Tag: ENGvPAK

  • ECB chief Tom Harrison flies to Pakistan in bid to repair relations between England cricket and PCB

    ECB chief Tom Harrison flies to Pakistan in bid to repair relations between England cricket and PCB

    England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison will meet with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, as well as Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja, in a bid to repair relations with Pakistan in the wake of last month’s cancelled T20I tour.

    Read More – New Zealand cancels Pak series due to ‘security concerns’ despite PM Khan’s call to NZ PM

    Officials at the PCB were enraged when England pulled out of the two-match tour at short notice a few weeks ago.

    Now Harrison has flown in to assure Ramiz, the new chairman of the PCB, that England remain committed to their Test tour of the country at the end of 2022. England have not toured Pakistan since late 2005.

    He is also set to meet with PM Khan, Pakistan’s greatest allrounder and World Cup-winning captain, prior to his move into politics, who also serves as patron-in-chief of the PCB.

    Speaking in the wake of the cancelled T20I tour, which followed hot on the heels of New Zealand’s abandonment of their own tour on the morning of their opening ODI in Rawalpindi, Ramiz hit out at what he called cricket’s “western bloc”, and said that the PCB would be making contingency plans to protect their home itinerary in the event of another England pull-out next year.

    Reportedly, Harrison’s trip is only expected to last a couple of days. He is due in the UAE later in the week as the ICC hold their first in-person chief executives’ meeting since the start of the pandemic.

    The news came after Cricket Australia announced its plans for a three-Test, three-ODI and one T20I tour in March-April 2022. If it goes ahead as planned, it will be their first tour of the country since 1998.

  • Ramiz Raja ‘erroneously’ tweets about ECB chairman’s resignation, deletes later

    Ramiz Raja ‘erroneously’ tweets about ECB chairman’s resignation, deletes later

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja on Thursday issued an apology for “erroneously” tweeting about his English counterpart’s resignation from his office.

    Read More – ‘ECB announcement to visit Pakistan a welcome step forward’: Fawad

    England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chairman, Ian Watmore, resigned earlier in the day after increasing pressure since the cancellation of England’s tour to Pakistan, The Times had reported.

    “The earlier tweet was erroneously put on my Twitter account. Apologies,” Raja said, who had given strong remarks after England had decided to cancel their tour of Pakistan following New Zealand’s pull out.

    England’s men and women teams were due to play two Twenty20s in Rawalpindi on October 13 and 14. The women’s team were also due to play three ODIs in Pakistan on October 17, 19, and 21.

    In his now-deleted tweet, Raja shared the news of ECB chief’s resignation as a breaking news.

    Tweeple were not happy with him for expressing his views as the Chairman of PCB.

    https://twitter.com/zeeshanali38/status/1446399752225136643?s=20

  • ‘Mujhe afsos hai, England’s tour not cancelled over security’: British High Commissioner

    ‘Mujhe afsos hai, England’s tour not cancelled over security’: British High Commissioner

    British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner on Tuesday termed Pakistan as a safe country, saying that the England cricket team’s tour was not cancelled over security concerns.

    Speaking on ARY News programme, ‘Off The Record’, with Kashif Abbasi, the British High Commissioner dispelled an impression that the tour of the England team was cancelled over security concerns.

    Turner assured that the England team would tour Pakistan next year as they only had three matches scheduled for the now-cancelled tour in 2021. “Our players had been playing PSL and other leagues in Pakistan,” he said while once again reiterating that security was not the reason behind the cancellation of the tour.

    While appreciating Pakistan cricket team’s recent tour to England, he lauded the national team’s players for being a true and passionate ambassador of the game of cricket.

    Earlier, Turner also took to Twitter and released a video in which he expressed his sadness, saying that he is upset that the English board, “which is independent of the British government”, called off men and women’s tour of Pakistan in October.

    “The British High Commission supported the tour, did not advise against it on security grounds; and our travel advice for Pakistan has not changed,” he said.

    While talking to Muneeb Farooq, on Geo News‘ programme ‘Capital Talk’, the British High Commissioner said that from day one of his appointment, he is working for building the image of Pakistan and he has also changed the travel advisory for the country.

    “Not only with PCB, but I am also working with the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] for this day,” he added.

