Delay,match of rain, wet field: bizarre no-result

Delay,match of rain, wet field: bizarre no-result
The official presentation was carried out in gloomy circumstances with the official interviewer steering clear of even mentioning the delayed start, without which the crowd would have had a result. The studio shows and the official interviewer only spoke of how humans are helpless against "mother nature" and "weather". Without being prompted, the West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite said he hoped the drainage and equipment would improve at the ground, which he said was a wonderful venue otherwise.
It would have been particularly disappointing for the India fans who would have been expecting to celebrate a bowling comeback after their side went for 245 on Saturday, and the comeback of Amit Mishra. He last played a Twenty20 international during the World T20 in 2014. In the next year-and-a-half India only played bilateral Twenty20 internationals, not bothering with flying in T20 specialists for one or two three-hour matches. By the time India started taking T20 internationals seriously again, in the lead-up to the 2016 World T20, Mishra had lost out to Pawan Negi and Harbhajan Singh without being given a chance to build on his impressive bowling in 2014.
Now, perhaps precisely because India didn't bother to fly in T20 specialists for another bilateral series, Mishra got another chance, and made immediate impact to help India bowl West Indies out for 143.

ODI series in Bangladesh confirmed

Afghanistan's only other experience playing against a Full Member side in bilateral ODI series is against Zimbabwe, with whom they have played three series so far.
In two previous 50-over encounters with Bangladesh, Afghanistan have won one and lost one; they beat Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2014 but lost in the 2015 World Cup.
ACB chairman Nasimullah Danish said that Afghanistan are trying to get more games with Full Members, and Bangladesh is just the start. "We are looking forward [to] entertaining cricket," he said. "We are in close discussion with ICC Full Members. It's always good for our team development to test ourselves in different conditions, and there's no better place than Bangladesh to do that.

Dilshan opens during captaincy tenure

Dilshan's own first assignment as captain had been Sri Lanka's tour of England, but broke his finger during his 193 at Lord's in the second Test. He suggested it had been with some reluctance that Sangakkara took on the captaincy for one Test, after that injury ruled Dilshan out for the game at Southampton.
"There actually wasn't anyone who was willing to be captain. Everyone resigned after the 2011 World Cup. In England a ball hit my hand and I broke my finger, and the former captains were asked to lead, and they said no. After that only when it was talked about that someone like Sanath Jayasuriya or Thilina Kandamby be made captain that someone presented himself to be captain. But I guess there's no point talking about those past things anymore.
"But I am proud that it is players that I brought into the team at the time who are winning matches now. About six or seven of the players today are cricketers who I'd given a chance to. At the time it was a problem for me, because people asked me why I was giving young players so many opportunities. But today, we should look at players like Dinesh Chandimal."
Dilshan still has two more T20 matches to play before he becomes an ex-cricketer across formats. He said the decision to retire had been spontaneous.

Yorkshire at the end of season

The announcement, which had been anticipated for much of the season, comes after Gillespie took up a contract to coach the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash, and his wife, Anna and their four children have recently returned to live back in Australia.
"The club would like to place on record its thanks to Jason," read a club statement. "The focus will now be very much on the remaining four County Championship fixtures, beginning with Wednesday's trip to the Ageas Bowl to face Hampshire, and on securing the first Championship treble seen at Headingley since the 1960s."
Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire's director of cricket, will not begin the search for Gillespie's replacement until the end of the current season. Paul Farbrace is one name that is bound to be floated - England's assistant coach had a successful period as head of Yorkshire's academy - but the former England coach, Peter Moores, is an unlikely contender as he can expect to be promoted to head coach at Nottinghamshire in an end-of-season reshuffle at Trent Bridge.

Fifties on truncated day

Gambhir, batting with an open-chested stance, seemingly in a bid to negate the away-going deliveries that have often discomfited him over a period of time, was troubled early on by his Delhi team-mate Sangwan. In the third over of the morning, the left-arm pacer saw an edge fall short of second slip and then had a shout for lbw turned down, but released the pressure in the very next over when he grassed a miscued pull at fine leg off Nathu.
Agarwal's technique outside off stump also came under scrutiny, but unlike Gambhir, he was happy to trust the bounce and hit through the line. After Nathu's initial burst, he looked increasingly comfortable against the Pandey and the spin of Akshay Wakhare and Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep, the left-arm wrist spinner who picked up his maiden five-wicket haul last week, didn't get the kind of purchase he would have hoped for. He was also guilty of bowling a touch flat and short as Gambhir, who captains him at Kolkata Knight Riders, eased him repeatedly behind square on the off side.

