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The whole tournament will take place in Karachi, with bio-security outsourced to a UK-based company

Umar Farooq18-Mar-2021The window for the unfinished 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League is likely to begin on May 23, with at least seven days of quarantine to start. The PCB had chalked out two options, with one involving double-headers every day from June 6 and a final on June 20. But ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchises preferred the other option, to have mostly one game per night from June 2, with a final on June 20.The first option had eight straight double-headers with 16 matches scheduled in 10 days followed by three playoffs in two days with the final on Sunday. The second option covers 16 group matches in 13 days. There was a minor disagreement on the timing and the number of days of quarantine, which is still being worked out, with the final decision to be taken by the PSL management in due course.The year’s edition was suspended only after 14 matches, following a spate of Covid-19 cases among players and support staff. It has been decided to resume the season in Karachi in two and a half months’ time with the PCB offering two windows after revamping their coronavirus protocols, which have come under severe fire in the wake of the season stalling in very abrupt fashion. The PCB decided to recruit the services of a UK-based safety and technology company to establish a bio-secure environment this time around.Related

• Remainder of PSL 2021 could be postponed further, says PCB

• Timeline: How Covid-19 forced PSL 2021 to be suspended

• What postponing the PSL means for Pakistan cricket

• Independent team of doctors to investigate PSL safety measures

• PSL franchise member left bubble despite testing positive

After the postponement, the PCB constituted a two-member independent committee consisting of infectious disease specialists who will both help the PCB get to the bottom of how an outbreak occurred inside a bio-secure bubble and advise the board on stricter safety measures so that it doesn’t happen again. The head of the PCB medical department Dr Sohail Saleem has already handed in his notice in the fallout.The new window will not clash with the Indian Premier League but the English season will coincide with it. It is understood that several English players are likely to miss out due to a clash with the County Championship and the T20 Blast. The PSL will have a round of replacement drafts closer to the event to allow franchises to have new players on their roster.In June, Pakistan doesn’t host much cricket because of the intense heat. There was one exception though, in 2008, when they hosted their first-ever Asia Cup between June 25 and July 6. Karachi has been chosen as the venue because the weather there is considered to be milder during the summer months.

Tells former team-mate Michael Holding who could be the future of WI’s fast bowling

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Jun-20202:35

Andy Roberts: ‘You cannot coach people to bowl fast’

