Pakistan cricket board wants India to be its 'home' for all international series

May 24, 2015

New Delhi, May 24: It’s still a game of glorious uncertainties. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants to make India ‘home’ where it can host all its international series. “We would like to make India our home,’’ PCB chief Shahryar Khan said from Lahore on Saturday.

Pakistan cricket

Khan said the PCB has offers from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as well but would prefer India. “India will be more cost-effective,’’ he added.

In international cricket, bilateral series are generally reciprocal so that revenues can be shared. Currently, Pakistan host their international matches in the UAE because teams are still wary of travelling to the country following a terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.

Asked if the PCB had security concerns given that the Shiv Sena has, in the past, strongly objected to the Pakistan team visiting India, Khan said: “We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not rule out the possibility of offering its help to Pakistan, but said there were quite a few issues, some of them beyond the two boards’ control, which have to be looked into before things moved ahead.

“At the moment we are more concerned about hosting the T20 World Cup next year and a packed Indian international calendar. We really don’t know if we would be able to provide grounds,” a senior BCCI official said.

Cricketing ties between the arch-rivals cooled considerably after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistan terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistani players have also been excluded from the money-spinning Indian Premier League.

Khan was in India earlier this month to meet BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya and discuss the revival of bilateral series between the countries. According to a memorandum of understanding signed between the two boards, India and Pakistan have agreed to play six bilateral series until 2022. The last time Pakistan played in India was a three-match one-day series in December 2012.

On Friday, Pakistan hosted Zimbabwe in a T20 match — the first time in six years that a Test-playing nation has toured the strife-torn country since the Lahore attack of 2009.

The International Cricket Council still does not consider Pakistan a safe venue for international matches and has not appointed international umpires for the two-T20 and three-ODI series in Lahore.

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News Network
March 13,2020

Mar 13: The start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's most lucrative cricket competition, has been postponed from March 29 until April 15 over the coronavirus, the Indian cricket board said Friday.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation," the BCCI said in a statement.

The two-month Twenty20 competition is estimated to generate more than $11 billion for the Indian economy and involves cricket's top international stars.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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News Network
July 18,2020

Johannesburg, Jul 18: Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday mourned the demise of former spinner Ismail 'Baboo' Ebrahim who died in Durban at the age of 73.

"Baboo was one of the outstanding South African spin bowlers of the 1960s and 1970s who would undoubtedly have played as many Test matches for his country as the 48 first-class games to which he was limited," CSA said in a statement.

In those matches, he took 179 wickets at an average of 21.33 with an economy rate of 2.12 including 8 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls.

The left-arm spinner only had one opportunity on the international stage when he played for a SA Invitation XI against the International Wanderers at Kingsmead in 1976.

"At the age of 29, he was in his prime and took a match-winning 6/66 in the second innings, his victims including international captains, Greg Chappell of Australia and Mike Denness of England. It was a clear indication of what he could have achieved on grounds around the world at the highest level had he been given the opportunity. He was a master of flight and spin and had a good arm ball to back it up," the statement read.

His ability to perform at this level had become apparent much earlier when he went to watch the Australians at practice before their Test match against South Africa in 1970.

He persuaded the Australians to let him bowl to them and made an immediate impression, bowling experienced Test batsman Ian Redpath and impressing the likes of Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett, the latter being Australia's leading spinner of the 1970s.

He had one season for Radcliffe in the Lancashire Central League when he took 62 wickets at 14.62 apiece.

Baboo finally got his chance to represent his country in Masters events in one of which he dismissed both Sir Vivian Richards and Gordon Greenidge.

"Baboo Ebrahim was one of the countless number of outstanding cricketers who was denied the opportunity to display his talents to the world and live his cricketing dreams," said CSA Acting Chief Executive, Dr Jacques Faul.

"On behalf of the CSA Family I extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends and cricketing colleagues," he added. 

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