In October 2019, a handful of us started indoor tape ball cricket on the Parkwood Academy in Sheffield more renowned for as multi purpose gym with several badminton courts.Other than the fact we were all medics,I didn’t know much about Salman Rashid, Saud Ghazi, Ali Cheema, Umair Naseem ,Salman Gill ,Usman Naseer and Azhar Iqbal.There was one other common factor : Tape Ball Cricket.

In August 2020, on a social media platform called Tik Tok , when one of the my fellow Warriors’ bowler ,Sarmad Masud told me of a guy named “Billy” I was introduced to a vast medium which has taken UK by storm : Tape Ball cricket ! Sarmad himself hadn’t even known much about Billy then.

Last year,Sheffield Warriors started playing indoor tape ball with their own rules, one would say. Firstly it was indoors and then it didn’t feel as if 4 on 4 didn’t help motivate anything but just to hit sixes on the straight. Its a steep learning curve but only way to score and survive ! It was great fun though in winters at Parkwood.

” Billy ” whose real name is Bilal Ahmad ,is the skipper cum manager of Huddersfield Giants who burst into fame in Sheffield’s Don Valley Bowl in September 2020 winning their inaugural Sheffield Tape ball tourney, a tourney which he physically didn’t play due to injury but presented to the world via facebook live streaming – a superb new angle to the game where he streams through his mobile on a tripod stand almost every Huddersfield Giants game and does commentary on it.That is his third and probably his most decisive role.

In July, we went outdoors for the 1st time, post covid restrictions. All of the original crew who started off that October afternoon in the Sheffield Warriors were eventually involved and built up a steady participation of more on the High Hazels Ground in Sheffield.Saturday mornings have never been better.The Sheffield Warriors were formally named on the cusp of their match with Mansfield Vikings in September 2020.

Huddersfield Giants started playing Tapeball cricket in April 2020 at the Fartown Rugby ground and several of their original members travelled to their first ever series versus the Warriors on October 11 at the Don Valley Bowl.This was Giants’ second trip to south of the county since that epic tourney win on the same ground on September 19, three weeks ago.

In Game 1 , I won the toss sent the Giants to bat. Giants stutterred in the beginning but managed to get 77 in their allotted 8 overs.At one stage they weren’t expecting to come close but late gutsy hitting from frontline batsmen “Billy” and Mohammad Ali as well as one of the pro tape ballers in UK ,Amir Shahzad took them through.In response Salman Rashid played an impeccable knock almost guiding Warriors to a win.However his dismissal by Ali let the door open.Amir Shahzad’s late spell of 2 overs took Giants home as Warriors fell 4 short. At one stage they were looking home and dry with an opening of 56 between Sachin Karan and Salman.

In Game 2, Huddersfield Giants unleashed their armoury. Billy and Ali both took apart the bowling at various stages of the game amounting to monumental 122. In reply, Warriors had lost 2 wickets in 2 balls in the first over by Billy himself.Having part time bowling set in, Warriors came back and by the last over 35 were required to win. First ,Azhar Iqbal and then Saud Ghazi who spanked four sixes and a four and needed a six off the final ball to tie the score. He fell to Billy, his third dismissal of the game which wrapped the series up 2-0 in favour of the Giants by margin of 5 runs.

Dejected by the opening game loss, in a reduced six over game , the Warriors batted first in Game 3. On this occasion, they were racing through to a huge score. The whole of top order contributed towards a score of 102 in six overs.This target was equally unachievable and though Mohammad Ali tried after Billy’s big cameo , it was too great a score to overcome even in Saud ‘s final over . He held on to give a consolation win to the hosts. Giants took the series 2-1 but the Warriors gained a lot of pride in hosting the new tourney champs.Bilal had won this “Yorkshire Derby” taking another trophy up north.

There were numerous positives taken back by both sides on this bright sunshine baked autumnal day on a glorious ground in South Yorkshire.Both teams really savour playing on Don Valley Bowl and the Warriors had gained valuable experience in hosting their tape ball neighbours from north.It was something Bilal and I were striving for a few months to achieve and finally this myth was broken.It was a definite win for tape ball cricket and one huge step towards playing with other reputable teams for this newly formed club.

2020 Sheffield Warriors :

(left to right back standing : Malik Shahzad, Sajid Hussain, Sachin Karan, Sarmad Masood, Saud Ghazi, Salman Rashid.

Sitting : Azam Memon, Umair Naseem, Azhar Iqbal, Adeel Rauf )

Darnall has been famous historically as centre for coal and steel. Many of its residents in that era were involved in the steel work industry in the industrial revolution . Amongst the green spaces in this suburb of Sheffield, a 20 hectare parkland was unveiled as public recreation ground in late 19th century.This parkland already had a cricket ground called Darnall New Ground and had cricket played on it as far back as 1820’s.

In 1895, this facility was called the High Hazels Park named after High Hazels House it accomodated.Today its changed to the Tinsley Golf course clubhouse and also has facilities for local tennis courts.The New Darnall Ground now is part of the High Hazels Park which houses an artificial free to use cricket ground.

