Category: Games

Lahore, September 27, 2022 (PPI-OT):The advertisers are dressing up the iconic Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday. The production crew is zipping between the FC College and Pavilion End to lay their equipment at the designated areas. The hour has arrived – England are in the city to play their first match in Lahore since December 2005, an ODI affair they lost by seven wickets, and they play Pakistan tomorrow (Wednesday) in the fifth of the seven T20Is.

Pakistan and England arrived in the city yesterday afternoon after four riveting T20Is in Karachi. After what will go down as the comeback for the ages by Pakistan, the series stands level at 2-2 and it is upon Lahore, fondly referred to as the ‘heart of the country’ in the subcontinent literature, to decide the winners.

Heavy afternoon showers deprived the two sides of a first look at the ground, so they enter match five with a few unknowns, something that promises to add spice to tomorrow’s face-off.

The four Karachi matches were played in front of full houses, and the Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan’s home of cricket, promises the same electric atmosphere.

Pakistan enter the Lahore leg with momentum behind them after they pulled off a miraculous three-run victory in the final over, courtesy extraordinary death over bowling from Haris Rauf and an acrobatic Shan Masood run out.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan – the most successful opening pair in the history of T20Is – were phenomenal in Karachi, accumulating 50 runs inside powerplay in three of the four matches.

Babar brought an end to a string of low scores in the second T20I with an incredible century in what was the highest run chase without losing a wicket and Rizwan – who has scored the most runs in the format since the start of 2021 – comes to Lahore after smashing three half-centuries in four matches. The wicketkeeper is the leading run-getter in the series with 252 at 84 runs per dismissal and a strike rate of over 142.

Shan scored his maiden half-century in just his second innings – albeit in a losing cause. But, Shan reaching the 50-run mark in just 28 balls augurs well for Pakistan.

Babar will hope that Haris continues to do what he had done in the last four matches. The fast bowler took six wickets – the most in the series to date – at a staggering economy of 7.75, considering he bowls in the powerplay and death.

It is England’s youngsters who have been one of the talking points in this series. Twenty-three-year-old Harry Brook rose to the occasion in the first T20I and helped England chase down a whirlwind 25-ball 42 not out, and he partnered with Ben Duckett in the third to set the largest total to be scored at the venue and script England’s eventual 63-run win.

The fact that the series is playing the build-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup adds more flavour as the two teams finalise their combinations ahead of the all-important tournament. Both teams fly out immediately after the seventh match – Pakistan fly to New Zealand to play the hosts and Bangladesh in a tri-series and England take on Australia in Australia.

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

Lahore, September 27, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pakistan women’s team will fly out from Lahore for Bangladesh via Dubai in the wee hours of 28 September to feature in ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup. The seven-team tournament will be played in Sylhet, Bangladesh from October 1, the final of the tournament will be played on 15 October.

The Bismah Maroof-led side had practiced and trained for 10 days at the Lahore Country Club, Muridke. The players went through rigorous nets sessions and scenario-based matches, besides undergoing bowling and batting drills.

Captain Bismah Maroof: “Our previous series didn’t go well, so we will try to rebuild our side and restart our winning streak. Our coaches have worked really hard on players in the camp and we will try to execute the practice in the matches in the tournament.

“The tournament format is such that it provides a number of matches to the players which will ultimately help us to get ourselves ready for next year’s World Cup. We will not be complacent, every team in the tournament will come fully prepared, and we will try to produce good results.

“Match against India is an important match, but before that we have other games. We will try to gain momentum in the tournament, and once it is with us, we will look forward to the game against India.”

Before the Muridke camp, right-arm pacer Fatima Sana was ruled out of the tournament due to ankle injury. When asked how much she will be missed in the tournament, Bismah replied, “Fatima has remained a vital part of the side, her absence is a setback for us, but at the same time it is a great opportunity for other players to step up and play a role in winning matches for the side.”

The seven-team tournament format is such that each team will play the other once before the top four sides qualifying for the semi-finals. The final of the tournament will be played on 15 October. Pakistan will play their opening match of the tournament against Malaysia at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on 2 October. Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India on 7 October.

Squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Nashra Sundhu, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hasan

Reserve players: Natalia Pervaiz, Umme Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Support staff: Ayesha Ashhar (team manager), Saleem Jaffer (bowling coach and interim head coach), Mauhtashim Rashid (fielding coach), Muhammad Zubair Ahmad (analyst) and Rifat Gill (physiotherapist).

