Latest news with #T20


Arab News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Arab News
Pakistan T20 captain backs ‘fine' blend of youth, experience ahead of West Indies series
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan T20 captain Salman Ali Agha has expressed confidence in the team's 'fine' blend of youth and experience as they take on the West Indies in the United States for a three-match series starting Aug. 1, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said this week. The three T20Is, beginning on Thursday, July 31 (1 August, 5 am Pakistan Standard Time) at the Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium in Florida is the first meeting between the two teams in T20Is since December 2021. The second and third T20I are scheduled to take place on 2 and 3 August at the same venue with the first ball slated to be bowled at 8pm local time (3 and 4 August, 5 am Pakistan Standard Time). 'We have a fine blend of youth and experience in our squad, and it is highly productive that we are going into yet another T20 series as the build-up toward the T20 World Cup picks up pace,' Agha said. Pakistan's T20 squad comprises experienced cricketers such as Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf along with youngsters Abrar Ahmed, Hassan Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufyan Moqim and Saim Ayub. 'We are really looking forward to playing at this wonderful venue and our time here so far has been exciting,' the Pakistan captain said. 'I feel the three T20 will also be entertaining and as a team we are eagerly looking forward to take the field.' He added that Pakistan will need to play their best game to 'outfox a formidable T20 side.' The ODIs will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago on August 8, 10 and 12, with Mohammad Rizwan set to lead Pakistan as its captain. Pakistan will take the field in Lauderhill for the second time, having previously defeated Ireland by three wickets at the same venue during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan has won 15 out of 21 T20s played against the West Indies, while the hosts have won three matches, with three ending without a result. Pakistan and the West Indies will be looking to bounce back from their recent T20I series defeats against Bangladesh and Australia, respectively. PAKISTAN SQUADS: ODI: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim T20I: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicket-keeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim


BBC News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Olympic places decided by continents and play-offs
Qualification for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 will be decided based on continents and play-off matches, rather than the top six-ranked sides, says England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Richard Thompson. Cricket is returning to the Games for the first time in 128 years and will be played as a six-team T20 tournament. Thompson said that the qualification process had not been finalised but that it would be decided geographically rather than by rankings."We are there by invitation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and you abide by their rules," Thompson told BBC Test Match Special."It is still being finalised but the IOC's preference is to work to the five-ring principle, with teams from each of the continents - so Europe would be between Ireland and Great Britain. We would unite with Scotland and create Team GB."It would throw up the opportunity, if you took the principle that USA would play as the host country, and that would free up one additional slot for every other full country to have a play-off match to enable one of them to qualify." Thompson also expressed an ambition for more than six teams to take part, with the 2032 Games to be played in Brisbane and likely a three-way tussle for 2036 between Qatar, Saudi and India - with the hope that the latter would see cricket at the "front and centre". He also said that talks are still ongoing regarding the opportunity for cricket in the Paralympics, but believes that its inclusion in the Games will "globalise" the sport. "At the moment we are a very significant international game, but once you're at the Olympics you become a global game. "China will only focus on sport that is in the Olympics, they will look to Hong Kong to be their outpost for cricket."The opportunity to grow the game globally is very, very real and it starts now and we'll certainly see that play out in 2028."The matches, featuring both men's and women's teams, will begin on 12 July - two days before the opening ceremony - with all matches staged at a venue which will be constructed at the Fairgrounds in will be two games played daily at Pomona - located 30 miles from the athletes' village in Los Angeles - starting at 09:00 and 18:30 Pacific Daylight matches will be shown at 21:30 and 07:00 India Standard Time (17:00 and 02:30 British Summer Time).
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Hundred set for chance as new season approaches
Change is coming to the Hundred, with overseas investors set to press ahead with team name changes, a potential switch to the T20 format and future participation in a Champions League competition. After several months of detailed negotiations the England and Wales Cricket Board have finally confirmed the sale of stakes in six of the eight franchises. The two remaining deals, for Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles, are also inching closer to the line, with ECB chiefs confident they will soon be signed off. A total of £520million is being ploughed in to the sport and on Thursday the governing body began the process of sharing the spoils, with each of the 18 first-class counties receiving a £400,000 down payment with the promise of plenty more to come. Hosts can expect a minimum of £18m, a figure Yorkshire, Lancashire and Glamorgan have already topped up to varying degrees by selling portions of their own stake, with non-hosts set to receive around £25m. And with the new money comes a new chapter for the competition. The fifth edition, which starts next week, will be the last before a radical overhaul. The ECB expect at least three of the teams to be rebranded, with Manchester Originals set to align with Lucknow Super Giants, Northern Superchargers tied up with Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Oval Invincibles likely to become the latest team in the 'MI' stable affiliated to Mumbai Indians. In addition, there is an acceptance that the 100-ball format is up for debate. While the reduction in playing time has appealed to domestic broadcasters, it has not caught on in other territories and there is an appetite to explore reverting to a standard T20 structure. Other matters, including increased salary caps and a move from a draft system to an auction, will also be looked at with a newly-formed Hundred board sending any recommendations to the ECB board for approval. Vikram Banerjee, managing director of the Hundred, said: 'It would be slightly odd to bring all these great people in and leave it as it is. 'There are things the tournament has done brilliantly that we want to hold on to, and the core DNA of the tournament will carry on, but we'll look to supercharge it. 'You want to see innovation and growth in new things. Other people will have great ideas and I'm looking forward to seeing what they are. '(Moving to T20) is one of the things that will be discussed. At the moment it's the Hundred format and that will remain for now but let's see where we get to in the long term.' ECB chief executive Richard Gould also made it clear that if a global Champions League gets off the ground, the governing body would be keen to send the winner of the Hundred rather than a county from the Vitality Blast. 'There might be some pushback, but that's a debate to be had,' he said. 'If there's a Champions League format it would be a Hundred team going forward. Of course we'd want to be involved at the earliest opportunity.'


