Sports News

PM nominates ex-ICC president Ehsan Mani to fill Sethi's shoes  Soon after the resignation tendered by Najam Sethi, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday nominated former International Cricket Council (ICC) president Ehsan Mani as the new chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Praising his pick, the newly-elected premier wrote on Twitter: “He [Ehsan Mani] brings vast and valuable experience to the job. He represented PCB in the ICC; was treasurer ICC for three years and then headed the ICC for another three years.” Imran then clarified that “We will follow the set procedure which entails my nominating him on the PCB board of governors. He may then contest elections for the position of Chairman PCB”. The former PCB chief, who is also heading the lucrative Pakistan Super League (PSL), wrote on Twitter that he was waiting for the new prime minister to take the oath before submitting his resignation. “I wish PCB all the best and hope our cric...

Fakhar Zaman eager to represent Pakistan in Test cricket KARACHI  : Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman is eager to represent Pakistan in Test cricket after having successfully established himself in the limited overs Men in Green side. Speaking to Daily Express in an interview, Zaman stated that he is preparing for upcoming series against Australian in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and he will not disappoint if given the opportunity to don the whites for Pakistan. “I’m eager to play Test cricket,” he said. “Currently I’m rigorously preparing for the series against Australia and hope that I will be given an opportunity during the series.” Pakistan will face the Kangaroos in October for two-Test and three-T20I series although the PCB is yet to release the official schedule for the Australia’s tour of UAE. Sharing his thoughts on the Asia Cup — which is scheduled to take place from September 15 to September 28 in UAE — the left-handed opener said t...

Complacency can cost chance in City line-up: Kompany MANCHESTER: Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany believes the champions are well placed to avoid past mistakes and become the first team in a decade to retain the Premier League title. The Belgian, who is the only current City player to have been with the club through the decade that they have been under Abu Dhabi’s free-spending ownership, has won the league three times at City. But on the previous two occasions, City have failed to mount a serious title challenge in the following year, leaving Manchester United, in 2009, as the last champions to defend their title successfully. Now, however, Kompany insists that under Pep Guardiola’s management, City will not make the same errors as in years gone by. “I can only say it’s different from previous years we have won the league,” he said. “There’s been so many warnings we have had and every single time we almost have to fight against our...

Buttler's maiden Test hundred his proudest England moment NOTTINGHAM: Jos Buttler said nothing he had done before in an England career across all formats could top his maiden Test century on Tuesday. Buttler made 106 and together with Ben Stokes (62) put on 169 for the fifth wicket as England ensured the third Test against India at Trent Bridge would go into Wednesday’s final day. But with England 311 for nine, still 210 runs shy of a target of 521, come stumps on the fourth day, they appear destined for a defeat that will leave them 2-1 up in a five-match series, barring bad weather in Nottingham or a remarkable double-century stand from their last-wicket duo of Adil Rashid and James Anderson. Buttler, after being dropped on one by wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, was largely untroubled. But the advent of the second new ball sparked a flurry of late wickets that started when Buttler was lbw playing no shot to fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. ...

Mbappe saves France’s blushes against US in World Cup warm-up LYON:Kylian Mbappe showed his class again as he salvaged a 1-1 home draw for France in their final World Cup warm-up game, against the United States on Saturday. Mbappe, who was a permanent threat, found the back of the net in the late stages to cancel out Julian Green’s first-half opener, with Didier Deschamps’s team lacking energy after a demanding physical preparation. France start their World Cup campaign against Australia in Group C in one week before taking on Peru and Denmark. They enjoyed most of the possession against the US in Lyon but lacked speed, with the exception of Mbappe. “It’s always best to win but it’s a warm-up game and we lacked a bit of juice. We had a lot of opportunities against a team who left us little space”, said Deschamps. “We regained the upper hand near the end.” Mbappe said: “I’ve been improving steadily in the last three matches and tonight I did w...

Argentina future depends on World Cup, says Messi BRONNITSY:Argentina captain Lionel Messi said his international future will be determined by his country’s performance at the World Cup in Russia. “It will depend on how far we go, how we’re going to finish” at the finals, Messi said in an interview with Spanish daily Sport. “We’ve just lost three finals in a row, which has led to us going through some difficult moments with the press. Notably with the Argentine press because we have differences of opinion over what it means to make these three finals.” Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final 1-0 to Germany after extra time, before suffering successive defeats by Chile on penalties at the Copa America in 2015 and 2016. Messi, who will turn 31 during the World Cup, believes Spain, Brazil, Germany, France and Belgium are the leading contenders for the title. “There are lots of teams who arrive with lots of confidence, with both a team game and...

ET's Football Dugout Countdown to the World Cup: Groups A and B In Episode 1 of The Express Tribune’s Football Dugout, four football fans analyse the teams in FIFA World Cup 2018's Group A, the players to look out for and whether there's a chance for any major upsets. Arguably one of the easiest groups at the World Cup, two-time winners Uruguay are joined by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and hosts Russia. While Uruguay are almost certain to top the groups, all of the other three teams will be quietly optimistic about their chances of making it to the next round. Perhaps no group in World Cup 2018 is as clear cut as Group B, where European champions Portugal and 2010 World Cup winners Spain take on minnows Iran and Morocco. The gulf in class is aptly reflected in the FIFA rankings, with Portugal (4) and Spain (8) far ahead of Iran (36) and Morocco (42). Such is the might of the two European giants that the winner of the Spain-Por...