T20 World Cup: Bleak Melbourne forecast puts final under a cloud
T20 World Cup: Bleak Melbourne forecast puts final under a cloud/node/2197706/pakistan
T20 World Cup: Bleak Melbourne forecast puts final under a cloud
Ground staff cover the field as rain delays the start of play during the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 cricket match between New Zealand and Afghanistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 26, 2022 in Melbourne. (AFP)
T20 World Cup: Bleak Melbourne forecast puts final under a cloud
If Sunday is completely washed out, Pakistan versus England match will be on Monday
If Monday is also washed out, the World Cup will have joint winners for the first time
Updated 11 November 2022
Reuters
MELBOURNE: England and Pakistan's staff will be poring over weather charts as well as tactics in the lead up to the Twenty20 World Cup final, with a gloomy forecast threatening to scupper the decider at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Heavy rain is expected on Sunday's match-day and also the reserve day on Monday as a multi-year La Nina weather phenomenon continues to drench much of eastern Australia.
The tournament has already seen a slew of Super 12 matches washed out, though the semi-finals passed without disruption in Sydney and Adelaide.
While the forecast could put a dampener on the crowd at the MCG, organisers will plough ahead with the starting time of 7 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Sunday and hope each side can squeeze 10 overs in, the minimum required for the final.
If the match starts on Sunday and is unable to be completed, it will resume at 3 p.m. (0400 GMT) on Monday, leaving players with a nervous night's sleep.
If Sunday is completely washed out, the match will start at 3 p.m. on Monday, with the teams on notice to be ready to linger well into the evening if the weather forces it.
In the worst-case scenario where Monday is also washed out, then the World Cup will have joint winners for the first time.
However, Melbourne is known for having "four seasons in one day", particularly in spring, and forecasts are often wide of the mark.
Pakistan played a full game against India in their Super 12 blockbuster at the MCG despite a dire outlook for rain.
Rain was expected on Friday, too, but Pakistan trained under leaden skies at the MCG without ever running for cover.
Pakistan team mentor Matthew Hayden, who accurately predicted struggling captain Babar Azam would return to form with the bat in the semi-final against New Zealand, was banking on the weather to cooperate.
"Today there was a great chance of rain and here we are," Hayden told reporters at the MCG.
"The wicket looks excellent ... Who knows the weather here in Melbourne?
"On the day, I'm sure that Melbourne is going to open up enough to have a 10-over match."
QUETTA: Earlier this year, Danial Shah, a Pakistani photographer and filmmaker currently pursuing a doctorate in visual and performing arts in Brussels, got an idea: to travel from the land of the colonizer, Britain, which had ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947, to the land that was colonized, present day Pakistan — but without flying.
Thus began a journey that took him from London to the southwestern Pakistani town of Quetta, the city of his birth, via trains, ferries, buses and taxis at a cost of $2,509.
“I wanted to start my journey from London, the reason is that Britain ruled our country for a long time, colonized us and it is Britain that gives us [Pakistanis] visas with great difficulty,” Shah, a 35-year-old documentary filmmaker and photographer, told Arab News in an interview in Quetta.
Pakistani photographer and backpacker Danial Shah, who travelled from London to Quetta in 58 days via trains, ferries, buses and taxis, uses his phone in a street in Quetta on September 3, 2024, during an interview with Arab News. (AN Photo)
“So I thought if I get a visa, I will start my journey from the place where the colonizer lives and reach the place which they colonized.”
Spending his early childhood in Quetta, Shah was always thrilled by the stories of foreign travelers who frequented the area and often arrived using what was dubbed the historic Quetta-London Road, once a popular route for international tourists and considered a ‘gateway’ to Europe.
“I often used to see foreigners here and when you asked someone their story, they would say, ‘We have come from Germany, from London, traveling through Turkiye and Iran’,” Shah said. “So, when I found time, I thought I should go on this journey also.”
This map, shared by Pakistani photographer and backpacker Danial Shah, shows his journey from London to Quetta. Shah’s 58-day-journey brought him home to Quetta via trains, ferries, buses and taxis at a cost of $2,509. (Photo courtesy: Danial Sheikh)
Frequent public commuting through the Quetta-London route, stretching over thousands of miles, began after the end of World War I and people even used it to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, according to Dr. Irfan Ahmed Baig, a Quetta-based historian and author of the Urdu-language book ‘Quetta My City.’ European tourists choose the route to enter Turkiye via Greece and continued onwards to the Middle East and Asia. The route was diverted to Central Asia from Afghanistan, from where to leads to India and Bangladesh via Pakistan.
“A Quetta-London bound bus service was started in the 1950 but it was suspended due to unknown reasons,” Baig told Arab News. “During the Soviet Union’s incursion on Afghanistan, tourist movement through this route declined due to security reasons.”
Shah’s journey through a stretch of the route also did not come without difficulty as he faced strict border security checks on account of holding a Pakistani passport, considered one of the weakest travel documents according to global rankings, and amid fears about human smuggling and illegal migration.
This photo, posted on August 11, 2024 on Instagram, shows Pakistani photographer and backpacker Danial Shah, who travelled from London to Quetta in 58 days via trains, ferries, buses and taxis, at the Albania Museum in Tirana, Albania. (Photo courtesy: Danial Shah)
“At various border crossing points, I was the only one off-boarded from buses and questioned by border security forces,” he said.
But he powered on and the journey that began in London on July 3 took him through Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East, to Pakistan’s Balochistan province on August 21.
“From London, I traveled to France. From France, I went to Italy, where I took a boat to Croatia. From Croatia, I went to Serbia, Serbia to Bosnia, and from Bosnia to Montenegro, Albania,” the University of Antwerp student said.
