Nobody in Pakistan was surprised when Abdullah Shafique‘s technique stood up to the scrutiny of the surfaces in Australia, but Pakistan will still be relieved to see it for themselves. In Perth, he saw off the new ball and stayed at the crease for 36 overs before falling for a determined, if attritional, 42. Here

The scorecard might not suggest too much reason for optimism, but Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali has always tried to look at the brighter side. And on a gloomy Boxing Day in Melbourne where Pakistan toiled hard for the reward of just three wickets in 66 overs despite prodigious swing and several passages of play

Tea Australia 114 for 2 (Khawaja 42, Hasan 1-21) vs Pakistan Recalled seamer Hasan Ali removed Australia opener Usman Khawaja and led an improved Pakistan bowling effort at a gloomy MCG on day one before rain interrupted the Boxing Day Test. Amid increasingly dark conditions, with rain and thunderstorms forecast in the afternoon, Marnus Labuschagne

There’s been another change in the Pakistan coaching set-up, with Yasir Arafat joining the crew for the side’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand. Arafat has been appointed high-performance coach, and will replace the current man in the role, Simon Helmot. ESPNcricinfo understands it was a relatively late decision on the part of the PCB,

It follows a difficult Perth Test for Sarfaraz, particularly with the bat, after he scored seven runs across both innings, struggling particularly against Mitchell Starc’s pace. It’s one of at least three changes Pakistan will make for the second Test at the MCG after they named a 12-man squad, which will be cut to 11

Starc acknowledged that the extra pace wouldn’t be quite as crucial at the MCG. “Case in point, you look at Scotty Boland who can bowl good wheels, but he’s not at your top end of pace bowlers,” he said. “But he generates a lot of sideways movement here in Melbourne, obviously being his home ground.

The bidding for the broadcast and media rights for the PSL has been delayed by two weeks to the beginning of January, meaning the ninth season of the league will only land a broadcast deal a month before it is due to start. Though bids will be submitted to the PCB, the winner will have

Waqar Younis has voiced his alarm at the lack of pace in Pakistan’s Test attack as they search for a way back into their Test series against Australia. Pakistan were comprehensively beaten by 360 runs, bowled out for 89 in their second innings, and to compound their woes have lost Shahzad, who impressed on debut,

Pakistan’s bowling absentee list continues to swell, with Noman Ali the latest to be ruled out of the series. He was diagnosed with acute appendicitis after complaining of “sudden and severe” abdominal pain, according to a statement put out by the PCB. Scans confirmed the diagnosis, and he spent Friday night in hospital. Noman underwent

Khawaja wore the armband in place of taking the field with writing on his shoes which he had worn in training stating “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right” to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Black armbands are a regular sight in international cricket to mark deaths of former

Pace bowler Khurram Shahzad has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series in Australia due to a rib stress fracture and abdominal muscle tear. Shahzad had reported side soreness while bowling on debut in the first Test in Perth and was sent for scans with those revealing the fracture in his left

Pakistan’s preparations for the second Test in Melbourne have been dealt a setback after Khurram Shahzad became a significant doubt for the game. Shahzad complained of discomfort in his left side while bowling during the first Test, and has now been sent for an MRI scan. The results for which will come back on Thursday,

Mohammad Haris has been left out of Pakistan’s 17-man squad for the five-match T20I series in New Zealand starting January 12. Haris, who has been out of the Pakistan set-up since the Asia Cup in September, is one of two notable absentees in the squad, along with Shadab Khan, who had to miss out due

Sana, 22, was already in New Zealand, where she played in all three T20Is and ODIs. She grabbed 3 for 18 and 3 for 22 in the first two T20Is respectively, giving Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and scripting their first T20I series win outside Asia and Ireland. Although they lost the

Pakistan were also fined 10% of their match fee, with the sanctions being imposed by match referee Javagal Srinath. The umpires for the Test, Joel Wilson, Richard Illingworth, Michael Gough and fourth umpire Donovan Koch, levelled the charge. Pakistan captain Shan Masood accepted the offence and sanction, so there was no formal hearing.

