Tag: PCB

Lahore, June 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):Pakistan Cricket Board today announced its women’s national and ‘A’ teams will tour the West Indies for a series of white-ball matches. The touring party will depart for Antigua, where all matches will be played, from Lahore on 23 June. The national side will play the West Indies in three T20Is and five One-Day Internationals, while the two countries’ ‘A’ sides will compete in three T20s and as many one-day matches.

This is the national women’s team third international tour in the last four months after they played three ODIs and as many T20Is against South Africa in Durban before traveling north to Harare to play Zimbabwe, a tour that was cut short due to flights restrictions.

Despite travel-related limitations around the world due of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the PCB has continued to arrange the tours to provide its national women’s team competitive cricket to prepare for this year’s ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier this year, followed by next year’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Pakistan and West Indies are ranked seventh and sixth in the ICC Women’s Team Rankings for ODI and T20I, respectively. Prior to this tour, the national women’s team has played three ODI series, two T20I series and featured in two ICC Women’s T20 World Cups in 2010 and 2018 in the Caribbean.

The last time these two sides faced off in bilateral series was in early 2019. Pakistan came back from behind in the United Arab Emirates to win the three ODIs 2-1 and the T20I series, played in Karachi, was won by West Indies 2-1, with the second match of the series going down the wire and the touring party winning it in the Super Over.

The two teams last met in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and the group-stage match was won by Pakistan as they comfortably chased down 125 with eight wickets and 10 balls spare.

That the ‘A’ side will travel to Antigua with the national side – the first instance of the two teams traveling together – provides further boost to the women’s game in the country. The players who have remained on the fringes of the national side will have an opportunity to impress the national selectors and the high-profile coaching staff ahead of the important global events.

This will also be the first tour that the ‘A’ side will undertake in the post-Covid-19 world. They last travelled to Sri Lanka in October 2019 for the ACC Emerging Women’s Asia Cup.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “We are glad to announce that our senior and ‘A’ women teams will be traveling to the West Indies for competitive series in a year in which they have to feature in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.

“This tour presents a great opportunity to our players to further strengthen their skills by getting the desired match practice – against a quality side – under their belts and utilise it for their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers and the main event early next year that will be followed by the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

“Developing our women cricketers and providing them the required opportunities to develop themselves into world-class athletes is one of the key strategic objectives of the PCB, which we announced last year.

“Our players have put in hard yards in the recent High Performance camps in Karachi and Multan and I am hopeful that they will deliver favourable results under the able guidance of head coach David Hemp.”

The touring contingent will arrive in Lahore on Monday from where they will depart for Antigua.

Tour itinerary:

23 June – Departure for Antigua

24-27 June – Room Quarantine

28-29 June – Practice

30 June – 1st T20I between national sides and 1st T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

2 July – 2nd T20I between national sides and 2nd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Coolidge Cricket Ground

4 July – 3rd T20I between national sides and 3rd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

7 July – 1st ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground

9 July – 2nd ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground

10 July – 1st one-day between ‘A’ sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

12 July – 3rd ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

13 July – 2nd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground

15 July – 4th ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

16 July – 3rd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground

18 July – 5th ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground

19 July – Departure for Pakistan

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

Abu Dhabi, June 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):An action-packed and topsy-turvy league matches stage of the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 ended with a last-over win for table-toppers Islamabad United against Multan Sultans last night. This was a virtual dress rehearsal for the Qualifier between the two teams, set to be played on Monday, 21 June, at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The first 14 matches in the six-team 30-match double-league format were played at Karachi’s National Stadium before a Covid-19 induced suspension on 4 March.

A monumental effort by the PCB, Emirates Cricket Board and Abu Dhabi Cricket ensured the resumption of the tournament in Abu Dhabi on 9 June.

Since the restart, 16 remaining matches of the league stage have been played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium between 9 and 19 June with two-time champions United emerging at the top of the table with 16 points from 10 matches.

Sultans, who were languishing at the fifth spot with a mere two points at the end of the Karachi-leg, made an astonishing comeback to win four out of their five Abu Dhabi-leg games to end on the second spot with 10 points and a net run-rate of +1.05.

Zalmi (NRR +0.586) and defending champions Karachi Kings (NRR -0.115) also ended the league stage with 10 points each to ensure their qualification ahead of Lahore Qalandars, who despite finishing with 10 points, missed out on a play-off spot due to an inferior net run-rate of -0.589.

Quetta Gladiators had to endure a surprise dip in form as well as absence of international stars Andre Russell and Faf du Plessis due to concussions which saw them finish at the bottom of the table. The 2019 champions managed just four points from 10 matches (two wins, eight defeats).