Former West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts has said that Oshane Thomas will be the first name he will “pencil” in for West Indies’ final Test squad for the three-match series in England, which begins in Southampton from July 8. Speaking to his former West Indies team-mate Michael Holding, Roberts also predicted the young pair of Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder could grow to become the “backbone” of West Indies’ fast-bowling attack “within the next five-six years.”All three fast bowlers are part of the enlarged squad of 25 players that landed in Manchester on June 8. But while Joseph and Holder are part of the 14-man primary squad, Thomas – along with Shannon Gabriel – is part of the 11 reserves.ALSO READ – Oshane Thomas: ‘Test cricket is what you want to play to be great’According to Roberts, Thomas has the most basic skill of fast bowling, which at the same time is also unique: “pace”. Roberts believed that it could be turned into a “weapon” when used wisely.”Oshane Thomas would probably be the first name I would pencil on this tour because he has what others want: he has pace,” Roberts said in an episode on Holding’s YouTube channel aired on June 20. “And you should always have somebody like that on your team so that he can create uneasiness amongst batsmen.”Holding himself had said recently he was “a little bit surprised” to not find Thomas amongst the primary Test squad of 14, especially after he had gained prominence as one of the fastest bowlers in the previous year. Thomas has also talked up his desire to make his Test debut because that is the format where “greats” are recognised.ALSO READ – Thomas interview: ‘When I look in a batsman’s eyes and see fear, it’ll pump me up to bowl even faster’The current West Indies fast-bowling contingent is led by Kemar Roach along with captain Jason Holder and Gabriel. However, it is the pool of young fast bowlers like Joseph, Chemar and Thomas that has given the Caribbean selectors renewed hope that West Indies’ pace attack could be built into the sort of formidable unit that was championed once by Roberts and Holding.”I am glad to see there is a sort of a resurgence in the last couple of months, not years, just the last couple of months – there are some youngsters are coming through and I hope that we don’t try and expect too much off them too soon,” Roberts said.He also had a word of advice for the young fast bowlers – he wanted them to use their pace smartly and not let it go to waste. “Alzarri is a good youngster coming up. He has some pace, but I don’t think at the moment he is bowling genuinely fast,” Roberts said. “At the [Under-19] Youth World Cup (2016) I think he was bowling faster than he is now. Maybe if he has some experience and he can bowl within himself and produce the odd fast ball which is required. Because I don’t think anyone should try to bowl every ball at 90 mph. I would like to see the youngsters learn (that).”If you have a 95 mph ball in your armoury, that is a weapon. And you need to use [that] sparingly. You need to have the batsman just guessing: when is this faster ball going to come? Then there is young Chemar Holder. I saw a bit of him and I think he, to me, along with Alzarri will be the backbone of West Indies fast bowling within the next five or six years. I’m hoping that I don’t talk too soon. But you need to have two genuine fast bowlers who can bowl in pairs.”Roberts said Roach was a certainty along with Jason to lead the fast-bowling attack. He was unsure whether Chemar would be ready to be blooded on this tour, but felt Thomas could compete with Gabriel for a slot in the team.”I don’t know how fit Gabriel will be because he hasn’t played since last September,” he said. “And he is not one of the most athletic of our bowlers.”‘Batting to come good’Asked by Holding how West Indies could retain the Wisden Trophy, Roberts said that was possible only by playing “good all-round” cricket. According to him, West Indies’ batting remained a concern especially against the “short” delivery.”I hear many people are talking now about the strength of the fast bowling unit, but then we cannot forget the bating because we are not playing against ourselves,” Roberts said. “And England, at the moment, have some very good fast bowlers. Along with the two old stagers [Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad] they have two youngsters in [Jofra] Archer and [Mark] Wood. We have to be very careful because you know some of our youngsters in the region don’t play the short ball as well as we think they should. And so, first, the batting to come good on that tour.”The West Indies selection panel, led by former offspinner Roger Harper, was forced to ring in some last-minute changes after Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer had opted out of the England tour because of health concerns amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Recently Holding had said that it was “unfortunate” for both batsmen especially Bravo, who has struggled to find consistency, to miss out on the England tour.Roberts agreed, saying: “They would have played an integral part of the batting. As much as we don’t like the way Hetmyer has been playing, he is one of the batsmen for the future. But somebody has to get into his head and let him realise that you can’t score runs sitting in the pavilion.”According to Roberts, the challenge for most West Indies batsmen was they “don’t really train and practise enough to work the ball into gaps. We believe in boundaries.”West Indies coach Phil Simmons had admitted recently that batting was an area that West Indies needed to strengthen to compete in England. Key concern for Simmons would be the form of his two senior batsmen: vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope – both of whom were the best batsmen on West Indies’ previous visit to England, which they lost 2-1 after a thrilling victory in the second Test in Leeds.While Hope has failed to score another ton, after becoming the first batsman to record twin centuries in the same Test at Headingley, Brathwaite has averaged 25.33 in his last 20 Tests.”If our fast-bowling unit can click then may have some hope, but I am not going to put too much emphasis on our batting,” Roberts said. “Speaking, just by listening, watching and hearing people talk about these batsmen that we have there isn’t much to shout about.”

The win means Capitals moved to the top of the IPL 2019 points table, the first time the franchise from Delhi has attained that position in the second half of an IPL season since 2012.

