ISLAMABAD: Scores of enthusiastic fans caught a glimpse of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup Trophy, some clicking pictures with it as well as it arrived on a three-day tour of Pakistan on Thursday as part of its world tour ahead of the cricketing extravaganza in the United States and the West Indies in June.

Fans took selfies as the trophy was displayed for public viewing at the Pakistan Monument.

“I’m really happy to see it up close,” Islamabad resident Rashid Hussain told Dawn. “I wish the Pakistan team brings it back after winning the World Cup.”

Earlier, the trophy travelled to the Lake View Park, the Prime Minister Office and President House before being taken to Faisal Mosque for a photo shoot. After its public unveiling at Pakistan Monument, it was taken to the Shalimar Cricket Ground.

The trophy will continue its journey across Pakistan over the next two days, going to Abbottabad on Friday before travelling to Lahore, where it will be displayed at the National Cricket Academy before being on display during the fifth and final Twenty20 International between Pakistan and New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024

ISLAMABAD: At last, common sense prevailed with the two rival factions of the Pakistan Hockey Federation deciding to end the separate training camps of the national team with an agreement reached that the players will attend the camp underway in Islamabad after the government brought them to the table.

The training camp will be supervised by Dutchman Roelant Oltmans, who will also head a three-member selection committee that will finalise the squad for next month’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.

The selection committee will also comprise the Pakistan Sports Board director general and a representative of the Pakistan Olympic Association, Prime Minister’s coordinator on Youth Affairs Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan said after he listened to both rival groups at the PM Office on Thursday.

Mashood, who was empowered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to resolve the issues surrounding the PHF, said matters pertaining to the leadership of the country’s hockey governing body — with one faction led by Tariq Bugti and the other by Shehla Raza — will be decided in the next two days.

The government’s intervention to resolve the PHF matter comes a day after the International Hockey Federation (FIH) had written a letter where it had set a deadline of Thursday to decide on one team that would represent Pakistan at the Azlan Shah Cup.

Oltmans had been appointed by the Bugti group while Shehla’s group was holding a camp in Karachi and had announced a 20-member team for the Azlan Shah Cup.

“Once the team is announced by the selection committee, a camp will be set up in Islamabad ahead of the team’s departure for Malaysia on April 2,” Mashood said in a video message.

“We will resolve the issue of the two factions in the next two days,” he added, while lamenting the downfall of the national game which he attributed to mishandling of hockey affairs by the PHF. “There is a pressing need for a new policy to restore Pakistan hockey to its former standing in the game.”

Alongside Mashood, meetings with both rival groups were also attended by PSB director general Shahid Islam, Higher Education Commission director Javed Memon and Olympian Khawaja Junaid.

Bugti, who was nominated as the PHF chief by interim Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar before getting the required votes from the PHF Congress, presented his case alongside the secretary general of his faction, Rana Mujahid.

Shehla, who was accompanied by the secretary general of her faction Haider Hussain, argued that the interim PM had no power to nominate the PHF chief and was elected by the Congress.

Despite the training camp being held by Bugti’s faction getting the nod by Mashood, a government officer close to the situation said that “nothing had been decided yet”.

“Either the PM can decide which faction to go with or he can reject both and opt for a new PHF chief,” he told Dawn.

Another official, highlighting Pakistan’s rapid decline in international hockey — the national team has failed to qualify for three successive Olympics — said it was time for change.

“The power-hungry people at the helm of the PHF have destroyed the national game,” the official told Dawn. “And therefore, those who have had any role in the PHF during the last two decades should be barred from any future role.”

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024

Experienced allrounder Jimmy Neesham kept his cool to defend six off the last ball to clinch a four-run victory for New Zealand on Thursday in the fourth Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Lahore.

Pakistan needed 18 off the last over in their chase of 179 but Neesham came out in flying colours despite being hit for a boundary off the first ball, giving a packed Gaddafi Stadium crowd heartbreaks.

Opener Tim Robinson hit a maiden half-century to lift New Zealand to 178-7 in 20 overs before pacer William O’Rourke claimed 3-27 to keep Pakistan down to 174-8.

Returning allrounder Imad Wasim (22 not out) managed to hit the last ball for a single as New Zealand took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series with the last game on Saturday, also in Lahore.

Pakistan also lost the third match by seven wickets after winning the first by the same margin while the first match was abandoned after just two balls — all three in Rawalpindi.

The defeats are a jolt to a full-strength Pakistan side in their preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in the United States and the West Indies in June.

New Zealand, missing a host of players due to Indian Premier League, injuries and unavailability, can feel elated at their bench strength going into the World Cup.

Pakistan sensed they were in with a chance when Fakhar Zaman, who made 45-ball 61 with three sixes and four boundaries, lifted Pakistan from 79-4 with a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed who made a 20-ball 23.