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE PLAY-OFFS

Qualifier – Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans: United have been in a red-hot form since losing their first Abu Dhabi-leg match to Qalandars in a last-over thriller on 9 June. Shadab Khan-led side have since won five matches on the trot to finish with a staggering eight wins in 10 league-stage matches. United had won three out of their first four matches of the Karachi-leg.

The foreign opening duo of Usman Khawaja and Colin Munro have dazzled for United in the Abu Dhabi-leg. Usman, the Australian international batsman, posted the only century of the Abu Dhabi-leg, leading his side to victory in a record breaking, high scoring thriller against Zalmi last week.

In five games, the left-hander has tallied 175 runs at 58.33 and a strike-rate of 147.05 with the help of one century. Munro, has amassed 241 runs in five games at 80.33 with an astonishing strike-rate of 174.63. His tally of runs includes two half-centuries.

Asif Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed have provided valuable support in the middle-order with the bat with match winning contributions.

Amongst the bowlers, Hasan Ali leads the pack for United with 12 wickets in eight games at 16.75. Emerging category pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr. has been most impressive in his debut HBL PSL season, collecting 11 wickets in nine matches.

Mohammad Rizwan-led Sultans have emerged from the disappointments of the fifth-position in Karachi to the highs of a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi. Rizwan has led the side from the front with a tally of 470 runs at 52.22 with the help of four half-centuries. Sohaib Maqsood has scored 304 runs in 10 games at 38 with a strike-rate of 154.31.

Sultans’ emerging category fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani has been most impressive with his 20 wickets in nine matches taking him to the top of the wicket-takers list. His wickets have come at an incredible 13.65 average, he has picked-up two player-of-the-match awards.

Head-to-Head: Islamabad United 5 Multan Sultans 3

Eliminator 1 – Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings: Wahab Riaz-led Peshawar Zalmi produced some thrilling cricket to ensure a play-off berth despite some hiccups on the way.

Seasoned campaigner Shoaib Malik has been their top scorer to date with 244 runs in 10 games at 30.50 and a strike-rate of 140.22. Malik made two fighting half-centuries in the Abu Dhabi-leg against Qalandars and United to ensure his team fought all the way in pursuit of steep targets while minimising the damage to their net run-rate.

Wahab has led the bowling charts for Zalmi with his spirited efforts with the new and the old ball resulting in 14 wickets in nine league matches at 21.85.

Defending champions Kings had to fight hard to resurrect their campaign after losing the first three matches of the Abu Dhabi-leg, which left them on the verge of elimination.

Imad Wasim-led side won a last-over thriller against Qalandars – their ninth match, before defeating Gladiators on Saturday evening to clinch the fourth-spot in the playoffs ahead of their arch-rivals Qalandars.

Batting mainstay Babar Azam leads the HBL PSL 6 batting charts with 501 runs in 10 matches at 71.57, Babar has scored six half-centuries in the tournament so far. Babar’s opening partner Sharjeel Khan contributed 312 runs in 10-league stage matches at 31.20.

Emerging category pacer Arshad Iqbal is the leading wicket-taker for the Kings with eight wickets in as many matches at 29.

Head-to-Head: Peshawar Zalmi nine, Karachi Kings five

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, June 19, 2021 (PPI-OT):Pakistan cricket team head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has reiterated playing against the top-ranked sides will provide Pakistan team enough practice to prepare well for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.

“I’m taking it (tours to England and West Indies) positively and it’s a great opportunity for me as a coach and for us as a team, which could help us to get better prepare before the World Cup,” Misbah-ul- Haq said while addressing a media conference at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

“With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup around the corner, we are fortunate to get an opportunity to showcase our skills against the 20-over world cup and 50-over world champions over the next two months. The series against England and West Indies will be a good test case for us to know where we stand before this year’s T20 World Cup.”

Head coach of the Pakistan men’s cricket team highlighted the improvement in the fielding department and hoped to resolve middle-order batting concerns.

“Yes, the middle-order is one of our major concerns and we have to look at it. We have made improvement in fielding department and I am sure we will overcome our middle-order department before the start of the global event.

“Overall, our fielding has shown a considerable improvement in the recent past series. There has been a lot of improvement in our fielding since the series in New Zealand. The players are taking good catches and ground fielding too has improved.

“Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi are some of the better fielders in the side.”

Misbah said doors for international cricket are open for Mohammad Amir, provided he came out of retirement and produced strong performances.

“I was the captain when Mohammad Amir made his comeback in the international cricket. Last year we took him to England when I was not only the head coach but also the chief selector.

“He was dropped due to his performances and injuries. Subsequently, he announced his retirement. If he comes out of retirement and performs, then the doors are open for him, like any other player.”

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