    He also said that this is not the story of people taking Pakistan down or any security issue, it is about the ECB and the players taking decision, and we must all work hard to change those perceptions and return to that day when cricket will return to Pakistan.

  • ‘Decision of England board is cowardly, was made out of fear of the players and India’: British author

    ‘Decision of England board is cowardly, was made out of fear of the players and India’: British author

    British author and journalist Peter Oborne termed the decision of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as cowardly, saying that the decision to cancel the tour of Pakistan was taken out of fear of English players and India.

    The author slammed the English board, saying the grounds on which the visit to Pakistan was canceled were a matter of “grave concern”.

    Peter said: “The England board’s decision to cancel the tour was cowardly and out of fear of the players and India, especially the IPL. The security arrangements in Pakistan were the same as those made for Prince William and Kate Middleton. The British High Commission in Pakistan was satisfied with the security arrangements.”

    While talking to Sky News, the author said: “Not for Pakistan’s cricket, this decision is a blow to the whole world. Pakistan team is one of the best teams in the world, England apparently did not make this decision on security grounds.”

    He also criticised “invisible” Chairman ECB Ian Watmore to come on television and defend this decision.

    “We are kicking one of our closest cricketing allies on teeth because of India,” he stated.

    Oborne said that there was no change in the English board’s security advice, adding that the press release did not mention security but the players’ stress.

    He further said that Pakistan came and played in the UK even in the dangerous time of Covid-19. Pakistan did good to Britain by coming in the pandemic.

    Earlier, veteran cricket journalist George Dobell had taken the ECB to the cleaners for cancelling its tour to Pakistan and had called it out on its “hypocrisy”.

  • Babar Azam reportedly not happy with Pakistan’s T20 squad selection

    Babar Azam reportedly not happy with Pakistan’s T20 squad selection

    Pakistan captain Babar Azam is reportedly amongst the many who are disappointed with Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) squad selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

    Read More – Pakistan squad for New Zealand, England and ICC T20 World Cup announced

    According to Geo News, the skipper was not informed about the selection of the team for the mega-event.

    Moreover, it was revealed that he is reportedly not pleased with inclusion of Azam Khan and Sohaib Maqsood, who were added by the chief selector after discussion with PCB chairman-in-waiting Ramiz Raja.

    The power-hitter wanted to include Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf in the team, per the insiders, who added that Babar contacted Raja to discuss the selection but his suggestions fell on deaf ears.

    The report also revealed that the selection of the 15-man squad sent a message to Babar about directing his focus solely on playing rather than selection of the players.

    Babar isn’t the only one who is reportedly dismayed by the players selected for the World Cup. Former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who resigned on Monday as the head coach, also had doubts over the selection of Azam Khan.

  • Pakistani cricket fan holding Palestinian flag beaten up by guards in second T20

    Pakistani cricket fan holding Palestinian flag beaten up by guards in second T20

    A cricket fan who invaded the pitch during Pakistan’s second T20 against England at Headingley has complained he was beaten very badly by the security guards.

    Speaking to Geo News from the accident and emergency unit of the Oldham Hospital, Muhammad Ayshaam, 25, said he wanted to have fun and get a selfie with the closest player Adil Rashid when storming the pitch towards the end of the match.

    Live scenes showed Ayshaam storming the pitch by dodging at least five security guards on his way, making it straight to Rashid, pausing there for three seconds to attempt a selfie and then running back to the stands, successfully dodging the security men chasing to get hold of him.

    Thousands of cricket fans cheered and clapped as Ayshaam flipped his way back to the crowd and ran up the stands to melt into the crowd, while the security men continued their chase.

    But Ayshaam, who works in a warehouse and was carrying a “free Palestine” flag with him when invading the pitch, says he was beaten “very badly” by the security guards. As he was running out, an English fan stuck his leg out to drop him and then two Pakistani security guards tried to grab him and Ayshaam dodged them too.
    Then four to five security guards chased him and one of them tackled Ayshaam on the ground.

    “I fell on the concrete with full force. I have deep cuts on [my] left elbow and on both hands. I couldn’t stand when they tripped and pushed me. They also dragged me even when I requested to sit down on [the] floor. My left foot was in so much pain. I couldn’t stand and they carried on dragging and pushing me,” he said while talking to Geo News.

    The English Cricket Board (ECB) and other sporting managements have declared that invading pitches by fans is unacceptable and those involved in anti-social behaviour will be dealt with the full force of regulations and laws.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan will face England today (Tuesday) in the final T20 of the three-match series.