Gillespie for reviving his career

At that time, he was what I needed. I was a bit raw, and struggling with my action," Plunkett said. "I thought it was all about technical. But it wasn't - it was just about backing myself.
"When I went there, that was what he picked up straightaway. He does other stuff with different people, but he knew what I wanted. He just said to me 'bowl fast', and he backed me. With that came confidence and performance."
"Whenever you have a bad spell he is always there patting you on the back and saying no worries mate you can change the game next spell. I take my hat off to him, I owe him quite a bit.
"I'm obviously gutted - because he was good for me, and good for the team. It's a tough decision that he's made. But I want to thank him - he's been great for me. He's brought me back to playing for England. So I wish him the best, and look forward to catching up when I get back to Yorkshire."
Yorkshire have gone out of both limited-overs competitions - the T20 Blast and Royal London Cup - at the semi-final stage over the last two weekends but a hat-trick of County Championship titles remains in view as they sit second in the table, five points behind leaders Middlesex.
"I hope we can make it three this year in the Championship," Plunkett said. "That would be a nice note to leave on. I'm sure there will be quite a few people trying to get that job

Lewis Hamilton at Spa circuit

Hamilton started the race 21st after being hit with a 55-place grid penalty for exceeding his permitted allocation of engine components.
He played down expectations after qualifying on Saturday, saying that making it into the top-10 points-scoring positions would be a tough ask while his Mercedes team predicted an eighth-place finish.
But circumstances fell into place for the 31-year-old on Sunday.
Hamilton made a clean start and rose through the field to fifth on durable medium tyres as drivers peeled off into the pits under the safety-car period prompted by Kevin Magnussen’s massive crash.
The subsequent red-flag stoppage allowed the Briton to take on fresh tyres without any penalty before he capped his progress up to the final podium spot with some spectacular overtaking moves.
“That was perfect for me,” said Hamilton, winner of six of the last seven races leading up to Spa.

Max Verstappen aggression

But any hopes he had of converting his qualifying display into a strong showing in front of legions of his orange-clad supporters, in a race that is the closest he has to a home event, quickly vanished.
Verstappen was leapfrogged by Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel off the line but attempted to make the places up on a tight first corner only for the three cars to collide.
“I think it was a very bold move trying to recover those two places in one corner diving down the inside,” said German Vettel who was on the outside and collided with Raikkonen before the Finn and Verstappen’s Red Bull made contact.
All three were forced to pit with damage to their cars, Raikkonen nearly losing a lap as mechanics
rushed to extinguish flames emerging from beneath his Ferrari.
Raikkonen and Verstappen clashed twice more later in the race, including another collision, and the Finn was more upset about the Red Bull driver changing direction at high-speed as he chased him down the flat-out Kemmel straight.

Barcelona victory in Bilbao

Barca grew in confidence after the break and stand-in captain Lionel Messi spurned two chances while Suarez also failed to capitalise on a couple of clear opportunities and had a shot cleared off the line in injury time.
Luis Enrique’s men almost lived to regret their profligacy as Bilbao’s Raul Garcia fired narrowly wide and Iker Muniain had a late penalty appeal turned down.
“I’m happy with the result against an opponent of such magnitude,” Luis Enrique told a news conference.
“We could have wrapped the game up earlier but it was a good performance and the three points are well earned.”
Luis Enrique had warned that the visit to San Mames was always one of the hardest away trips for Barca and although they looked comfortable at the start, they soon began to struggle with Bilbao’s intense pressing and aggression.
Ter Stegen gave the visitors a fright when he played the ball straight to Benat Etxebarria but the keeper got his body in the way of the midfielder’s shot and later made saves from Aritz Aduriz and Benat again.

Thriving on the road

Minnesota Twins this week.
The home team has struggled recently in Minneapolis, suffering a divisional road sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers.
Fortunately for manager Paul Molitor and co., the road has been kinder.Minnesota has the league's highest road series winning percentage over the last two months at 5-1-1, a run that includes series wins over the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's

Fantasy Baseball Advice

One way of doing that is to look at a player's isolated power numbers (ISO). The ISO statistic removes singles and provides a larger weight for each extra-base hit.
I also use the weighted on-base average (wOBA) metric. This stat takes every positive outcome into consideration.
Last year, the league average was a .150 ISO and a .313 wOBA. So, when you see me list a player's ISO or wOBA, you know why I do it.

Winston in top form as Bucs rout

The talented receiver with a history of suspensions for drug violations caught everything thrown his way in his preseason debut Friday night, scoring on a 43-yard reception and also hauling in another pass from Robert Griffin III for a 44-yard gain that led to a first quarter field goal in a 30-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jameis Winston threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns in one half of work for the Bucs, who achieved an objective of starting faster on offense than they did the previous two weeks.

