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LAHORE: National cricketers Mohammad Nawaz, Shahnawaz Dahani and Sajid Khan have been made available to their respective domestic sides for the December 27 fixture of the ongoing Pakistan Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Monday. According to the details, the decision came into effect following the discussion between Pakistan’s head coach and selection committee in a bid to allow players to get match time under their belts and make a case for their selection for the three ICC Men’s Super League One-Day Internationals against New Zealand. “The move will allow players to continue to get match time under their belts and make a case for their selection for the three ICC Men’s Super League One-Day Internationals against New Zealand in January,” said PCB in a statement. Meanwhile, the PCB, however, clarified that the mentioned players will still be part of the squad for the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. “These players will continue to remain part of the Pakist...

KARACHI: The chair of the interim selection committee of Pakistan Men’s cricket Shahid Afridi commented on the national team’s performance on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand. The home side had a deplorable start to their proceedings as they were four down for a mere 110 runs, courtesy of some loose shots from the top-order batters. However, despite the early slump, Pakistan managed to finish the opening day on a high at the back of an astounding fifth-wicket partnership between Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed. The duo added a mammoth 196 runs amid the stand and defied the early horror. Sarfaraz, who was making his return to the Test side after a gap of more than three years, made the most of the opportunity and smashed a valiant knock of 86 runs and was immensely praised by fellow cricketers and cricket fans. Notably, the interim chief selector of the men’s team Shahid Afridi also took to his Twitter to appreciate wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz and captain Babar ...

KARACHI: Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed opened up on his comeback into Test cricket after a gap of almost four years and asserted it felt like a debut match for him. Sarfaraz, who gained attention for his sensational 86-run knock in the first Test on home soil, stated his heart was pounding as he came onto the field amid a scheduled press conference following the first day’s action. “Look, if you ask about how I was feeling when I played the first three deliveries and if someone had checked my heartbeat at that time then probably the meter would have exploded,” shared Sarfaraz. “So, my heart was beating so fast and it was a similar feeling to that of making your debut as I was playing a Test match after a very long time and the match too was in crunch position at that moment. “So, when we walked into the pavilion for the lunch break, boys who have played alongside me, noticed my nervousness and were telling me to get normal and I also told them that my heart is beating...

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who made his return to Test cricket after a gap of more than three years, made headlines after his brilliant knock of 86 in the first Test against New Zealand.  The wicketkeeper batter made his Test return in style; scoring his first-ever half-century on home soil which was his 19th overall in the longest format. His crucial knock of 86 turned out to be a game-changer for Pakistan as they defied top-order collapse and recovered to finish the first day on a high. Pakistan were 110/4 when Sarfaraz joined his captain Babar Azam in the middle and stitched a match-saving 194-run partnership for the fifth wicket before falling to Ajaz Patel in the closing overs of the first day’s play. The right-handed batter scored 86 off 153 balls, laced with eight boundaries. Sarfaraz’s brilliance inspired his former teammate Wahab Riaz, who termed Sarfaraz’s knock a special one and extended his best wishes to the latter. “What a comeback innings ...

KARACHI: Chairman of the PCB Management Committee Najam Sethi held a meeting with former national cricketers, here at National Bank Cricket Arena on Monday. The interim PCB head discussed the affairs of domestic cricket in his meeting with ex-cricketers as the board currently run by a newly-appointed set-up is aiming to revive the departmental structure in domestic cricket. Legendary batter Javed Miandad, Wasim Bari, Tauseef Ahmed, Shoaib Mohammad, Saleem Yousuf and others attended the meeting. The federal cabinet last week approved repealing of PCB Constitution 2019 and revival of the PCB Constitution 2014 through a circulation summary to pave way for the departmental cricket. In a string of developments, the federal government appointed a 14-member interim Management Committee with Sethi as its chairman to run the affair of the cricket board for a period of 120 days. READ: Babar moves past Joe Root to become highest Test run-scorer in 2022 The post Sethi discusses domestic cric...

KARACHI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has achieved another astounding feat to his credit as he became the highest run-scorer in Tests in 2022.  Babar surpassed England’s Joe Root on the list when he reached 92 during the first Test against New Zealand here at National Bank Cricket Arena on Monday. Pakistan’s captain went on to score his 9th Test hundred – his fourth in the outgoing year. Meanwhile, he also became the highest run-scorer for Pakistan across all formats in a calendar year as he went past Muhammad Yusuf’s 2435 runs made in 2006. Till the filing of this story, Babar has so gathered 1106 runs in the outgoing year, eight runs ahead of Root with a likelihood to stretch the lead further with an innings remaining before the year’s end. The Pakistani skipper has a healthy chance to remain at top of the list with only few days left before the year concludes, unless Australia’s Usman Khuwaja, who is presently third on the list with 1080 runs, surpasses him during...

MELBOURNE: Allrounder Cameron Green took a career-best 5-27 as Australia ripped through South Africa’s fragile batting before piling on late runs to seize control of the second Test in Melbourne on Monday. After the visitors were dismissed for 189, an aggressive David Warner, in his 100th Test, was unbeaten on 32 and Marnus Labuschagne was not out on five to steer the hosts to 45-1 at stumps on day one. Usman Khawaja was out for one, caught behind by Kyle Verreynne off Kagiso Rabada. Australia won the first of three Tests by six wickets inside two days on a hostile and green Gabba pitch in Brisbane last week. The wicket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was less bowler-friendly, but captain Pat Cummins surprisingly chose to field at a venue where toss-winning teams normally bat first. South African skipper Dean Elgar said he was bewildered by the decision, but it proved to be inspired in front of 64,876 fans with the Proteas losing early wickets as they again struggled against the h...