BIRMINGHAM, July 29(ABC): British pop giants Duran Duran headlined a glitzy Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday as more than 5,000 athletes braced for battle. Competitors from 72 nations and territories, many of which are former British colonies, will be vying for medals in 19 sports over a jam-packed 11 days in the English Midlands. The opening ceremony …

ISLAMABAD, July 28(ABC): Three foreign climbers are missing and feared dead on Pakistan’s treacherous Karakorum mountain range in the country’s far north, an official said Thursday. Pakistan is home to five of the world’s 14 “super peaks” — those over 8,000 metres (26,246 feet) high — and the climbing season is currently in full swing. A senior government official from …

BRISTOL, July 28(ABC): Jonny Bairstow’s excellent season continued as he made 90 in England’s 41-run win over South Africa in the 1st T20 international at Bristol on Wednesday. Moeen Ali compiled England’s quickest T20 fifty, off just 16 balls, in the hosts’ 234-6 — their second highest total at this level behind the 241-3 they posted against New Zealand at …

WEB DESK, July 27(ABC): Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and young pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi moved up in the Test rankings as the International Cricket Council (ICC) issued fresh rankings Wednesday. Azam is one step closer in his quest to become the number 1 batter in all three formats of the game after the Pakistan captain moved closer to the top …

LAHORE, July 27(ABC): Australia’s World Cup winning former captain Ricky Ponting said he thinks Pakistan Captain Babar Azam is the key towards Pakistan’s success in the upcoming T20I World Cup, scheduled in Australia. “If Babar doesn’t have a great tournament, I don’t think they can win,” Ponting said while talking to ICC Review. In the latest episode of the ICC …

LONDON, July 26(ABC):  Cristiano Ronaldo arrived back at Manchester United’s training ground on Tuesday ahead of talks with new manager Erik ten Hag over his Old Trafford future. The 37-year-old, who missed the club’s pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia for personal reasons, wants to leave the club he rejoined last year. He arrived at United’s Carrington training base with …

OSAKA, July 26(ABC): Paris Saint-Germain s new coach Christophe Galtier said his side conceded “two goals too many” despite Lionel Messi and Neymar combining to deadly effect in a 6-2 thrashing of Gamba Osaka on Monday. Neymar scored a brace and Messi bagged one in Osaka as a rampant PSG rounded off their pre-season trip to Japan with a third …

PARIS, July 25(ABC): Carlos Alcaraz was confirmed on Monday as the youngest player to break into the ATP top five since Rafael Nadal after the teenager reached the Hamburg final over the weekend. The 19-year-old Spaniard is the youngest man to achieve the feat since his illustrious compatriot first climbed into the top five in 2005 while still 18. Alcaraz …

WEB DESK, July 25(ABC): In a proud moment for Pakistan,  the vice president of the Pakistan Body Building Federation, Armughan Muqeem, has been appointed as the youngest judge in the Asian bodybuilding championship held in the Maldives. Muqeem, 33, will now perform his duties as a judge in Asian bodybuilding championship competitions after receiving a license in recognition of his …

WELLINGTON, July 25(ABC): Kane Williamson will captain New Zealand s 15-man squad for Twenty20 and one-day international matches in the West Indies next month on the Black Caps  first tour of the Caribbean since 2014, it was announced Monday. Alongside Williamson, New Zealand Cricket selectors included bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who make up an experienced core while Finn …

LEEDS, July 24(ABC): South Africa opener Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten 92 turned out to be in vain as rain scuppered hopes of a result in Sunday’s third and final one-day international against England, with the series ending all square at 1-1. The Proteas were 159-2 in the 28th over, with De Kock having struck 92 off just 76 balls, including …

LONDON, July 24(ABC): The board of the Scottish cricket federation resigned en masse on Sunday following accusations of institutional racism in a damning independent review which is due to be published on Monday. “The Board of Cricket Scotland has resigned. We will work in partnership with @sportscotland with immediate effect to ensure appropriate governance, leadership & support is in place …

WEB DESK, July 24(ABC): After more than a month of illness, cricketer legend Zaheer Abbas’s condition has improved, his wife Sameena Zaheer Abbas has confirmed. Sameena said: “Zaheer Abbas has improved a lot. He is no more on oxygen support, his recovery has been well and he responded well to the treatment.” She added that the former cricketer was “getting …

