Games – Page 267 – Newswire Pakistan

October 3, 2022October 4, 2022

PCB-Bank Alfalah enter school cricket partnership

Lahore, October 03, 2022 (PPI-OT):In order to revive school cricket across the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board and Bank Alfalah have entered a four-year partnership. The signing ceremony between the two parties was held today at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. As per the partnership agreement, the PCB and Bank Alfalah will jointly organise a school tournament each year in which 120 schools (to be shortlisted by the PCB) will participate.

The PCB and Bank Alfalah will conduct nationwide school drives for making program-based interventions to harness and nurture youth with a strong passion for cricket.

With the growth of the partnership over the four-year period, the school participation will increase to 900 schools across the country as part of PCB’s grand plan of developing and sustaining a quality schools competition that will not only identify but will also nurture and groom future cricket stars.

A total of 105 PCB designated and approved grounds will be used for school cricket tournaments in this four-year period.

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja: “We have entered another exciting partnership for the development of cricket. School cricket was one of our strengths in the years gone by but unfortunately we were not able to sustain organised and effective school cricket systems in recent years.

“As such, this partnership is monumental for us and I want to thank Bank Alfalah for aligning with us in the much needed initiative. Our aim is not only to revive school cricket but also to develop and sustain it for a long period.

“So many of our superstars of the 70s, and 80s were products of school cricket. This partnership will develop and groom the superstars of tomorrow. In the last one year, we have made unprecedented investment in pathway and grassroots cricket and this investment will surely benefit Pakistan cricket for the next decade or two.”

President and CEO Bank Alfalah Atif Bajwa: “Bank Alfalah stands proud of its longstanding partnership with PCB and together we’ve continued to support the shared passion for cricket in all these years working in collaboration.

“The current performance of the cricket team is a testament to the devotion and determination of Pakistanis taking the sport to newer heights. At the heart of our partnership lies the idea to help build future cricketers and provide them with the opportunities to shine at the national as well as international level.”

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

October 2, 2022October 3, 2022

Singapore, Hong Kong register easy wins to secure berth in semi-finals

Dubai, October 02, 2022 (PPI-OT):Singapore and Hong Kong registered convincing victories over Thailand and Qatar respectively to assure themselves of a spot in the semi-finals of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Division 2 Asia Qualifier at the Oman Cricket Academy (OCA) grounds on Sunday. In the Group B action, Hong Kong wrapped up the proceedings early in the day against Qatar as they raced to an eight-wicket victory while Singapore posted an emphatic 167-run win over Thailand.

With two successive wins for both Singapore and Thailand, the game between them on Tuesday will decide the group topper. The winner of Group B will take on the loser of Monday’s Group a match between Oman and Bahrain while the loser of Thailand and Singapore match will face the winner of Group a match in the semi-finals. At the OCA 1 ground, Singapore elected to bat first and the batters made merry as they scored 248/6 in 50 overs.

Last match centurion, Sidhant Srikanth continued his rich vein of form as he hammered an unbeaten 72 off 80 balls. His inning was studded with five boundaries and a maximum. Vihaan Maheshwari was the other half-centurion with a solid 52 off 79 balls. Handy contributions from Pratham Somani, Aaryan Modi, Pranav Maheshwari and Abhuday Chhajer, helped Singapore reach a formidable total. Wiraphan Ngowhuad was the most successful bowler (2/41).

Chasing a tough target, except for Thailand skipper Chaloemwong Chatphaisan, none of the other batters could stay at the crease. Except for Chatphaisan’s 51, none could reach double digits as they were bowled out for 81 in 33.4 overs. Singapore captain Jeevan Santhanam was the pick of the bowlers with 4/25. Equally impressive was Adwitya Bhargava, who claimed 3/6 in 4.4 overs.

Player of the match Sidhant Srikanth said: “Going into the match, which was a must-win game for us, I feel that we performed very well under pressure. “We are looking forward to the next game and the semis. We would like to finish on top of the table and then win the semis to qualify into the Division 1 Qualifier. If we play to our potential, we can beat any team here.”

