Sports

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan’s hopes of finishing among the top six at the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup ended with a 7-5 reverse at the hands of Australia in an entertaining fifth-to-eighth place classification match on Thursday. Roelant Oltmans’ Pakistan were 7-2 down in at the start of the last quarter but fought till the end at the National Hockey Stadium …

Pakistani cricketer Ahmed Shahzad announced on Friday that he is parting ways with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after not being picked by any of the six franchises in the recent player drafting, which he said seemed like a “deliberate effort” to keep him out of the T20 showpiece. The player drafting for the 2024 edition of the PSL took …

Seamer Aamer Jamal bowled with pace and confidence on Friday to claim a six-wicket haul on his debut and help Pakistan bowl Australia out for 487 on day two of the first test in Perth. Pakistan batted for 53 overs in the afternoon to reach 132-2 at the stumps. Abdullah Shafique top-scored with 42 as the visitors trail by 355 …

LAHORE: Pakistan spinner Sadia Iqbal has secured fourth spot in the ICC Women’s T20 International rankings. Slow left-arm spinner Sadia, who was a key contributor in Pakistan’s T20 series in New Zealand recently, has played 28 T20Is taking 29 wickets with best figures of 3-19 against Bangladesh in 2019. For her consistent performance, the 28-year-old Sadia was shortlisted for the …

JEDDAH: Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad secured progress from the first round of the Club World Cup with a convincing 3-0 win against Auckland City on Tuesday. Backed by a full house at home in Jeddah, Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad made short work of New Zealand’s Auckland City, winners of the OFC Champions League, as Brazilian Romarinho, N’Golo Kante …

HARARE: The first of three ODIs between Zimbabwe and Ireland in Harare was abandoned due to rain on Wednesday after the home team made 121-6 in 25.3 overs. Ireland won the toss and put the hosts in to bat. Zimbabwe star Sikan­dar Raza, deputising as captain for injured Craig Ervine, made 15 before his attempted slash took an edge and …

BRIDGETOWN: Veteran all-rounder Andre Russell made a dazzling return to international cricket to help West Indies cruise to a four-wicket victory over England in the opening Twenty20 International in Bridgetown on Tuesday. Handed a shock recall after a two-year absence, Russell shone with bat and ball at the Kensington Oval as the home side reached the victory target with ease …

LAHORE: All the six franchises of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) picked their players in all categories for the ninth edition of the country’s premier Twenty20 event during a ceremony held here at the National Cricket Academy on Wednesday. The PSL-9 is scheduled to be held from Feb 8 to March 24, 2024. Some 485 international players had shown …

Australia’s Usman Khawaja staged a muted protest against the war in Gaza on Thursday, wearing a black armband during the first Test against Pakistan and taping up messages on his shoes. The opening batsman had wanted to wear shoes emblazoned with the hand-written slogans “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” during the match at Perth. But …

Veteran opener David Warner hammered an unbeaten century to silence critics and steer Australia to 210-2 at tea against an inexperienced Pakistan attack in the first Test at Perth. At the break, the 37-year-old was on 111 and Steve Smith not out 21. But Pakistan’s bowlers did earn some reward for their toil in searing heat by removing Usman Khawaja soon after …