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Faith in fresh talent A notable aspect of the White Ferns’ selection is the inclusion of four first-timers at the Cricket World Cup. The quartet of Polly Inglis, Bella James, Bree Illing and Flora Devonshire have earned a maiden call-up for the marquee tournament. Off them, Devonshire is poised to make her ODI debut on the big stage. Outlining their skillset and backing the youngsters to make their case in India and Sri Lanka, head coach Ben Sawyer stated, “I’d like to especially acknowledge the four players set for their first World Cup – they’ve all earned this opportunity and…
ASIA CUP 2025 Omarzai smashed a quickfire 53 after the loss of early wickets. © Getty Afghanistan began their Asia Cup 2025 campaign with a comprehensive win over Hong Kong, powered by Azmatullah Omarzai’s all-round brilliance – 53 off 21 balls and figures of 1 for 4. After the game, Omarzai reflected on the challenges of batting lower down the order, crediting his success to belief. “Very tough batting in the lower order, all about belief,” Omarzai said. “The captain and coach have belief in me, was trying to back myself and was trying to hit straight with the ball…
ICC WOMEN’S WORLD CUP Devine and Bates will be playing their fifth World Cup while Lea Tahuhu will be playing her fourth © Getty New Zealand have handed maiden World Cup call-ups to Flora Devonshire, Polly Inglis, Bella James and Bree Illing, with Sophie Devine set to captain the squad in her last ODI assignment at the upcoming ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. The 15-member squad was announced in Auckland on Wednesday (September 10) by former World Cup-winning skipper Emily Drumm. All four newcomers debuted for New Zealand over the past summer and featured on the ‘A’…
The delayed installation of new lights at Junction Oval has forced a change to the 2025-26 schedule The third women’s one-day international between Australia and India next March has been shifted to Hobart, with Melbourne’s Junction Oval unable to host the match. The ODI on Sunday, March 1, which is part of the blockbuster multi-format series between the fierce rivals, was due to be the St Kilda ground’s first day-nighter following the installation of new lights.However, Cricket Australia has been informed by Cricket Victoria that planning delays mean the lights will not be operational in time for the match, while…
LAHORE: Olympic javelin throw champion Arshad Nadeem on Tuesday said that he was looking to produce his best as the star athlete gets ready for a top-level competition at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The 28-year-old Arshad, who stunned the athletics world by throwing the javelin at an Olympic record 92.97 metres distance to achieve glory for Pakistan at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was seen preparing for the Sept 13-21 global spectacle at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore just a few hours before leaving for Tokyo via Bangkok. And the celebrated player during practice attempted throws at distances above…
PHNOM PENH: Pakistan’s 2026 AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifying campaign came to an end with a third straight loss when the suffered a 1-0 reverse against Oman at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday. After Iraq, who finished top of Group ‘G’ and secured a berth at next year’s finals, had thumped Pakistan 8-1 in the opener, Nolberto Solano’s men lost their second game 1-0 to hosts Cambodia before Turki Abdullah’s first-half goal proved decisive in their match against Oman. Oman got into their rhythm quickly with Nasser Alsaqri’s pace seeing him break through on the right, beat a defender and…
LAHORE: Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president Arif Saeed has reiterated that the association and its affiliated federations will function strictly under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Charter, while expressing readiness to work with the government without compromising on autonomy. Responding to concerns over tensions between the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and national federations — reminiscent of disputes from 2012 to 2014 — Arif said the POA valued its working relationship with the federal sports authorities. “As far as the autonomy of national sports federations is concerned, it will be safeguarded under the IOC Charter,” Arif told reporters. “I am in…
LONDON: The 2026 World Cup could be North America’s last without urgent climate adaptation, according to a new study highlighting extreme weather threats. The “Pitches in Peril” report found that 10 of the 16 venues are at very high risk of experiencing extreme heat stress conditions. By 2050, nearly 90% of North America’s host stadiums will require adaptation to extreme heat while one third will face water demand equalling or exceeding supply. The report also highlighted risks to 2030 and 2034 World Cup venues and examined the impact of a warming climate on grassroots football pitches once used by 18…
TOKYO: Haruka Kitaguchi can expect a hero’s welcome when she takes to the field at Tokyo’s National Stadium for the World Athletics Championships next week but recent injury woes mean the Olympic javelin champion may struggle to defend her title. The 27-year-old shot to fame in 2023 when her final throw of 66.73 metres in Budapest made her the first Japanese woman to win a world title in a field event. Her celebrity status in Japan reached new heights last year when she repeated the feat in Paris, becoming the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic track and field…
SA20 auction ahead of Season 4 threw a bunch of twists and surprises. ©Sportzpics Jacques Kallis has never been excitable. Even when he faced Shane Warne and James Anderson – the bowlers who dismissed him more than any others in Tests – his eyes would remain startlingly untroubled. Maybe a touch glazed, more than slightly bored with it all. Like they were in Johannesburg on Tuesday. For two hours, Kallis fished tiny cricket bats out of a velvet bag and showed them to the eminently more animated Richard “The Hammerman” Madley. On the bats were printed the names of the…