  • Haroon Shahid, Faysal Quraishi call out PTV Sports for body shaming Azam Khan

    Haroon Shahid, Faysal Quraishi call out PTV Sports for body shaming Azam Khan

    Faysal Quraishi and singer turned actor Haroon Shahid took to social media to share an insensitive post by Pakistan Television (PTV) Sports’ official social media account, which posted a picture of Azam Khan with a caption that read: “Khata hai lekin lagata nahin.”

    Faysal turned to Instagram stories and wrote: “Shame on you @ptvsportspk.”

    Similarly, Haroon took to Instagram stories, saying: “Not a joke. At first I thought it’s a fake page running under the name of PTV sports. To my surprising, it wasn’t,” adding, “Is this how we are going to ridicule our players.”

    National High-Performance Centre batting coach Mohammad Yousuf said wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan can’t look to hit sixes all the time.

    He added that Azam has to learn to assess match situations and see what the team needs him to do and what approach he has to take.

    Azam, who is the son of former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Moin Khan, recently made his international debut as he featured in the first T20 International against England on Friday.

    In the match, which Pakistan won by 31 runs, he made five runs off three balls, which included a boundary.

    In the second T20 International, Azam only made one run as Pakistan was beaten by 45 runs.

    The 22-year-old was called up to the national team on the back of strong performances in domestic cricket.

    In the Pakistan Cup, he accumulated 186 runs in seven games for Sindh, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 46.50 and a strike rate of 124.83.

    As for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), he scored 174 runs in 10 matches for the Quetta Gladiators at an average of 17.40 and a strike rate of 133.84.

    “Hitting sixes is important in T20s, but a proper batsman has to look at the match situation first and foremost and also look at what the team needs,” Yousuf told a Pakistani media outlet.

    Meanwhile, netizens are also trolling Azam with insensitive memes on social media. Hashtag Azam Khan fat was also trending on Twitter.

    The three-match T20 series is now tied at 1-1 and the decider will be held on Tuesday.

  • ‘What’ve we won before or after 2017 CT?’: Kamran Akmal slams Pakistan’s cricketing policies after whitewash by England

    ‘What’ve we won before or after 2017 CT?’: Kamran Akmal slams Pakistan’s cricketing policies after whitewash by England

    Wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has slammed the former coaches for the present scenario of the Pakistan cricket team. His statement came after Babar Azam-led Pakistan was whitewashed after losing the last match to England by 7 wickets.

    Ben Stokes-led England, which featured mostly inexperienced players as the regulars were isolated due to the Covid-19 outbreak, trashed the visiting party in all the three ODIs. After the humiliating series loss, the Pakistan team has been receiving flak from several former cricketers of the country for getting hammered by a second-string team.

    In a conversation with paktv.tv, Akmal heaped praise on England’s cricketing system for setting up an example of how to form a team in adverse conditions.

    “The biggest plus point of England cricket is their system. The players they selected for the series didn’t show a single sign of nervousness, neither did they hit the panic button. They didn’t even complain about the absence of regulars who were in isolation, because they have that kind of confidence,” Akmal said.

    “All the players have played in domestic cricket hence; they handled the pressure well and played with planning. They passed a message to the world how a cricket team should be made and what should be the selection criteria,” he added.

    Akmal further pointed out that the damage was done to the team during the tenure of former coaches and the same old policies of the governing body has hampered Pakistan’s cricketing environment.

    “If you have two coaches of similar types, then that will cause problems. Coaches have the biggest role in constituting a team. Did the last two Pakistan coaches improve the team? They started all this and now the current management is facing flak.

    “The players need to play cricket more and more. They need to spend more time on the ground. They need to focus on every format but unfortunately, T20 is getting more attention. Their lies the problem,” Akmal said.

    “Vicky Bhai [Waqar Younis] was the head coach earlier and then there was Mickey Arthur. What have we won after or before the 2017 Champions Trophy? We were number one in T20Is and in Tests just for a month. But what about India who has been on the top for five years?” he added.

    Pakistan will take on England in a three-match T20I series starting from today (Friday).