The Sheffield Warriors are made of expatriate Pakistani professionals, most of them medics living in the area .They had made the ground at High Hazels their own this summer.The scene was set for them to host their first 11 a side tape ball inter city game organised by SHAPD.On Saturday, 5th of September, the newly formed Sheffield Warriors who had been playing on this turf since ease of lockdown restrictions in July, took to the field against Mansfield Vikings.Needless to say, they had better awareness and strategy on the day.

In Game 1, Warriors’s skipper Hafiz Umair won the toss and without hesitation , elected to bowl in windy and overcast conditions. They had 2 run outs straight away which were catalysed by some tight new ball bowling from the their young left armer Sarmad Masood and vigilant fielding .They continued this pressure with the help of their attack spearhead Saud Ghazi in the following over.Umair bowled a rampant third over and broke through as well.He would go on to decimate the opposition picking three more wickets to wrap up four in his 2 over spell.The opposition didn’t know what hit them.

The bowling changes were according to plan and wickets kept on falling for Mansfield who found themselves in no man’s land at the half way stage. Their middle order batsman Tauqeer Nasir was the only positive,top scoring in an otherwise modest total of 80.The Warriors outfield catching had also supported their bowlers well, picking up timely catches in the run heavy leg side.

Set 81 to win ,the Warriors’ run chase started with a blistering opening over that yielded just 2 runs off wides from their pacer Zeeshan Hassan .Malik Shahzad and Adeel Rauf started off the innings and built up steadily the chase until Shahzad was caught on the third man area.At 40/1 in 6 overs, Mansfield were eyeing a chance but Zeeshan had finished his spell. Salman Rashid came at one down ,and quickly settled well,killing the run chase with five sixes ( four in one over ) to drive the Warriors home with a 9 wicket win. He is used to tormenting many bowlers on weekend on that square boundary.

Buoyed by success and the hearty chocolate cake at lunch, the Warriors won the toss and batted in drier afternoon conditions.Umair and Faisal Baig started on this occasion and made a decent start although Umair was bowled with the score at 31.Then stepped up Malik Shahzad.He played an anchor role and decimated the opposition with his towering sixes on square leg and mid wicket.He slammed the ball for eight sixes in his fifty in no time before being caught in the deep. This was enough to launch the Warriors to a decent push. Although they lost quite a few middle order wickets,some late gutsy hitting from Sarmad took them to 115 in their 10 overs.

Sarmad’s opening over was again testament to the Warriors’ bowling prowess.Saud and Umair followed up their earlier spells in tandem with both picking crucial wickets. The only respite for the visitors was their skipper Adnan batting in this game but the rest of the innings struggled to take shape.The Warriors left it to some later order shuffling of their part time bowlers to finish the quota of ten overs as wickets tumbled regularly for Mansfield.Once again the fielding and outfield catching was superb.This was an emphatic series win.

The days proceedings were concluded with a candid presentation of prizes that ended a fun filled day for the home side.Tauqeer Nasir was adjudged man of the series from Mansfield whilst Malik Shahzad won the man of the series award for Sheffield.Their batting performances were a treat to watch.

What is next for this mix of steel willed, cricket passionate professionals who make every Saturday their highlight of the week.Is it hosting other teams locally or travelling to other towns and cities to find new challenges ? Or will life continue at High Hazels as it does on any given Saturday ? We all await for the next challenge for these band of brothers who now have found their first zest of team success.

( This blog is dedicated to the players of Sheffield Warriors and Mansfield Vikings , who took field as well as Umpire/Scorer Azam Memon for his all round help on the day)

July 5, 2019. As the sun started  setting on the home of the Cricket and masses exited the North Gate going toward St. Johns Wood tube station on this July evening, an eerie feeling encompassed both sets of fans wearing Green. Bangladesh had already been knocked out of the world cup but Pakistani fans couldn’t get the full euphoric flavour of the their fourth straight one day win.That for a team who had only a month ago had lost their eleventh out of twelfth this year.They had been knocked out through an inferior run rate to the New Zealand, a rule that won’t take into account the fact Pakistan had beaten the New Zealand  on head to head at Edgbaston 10 days earlier.As one of those thousands that evening, I just like many millions cursed on what could have been, rather than the journey home. “Ah, where did it all go wrong ?”

The easiest answer would be their world cup opener.After all, at Trent Bridge they only managed 105 against the West Indies, only to be chased down in 14 overs. It destroyed their run rate , something they couldn’t overcome in their five world cup wins.For the record, West Indies  won’t win another match until their last game. Massive downer.

The Greenshirts stayed at Trent Bridge to pull a shock in three day’s time. They held out the  hosts and the No.1 ranked squad, England at the time in a high scoring scorcher by 14 runs, reviving their hopes again.Root and Butler scored tons in vain and Mohammad Hafeez who was dropped earlier goes on to make 84, aided by Babar Azam’s 63.Wahab Riaz marked a return to form with some late reverse swing blocking the English tail.

It was a cup marked with turbulent weather with several games being washed out.The next Trent Bridge encounter between Black Caps and India and Pakistan’s against Sri Lanka in Bristol was huge, a 4 pointer effectively that provided all teams with a point but in the broader context would make it more challenging  for the Greenshirts as they lost valuable ground ahead of their next two huge encounters. Both Australian and the India games would be ones to forget for them.

