Sports

Rawalpindi: Balochistan have registered their first win of the ongoing National T20 Cup at Pindi Cricket Stadium. The Imam-ul-Haq-led side defeated Southern Punjab by seven wickets, chasing a 102-run target in 17.2 overs. The 18-year-old Abdul Wahid Bangalzai scored his first fifty of the T20 career. He remained unbeaten on 58 off 55 (five fours and a six). Wicketkeeper Bismillah …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed anger at the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) decision to cancel the tour to Pakistan scheduled for November, according to a report published in The Times. The ECB’s decision had come three days after New Zealand abandoned their tour of Pakistan, citing a “security threat” minutes before the first ODI match was scheduled to start at the …

KARACHI: It was at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France when Michael Owen announced himself to the world. Then just an 18-year-old, on as a substitute in England’s second World Cup group game against Romania — in a game his side would eventually go on to lose — he became his country’s youngest goal-scorer at a World Cup; a …

LAHORE: Thousands of players in about 30 different sporting disciplines are set to be rendered jobless after the federal government issued a notification asking all public departments, corporations and autonomous bodies to stop their funding to sports teams and instead begin diverting them to regional teams. “In a meeting on revamping of sports governance structure in Pakistan held under the …

KARACHI: Khurram Manzoor may no longer be in the Pakistan frame but the seasoned batter proved his true worth when it mattered on Friday playing a pivotal role in helping Sindh upstage Southern Punjab by five wickets in the early National T20 Cup action in Rawalpindi on Friday. The 35-year-old’s outstanding 49-ball 84 was 25 runs more than the Twenty20 …

LAHORE: No deliberations were held over the longstanding demand of Pakistan Super League (PSL)’s franchises to review the financial model of the franchise-based T20 competition when PCB chief Ramiz Raja had a brief preliminary meeting with the owners. Although detailed discussions have been scheduled for Monday, Friday’s meeting was physically attended by representatives from Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars, while …

LIVERPOOL: A perplexed Mohammad Abbas said on Thursday that Pakistan felt ‘hurt’ by the ‘strange’ decision of English cricket chiefs to cancel tours for their men’s and women’s teams next month. Paceman Abbas added it was a poor reward for Pakistan’s decision to tour England last year at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in Britain. “Obviously when you give …

England cricketers had no role in the team’s decision to abandon their tour of Pakistan next month, the players’ union has said. New Zealand returned home from Pakistan after abruptly abandoning their tour minutes before the opening fixture in Rawalpindi, citing a security alert from their government. England followed suit this week, calling off their men’s and women’s teams tour of Pakistan, citing …

MADRID: This time, Real Madrid didn’t need to rely solely on Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior to keep winning in La Liga. Benzema scored twice to reach 200 league goals but Real also got a hat-trick from Marco Asensio on their way to a comfortable 6-1 win over Mallorca at home on Wednesday, a result that extended the team’s winning …

MELBOURNE: Pakistan-born Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja says “money talks” and no team would say no to touring India but it is “easy for players and organisations” to turn down assignments in Pakistan or Bangladesh. England followed New Zealand in pulling out of Pakistan tour, citing security concerns, dealing a massive blow to the country’s efforts to bring back international cricket. …