Day: June 17, 2023

Lahore, June 17, 2023 (PPI-OT):Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi returns to Pakistan’s Test squad for the two-match away series against Sri Lanka next month. The men’s national selection committee has also included uncapped batter Mohammad Huraira and all-rounder Aamir Jamal in the 16-strong squad for what will be Pakistan’s first assignment in the third cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc and wk), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood

The squad has been designed keeping in mind the conditions that the team will encounter in Sri Lanka. The team boasts four spinners, four fast bowlers, six specialist batters and two keeper-batters.

Shaheen is one wicket away from reaching a century of Test wickets and no Pakistan bowler has picked up more wickets than him since the left-armer made his debut on 3 December 2018. Shaheen, 23, averages 24.86 and has an economy of 3.04.

Expressing his pleasure to be back in the Test side, Shaheen said: “I am very excited to be returning to the Pakistan Test side after a year. I dearly missed Test cricket and it was tough for me to be away from this format.

“After missing our entire home season because of the injury I suffered in Sri Lanka, I am eager to make an impactful comeback in the same country and complete a century of wickets in Test cricket. I want to thank my fans who have provided me support in tough times and I am ready for the challenges ahead.”

Huraira has played 24 first-class, 10 List A and six T20s and he has earned the spot after an impressive run. He was the leading run-scorer in the last two iterations of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. In the 2022-23 edition, the 21-year-old, who hails from Sialkot, was the only batter to breach the 1000-run mark, playing an integral role in helping Northern to maiden first-class title. In 11 matches, Huraira smashed four centuries and two half-centuries on his way to 1,024 runs at an average of 73.14.

He continued his first-class form on the tour of Zimbabwe last month scoring 178 and 64 against Zimbabwe A at Kwekwe and Mutare.

He holds the record for being the second youngest batter to score a first-class triple-century in Pakistan, behind legendary Javed Miandad. Huraira achieved the feat in the 2021-22 season, hitting 311 off 343 in Northern’s thumping win of an innings and 170 runs over Balochistan at the State Bank Ground, Karachi.

Huraira will be joined by his Northern and Shaheens’ teammate Aamir. The 27-year-old, who hails from Mianwali, topped the wicket-takers chart for the fast bowlers in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23, taking 31 scalps at 29.71 and recorded two five-wicket hauls. He was the leading wicket-taker in the recent six-match One-Day series between Zimbabwe Select and Pakistan Shaheens with 16 dismissals at an average of 21.

Aamir’s career’s highlight, however, was defending 15 runs in the last over against England’s Moeen Ali on his Pakistan debut in September last year. Aamir’s immaculate death bowling helped Pakistan to a thrilling six-run win over England in the fifth T20 International of the seven-match series. Aamir has the experience of two T2oIs, 23 first-class, 23 List A and 20 T20s.

Reflecting on the squad, Haroon Rashid, the national men’s chief selector, said: “I want to congratulate all the players who have been selected in the side, especially Mohammad Huraira and Aamir Jamal who have pushed their case through impressive performances over a period of time.

“We have devised this squad with the conditions and challenges that our players will encounter in Sri Lanka. This is our first series of the third round of the ICC World Test Championship and this squad is fully capable of providing us a solid start.

“The conditions in Sri Lanka largely favour finger spinners – something that we have seen over the years and during Pakistan’s last visit to the island – so we have three such bowlers to go with the mystery spin of Abrar Ahmed. At the same time, we cannot overlook the need for fast bowlers and, as such, we have included four pacers so the captain and team management have ample resources on the tour. We boast a strong batting line-up, which I am confident will do well in the two matches.

“The players who have missed out on the selection should not get bogged down as they firmly remain part of our plans. We have an exciting and challenging season ahead of us and they should make the most of the opportunities in domestic cricket and Shaheens’ tours to keep themselves ready.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board has also announced the appointment of Morne Morkel as the national side’s bowling coach. The former South Africa pacer has joined the national side on a six-month contract. Over the course of his 11-year-long international career, Morkel took 309 wickets in 86 Tests, 188 wickets in 117 ODIs and 47 scalps in 44 T20Is. His last international game was in Lahore for World XI against Pakistan in September 2017.

Player support personnel: Rehan-ul-Haq (team manager), Grant Bradburn (head coach), Andrew Puttick (batting coach), Morne Morkel (bowling coach), Aftab Khan (fielding coach), Abdul Rehman (assistant coach), Drikus Saaiman (strength and conditioning coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi (media and digital content manager), Lt Col Usman Anwari (Retd) (security manager), Talha Ejaz (analyst) and Malang Ali (masseur).

Pakistan will assemble in Karachi on 3 July for a camp ahead of their departure for Sri Lanka on 9 July. The itinerary of the tour will be announced by Sri Lanka Cricket in due course.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka last played a Test series in July 2022 that was drawn 1-1.

For more information, contact:

Media Manager,

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)

Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 54600, Pakistan

Tel: +92-42-5717231-4

Fax: +92-42-5711860

Website: www.pcb.com.pk

Dubai, June 17, 2023 (PPI-OT):The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 is set to begin in Harare as captains of the 10 teams came together to experience Zimbabwe’s local wildlife ahead of the event that will be played from 18 June – 9 July.

Each match will be high stakes, with teams contesting for two places at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India that gives the two victors nine guaranteed matches at cricket’s ODI global showpiece.

While the players will be the main attraction when the Qualifier begins tomorrow, the captains were keen spectators at the official photoshoot at Wild is Life sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to rescued animal orphans, including elephants, giraffes and lions and aims to rehabilitate these animals back into the wild.

The cricket will again take centre stage as Group A gets underway, with a full-house expected when hosts Zimbabwe take on Nepal at Harare Sports Club. Also on the opening matchday, two-time champions West Indies face neighbours United States at Takashinga. All matches commence at 09h00 local time.

The Netherlands are the final team from Group A and will play their opening match on Tuesday, 20 June against Zimbabwe.

There is another World Cup winning outfit in Group B, with 1996 champions Sri Lanka kicking off proceedings in Bulawayo against the United Arab Emirates on Monday, 19 June. Sri Lanka and UAE are joined in Group B by Ireland, Oman and Scotland.

Each team has played two warm-up fixtures, with the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka winning two from two, while the Netherlands and Nepal will also both enter the group stages on the back of victories in their second fixture.

QUOTES FROM THE CAPTAINS

Zimbabwe Captain Craig Ervine: “Preparations have been excellent leading up to the tournament. There is some really exciting cricket coming up and exciting players to watch in Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani and Sean Williams. It’s going to be a great tournament.”

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie: “We are really looking forward to playing cricket in Zimbabwe, it is a great place to play. We were here in January, playing some ODIs and T20s. Having played in this competition before in 2018 I know how cutthroat it is so we have to be at our best for a long period of time.”

Nepal Captain Rohit Paudel: “For the past couple of years we have been really working hard for this tournament and finally we have got this opportunity. We respect this opportunity and we want to make the most of it. We all are very excited to play against some good cricketing nations and are looking forward to the tournament.”

Netherlands Captain Scott Edwards: I am confident with the squad we have brought to Zimbabwe. We have prepared for these conditions and had success in our practice matches heading into the tournament. These World Cup Qualifiers are always tough but we believe the brand of cricket we are playing is capable of winning this tournament.

Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood: “We have been preparing well to acclimatize and adapt to the conditions in Zimbabwe. We certainly are looking forward to playing the highest order of competitive cricket at this marquee event and will make our country proud. The Qualifiers is certainly a platform for us as well to inspire the sport of cricket in Oman.”

Scotland captain Richie Berrington: ‘’Preparations in Harare have gone well, and we appreciate the hospitality so far. We are aware that each game will have its own challenges, however we have a great mix of experience and youth within the squad to be successful in the tournament.”

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka: “We are very confident of doing well in the Qualifiers and used the two warm-ups to get our boys into match situations, and the team is looking forward to the games coming up. We also know that every team taking part in this competition is aiming to win, which means that no opponent can be taken lightly, especially in a crucial tournament such as this, and we are well aware of it.”

UAE Captain Mohammad Waseem: “We are fully focused and committed on giving our absolute best in the tournament. We are aware of what lies ahead for us in terms of the pedigree and experience of our opponents. We also have some incredibly talented youngsters in Ali Naseer, Jawadullah and Aayan Afzal Khan and I have no doubt that they will showcase their talent and prove their worth to the side in these big games.”

USA captain Monank Patel: “It’s a huge 12 months for cricket in the USA starting with this Qualifier and leading into the T20 World Cup that we will co-host next year. We are all feeling positive about our chances here in Zimbabwe and look forward to showing what we are capable of on the world stage. We can feel something special growing in this group and this event is the perfect springboard for us to take our cricket to the next level.”

West Indies captain Shai Hope: “Preparation has been going well. As a team, we are focusing on mindset and consistent execution. We have a number of impact players, so any one of them can win us a game at any stage of the tournament.”

COMPETITION FORMAT

The top three sides in each group will advance to the Super Six stage, with the bottom two sides in each group playing off to decide the seventh to 10th placings.

At the Super Six stage, the teams will play the three qualifiers from the other group, with the two results against teams from their own group carrying forward from the group stage. The Super Six stage will commence on 29 June and for the first time in this tournament, DRS will be used for all matches from this stage onwards.

The top two teams after the Super Six stage will be able to book their tickets to India as the two qualifiers for the Cricket World Cup 2023.

They will also play off to be crowned Qualifiers champion in the final on 9 July.

For more information, contact:

Headquarters,

International Cricket Council (ICC)

Street 69, Dubai Sports City,

Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE

Phone: +97-143828800

Fax: +97-143828600

E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com

Website: www.icc-cricket.com