Day: November 7, 2021

Dubai, November 07, 2021 (PPI-OT):The International Cricket Council has sent its condolences to the family of Mohan Singh, the curator at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi who passed away earlier today.

At the request of Abu Dhabi Cricket, the ground staff and Mohan’s family, game between New Zealand and Afghanistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 went ahead.

An ICC spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, Abu Dhabi Cricket and everyone connected with the event.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, November 07, 2021 (PPI-OT):Adam Milne hailed New Zealand’s ruthless attack after his side convincingly beat Afghanistan to seal their semi-final spot at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Milne took one for 17 from four excellent overs and joined fellow seamers Trent Boult (3/17) and Tim Southee (2/24) in making life difficult for the Afghanistan batters in Abu Dhabi.

Having restricted their opponents to 124 for eight, New Zealand were guided home by an unbroken 68-run stand between Kane Williamson and Devon Conway which secured their Group 2 qualification.

Milne is relishing being part of his side’s feared attack and believes their versatility will stand them in good stead in the last four, where they will play either England or Australia.

“It was pleasing to have a good performance for the whole bowling unit,” he said.

“The way Timmy and Trent started us off really brought a great intensity to the start of the bowling spell and then I was able to continue on that, which was good.

“[The attack] gives Kane [Williamson] a lot of options. We’ve also got Jimmy Neesham, who bowled really well today.

“We’ve got Daryl Mitchell we can bowl and Glenn Phillips who can bowl. There are lot of guys on the team that can offer something when required.

“To have those five specialists has been good for us. Kane has a key bowler he likes to go to and it’s been nice to be part of that five.

“When you’ve got Tim and Trent leading the way with the experience they have. It’s easy to sort of learn and listen off them and they’re able to show you the right way to go about things.”

Milne was not part of New Zealand’s original 15-man squad for the tournament but has seized the opportunity given by Lockie Ferguson’s injury.

And having missed the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-finals and final due to an injury of his own, the paceman is hoping to play a key role this time around as New Zealand look to add T20 glory to the ICC World Test Championship they won earlier this year.

“Obviously to come from the reserves and be part of the World Cup now is pretty special, and to qualify for the semi-finals, it’s a great moment,” he said.

“Looking forward to the semi-final, we can put on a performance and make it into the final.

“In T20 cricket, it’s important to put a full team performance in. Obviously the bowling group has been doing well as a group.

“But in T20 cricket, any one day a few guys can have their day. It’s important as a group we bowl well, restrict and try to be aggressive and then obviously with the bat we’ve been pretty clinical so far. So hopefully that can continue.

“The game changes in T20 if you’re able to take wickets at a start like we were today. If we can continue to do that, that will put us in good positions to be able to control the innings.

“Whatever team we were playing the semi-final is going to be a really good team and likely very aggressive.

“We just need to make sure we go and bat with some aggression and use our skills as well.”

Afghanistan came into their final Group 2 match with slim qualification hopes of their own but quickly slipped to 19 for three having opted to bat at the toss.

Najibullah Zadran’s excellent 73 gave them hope but Afghanistan’s total was ultimately around 30 runs light, leaving them with four points from their five games.

Gulbadin Naib is taking the positives from his side’s overall performances in the UAE, however, and said: “First of all, you look at the start of the tournament, we beat West Indies in the warm-up game, and also we beat Scotland in a one-sided game.

“And then if you look at the Pakistan side and India side, it’s not easy. They’re big teams and they didn’t give a single chance.

“We have a lot of work [to do] on our team and before this World Cup we didn’t have much time to prepare our team.

“We came out here three days before the tournament. Our team and our boys deliver very quickly and we did a lot of good things here.

“Also a good thing for us is we qualified for the next World Cup. We’re in the top eight. But it’s a lot of work now and we’re going to work harder and harder.”

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

Dubai, November 07, 2021 (PPI-OT):You never know which Pakistan team will turn up at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 – the good one or the great one.

Babar Azam’s side are consigning to ridicule one of the international game’s most hackneyed cliches – they are no longer unpredictable, but playing great cricket, game in, game out.

Top spot in Group 2 is just reward for a perfect record of five wins from five in the Super 12 stage, wrapped up thanks to a 72-run victory over Scotland.

This makes them favourites on paper to lift the trophy in Dubai next Sunday as the only unbeaten team in the tournament.

Standing in their way in the semi-finals will be Australia – who they have beaten in 12 of their 23 T20I meetings – and their plans to spring a surprise and reach their second-ever final.

There will be intriguing match-ups all over the field on Thursday.

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imad Wasim give Pakistan the left-arm angle to challenge Aaron Finch in the powerplay, while the return to form of David Warner may be more of a concern.

The key to the game lies in whether Australia can separate Babar and Mohammad Rizwan, the most prolific partnership in the competition, early on.

If either Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc can snaffle an opener in the first six overs, Justin Langer’s men can expose the poor form of Pakistan number three Fakhar Zaman.

Fakhar opened the batting with some success from 2017 to 2020, striking at 140 in that period. In nine matches at number three, his strike rate is a good deal lower at 120.

In Oman and the UAE, his return from five innings is 54 runs and he looked woefully out of nick against Scotland, groping at a Chris Greaves delivery and picking out cow corner, departing for eight.

Fakhar, who burst onto the scene as an opener at the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, desperately needs time in the middle. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals is not the place to get it.

Mohammad Hafeez’s brand of pure hitting and know-how helped stitch the innings together against Scotland, lifting it to 189 for four, and prevented any loss of momentum when the top order fell.

Then in Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali they have two of the game’s most devastating finishers, helping them access totals in excess of 180 which, logic suggests, will be beyond Australia in a chase.

At 39 years old, Malik is one of the marvels of world cricket. He made his Pakistan debut in 1999, the year that the first of the ‘new’ Star Wars movies was released, Bill Gates predicted a future with smart phones and before two of his teammates at this tournament – Haider Ali and Mohammad Wasim – were even born.

The veteran batter flayed Scotland for 54 from 18 balls, Pakistan’s fastest-ever T20I fifty and the eighth quickest of all time.

Central to his six-hitting ability – he crossed the rope six times in Dubai – is using the depth of his crease to maximise his options straight down the ground and neutralise the yorker length.

He hit Greaves for three back-foot maximums in the final over and sent Safyaan Sharif soaring through the wide long-on and midwicket channels a few balls earlier.

His prowess against leg-spin could pose problems for Australia given how important Adam Zampa is to their wicket-taking intentions in the middle overs.

Pakistan’s bowling attack is also in fine fettle. It’s hard to imagine Shaheen Shah Afridi’s form not in some way deciding the outcome of knockout cricket in the next week.

Hasan Ali’s form is a cause for concern. He did get rid of the labouring Kyle Coetzer in the last over of the powerplay with a wicked, cutting slower ball to clean bowl the opener.

But he was given the treatment by Richie Berrington, who ended with an excellent unbeaten 54, and was by some distance the most expensive Pakistani bowler.

Consistency in selection has been the order of the day for head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, who was part of the team who lifted the trophy in England in 2009.

Pakistan have used the same 11 players in all five games and with no other frontline bowler sitting on the sidelines, Hasan’s struggles could cause ongoing headaches.

Still, if you want to win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, the likelihood is you’ll have to beat Pakistan. This time, you know what you’re going to get.

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com