Vora, Bhagwat shine for Hong Kong Hong Kong’s Darsh Vora ran through the Qatar top-order to leave them reeling at four for three in just 4.2 overs. The early collapse never allowed Qatar to bounce back as they were bowled out for 123 in 40.1 overs. Tailender Luqman Mehmood top-scored with 24 to help his team cross the 100-mark. Captain Jack Joseph made 22 and was one of the three victims of Aarush Garg, who took 3/18.

Hong Kong were never in trouble in reaching the target as they chased it down in 27 overs for the loss of two wickets – the openers – who fell to Aryan Surani in the same over. Parth Bhagwat and Ansh Doshi then shared a 101-run third-wicket partnership to lead the team to victory as they scored 127/2. Doshi was unbeaten on 39 off 51 deliveries while Bhagwat’s knock of 61 was laced with ten boundaries.

Player of the match Bhagwat said: We are really happy with the way the team played today. We wanted to bowl first and to restrict Qatar to 123 was a good job by our bowlers. It was a good batting wicket and I am glad to get some runs and along with Ansh it was a nice performance ahead of the final round league match.

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

October 2, 2022October 3, 2022

Second round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy begins tomorrow

Lahore, October 02, 2022 (PPI-OT):The first round of the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23 was a productive one for the batters as seven centuries and 17 half-centuries were scored across three matches. The exciting bit – that sheds light on the quality of young cricketers – is the fact that five of the seven centuries were scored by the batters under the age of 30 and three of those five batters were 19-year-old Abdul Faseeh, 20-year-old Mubasir Khan (both Northern) and 23-year-old Abdullah Shafique of Central Punjab.

While Abdullah has broken into the Test side and established his credentials – most recently with a phenomenal 160 not out in the highest ever Test run chase at Galle this summer – the knocks of Faseeh and Mubasir underscore the depth of talent in the first-class player pool. Faseeh stroked his maiden century in only second first-class match and Mubasir, after winning the player of the tournament award in the previous edition, continued from where he left with a sparkling 170 not out.

Two of the three matches produced results in the opening round – Asad Shafiq’s Balochistan and Nauman Ali’s Northern beat title defenders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Southern Punjab, respectively, on the last day. Central Punjab and Sindh played out a draw. The three second round matches will run from 3-6 October in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Abbottabad. Balochistan v Central Punjab – Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Balochistan, after a 134-run win, will be high on confidence when they take on Central Punjab at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in front of HD cameras that will be live stream the action on the PCB’s official YouTube channel. It was Balochistan’s youngsters who played a huge role in the side’s win with fast bowler Khurram Shahzad returning the match figures of seven for 128 and batters Abdul Wahid Bangalzai and Haseebullah – both 20 – scoring half-centuries. Their captain, Asad, will hope that the trio stretch their form in the second round.

Central Punjab – who bagged 13 points against Sindh in the first round match – will be hoping to produce a result-oriented performance. Test batter Abdullah’s maiden first-class double-century in the first innings followed by 61 in the second innings and Tayyab Tahir’s 152 in the second innings was the highlight for Central Punjab. While Mohammad Saad will be hopeful that Abdullah, Tayyab, and Aamer Yamin, who scored 70 in the first innings, continue to add to their tally, he would also want other batters to step up and his bowlers to pick up 20 wickets so his side bags 16 crucial victory points.

Northern v Sindh – Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Northern, the finalists of the last 2021-22 edition, had a great start with 25 points – the most bagged by a team in the first round. Dominating all four days, Northern became the first side to enforce a follow-on as they skittled Southern Punjab for 269 after setting a huge 529 for five in the first innings. While Faseeh and Mubasir made centuries, experienced Umar Amin and Sarmad Bhatti were also amongst runs with half-centuries. In the bowling department, their captain, Nauman Ali, was duly supported by young left-arm orthodox Mehran Mumtaz, who took five wickets in his side’s opening match.

Fawad Alam’s remarkable 42nd first-class century and Sarfaraz Ahmed’s half-century rescued Sindh in the first innings and Saud Shakeel will consider himself lucky to have the services of these experienced Test cricketers. Saim Ayub’s bat continued to ooze runs – after his phenomenal batting at the top of the order led Sindh to their maiden National T20 title – as the 20-year-old made 71.