The Report by Saurabh Somani22-Apr-20191:29

We had a plan for Archer’s short balls and yorkers – Prithvi Shaw

Ajinkya Rahane brought out his full repertoire of shots and then some uncharacteristic ones, charging to a second T20 century, but even his 105* off 63 couldn’t carry Rajasthan Royals to a total that was safe from Delhi Capitals’ powerful top order.Shikhar Dhawan smashed 54 at two runs a ball, and Rishabh Pant shrugged off a run of low scores where he seemed to get himself out more than the bowlers. Pant came in at 77 for 2, with the required rate having crept over 10, and stayed till the end to steer the chase, smacking 78* off 36 balls that was full of one-handed slog-sweeps and stunningly timed sixes – including the winning hit in the final over.The win meant Capitals moved to the top of the IPL 2019 points table, the first time the franchise from Delhi has attained that position in the second half of an IPL season since 2012. They are level on 14 points with Chennai Super Kings, but ahead on net run-rate.Victory also put to bed the chasing jitters that had plagued Capitals. They have now won their last two matches while chasing. For Royals, defeat meant their chances of making it to the playoffs dwindled significantly, and they will most likely have to win each of their remaining four games to even be in contention for a spot.Rahane’s turbo charge after the dropHe had been involved in a mix-up with Sanju Samson that resulted in a run-out for Samson without facing a ball. He had looked like getting bogged down at the start. And he would have been on his way for 16 off 18 if Ishant Sharma had held on to the easiest of chances in the fifth over. Ishant clanged it, and from that point on, Rahane’s innings was turbo-charged. The next 45 balls he faced would bring 89 runs, and that included the end phase when he was tiring, with only 11 runs coming off his last 10 deliveries. In the middle period of his innings, between the drop and the sluggish end, Rahane was scoring at an Andre Russell-ian run-rate of 13.37.This was the avatar of Rahane that people had clamoured to see: aggression, innovation in shot-making and even the much-maligned ‘intent’. His classical shot-making has always been a beautiful sight, but he married that with scoops, paddles and whips too. Most crucially perhaps, his mindset appeared to be one of attacking the bowlers.Capitals pull it back at the deathAfter 13 overs, Royals were motoring at 135 for 1, with both Rahane and Steven Smith carting the bowlers around. The home side would have backed themselves to finish above 210 from there, but the last seven overs brought only 56 runs, with five wickets falling.It began with Smith skying Axar Patel to the long-off boundary where Chris Morris held the ball over his head just inside the boundary line. Royals had Ben Stokes and Ashton Turner to follow, and would have expected a powerful finish. Instead, they fizzled out. Stokes’ poor season with the bat continued, but even his returns looked massive when set against the unfortunate Turner, who got a third successive golden duck. Turner has now scored ducks in his last five consecutive T20 matches, four of which have been off the first ball.Rahane had done all the running for his team and in an ideal world, he should have played second fiddle at the end with the big-hitters powering through. Instead, it was left to him to continue the power-hitting, and a tiring Rahane couldn’t find the boundary as regularly as he had, and the ball wasn’t going off the middle as often either. Capitals had kept the trio of Kagiso Rabada, Morris and Ishant for the end, and all three kept the batsmen relatively quiet, meaning Royals ended with a slightly below par total on a flat track.Dhawan starts, Pant finishesDhawan has reinvented himself as a T20 opener midway through this IPL season, and the new version of Dhawan ensured Capitals rocketed off at the start. That meant there was no run-rate pressure from the outset, and Dhawan’s onslaught had given Capitals the dual cushion of allowing Prithvi Shaw the luxury to settle in, and not let the natural downturn when a wicket fell let the required rate climb too high. Dhawan didn’t try to see off any bowler, or play himself in against anyone. He simply attacked each one, and won his battles against each one too. The spectre of dew later on forced Smith to bowl Shreyas Gopal in the Powerplay, but Dhawan carted him for 15 runs in his opening over to nullify his threat.Pant walked in when Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer fell within eight balls. It was a delicate situation, which could have gone pear-shaped for Capitals if Pant had fallen. But with Shaw playing within himself to hold one end up, Pant opened up successfully. He didn’t attempt extravagant shots at the start of his innings, which was perhaps the crucial difference from how his last few knocks had gone. But he didn’t go into a shell either, which meant that by the time he was well set, he was already scoring at a rapid rate. Once set, he unleashed his full range. There are few bowling attacks in the world that can go unscathed against Pant in these situations, and Royals weren’t one of them.

