‘Pakistan can bounce back against new-look Australia’
Cook, England to unwind before 4th Test
ISLAMABAD, Nov 30, (Agencies): Pakistan captain Misbah-ulHaq believes it can bounce back from its 2-0 loss in New Zealand when it takes on a new-look Australia in a three-Test series next month.
Australia avoided being whitewashed by South Africa as new caps Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, and Nic Maddinson won the day-night third test in Adelaide last weekend.
Misbah returned home after losing the first Test in Christchurch because of the death of his fatherin-law. He would have missed the second Test in Hamilton anyway, because he was handed a one-match suspension for another slow over-rate. He will rejoin the team before the first day-night Test in Brisbane on Dec 15.
Pakistan’s top order struggled in seaming conditions in New Zealand. They lost nine wickets in the last session in Hamilton to lose by 138 runs.
Only opener Sami Aslam and Babar Azam scored half-centuries in four Test innings. However, Pakistan kept faith in the same 16-man squad for the three Tests against Australia.
Meanwhile, England captain Alastair Cook is looking forward to a rare week-long break in a hectic playing schedule after the heavy third Test defeat against India in Mohali Tuesday.
Virat Kohli’s side won by eight wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-Test series.
But England’s players are looking to unwind with some welcome down time in Dubai before making the short trip from the Gulf resort city to Mumbai for the fourth Test, which begins on Dec 8.
Some of the England squad have been on duty since landing in Bangladesh on September 30 for three One-Day Internationals followed by the 1-1 draw in the Test series there.
Cook himself has spent just 18 hours with his new-born daughter after dashing home from the Bangladesh tour for her birth.
Cook’s team has endured tough couple of months after losing a Test to Bangladesh for the first time and are now staring at a series defeat against top-ranked India.
But Cook remembered that four years ago in India England came
Misbah
back from 1-0 down to win the four-Test series 2-1 and said that if they show greater consistency they can still save the series.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it has roped in legendary Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram as a mentor ahead of the team’s gruelling tour of South Africa next month.
Akram, 50, will conduct a daylong coaching clinic in Colombo on Thursday, Sri Lanka Cricket said, in what would be the first of a series of programmes involving foreign experts.
Sumathipala also said the 2019 World Cup could be within the grasp of Sri Lanka if the team is given the right guidance. Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996 but choked twice in the finals of the 2007 and 2011 editions.
New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner will be back playing for English county Worcestershire in the T20 Blast next season, the club announced Wednesday.
The 24-year-old — who has been capped by his country in all three international formats — will re-join his team-mates after the Champions Trophy hosted by England in June 2017.
Santner said he is hoping for a longer spell at the county than last season, when a broken finger on his debut brought a premature end to his stay.
Santner must first receive visaclearance and a no objection certificate from New Zealand cricket, but Worcestershire’s director of cricket Steve Rhodes is looking forward to welcoming a player who has a lot to prove.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has levied a record fine on two national team players for what it called “serious” breaches of discipline after they reportedly entertained female guests in their hotel rooms.
Pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain and batsman Sabbir Rahman were both fined around $15,000 for “serious off-field disciplinary breaches” during the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Twenty20 tournament, said the BCB in a statement late Tuesday.
It gave no details of the charges against the players, but the Prothom Alo daily reported online that they had taken female guests to their hotel rooms during the tour.
The BPL is modelled on the glitzy Indian Cricket League and has been blighted by match-fixing scandals, prompting authorities to suspend the meet for two years.