SPORTS 15
Tuesday, 5 March, 2019
Watson shoWs his Class against zalMi o
imran tahir to quit odi cricket after World Cup JOHANNeSBURG AGENCIES
Veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir said on Monday he would retire from one-day international cricket after the World Cup in England and Wales, which ends on July 14. But he said he would like to continue playing for South Africa in Twenty20 internationals. Tahir, who will turn 40 later this month, played a starring role for South Africa, taking three for 26, in their eight-wicket win in the first one-day international against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday. His performance drew attention to the fact that he was not on the list of contracted players for the 2019/20 year released by Cricket South Africa last week. But he revealed on Monday that he had reached an agreement with CSA for his contract to expire at the end of July, extending his 2018/19 contract by three months. In a statement released by CSA, Tahir said he would re-assess his freelance future after the World Cup. "I have always wanted to play in the World Cup," he said. “I have a mutual understanding with Cricket South Africa and going forward I decided that I would finish at the World Cup, that is why I am contracted until then. After that, Cricket South Africa has allowed me to go and play around the world in various leagues but I would also love to play T20 cricket for South Africa." Tahir said retiring from one-day internationals was a difficult decision. "I would love to play for as long as I can," he said, "but there is a stage in your life where you have to make big decisions." He said, though, that he would like to play for South Africa in the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. Tahir, who has taken 156 wickets in 95 one-day internationals, played in the 2011 and 2015 World Cups. He also played in the 2014 and 2016 World T20 tournaments.
SPORTS DeSK
PENER Shane Watson's unbeaten 91-run knock overshadowed Kamran Akmal's half-century as Sarfraz Ahmed-led Quetta Gladiators slammed down Darren Sammy's Peshawar Zalmi by eight wickets. Watson was supported by Ahmad Shahzad, who didn't look well-adjusted but nonetheless contributed half-century to build a winning 129-run stand. The win takes Gladiators to the top of the points table. Zalmi's Umaid Asif and Sameen Gul picked one-wicket each. Opener Kamran Akmal's 72 runs innings powered Zalmi to 165 runs in the match with Gladiators. Kieron Pollard's unbeaten 44 runs innings with seven boundaries contributed substantive runs during the death overs of the game. Despite the small boundaries, this
wasn't the easiest track to score quickly on, especially to the spinners, with Fawad Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz taking a combined 2 for 49 in eight overs. Muhammad Hasnain and DJ Bravo
took one-wicket each. Darren Sammy-led Zalmi, the winners of PSL 2017, are ruling the table with five wins from seven games. Sarfraz’s Gladiators also boast five wins
Injured AB de Villiers out of PSL matches in Pakistan SPORTS DeSK AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the Pakistan leg of the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League after picking up a back injury. De Villiers was captain of Lahore Qalandars, having signed up to play seven games of the season in the United Arab Emirates and two matches in Lahore. He had returned home to South Africa after his commitments in the UAE leg, and was supposed to fly back to join the team in Pakistan, but has been sidelined for two weeks because of his injury.
“I am very disappointed that I will not be able to play in front of the passionate Pakistani cricket fans,” said de Villiers in a statement on Monday, 4 March. “I saw my doctor who has advised complete rest for two weeks and, unfortunately, that rules me out of the games in [Pakistan]. “I hope to be a part of the PSL next year and very much hope to play my part in the return of international cricket to the country. I am backing Lahore Qalandars to go all the way and win the trophy this year.” Lahore are fourth on the points table, with de Villiers having made three entertaining 40-plus
scores for them. “It’s a disappointing news for Lahore Qalandars management and its fans that AB de Villiers will not be able to make it for Pakistan’s leg of PSL but we wish him a speedy recover. He is a wonderful player and an amazing person,” Sameen Rana, the manager of Lahore Qalandars said in a statement. The last four PSL group matches and the playoffs are scheduled to be held in Pakistan. The games were supposed to be split between Lahore and Karachi, but the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided that all the matches will take place in Karachi, starting 9 March.
PSL standards extremely high, says Christian SPORTS DeSK Australia all-rounder Dan Christian has termed the Pakistan Super League (PSL) standards as “extremely high” and has rated the league amongst the top in the world. The 35-year-old is featuring for Multan Sultans in the PSL 4 after leading his Melbourne Renegades team to the Big Bash title in Australia last month, scoring a match-turning 38 not
out and taking two key wickets. Christian said he has enjoyed the league. “The PSL has been great so far. I’ve loved the matches and the support of our fans,” said Christian, who has played 19 ODIs and 16 T20Is for Australia. He has also played for Deccan Charges, Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, various counties and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean
league. “The PSL is very competitive,” said Christian. “It’s great that the Pakistan national team players are all available and when you add in overseas players like Shane Watson, AB de Villiers, Kieron Pollard etc, it makes the standard extremely high. “It’s certainly up there in terms of the quality of cricket, hope we get the chance to lift the title at the end.” Christian said he enjoyed he atmos-
phere in Multan camp. “It’s a wonderful team, from the owners, coaching staff, back room staff and the players. Everyone is enjoying it.” Christian said it was highly satisfying to lift the BBL title for Melbourne Renegades. “It was great to be a part of a winning team, I was lucky that I did well in the match too. We didn’t play our best cricket throughout the tournament, but fought well to make it.”