But O’Rourke, playing only his fourth T20I, dismissed Ahmed to add to his wickets of Babar Azam (five) and Saim Ayub (20) to give New Zealand a boost. Fellow pacer Ben Sears (2-27) claimed Zaman’s wicket with 33 needed off 14 balls.

Earlier, Robinson batted with aggression.

Robinson’s 36-ball 51 with two sixes and four fours lifted New Zealand — who were sent in to bat — to 93-1 in 10 overs before Abbas Afridi’s career-best 3-20 helped Pakistan pull back.

New Zealand started briskly with Robinson and Tom Blundell, who made 28 off 15, putting on 56 for the opening stand in five overs.

But from 94-1 New Zealand lost three wickets, including that of dangerman Mark Chapman for eight, as Pakistan’s fielders held catches to back some good bowling by Abbas.

Dean Foxcroft chipped in with 34 off 26 deliveries and skipper Michael Bracewell added 27 to keep the scoreboard ticking as New Zealand managed 43 in the last five overs.

Pakistan were forced to make five changes as wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Muhammad Irfan Khan were injured while they rested Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

Opener Tim Robinson hit a maiden half-century before Pakistan kept New Zealand down to 178-7 with a three-wicket haul by pace bowler Abbas Afridi in the fourth Twenty20 international in Lahore on Thursday.

Robinson’s 36-ball 51 with two sixes and four fours lifted New Zealand — who were sent into bat — to 93-1 in 10 overs before Abbas’s career-best 3-20 brought Pakistan back into the match at Gaddafi Stadium.

New Zealand started briskly with Robinson and Tom Blundell, who made 28 off 15, putting on 56 for the opening stand in five overs.

But from 94-1, New Zealand lost three wickets, including that of dangerman Mark Chapman for eight, as Pakistan’s fielders held catches to back some good bowling by Abbas.

Dean Foxcroft chipped in with 34 off 26 deliveries and skipper Michael Bracewell added 27 to keep the scoreboard ticking as New Zealand managed 43 in the last five overs.

Both teams are preparing for the T20 World Cup to be held in the United States and West Indies in June this year.

Pakistan were forced to make five changes as wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Muhammad Irfan Khan were injured while they rested Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

New Zealand also made three changes, with the series tied at 1-1 with one match abandoned.

Former Pakistan Women’s captain Bismah Maroof has announced her retirement “from all cricket with immediate effect”, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a press release on Thursday.

“I have decided to retire from the game I love the most. It has been an incredible journey, filled with challenges, victories, and unforgettable memories,” the batter said in a statement published on the PCB website today.

Maroof extended her thanks to the PCB for “believing in her”, citing the support by the board to be “invaluable, particularly in implementing the first-ever parental policy for me, which enabled me to represent my country at the highest level while being a mother”.

“I am deeply grateful to the fans whose unwavering support has been a constant throughout my career, wherever and whenever I represented my country,” she stated.

She also went on to express her gratitude to her teammates, adding that “the camaraderie we shared both on and off the field is something I will cherish forever”.

Maroof represented Pakistan in 276 international matches — the most by any Pakistani women cricketer, as noted by the PCB. Additionally, she has scored 6,262 international runs, which include 33 half-centuries, and has 80 international wickets with her right-arm leg-spin.

She was named Pakistan’s all-format captain in September 2017 and had the best win/loss ratio amongst all the regular players to lead the country in One-Day Internationals (1.000) and T20 Internationals (0.843).

“During her illustrious career, Bismah was part of the women’s team that won the Gold Medal twice in the Asian Games, in the 2010 and 2014 editions,” the PCB said.

Mallick thanks Bismah for her commitment

“As Bismah Maroof bids farewell to international cricket, we are all indebted to her immense contributions to Pakistan women’s cricket,” head of women’s cricket Tania Malick said, wishing the former captain “heartfelt gratitude for her commitment and invaluable services to the team and the country”.

“I wish Bismah all the best in her future endeavors, and may her journey ahead be as rewarding and fulfilling as her cricketing career has been,” Mallick’s statement read.

MADRID: Spain’s Rafael Nadal said on Wednesday that he is not sure if he will be able to play at next month’s French Open after pushing through the pain barrier in his comeback from injury.

The 37-year-old, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, said that he is far from being in top form and that he is only playing against American Darwin Blanch in the first round of the Madrid Open on Thursday as a personal sacrifice.

“If I was in Paris today, I wouldn’t go out to play,” Nadal told a press conference, in reference to Roland Garros. “I don’t think I’ll be able to play at 100 per cent but it’s important to be able to play for the last time in Madrid, it means a lot to me to play on this court where I’ve had some great moments.

“This doesn’t mean I’m giving up on anything in the next few weeks, I don’t know what might happen…

“I’m going to do the things I have to do to be able to play in Paris. And if I can, I can and if I can’t, I can’t. I’m going to Paris if I feel like I’m good enough… if I feel capable enough to compete.”