Pakistan’s fixtures:

2 October – v Malaysia

3 October – v Bangladesh

6 October – v Thailand

7 October – v India

9 October – v UAE

11 October – v Sri Lanka

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

Lahore, September 27, 2022 (PPI-OT):The first phase of the Engro Cricket Coaching Project under the PCB Pathway Programme concluded at the National High Performance Centre, Lahore today. The revolutionary cricket camp aimed at delivering world class coaching, training and grooming for the future generation of Pakistan cricket lasted one month.

The camp included 100 top performers of the PCB organized U13, U16 and U19 players. Renowned foreign coaches Gordon Parsons (fast bowling), Julian Wood (power-hitting), Julien Fountain (fielding), Nick Webb (strength and conditioning coach) and Toby Radford (batting coach) worked on enhancing the skills, temperament and technique of the participants while providing tactical awareness through various workshops and lectures held throughout the camp.

The foreign coaches were supported by PCB employed local coaches including former Pakistan stars Arshad Khan, Ijaz Ahmed (Jnr) and Rao Iftikhar.

Director High Performance Nadeem Khan: “I am delighted with the progress we have made in a short span of time at the pathway level. I want to thank Engro and all our supporters who have remained aligned with us on our aims and objectives for the next generation of our cricket stars.

“The first phase of the PCB Pathway Programme has remained a big success with the involvement of Gordon Parsons, Julian Wood, Julien Fountain, Nick Webb and Toby Radford who are all proven coaches at the pathway and senior levels. I am sure that the participants would have learned a lot from these coaches and their experience and skills would have also helped our local coaches who worked with them closely throughout the camp.

“Four of these coaches [Parsons, Wood, Fountain and Radford] will now be involved in the Pakistan Junior League from next week, their involvement will help them ascertain the development of the players they coached at the Engro Cricket Coaching Project.

“The pathway programme was linked with the PJL for this precise reason as we wanted to provide the players both a top-class camp environment as well as a world-class tournament platform for them to test their skills alongside some of the best junior talent in the cricketing world.”

The players who took part in the camp will now head home for a break. The players selected for the Pakistan Junior League will return to Lahore to join their respective PJL sides on 1 October.

The second phase of the camp is being planned for later this year. The details will be announced in due course. All five foreign coaches will also be engaged in the second-phase of the camp.

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

Lahore, September 26, 2022 (PPI-OT):A total of 27 women U19 cricketers will undergo skills and fitness training at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre, Multan in the U19 High Performance Skills Camp, which begins on 27 September.

Over the course of the 13-day camp, these 27 players will train under the supervision of the academy coaches, the camp will be headed by former Test cricketer Mohsin Kamal. The regional academy coaches include Muhammad Kamran Hussain, Tahir Mehmood and Jawad Hamid.

This camp serves an opportunity to the coaches to work on the skills of U19 cricketers and identify players for the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s World Cup to be staged in South Africa in January next year.

The players will report at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre later in the evening.

Head of Women Cricket, Tania Mallick: “We had organised talent hunt programme across the country from which we were able to create six cricket associations teams at the U19 level and organised a T20 tournament recently in Muridke. From the tournament we were able to select 27 players which will undergo a camp at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre in Multan.

“The objective of this camp is to enhance the skills of the players so we are better prepared to select a squad for next year’s ICC U19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa.”

Player names (in alphabetical order):

Abeera Kaleem, Aliza Sabir, Anosha Nasir, Aqsa Hafeez, Aqsa Yousaf, Areesha Noor, Azra Abibullah, Dina Razvi, Eman Fatima, Eyman Fatima, Haleema Azeem Dar, Haniah Ahmer, Javeria Qamar, Laiba Nasir, Maham Anees, Mahnoor Bibi, Muskan Abid, Noor Fatima, Quratulain Ahsen, Rida Aslam, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Syeda Aroob Shah, Syeda Taskyn Fatima, Tahzeeb Shah, Warda Yousaf, Zaib-Un-Nisa and Zamina Tahir

Support Staff: Mohsin Kamal (head coach), Jawad Hamid (assistant coach), Muhammad Kamran Hussain (assistant coach), Tahir Mehmood (assistant coach), Aisha Jalil (manager), Rabia Siddiq (Physiotherapist), Mohammad Usman Shahid (Performance Analyst) and Saboor Ahmed (Strength and Conditioning Coach)

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