WEB DESK, July 24(ABC): Pakistani Olympian Arshad Nadeem secured fifth place in the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States. It was his best throw of the season. The athlete had secured his spot in the final on Friday by throwing at a distance of 81.71 metres during his group B qualifying round to …

MELBOURNE, July 23(ABC): Along with Pakistan cricket team all-format captain Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan have been included in the draft for international players of the Big Bash League’s (BBL) 12th edition, according to an Australian media report. As per Australian media, the draft will be held on August 28 while the tournament is scheduled to start …

LAHORE, July 23(ABC): An England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) team on Saturday termed security arrangements in Pakistan as “satisfactory” after it concluded a crucial visit to the country — a determining factor for England’s tour. Sources told that the security team’s decision was based on visits to match venues in four cities — Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Islamabad. The …

GALLE, July 23(ABC): Pakistani skipper Babar Azam Saturday announced that Shaheen Shah Afridi will be replaced by Nauman Ali in the final Test of the series against Sri Lanka tomorrow. Talking about Shaheen’s replacement, Babar said that the former’s absence will be felt highly but they have included spinner Nauman Ali to fill in his place. On the fourth day …

PORT OF SPAIN, July 23(ABC): India just managed to hold off the challenge of an inspired West Indies team with the under-strength visitors coming away with a three-run victory in the first One-Day International of a three-match series at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Friday. Stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan’s 97 was the foundation of his side’s total of 308 …

MANCHESTER, July 23(ABC): The returning Reece Topley sparked a dramatic collapse as England hammered South Africa by 118 runs in the second one-day international at Old Trafford on Friday to level the three-match series at 1-1. South Africa, chasing 202 for victory in a match reduced by rain to 29 overs per side, were bowled out for just 83. Topley, …

GALLE, July 22(ABC): Dimuth Karunaratnes Sri Lanka will look to bounce back in the second Test starting Sunday against an upbeat Pakistan team that is fresh off a morale-boosting win. But the tourists have been hit by an injury to pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who played a key part in the teams four-wicket victory on Wednesday. Sri Lanka have …

WEB DESK, July 22(ABC): Australian cricket commentator Erin Holland, who is also a presenter in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), heaped praise over the Men In Green’s top-performing members. Holland was responding to a tweet which mentioned that Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan have been included in the draft for international players of the Big Bash League’s …

DURHAM, July 20(ABC): Authorities should stop treating players like “cars” and fix cricket s “jam-packed” schedule to retain multi-format players, England s Ben Stokes said. Stokes announced his shock retirement from one-day internationals on Monday saying playing all three formats of the game had become “unsustainable” for him. read more He elaborated further on his decision ahead of his 105th …

GALLE, July 20(ABC): Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Wednesday said that Abdullah Shafique can become one of the world’s best Test openers after his epic century against Sri Lanka in Galle. Shafique hit an unbeaten 160 to steer Pakistan home in a record chase of 342 at the picturesque venue as Pakistan won a tense opening Test in the final …

BREADY, July 20(ABC): Nida Dar’s all-round performance led Pakistan Women to a 13-run win on DLS method over Ireland Women in the third match of the tri-series being played at the Bready Cricket Club, Bready on Tuesday. Earlier, the tournament’s opener was washed out between Pakistan Women and Australia Women at the same venue on Saturday, July 16. Chasing a …

CHESTER-LE-STREET, July 20(ABC): Rassie van der Dussen s century helped South Africa spoil Ben Stokes s farewell to one-day international cricket as the Proteas won by 62 runs on the England star s Durham home ground to go 1-0 up in a three-match series. Van der Dussen s career-best 134 was the cornerstone of South Africa s 335-5, their highest ODI total …

LAHORE, July 20(ABC): Bangladesh’s One Day Internationals (ODI) side’s captain Tamim Iqbal has said that their clean-sweep against the Windies in Carrabin was special but it “should not go into team’s heads”crick as it was in spinning conditions. “Any away series win is always special. Our series win in South Africa was massive [too]. But I told my team that …

SYDNEY, July 20(ABC): Commonwealth Games medal hope Isaac Cooper was Tuesday axed from Australia’s swim team and sent home over “wellbeing challenges, including the use of medication”. The fast-emerging 18-year-old had been favoured to make the podium in the 50m and 100m backstroke events at the Games in Birmingham starting next week. He finished eighth in the 50m backstroke at …