Nadal, who has said he expects to retire after the 2024 season, returned to competition in Brisbane in January, after almost a year sidelined with a hip flexor injury.

However, after winning his first two matches in the tournament, Nadal lost in three sets to Australian Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals.

The gruelling contest appeared to take its toll on the Spaniard who, trailing 1-4 in the final set, took a medical timeout to get treatment on his upper-left leg.

He did not play an ATP event until making a winning return last week in Barcelona, with a first round victory over Flavio Cobolli, only to fall a day later in a 7-5 6-1 second round defeat by Australian fourth seed Alex de Minaur.

“I am a competitive person and it is difficult to play without being able to give my best. If you ask me if I was happy in Barcelona, I say ‘no, I wasn’t happy’. What happens is that if I had tried to be happy in Barcelona today I probably wouldn’t be here, that’s the reality,” Nadal said.

“That’s why I want to try to go out and play in Paris feeling capable enough to compete well. I’m going to do my best to try to make it happen, and if it doesn’t I’ll have the personal satisfaction and the gratitude for having tried.

“We’ll see what happens, but the world doesn’t end if I don’t play at Roland Garros. I also have the Olympic Games ahead of me.”

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2024

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has named Olympic legend Usain Bolt as an ambassador for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and US from June 1 to 29.

The announcement comes a few weeks ahead of the start of cricket’s biggest T20 spectacle ever that will inspire a new generation of fans, said an ICC press release.

Bolt’s global appeal alongside his out of this world athletic achievements and ability to transcend boundaries makes him a perfect fit for the biggest T20 World Cup ever.

The former Jamaican sprint giant created history at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when he snatched three gold medals at three consecutive Olympics. His journey to worldwide stardom started at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing where he won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, all in world record times.

Bolt currently holds world records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m with times of 9.58 secs, 19.19 secs and 36.84 secs.

As an ambassador, Bolt would play a key role in promoting the event, starting with a cameo appearance in next week’s release of the events official anthem music video alongside iconic artists Sean Paul and Kes.

Bolt expressed his excitement about his new role.

“Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, the sport has always held a special place in my heart, and I look forward to attending West Indies matches at the World Cup and making a contribution to the growth of cricket globally,” the 37-year-old said.

“While I will of course be supporting West Indies at the World Cup, getting the sport into the US is big for cricket. Its the biggest sports market in the world and the energy that we will bring for the T20 World Cup is a huge opportunity leading towards crickets inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028.”

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2024

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: It is no good news for Pakistan hockey which is already struggling badly for survival while facing crises and setbacks of all kinds.

Amid internal wrangling within the Pakistan hockey Federation, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Wednesday gave a brief yet sombre message to the federation which has witnessed a growing tussle for control between two rival groups in recent months.

In a letter written to the PHF, the FIH has set April 25 (today) as the deadline for Pakistan to determine one genuine body which can properly represent the country at the international level. Other­wise, the world governing body added, that Pakistan’s participation in the forthcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (May 4-11, Malaysia) and the Nations Cup (May 31-June 9, Poland), will remain in question.

The FIH gave the ruling after the Azlan Shah Cup organisers asked for guidance from the international body after two rival groups in Pakistan hockey — one headed by Tariq Hussain Bugti and the other by Shehla Raza — contacted the hosts for sending their teams to represent Pakistan.

Bugti was nominated by interim prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar while Shehla was nominated by PM Shehbaz.

“It is imperative that the situation is resolved [within the PHF] by the end of this week and it is determined who will be sending the teams to the upcoming tournaments. We request that the agreed outcome and details of the official representatives are clearly communicated to us, FIH, by the end of the day on Friday [April 25],” the FIH letter to the PHF said.

“Failure to reach an agreement between the two [rival] parties by this time will mean we will have no choice but to write to the Pakistan government or the Pakistan Olympic Association, requesting their intervention and resolution,” added the letter.

“For clarity, allowing one of these organisations to send a team to these tournaments [in Malaysia and Poland] will not necessarily lead to automatic recognition of this group as the official Pakistan Hockey Federation.

“We will need to go through the correct process to recognise them. But the urgent priority for this [ongoing] week is to resolve the situation such that the Pakistan athletes are able to compete in these upcoming tournaments,” it concluded.

According to the FIH letter, Tayyab Ikram, who is a Pakistani and current president of the game’s world governing body, has been kept separate from the issue because of being a man of the country working in the senior management of the FIH which is dealing with PHF’s affairs.

Meanwhile disturbed over the prevailing situation, the government has summoned both the groups in Islamabad on Thursday to resolve the issues between them.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the PHF patron-in-chief, tasked the Adviser on Youth Affairs Rana Mashood to look into the matter.