Departmental cricket returned to Pakistan after five seasons with the start of the President’s Trophy earlier this week, and the resumption has not gone without incident. Days before the tournament was supposed to start, Sui Southern Gas Pipelines (SSGC), one of the major department sides, pulled out, arguing that running a cricket team was not

Pakistan will play a two-day practice game against Victoria XI ahead of the second Test. The match will be played at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on December 22 and 23. This game wasn’t part of the original schedule, but concerns around lack of match practice led to Pakistan requesting Cricket Australia for a match.

Days after appointing former Australian allrounder Shane Watson as head coach, Quetta Gladiators have announced Shaun Tait as bowling coach. Tait, who was Pakistan’s fast bowling coach until earlier this year, will take up the role ahead of the ninth season of the PSL. “I’d like to thank Nadeem Omar (Quetta Gladiators owner) who trusted

On a slightly two-paced pitch, Indian batters struggled to get going before getting bundled out for 188 in 42.4 overs, with Musheer Khan (50) and Murugan Abhishek (62) doing the bulk of the scoring. Despite some jitters, Bangladesh went over the line pretty comfortably in 42.5 overs with Islam (94 off 90 balls) defending the

Ahmed Shehzad has retired from the PSL in a blaze of fury, blaming a “deliberate effort” by all six franchises to keep him out of the competition. In a detailed statement, in which he said – without elucidating – that he knew “exactly the reasons why I’m not made part of the PSL”, he said

Pakistan 132 for 2 (Shafique 42, Imam 38*) trail Australia 487 (Warner 164, Marsh 90, Jamal 6-111) by 355 runs New captain Shan Masood batted positively but fell late on day two to dent Pakistan’s rearguard as Australia remained in control of the first Test at Optus Stadium. Pakistan lost opener Abdullah Shafique and Masood

Australia won the toss and decided to bat against Pakistan Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat on an expected bouncy and fast Optus Stadium surface for the first Test between Australia and Pakistan. Australia will face an inexperienced Pakistan attack on a hard pitch amid sunny conditions in Perth on day one.

Australia allrounder Daniel Sams and the South Africa duo of Reeza Hendricks and Lungi Ngidi are set to play their maiden PSL events after being picked up in the draft held on Wednesday in Lahore. Sams was a platinum pick by Karachi Kings, Hendricks was a gold pick by Multan Sultans while Ngidi the supplementary

Big picture: Pakistan usher in new era, Australia switch gears after WC win For a generation of Australian cricket fans, they’ve only seen Pakistan’s Test team reduced to a punchline on their shores. The statistics are particularly macabre for Pakistan, who have lost 14 straight Tests in Australia dating back over two decades. Apart from

For the second time in as many tours to Australia, Pakistan have decided to line up in the opening Test with a relatively inexperienced bowling attack. Fast bowlers Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad will both make their Test debuts, with Shaheen Shah Afridi leading the attack. That leaves no room for Hasan Ali or any

Ten millimetres of grass has been left on the Optus Stadium pitch two days ahead of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan, but more is expected to be shaven off with head curator Isaac McDonald tipping a “hard, fast and bouncy” surface. Pressure has been on the ground staff after a sedate pitch in

A fractured finger has ruled Diana Baig out of the entire ODI leg of Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand, while Nida Dar‘s participation in the second and third games of the Women’s Championship series is in doubt after she was hit in the face with the ball while bowling and had to be taken off

Karachi Kings have appointed the former West Indies allrounder Phil Simmons as their head coach ahead of the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) season. Simmons takes over from the former South Africa allrounder Johan Botha, who coached Kings to a second-from-bottom finish, with three wins from 10 games, in PSL 2023. Simmons, who played 26

Asad Shafiq, the former Pakistan Test middle-order batter, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket and is expected to take up a position as a national selector. Shafiq, 37, was a core part of the Misbah-ul-Haq Test side in the 2010s, playing a vital role in their rise to the top of the

Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez has criticised the pitch and conditions laid out for Pakistan’s warm-up game in Canberra, saying he was “really surprised and disappointed by the arrangements.” Speaking to reporters at the WACA ground following Pakistan’s morning training session, Hafeez said Pakistan were excited by the challenge, but appeared particularly irked by the