Padres at Miami Marlins game

Since returning to the Padres as a free agent Aug. 6, the left-hander made two relief appearance appearances before joining the rotation Aug. 14. Richard has made two quality starts, allowing two earned runs, five hits in 11 innings but was tagged with two losses.
"You don't know what comes along in baseball but I'll be prepared for whatever comes my way," Richard said of his different pitching roles.
Richard, 32, was part of the Padres rotation during a 4 1/2 stretch that ended in 2013. He had a 40-39 record before a shoulder injury forced him to miss the 2014 season.
With the Padres languishing in last in the NL East, Richard, 32, could become a dependable veteran in a rotation that already has experienced the departures of James Shields and Andrew Cashner in 2016 and lost opening day starter Tyson Ross to a shoulder injury in April.
Richard's scheduled start on Saturday will allow Marlins manager Don Mattingly to give recently acquired Jeff Francoeur another appearance in the lineup.

Shahid Afridi

He is known for his aggressive batting style, and previously held the record for the fastest ODI century in 37 deliveries. He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket,.Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 350 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is leading the chart of most T20I wickets with 92 wickets from 92 matches. Afridi currently captains the PSL team [Peshawar Zalmi]] which is owned by his cousin Javed Afridi.
Afridi is a philanthropist and owner of the Shahid Afridi Foundation. In 2015, Afridi was named among the top 20 most charitable athletes in the world by Do Somethin.

Injury in Man United's win over Hull

Jose Mourinho revealed the midfielder suffered a “bad” back injury in Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Hull City.

Though Fellani played all 90 minutes, United's medical staff discovered he had a back injury after the game, which United won thanks to Marcus Rashford's injury-time winner.
"I am going to lose Fellaini for a while. He has a muscle injury in his back and it is not good," said Mourinho.

Disabled list with a sprained knee

But the handbook says I have to put something in this space, so here we are. In other news, back-to-back posts with the names “Benintendi” and “Rzepczynski” is kind of fun.OK, fine. The deal with Benintendi is that he sprained his knee while running the bases in last night’s win over the Rays. He had an MRI on the knee but the results are not yet known. Chris Young will see the bulk of Benintendi’s playing time in the outfield. Infielder Marco Hernandez was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill the roster spot.

India enter new world in United States

After India cruised to victory in the Test series and in the aftermath of the Caribbean squad´s latest round of blood-letting, the sides head for the sport´s newest outpost, the Central Broward Regional Park, the only purpose-built cricket stadium in the US.
Six matches in the recent franchise-based Caribbean Premier League were played at the $10 million arena while the first full international matches, two Twenty20 games between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, were staged there in 2010.
Saturday and Sunday´s back-to-back fixtures come at a crucial time for the West Indies.
They may be the reigning world champions in the format having triumphed in India earlier this year, but that didn´t save Darren Sammy´s job as skipper.
He was sacked in what he claimed was a "30-second phone call" and replaced by Brathwaite who etched his name into West Indies cricket folklore by smashing four sixes in the final over against England to win this year´s World T20 final in Mumbai.
"I think a team like this will be pretty easy to lead, from the point of view that the dressing room is a fun place to be," said Brathwaite.

Popping ceasefire at Lord´s

But on the eve of England´s second one-day international against Pakistan at Lord´s, the MCC, which owns the ground, has urged its members to put an end to the tradition.
"In recent times the practice of some members and other spectators opening bottles of champagne in such a way as to allow corks to be projected onto the outfield has been criticised," the MCC said in a newsletter on Friday.
"Any items which are aimed at the playing area may cause a potential hazard to fieldsmen and this point has been made formally to the club.
"Lord´s is now the only ground into which members and ticket holders are allowed to bring alcohol, and in order for this arrangement to continue it is important that all members, their guests and other spectators refrain from the practice that has been described.

Outfield set to pass the test

But Centurion is completely different. A lush, green outfield, planted with winter grass in April, had hometown player Du Plessis excited. "It´s in fantastic nick, the outfield is looking amazing. It´s the best I´ve ever seen it," he said.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was less effusive but said: "It looks a good outfield, there don´t seem to be too many clouds about and there should be no problems."
With no rain expected, the match looks set to go the distance. The unknown is the pitch. "It looks a touch on the soft side and a bit moist," said Du Plessis. "We´re not too sure what to expect, I think it might be slow."
With South Africa a lowly seventh in the Test rankings, Du Plessis said the team wanted to play more Test matches in longer series. "A two-match series is too short. With the current schedule, having five-match series is going to be hard in the future.
"I personally like three or four Test series. With two Tests you only just get going and unfortunately a once-off here is what we´ve been dealt."
Williamson was less concerned about the prospect of one match deciding the series. "You don´t have too many lotteries in Test cricket. Over five days, generally the team that plays more consistent cricket wins the game or at least gets ahead in the match.

