Sports

Mark Sinclair Chapman is quite the fan of the road less travelled. When he walked out to bat for the first time in international cricket, the then 19-year-old found himself trying to guide his Hong Kong team out of a hole against Nepal in their opening World T20 qualifier in March of 2014. The side were 37-3 chasing Nepal’s target …

RAWALPINDI: Victory, and a series win, felt within grasp for Pakistan but New Zealand and Mark Chapman had other ideas. The left-handed Chap­man smashed a magnificent 104 not out off 57 balls, hitting four sixes and 11 fours, launching a blistering counterattack to deliver a six-wicket victory for New Zealand as the Black Caps finish the five-match series level at …

RAWALPINDI: Heavy rain and a subsequent hailstorm forced the abandonment of the the fourth T20 Inter­national between Pakis­tan and New Zealand here at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. New Zealand were close to the end of their innings, having been put into bat, when showers forced covers to be brought onto the pitch. In a matter of minutes, a …

LONDON: Arsenal’s title pursuit has entered choppy waters but they have the perfect opportunity to steady the ship when they host the Premier League’s bottom club Southampton on Friday with a seven-point lead up for grabs. With a first championship since 2004 glinting on the horizon, Mikel Arteta’s side have displayed signs of nerves in the past two weeks as …

LAHORE: While Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz has announced hefty cash prizes for the winners from the province at next month’s National Games in Quetta, the government is yet to release funds to prepare the contingents. A summary has moved to the Punjab government asking to release Rs30 million for training camps, travel …

They say that if you come at the king, then you better kill the king. And Imad Wasim definitely came at the king when he criticised his former Karachi Kings teammate Babar Azam before the start of this Pakistan Super League (PSL). For all intents and purposes, it seemed that those words were just confirming what everyone had suspected — Imad’s international …

RAWALPINDI: After months of speculation, Mickey Arthur has finally arrived. The former Pakistan head coach has returned to the men’s national team setup in a directorial role and seems to be clear about his goals in his second stint. Building match-winners is what the South African will be focused on. In this role, according to a Pakistan Cricket Board press …

England Test coach Brendon McCullum has been cleared by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) of breaching its anti-corruption code and will face no further action over his involvement with an online betting business. Reports said the New Zealander had stepped back from his commercial role with 22Bet, a Cyprus-registered bookmaker for whom he has appeared in several online …

NEW DELHI: Rising talent Tilak Varma has earned predictions that he is destined to play for his country after lighting up the Indian Premier League with his fearless batting. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians bought Varma for $200,000 in last year’s auction and the 20-year-old has repaid their faith with some stellar performances since. An attacking left-handed batsman, Varma smashed a …

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo was upstaged by another former Manch­ester United forward in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as Al-Hilal’s Odion Ighalo scored twice from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win over Al-Nassr. Portugal striker Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr on a lucrative deal last January and scored eight goals in his first five games but he has been unable to sustain …