In Taunton , under grey cloud cover and without their ace leg spinner, Pakistan opted to bowl first. This invited  Finch and Warner to blaze through with Warner ‘s first 100 of this world cup.Though the bowlers held the late order to just 30 runs off the last 6 wkts, with Mohammad Amir starring, 308 always looked a herculean task. This would especially hurt after being 136/2 at one stage.Imam ul Haq’s run out and the start of  Hafeez giving wickets to part timers, Aaron Finch on this occasion, was very wounding. Shoaib Malik won’t trouble the scorers on back to back occasions and from then Pakistan would always be chasing the game; 41 short in the chase despite Wahab’s late lusty hitting keeping them within a distance.

 

The Humdinger at Manchester on June 16 was always hyped up to unlimited proportions.Rain was expected.However clearly knowing there were gulfs between the squads, another inviting toss meant India went to a flyer with 136. Pakistan and Hassan Ali especially looked severely off colour.Set up a massive 337 built around Rohit Sharma’s 140, there was some fight shown by Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman but the fall of that wicket at 117 was the beginning of the end.Hafeez would go to Hardik Pandya on this occasion and Malik ended his one day career with a golden duck, ending any resistance. The rain only muddied the margins to an 89 run D/L loss, although it felt much more. Many supporters from either side failed to stay until the last ball  was delivered. Such an anti climax. Essentially they will need to win all their remaining games for any chance.

It only could have gotten better after that defeat, as it does. Enter Lord’s which has been quite lucky for the Greenshirts and back comes Haris Sohail for the depleted Malik. That 59 ball 89 was a booster badly needed.It projected them to 308.The Proteas who had a miserable world cup run just couldn’t come close and ended 49 short as Wahab and Shadab shared six wickets.Were they back ?

If any game in the Cup was going to define their progression,Edgbaston was the catalyst.Pumped up by one of the most partisan Greenshirt crowds  in the eyes of many analysts such like Michael Vaughan and Steve Wilson,they showed up in numbers all through out the tournament  but especially here, which spoke volumes of their passion, considering the back to back losses.

On the field,a 19 yr old Shaheen came to the forefront taking apart the Kiwis top order.Jimmy Neesham’s 97 would push Kiwis to a  more respectable 237.The ball would  turn square especially in the afternoon.In the chase,it was a defining innings for Babar Azam who capped his world cup record tally with an unbeaten 101.The lad from Gulberg had finally arrived.

 

Beating Kiwis was  a huge morale booster.The Afghans who had lost all their games in the cup by now  though would not bow down easily and though scored a paltry 227 at Headingley. Even that was generous it seemed because Greenshirts made a meal of it, in the quest of run rate improvement. Chasing at 72/1 the spin started taking effect. Muhammad Nabi created havoc for the middle order alongside Mujeeb ur Rahman. However with Gulbadin Naib in disarray bringing himself to bowl in death, Imad and the tail survived a hostile finish to scrape by 3 wickets.The volatility transpired in the stands into ugly scenes from the Afghan fans who couldn’t manage this particular loss to their neighbouring rivals.

Coming to Lords again, was very reassuring for their final game versus Bangladesh. However the pre-match  calculations had them aiming for an unthinkable number, plus  batting first to have any chance of progression. In the end Imam reached 3 figures, however Greenshirts managed only 315.The response was cut down sharply by Shaheen’s record haul of 6-35,capping his 16 wkts. It was a convincing win but Greenshirts despite winning were heading out.

What were the bright spots ? Certainly, Babar Azam led the way. Haris Sohail followed suit. Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz, who both looked unlikely to make the final cut bowled very well. Shaheen Afridi who only played the U19 World Cup a year back , broke in with a 16 wicket haul. Imad was limited but useful. Imam ul Haq was the second highest team scorer. But the bottom line was they didn’t progress and there was no doubt, that was the biggest disappointment for their passionate fans who persevered through thick and thin to push them in all their games.

Where was the Sarfaraz,the skipper in all this ? Well other than munching on Archies’ burger ahead of the mega clash and yawning , he scored a 55 versus England and took that fine Ross Taylor catch.His batting number was much under scrutiny as he wouldn’t bat up  top and the toss decisions were poor at times.Some of the squad selections could have definitely been better.There were many cons in this squad.

With a truncated squad of 15 allowed according to rules, Mohammad Hasnain couldn’t get a single game in the tourney. Shoaib Malik’s total scores of eight runs in three innings was utter indignation. Mohammad Hafeez gifting wickets to part timers in 4 straight games ,appalling. Fakhar Zaman looked a shadow of the cricketer he was in 2017 as was Shadab Khan. Only two openers picked for a long tournament. Hassan Ali…. well let’s not even talk about his presence or the lack of.

I didn’t expect at the outset that they would be in top four. However, they played much better than expected and despite the selection blunders, poor preparation and team management for the game in Manchester as well as the crucial element of fielding, they almost came within a  whisker. So close yet so far. It definitely showed from the three losses that mentally they were bogged out of the games in key moments and that is an area worth investing time and resources for the future.Not only do they need to learn this from more settled squads that provide that mental support, but they will need to de stigmatise as well. Not everything can be like 1992, after all.

