Page 27 - Pakistan Link - September 25, 2020

SSPPOORTRS TS
PCB confirms bio-secure home
series against Zimbabwe
LAHORE: Pakistan will launch
their ICC World Cup Super League
campaign by hosting Zimbabwe for
a three-match ODI series in Octo-
ber-November, the Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB) announced on Wednes-
day. The 50-over matches against
Zimbabwe will be played in Multan
on Oct 30, Nov 1 and 3, followed by
three T20 Internationals in Rawalpin-
di on Nov 7, 8 and 10.
The International Cricket Coun-
cil has introduced the Super League
to provide context to ODI cricket
and will serve as qualification for
the 2023 ICC World Cup with the
top seven sides automatically book-
ing their spots for the event to be
staged in India. Featuring 13 teams,
the 12 Test-playing countries and the
Netherlands, the Super League will
see each side play four home and as
many away three-match series.
The PCB pins hope on this suc-
cessful series against Zimbabwe
will pave the way for the next year’s
tour of England, which is still in the
Test cricket important for player
development: Misbah
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s conjoined
head coach and chief selector Mis-
bah-ul-Haq believes it is very im-
portant from players’ development
point of view to play the longer ver-
sion game, adding that at the end of
the day Test records were considered
more important as compared to the
One-day internationals (ODIs) and
T20s.”People remember how many
centuries Mohammad Yousuf made,
Younis Khan scored 10,000 runs or
Wasim Akram bagged 414 wickets
in Test cricket. If you want to make
a name for yourself in the crick-
eting world then you have to play
Test cricket. We are encouraging the
players to focus more on the longer
version of the game,” he said in an
interview to Cricingif.
He was of the view that play-
ers could not develop skills in T20
leagues and ODIs. “If you play your
domestic cricket, which is an invest-
ment for the longer version of the
game, then you can develop yourself
thereby prolonging your career and
T20 and ODI cricket will become
easy for you,” he said.
Speaking about Pakistan’s pro-
lific batsman and limited-overs cap-
tain Babar Azam, he said that the
Lahore-born cricketer was in the
learning process. “Babar is ranked in
the top-5 of all formats which shows
that he has the game awareness. The
more he will play, the more he will
learn. I see him going in the right di-
rection,” he said.
To a question, Misbah said
that the wicket-keeper batsman
Mohammad Rizwan was being re-
doldrums on security issues. PCB
director international cricket, Za-
kir Khan: “The confirmation of the
series schedule against Zimbabwe
after having successfully hosted Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as
Marylebone Cricket Club and HBL
Pakistan Super League V, in the
2019-20 season not only strengthens
Pakistan’s reputation as a safe and
secure country but also a healthy one
after having successfully overcome
the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This series is critical to Paki-
stan as it aspires to qualify directly
for the ICC World Cup 2023 and, as
such, every point in the Super League
will count. Our last ODI series was
against Sri Lanka, 12 months ago, so
the boys will have to hit the ground
running and try to pocket maximum
points.
“We have strategically scheduled
the Zimbabwe matches in Multan and
Rawalpindi, the venues which will be
hosting the National T20 Cup from
30 Sept 30 to Oct 18. By the time
warded for his hard work. “He has
performed consistently well in the
domestic cricket and has worked
very hard on his batting and wick-
et-keeping,” he said.
He said that the best thing about
Rizwan was his temperament. “He
takes on challenges and has the mind-
set to win the game for the team by
doing something extraordinary. It’s a
good sign for us as wicket-keeping is
a vital link of the team,” he said and
added that former captain Sarfaraz
Ahmed was also experienced and
working hard which was a positive
sign for the team.
About the recently conclud-
ed England tour, Misbah said: “We
played good cricket in England. We
dominated the England team in tough
times and also made a comeback in
the series. The direction of the team
is right as it is going through a devel-
opmental phase,” he said.
Zimbabwe [squad] arrives, we would
have gained enough experience on
bio-securing hotels, player transpor-
tation, the venues and the players’
dressing rooms as delivery of this se-
ries will be under strict Covid-19 pro-
tocols to ensure the health and safety
of all participants,” Zakir added.
Zimbabwe will carry a 32-mem-
ber squad to cater for both the for-
mats as well as for the intra-squad
warm-ups. The squad will undergo
two Covid-19 tests within a space of
48 hours prior to their departure in
Harare, while the second tests will
be conducted as soon as they arrive
in Islamabad.
Players and player support per-
sonnel testing negative in Islamabad
will be eligible to resume training at
a venue, which the PCB will confirm
in due course.
Players and player support per-
sonnel testing positive during the
tour will have to observe a five-day
self-isolation and will only be al-
lowed to re-integrate with the side af-
ter two negative tests. The series will
be played behind closed doors with
no spectators allowed.
Series schedule (match timing
and training schedule to be shared in
due course):
Oct 20: Zimbabwe squad arrives in
Islamabad
Oct 30: First ODI (Multan)
Nov 1: Second ODI (Multan)
Nov 3: Third ODI (Multan)
Nov 4: Travel to Islamabad
Nov 7: First T20 International
(Rawalpindi)
Nov 8: Second T20 International
(Rawalpindi)
Nov 10: Third T20 International
(Rawalpindi)
Nov 11: Zimbabwe squad leaves
for Harare.
South Africa wait
to decide Test team
captain
CAPE TOWN: South Africa are
waiting for the appointment of a new
convener of selectors before naming
their Test captain but head coach
Mark Boucher has confirmed it will
not be limited-overs skipper Quinton
de Kock.
