Sports

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 …

MILAN: Ferran Torres put Spain into the Nations League final with a brace in a 2-1 win that ended European champions Italy’s world record unbeaten run at 37 matches in front of their own fans at the San Siro stadium. Italy, trailing by two goals at the break, had to play the entire second half with 10 men after captain …

LONDON: English Premier League club Newcastle United was sold to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund on Thursday after a protracted takeover and legal fight involving concerns about piracy and rights abuses in the kingdom. The 300-million-pound ($409 million) takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund initially collapsed last year over concerns about how much control the kingdoms leadership would have …

ISLAMABAD: Three weeks after calling off their tour of Pakistan due to security concerns, New Zealand are willing to reschedule the series and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said on Thursday that there will be more information regarding that in a weeks’ time. Ramiz was briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination, which met here with Senator Mian …