Blog

Dubai, July 04, 2023 (PPI-OT): The left-handed opener has thus emulated Sanath Jayasuriya, who is the only Sri Lanka player to top the ODI batting rankings for men, for 181 days between September 2002 and May 2003. Athapaththu’s two centuries in three matches have lifted her six places, overtaking the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt and displacing Australia’s Beth Mooney, who was at the top of the batting charts since 10 May.

Athapaththu won ‘player of the match’ awards for her 108 not out off 83 balls in the first match and 140 not out of 80 in the final match. She was also named ‘player of the series’, making a rapid rise from seventh position, her previous career-best ranking. Only two other Sri Lanka players have reached number one position in the women’s rankings, both in the year 2014 – left-arm seam bowler Udeshika Prabodhani (T20I bowling) and Shashikala Siriwardene (T20I all-rounders).

Athapaththu, who has scored all her country’s top 10 individual scores in women’s ODIs, is currently at the highest-ever points tally by a Sri Lanka woman in ODIs with 758 rating points. The next best is just 587 by Dedunu Silva, who also has the next highest-ranking, reaching 11th position in April 2010. Other Sri Lanka players to advance are Kavisha Dilhari (up 19 places to 37th among batters) and Prabodhani (up 14 places to 32nd among bowlers).

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has shot up six places to 13th after smashing a match-winning 137 in the second ODI of the series in Galle. In the latest rankings update, which also considers performances in the ICC Women’s Championship series in the Caribbean in which the West Indies prevailed 2-0 over Ireland, Ireland opener Gaby Lewis has progressed five places to 21st after her unbeaten 95 in the final match.

For the West Indies, Shamilia Cornell (up four places to joint-24th) and Afy Fletcher (up 14 places to 32nd) have moved up the bowlers’ list. In the T20I rankings, Sophie Dunkley (up four places to 16th) and Amy Jones (up one places to 25th) have moved up the batting rankings after the first match of the England-New Zealand series while Sarah Glenn (up one place to third) and Jess Jonassen (up four places to 18th) have moved up the bowling rankings.

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: [email protected]

Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Lahore, July 04, 2023 (PPI-OT): Pakistan women cricketers will attend the skills camp scheduled to take place in Lahore and Karachi from 5 to 17 July. The first phase of the skills camp will take place at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore from 5 to 9 July where 20 players from Lahore and adjoining areas, will take part, providing them with a platform to showcase their skills and abilities. Following the completion of the five-day Lahore leg, the focus will shift to Karachi as Hanif Muhammad High Performance Centre will be the venue for the camp from 13 to 17 July. The players for the Karachi camp will be announced in due course.

The women’s skills camp will feature a series of intensive training sessions, led by the Pakistan women’s team support staff. Players will have the opportunity to sharpen their skills, receive valuable guidance, and exhibit their capabilities through various practice matches and scenarios. The selectors and coaching staff will closely evaluate the participants to identify those who display exceptional talent, technical proficiency, and a competitive spirit.

The following is the list of invited players:

Lahore (5 to 9 July) – Aliya Riaz, Amber Kainat, Anam Amin, Bismah Maroof, Diana Baig, Dua Majid, Fatima Khan, Gul Feroza, Lubna Behram, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Nida Dar, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Coaching staff – Mark Coles (head coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), Saleem Jaffer (bowing coach), Mauhtashim Rashid (fielding coach), Zubair Ahmed (analyst), Rifat Asghar Gill (physiotherapist) and Hussain Mirza (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

Lahore, July 04, 2023 (PPI-OT): ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 finalists will go head to head in May 2024 in the United Kingdom in the build-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). World champions England will host Pakistan in a four-T20I series from 22-30 May before both the sides will depart for the tournament. The matches will be played in Leeds (22 May), Birmingham (25 May), Cardiff (28 May) and The Oval, London (30 May).

England had defeated Pakistan by five wickets with one over to spare in the T20 World Cup 2022 final in Melbourne. Prior to the Australia event, Pakistan had hosted England for a seven-match T20I series in Karachi and Lahore with the visitors winning by 4-3. England is ranked second on the ICC T20I Team Rankings, while Pakistan is ranked fourth – five points behind. Before arriving in the UK, Pakistan will play a three-T20I series against the Netherlands and two-T20I series against Ireland, details of which will be announced in due course.

In addition to the men’s side, Pakistan women’s squad will also tour England in May 2024 for three T20Is and three ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 fixtures. The tour will commence with the first T20I in Birmingham on 11 May with the remaining two matches in Northampton (17 May) and Leeds (19 May). Derby, Taunton and Chelmsford will stage the three ODIs on 23, 26 and 29 May, respectively.

