Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): United States players Ali Khan and Jasdeep Singh, and Jersey’s Elliot Miles have been penalised for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off match in Windhoek on Tuesday. Khan will miss the USA’s next two ODIs or T20Is, whatever comes first, as his accumulated demerit points have reached four within a 24-month period following his latest Code of Conduct breach for which he received a 15 per cent fine and one demerit point. Khan was found to have breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.” Khan had received three demerit points for two separate incidents during a T20I match against Bermuda in November 2021 and with the addition of the latest demerit point, he has reached the threshold of four demerit points which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have been converted into two suspension points. Meanwhile, Singh has been fined 30 per cent of his match fee and handed two demerit points after he was found to have breached Article 2.12 of the Code, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match.” Miles has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point after he was found to have breached Article 2.3 of the Code, which relates to “use of an audible obscenity during an International Match.” Singh and Miles have not had any other offences in the previous 24-month period. All three players admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Owen Chirombe of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for formal hearings. On-field umpires Andrew Louw and Claus Schumacher, and third umpire David Odhiambo levelled the charges. Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): The United States of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have secured a place at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier after finishing in the top two places of an evenly contested, six-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off. USA finished on top of the table with four wins from their five matches, ahead of the UAE on head-to-head, who scored a final-day win over Jersey to level the USA on points. Hosts Namibia and Canada put in some strong performances but fell just short of progressing with three wins each from their five fixtures. Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus was named Player of the Tournament, with 279 runs in five games at an average of 69.75. USA’s Ali Khan topped the wicket charts with 16 wickets at an average of 12.37. The USA and UAE are now just one stage away from securing a guaranteed nine matches at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 that will be hosted in India later this year. USA captain Monank Patel said: “It's a great feeling to be able to progress to the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, even though we see this as a big accomplishment for USA Cricket, we the players also know that it's going to require lots of improvements for us to compete with the bigger teams. The players and support staff has worked tirelessly prior and during this event, and the hard work paid off. As I said prior to the play-offs, we have an opportunity to play in two World Cups in less than twelve months, and this group continues to believe and work towards that goal.” UAE captain Mohammad Waseem said: “We are absolutely delighted to confirm our spot for the qualifiers in Zimbabwe. Heading into the tournament in Namibia, we had a clear objective of delivering our best and playing positive and fearless cricket. I want to thank the players and our entire support staff for their untiring efforts that have resulted in our success.  “Our batters have been exceptional for us recently and the bowlers and fielders have backed them up really well. The entire team needs to perform at the same level and display the same commitment and passion for us to excel in Zimbabwe.” To reach the pinnacle global event of One-Day International cricket, USA and UAE will be vying with eight other teams in Zimbabwe for two places. These will include the three automatic qualifiers from ICC CWC League 2 - Scotland, Oman and Nepal - in addition to the bottom five-placed teams in the ICC ODI Super League. Currently, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies are confirmed to feature at the Qualifier in Zimbabwe, while Ireland must beat Bangladesh 3-0 in their upcoming Super League series to leapfrog South Africa and gain direct entry to the World Cup. The Qualifier will be the culmination of four years of hard-fought competition where 32 teams started out in search of a place at what will be the biggest ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ever.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): The United Arab Emirates have been fined 80 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Namibia in an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off match in Windhoek on Sunday. Owen Chirombe of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after the UAE were ruled to be four overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. UAE captain Mohammad Waseem pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires David Odhiambo and Christopher Phiri, and reserve umpire Isaac Oyieko leveled the charge.