Win another grand slam before turning 30

At 29, Murray knows that his time at the top is limited and is setting his sights on winning more grand slam titles, sooner rather than later.
“I would imagine if I'm lucky I'd be playing at this level for three, four more years, max, I would think,” said 2012 champion Murray.
“It's not easy to do that. I hope I'm still playing like this when I'm 38 years old but it's pretty unlikely so I’m actually using that as a positive that you have to make the most of every opportunity.
“It's a slightly different mentality to maybe when you're younger and like you feel like you have a bit more time on your side.
“I want to make the most of every tournament I play in and try and win and achieve as much as I can the next few years.”
Murray could hardly have arrived in better form, having won four titles this year, all of them since May.
A reunion with his coach Ivan Lendl in June sparked immediate results with victory at Wimbledon but Murray said becoming a father for the first time, back in February, may also be a reason behind his form this year.

Australia captain Smith to return

Sports No,1
It's obviously going to be a big summer with South Africa and then six tests at home then limited-overs matches against New Zealand," Smith told reporters after his side lost the second one-day international against Sri Lanka by 82 runs in Colombo on Wednesday.
"It was talked about that they give me a little break at some point. We had a few discussions, myself, (coach) Darren (Lehmann) and Rod (Marsh), who also consulted with the other selectors.
"It took a bit of convincing to get me over the line because I hate missing cricket but in the long run a little bit of a break will do me the world of good."
Australia were hammered 3-0 in the test series, finding it difficult on the turning pitches in Sri Lanka, but achieved a three-wicket win in the first one-day international in Colombo.
Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has also been ruled out of the remaining three ODIs in the Sri Lanka tour with a lower back injury and will not be replaced in the squad, Cricket Australia said in a statement.
"Nathan had been experiencing a gradual increase in lower back pain which is now preventing him from bowling at match intensity," Australia physiotherapist David Beakley said.

Afridi won't be considered for T20

According to details, minor changes would be made within the national team for the T20 match against England. Imad Butt has been selected in the squad, while former captain Shahid Afridi won’t be considered for the team. Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal are likely to be considered for the upcoming West Indies series.
Regarding Shahid Afridi, the selection committee stated that he wanted to make a comeback into the team but was not playing domestic matches. The committee stated that if the former T-20 captain was unfit, then he should inform the selection committee.
Pakistan will play their second One Day International match against England on Saturday at Lord's, after losing the first one at Southampton.

Sri Lanka reliance on Spain

Ranatunga, himself a medium-pace bowler as well as a powerful middle order batsman, said such a formula for success would not work beyond the Indian sub-continent where pitches are much less conducive to spin.

“We need to build our all-rounders and fast bowlers. Spin alone is not enough to play in conditions like in England. If we are preparing for the next World Cup in England, spin alone won't do,” he told Sri Lanka's Foreign Correspondents Association in Colombo late Thursday.

“I am not putting down their achievement [in beating Australia], but they need to go out [of the sub continent] and prove themselves. At the moment we are depending entirely on spinners.”

Sri Lanka's reputation as one-day specialists, which was first earned during Ranatunga's era, has grown over the years after they reached two of the last three World Cup finals.

But the next tournament in 2019 will be a major challenge for a team who failed to win any of their nine internationals in all formats on a recent tour of England.

Burden of history at US

She could also break Graf's record of 186 consecutive weeks atop the world rankings, and surpass Chris Evert for most US Open singles titles won in the Open Era.

But after seeing a frustrating year go by between her 21st Grand Slam win and No. 22, Williams said she'd learned to let history take care of itself.

“I learned not to get involved in those debates and conversations,” Williams said after her straight-sets victory over Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final. “I definitely had some sleepless nights ... I've just felt a lot of pressure.”

When the final Grand Slam of the year gets underway on Monday, the pressure could be on again.

Williams's bid to retain her Olympic singles title ended in Rio de Janeiro this month when she was sent crashing out of the third round by Elina Svitolina.

Williams was clearly hindered by the shoulder injury that had forced her out of the Montreal WTA tournament as she served up eight double faults and 37 unforced errors in the straight-sets defeat.

Champions League berths to top leagues

Sports No1.
At the moment, only the three leading leagues — Spain, Germany, and England — are guaranteed three places in the group phase, with a fourth team entering in the play-off round.

Italy has two guaranteed berths while a third team enters the play-offs.

The move will be seen as a manner of appeasing the continent's biggest clubs, especially as UEFA have also revealed that financial distribution to clubs will be “increased significantly” for the Champions League and Europa League and that “historical success in the competition will also be acknowledged in coefficient calculation.”

Regarding the latter, UEFA say points will be awarded for previous European titles and weighted towards more recent success in the Champions League and Europa League.