According to sources in the PHF, Mashood after listening to both the groups will decide the matter so that a strong and properly prepared national squad could be sent to Malaysia.

However in a clear sign of heightened tensions between the said factions, the Shehla group has conveyed to the government that they will sit separately for the meeting where their rival group will not be sitting.

Haider Hussain, the secretary of Shehla-headed group within the federation, told Dawn on Wednesday that their group would not sit with the Bugti group in today’s meeting while claiming that some officials included in the Bugti group were facing corruption charges and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cases against them were in final stages.

“Yes in order to resolve the issues we are ready to sit with the government representative, Rana Mashood, but separately, as corruption cases involving some former Olympians, who part of the Bugti group, are being investigated,” Haider underlined.

Rana Mujahid, the secretary of the Bugti faction, claimed they were the genuine and legitimate body of the game in Pakistan.

“On Thursday, my group will present [the] evidence to prove before the FIH that we are a legitimate body to run the PHF,” Mujahid said.

“Bugti took the vote of confidence from the PHF Congress in a meeting where the representatives of the Pakistan Olympic Association and Pakistan Sports Board were also present,” he added.

Interestingly, Mujahid speaking on the occasion said that he would announce a five-member selection committee on April 27 to pick the national squad for next month’s Azlan Shah Cup.

This assertion signals that the training camp he had set up in Islamabad a week ago is running without selectors.

It may be mentioned that both the groups have set up training camps for the forthcoming event in Malaysia. Shehla group is running their camp in Karachi.

It is the first time that the PHF has explicitly split into two factions, after the POA and some other federations witnessed similar issues in the past.

Both the PHF groups held their Congress meeting separately last month to elect Bugti and Shehla as their president. In Karachi, Shehla was elected by Congress members belonging to Sindh and Balochistan, while in Islamabad Tariq was elected by the Congress, whose members are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab hockey associations.

OLTMANS EYEING PRO LEAGUE QUALIFICATION

Meanwhile, Pakistan coach Roelant Oltmans said that his main target was to enable the team to qualify for the FIH Pro League.

The Dutch coach who is in contract with the PHF for the events in Malaysia and Poland and is supervising the camp set up at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, said that he was working to improve fitness of the players.

“We are concentrating on the job and my [primary] aim is to help Pakistan qualify for the Pro League. During the Azlan Shah Cup, the players will get a chance to improve their skills,” Oltmans said while adding that the national team required restructuring for which “there is a need to bring senior players”.

Oltmans emphasized that domestic hockey in Pakistan required attention and strong competitions at domestic level so that the game’s standard in the country could improve.

He said that any coach required ample time to develop a strong team and added that currently Pakistan had a number of talented players who could become stars in the future.

While 57 players are currently attending the camp in Islamabad, this strength is going to be reduced to 25.

The Pakistan squad, to be selected in coming days, is likely to travel to Malaysia on May 1 to play their first match of the Azlan Shah Cup against the hosts on May 4.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2024

KARACHI: West Indies rode on yet another century by skipper Hayley Matthews to win the third women’s One-day International and secure a 3-0 clean sweep over Pakistan here at the National Bank Stadium on Tuesday.

Matthews, who had also scored a hundred n the first one-dayer, smashed 141 off 149 balls with the help of 19 boundaries to help the visitors post 278-6.

The target proved to be a mammoth task to overcome for Pakistan, who were bundled out for 190, with Muneeba Ali their top-scorer with 38.

The defeat dealt a major blow on Pakistan’s pursuit for direct qualification in next year’s Women’s World Cup, with the national side placed fifth in the ICC Women’s Championship table with not many games to turn their fate around.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, West Indies lost opener Rashada Williams early, but her dismissal was followed by her opening partner Matthews knitting a 93-run partnership with first-drop Shemaine Campbelle.

After Campbelle departed with 38 against her name, Matthews went on to put up a 111-run stand for the third wicket with Stafanie Taylor, who hit four boundaries for her 47 runs.

Aaliyah Alleyne smashed 20 off just 12 — her innings studded with three boundaries — to help the Caribbean side further consolidate their position in the match.

Spinner Nashra Sandhu was Pakistan’s best bowler with figures of 3-54 in her quota of 10 overs.

Pakistan, in response, never got going and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

They lost their first wicket in opener Sadaf Shamas as early as in the sixth over and were reeling at 84-4 by the 23rd with both veterans Nida Dar and Bismah Maroof back in the hut without making any meaningful impact.

After Muneeba, veteran batter Aliya Riaz’s 36 runs and Fatima Sana’s 44-ball stay for 23 runs somewhat delayed Pakistan’s whitewash as the West Indies bowled with eight bowlers. Each of them took at least one wicket, with Matthews, Alleyne and Taylor taking two scalps each.

The ODI series will be followed by five T20Is starting from April 26 .

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2024