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has moved back to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings after leading his side to a 2-1 series victory over Pakistan in Sharjah. Rashid, who took a wicket each in the three matches conceding a total of 62 runs off his 12 overs, has overtaken Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga to take the top position among bowlers. Rashid grabbed the top spot for the first time in his career in February 2018 and was number one most recently in November last year. Mujeeb Ur Rehman, who grabbed two wickets each in the first and third matches, is another Afghanistan spinner to move up, from 10th to eighth position, while fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi’s five wickets in the series see him climb 12 places to a career-best third position. In the batting rankings, Ibrahim Zadran is up four places to 41st and Mohammad Nabi has progressed from 63rd to 58th position. Pakistan’s Imad Wasim, who struck an unbeaten 64 in the second match, has re-entered the batting rankings in 67th position while captain Shadab Khan’s Player of the Match effort of three for 13 in the third match has lifted him six places to 12th among bowlers. Mohammad Wasim is another Pakistan player to move up the bowling rankings, from 32nd to 23rd position. South Africa batters Rilee Rossouw (up two places to sixth) and Reeza Hendricks (up eight places to 12th) have also moved up the rankings while West Indies batter Johnston Charles is up 92 places to 17th after smashing 118 off 46 in the second match in Centurion that saw South Africa achieve a record target of 259 to win the match. In the ODI rankings, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa has moved up three places to a career best sixth position after his match-winning haul of four for 45 in the third game against India in Chennai while Player of the Series Mitchell Marsh has gained fours slots to reach 51st position among batters with an aggregate of 194 runs in the series. Alex Carey (up two places to 21st among batters) and Pat Cummins (up two places to 16th among bowlers) are other Australia players to advance. India captain Rohit Sharma has inched up one place to eighth and all-rounder Hardik Pandya is up 10 places to 76th among bowlers in the latest update that takes into consideration performances in the Chennai ODI, the last two Zimbabwe versus Netherlands matches, the third Bangladesh versus Ireland match and the first three matches of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off in Windhoek, Namibia. Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal (up two places to 20th), Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (up two places to 36th) and USA player Aaron Jones (up three places to 49th) are among those to make headway in the batting rankings while Namibia spinner Bernard Scholtz (up two places to 25th), USA left-arm seam bowler Saurabh Netravalkar (up five places to 27th) and Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarbani (up five places to 54th) are among those to advance in the bowling rankings.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): New Zealand’s premier batter Kane Williamson has moved back towards the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings while Australia’s Josh Hazlewood is the new No. 1 ODI bowler with India’s Mohammad Siraj slipping to third. Williamson, a formerly top-ranked batter, has moved up four slots to take second position in the list led by Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne after top scoring with 215 in an innings victory over Sri Lanka in Wellington that helped seal their two-match ICC World Test Championship series 2-0. Henry Nicholls, who scored 200 not out and featured in a triple-century partnership with Williamson, has also made rapid progress, moving up 20 places to 27th position. Captain Tim Southee (up one place to 11th) and Matt Henry (up four places to 31st) are the Kiwi players to advance in the bowling rankings. For Sri Lanka, captain Dimuth Karunaratne is in the top 10 with scores of 89 and 51 while Dinesh Chandimal has moved up one slot to 17th with scores of 37 and 62. In the ODI rankings, which considers performances in two matches each of the India-Australia, Bangladesh-Ireland and South Africa-West Indies series, as well as the first match between Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, Siraj has slipped behind Hazlewood and New Zealand’s Trent Boult after India’s 10-wicket loss to Australia in Visakhapatnam. Hazlewood, whose career best second position was attained for the first time in June 2017 and which he had kept since August 2022, is No. 1 in ODIs for the first time. Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc’s eight wickets in the two matches against India see him go to joint-third position with Siraj. Other bowlers to move up the ODI rankings include West Indies’ Alzarri Joseph (up eight places to 11th), India’s Mohammad Shami (up five places to 28th) and Netherlands’ Fred Klaasen (up 22 places to 52nd). In the batting rankings, Quinton de Kock, Shubman Gill and Steve Smith have made marginal progress within the top 10 while Shai Hope and Mushfiqur Rahim have advanced after smashing fine centuries this past week. Hope’s 128 not out in East London has lifted him two places to 12th position while Mushfiqur has gained four slots to reach 18th position after smashing Bangladesh’s fastest ODI century, a 60-ball 100 not out in Sylhet. The South African pair of Heinrich Klaasen (up 13 places to 30th) and Temba Bavuma (up 17 places to 33rd), Lokesh Rahul of India (up three places to 39th) and Australia’s Mitchell Marsh (up 24 places to 55th) have also moved up in the batting rankings.

