to be the cornerstone of Pakistan’s effort of overhauling the West Indies’ 305 for eight with just four balls remaining. When Babar Azam struck his ninth boundary to reach the magical figures, he achieved three rare records. The world No.1 became the first batter in the history of ODI cricket to record three consecutive centuries on two different occasions, completed the fastest 1,000 ODI runs as captain and became the quickest to 17 ODI centuries. In September/October 2016, Babar had scored 120, 123 and 117 to become the third Pakistan batter after Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar and eighth overall to hit three successive centuries. In reaching 1,000 ODI runs in his 13th innings as captain, he eclipsed Virat Kohli’s record who had achieved this milestone in his 17th innings. Babar’s 17th career century came in his 85th innings that bettered Hashim Amla’s record who had scored his 17th century in 98th innings. Babar had joined Imam-ul-Haq at the score of 26 for one and added 103 runs for the second wicket with the left-hander who departed after scoring 65 off 71 balls with six fours. The Pakistan captain then put on 108 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Rizwan, who contributed a 61-ball 59 with two fours and a six. However, the dismissals of Babar and Rizwan in a span of 19 balls with 50 runs required off 32 balls created a bit of panic in the home team’s camp. However, Khushdil Shah rose to the occasion and repeated his heroics in the second ODI against Australia by slapping four sixes (three off successive deliveries from Romario Shepherd) and a four in a 23-ball 41 not out. In the second ODI on 31 March, Khushdil had struck two fours and two sixes in a 17-ball 27 not out as Pakistan achieved the 349-run target with six balls to spare. Earlier, Shai Hope stroked his 12th ODI century and put on 154 runs for the second wicket with Shamarh Brooks as the visitors collected 305 for eight in 50 overs after electing to bat first. Hope scored 127 off 134 balls with 15 fours and a six, while Brooks’ 83-ball 70 contained seven fours. Cameos by Nicholas Pooran (21 off 16 balls with three sixes), Rovman Powell (32 off 23 balls with five fours) and Romario Shepherd 25 off 18 balls with two sixes) helped the visitors cross the 300-mark. For Pakistan, Haris Rauf was the most successful and expensive bowler when he picked up four wickets conceding 77 runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi took two for 55, while Mohammad Nawaz picked up one wicket. Shadab Khan, returning to ODI action after a long lay-off, was impressive with the ball – giving away 37 runs in his 10 overs and picking up a wicket. In addition to the caught and bowled, he took an athletic one-handed catch at short third man to dismiss a dangerous looking Brooks to end the second wicket partnership. The second ODI will be played on Friday, while the third ODI will be held on Sunday. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat the West Indies by five wickets West Indies 305-8, 50 overs (Shai Hope 127, Shamarh Brooks 70, Rovman Powell 32, Romario Shepherd 25, Nicholas Pooran 21; Haris Rauf 4-77, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-55) Pakistan 306-5, 49.2 overs (Babar Azam 103, Imam-ul-Haq 65, Mohammad Rizwan 59, Khushdil Shah 41 not out; Alzarri Joseph 2-55) Player of the match – Khushdil Shah (Pakistan)

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has divided the fielding responsibilities of the national cricket team between the two coaches-Anton Roux and Manoj Abeyeickrama-, it is learnt.    Anton Roux, who was till now working at the High Performance Centre, has joined the Sri Lanka national team's coaching staff. The USA-born Roux, who turned 41 on Sunday will be the fielding coach for the white ball games. Manoj Abeywickrama, who last was with the national Test team on Bangladesh tour will take over the fielding charge for the Test matches. The team had an optional training on Monday, a day before the first T-20I night match on Tuesday. The team is also assisted by eight net bowlers, who come from their respective homes at the ground.  TV commentary Former Australian wicket-keeper batter Brad Haddin is one of the TV commentators for the bilateral matches against Sri Lanka, commencing Tuesday, it is confirmed. The 44-year-old Haddin has the highest experience of playing 226 international matches (34 T20Is, 126 ODIs and 66 Tests) among all five commentators. This has been his first Sri Lanka tour as a commentator. The other fIve commentators are regular faces in Sri Lanka. They are : Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Roshan Abeysinghe, HD Ackerman and Aamer Sohail. Both Arnold and Sohail have also played over 200 international matches for Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively, although Sohail has not played the T-20Is.

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board will hire the services of two different experienced computer analysts for the upcoming national matches against the visiting Australian team, it is learnt. According to the sources in the SLC, Prad Navaratnam will be the analyst for the white ball matches (three T-20Is and five ODIs), whereas Shirantha Niroshana will manage the two Test matches. Incidentally, Prad Navaratnam, who was a head of the Brain Centre and had resigned to move to Australia has now returned as a Lead Analyst for the National Team for the white ball games. In the meantime, India's Sridharan Sriram has reached Colombo to join the Australian team as its support staff. Australian players are in Sri Lanka from different destinations in batches.   Sri Lanka's former batter and wicketkeeper Upul Fernando (now settled in Australia), who has played over 150 First Class matches, will bring Melbourne West Cricket Academy U-16 team to Sri Lanka. On their 12-day tour from June 25, the players will also have their parents on this tour, it is confirmed by Upul Fernando.