UEFA have called the changes “an evolution not a revolution”, and the Champions League group stage will continue to feature 32 clubs, but the changes mean there will be fewer opportunities for sides from lesser leagues around the continent.

Nevertheless, UEFA confirmed that the current qualifying format, separating domestic champions and teams who qualify via a lower league placing, will be retained.

Cricket Board announces Pakistan schedules tournaments 2016-17

Sports No,1
Domestic Cricket Calendar - 2016-17. 
Full details of following tournaments with appointments of match officials are released:-
1. Cool & Cool Presents National T20 Cup
2. Inter Region U-19 Three and One day Tournaments
3. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
4. One day Tournament for Departments
5. One day Tournament for Regions
6. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Grade-II
7. Pakistan Cup One day Tournament
This is for the first time that all Domestic Cricket Tournaments, Playing Conditions of all three formats and Domestic Cricket Calendar have been announced well in advance before the start of Domestic Cricket Season 2016-2017.
The release of all details relating to domestic cricket tournaments would facilitate the participating departments,  associations, officials and all stakeholders  to finalize their financial and administrative plans with streamlining of their activities well before the start of each  tourney.
This is also for the first time that eleven first class matches including final of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will be played as Day/Night with Pink Kookaburra balls in order to help our players to get familiarized  with such conditions.
PCB has also given substantial raise in match fees of the players, their daily allowances and other facilities.
The schedule of Patron's Trophy (Grade-II) will be made public as and when confirmation is received from each departmental team with completion of essential formalities.
The formats of tournaments and Domestic Cricket Calendar 2016-17 have been approved by PCB Board of Governors on the recommendations of PCB Domestic Affairs Committee

1st Match: Karachi Blues v Karachi Whites Jazz National T20 Cup 2016

Karachi Whites in the first match of the Cool & Cool Presents JAZZ National T20 Cup 2016 first round that blasted into action at Pindi Stadium on Thursday.
Eight teams are up against each other in this rapid-fire activity being played in two phases from August 25, 2016 to September 16, 2016 in Rawalpindi and Multan, respectively.
Shahzaib though was the only respectable batsman to score for Blues but that anchored the score to 158 for eight wickets and on his personal front he also won the player of the match award for his 50-ball 60 came with the help of six boundaries and a six. The Whites innings lasted till they reached 149 for eight in as many overs.
Khalid Latif provided support to Shahzaib with 17 runs while down the line-up Mohammad Sami and Bilawal Bhatti added valuable 15 and 21 runs respectively. Mir Hamza, Tabish Khan and Azam Hussain shared two wickets each with Sohail Khan and Akbur ur Rehman having bowled one each.
However, Whites’ nearly came close to the runrate required to achieve the score but Mohammad Sami, Bilawal Bhatti and Saeed Ajmal kept a tight lease to maintain an upper hand for the Blues.
After the end of Whites openers’ innings for just 13 runs, it were Rameez Raja and Akbarur Rehman who tried their utmost to stabilise the batting. Rameez went back at 19 and Akbar added 25 to the total. Later Mohammad Hasan, Tariq Haroon, Sohail Khan, Azam Hussain delayed the Blues win ride with 13, 28, 25 and 14 runs respectively with the latter staying unbeaten. Sohail though raised hope of win for Whites with his 14 balls innings hitting two sixes and a four but Blues over all remained in control. Sami with three wickets while Bilawal and Ajmal two each dented Whites’ pride and performance. However, Ajmal remained the most economical bowler of all Blue bowlers and with that win Blues also earned two points.

Women squad of 22 announced

USA's squad as a reserve player for the two T20s against Pakistan last year. Most of the uncapped players were identified through the recent ICC Combines conducted in the spring, with the bulk of players appearing in either New York or San Francisco. The squad of 22 will be divided into USA Red and USA Blue, and an intra-squad match will be held in Philadelphia on September 9. Each team will then play Twenty20s against the touring MCC side on September 10 before USA's best XI will be picked to play against the MCC for another T20 on September 11. Those not making the cut for the MCC game will then play a friendly against a Haverford College XI. 'We are keen to reward some of the women who were able to come to the Combines and show their commitment and ability,' USA chairman of selectors Ricardo Powell said in a press release announcing the squad. 'However we understand not everyone was able to make the Combine so [we] have included some talented players who have plenty to contribute to the women's game in the USA. This squad is a development squad, we know there are other women and young players across the country that the selectors would also like to see in the future.' The squad will be coached by former USA men's player Anand Tummala. The 37-year-old was shortlisted as a finalist for the USA men's coaching job in July along with former Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake. No decision has been made yet regarding the men's job. USA Women development squad: Candacy Atkins, Anahita Arora, Shebani Bhaskar, Samikshya Aryal, Sugetha Chandhrasekar, Jyotsna Dixit, Sara Farooq, Nadia Gruny, Mahika Kandanala, Zeenat Kausar, Swati Mishra, Muneshri Persaud, Samantha Ramautar, Akshatha Rao, Erica Rendler, Sindhuja Reddy Salguti, Melissa Sandy, Vritti Sethi, Sindhu Sriharsha, Hannah Solomon, Onika Wallerson, Shondell Ward Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo's USA.

