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Tag: South Africa

  • ‘Doors are open’ for Ben Stokes, says England coach Mathew Mott

    ‘Doors are open’ for Ben Stokes, says England coach Mathew Mott

    English All-Rounder Ben Stokes is likely to return to England’s One Day International (ODI) Team to play for the 2023 World Cup. The 31-years-old England Test captain took retirement from ODIs last summer to manage his workload, however, his decision was criticized by many. Stokes took his team to the final and won the title of men’s T20 World Cup.

    The “door is open” for Ben Stokes to come out of 50-over retirement and play at the World Cup in India later this year, England coach Matthew Mott has said.

    Mott said England is happy to wait on a decision.

    “The door is always open for a player of that quality but we are also very aware that his main focus is red-ball cricket as the captain,” Mott said, speaking before England’s three-match ODI series against South Africa begins on Friday.

    England is currently building its team for defending its title. The World Cup will be played in October and November by which time England will not have played a Test for more than two months.

    Ben Stokes was the man of the match in the 2019 World Cup when England won the coveted trophy for the first time after a dramatic super over against New Zealand.

  • ICC Super League: Pakistan advances to top 3

    ICC Super League: Pakistan advances to top 3

    After winning back-to-back matches against the Netherlands, Pakistan has moved up to the third place in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.

    According to the most recent ICC update, Pakistan has 110 points after 17 matches with a net run rate of +0.221. Pakistan has won 11 games and lost 6.

    In the second One-Day International, Pakistan beat the Netherlands by seven wickets.

    England and Bangladesh are on the top of the list with 125 and 120 points respectively. Each team receives 10 points for a victory, five points for a tie/no result/abandoned match and zero points for a defeat.

    The top seven teams and the host team India will automatically qualify for the World Cup 2023.

  • ‘England will miss him,’ Twitter is sad over Ben Stokes’ sudden ODI retirement

    ‘England will miss him,’ Twitter is sad over Ben Stokes’ sudden ODI retirement

    England cricket team all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his shocking retirement from One-Day International (ODI) cricket on Monday citing the “unsustainable” rigour of playing all three formats of the game.

    Stokes was recently appointed as the captain of the England Men’s Test side.

    Today’s (Tuesday) match against South Africa at his home ground will be Stokes’ last ODI. However, he will continue to play Twenty20 Internationals and Test cricket.

    The 31-year-old said, “This has been an incredibly tough decision to make. I have loved every minute of playing with my mates for England. Hard as this decision was to come, it’s not as hard as dealing with the fact I can’t give my teammates 100% of myself in this format anymore. The England shirt deserves nothing less from anyone who wears it.”

    Ben Stokes has not played a T20 international for 16 months. He missed the World Cup last autumn while he was taking a break from the game to prioritise his mental health.

    Following the news, cricket fans couldn’t hold themselves from expressing their sadness over Stokes’ retirement while some of his fans and fellow cricketers wished him luck.

  • Pakistan to host Cricket World Cup for veteran players in 2023

    Pakistan will host Cricket World Cup for veteran players in the next year 2023. The age limit for players to play in the tournament would be 40 and above.

    According to Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), 12 teams will play in the tournament which will commence on September 23, 2023, at six venues in Karachi while the final match will be played on October 8.

    Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman PVCA told the media: “Pakistan will be joined in the World Cup by old rivals – India, Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Canada, USA, Zimbabwe, Wales, UAE, and Namibia.”

    He added, “It is going to be a major event and we will take all steps to make sure that we host it successfully.”

    “We have a number of leading cricketers who would be eligible to compete in the World Cup. We are hoping that top players like Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, and Mohammad Hafeez will play for Pakistan. We are going to field a very strong team and will be the favorites to win the World Cup,” he further said.

    There is a new concept that will give an opportunity to former cricketers to play on the fields again while young audiences and players will also get another chance to see their seniors playing on the grounds.

    Every match will be of 45 overs and local TV channels will broadcast the matches of Pakistan including the semi-finals and finals live.

    The Veterans World Cup, aged above 50, was first launched in Australia in 2018. However, its second edition was canceled due to a covid pandemic.

