Sports

The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken a wait-and-watch approach on Afghanistan but will discuss the game’s fate in the country in a board meeting next month, ICC acting chief executive Geoff Allardice said on Sunday. Afghanistan risk isolation since the country’s Taliban takeover in August, with Cricket Australia threatening not to host them for a one-off Test in Hobart next …

Tyson Fury retained his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title on Saturday when he sent Deontay Wilder to the canvas for a third time with a vicious right hand to the head in the 11th round at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, US. The enthralling slugfest was more competitive than many expected but still ended as most predicted, with …

LAHORE: It was an abject surrender as Southern Punjab’s wretched National T20 Cup campaign came to a shuddering halt in Lahore. Friday’s night fixture at the Gaddafi Stadium saw last season’s runners-up suffered their seventh defeat in nine matches of this edition, while Sindh temporarily surged to the top of the table on the back of Sharjeel Khan’s swashbuckling century …

KARACHI: Reigning national U-17 champion Ahsan Ramzan created quite a stir when he pulled off the biggest upset to date by humbling top seed and holder Mohammad Asif 5-2 as second seed Mohammad Sajjad smashed maximum break of 147, first ever by a cueist in a ranking event, in the NBP 46th National Snooker Championship at the bank’s sports complex …

SYDNEY: Australia Test captain Tim Paine said on Friday he expects a ‘really strong’ England side to commit to the Ashes tour, revealing he had been in touch with Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the series. Paine ruffled feathers in England a week ago when he insisted all five Tests would go ahead with or without opposite number Joe Root, …

KARACHI: Top three seeds Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sajjad, and Shahid Aftab and eighth seed Babar Masih all advanced on Friday, while fourth seed Mohammad Bilal failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the NBP 46th National Snooker Championship here. Holder Asif, who is also a two-time world champion, had a close shave against Sindh’s qualifier Umer Naeem before winning 5-4 …

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced an altered squad for this month’s Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, with former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed replacing the young Azam Khan. The national selectors made three changes to the team announced last month “after taking into consideration player performances and form”, the PCB said in a statement. In the other two changes, Haider Ali …

LAHORE: Former National T20 Cup champions Northern completed a dramatic turnaround against leaders Central Punjab in Lahore on Friday. And the hero of their last-over victory by five wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium was the 25-year-old Aamir Jamal, who claimed the player-of-the-match prize on debut in the format. After spearheading Northern’s brilliant comeback in the first half with the ball, …

ISLAMABAD: Several prominent men and women international players will participate in the Chief of the Air Staff-Serena Hotels/ Combaxx Sports International Championship starting here at the Mushaf Squash Complex on Monday. This was stated by Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) secretary Wing Commander Armghan Aziz during a news conference here on Friday. Addressing the presser alongside director National Squash Academy Aftab …

Former Zimbabwe captain and England coach Andy Flower has been named the Afghanistan team’s consultant for the Twenty20 World Cup, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said. Flower played 63 tests and 213 one-day international matches for Zimbabwe from 1992 to 2003, then coached England from 2009 to 2014, helping them win the T20 World Cup in 2010. He has also …