Sindh are high on confidence after starting the 2022-23 season with a surreal win and promise to give a tough time to Northern, who have played two of the three finals. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab – Abbottabad Cricket Stadium Both the sides will be eager to undo their errors of the first round and stage a strong comeback.

While Southern Punjab were outclassed by Northern at the Iqbal Stadium this week, there were few positives for them to take inspiration from. Opener Zain Abbas scored a valiant century in the first innings, while Imran Rafiq and Usman Salahuddin scored half-centuries in the second. On the other hand, Khalid Usman’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also look to capitalise on the positives which include a century and a half-century from Kamran Ghulam and Arshad Iqbal’s six wickets in the match.

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

October 1, 2022October 2, 2022

Australia Women consolidate top position in ODIs and T20Is after annual update

Dubai, October 01, 2022 (PPI-OT):Australia have established a record margin at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings while also increasing their lead in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings, after the annual update carried out on Saturday.

Australia have stretched their lead over South Africa from 48 to 51 rating points in the ODI rankings, which is the biggest lead ever by any international men’s or women’s side in any form of the game, while their lead over second-placed T20I team England has increased from 14 to 18 rating points.

There is no change of positions in the ODI rankings in the latest update, which expunges results from the 2018-19 season, weights the 2019-20 and 2020-2021 seasons at 50 per cent and the 2021-22 matches at 100 per cent.

Australia have gained three rating points and sit comfortably at 170, with South Africa (119), England (116), India (104) and New Zealand (101) the other teams holding three-figure rating points.

In T20Is, Australia are on 299 rating points, stretching their lead over second-placed England from 14 to 18 rating points. New Zealand and India maintain their third and fourth positions, while South Africa have overtaken the West Indies to fifth position.

In other notable movements, Tanzania and Nepal have progressed two slots each to reach 15th and 16th positions, respectively, Namibia have moved up from 21st to 17th and Hong Kong from 24th to 20th.

Jersey (up from 28th to 22nd), Italy (up from 38th to 28th) and Mozambique (up from 45th to 33rd) are some of the other big movers in the update.

Meanwhile, the number of ranked teams has fallen from 60 to 48 with eight teams not having played at all over the past three years and four others not meeting the requirement of six matches.

China, Fiji, Japan, Mali, Myanmar, Samoa, South Korea and Vanuatu have not played during this period while Indonesia, Mexico, Norway and Papua New Guinea (PNG) have played less than six matches.

October 1, 2022October 3, 2022

Oman, Bahrain win to reach semi-finals

Dubai, October 01, 2022 (PPI-OT):Oman and Bahrain recorded their second successive victories on Saturday to assure themselves of a berth in the semifinals of the ongoing ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Division -2 Asia Qualifier at the Oman Cricket Academy (OCA) grounds. Both Oman and Bahrain had it easy in their respective Group A matches as the hosts defeated Saudi Arabia by six wickets while Bahrain beat Bhutan by 169 runs.

At the OCA 2 ground, Oman skipper Arjun Dhiman elected to bowl first after winning the toss and his bowlers justified the decision as Saudi Arabia batters were left struggling against some tidy bowling. Saudi openers were back in the hut in five overs with the team’s total only 13.

Sashwath Prasad and Zuhair then did some repair work as they shared a 34-run third-wicket partnership. Following Prasad’s departure, there were no big partnerships as Oman spinners put a firm stranglehold. Zuher top-scored with a sedate 29 off 70 deliveries.

Aryan Bisht mesmerizing spell of 4/19, including a maiden, had the Saudi batters in all sorts of trouble. Bisht was supported by medium pacer Mohammed Arafat Islam who picked up two early wickets. Glen Alexei Menezes, the left-arm spinner, claimed 2/14 as Saudi Arabia were bowled out for 103 in 37.3 overs. A sizeable contribution in Saudi total came from extras with Oman conceding 21 including 20 wades.