Yorkshire had been waiting and remembering.Not long had the flames died from the Lord’s euphoria that up North,under a  sunny sky at Leeds, Sarfraz Ahmad found himself calling the toss rightly for the first time as a skipper.His confidence in skipper hood must have for split second received a huge boost. It seemed that there was no doubt in his mind to bat ,similar to his counterpart calling at Lord’s.That confidence would have lasted for most part of an hour as the humidity at 11 am onwards and the traditional seam Headingley is famous for lit up many in the English camp who were at the back end of a lot of scrutiny the whole week.

The Greenshirts who always love to bat first regardless of the conditions, courtesy of  lacking a chasing temperament would not have been so disheartened at 49/2 in the opening session. Then with Haris Sohail nicking one to second slip and Asad giving Cook first slip practice,the visitors found themselves at 68/4 at lunch.Both looked to have discovered some form at Lord’s.Worse was to come though.

At 79/7,with another failure from the skipper, it didnt look like 100 was possible. Shadab Khan’s third fifty in as many games with Hasan Ali’s cameo helped Pakistan towards a 174.Many had called it then,the test was done. It took 48.1 overs.Stuart Broad ,Jimmy Anderson and Chris  Woakes,Wood’s replacement racked up three each.The Pakistan batting which had been dreaded pre tour for a dismal score had succumbed.Did someone mention “Mallender” ?

 

By the time England came to bat,it seemed there wasn’t much assistance left as Cook and  Keaton Jennings set off for unique kind of opening ,not seen recently by the hosts achieving a fifty stand.England ended the day at 106/2, looking set for a lead.Despite rain holding up the first session on day 2,England carried on doggedly. Dominic Bess as a night watchman enjoyed himself on a 49 as they took the lead and built on it. Jos Butler ‘s dropped chance when he was 4  was the big spill of the day as he went on to make an unbeaten 80. Pakistan’s fielding wasn’t too bad but Hasan Ali’s drop was rued for some time.The lead was set at 189. The pitch now had levelled up, playing well for the batters.

I think that doesn’t count for the fact that this is Pakistan’s batting though.If one had slept through the second innings on day three, one would have just gone space through an action replay of what happened in a first, except running at a slightly faster pace.Imam criticised for the poor shot he played in the first innings managed 34 and the debutant Usman Salahuddin played with some caution for a 33.The rest were worth not even mentioning.Still have to see its hard seeing Azhar Ali struggling to plant that front foot post injury.Jimmy took him twice at Leeds.Pakistan scored a paltry 134 in 46 overs, just batting 92.1 in the whole game.The loss was an innings and 55 runs.They had shown no fight at all.

Broad took another three for in the second innings giving Michael Vaughan something to think about before he writes his next piece.Dominic Bess who starred with the bat outperformed Shadab as a spinner’s duel with a three-for of his own and found himself diving all around with the stunner.Even the new kid on the block,Sam Curran, the hosts’s third replacement took a wicket in each innings.England had bounced back and won a test match for the first time since early september last year at Lord’s against a weak Windies squad.A relief for Joe Root.

All that Lord’s euphoria, evaporated.Well ,Headingley has never been Pakistan’s cup of tea.Its their sixth defeat here against England.They haven’t been close to winning since their historic series winner of 1987, batting first or last.Yorkshire’s saturation of fans of Pakistani origin will have to wait another year before they find success, last seen in a ” home” test win over the Aussies eight years ago.

With the series squared, and no batsman managing  a ton, Mohammad Abbas led the bowler in wickets and picked up a maiden man of the series award.He bodes well for the future especially on English wickets.Leicestershire will cherish him this season.

Reality has bitten back, but there ‘s plenty to learn from the loss here for the Greenshirts and some bright points  will be taken from the series particularly the discipline shown at Lord’s and the young guns determination to strive.Till then,the North remembers !

 

When Usain Bolt ran the final leg of the 4×100 Men’s relay at the World Championships at London, there was no expectation from the British quartet of Chijindu Ujah, Adam Gemili, Danny Talbot and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake to come anywhere close to the podium let alone stun the world with gold medal. Jamaica with Bolt running the anchor leg would have still been considered strong candidates and with the stadium in unison cheering the final ever race of the legendary sprinter, it would be unsurprising if many would have still left disappointed despite the home quartet winning.Bolt,the greatest sprinter of all time, pulled short of the finish with a cramp and did not finish the race as he took the baton  behind the Brits at the final changeover.

That wouldn’t have been the dream of billions after the Jamaican thunderbolt had excited everyone across the globe with his theatrics and plaudits.Winning the triple double in Beijing, London and Rio and with such style and fervour, he won hearts everywhere he sprinted.What might have been a perfect swansong had a lot to say about the fitness of the 31 yr old.He only competed in the 100 metres earlier in the Championships and showed signs of struggle in the semis against a buoyant Christian Coleman.In the final, it was an anti climax of sorts though as his adversary Justin Gatlin who was defamed due to his previous doping counts claimed the gold ahead of Coleman and Bolt in 9.92 seconds.He then in an act of humility bowed to the King himself.The speculation continues.Maybe he left it too late to retire.Maybe Rio was the perfect time.