Boucher has revealed they will
follow the model used by Austra-
lia and England, who have different
captains for Test and limited-overs
games, a change from when former
skipper Faf du Plessis led South Af-
rica in all three formats.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations
and a lot of time to think about what we
want to do,” Boucher said in a Crick-
et South Africa statement on Monday.
“We will look to select someone else
for the Test role. One of the things that as late replacements after India and
we’ve learned from England is a guy
like Eoin Morgan comes in and he’s
got a lot of time to plan because he
is not involved in the Test team. “So
that’s the positive, you get a captain
who can sit down and really plan what
he wants and how to drive that vision
to the players. It gives you some fresh-
ness when there’s a short turnaround
between formats.”
Boucher revealed de Kock is not
keen to lead the side in Tests. “The
last conversation I had with Quinny
around this topic was in India (in
March) where he felt the workload
was going to be a little high for him.
“Whoever is the [Test] captain
will probably use Quinny’s brain
to good effect because as a keeper
you see things from probably the
best angle.”
wwwww.wP.aPkaiksitsatannLliinnkk..ccoomm
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 – PAKISTAN LINK – P27
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 - PAKISTAN LINK
New domestic system, deal with PTV
to be game changers: Wasim Khan
ISLAMABAD: The new domestic
cricket model and Pakistan Crick-
et Board’s (PCB) recent deal with
PTV are game changers for country’s
cricket and will help produce world’s
best cricketers in the years to come.
This was stated by Chief Ex-
ecutive PCB Wasim Khan. during
his conversation with Dawn here in
Islamabad. Wasim spoke about do-
mestic and international cricket, par-
ticularly about expected tours of the
world’s four best teams in next two
years.
He said that Pakistan is all set
to host Zimbabwe in November this
year and during the next two years,
New Zealand ( in September 2021),
South Africa and some other top
teams of the world are expected to
tour Pakistan.
Talking about the recent broad-
casting deal between PCB and PTV,
he said PCB expects to earn US$200
million over the next three years
which will be spent on promotion
of cricket. He added that Pakistan is
blessed with best raw talents which
needed platforms to excel. “Under
new domestic system, young talent
will participate in high-level of com-
petitions with reduced numbers of
teams and high standards of game to
hone their skills properly.”
Wasim further said that from the
upcoming domestic session, Paki-
stani cricket fans will see domestic
players in action on their tv screen
and television coverage of domestic
events will also be a big boost for
young players.
He added that under the broad-
casting deal with PTV, all matches
of upcoming National T20 would be
shown live by national broadcast-
er while Quaid-i-Azam Trophy- the
country’s prestigious first class event, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and
would be covered live and highlights
will also be shown.
“There are 31 matches of Quaid-
i-Azam Trophy and we will ensure at
least one match of each team should
be broadcasted live,” the PCB CEO
said.
Asked about the growing con-
cerns of cricketers over abolishment
England beat WI in women’s T20 opener
DERBY: Tammy Beaumont hit a
half-century as England Women
clinched a 47-run win over the West
Indies in the first match of their Twen- four overs.
ty20 International series on Monday.
Beaumont was the headline act
in Derby as the women’s internation-
al calendar returned more than six
months on from the T20 World Cup
in Australia.
The West Indies had stepped in
South Africa declined to travel due to
the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandem-
ic. Driven by Beaumont’s 62 from 49
balls, England scored 163-8 despite a
collapse of six wickets for 50.
Deandra Dottin battled to 69 in
an under-powered response of 116-6
of departments cricket, Wasim said:
“Frankly speaking the PCB is not a
job-providing organisation. Rath-
er our main function is to take steps
to promote cricket in the country to
make a strong team at national lev-
el,” he said and added that currently
Pakistan is ranked 7th in the world
that shows that the old system failed
in producing good players who could
help the country to win mega interna-
tional events.
He said that for making Paki-
stan one of the great teams in world,
changes in domestic system were
imperative. “As far as job are con-
cerned, we are going to set-up 90
cricket association under the already
established six regions that means
over 90 coaches and managers will
be required. So the players, who
faced job issues could be accom-
modated in associations,” he said. “
These two initiatives — the new do-
mestic system and the deal with PTV
to promote domestic cricket are game
changers, I tell you,” he said.
Talking about PCB’s last two-
year performance, he said: “Relocat-
ing the entire PSL here and bringing
international cricket back to Pakistan
are among the major achievements of
the current management. Efforts are
also underway to improve quality of
cricket through High Performance
Centre and through revamped domes-
tic structure,” he said and added that
the PCB has already engaged coun-
try’s legendary cricketers to help it
make Pakistan one of the best teams.
“Currently, a number of retired
cricketers are associated with the
PCB and they are playing very good
role to improve skills of young play-
ers,” he said.
Asked about the recent meeting
of head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, senior
Test captain Azhar Ali with Prime
Minister Imran Khan, reportedly
without PCB’s permission, Wasim
said: “They [players] have been
asked to explain their position to PCB
chairman Ehsan Mani. A meeting is
going to be held in coming days in
this regard,” he said.
by the West Indies. Katherine Brunt
set the standard for the England at-
tack, allowing just eight runs off her
Beaumont’s day could have end-
ed early, when she flicked Shakera
Selman into the on-side with just nine
to her name. She would have been out
had Britney Cooper managed to cling
to a low chance coming in off the
ropes. Heather Knight added 52 with
Beaumont in less than 6 overs.
Knight hit four boundaries but
England lost their way from 113 for
two. England regained their compo-
sure impressively however as fine
bowling, including Sophie Eccle-
stone’s 2-19, restricted the West In-
dies in their tame attempted chase.