Sports

ISLAMABAD: Former cricketers have expressed disappointment over Pakistan’s embarrassing exit from the ICC World Cup, insisting that a lot needs to be done for improvement. However, they emphasise that skipper Babar Azam should not be solely blamed for the loss. A 93-run loss to England sealed Pakistan’s fate in Kolkata on Saturday, ending the 1992 champions’ already slim hopes of …

Morne Morkel, the bowling coach of the national men’s cricket team, has resigned from his position, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Monday. “The former South Africa fast bowler joined the Pakistan team on a six-month contract in June this year,” it stated in a press release. “Morkel’s first assignment with the men’s team was their tour to Sri Lanka …

PUNE: Mitchell Marsh blasted his second big century of the World Cup as Australia primed themselves for the semi-finals by cruising to their seventh straight victory with an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh on Saturday. Australia , already guaranteed a last-four clash with South Africa, lost Travis Head early in their chase of 307 but fellow opener David Warner (53) and …

LONDON: Manchester United eased the pressure on under-fire boss Erik ten Hag with a nervy 1-0 win against Luton Town, while Premier League title challengers Tottenham Hotspur crashed to an agonising 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. Rocked by Wednesday’s devastating Champions Lea­gue group stage loss in Copenhagen — the latest embarrassment in a season of low moments — …

KOLKATA: The Maryle­bone Cricket Club (MCC), custodians of the game’s laws, said on Saturday that the umpires had made the correct call in declaring that Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews had “timed out” in his side’s World Cup clash against Bangladesh. Mathews became the first player in international cricket to be dismissed for a time ruling after he failed to make …

BENGALURU: Rohit Sharma was hailed on Saturday as a “fantastic” captain for leading India to a perfect eight wins from eight matches and a place in the World Cup semi-finals. India play their last league match against the Netherlands in Bengaluru on Sunday before they move on to the semi-finals. The hosts have remained unbeaten with impressive wins over arch-rivals …

THERE was no miracle of Kolkata. No cornered tigers fairytale. Instead, Pakistan, who had played themselves into a corner in the 2023 World Cup, were effectively eliminated at the toss. Babar Azam called incorrectly, and the rest was thundering anti-climax. Pakistan had nothing to play for and the conditions fav­o­u­red the team batting first. Eng­land were re-emerging from their slu­mp, …

Captain Babar Azam was described as “depressed” and under pressure to save his job on Sunday after Pakistan crashed out of the Cricket World Cup, failing to make the semi-finals for a second successive tournament. A 93-run loss to England sealed Pakistan’s fate, ending the 1992 champions’ already slim hopes of squeezing into the last four. Former captain and ex-chairman of the …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s emerging talents Bilal Asim and Hamza Roman aced their way to glory as they annexed the ITF Junior Tennis Championship doubles title by routing compatriots Nael Qureshi and Huzaima Abdul Rehman 6-2, 6-3 in the final here at the PTF-SDF Tennis Complex on Friday. However, the day held mixed fortunes for Bilal as he was outclassed by Japan’s Yoshito Oda 6-0, 6-0 …

Skipper Babar Azam blasted his critics on Friday, telling them “it’s easy to give advice on TV” as he refused to surrender his World Cup dreams. Pakistan have to defeat defending champions England by at least 287 runs on Saturday to oust New Zealand as the fourth and last semi-finalist on net run rate. Failure to do so will spark …