 

 

 

Whilst Bolt didn’t get any golds in his final championships,it wasn’t a tourney of double golds in any case.Mo Farah in the 5k’s(silver) and Dafne Scippers in the 100 metres ( bronze) missed a second gold after winning the 10k’s and 200 metres sprint respectively.It was Mo’s final championships as well and he left the home crowd buzzing with his opening night gold as the hosts eyed success from Rio.

In the absence of Bolt’s gold medal performance as well David Rudisha missing the championships , many turned to predicting potential successors to the throne. Those who will carry some of the elements of his legacy onto Tokyo in 2020. One such candidate was Wayde Van Niekerk from South Africa,the 400 metre record holder from Rio last year.

Wayde’s record breaking run in the single track lap of 43.03 from nowhere breaking another legend Michael Johnson’s record still echoes his credits going into London championships.Wayde cruised in the heats as well as the main event.With 0.43 of a second win in the final over Steven Gardiner of Jamaica, Wayde now confirms his place as the one of the top athletes again at a premier track championships.His smooth style was apparent in London however he also fell short of taking a second gold in 200 metres falling to Ramil Guliyev of Turkey by 0.02 seconds. Something to look forward to in Tokyo 2020,possibly.

Having no Rudisha  left the 800 metres a bit of an open contest.Pierre -Ambrose Bosse of France took the gold.As regards to the women,Marie Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast took a sprint “silver” double in 100 and 200 metres losing to Tori Bowie in the 100 metres in addition to Dafne Schippers in the 200 metres who both blitzed to gold in their races.In the 400 metres, Alyson Felix reign ended with a loss to her compatriot Phyllis Francis whilst Castor Semanya solidified another gold in the 800 metres with national record.

It wasn’t the most eventful of championships for some, but USA looked as usual in top form claiming 30 medals,10 of them gold.Kenya had 5 golds in their tally of 11.South Africa had three golds in their six medals and were the other top performers.A sorrowful end to Bolt in his career which will stay illuminated by his accolades but definitely a void is left for many to fill in the next championships that will take place in Doha in 2019.Wayde will be quick to lead that filler role.

 

 

 

For many across the pond, August is not really baseball season.Its just an excuse for NFL pre season beginning soon and a month left before the ” America’s game ” finally kicks off. As for the national pastime, it will slowly trudge towards its climax.The Home Run derby and the All star Game are over and Aaron Judge’s hot streak is now also facing similar consequences.

But as the various races across both leagues are entering a possible showdown following trade deadline, one can’t defy what’s happening in one of the traditional hot beds of close races- the NL West. Its my favourite division and for a good reason, the Dodgers play in it.What a season they are having too.They have almost roasted the race by August producing  14 game lead amidst a streak which have them winning 20 games in July and 75 by the 1st week of August.  And it not like their competitors are doing that bad. Both Rockies and Cardinals are almost locks for both wild card slots having won 60 plus themselves.

Dodgers’ pitching has always been good. Alex Wood has been a sleeper fantasy pick with 12-1 record, behind Kershaw ‘s 15 wins. Kenta Maeda is 10-4 and Rich Hill at 8-4 has this rotation in a frenzy. Kershaw’s injury has him out 4-6 weeks but with the acquisition of Yu Darvish,its been bolstered further.Not to mention Kenley Jensen 28 saves second only behind Greg Holland of the Rockies.

This year the batting also looks in form.Justin Taylor leads majors with .350 plus average.Chris Taylor and Corey Seager are consistently above .300 and Bellinger’s 30 bombs to date have them outscoring opponents by miles.Yasmina Grandal, Adrian Gonzalez and even Yasiel Puig are contributing usefully as well.The division looks wrapped up, even though plenty of games left still.Dave Roberts for Manager of the year again.The Bay area fans can’t wait for the weekend’s Chiefs/Niners pre-season opener soon enough.

 

If  LA are the “Kings” of regular season currently, their AL counterparts ruled the kingdom for most of the season topping the majors and leading their division at a canter.Jose Altuve leads the majors with his batting average. Dallas Keuchel is solid as ever with able support from Brad Peacock.Both have nine wins each.Houston also have locks on their division.The Nats are stellar as ever and it looks like pennant race in the NL will be between them and the Dodgers.Bryce Harper is strong as ever and my pick  for the NL MVP. NL East once again has not much left in it.Hopefully Tebow will play later on for the dwindling Mets to spark any interest.

Onto the more juicier races which is led by AL East. New York Yankees is a name that no one outside the Bronx would have mentioned this year.Aaron Judge though with a monster rookie season that he’s having have kept them in the hunt.No doubt he is the AL MVP pick for me. Look out though, Boston were the odds to win the season and wouldn’t bet against them taking it all down in September.Chris Sale has had an awesome season so far with 13 wins.It is a very close division with Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles not too far behind.