  • ‘Massively disturbing this 3-0 score line’: Ramiz Raja reacts to Pakistan getting whitewashed

    ‘Massively disturbing this 3-0 score line’: Ramiz Raja reacts to Pakistan getting whitewashed

    Former captain of Pakistan cricket team Ramiz Raja has reacted to Pakistan’s “disturbing” 3-0 whitewash by England in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series on Tuesday.

    Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “What started off as an aberration, a momentary glitch became a norm! Massively disturbing this 3-0 scoreline!!”

    Pakistan’s Babar Azam-led unit suffered a three-wicket defeat in the third ODI despite posting a gigantic 331-run total on the scoreboard.

    On the other hand, he was angrier while giving his views on his YouTube Channel. “I’m not surprised with the result in today’s game. This was on the cards as this team had already mentally disintegrated.”

    He said that Pakistan never recovered from the shocking defeat in the first ODI, which led to bad headlines about the team across the globe.

    “It has become a trend that we have stopped learning from our mistakes,” Raja said. “Whenever there is added pressure, we make more mistakes. As in today’s game, we made fumbles and dropped catches on the field. Similarly, our bowling was below par due to the added pressure.”

    “They started bowling half-trackers and shorter lengths on a straight pitch, which is nothing less than inviting batsmen to hit you all around the park,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Azam became the quickest to reach 14 ODI centuries milestone in just 81 innings. This also makes Azam the first-ever Pakistan skipper to score an ODI century against England in England.

    On the list of quickest to 14 ODI centuries, the 26-year-old is followed by Hashim Amla (84 innings), David Warner (98 innings), Virat Kohli (103 innings) and Quinton de Kock (104 innings).

  • Ramiz Raja, Shoaib Akhtar lash out at Pakistan’s performance after another loss to England

    Ramiz Raja, Shoaib Akhtar lash out at Pakistan’s performance after another loss to England

    The Pakistan cricket team lost the second One-Day International (ODI) to a ‘second string’ England team. It has sent shockwaves across the cricketing world. Shoaib Akhtar and Ramiz Raja lashed out at the selectors after the loss.

    After a decent bowling performance, Pakistan still lost the second ODI against England by 47 runs. With this loss, Pakistan has also lost the three-match ODI series.

    Former players like Akhtar and Raja have come out in the open to express their disappointment with the team.

    After three players and four management team members from England’s ODI squad contracted coronavirus, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a completely new team to play ODI and T20I series against Pakistan. Nine out of the 18 team members are uncapped players, which means that they have never played an international game before. Thus, it was being speculated that Pakistan might have a good chance to win the series with newer players in the England team.

    The English youngsters have turned that speculation around by winning the first two ODIs with ease. Now a single ODI and a three-match T20I series remain for Pakistan to salvage something from the tour.

    “So on a Richter scale, this defeat would be 15,” wrote the former captain while sharing his thoughts on Twitter.

    England scored 247 runs in the first innings in the second ODI but the batsmen could not stand the bowling from English pacers. Raja said he was shocked to see Pakistan go on the way they did.

    “If you map this series defeat on the Richter scale, the value of shock will clock fifteen. It’s a massive blow and I don’t understand how one can defend it. It’s England’s No.2 team, in terms of talent,” Raja said in his latest YouTube video.

    “We are talking about a glorified county team that has beaten Pakistan. People underestimated them and hoped for an ODI series whitewash in England. But look how the tables have turned that now Pakistan are under the threat of a whitewash,” he continued.

    On the other hand, Shoaib said that Pakistan’s team is a T20I side and they play accordingly. “No one enjoys criticising anyone. But tell me, which kid will start playing cricket after watching this team? The PCB’s plan is that no one should watch or follow cricket and they don’t have to spend anything,” Akhtar explained. “What was there in the wicket, first tell me that. Pakistan is only a T20 team. They play like T20 and get out like that. They lose five wickets in twenty overs. In T20s also, they score 150-175 and exactly the same in ODIs.”

    While talking to Geo News, the former speedster said that at present, there is not a single player in the Pakistan team whom the spectators came to the stadium by spending money to watch.

    “Cricket is not just about sixes and fours, batsmen should also take singles. Except for Hassan Ali, no bowler knows how to take a wicket, looking at the Pakistan team, it looks like a club-level team is playing a match,” said Akhtar.

    Meanwhile, today Babar Azam-led Pakistan will face the Ben Stokes-captained team England at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham for the third and final ODI of the series.