For the first time at Lord’s, the floodlights shone in a Championship match – but they went off for bad light all the same

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2018
ScorecardMiddlesex batsman Max Holden dives to regain his ground•Getty Images

Middlesex’s batsmen fought back from a sticky start against Northamptonshire to reach 136 for 4 on a shortened opening day of the Specsavers County Championship at Lord’s.Inserted on a greenish wicket, the home side slumped to 63 for 4 before lunch, with Northants seamers Ben Sanderson and Brett Hutton picking up two wickets each.But Sanderson squandered a chance to cement his side’s grip on the game, dropping John Simpson at fine leg before the Middlesex wicketkeeper went on to share an unbroken stand of 73 with Paul Stirling.Simpson (31*) and Stirling (40*) seemed well set when bad light halted play – despite the Lord’s floodlights being in use for the first time in a Championship fixture.Middlesex deployed an inexperienced batting line-up, with club captain Dawid Malan unavailable and Nick Gubbins, Eoin Morgan and Stevie Eskinazi all ruled out through injury or illness.That left 20-year-old Max Holden – who spent a successful loan period at Northamptonshire last season – to open alongside stand-in captain Sam Robson, with debutant Robbie White coming in at three.Holden managed just eight before he nudged Sanderson (2-30) to second slip – and White left the next delivery, which moved back to flatten his off stump.Australian Test batsman Hilton Cartwright, also making his Championship debut, went on the offensive with a couple of boundaries off Doug Bracewell and then pulled Hutton into the Mound Stand for six.But Hutton, who joined Northants on a permanent basis from Nottinghamshire during the winter, took his revenge with a slower ball that foxed Cartwright after a brisk 30.Having dropped anchor with a gritty 14, Robson also fell victim to Hutton as he was trapped leg before to compound Middlesex’s difficulties.After lunch, Simpson had made only three when his top-edged hook sailed towards the waiting hands of Sanderson, only for the fielder to spill what looked a regulation catch.Simpson made the most of that let-off, beginning to play his shots as the bowlers’ accuracy waned and carved Bracewell through the covers to bring up the 50-partnership with Stirling.Meanwhile, the Ireland international took advantage of the short boundary on one side, hitting seven fours, but Middlesex were unable to build on that momentum as deteriorating light forced the players from the field just before 3pm.They returned briefly towards the end of the day and Richard Gleeson found some movement during the 3.5 overs that were bowled, with Stirling adding a further four runs to the total before play was finally abandoned.

A round-up of all the Group D matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 16, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2015Cheteshwar Pujara top-scored for Saurashtra, but couldn’t prevent his side from going down for the second time in four matches. Uttar Pradesh, riding on a combined effort by their India internationals, won by five wickets at the Madhavrao Scindia ground in Rajkot to put themselves in a good position to secure a berth in the quarter-finals.Saurashtra, who were sent in to bat, were tottering right at 7 for 3, with Praveen Kumar removing the openers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then chipped in with the scalp of Aarpit Vasavada (39) to expose the lower order by the halfway mark. That they managed to post 189 was courtesy the tail – the last four wickets added 90, with Kamlesh Makwana, who made 35 not out, leading the rearguard action. While the seamers did the damage upfront, Piyush Chawla, the legspinner, also reaped the rewards, finishing with 3 for 53 off 10 overs.UP lost their openers with only 33 on the board, putting the onus on Suresh Raina to steer them clear of danger. When he fell for 18, Saurashtra were in with a sniff, but their hopes were extinguished by Shubham Chaubey, the debutant, who piloted the chase with an unbeaten 85. His 82-run stand for the fourth wicket with Eklavya Dwivedi (38) took UP to the doorstep of victory. Akshdeep Nath then polished off the chase with an unbeaten 28 as UP won with 32 balls to spare.Himachal Pradesh climbed to the top of the Group D table after cruising to a seven-wicket win over Goa.Goa were given a steady start by openers Sagun Kamat (57) and Swapnil Asnodkar (37) after they were put in. The pair added an opening stand of 62 after which Kamat combined with Keenan Vaz to add 46 for the second wicket. Kamat’s dismissal in the 33rd over triggered a batting collapse as Himachal’s bowlers, led by pacer Pankaj Jaiswal, bowled out Goa for 184 in 45.4 overs; Goa lost their last seven wickets for only 45 runs. Jaiswal had returns of 3 for 26 in 7.4 overs, while Bipul Sharma, Rahul Singh and Nikhil Gangta claimed two wickets apiece.Prashant Chopra drove most of Himachal’s chase with a brisk 67, that included nine fours and two sixes. Himachal wobbled after a solid opening stand as Shadab Jakati picked up three quick wickets. Paras Dogra and Dhawan then steered Himachal to the target with an unbeaten partnership of 61 for the fourth wicket.

Ishant Sharma has said his role as a seamer in Tests in India has been to contain the flow of runs so that the spinners can attack from the other end

Sharda Ugra21-Mar-2013The fringe men in India’s romper-stomper of a performance in the series against Australia are medium-pacers Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who, between them, have picked up only 10 of the 59 Australian wickets to fall, at an average of 40.4 and a headache-generating strike rate of 80.4. These are numbers that would give palpitations to captains and coaches in many countries, but in India the seamers understand why they have, quite literally, been shown their place.The day before the fourth and final Test in Delhi, Ishant turned up to speak to reporters and explained his role, if it required him chugging along in the sidelines and playing support to the new man Bhuvneshwar. “Your role in India is to contain the flow of runs so that the spinners can attack from the other end. You’ve got to hunt in a pack and bowl in partnerships like how you bat in partnerships. When you bowl in partnerships, you may not get wickets but the bowler at the other end gets wickets.”Ishant said he had switched new-ball duties with Bhuvneshwar, who made his Test debut in Chennai and has taken six wickets at 31.16 in the series so far. “I feel Bhuvi’s bowling is different to mine. Bhuvi is more effective with the new ball because he can swing it both ways. I don’t get much swing in Indian conditions and I have to wait for the ball to get a bit old so that it reverse-swings… only after that I can attack, but till then my role is to contain. Everyone knows their role and this is the best part of our team.”Pitches in the series so far have been bare and dry, Chennai and Hyderabad putting batsmen’s abilities to play the turning ball under strict examination. The Mohali track was undeniably the best for batting and offered more help to the seamers. Ishant said, “As you saw in the last three Test matches there was a lot of help for the spinners, so I have got very less bowling. It was only in the last match in Mohali that I got nearly 30 overs but before that I didn’t get much bowling.”For the seamers, Ishant said maintaining the balance between attack and defence and using the best bowler in the most suitable conditions was important. “If you are bowling first then the ball does not swing that much because conditions are not that favourable. So you have to wait for the ball to swing more, then you can attack but until then you have to be defensive.”The moment to attack came when the ball got a little old and reverse-swing of the kind that Ishant can put into use came into play. “You also have to wait for the ball to reverse-swing so you can have fielders in attacking positions… These factors are very important when considering when to attack and when to defend.”Ishant, who plays for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, was speaking at his home ground the Ferozshah Kotla, where he would miss playing for India, together his team-mate, Shikhar Dhawan, who scored the fastest Test century on debut in Mohali but fractured his left hand.The contrasts between India’s performances in the away Tests in England and Australia in 2011 and early 2012 and Australia’s woeful performances on their 2013 tour of India had, Ishant said, reiterated the advatages of home conditions, “When we went to Australia we struggled a lot and everybody said we can’t play away from home and now you can see that even Australia can’t play here. So the advantage of home conditions is quite big. Our home conditions suit spinners and Australia is weak against the spinners so that has been a big advantage for us.”

A round-up of the action from the third day of the sixth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2011Multan were on course for another defeat, losing three second-innings wickets after following on against Karachi Whites at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Karachi. Faraz Ahmed and Tabish Khan picked up nine wickets between them as Multan managed 210 in reply to Karachi’s 440. Jahanzeb Khan was the lone half-centurion while three other batsmen got starts but none managed more than 41. Ali Mudassar struck twice early in the second innings to leave Multan on 47 for 3, needing 183 more to avoid an innings loss.Quetta snuck past United Bank Limited‘s first-innings score by four runs despite a late collapse in which they lost their last six wickets for 45 runs at the National Ground in Islamabad. United Bank reached 107 for 4 by stumps leaving a draw the likely result. Quetta started the day well placed, on 136 for 1 in response to United Bank’s 273 but two early strikes by seamer Shabbir Ahmed and a run-out left them 150 for 4. Captain Taimur Ali and Ata-ur-Rehman got Quetta’s innings back on track with an 82-run partnership but things began to unravel once they were dismissed. Shabbir stepped in to wipe out the tail and finish with 6 for 47, but a last-wicket stand of six runs took Quetta just past United Bank’s first innings score.Lahore Ravi were in trouble against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, ending the day on 25 for 2 after being made to follow on at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Mohammad Zohaib (59) and captain Usman Salahuddin (76) were the only ones to resist for Lahore in the first innings but the rest of the line-up caved in as Lahore were dismissed for 242, leaving a deficit of 249. Asad Ali ended with 5 for 52 and was supported by Bilawal Bhatti’s three wickets. Lahore lost their openers early in the second innings, and need another 224 to make SNGPL bat again.Twenty-one wickets fell in a chaotic day’s play between Lahore Shalimar and Hyderabad at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Mir Ali took 5 for 15 in nine overs as Lahore were shot out for 79 in their second innings after having taken a lead of 82. Lahore were 19 for 6 at one stage and only an unbeaten 33 from No. 9 Ali Manzoor enabled them to set a target of 162. Asif Raza grabbed four wickets in Hyderabad’s chase to leave them tottering at 74 for 6, needing another 88 to win. Hyderabad will derive hope from the effort of their last pair of Imran Chandio and Nasir Awais who added 47 in the first innings to take them to 266.Peshawar‘s openers laid the platform for their chase of 302, adding 102 upfront after Khan Research Laboratories had extended their second innings to 261 at the Arbaz Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Mohammad Fayyaz and Israrullah went briskly at the start of the chase, with Fayyaz’s 55 coming off 51 balls. Though he was caught behind soon, Israrullah ended the day on an unbeaten 78 and Peshawar were 154 for 1. Yasir Arafat’s unbeaten 99 had earlier taken KRL to 261 from their overnight 124 for 4. Batting with the lower order throughout, Arafat’s effort gave KRL a healthy target to defend, but Peshawar’s top three had knocked off more than half of the required runs by stumps.

A round-up of the first day of the ninth round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2010Multan are in horrendous form in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy and that showed in their miserable capitulation against Rawalpindi at the Bahawal Stadium in Bahawalpur. However, it had seemed that they would be able to bounce back from their eight consecutive defeats when they bowled out Rawalpindi for 153 earlier in the day. Seamer Abdur Rauf took five wickets, new-ball partner Tahir Maqsood took four and had it not been for a half-century from Adnan Mufti’s half-century and his 67-run stand with Muzammil Nizam for the seventh wicket, Rawalpindi would have faced an embarrassment. But they were able to inflict one on Multan, whose batting simply couldn’t measure up to the pace of Rizwan Akbar, who took 6 for 50. They had been reduced to 57 for 7 at one stage and had to rely on Rauf again, this time with the bat, to take them past 100 with an unbeaten 28. The innings folded for 112, with a lead of 41 for Rawalpindi.Bowlers dominated the opening day of the contest between Faisalabad and Sialkot at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha, claiming 16 wickets. Sialkot had the advantage at stumps after skittling out Faisalabad for 88, thanks to a maiden haul of six wickets by seamer Prince Abbas. Only four Faisalabad batsmen managed to reach double-figures. Sialkot gained a lead but lost six wickets in the process in their response, as left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood took 4 for 36. Wicketkeeper Rizwan Sultan top scored with 30, while the others got starts, but was dismissed shortly before stumps, with Sialkot on 144 for 6, 56 ahead.Table-toppers Habib Bank Limited were on the back foot in their encounter against Pakistan International Airlines at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Seamer Aizaz Cheema cut through the HBL top and middle orders to take 6 for 69 and bowl them out for 211 in just 58 overs. Tottering at 49 for 6, HBL recovered thanks to an attacking 82 from wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat, who fought hard with the tail to lend some respectability to the HBL score. PIA began well in their reply, with openers Khurram Manzoor and Agha Sabir adding an unbeaten 52 before stumps.Islamabad had the advantage at the end of the opening day against Karachi Blues at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Seamers Nasrullah Khan, Rauf Akbar and Fakhar Hussain grabbed three wickets each to overcome starts by the Karachi top-order batsmen and a half-century from Atif Ali and bowl out the opposition for 237. Nasrullah took some stick, conceding 110 in 25 overs, but Karachi will rue the fact that they let it slip after being in a strong position at 118 for 2. In their reply, Islamabad lost opener Farrukh Hayat early and finished the day on 20 for 1.National Bank of Pakistan and Water and Power Development Authority ended on almost even terms at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Rafatullah Mohmand, unbeaten on 86, helped WAPDA, currently placed second in the table, fight through a middle-order wobble and finish the day on 256 for 8. Openers Ahmed Said and Jahangir Mirza had laid a solid foundation with a stand of 83 but a collapse ensued where seven wickets fell for 94. Seamer Mohammad Talha picked up four wickets but Mohmand found support in Umaid Asif, with whom he added 62 for the eighth wicket. The extras proved useful as well, contributing 28 to the score.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited held the edge against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Opener Yasir Hameed starred with 95, including ten fours, and Shahid Yousuf contributed 80 to set up ZTBL’s score of 294 for 5 at stumps. There was another significant contribution, of an unbeaten 51 by Haris Sohail, which helped consolidate the strong start provided by Hameed.