 

The defending champs Chicago Cubs have had difficult start to the season. Last year they were  ahead at the same point but not by much.They had 63 wins at July’s end but were boosted hugely by 22-6 run in August and a further 17 September wins took them to 103 for the season.They have a small lead over the “Brew Crew” and  the long time playoff  specialists Cards, but amidst a good run heading towards the clutch end.Jake Arietta, John Lackey and Jon Lester who have 26 wins between them, will be able to carry them through, even though Zach Davies and Adam Wainwright have led their rotations well.

Cubs’ losing opponents in the Fall Classic last year in seven games were Cleveland Indians.Like the Cubs, they had  topped their division with an impressive 94 wins.This year , they have done similarly though its a closer race. Jose Ramirez is hitting well with support from Lonnie Chisenhall. Carlos Carrasco has a 10-4 record.With Corey Kluber (8-3 ) and Trevor Bauer (9-8), they might have just enough to pip out Jason Vargas and the Kansas City Royals for the division though the Royals are in contention for the second wild card spot behind Yankees in the AL. That wild card should be an interesting fight as well. Seattle Mariners are within distance alongside Yankees division rivals O’s and Rays. A lot to look out for in the coming two months. Having said that, who could bet against a Red Sox -Yankees pennant race again.Not me.

 

 

 

So 3 races almost over but 3 close ones keeps the MLB season in good ranks. The AL wild card race is much competitive still and despite the gridiron beginning in September,there’s a lot to look out for in that month baseball wise.A clutch run by any of the mentioned teams could have  them raking a good advantage leading up to the October playoffs. “Play Ball” till then.

 

Midnight. March 5, 2017.Liberty Roundabout,Gulberg. Known as one of the benchmarks of the city, it forms the arterial route to  Abdul Hafeez Kardar Way which is essentially the sports complex of the city that is the Headquarters of national cricket nowadays.The floodlights of Gaddafi have finally been  illuminated and with it,the lives of many who chose to visit even in the wee hours for a glimpse of where the action would take place the following evening.

Its not uncommon to have a weekend ride to this areas its one of the hubs of activity.Tonight its decorated especially for the main event, as Gaddafi hosts a major final after 21 years. Simply unthinkable if one was there in February over the events that took place and its been six years since the tragic Lankan team attack incident took place.

 

 

The second season of PSL largely played out in the gulf to rising expatriate numbers from the previous year had the same five teams competing and despite the closeness in preliminary rounds, the same four made it to the final playoff spots. Along the way there was much interest generated as the matches were closer.From Eion Morgan and Riley Rossouw igniting the fire early on for Zalmi and Gladiators the two form teams of the tourney to the epic chases made by Kieran Pollard and Kevin Pieterson against Lahore  Qalandars, it was wild ride that had many glued to their sets from early on.

Lahore despite being the venue of the final, didn’t have the best of rides again this year as their bowling was exposed on a number of occasions and the so called talent hunt of the past year didn’t materialise into winning points.Memo to Aaqib Javed -who is this Ehtesham Sultan ? Karachi Kings were able to improve on their earlier losses by beating Islamabad United in a crunch sequence of games that guided them to within a game of the final.They had eliminated them in their first eliminator.

Dwayne Smith and Rumman Raees led the way for the defending champions skippered again by Misbah ul Haq. Though Shadab Khan was one of the stars of the tourney with his spin for them, in the end they came up a notch less twice to  Kings within a matter of days to lose momentum. Usama Mir emerged as a star for the Karachi side who also held the maroon cap with Sohail Khan and skippered by Kumar Sangakarra who left Quetta only to become more handier with his glove work more than his bat for a change in this PSL.Another Karachi recruit Chris Gayle was largely an afterthought as runs dried up well for them up top.

Quetta throughout the tourney had banked on spinners ,foreign talent in Rossouw and Kevin Pieterson as well as a welcome return to form of the local boy Ahmad Shahzad. Srafraz Ahmad had moulded a good side again and they were rampant in their tenure during the preliminary wins narrowly missing top place on net run rate to Zalmi in a final game loss.

Peshawar Zalmi led by Darren Sammy this year were boosted by an opening pair who had ended up scoring more than 500 runs between them, Kamran Akmal and Dawid Malan. Zalmi topped the standings with a close final day chase over Quetta, however the latter scored a nerve wracking win in the qualifier by a solitary run.On that occasion Muhammad Nawaz the rising star of last year capped an incredible  final over to deny Zalmi an inevitable win chasing 201. He took 3 wickets in the last 3 balls.Kamran Akmal led the way with 353 runs as his recent domestic scores headlined huge powerplay starts. He ended with the Green Cap for scoring the most runs in PSL 2. His 100 in the clutch eliminator against Kings pushed Peshawar back into the final,where they would play last year’s finalists Quetta.

 

The final took us to the mainland despite much debate of holding it there and it was evident after Quetta’s win as their foreign contingent was adamant not to attend. Zalmi though proved otherwise having committed to playing Lahore as a unit under Darren Sammy and that factor rubbed more on the final as Gladiators  hassled to get backups.

Unlike the gulf playoffs, which were high on entertainment with the closeness of matches , the final was much more about bringing cricket back home.It was like the city had a makeover.As the media frenzy increased following arrival of the foreign players, Zalmi appeared quite strong despite losing Shahid Afridi to a hand injury which endured him a rest from the final.As expected it was a full house. Viv had made the journey to a rousing Gaddafi lap of honour again  with Quetta bringing back memories of the 1980’s.The 2 W’s enclosures were opened in the refurbished arena.