BIPIN DANI Sunil Gavaskar, who made his Test debut against the West Indies team at Port of Spain, Trinidad on March 6, 1971 could not celebrate its 50th anniversary last year because of Covid-19 pandemic, however, his well-wishers and friends in the USA have decided to felicitate him next month. "Our preparation for the said event is on track and slated for July 30, 2022", PK Guha, one of the key organisers, who is well known in cricket circles in India and USA, said over the telephone from the USA. Interestingly, Guha, the former player, who now resides in the USA for years but travels around the world to attend cricket events, is in touch with the cricket fraternity in India including several current and former stars. "The great news is that Kapil has finally agreed to attend the event. The others: Sunil himself, Clive Llyod, Vishwanath and Farokh Engineer are confirmed to attend", he said. "Our efforts are also to invite Vivian Richards for this function", he further added. The event will be held in Farmington Hills, a suburb city of Detroit. The event is presented by PAD Associate and Title sponsor is Varchas Bourbon & V2 Soft.

BIPIN DANI South Africa's 19-year-old fast-bowler Thando Ntini, who took one-month coaching sessions from Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad, says he is very much satisfied on being coached by a well-experienced coach and a lot of improvement in his own technique.  Speaking exclusively over the telephone before returning to his country on Wednesday, he said, "Coach Lad is phenomenal at what he does and understands the player very well. I have already seen plenty of improvements but excited for plenty more growth".  Incidentally, Thando Ntini is a son of Makhaya Ntini, who played 101 Tests, 173 ODIs and 10 T-20Is.   Thando Ntini had been in Mumbai since April 29.  "I had decided on coming to India to work on my cricket as it’s the biggest hub for producing and growing young cricketers. Also India has top coaches who shaped better both my knowledge and my game on and off the field".  The national academy program ( South Africa Emerging ) was not happening this year so I took matters into my own hands to upskill myself and not just sit at home". "This was also a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and be in a completely new space and environment and train and learn outside my country", he signed off.   

BIPIN DANI There has been no move to move the next edition of the Asia Cup out of Sri Lanka, it is learnt. According to highly placed sources, the Asia Cup is likely to be played in Sri Lanka soon after the Lanka Premier League (LPL) this year.   Owing to the ongoing crisis and frequent power cuts and widespread shortages in Sri Lanka, the speculation was rife that it would be shifted to the UAE or Bangladesh.  However, according to the discussions the SLC officials (the president and the CEO), who were in India to watch the IPL final had a few meetings with the BCCI officials and it is learnt that they were able to convince the officials to host the Asia Cup as scheduled in Sri Lanka. The BCB president Nazmul Hassan Pappon too was in India and had not voiced his concern if the tournament was held in Sri Lanka and has not even pushed for the shift of the Asia Cup to Bangladesh. The possibility of shifting the Asia Cup in the UAE is ruled out considering the extreme hot conditions in August in the UAE. At present the SLC is concentrating on the forthcoming bilateral home series against Australia and Australia A teams. The Asia Cup is still a few months away.  The media reports of Sri Lanka playing two T-20I matches against India in the UAE to raise funds are not confirmed yet and no such matches are planned before the completion of the Asia Cup, it was confirmed by one of the officials aware about the scenario.    

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka's former opening batter Charith Senanayake has been appointed as the manager for the "A" team. The 59-year-old Senanayake will manage the home team against the visiting Australian "A" team to play two one-day and two four-day games in Sri Lanka during a bumper all-format Aussie tour in June-July. Managing the Sri Lankan team and players has not been the first time Senanayake would be doing so. He was the manager of the national team which beat Australia 3-0 in a Test series. More importantly, he was instrumental in swapping captains at the 2012 T-20 World Cup, following which the ICC was forced to change the rules.  In 2012, Sri Lanka switched the captaincy in its last World T-20 group match against England to avoid Mahela Jayawardene being banned for repeated slow over rate after the win against West Indies, and faced one match suspension. To ensure this, it was Senanayake, who asked Sangakkara to toss the coin (the scorecard mentioned Sanga was the official captain) but Jayawardene to lead the team on field. Unlike now, the ICC rules then didn't make any reference to switching captains before any international match.   Senanayake has also worked with current coach Avishka Gunawardene and toured Jamaica, Bangladesh previously.

Sports Bulletin Report LONDON:-England Men's selection panel have named a 14-strong squad for the three-match ODI series of The Netherlands starting at Amstelveen on 17 June. Lancashire seamer Luke Wood and Gloucestershire paceman David Payne are the uncapped players named in the squad. This will be Wood's first call-up to the senior squad, and Payne has been involved previously in last summer's ODIs against Pakistan. White-Ball Head Coach, Matthew Mott, said: "I'm very excited to be coaching a strong squad for my first series in charge. We have tremendous depth with a blend of youth and experience. We want to continue to play in an expressive style and let our players showcase their skills and firepower. "Luke Wood deserves his call-up. He has been consistent for Lancashire over the past 12 months and we have been monitoring his progression. If given a chance to play, I'm sure he will make most of his opportunity. "This is a historic occasion for the sport and the first time England Men have played The Netherlands in an ODI series. We can't wait to head over to Amsterdam and put on a show for the thousands of fans travelling to support the team. "The ODI side has had limited opportunities and last played in July. However, with about 18 months to the next ICC 50 over World Cup in India, our preparation will start ramping up with nine matches over the summer and a busy winter ahead against strong opponents." The three-match ODI series, which are part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, starts a busy summer for England Men with Royal London Series against India and South Africa scheduled for later this summer. England ODI Squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Captain, Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Curran (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), David Payne (Gloucestershire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Luke Wood (Lancashire) ODI Series Schedule 1st ODI: The Netherlands v England, Friday 17 June, VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen 2nd ODI: The Netherlands v England, Sunday 19 June, VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen 3rd ODI: The Netherlands v England, Wednesday 22 June, VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen