2 June 2016

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Thursday, June 2, 2016
Sportlight
7
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ICC Champions Trophy: Pakistan to
face rivals India on June 4 next year
ISLAMABAD,
LONDON, Jun 1: Pakistan
will take on defending champions
India on June 4 in the
2017 International Cricket
Council (ICC) Champions
Trophy at Edgbaston.
The schedule for the 2017
50-over tournament in
England and Wales was confirmed
on Wednesday - exactly
a year before the opening
game - with the two Asian
rivals clashing in a Group B
clash at Edgbaston in
Birmingham on June 3.
Hosts England also staged
the last edition of the tournament
in 2013, when they lost
the final to the Indians.
They will begin by entertaining
Bangladesh at The
Oval in London in Group A,
in the first game of the competition
on June 1.
Bangladesh are returning to
the tournament for the first
time since 2006, with Group
A also featuring regional
rivals Australia and New
Zealand. The Aussies and
Kiwis will begin with a repeat
of the 2015 World Cup final
at Edgbaston on June 2.
Sri Lanka and South
Africa are the other sides in
Group B - with the two countries
meeting in their opening
game at The Oval on June 3.
Sophia Gardens in Welsh
capital Cardiff will be the
third ground to host matches,
starting with England's second
game against New
Zealand on June 6.
The top eight teams in the
ICC One Day International
(ODI) rankings on September
30, 2015, automatically qualified
for the event.
That means the West
Indies, who won the ICC
World Twenty20 in April,
will be major absentees as the
Caribbean collective were
ranked ninth at the time. The
top two from each group will
advance to the semi-finals
with the final scheduled for
The Oval on June 18.
The ICC has also added
the reserve day for June 19 -
something that was lacking in
2013 when India won a farcical
rain affected final which
was reduced to just 20 overs.
With 15 matches played
over 18 days, the Champions
Trophy is designed as a
quickfire international tournament,
in contrast to the
World Cup which can last for
well over a month.
ICC chief executive David
Richardson said: “The ICC
Champions Trophy is a short
and sharp event, which is followed
and enjoyed by the
spectators and players alike.
“The ICC Champions
Trophy 2017 is not just an
ODI competition, it carries a
great deal of value since it is
being played just three
months before the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2019
qualification cut-off date.
"As such, every point
earned here could be crucial.
“The announcement of the
ICC Champions Trophy
schedule 12 months before
the start of the event will provide
sufficient time to all
eight sides to plan for the
tournament and arrive in
England and Wales fully prepared
and geared up so that
they can collect enough
points to directly qualify for
the 2019 extravaganza.
“The ICC Champions
Trophy will also be the first of
three global tournaments the
England and Wales Cricket
Board will be hosting over
the next three years.
"Immediately after the
ICC Champions Trophy, the
ICC Women’s World Cup
will be staged while the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2019, the
pinnacle of the 50-over format,
will be held in 2019.
“These three competitions
will provide the culturally
diverse society of the United
Kingdom as well as travelling
fans from across the globe an
opportunity to watch live
action and follow their
favourite players and sides.”
Amir backed to handle spotlight on
Lord's return after spot-fixing charge
Jun 1:
Mohammad Amir can handle
the strain of playing
international cricket in
England for the first time
since he was charged with
spot-fixing, insists Pakistan
team-mate Azhar Ali.
Amir is likely to be one of
Pakistan’s key bowlers in
their four-match series, starting
in July. In 2010, Amir was
found to have bowled no-balls
deliberately in the Lord’s Test.
Amir was given a six-month
prison sentence, of which he
served half in a young offenders’
institute, on charges of
conspiracy to accept corrupt
payments and conspiracy to
cheat at gambling.
The First Investec Test
against Pakistan this summer
will also be at Lord’s
and Amir faces huge scrutiny
if he plays. But Pakistan
one-day captain Azhar said:
“It has been a while now
since he has been with us. It
could have been tough, had
he come in straight on such a
tour, but now, after playing
with us for a long time,
things have settled. He isn’t
under pressure because he
has already made his comeback
a few months ago and
the toughest phase is over
for him.
“I know England was the
place where the incident
happened but hopefully he
can handle the pressure like
he did on his comeback. But
still if anything happens, we,
as a team, will handle it.”
Amir, and the other spotfixers,
Salman Butt and
Mohammad Asif, were
cleared to return in
September. –Online
Amir Khan brings International Boxing to
Pakistan under the Amir Khan Trust Umbrella
Earnings of the event will be donated to provide clean water in Thar
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Punjab Blues set final clash against KP Colours
in National U-18 Hockey championship
Dr M. Arif Hafeez
Sports Reporter
KARACHI, Jun 1: Punjab
Blues set final clash against
KP Colours after defeating
their opponents in the 1st
National U-18 Hockey
Championship semifinals
played here at the Naseer
Bunda International Hockey
Stadium.
It was a truly remarkable
first semifinal between both
Punjab teams on offer.
The pack-to-capacity
crowd was entertained with
top class hockey.
Punjab Blues were hot
favourites to win the semifinal
against Punjab Colours,
which displayed remarkable
performance, especially Ali
Aziz exhibited excellent
stick work and scored a
brace for the losers but his
heroics couldn’t save his
team’s blushes.
Olympians Shahnaz
Sheikh, Naveed Alam,
Kamran Ashraf, Rasheed
Junior, M Irfan, tournament
director Col (R) Ahmed
Nawaz Malik, secretary
PARIS, Jun 1: Finally back
on court after two days of
rain, Venus Williams warmed
up for her fourth-round
French Open match
Wednesday in a zipped-up
gray coat, something that
seemed more appropriate for
winter wear.
Once play began, the No.
9-seeded Williams never really
gave herself a chance to
join her sister in the quarterfinals,
coming up short in a bid
to get back to that stage at
Roland Garros for the first
time in a decade. Williams
dropped eight games in a row
during one early stretch and
lost 6-2, 6-4 to No. 8 Timea
Bacsinszky of Switzerland.
"The most disappointing
part is just not playing well,"
Ramzan Jamali, Punjab
Hockey Association (PHA)
secretary Col Asif Khokhar
along with others were also
present during both the
semifinals.
Punjab Colours started
the semifinal campaign brilliantly
and took a commanding
2-0 lead.
Ali Aziz scored his first
goal in the 22nd minute
while he stepped up again to
score his second goal in the
32nd minute to provide
Punjab Colours 2-0 lead.
But their joy shortlived as
Punjab Blues bounced back
in style and scored a smashing
goal through Wasim
Akram in the 35th minute to
reduce the margin to 2-1 and
then Ali scored in the 43rd
minute to square the things.
Both the teams created a
number of golden chances,
but to no avail and just when
it seemed the match fate
would be decided on plenty
shootouts, Punjab Colours
hearts were broken as Blues
staged remarkable comeback
through Ilyas who
scored a killer blow in the
Williams said.
"She played a smart
match," the seven-time major
champion added. "That definitely
added to my troubles."
57th minute to land him
team home safely with 3-2
unbeatable lead.
In the second semifinal,
KP Colours managed to prevail
on spirited Punjab
Whites 5-1 on plenty
shootouts.
KP Colours must consider
themselves lucky to enter
the final, as despite missing
at least half a dozen simple
goal-scoring chances in the
match, they managed to beat
Punjab Whites.
It was purely world-class
goalkeeping by the Punjab
Whites’ goalie, who saved at
least 8 to 10 goals, which
made the difference.
Punjab Whites took the
lead in the second minute of
the first quarter through
Waqas Ali, who scored a
stunner.
After that, KP completely
dominated proceedings and
created a lot of chances, but
their strikers failed to take
advantage.
It was the brilliance of
Zakir, who scored a breathtaking
reverse hockey goal
to beat Punjab goalie, who
Serena Williams returns to
action, wins at French Open
The American actually
started well enough, taking a
2-0 lead, before Bacsinszky
began to add more variety to
her strokes and took complete
control. Williams slipped to
her knees at the baseline on
one point, and was generally
out of sorts, managing to produce
a total of only six winners,
while committing 24
unforced errors. "The first
few games she made some
errors," Williams said, "and
in the last 12 games, I made
all the errors."
She was the runner-up to
younger sibling Serena at
Roland Garros in 2002, but
her most recent trip to the
quarterfinals in Paris came all
the way back in 2006.
Venus turns 36 this month
and was the oldest woman in
the field.
"She's definitely an inspiration,"
said Bacsinszky, who
lost to Serena in last year's
French Open semifinals,
"because if you see how long
she is lasting as a tennis player,
it's something unbelievable."
Wasting no time at all,
defending champion Serena
moved closer to her recordequaling
22nd Grand Slam
title with a 6-1, 6-1 victory
over 18th-seeded Elina
Svitolina of Ukraine in only
62 minutes.
was outstanding in the
match.
KP were playing entire
four quarters in the Punjab’s
half and despite having a
series of chances, which
came their way thick and
fast, they failed to capitalize.
Punjab Whites were
favourite to win the plenty
shootout, as they had truly
outstanding goalkeeper, but
it was Punjab plenty
shootout takers, who let
themselves and goalie down,
as they failed to convert
even a single plenty.
After missing the first
plenty shootout, KP players
managed to score on all the
remaining four plenty
shootouts.
One thing is quite certain
that kids had the talent, but
coaching staff and the managers
didn’t have any
knowledge of utilising the
substitutes, as both managers
failed to make even a
single substitute in all the
four quarters.
The third position match
between Punjab Whites and
Punjab Colours.
Dilshan to miss
England tour due to
personal reasons
LORD'S, Jun 1: Tillakaratne
Dilshan has informed Sri
Lanka Cricket that he will be
unavailable for the limitedovers
series in England and
Ireland, owing to personal
issues. The limited-overs
squads for England have not
yet been named, but Sri
Lanka are scheduled to play
five ODIs and a T20 international
in the country, as well
as two ODIs in Dublin soon
after the third Test.
The news is a significant
blow to the team, as Dilshan
has been Sri Lanka's mostconsistent
limited-overs
batsman over the past two
years. In 2015 Dilshan hit
1207 ODI runs at an average
of 52.47. That aggregate put
him on third on the year's
run-scorers' list.
His withdrawal also
extends the instability Sri
Lanka have experienced at
the top of their limited-overs
batting order. Kusal Perera is
expected to open the batting
in the shorter formats after
being cleared of doping
charges, but Sri Lanka will
now have to find a partner
for him for the series.
Dilshan, now 39, had
suggested he was not thinking
of limited-overs retirement
during the recent
World T20. He retired from
Tests in late 2013.
Asian CT hockey
to return after
two years
KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 1:
The men's Asian Champions
Trophy will make its return
to the international calender
after two years and the fourth
edition of the tournament
will be held in Kuantan,
Malaysia from October 20 to
30, the Asian Hockey
Federation (AHF) announced
on Wednesday.
Pakistan has been the
most successful team in the
Asian Champions Trophy
having won the gold medal
twice.
Introduced in 2011, the
Asian Champions Trophy
was last held in 2013. To be
held after the Rio Olympics,
the tournament will witness
the participation of top Asian
hockey playing nations in
India, Korea, Japan, China,
hosts Malaysian and title
holders and winners of the
last two editions Pakistan.
"In a ceremony held
today, the Asian Hockey
Federation (AHF) president
HRH Prince Abdullah
Ahmad Shah and Malaysian
Hockey Confederation president
Dato' Sri Subahan
Kamal formally signed the
hosting agreement that confirms
the hosting of the men's
Asian Champions Trophy
2016 in Kuantan, Pahang
State, Malaysia," the AHF
said in a statement.
The men's Asian
Champions Trophy 2016 will
be the third major international
event to take place at
Kuantan's Wisma Belia
Stadium since its completion
in 2012, following the successful
hosting of a women's
Hockey World League
Round 2 event in 2012 and a
men's Hockey Champions
Challenge in 2014.
Sports Reporter
LAHORE, Jun 1: North
Zone T-20 Cricket League
Match Apollo Sports V/S
Zarif Memorial Played at
Railway Allama Iqbal
Institute Ground. Apollo
Sports Batting First 188/6
after 20 overs. Sher Baz
Khan 67 Runs Not Out,
Bilal Irshad 46, Irfan Ali
Khan 33 and Raza Khan
27 Runs. Zarif Memorial
Bowling Waqas Malik
2/20, Shaukat Ali 2/27 and
Ahmad Ishaq 1/34
Wickets. In reply Zarif
Memorial 180/9 after 20
overs. M. Farhan 59, Jamil
Malik 45 and Naveed Butt
15 Runs. Apollo Sports
Bowling Raza Khan
KARACHI: Renowned international boxer Muhammad Amir Khan addressing to the participants
of ceremony held at local hotel. Amir Khan brings international boxing to Pakistan
under the Amir Khan Trust umbrella.