Zalmi had the most fans in all of PSL2 and it was telling in the final as well.Kamran Akmal and Dawid Malan got off to a good start but a collapse in the middle led to Zalmi struggling with 6/112 in the 17th over.Darren Sammy  led effectively as a Zalmi cheerleader to the chief hitter scoring 28 crucial runs in heloing onto 148 score which is just par considering teams chasing second had been flying high.Quetta’s start with replacements was their worst with Ahmad  Shahzad  perishing early. Skipper Sarfraz made 22 but his wicket, 4th down at 29 was a killer blow.Young Muhammad Asghar rose to the occasion taking 3/16 in the final picking up Sean Ervine and  Muhammad Nawaz in consecutive balls after sean had looked in good knick was with 24. The rest were cleaned up fairly easily with Wahab Riaz whose tally of 15 made him the second highest wicket taker. Quetta managed only 90, their worst score in this year’s tourney. Overall the final was an anti climax with so many by lines circulating.Cricket had triumphed for a change, though.

 

 

 

Zalmi much to the jubilation of the fans were crowned  new champions.Darren Sammy had become the toast of Lahore and a hero in Pakistan for the night amongst high security and a packed Gaddafi.PSL finally came home to the people amongst its pomp atmosphere and the 70’s like crooned anthem of Ali Zafar.Yes, Ali….The people in the streets have truly arrived.The whistles have started,the stage is set and clapping resumes with the game hitting its prime where we left it all those years back.

 

A new year always brings a new beginning to a certain variety of sports on the calendar and tennis is a prime example.With the new 2017 season bringing the world out of the indoor arenas of Europe back into the humidified outdoor circuits of the Antipodes,there occurs a familiar sight of the court surface being changed into blue Plexicushion Prestige. The tune up tourneys synchronise in the build up to the Melbourne Park surface wise in what is projected as the ideal weather conditions of the Australian summer.Or that is if you classify Melbourne’s weather as such considering its closest in its fluctuations to a city in a UK  summer.

Nevertheless,it can be extremely heat at times with the heat peaking at various points in the fortnight resulting in player withdrawals.The Norman Brookes and Daphne Akhurst trophies are possessions that the heat has to be overcome for the 256 players in the main draw.For some like Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, both no 2 seeds in this year’s tournament,it sounded  like a cakewalk for both having won it six times each.While that could be said for the 22 slam champions Serena who breezed through most of the tourney to take a sixth Aussie open, it wasn’t the course that the Serbian took.

Little did Novak know what was to happen on the opening Thursday when he went crashing out in five sets to Dennis Istomin.Not much later after and the 2 seed Andy Murray in the 4th round went down to the Mischa Zverev.These two results left the draw open for some former champions to comeback. Some is probably a euphemism enough to describe the talents of a duo who has taken 31 Grand slams between them.Roger and Rafa as always didn’t disappoint.

Whether it was Kei Nishikori,Stan Wawrinka, Gael Monfils , Grigor Dmitrov or both Zverev brothers, they managed to put their best game to once again compete in a historic final in Melbourne.And what a final it was. Both coming back form long layoffs, both no longer seeded in the top five …. it didn’t matter. Strokes after strokes and forehand after forehand the two engaged in a sort of a battle worthy of the Norman Brooke trophy.Federer raced to one set and then  2-1 lead only for Rafa to claw back in sets 2 and 4. Despite both now ageing some impressive forehand winners were witnessed especially from Roger.

The match had many points to ponder , the winners of Roger were matched by his unforced errors but the final set rally was something of the old Roger to witness.Nadal rallied to take the initial break in final set for only for Roger to have one more break in him at 2-3 and then took the decisive lead breaking Nadal once more to take 5-3 lead only to hold for an amazing 18th grand slam title.

What was special about the Australian Open? The obvious answer would be Roger ‘s win after a lengthy layoff. Some will say Serena as well winning a historic 23rd  singles slam or Rafa getting all the way to another Aussie open final in his comeback.Roger and Rafa playing the final is no less reason of what can be  described as a brilliant final.The 1980 Wimbledon final between  Borg /McEnroe has always stood as  great benchmark.Towards the end of that decade the Becker/ Edberg Wimbledon rivalry and then the many Sampras / Agassi finals in the 1990s and early 00’s  were also significant.In recent times Murray and Djokovic stood out as the slam rivalry albeit Djokovic had a comfortable advantage in those matchups mostly.

Rafa and Roger have engaged in many a slam final in the previous decade and to see them again in the Aussie Open is no surprise considering they played in 2012 and 2014.But to have them in  a grand slam final,the first in six years has truly put nostalgia to light and despite the ageing bodies this will always remain as the storied rivalry of all time in tennis and possibly the greatest.

Roger who many dismissed years back in the 2013 season as an “also ran” and “past his prime” has done what millions wanted all along.The passion was always there and his skills were exquisite as ever.He played an awesome tourney and there could have been a no bigger draw in tennis in the fortnight in the lights of Melbourne than him.The resting body did well to pounce and pounce early he did.The”Happy Slam” has provided  much joy  with a legendary final! Now that is what is called a Comeback. 