The Independent
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
The Hundred set for change as new season approaches
Change is coming to the Hundred, with overseas investors set to press ahead with team name changes, a potential switch to the T20 format and future participation in a Champions League competition. After several months of detailed negotiations the England and Wales Cricket Board have finally confirmed the sale of stakes in six of the eight franchises. The two remaining deals, for Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles, are also inching closer to the line, with ECB chiefs confident they will soon be signed off. A total of £520million is being ploughed in to the sport and on Thursday the governing body began the process of sharing the spoils, with each of the 18 first-class counties receiving a £400,000 down payment with the promise of plenty more to come. Hosts can expect a minimum of £18m, a figure Yorkshire, Lancashire and Glamorgan have already topped up to varying degrees by selling portions of their own stake, with non-hosts set to receive around £25m. And with the new money comes a new chapter for the competition. The fifth edition, which starts next week, will be the last before a radical overhaul. The ECB expect at least three of the teams to be rebranded, with Manchester Originals set to align with Lucknow Super Giants, Northern Superchargers tied up with Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Oval Invincibles likely to become the latest team in the 'MI' stable affiliated to Mumbai Indians. In addition, there is an acceptance that the 100-ball format is up for debate. While the reduction in playing time has appealed to domestic broadcasters, it has not caught on in other territories and there is an appetite to explore reverting to a standard T20 structure. Other matters, including increased salary caps and a move from a draft system to an auction, will also be looked at with a newly-formed Hundred board sending any recommendations to the ECB board for approval. Vikram Banerjee, managing director of the Hundred, said: 'It would be slightly odd to bring all these great people in and leave it as it is. 'There are things the tournament has done brilliantly that we want to hold on to, and the core DNA of the tournament will carry on, but we'll look to supercharge it. 'You want to see innovation and growth in new things. Other people will have great ideas and I'm looking forward to seeing what they are. '(Moving to T20) is one of the things that will be discussed. At the moment it's the Hundred format and that will remain for now but let's see where we get to in the long term.' ECB chief executive Richard Gould also made it clear that if a global Champions League gets off the ground, the governing body would be keen to send the winner of the Hundred rather than a county from the Vitality Blast. 'There might be some pushback, but that's a debate to be had,' he said. 'If there's a Champions League format it would be a Hundred team going forward. Of course we'd want to be involved at the earliest opportunity.'


Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
Australia complete Caribbean sweep
Ben Dwarshuis removed both openers and took the crucial wicket of top-scorer Shimron Hetmyer as Australia beat the West Indies on Monday in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis, to sweep the T20 series 5-0. Chasing a modest 171 to win the fifth T20 international, Australia recovered from 25-3 and 60-4 to score 173-7 with three overs to spare. Cameron Green anchored the middle-order recovery with 32, big-hitting Tim David raced to 30 off 12 balls with four sixes and a four, and Mitchell Owen scored 37. When Green departed, Australia were 141-6, still needing 30, and the West Indies sniffed a consolation win. But Aaron Hardie kept his composure to see Australia home by three wickets with an unbeaten 28. 'I didn't expect 5-0 at the start of the series. But we played some great cricket,' said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh. West Indies captain Shai Hope pinpointed the reason for his team's failure to win a match. 'We never put together a proper batting display. We either started well or finished poorly or the other way round,' said Hope. 'Against a quality team you can't get away with that.' The West Indies were in trouble early, having been asked to bat when Marsh won the toss. Dwarshuis removed Brandon King for 11 and Hope for nine to reduce the hosts to 22-2 in the fourth over. That became 64-4 until Hetmyer led a fightback, hitting three fours and three sixes on his way to a half-century. It looked like the left-hander might take the West Indies to a challenging total, but Dwarshuis returned to induce a miscue to Sean Abbott at long-off from a slower bouncer. Hetmyer departed for 52 from 31 balls to leave West Indies 155- 7 in the 17th over. 'It was a little bit of a slower wicket so we tried to hit the wicket hard and use the slower balls as well,' said Dwarshuis, who was named player of the match. Australia also won the three Tests which preceded the T20 series to sweep all eight matches on the tour.