Cricket

Test captain Azhar Ali says Pakistan has the ability to perform well and win in Australia during their upcoming two-match Test series. Addressing a press conference in Brisbane ahead of the first Test, Ali said the team has the potential to perform well and in fact even win against the kangaroos. “The playing XI will be announced tomorrow,” Ali said. ...

Steve Smith insists he does not feel “hard done by” after the West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran received a four-match ban for ball-tampering compared to the master Australian batsman’s year-long suspension. The talented Pooran was last week suspended by the International Cricket Council for four Twenty20 internationals for “changing the condition of the ball” in a one-day match against Afghanistan in ...

Opening batsman Fakhar Zaman on Monday admitted that he himself is not satisfied with his form, but remains confident of overcoming his shortcomings and mistakes by World T20, set to be played in Australia next year. Zaman, who was the star batsman of the 2017 Champions Trophy final, has experienced a dramatic loss of form over the past year, scoring ...

SYDNEY: Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Emily Smith on Monday was handed a one-year ban under cricket´s anti-corruption code for posting her team line-up on Instagram an hour before its official release. Nine months of the strict penalty was suspended, meaning the Hobart Hurricanes player effectively cannot pad-up for three months, ruling her out of the rest of the season. The 24-year-old was ...

Following his inconsistent performances, Kamran Akmal has become a “persona non grata” for Pakistan Cricket authorities. The wicket-keeper batsman however is now hopeful of getting his perception changed in the eyes of the new-look Pakistan team management. Kamran on Monday smashed another half-century in Quaid e Azam trophy, which helped him complete the 13,000 runs milestone in first class cricket. ...

Australia’s Tim Paine has said the upcoming Test series against Pakistan and New Zealand may be the last time he captains the side at home as he enters the twilight of his career. Paine, who turns 35 next month, was named captain after former skipper Steve Smith was handed a one-year ban in March 2018 for ball tampering and the ...

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed has called for the resumption of cricketing ties between India and Pakistan in order to improve bilateral relationship between the two neighbouring countries. The two nations have not been involved in any bilateral series for a long time and have been meeting only at the ICC events. The last bilateral series took place in 2012-13 ...

SYDNEY: Australia fast bowler James Pattinson was suspended on Sunday for player abuse, ruling him out of the first Test against Pakistan this week. The paceman was found guilty of breaching Cricket Australia’s code of conduct during Victoria’s Sheffield Shield game against Queensland last week. It was not clear what he said, but the governing body characterised it as “personal ...

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has said he hopes that the national team’s bowling coach Waqar Younis has learnt from the mistakes he made during his two stints as the head coach, and that the legendary fast bowler allows the current crop to express themselves rather than hold them back. Hafeez, who played extensively under Waqar, appeared to be critical of ...

Lahore:As the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy enters its last three rounds, the competition to secure berths in the final of the country’s premier first-class tournament keeps on getting intense. The eighth round, which begins on Monday, 18 November, promises to generate more excitement in what has been a riveting tournament so far. Northern return to Rawalpindi to host second-ranked Southern Punjab, who ...