Faraz Ahmed Kayani ISLAMABAD: The road to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is heating up as hosts Namibia will be joined by the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Papua New Guinea, Canada and Jersey in a round-robin format where the top two teams will earn a place at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier that will be hosted in Zimbabwe from 18 June - 9 July. The Playoff, which is two steps away from the World Cup, features the teams who placed in the bottom four places of the Men’s CWC League 2 and the top spots in the CWC Challenge League A and B respectively after four years of hard-fought competition and is the final opportunity at booking a place in the Zimbabwe Qualifier. Schedule: 26 March 2023 Namibia v USA 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground 27 March 2023 UAE v PNG 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground Jersey v Canada 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 29 March 2023 Canada v USA 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground PNG v Namibia 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 30 March 2023 Namibia v Jersey 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground USA v UAE 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 1 April 2023 UAE v Canada 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground PNG v Jersey 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 2 April 2023 PNG v USA 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground Namibia v UAE 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 4 April 2023 Canada v Namibia 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground USA v Jersey 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 5 April 2023 Jersey v UAE 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground Canada v PNG 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): The ICC has today revealed the names shortlisted for the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards for January 2023 following a blockbuster month of cricket which included a host of bilateral cricket across the globe, and the thrilling climax of the first-ever ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. ICC Women's Player of the Month nominees for January 2023 Phoebe Litchfield (Australia) After making her international debut in December, 19-year-old Litchfield has made a fast start to 2023, with confident knocks at the top of the order in Australia’s ODI series victory against Pakistan. In a dream ODI debut, the teenager top scored for the hosts with 78 not out to win the first match and claim the Player of the Match award. The second tie saw much of the same, an unbeaten 67 and a superb partnership with Beth Mooney helped Litchfield and her teammates claim a 10-wicket win and the series victory. Beth Mooney (Australia) Mooney has for so long been a reliable performer in the colours of Australia, and the nominee for the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in the ICC Awards 2022 picked up where she left off in January. The opener starred in the ODI series against Pakistan, picking up the Player of the Series award despite a slow start to the month. She secured the series win with a fine unbeaten half-century in the second ODI in Brisbane before smashing 133 in the final showdown, resulting in a 101-run victory. Not content with that, The Australian icon scored a further half-century in the subsequent T20I series against the tourists, reinforcing the threat she carries heading into the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which starts in a three days’ time. Grace Scrivens (England) The ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup ended with a flourish, and also set the platform for several young stars to establish themselves on the world stage. One of the shining lights from the tournament was England captain Grace Scrivens, whose leadership skills and individual brilliance took her side all the way to the Final of the inaugural edition. With the bat, she scored three successive half-centuries in victories against Rwanda, Ireland and West Indies and with ball in hand she took nine valuable wickets throughout the tournament at an average of 7.11, earning her the Player of the Tournament award. ICC Men’s Player of the Month Nominees for January: Devon Conway (New Zealand) Conway has become a multi-format talisman for New Zealand in recent years, and he started 2023 in similar style. The opener, who was the ICC Men’s Player of the Month back in June 2021, scored almost 500 runs during the period, with centuries in Test cricket and ODI cricket against strong opposition. Karachi saw Conway’s first and second centuries of the month – a fine 122 not out in the dramatic second Test against Pakistan was followed up with a gritty 101 in a convincing ODI win on a tricky pitch. The opener then carried this form into the series against India, where he ended the month with a brisk 138 from 100 balls where he provided strong resistance against an impressive India bowling attack. Shubman Gill (India) Another talented youngster named among the nominees for Men’s Player of the Month, Gill secures his first nomination for the award on the back of a superb month, most notably in ODI cricket. Scoring 567 ODI runs during the period at an astonishing average of 113.40, his entertaining and powerful strokeplay saw him hit three-figures on three occasions. In a month full of highlights, arguably his best outing was a glittering 208 not out in the series opener against New Zealand in Hyderabad, coming in just 149 balls with 28 boundaries. As well as his successful ODI exploits, Gill churned out 76 runs in T20I cricket during the month. Mohammed Siraj (India) Siraj’s rise to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI bowler rankings has been nothing short of meteoric. Having only made one appearance in ODI’s before last year, Siraj has been a constant performer in the past 12 months, earning him a spot in the recently announced ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year for 2022, and now finds himself at the top of the rankings after another excellent month. Siraj played in 5 ODIs during January, against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, taking 14 wickets at a remarkable average of 10.57 which included back-to-back four-wicket hauls against the two touring sides.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): Pakistan icon Babar Azam on Thursday revealed the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, as well as scooping the Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year prize. Earlier, Pakistan duo Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf were named in the ICC Men’s T20I team of the year while all-rounder Nida Dar was included in the ICC Women’s T20I team of the year. Babar Azam – Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy By winning the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, Babar becomes the second winner from Pakistan in consecutive years, emulating the feat of his teammate Shaheen Shah Afridi, who won the prize in 2021. Babar also set new records in 2022, not least becoming the first, and still the only, player to win the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award on two occasions. Picking up where he left off in 2021, Babar enjoyed another momentous year, captaining his side to two Finals, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. At the crease, he piled on the runs in all formats, scoring over 2,500 international runs across ODIs, T20Is and Tests, ending the year as the leading run-scorer in the latter. The Pakistan batter also claims the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award for a second successive year – the first to do this since Virat Kohli in 2017 and 2018. Babar consolidated his position atop the ODI batter rankings thanks to his staggering scoring consistency, registering 679 runs in 9 matches at an average of 84.87. Within these numbers came notable performances against the likes of Australia, West Indies and New Zealand. Reacting to the awards, Babar said: “I feel humbled to have been voted as winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and join the ranks of some of the most iconic and respected names who have previously won the biggest and most prestigious individual award in our great sport. I continue to look up to these players as well as champions of the past for inspiration, motivation and improvement. “As cricket is a team sport, this recognition and achievement would not have been possible without the overwhelming support of my family, team, fans and the institution, to all of whom I am greatly indebted and thankful. “Every match I played for Pakistan has been special and memorable, but the most satisfying and accomplishing aspect for me was to compete and perform in front of my home fans against Australia, England and New Zealand’s touring sides. Of course, reaching the finals of two major tournaments in the United Arab Emirates and Australia were also some of the highlights for me and my team, and we hope to do better this year, which is going to be equally demanding but highly rewarding.”