WEB DESK, July 19(ABC): Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is facing fitness issues, the team’s spokesperson told on the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. The left-arm quick underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in his leg, the spokesperson confirmed. The spokesperson said that Shaheen had felt a pulled muscle in his leg while …

GALLE, July 19(ABC): A Yasir Shah delivery was drawing comparisons with Shane Warne’s “ball of the century” on Tuesday, the day after the Pakistan leg-spinner ripped out Kusal Mendis. Sri Lanka’s Mendis had reached 76 on the third day in Galle when Yasir pitched one outside leg stump only for it to take huge turn and hit the top of …

ISLAMABAD, July 19(ABC): Shahzad Qureshi (C) posing with his Gold medal and trophy with Fazal Ilahi (R). In the 54th Asian Bodybuilding Championship, Pakistani bodybuilder Shahzad Qureshi grabbed the gold medal by beating his Indian counterpart Naresh in the master-class 80kg+ category. In a video message, Shahzad said that he is very happy and cannot explain the moment when he …

COLOMBO, July 18(ABC): Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Sunday announced that the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2022 has been postponed with immediate effect. In a statement, SLC said that the decision was taken following a request made by the Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG), the Rights Holder of the tournament, which cited the current ‘economic situation,’ in the country, as …

LAHORE, July 18(ABC): Former Pakistan cricket team pacer Shoaib Akhtar has termed Pakistan all-format skipper Babar Azam’s century against Sri Lanka as unique. Pakistan cricket fraternity showered their applaud for Babar after he hit a crucial century. Taking to Twitter, Akhtar wrote, “Babar’s 100 yesterday was unique & in exceptional circumstances. Batting with tail for so long being a captain …

GALLE, July 18(ABC): Veteran Pakistan fast-bowler Wasim Akram lauded young pacer Naseem Shah and counseled him to come up strong and change his bouncer strategy, particularly in Sri Lankan conditions. Taking to Twitter, Wasim released a video message after the opening day of the first Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle Stadium, where Pakistani bowlers lost control after taking …

LONDON, July 18(ABC): England’s talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his shock retirement from one-day cricket on Monday citing the “unsustainable” rigour of playing all three formats of the game. Tuesday’s match against South Africa at his home ground in Durham will be Stokes’s 105th and final one-day international, the 31-year-old said in a statement issued by the England and Wales …

SYDNEY, July 18(ABC): Test captain Pat Cummins will miss Australia’s upcoming one-day series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, team bosses announced Monday as they named a strong squad led by Aaron Finch. The pace spearhead has been rested for all six games in August-September at Townsville and Cairns, while batsman Travis Head will be absent for birth of his first …

GALLE, July 18(ABC): Sri Lanka on Sunday moved the second Test against Pakistan from Colombo to Galle due to political unrest in the island nation that forced its president to resign. The Galle International Stadium will host its fourth straight Test in the past few weeks after the two Australia matches and the ongoing Pakistan opener. “SLC arrived at this …

ST. JOHN S, July 18(ABC): West Indies on Sunday recalled star all-rounder Jason Holder for a three-match one-day series against India as they look to bounce back from a humbling loss to Bangladesh. Former skipper Holder missed the 3-0 series defeat against Bangladesh in Guyana as selectors wanted to manage his workload as one of the West Indies  all-format players. …

NEWPORT, July 18(ABC): American Maxime Cressy won his first career ATP title on Sunday by rallying to defeat Kazakhstan s Alexander Bublik 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in the Hall of Fame Open final. French-born Cressy, who competed for his homeland until becoming an American in 2018, reached his first two ATP finals earlier this year, losing to Rafael Nadal at …

ISLAMABAD, Jul 17 (ABC): Pakistani Skipper Babar Azam, has become the fastest Asian batter to score 10,000 runs in international cricket. The 27-year-old reached the landmark during his knock in the first innings of the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. The right-handed batter took 228 innings to achieve the feat. He has now the eleventh batter overall …

GUYANA, July 17 (ABC): Taijul Islam made a triumphant return to One-Day International cricket with his first five-wicket haul as Bangladesh completed another series sweep of the West Indies, winning the third and final fixture by four wickets at the Guyana National Stadium on Saturday. Playing his first ODI for more than two years, Taijul had a dream start with …