  • PCB to award cash incentives to 15 cricket players

    PCB to award cash incentives to 15 cricket players

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will be giving cash incentives to 15 Pakistani cricket players in recognition of their outstanding performance throughout 2021.

    Chairman PCB Ramiz Raja is expected to present the cash prize of Rs1.5 million to each of the top 15 players who remained an integral part of the unit in all three formats of the game.

    Two Test specialists Abid Ali and Sajjid Khan have also been invited apart from 18 players (three reserves) for their exceptional show in the longer version of the game.

    “The reception to honour the top cricketers is meant to recognise the services of all those cricketers who have helped the team stand tall in almost all the formats of the game,” a PCB official said in a statement.

    “Barring some brief hiccups, the team members have given exceptional performance throughout the year. Be it T20 World Cup performance, Test matches performance at home and abroad, the team has shown exceptional courage in all the departments of the game.”

    “Beating South Africa at their own soil and later sweeping through Bangladesh in their own backyard were exceptional achievements that needed to be recognised,” the PCB official said.

    Pakistan won 20 of 29 T20Is during the year which also saw them putting up some resolute show in the T20 World Cup. The team that was unbeaten eventually lost to Australia in the semi-finals but not before winning many hearts for the competitive element that was on display.

    The reception which will only be attended by the PCB high-ups is supposed to improve morale of the team members in front of the hectic season that also incorporates some important series and T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October/November.

    Pakistan may also host leading international outfits including Australia, England, New Zealand, and West Indies through the coming season.

    Every player in the 15-man squad would receive Rs1.5 million each as cash incentive while the rest of the five including three reserves and two Test specialists will also be awarded.

  • Furious Kohli, unhappy Indian team hitting out at review system, broadcasters in South Africa Test

    Furious Kohli, unhappy Indian team hitting out at review system, broadcasters in South Africa Test

    A number of Indian players, Captain Virat Kohli among them, made public their displeasure and anger about the South Africa broadcaster, SuperSport, with respect to the use of technology after Dean Elgar was given not out on review on the third day of the final Test in Cape Town.

    It was in the 21st over of the final innings of the match, with South Africa on 60 for one chasing 212 to win the series, when R Ashwin hit Elgar on the pads. South Africa’s captain was given out lbw by Marais Erasmus, the on-field umpire, but the decision was overturned on review with ball-tracking showing the ball going over the stumps.

    The ball-tracking technology is authorised by HawkEye, an independent body, which relays the data to the host broadcaster, in this case SuperSport.

    A visibly irritated Kohli walked up to the stumps, and spoke into the mic, saying: “Focus on your team while they shine the ball. Not just the opposition. Trying to catch people all the time.”

    Kohli wasn’t alone. Vice-captain KL Rahul was heard saying: “It’s the whole country against 11 guys.” While Ashwin seemed to be taunting the broadcasters directly, saying: “You should find better ways to win, SuperSport.”

    The Indian players were not the only ones who didn’t agree with the decision. Erasmus could be seen shaking his head as the pictures played out on the screen at the venue, and was heard saying, “That’s impossible”.

    After the day’s play, when Lungi Ngidi was asked if he trusted DRS to do its job as expected, he said, simply, “Yes”. When asked why, he elaborated: “We’ve seen it on numerous occasions being used all around the world. It’s the system in place. That’s what we use as cricketers.”

    But the Indians were not on the same page.

    Paras Mhambrey, the bowling coach of India, said in his press conference: “We saw it, you saw it. I’ll leave that for the match referee to have a look at it. There’s nothing I can comment on it now. We’ve seen it all, just want to move on with the game now.”

    Elgar was eventually dismissed on the stroke of stumps, and DRS was in the picture again. This time, it was after India reviewed a not-out decision from the other umpire, Adrian Holstock, for a catch to the wicketkeeper off Jasprit Bumrah. It was a full delivery going down leg, and Elgar looked to flick but only managed to nick it, and Rishabh Pant took a diving catch to his right.

    India reviewed, and Kohli was heard saying, “Wonder how they’re going to show that.” As it transpired, UltraEdge showed a spike as ball passed bat and Elgar was given out.