England is ranked second and Pakistan seventh in the ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings, while Pakistan (10 points) is currently third in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 and England seventh (six points) with one less series of three ODIs. England’s third series in the Championship is against Australia from 12-18 July.

The series against England will be Pakistan women’s last series in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25. They will kick-start their 2023-24 season by hosting South Africa in Karachi from 1-14 September, which will be followed by series against Bangladesh (October/November, away), New Zealand (November/December, away) and West Indies (April/May, home). In the three ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 series to date, Pakistan have defeated Sri Lanka (2-1) and Ireland (3-0), while they were beaten 3-0 by world champions Australia earlier this year.

Pakistan to England 2024

Women’s series

11 May: 1st T20I – Edgbaston, Birmingham

17 May: 2nd T20I – The County Ground, Northampton

19 May: 3rd T20I – Headingley, Leeds

23 May: 1st ODI -Derby

26 May: 2nd ODI -Taunton

29 May: 3rd ODI – Chelmsford

Men’s series

22 May: 1st T20I – Headingley, Leeds

25 May: 2nd T20I – Edgbaston, Birmingham

28 May: 3rd T20I – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

30 May: 4th T20I – The Oval, London

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, July 03, 2023 (PPI-OT): Singh’s maiden ODI century powered the Netherlands to a mammoth total as they set Oman 363 win. Ayaan Khan responded with a ton of his own, but it proved in vain as Oman failed to pick up their first win of the Super Six stage. The race for the second qualification spot will now go down to the wire, though Netherlands require Zimbabwe to lose against Scotland and to win their final game to stand any chance of making it through.

Singh ton sets up Netherlands

Having been put into bat by Oman, Netherlands’ openers Singh and Max O’Dowd made a patient start, including sitting through a rain delay that shortened the match to 48 overs a side. The duo’s century partnership was brought up off 103 balls before O’Dowd was bowled by Ayaan Khan for 35, ending the stand at 117. Singh continued to motor as he reached his maiden ODI century from 102 balls before he was eventually undone holing out to mid-on having made 110 with 11 fours and two sixes. Scott Edwards could not add to his three consecutive scores of 67 as he was caught by Kaleemullah for four to become Mohammad Nadeem’s second wicket.

With the Netherlands needing to improve their net run rate, Bas de Leede supercharged his side’s scoring, making a quick-fire 39 from 19. Having reached his half-century off 43 balls, Wesley Barresi then powered to 97 from 65 balls before he was caught behind agonisingly close to a century. Barresi was the first of three wickets in three overs as Oman mounted a mini-fightback but they could not stop the Netherlands reaching 362 for seven. In pursuit of what would have been their record chase, Oman lost regular wickets with Jatinder Singh run out on 17 before fellow opener Kashyap Prajapati departed for 25 to leave Oman 78 for three.

After Mohammad Nadeem was bowled by Aryan Dutt for 16, Ayaan Khan and Shoaib Khan rebuilt, putting on 112 for the fifth wicket, but they could not stop their side from falling well behind the required run rate. Ayaan Khan reached his hundred off 84 balls having benefitted from several slices of luck to get there as he was dropped three times early in his innings. And the all-rounder was there at the end as bad light ended the game prematurely with Oman 74 runs from their DLS target. The Netherlands now face an anxious wait to see if Zimbabwe defeat Scotland tomorrow before they take on Scotland on Thursday.

Zimbabwe one win away

Hosts Zimbabwe can confirm their place at ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 with a win over Scotland in Bulawayo. Super Six table-toppers Sri Lanka qualified for the showpiece in India on Sunday and the Chevrons sit two points behind them in second.

Their biggest competitors are their opponents on Tuesday, Scotland, who are in third with four points, but they do have an extra game to play. In Harare, Ireland will take on Nepal to decide who finishes seventh, with the latter hoping to better their highest previous finish at the Qualifier of eighth.

Scores in brief

Netherlands beat Oman at Harare Sports Club by 74 runs (DLS method)

Netherlands 362/7 in 48 overs (Vikramjit Singh 110, Wesley Barresi 97; Bilal Khan 3/75, Mohammad Nadeem 2/36)

Oman 246/6 in 44 overs (Ayaan Khan 105 not out, Shoaib Khan 46; Aryan Dutt 3/31, Ryan Kelin 2/34)

Tuesday 4 July – Fixtures

Super Six

Zimbabwe v Scotland, Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo

7th place play-off

Ireland v Nepal, Takashinga Sports Club, Harare

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: [email protected]

Website: www.icc-cricket.com