 

 

 

 

 

The finale of the English test cricketing summer at the Oval has always been memorable. Ever since Pakistan’s cricketing inception on the British Isles, it  held a special place.The 1954 series ended with Fazal Mahmood’s huge 12 wicket haul of a revered English batting lineup that was regarded as the best of its time.The win notified the cricketing universe of Greenshirts’s appearance on the world stage. Fazal nearly had missed out on being part of Pakistan cricket.It was testament of courage,skill and Abdul Hafeez Kardar’s leadership that Oval bled green.

Similarly, whether its been W’s in the 1992 test series,Mushtaq’s 6 for in 1996 test or Wahab and Amir ‘s 5 fors last time in 2010,the bowlers have found purchase with the bounce and spin on this track to their liking. Since 1967, if one disregards the forfeiture of 2006, Pakistan has been undefeated in tests here.

On this occasion it was the turn of Sohail Khan to take yet another 5 for on the tour. Like in 2010,Wahab and Amir supported.Day one and England were bowled out again on 328 as was the case in Edgbaston.The pitch was supposed to be a belter once the moisture wore off. Cook didn’t want to bat last and it showed.The hosts were at one stage  5 down for 110. Moeen Ali continued his form from that test with his 3rd test 100.He was in blistering mood. His series strike rate bordered on 70.Pakistan lost Sami Aslam early but Yasir Shah finally played a night watchman’s role for Greenshirts scoring 26 key runs either side of stumps.

Asad Shafiq bagging a pair in Edgabston  found himself in a position to amend that stain. He didn’t look back, becoming the first Pak batsman since Wazir Mohammad in 1958 to follow up with a ton after the bagles.His stand with Younus of 150 steadied the ship.Younus was on a mission of his own. His 6th 200+ score especially adding a huge 97 with Amir in that 9th wicket stand meant the visitors abnormally had scored 222 for the last 4 wickets.The lead was 214.Younus had accumulated 218,an innings of sharp contrast to his poor series form as he took the attack to all the bowlers,especially Moeen.

Now the temperature of the game changed.Knowing the lead was almost double of what it was a week ago,the Greenshirts stormed in.It was day 3 but Cook and Hales were in a  defensive shell.Cook was the first to depart, gone early to a scorcher of a delivery by Wahab in the slips.Hales ,who has had a forgettable series so far,was in hot waters with match referee prior to taking guard the second time. Yasir’s splendid 1st inning catch infuriated him.Maybe it was a fair reflection of his stressors, as he went to Yasir himself,plumb lbw at 49.Vince was clueless and perished to the leggie for nought.Leading man of the series runwise, Joe Root rampantly scored 39 but was also caught plumb on the back foot.England were reeling at 88/4 by day 3’s close.Pakistan had started sniffing a famous win.

Johnny Bairstow and Moeen Ali have been the star performers of the English lower order.Why they continue to be in that late an order is a mystery as both averaged 50 plus in this series.On day four,the critical time just before lunch when their stand of 65 in double quick time was finally dissolved by Yasir’s 4th wicket of the innings.England lunched at 191/6 still 23 behind.After the interval,it was a procession waiting to happen,as Wahab ran out Woakes first then got Bairstow caught on mid off within 2 balls.The last pair put on 32 runs to set a meagre target of 40.The leg spinner Yasir Shah claimed a five for to join the club of  all of his fellow bowlers, who all now had 5 fors at the Oval.

Pakistan knocked off the runs in style. Azhar who had scored a 92 six years earlier here smashed one high in the sky from Moeen with an unbeaten 30 to send Misbah’s men victorius.Younus took the man of the match deservedly  whilst Woakes was the Pom’s Man of the series.Only Smith’s South Africa had beaten or levelled England in a four or more  test match series of the English summer since 2001.The series ended on a good note for the visitors after 2006 and 2010 debacles and more importantly the spirit of the game was resurrected by how Alistair Cook and Misbah ul Haq had conducted the affairs throughout.Misbah notched a 23rd win as Greenshirt skipper in his 46th test, a fascinating conversion rate. Kardar must be happy knowing this.Regardless of his future plans, this was his swansong on English soil for sure and he capped  it with the hosts’ Man of the Series award.

This has been Pakistan ‘s fifth win at the Oval overall ,a fair attestation since Fazal’s conquest of 1954.One of the legends of the game, “Little Master” Hanif Mohammad who opened that game for the visitors passed away on day one of the test.He is an all time legend and a grace of the game.A sporting pioneer and a true gentleman.Words are not enough to describe his efforts in Bridgetown Test of  1958.It was only appropriate that Misbah paid tribute to him alongside fans back home considering it was 14 August.

The team that no one had given a chance pre series to impress once again changed perceptions.On the eve of the test,Osman Samiuddin,a well known Pakistani analyst speculated  a 2-2 series score would mean as good as a series win.Capricious as it sounds,that’s how the Greenshirts play.They came, to play on the back of demoralising loss and mastered  the Oval…. again.The Little Master must be pleased up there.