KARACHI, Jun 1: The international
boxing star Amir
Khan announced boxing
matches showcasing seven
international boxers including
his brother Haroon,
Harry King Khan in
Pakistan, here on
Wednesday. The HBL
Superstar Boxing Event is an
effort of Amir Khan Trust to
raise funds to provide clean
drinking water for the citizens
of Thar. Along with that
the Amir Khan Trust will
also support the boxing culture
and encourage international
events in Pakistan.
Hashoo Group, a strong
supporter of art, culture, literature,
education, sports,
and other entertaining activities,
has also taken up the initiative
to promote this superstar
boxing event. The
Hashoo Group, which has
CAPE TOWN, Jun 1: The
four-person independent panel
assigned to review South
Africa's national teams performance
last season has disbanded
without completing its
work. Sports physiologist
Ross Tucker, who was on the
panel, confirmed the news to
ESPNcricinfo, although he
declined further comment
until the message had been
communicated to CSA's
board. Tucker and his fellow
panelists informed CSA CEO
Haroon Lorgat of their decision
last week.
The investigation, which
was due to be headed by
CSA's head of HR, Dawn
Mokhobo, and also included
former Test cricketer Adam
Bowling well 4/29, Awais
Tariq 2/31 and Irfan Butt
1/43 Wickets. End of the
under its umbrella, the Pearl
Continentals, Hotel One, and
Marriott hotels in Pakistan,
is facilitating the hospitality
requirements for the event.
The VP operations of the
group Mr. Haseeb A.
Gardezi said on the occasion,
“Hashoo Group always takes
a keen interest in the promotion
of developmental and
welfare activities in
Pakistan, considering the
significance and noble aim
of this event, the group
actively and magnanimously
participated, helping raise
money for the Amir Khan
Trust and also promote boxing
in the country.”
The main Fight Night will
be held at the Pearl
Continental hotel Karachi,
where seven international
boxers Tasif Khan,
Gallagher Dayle, Jody
NORTH ZONE T-20 CRICKET LEAGUE
Match Chief Guest Cricket
Promoter Haji Mian
Muhammad Ilyas Mughal
Meikle, Stuart Maddox,
Francis Peter Douglas Croes,
Haroon Khan and Phil
Townley will participate.
Speaking about the initiative
Mr. Naveed Asghar,
Chief Marketing Officer
HBL said,” HBL has always
supported and promoted
sports in Pakistan. It is not
only an international event in
the country but a milestone
in the revival of boxing in
Pakistan. He further added,
we are determined to continue
supporting such events in
future which are not only
playing a vital role in raising
funds for the deprived but
providing a sense of motivation
for the youth to pursue
their dreams.” He specially
thanked the Pearl
Continental Karachi for its
outright support to make
these events successful.
SA independent review 'abandoned'
Bacher and World Cup winning
Springbok captain
Francois Pienaar, was
announced in the aftermath of
South Africa's men and
women exiting the World T20
after the first round. It was to
include an examination of the
men's team's poor Test summer,
in which they lost backto-back
series to India and
England and the national
Under-19 side, who failed to
defend their World Cup title.
The job of Russell Domingo,
South Africa's coach, was
expected to come under particular
scrutiny. The panel held
preliminary meetings at the
end of April and discussed the
scope and the process of their
review, which included identifying
timeframes and cost. On
Twitter, in conversation with
another user, Tucker confirmed
that they, "Couldn't
agree terms, times and
scope/process, so it didn't
begin. Pity."
With CSA yet to announce
the cessation of the review
process, it is uncertain what
steps it will take to conduct an
analysis of the past summer.
An option would be to ask the
14-person panel that is conducting
a review into domestic
cricket to include the national
teams in its scope as well. The
findings of the domestic
review are set to be revealed in
the next two months, with
CSA also due to hold its AGM
over the winter.
Apollo Sports beat Zarif Memorial by 8 runs
giveaway man of the
match award to Raza
Khan.
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