The world-championship event had been set to take place this year from 30 September to 9 October in the Mexican cities of Ciudad Obregon and Los Mochis.

“As we continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, the WBSC, as well as our hosts and all concerned stakeholders, consider the rescheduling of the U-23 Baseball World Cup to 2021 to be the best and safest course of action,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.

“While today’s decision is disappointing, I am confident that our Mexican hosts next year will be able to deliver the best-ever U-23 Baseball World Cup, where fans can fill the stadiums and cheer on their favourite National Teams, building upon the wave of momentum for our sport in the weeks following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“The WBSC thanks the local authorities, PROBEIS and CONADE as well as the baseball officials in Mexico — including our colleagues from the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) and the Mexican Pacific League (LMP) — for their support and collaboration.”

The venue plan of the U-23 Baseball World Cup includes the 16,000-seat Estadio Yaquis, which opened in 2016 and is the home of the Yaquis de Obregon of the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), and the recently renovated Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada, home of the LMP’s Cañeros de Los Mochis.

The 12 qualified teams competing for baseball’s world title in the U-23 category will remain as follows:
Africa (1): No. 24 South Africa
Americas (4): No. 5 Mexico (host, defending World Champion), No. 7 Cuba, No. 8 Venezuela, No. 15 Nicaragua
Asia (3): No. 1 Japan, No. 4 Chinese Taipei and No. 22 China
Europe (2): No. 16 Czech Republic and No. 19 Germany
Oceania (1): No. 39 New Zealand
Wild Card (1): No. 3 Korea

Mexico won the last U-23 Baseball World Cup, which was held in Barranquilla, Colombia, in October 2018. It was Mexico’s first-ever official world title in the sport of baseball.

Previous U-23 Baseball World Cups have included the top young professional players from clubs affiliated to the Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Major League Baseball (MLB), Mexican Baseball League (LMB), Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), in addition to other leagues around the world.

The WBSC, together with the respective Mexican host, will continue to monitor and review the timing of the 2020 Women’s Baseball World Cup (12-21 November in Tijuana) and the U-15 Baseball World Cup (30 October – 8 November in Tijuana).

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The competition was initially scheduled from 22 to 27 September this year. The World Championships will now take place in the second half of 2021 with the exact dates to be confirmed.

The decision to postpone the competition was made by the Lonato Local Organising Committee and World Shooting Para Sport due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lonato will be the second edition of the Para Trap World Championships.

The Italian city hosted the inaugural competition in October 2018, with 57 athletes from 14 countries in action at the Trap Concaverde venue.

Hosts Italy topped the standings with five medals and was the only country to have shooters on the podium in all three classes.

Australia’s Scottie Brydon, Finland’s Vesa Jarvinen and Italy’s Francesco Nespeca were crowned the first Para trap world champions.

Para trap was also part of the competition programme of the Sydney 2019 World Shooting Para Sport Championships in Australia.

Para trap has seen excellent growth in recent years with 23 countries now actively participating in competitions, and World Shooting Para Sports looks forward to another important step forward in the
development of the sport in Lonato next year.

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Lahore:The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced following advice from the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB), it has indefinitely postponed its July tour to the Netherlands after the Dutch government banned all events (sports and cultural) until 1 September 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Pakistan national men’s cricket team was scheduled to play three One-Day Internationals in Amstelveen on 4, 7 and 9 July.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: “It is sad that we have to postpone our July tour to the Netherlands, but in the prevailing circumstances, this is absolutely the right thing to do as human lives are far more precious and valuable than a cricket match or an event.

“Netherlands has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and we offer our heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost their lives. Like any other country, the PCB stands firmly with the KNCB and hope they will be able to overcome this crisis.

“The Pakistan national cricket teams have always enjoyed touring the Netherlands and as soon as things return to normal, the PCB will engage with the KNCB to reschedule the tour so that we can fulfil our obligation.

“The Pakistan national men’s cricket team’s tours to Ireland, for two Twenty20 Internationals, and England, for three Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals, are on track at this stage. We are keeping a watching brief and are in contact with our counterparts in Dublin and London, respectively. As is always the case, the PCB will be happy to be guided by the hosts on the upcoming tours but without compromising on the health and safety of its players and team support personnel.”

Betty Timmer, Chair of KNCB, said: “It is extremely disappointing that we won’t be able to host any international cricket in the Netherlands this summer. However, the health and safety of the players, staff and fans is our main priority, and in that light the ban on events by the Dutch government is understandable.

“We truly hope that by next season the situation is under control again, so we can host the Super League series against England, Ireland and the West Indies as planned. We would love to welcome back all cricket fans on our grounds in the summer of 2021.”

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Lahore:The Pakistan Cricket Board today postponed the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 with immediate effect and the two semi-finals and the final will be rescheduled for a later date. This decision was taken after a player, who had left Pakistan a few days ago, showed symptoms of COVID-19 and he will undergo screening shortly.

The PCB, as part of its duty of care, has made arrangements for all the players and players support staff of the four semi-finalists, match officials, franchise owners and production crew to undergo precautionary tests and has strongly advised them to wait for the results prior to undertaking any travel.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: “This is absolutely the right thing to do after an overseas player, who will be tested in his country shortly, has shown symptoms of COVID-19.

“The PCB has also facilitated the process of carrying out immediate tests of all those who were involved with the HBL Pakistan Super League.

“This is an unprecedented situation, which is evolving with each passing day. The PCB has closely monitored the situation and had taken precautionary measures including consultation with relevant authorities and temperature screening of players, officials and media on match and non-match days.

“The PCB believes it has made the right decisions in the lead up to the postponement of the tournament that included consulting the team owners, holding the matches behind closed doors, allowing the players the option to withdraw from the tournament, rescheduling of the matches and reducing the number of event days.

“Obviously before postponing the tournament, we took into confidence the team owners.

“The PCB will use its reach and influence to play its part in all government’s drives and initiatives to create awareness and dealing with this pandemic. The PCB hopes and prays that normalcy returns quickly to our society so that everyone can return to a healthy and routine lifestyle and we can bring back cricket to the fans.”

The PCB has suspended its all domestic competitions and cricket activities.

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