Gulf to work together to deal

The United States and Gulf oil producers will work together to lessen the impact of low oil prices, President Barack Obama said in Riyadh on Thursday.They “will launch a new high-level economic dialogue with a focus on adjusting to lower oil prices, increasing our economic ties and supporting GCC reforms”, he said at the close of a Gulf Cooperation Council summit.Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, and its petroleum-rich neighbours have been forced to cut subsidies and adopt other measures to deal with deficits caused by plunging oil prices, which make up the bulk of their revenues.Oil prices have collapsed from more than $100 a barrel in early 2014 to around $40 this month, in part because Saudi Arabia refuses to cut production as it struggles to keep its market share alongside American shale oil producers.Obama said underpinning the new GCC-US economic dialogue is the need for “an economy that serves all its citizens and respects universal human rights”.Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2016

Younis Khan step down pakistani head Coach

Sports No,1
Lahore: Head coach of national cricket team Waqar Younis step down as Pakistani cricket team coach.I am resigning as the head coach of Pakistan cricket team,” said Waqar while addressing the media outside PCB headquarters. “I am stepping away with a heavy heart.I have work honestly for 19 years

England stars risk future if they pull out of tour

Andrew Caddick has warned England's cricketers that their standing in the team will be affected if they decide to pull out of the tour of Bangladesh.

The former Somerset fast bowler withdrew from England's Test series in India in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the US, and was joined by Robert Croft.

Caddick continued to play for England until the end of 2003 World Cup, though Croft was never chosen again. 

International Series

October 2016 – the 15th, 16th and 17th games to be played there since the NFL International Series launched. Two games will be played at Wembley Stadium, which has been home to NFL International Series games since 2007. Twickenham, home of the English rugby team, will play host to an NFL game for the first time in 2016. For details see this NFL.com page:

Germany Sport

Motor sports is also very popular in Germany and is one of the leading country in the sport. With teams like BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, its not hard to imagine why. The Porsche team has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans a staggering 16 times and so did Audi for 11 times. And anybody who is into motor sports will recognize the name Michael Schumacher who has set various motor sport records and have won more Formula One races than any other driver before him that includes the Formula One World Drivers' Championships which justifies him being one of the highest paid sportsmen of all time. Sebastian Vettel, another German driver has taken championships from 2010 all the way to 2013 which makes him one of the most prominent F1 drivers in history. As far as the Olympic Games are concerned, Germany is one of the powerhouse ranking third when it comes to the all-time medal count in both the Summer and Winter Games as well as hosting quite a few.

Motorsport Sports No,1

                                                             Sport,s No,1

 

 In 2010, Vettel became the youngest driver ever to win the world championship, he also successfully defended the title in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Before winning his first F1 drivers' championship, Vettel had already been the youngest ever to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, earn F1 world championship points, start from pole position in an F1 race, and finish as runner-up for the drivers' championship.
The DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) is the national touring car series. It is considered one of the best touring car series in the world. Many Formula 1 drivers have made the switch to the series, including, Mika Häkkinen, Jean Alesi and others. From 1995, only German marques of cars are allowed to compete in the series. Currently only Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz compete, but Opel and Alfa Romeo have a history in the sport. The races are held mainly in Germany, but some races occur elsewhere in Europe. The races draw monster crowds and television ratings and many celebrities have attended race days.
Situated in Germany is the Nürburgring with its historical Nordschleife course. Since 1970 it is host to the annual 24 Hours Nürburgring endurance race, one of the biggest motorsports events in the world with over 200 participating teams and over 800 drivers, many of them touring car legends and veterans, among hundreds of thousands of live spectators camping along the race track.
In sports car racing, Stefan Bellof and Hans-Joachim Stuck won the World Sportscar Championship in 1984 and 1985, whilst more recently André Lotterer and Timo Bernhard won the World Endurance Championship in 2012 and 2015 respectively.

Basketball Sports no,1

One of the most popular non-football athletes to come out of Germany is Dirk Nowitzki, who plays power forward for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. In 2007, he became the first player trained totally outside the U.S. to be named league MVP, and in 2011 led the Mavericks to their first NBA title.
The German national basketball team's biggest successes are the victory in the European Championship of 1993 at home in Germany, the silver medal in the 2005 European Championships and the bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship

Football Association

 

Football in Germany is (like in most European countries) the number one attended and practiced sport. Besides the national league, the Euro cup and the FIFA World Cup has much attention among its population.
Bayern Munich (German: Bayern München) is the most successful German football club, with 25 national championships, 17 National Cups and 5 European Champions titles (three European Cups and 2 Champions Leagues) to its credit, and many more international titles. Like many other German football clubs, Bayern Munich is a multi-sport club.