With a modest target, Oman lost an early wicket in the seventh over when Lakshmi Satish departed for seven. Though Oman lost couple more wickets, they were never in trouble as they chased down the target in 27 overs scoring 104/4.

Skipper Arjun Dhiman top-scored with 32 while Aditya Gurumukhi (23 no.), Devansh Loya (16) and Aryan Bisht (13) were the other run-getters. Aryan Bisht, Player of the match, said: “It was a positive approach by everyone in the team. It’s quite impressive to have performed collectively in both the games. The wicket was spin-friendly and we stuck to a plan to reap the rewards. I hope we keep this winning momentum.

“It’s great feeling to have contributed to the team’s victory and I am looking forward to more such opportunities ahead.” Captain’s knock by Bahrain’s Ashwin A skipper’s knock by Aryan Ashwin led Bahrain to a comfortable victory over Bhutan at the OCA 1 ground on Saturday. Batting first, Ashwin slammed a solid half-century (56 off 95 balls) to lay the foundation of a good score as Bahrain batters relished the rival attack.

With the middle-order batters – Rishabh Ramesh (28), Aaryan Koul (36) and Muhammad Ali (30) – making handy contributions, Bahrain consolidated their strong start. A late flurry of strokes by the lower-order duo of Abhinav Girish (27) and Vishwaesh Gurumurthy (28) saw the team end their innings at 244/9.

The target was always going to be a challenge for Bhutan as they lost quick wickets to be 25/5 at the end of the 21st over. Some late contributions by Karma Dorji (18) and Tashi Chophel (14) took the team past the 50-mark as the team was bowled out for 75 in 33.1 overs.

Shashank Shukla was the wrecker-in-chief with 4/25 while Nadith Tennakoon bagged 3/23. Muhammad Ali was economical and effective with 2/8 in his five overs. Aryan Ashwin, Bahrain skipper and Player of the match, said: “It was a team effort. A good victory that will keep our morale high. While batters did their job, the bowlers also did well to bowl out the opposition. We are all confident going into the semi-finals and feel we can win the tournament if we play to our potential.”

Both Oman and Bahrain have four points each after two successive wins and their clash on Monday will decide the Group a topper. Saudi Arabia will take on Bhutan on the same day to complete their group engagements before flying back.

On Sunday, Thailand will take on Singapore while Hong Kong will meet Qatar in Group B matches. Both Hong Kong and Singapore have won their opening round matches and a win on Sunday will assure themselves of a place in the semi-finals.

October 1, 2022October 3, 2022

PCB-BRB Group partnership for Pathway Programme unveiled

Lahore, October 01, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Pakistan Cricket Board and BRB Group partnership for the PCB Pathway Programme was unveiled at the board’s headquarters, the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore today.

Through this partnership, the BRB Group will sponsor monthly stipends of the 100 players involved in the PCB Pathway Programme. The partnership is aimed at supporting the PCB’s initiative of providing financial comfort to the participants and their parents in the pursuit of their cricketing dreams. The stipend will be of great value to the players especially the ones hailing from underprivileged backgrounds all across the country.

“The PCB Pathway Programme participants are being provided a life time opportunity of training with some of the best foreign coaches in a world-class high performance environment. “These players will now showcase their talent at the Pakistan Junior League from next week. Through the PJL platform and the partnership with BRB we are ensuring that the players and their parents get adequate financial help and support.

“Our partnership with BRB is a long term asset-building alliance. In the years ahead, these youngsters will represent Pakistan at the senior stage and compete with the best in the world. Their success will bring a lot of joy and satisfaction to the PCB, our fans and supporters of Pakistan cricket.”

“The BRB Group is delighted to associate with the PCB Pathway Programme. The programme is indeed a revolutionary concept that has the potential to shape the future of Pakistan cricket. We closely followed the progress of the first camp last month, we are very pleased with the way the programme is being run especially the involvement of world-class foreign coaches.

“This PCB Pathway Programme will bring great rewards to Pakistan cricket in the coming years as these players are set to serve us for a long time. Cricket unites the country and the team’s success is often a morale booster for the entire nation. By contributing for the development of our future stars, we are making a long term commitment which is very exciting for the BRB Group.”

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