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): India fast bowler Mohammad Siraj has grabbed the top position for bowlers in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings after a superb show in the home series against New Zealand which his team won 3-0 to take No.1 position in the team rankings. The 28-year-old took five wickets in the two matches that he played in, including a haul of four for 46 in the first ODI on his home ground of Hyderabad. This followed another fruitful series against Sri Lanka, in which he had finished with nine wickets to move up to number three. Other Indian bowlers to be No. 1 in the ODI rankings are Kapil Dev, Maninder Singh, Anil Kumble, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. Siraj’s new-ball partner in the New Zealand series, Mohammad Shami, too has moved up the rankings, up 11 places to 32nd position after taking four wickets in two matches. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and seam bowler Shardul Thakur have reaped the gains of finishing with six wickets each in the series. Yadav has moved from 21st to 19th while Thakur has progressed five places and is 35th. Opener Shubman Gill led the charge of India’s batters as he stormed into the top 10 for the first time. His Player of the Series effort of 360 runs, that included a double-century and a century, has lifted him 20 spots to sixth position. He is now the leading India batter in the rankings, one slot above Virat Kohli. Captain Rohit Sharma’s 186 runs in the series have helped him move up two slots to eighth position while all-rounder Hardik Pandya has progressed in all three lists. He is up six places to 75th among batters, has gained 26 slots to reach 80th position among bowlers and has moved from 32nd to17th in the list of all-rounders. Michael Bracewell, who was the leading run-scorer for New Zealand with 188 runs, has rocketed 71 places to 85th position while Devon Conway has moved up from 50th to 37th. In the latest weekly update which also considers performances in the three-match series between Zimbabwe and Ireland that was drawn 1-1, Ireland batter Harry Tector has advanced 12 places to 13th position after leading the series aggregate with 176 runs. Zimbabwe star Sikandar Raza (up two places to 31st) is another batter to progress after the series while Ireland seam bowlers Joshua Little and Mark Adair have both advanced after finishing with five wickets each in the series. Little has progressed 27 places to 33rd position and Adair is up 46 places to 57th.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): The International Cricket Council (ICC) today completed announcements of the ICC Teams of the Year, a feature of the ICC Awards 2022 which captures the best combined XIs across the different formats of men’s and women’s international cricket after an action-packed year of competition. ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year: 1 Usman Khawaja (Aus) 2 Kraigg Brathwaite (WI) 3 Marnus Labuschagne (Aus) 4 Babar Azam (Pak) 5 Jonny Bairstow (Eng) 6 Ben Stokes (c) (Eng) 7 Rishabh Pant (wk) (Ind) 8 Pat Cummins (Aus) 9 Kagiso Rabada (SA) 10 Nathan Lyon (Aus) 11 James Anderson (Eng) ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year: 1 Alyssa Healy (wk) (Aus) 2 Smriti Mandhana (Ind) 3 Laura Wolvaardt (SA) 4 Nat Sciver (Eng) 5 Beth Mooney (Aus) 6 Harmanpreet Kaur (c) (Ind) 7 Amelia Kerr (NZ) 8 Sophie Ecclestone (Eng) 9 Ayabonga Khaka (SA) 10 Renuka Singh (Ind) 11 Shabnim Ismail (SA) ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year: 1 Babar Azam (c) (Pak) 2 Travis Head (Aus) 3 Shai Hope (WI) 4 Shreyas Iyer (Ind) 5 Tom Latham (wk) (NZ) 6 Sikandar Raza (Zim) 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Ban) 8 Alzarri Joseph (WI) 9 Mohammed Siraj (Ind) 10 Trent Boult (NZ) 11 Adam Zampa (Aus) ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year: 1 Smriti Mandhana (Ind) 2 Beth Mooney (Aus) 3 Sophie Devine (c) (NZ) 4 Ash Gardner (Aus) 5 Tahlia McGrath (Aus) 6 Nida Dar (Pak) 7 Deepti Sharma (Ind) 8 Richa Ghosh (wk) (Ind) 9 Sophie Ecclestone (Eng) 10 Inoka Ranaweera (SL) 11 Renuka Singh (Ind) ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year: 1 Jos Buttler (c) (wk) (Eng) 2 Mohammad Rizwan (Pak) 3 Virat Kohli (Ind) 4 Suryakumar Yadav (Ind) 5 Glenn Phillips (NZ) 6 Sikandar Raza (Zim) 7 Hardik Pandya (Ind) 8 Sam Curran (Eng) 9 Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) 10 Haris Rauf (Pak) 11 Josh Little (Ire)