Franz Beckenbauer's Jersey in 1977

The German national football team is one of the traditional powers of international football. It won the FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 and the European Football Championship in 1972 and 1980 as West Germany and in 1996 as Germany. Miroslav Klose is the leading goal scorer for the national team with 71 goals, but his fame is perhaps eclipsed by that of Franz Beckenbauer who is one of the few men in the world who have won the World Cup both as a coach and a player. Germany also hosted the World Cup in 1974 and 2006, finishing third in 2006 after losing a close semi-final contest to eventual cup winners Italy.
The women's national team is also a world power, with its wins of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 and 2007, making Germany the only nation to win both the men's and women's World Cup and European titles – a rarity for a nation where the center of attention is usually the men's game.

Pakistan Sports

 1962 by the Ministry of Education as a corporate body for the purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of competition in sports in Pakistan comparable to the standards prevailing internationally, and regulating and controlling sports in Pakistan on a national basis. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, now has control over the Pakistan Sports Board. The PSB controls all 39 sporting federations. The Pakistan Sports Board is supported by the Pakistan Sports Trust, which assists hard up players and associations so they can continue participating in sports.
Over recent years there has been an increase in sporting activity in Pakistan, with Pakistani sportsmen and women participating at many national and international events. Also, more international tournaments now take place in Pakistan. The size of the teams Pakistan sends, and the number of events they participate in, such as the Olympic Games, Asian Games, World Games, and Commonwealth Games has increased since the turn of the century.

woman to win silver Medal

Indian newspaper front pages on Saturday led with her historic win, hailing the 21-year-old for boosting the country's Olympic tally which earlier stood at a single medal, female wrestler Sakshi Malik's bronze.

“Thank You,” beamed the Indian Express newspaper, describing her victory “as good as gold” while a Times of India headline declared “Sindhu shows silver mettle”.

Fans in the badminton star's home city of Hyderabad in southern India took to the streets late Friday, cheering and waving national flags as she was crowned the country's youngest and most successful female Olympian.

In the 120 years of the modern Olympics, Indian women had only won four medals – all of them bronze – before Sindhu wrote herself into the history books by claiming silver on Friday night.

Spanish giants most dreaded Champions League

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That allowed Spanish clubs to continue their recent domination of the Champions League, with Madrid and Barcelona exchanging the trophy over the last three years and Atletico appearing in two of the last three finals.

The aim now for Madrid is to become the first team to retain the trophy in the Champions League era -- the last club to win back-to-back European Cups was AC Milan in 1990.

“This is the reason I came to Madrid — to play in the Champions League, to win the Champions League,” Madrid star Gareth Bale said in an interview with UEFA.com.

“Two in three years is an amazing achievement. Now we want to look to the next one. It's obviously a massive motivation for us all to be the first team to retain the Champions League.”

Getting to this year's final would be that bit more special for Bale for another reason — it's being played in his hometown, the Welsh capital Cardiff.

Landmark achievement for Pakistan

Sports no,1 Pakistan is currently at top in the Test ranking. I believe this would be a good attraction for fans to come and watch the number one Test team," the PCB chief said.

The chairman further termed the contest as an opportunity to prepare for the pink ball Test against Australia at Brisbane's Gabba ground later in the season.

"This would also help PCB to generate revenue and gain financial rewards," Khan added.

 This will be a landmark achievement to host day-night Test," PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan said, adding that he expected the Test to attract a good number of fans in stadium.

West Indies first-ever day-night Test against Pakistan

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The series, which runs from September 23 to November 3, includes three Twenty20 internationals and as many one-day and Tests, the highlight being the day-night Test in Dubai in October.

Australia hosted the first-ever day-night Test at Adelaide against New Zealand in November last year, with high attendance figures as it drew fans who could watch the match after their working hours.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is attempting to revive waning interest in the five-day game with the day-night innovation, and termed the Adelaide Test a "big success".

Australia will also host two day-night Tests against South Africa and then Pakistan during their home season, starting in November.

Car Racing Lewis Hamilton targets victory on Formula One's

Hamilton's Mercedes team had been weighing up whether to take the penalty here or at next Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, with both circuits expected to offer Hamilton the best chance of fighting back through the field.