  • UN chief condemns travel restrictions, calls it ‘travel apartheid’

    UN chief condemns travel restrictions, calls it ‘travel apartheid’

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that a travel ban imposed because of the Covid pandemic that cuts off any one country or region as “not only deeply unfair and punitive – they are ineffective.”, report Geo News.

    Guterres said that tests should continually be performed on travelers to reduce the threat of transmission in other parts of the world.


    He further added, “We have the instruments to have safe travel. Let’s use those instruments to avoid this kind, of allow me to say, travel apartheid, which I think is unacceptable.”

    The new variant of the coronavirus, which was previously identified as B.1.1.529 infection was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on November 24 and named it Omicron.

    Several countries, including Pakistan, have completely banned flights from some countries in Africa.

    In African countries, the rate of vaccination was recorded as very low which Guterres has previously alarmed the world about. The main reason for the lack of vaccination was the inequality distribution of vaccines and low immunisation rates which became “a breeding ground for variants.”

    The annual meeting was also held between the United Nation and African Union to solve the concern of the travel ban.

    Speaking from the Joint-Conference with UN Secretary-General, African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat also said that the travel ban cannot be justified.

  • Moderna chief warns vaccines less effective against Omicron, doctor who discovered it says it is mild

    Moderna chief warns vaccines less effective against Omicron, doctor who discovered it says it is mild

    Moderna Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Stephane Bancel said that the existing vaccines might get failed to protect against a new variant of coronavirus, Omicron, reports DW


    Banel added that there are a large number of mutations in the latest variant that anti-bodies induced in vaccines may not resist.


    “There is no world, I think, where [the effectiveness] is the same level… we had with Delta,” she said, adding, “I think it’s going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to… are like ‘this is not going to be good.” Banel told.

    The comments given by Banel raised the fears against the low-level resistance of existing antibodies in vaccines, which could lead to more sickness and hospitalisation.


    It will take days to several weeks to understand the severity of the Omicron variant however, Dr Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who first spotted the new Covid variant Omicron claimed that the mild symptoms were spotted in the patients so far, reports BBC


    The emergence of Omicron alarmed the whole world. It is drastically spreading in European countries and the first case was reported in India on Tuesday. Several countries already banned the flights from the countries where it first originated including Pakistan.

  • Examinations will be held on time despite new covid variant: Shafqat Mahmood

    Examinations will be held on time despite new covid variant: Shafqat Mahmood

    Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said on Monday that the government has no plans to suspend educational activities. He said that examinations will be taken on time and the full curriculum will be covered in it, reports Geo.

    When he was asked about the policy of the education department regarding precautionary measures against the Omicron variant, the federal minister said, “I don’t know about the new variant of coronavirus in detail, but the government wants to continue educational activities.”

    The new variant named Omicron, which was first discovered in South Africa is spreading drastically into various parts of Europe including Canada and Australia. On Saturday, Pakistan imposed a complete ban on direct/indirect inbound flights from six African countries and Hong Kong.

    Moreover, while talking about the smog situation in Lahore, Shafqat Mahmood said it will decrease by the closure of private and government schools thrice a week.

  • Pakistan’s bowling consultant Philander to leave amid Omicron fears

    Pakistan’s bowling consultant Philander to leave amid Omicron fears

    Pakistan cricket team’s bowling consultant, South African Vernon Philander is set to leave the Pakistan team midway through the on-going Test against Bangladesh after suspension of flight operations in South Africa amid the spread of new coronavirus variant, Omicron.

    According to reports, Philander will leave Bangladesh for South Africa between Monday and Tuesday night.

    It is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan team is currently playing a two-match Test series against Bangladesh and initially Vernon Philander was scheduled to leave Dhaka for Cape Town on December 1 after the first Test.

    However, due to the suspension of flight operations in South Africa amid the spread of the new variant, he will be separated from the Pakistani squad today.

    It may be recalled that in view of the spread of coronavirus variant, Omicron, Pakistan imposed travel bans on six African countries, including South Africa.

    The United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and the European Union have also imposed travel bans on African countries over the threat of a new Corona variant.

    Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Liton Das digged in and helped the side to take the lead of 159 runs before lunch. Both teams are trying to win the first Test. Pakistan needs four wickets, while Bangladesh is trying to set a bigger total to defeat the visitors.