from seven games but have been edged out by Zalmi who have a higher Net Run Rate. Zalmi won their last encounter on Friday against Islamabad United by four wickets in a last-ball thriller, where Liam Dawson cracked a boundary to bring his team the four runs needed to win off the last delivery. Player of the Match Dawson hit 52 not out from 35 balls, while Sammy contributed with 40 off 29 to chase down Islamabad’s total of 176. Gladiators too won their last encounter, against Multan Sultans on Friday, by six wickets. After restricting Multan to 121, courtesy DJ Bravo and Sohail Tanvir who took three wickets each, Gladiators sailed towards the target. Gladiators’ Mohammad Hasnain is the latest pace sensation from this PSL, after he caught everyone’s attention when he bowled a 150+ kph delivery in only his second game on Friday.
ticket-holders of psl 4 lahore matches to get refunds SPORTS DeSK The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reassured all ticket-holders of the Lahore-leg matches in the Pakistan Super League 2019 that they will get refunds on the face value of the tickets. This is after it was announced by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani that all Lahore-leg matches of the PSL have now been shifted to Karachi. The following is the update as on Monday, 4 March, with more information to follow in due course. REFUND: • As is the case for all online sales, fans who purchased tickets through www.yayvvo.comwill have their transactions reversed on to their credit / debit cards in the next few days without needing to go to the TCS centres. • All tickets purchased physically, will be refunded post 18 March through dedicated TCS centres across the country. The PCB will share more details of the specific TCS centres in due course PURCHASE: • Ticket for the 7 March match will be valid for the 11 March double-header. With approximately 85 per cent of tickets already sold, the remaining 15 per cent tickets are still up for grabs which can be purchased at the original price of the 7 March match • Tickets for the 9 and 14 March matches will be made available shortly for purchase. Further details will be provided in due course. • Tickets for matches in Karachi as per previous schedule for which dates have not changed will continue to be valid
Pakistan batsmen not among top 10 in ICC Test rankings ISLAMABAD APP
There is no Pakistani among the top ten batsmen in the latest Test players ranking issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has reached a career-best 915 rating points after an unbeaten doublecentury in the first Test against Bangladesh in Hamilton, which was the centerpiece of a victory by an innings and 52 runs. Williamson’s 200 not out, which earned him the player of the match award, has lifted him from 897 points to within seven points of India captain Virat Kohli, who is perched at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings with 922 points. With two more Tests to go in the series, Williamson has a chance to regain
the top spot, which he occupied briefly towards the end of 2015. Williamson’s rating points are the highest by any New Zealander in Test cricket with Richard Hadlee the only other player from his country to cross the 900-point mark with a best of 909 points in bowling. Openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval have also made good progress after their centuries in Hamilton. Latham’s score of 161 has lifted him one place to a careerbest 11th position and just three points shy of South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, who is in 10thplace with 702 points. Raval’s maiden century, after seven fifties, has helped him gain five slots and reach 33rd position. Among their bowlers, the pair of Trent Boult (down two places to eighth) and Tim Southee (ninth) remain in the top 10 while Neil Wagner is also moving in the right direction, gaining three places
and reaching 11th position after finishing with seven wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings. For Bangladesh, left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal has gained 11 slots to reach
CMYK
25th position after scores of 126 and 74, overtaking Shakib Al Hasan to become the top-ranked batsman from his country in this format. Mahmudullah has moved up 12
places to reach a career-best 40th after scoring 22 and 146 while Soumya Sarkar’s one and 149 in Hamilton have lifted him 25 places to 67th position. Mahmudullah has also gained three places to reach 63rd position among bowlers. Pakistan’s Mohammad Abbas is at number seven in bowlers’ rankings with 770 points along with West Indies’ Jason Holder, who also has 770 points. Australia’s Pat Cummins is at the top with 878 points followed by England’s J. Anderson, who has 862 points. South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada is at number three with 851 points. Among allrounders Jason Holder is at the top with 439 points, followed by Bangladesh’s S. Al Hasan, who is at number two with 407 points. India’s R. Jadeja is at number three with 387 points. There is no allrounder from Pakistan among the top five.