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Germany could prove the race where Hamilton broke Rosberg's spirit

But Hamilton, who leads his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 19 points in the championship by virtue of winning the last four races before the summer break, confirmed on Thursday that he will take the penalty this weekend.
No driver in the history of the sport has ever won from last on the grid. John Watson, the Belfast-born former McLaren driver, holds the record of winning from the lowest start slot after lining up in 22nd on the grid of 26 competitors before winning the 1983 Unites States Grand Prix at Long Beach.
But Hamilton, who arrived at a sun-blazed Spa-Francorchamps paddock flanked by his pet dogs, is still confident he can deliver what would surely rank as his finest drive.

Championship was an odd major

This was the PGA Championship. This was a major. This was an odd major.
Nobody will take anything away from Jimmy Walker, who closed a bogey-free 3-under 67 with a 3-footer for par to finish at 14-under 266 and beat Jason Day by one stroke Sunday. All Day did to add to the drama was make an eagle 3 on No. 18 to get within a stroke.

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Jimmy Walker has won the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol

"I figured birdieing 17 was huge and that was going to cap it off," Walker said. "And then Jason making eagle sure made my job a lot harder on the last hole.
"Really cool way to finish. Making a putt like that to win, right in the middle, was just awesome."
But the circumstances around some great golf were odd to say the least.
The leaders after the third round would always be paired together for the final round but not in this rain-delayed tournament. Day said he would have liked to be playing with Walker.

Police investigating claim British tennis player

Police are investigating allegations a junior British tennis player was poisoned during the Wimbledon Championships to ruin her chances in the tournament.
Gabriella Taylor, 18, was left “close to death” from what her family initially assumed was a mystery virus, spending four days in intensive care after becoming unwell during a girls’ quarter-final match.
But doctors treating her diagnosed a strain of leptospirosis – a bacteria carried by rat urine that can cause organ failure.

Just to clarify, I have been struggling with a virus these few days, not food poisoning, forcing me to retire today. pic.twitter.com/HZxiFk2R4O

Scotland Yard is now investigating claims Miss Taylor was deliberately poisoned during the world-famous tennis tournament, possibly by a rival or criminal betting syndicate.

IPL 2016 Final Scorecard

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The final match was played in the home ground of RCB. SRH batted first and the opening partnership of captain Warner and Dhawan produced 63 runs. Dhawan lost his wicket for 28 while Henriques also got out earlier.
Warner played a captain’s knock by scoring 69 runs with 8 fours and 3 sixes in just 38 balls. Yuvraj alos played well by scoring 38 runs in 23 balls. In the finishing overs, Ben Cutting took the score of SRH to 208 runs in 20 overs by scoring 39 runs in 15 balls with 4 sixes and 3 fours.
In response, Gayle and Kohli took the score of RCB to 114 in just 11 overs. Kohli scored 54 runs while Gayle hit 4 fours and 8 sixes to score 76 runs. But other main batsmen including deVilliers, Watson and Rahul failed to score more runs. In the end, RCH lost the match with 8 wickets as it could only manage to score 200 runs in 20 overs at the loss of 7 wickets.
                                                       

Manchester United news:

The 32-year-old was pictured on several occasions offering moral support to now-wife Ana Ivanovic while his team-mates laboured to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League under former manager and close-ally Louis van Gaal.
Schweinsteiger’s future at Old Trafford was already being called into question before Van Gaal was unceremoniously sacked days after the FA Cup triumph in May before new manager Jose Mourinho decided to cut the former Bayern Munich midfielder adrift.

                                               

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Schweinsteiger confirms that United "will be my last club in Europe"

According to the Daily Mail, several United regulars reacted “furiously” to Schweinsteiger’s globe-trotting habits and addressed him directly, telling the retired Germany international to return to England and set an example to the club’s younger players.

Transfer news live

With just a week remaining in the Premier League transfer window, all eyes are on Arsenal to see if they will succeed in their hunt for a new defender and striker, or whether their fans will face more frustration at the lack of signings the club have made this summer. Follow the latest here.

Pakistan national cricket team

The Pakistan cricket team, also known as The Green Shirts or The Shaheens is the national cricket team of Pakistan.

Coach: Mickey Arthur (Head coach)

Location: Pakistan

Captains: Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi

 

                  Roster

                             Shahid Afridi

                             All-rounder

                          

                            Mohammad Amir

                            Misbah-ul-Haq

                             Batsman

Tamil Nadu cricketers picked for Duleep

   

 

The players are allowed to join their TNPL squads in case they are not picked in the playing XI and can also travel back during the non-match days in the Duleep Trophy taking place in Greater Noida here.
"Additionally, players from the team that doesn’t qualify for the Duleep Trophy final will be allowed to join their respective franchise," read a statement from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).
Baba Aparajith, Dinesh Karthik, Arun Karthik, Murugan Ashwin, Abhinav Mukund and Murali Vijay are a part of the various teams in the Duleep Trophy.