MS Dhoni has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong because of a back strain

Sriram Veera in Chittagong16-Jan-2010MS Dhoni has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong because of a back strain. Virender Sehwag, his deputy, will lead India in the match scheduled to start on Sunday, and Dinesh Karthik will replace him as the keeper, the Indian team manager Arshad Ayub confirmed.Dhoni suffered a back spasm during morning practice, retired to the dressing room and sent Virender Sehwag for the traditional captain’s pre-match conference. However Sehwag, in his inimitable style, just offered: “He is fine, just taking a break and he is enjoying in the dressing room.””The spasm continued and refused to go away,” Ayub told Cricinfo. “Dhoni didn’t want to take any chances and decided at the team-meeting in the evening that he wouldn’t play the Test. Karthik will replace him.” Karthik played two games as an opener in the recently concluded tri-series.Dhoni had earlier suffered a back spasm during India’s tour of New Zealand early last year and, as a result, had to sit out of the second Test in Napier, which ended in a draw. Sehwag led India in Napier in Dhoni’s absence and will be captaining his country in a Test for the third time when he steps out tomorrow.

CSK have not yet said if they are going to release Stokes, having made him their most expensive auction buy ever ahead of the 2023 season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2023Ben Stokes, Chennai Super Kings’ England allrounder, has made himself unavailable for IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness. The franchise, in a statement on their website, said they were “supportive of Ben in his decision”.Super Kings, though, have not said if they will release Stokes.The IPL has set Sunday, November 26, as the deadline for franchises to announce their retentions and releases for the 2024 season. In case they do not release Stokes, Super Kings will have the option of retaining him ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025. And if they release him by Sunday, Super Kings can utilise the INR 16.25 they had bought him for, in the auction next month.Related

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• IPL 2024: Royals trade Padikkal for Super Giants' Avesh

• How everything went wrong with England at the World Cup

At the end of the World Cup, Stokes had revealed that he would be undergoing knee surgery, a step he had been delaying for a while. Depending on his rehab, Stokes and the ECB will determine the timeline of his return.Stokes, who was Super Kings’ most expensive buy ever in the auction ahead of the 2023 IPL season for INR 16.25 crore (US$ 1.98 million approx. at the time), played just two games through the season, scoring 15 runs and bowling just the one over. This was partly because of the left-knee injury, which had forced him to start the season as a specialist batter. The injury to the knee is a long-standing one, but had flared up during England’s tour of New Zealand in February this year. Stephen Fleming, the Super Kings coach, had said at the time that the team would wait for Stokes to be “100% ready” before asking him to bowl.More recently, after coming out of ODI retirement to play the World Cup in India, Stokes was one of England’s better batters on show even as the team had a horror run in the tournament. Stokes played six of England’s nine games after missing the first three with a hip niggle, but ended as their second-highest run-scorer behind Dawid Malan. Stokes, who didn’t bowl at all at the World Cup, scored 304 runs in his six innings including two half-centuries and a century, ending with a scoring sequence of 64 (vs Australia), 108 (vs Netherlands) and 84 (vs Pakistan). He scored at an average of 50.66 and a strike rate of 89.14.As things stand, Stokes, the England Test captain, is hopeful of touring India for the five-Test series, to run from January 25 to March 11.”I’ve put a lot of hard work in away from cricket to give myself the best chance of a quicker recovery and, with Christmas and everything coming up, the main thing for me is getting this knee right and being ready and raring to go for that Test series in India,” Stokes had said after England’s last game at the World Cup.