Amir aims for win of a lifetime against England

Agencies
May 31, 2018

London, May 31: Mohammad Amir has had some of the greatest and undoubtedly the worst days of his career in England -- sometimes during the very same match.

But fresh from helping bowl Pakistan to a crushing nine-wicket win over England in the first Test at Lord's, the left-arm paceman hopes he can enjoy the "best memory" with a series win in the second and final Test at Headingley, starting Friday.

Amir, who burst on the world scene as a teenager, got his name on the Lord's honours board with a six-wicket haul against England in 2010.

But in the same game at the 'home of cricket', Amir was caught up in a spot-fixing scandal which led to a jail sentence and a five-year ban.

That same season, Amir took three wickets for 20 runs in 11 overs at Headingley during a sensational bowling display as an Australia side featuring Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Steven Smith were dismissed for just 88 in the first innings of the second 'neutral' Test.

The match, which Pakistan eventually won by three wickets, saw Amir stake a claim to 'The Ball of the 21st Century' when an all-but-unplayable delivery that pitched on the middle-and-leg stump of Mitchell Johnson seamed away late to clip the top of the left-hander's off-stump.

Amir, who helped Essex win the English County Championship last season when he also starred in Pakistan's outstanding one-day Champions Trophy final victory over India at The Oval, has rarely hit those Headingley heights in Test cricket since his return to the international stage two years ago.

Amir, however, took five wickets -- including four for 36 in the second innings -- as Pakistan outclassed England in all areas to win inside four days at Lord's on Sunday.

"It's a big achievement winning in Test cricket in England against England," Amir said on Wednesday.

"If we win the series I think it will be the best memory of my life," the swing bowler added.

Pakistan will be forced into a change, with Fakhar Zaman set to replace Babar Azam after his fellow batsman suffered a broken arm facing all-rounder Ben Stokes at Lord's.

England have recalled opener Keaton Jennings in place of the dropped Mark Stoneman, who managed just 13 runs in total at Lord's.

"You will only get judged on the amount of runs you score," said Jennings, one of Alastair Cook's 12 opening partners in the six years since Andrew Strauss's retirement.

England made a late addition to their squad, with uncapped left-arm seamer Sam Curran called up on Wednesday after Stokes suffered a hamstring strain.

Regardless of Stokes's fitness, England may recall all-rounder Chris Woakes, if only to bolster their fallible batting, in place of fast bowler Mark Wood.

Despite their lamentable Lord's showing, James Anderson insisted England could bounce back by squaring the series at the Yorkshire home ground of captain Joe Root.

The team received a barrage of criticism after Lord's but Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, said: "The outside noise is always there, and it's a bit louder when you perform badly.

"We'll try to block out the noise -- from whoever is shouting out," he added, suggesting a "bit of a luck" may be all England need to improve on a run of six defeats in their last eight Tests.

If England are seeking inspiration, they could look to the Headingley example of the West Indies.

Last year, the tourists suffered a humiliating innings and 209-run defeat by England in the first Test at Edgbaston, only to enjoy a five-wicket victory in the second Test as Shai Hope became the first batsman to score hundreds in both innings of a first-class match at Headingley.

England, though, might settle for one century by any member of their faltering top order, let alone two, right now.

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News Network
March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: Australia batsman David Warner on Tuesday decided to shave off his head to show support towards all those people who are working relentlessly on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.

After shaving off his head, Warner also challenged his Australian team-mate Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to do the same.

Warner, shared a time-lapse video on Instagram, of him shaving his head, and captioned the post as: "Been nominated to shave my head in support of those working on the frontline #Covid-19 here is a time-lapse. I think my debut was the last time I recall I've done this. Like it or not".

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australia's death toll stands at 19, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.

As of 8 am today, 4460 people across Australia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The World Health Organisation had termed coronavirus as a 'pandemic' on March 11.

Earlier in the day, Australia Test skipper Tim Paine also confirmed that the side's tour of Bangladesh is unlikely due to the virus spread.
"You don't have to be Einstein to realise (the Bangladesh tour) is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment," cricket.com.au quoted Paine as saying.

Currently, Australia has 296 points in the WTC from 10 matches, while India has 360 points from nine matches.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Zurich, Apr 19: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia was among the 50 footballers to take part in the FIFA's initiative to pay tribute to 'humanity's heroes' amid the coronavirus pandemic.

FIFA, in its statement, expressed gratitude towards all the healthcare workers and other professionals who are giving their all to ensure society continues to function in the face of the coronavirus.

"To all of these heroic people: football thanks you, football remembers you and football supports you," FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA shared a video on their official Twitter handle where footballers from present and past came been seen applauding the frontline workers.

The 50 fotballer were Bhutia, Holger Badstuber, David Beckham, Lucy Bronze, Gianluigi Buffon, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Iker Casillas, Deyna Castellanos, Giorgio Chiellini, Charlyn Corral, El Hadji Diouf, Youri Djorkaeff, Han Duan, Magdalena Eriksson, Samuel Eto'o, Pernille Harder, Javier Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Kaka, Harry Kane, Carli Lloyd, Harry Maguire, Diego Maradona, Marta, Vivianne Miedema, Ajara Nchout, Michael Owen, Mesut Ozil, Norma Palafox, Pavel Pardo, Park Jisung, Pele, Gerard Pique, Alexia Putellas, Sergio Ramos, Nicole Reigner, Wendie Renard, Roberto Carlos, James Rodriguez, Ronaldo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Virginia Torrecilla, Yaya Toure, Marco van Basten, Danielle van de Donk, Ivan Vicelich, Arturo Vidal, Javier Zanetti and Zinedine Zidane.
"As footballers, we are used to receiving applause, but this time, we have the opportunity to show our appreciation for the many people who are risking their lives to protect ours," FIFA.com quoted Beckham as saying.

"You are humanity's heroes and we want to show that all of football supports you and everything that you do to defend all of us," he added.

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