“From Albania, I entered Greece. Then I took a boat from Greece to Turkiye and from Turkiye I took a bus to Iran. From Iran I traveled through buses and taxis and reached Pakistan.”
He said he was grateful for the people he met along the way and the hospitality and warmth he was offered.
“I enjoyed Bosnia the most, followed by Albania, and then Turkiye and Iran, because their manner of hospitality is similar to our Quetta,” Shah said.
His next plan is to save up for journeys to ever new countries and cultures.
This photo, posted on August 22, 2024 on Instagram, shows Pakistani photographer and backpacker Danial Shah, who travelled from London to Quetta in 58 days via trains, ferries, buses and taxis, in Iran. (Photo courtesy: Danial Shah)
“I wish to plan a year-long journey after saving some money to see more countries and additional stay,” Shah said, “because I met many people who were on the same route but traveling to Central Asia via Iran and Afghanistan to Vietnam.”
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday described restoring Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to the United Kingdom and other European countries as a “major priority,” saying that he raised the issue with British officials during his five-day visit to London, which he called beneficial for the country.
The suspension of PIA flights to the UK and Europe followed a 2020 plane crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. This was compounded by a controversial statement from Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the aviation minister in former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration, who asserted that a significant number of Pakistani pilots held fake licenses, leading to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ban on PIA.
Since then, the airline has undergone multiple audits to address safety and operational concerns in hopes of restoring international routes.
Addressing a news conference in London, Dar criticized the former aviation minister’s “irresponsible statement,” saying Pakistan had since made every effort to resume PIA flights.
“I told the [British] deputy prime minister [Angela Rayner] that it is a serious matter for our community and diaspora,” he said during the media interaction at the Pakistan High Commission. “It is a major priority. So, we will continue to engage and will not sit and relax until as long as this thing is done.”
Dar noted that while restoring flights to Britain and Europe was important, advancing the privatization process of the national airline was equally vital.
“We will start receiving the first round of bids for PIA [privatization] on October 1,” he said, adding the government was also outsourcing Islamabad airport operations, with bids expected next month.
He further emphasized that his visit to Britain had been highly productive.
“I believe that my visit was extensive, busy and potentially very useful for Pakistan,” he said.
This was Pakistani deputy prime minister’s first visit to Britain following the change of government in the UK, where the Labour Party won the general elections in July and returning to power after 14 years.
ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is holding a rally in Islamabad today, Sunday, to press authorities for the release of the ex-premier, who has been facing a slew of cases.
Khan, who has been in jail since August on charges of corruption, treason and attempting to incite a mutiny in the military, has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military since his ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022.
He has accused the then army leadership of orchestrating his ouster together with his political rivals as part of a United States-backed “foreign conspiracy.” The military, Khan’s rivals and Washington have repeatedly denied this.
His PTI party aims to mobilize the public for the release of the former cricket star who has a devoted following, but has struggled to hold rallies across the country. The party this week said it got permission for the rally in Islamabad, which was canceled twice in recent months.
“We are holding this rally as per the law and the constitution,” PTI member Aamir Dogar was quoted as saying by the party on X. “Efforts should not be made to prevent it.”
پولیس نے پولیس گردی کا مظاہرہ کرتے ہوے جنریٹر روک لیے اور جلسہ گاہ تک نہ جانے دیے ، ایم این اے ملک عامر ڈوگر رات ایک بجے موقع پر پہنچے اور جنریٹر جلسہ گاہ تک پہنچائے!#چلو_چلو_اسلام_آباد_چلوpic.twitter.com/Z22KwPt8oO
The party has also announced simultaneous protests outside the Pakistani embassy in London and in other parts of the world.
“Everyone must attend the all important protest tomorrow in London outside the Pakistan embassy,” Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari said on X. “It will be a historic turnout in Islamabad, London and world over. This is the beginning of our peaceful protests in Pakistan and world over. It’s a duty upon us to stand up.”
Everyone must attend the ALL important protest tomorrow in London outside the Pakistan embassy. IA it will be a historic turnout in Islamabad , London and world over. This is the beginning of our peaceful protests in Pakistan and world over. It’s a duty upon us to stand up… pic.twitter.com/m3pTGJa8ps
The PTI says it has been facing a state-backed crackdown and the mass arrest of its members and supporters for standing by Khan. Pakistani authorities deny the allegations.
The action against the PTI began after people carrying its party flags attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a graft case.
Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested following the May 9 riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Khan recently made a “conditional” offer of talks to the army, if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped. The military, which has repeatedly said Khan and his party were behind the May 9 attacks, has ruled out any talks with him.
Bodies of three Pakistani climbers retrieved after nine years from Sarwali Peak in Azad Kashmir
The missing climbers, Imran Junaidi, Usman Khalid, and Khurram Shehzad, embarked on a journey to summit Sarwali Peak in Neelum district in August 2015
The bodies of the missing climbers were spotted by two trekkers last month, after which a mission involving two dozen volunteers was launched on Sept. 3
KHAPLU: A team of Pakistani climbers and porters has retrieved bodies of three local mountaineers who had gone missing on 6,326-meter Sarwali Peak in Azad Kashmir nine years ago, an official and volunteers said on Saturday.
Sarwali Peak, also known as Dabbar Peak, in Azad Kashmir’s Neelum District is believed to be one of the few unconquered mountain peaks in the region, with no confirmed ascent till date.
The missing climbers, Imran Junaidi, Usman Khalid and Khurram Shehzad, had embarked on a journey to summit the Peak in August 2015, but went missing while attempting a push on the right saddle of the mountain.
A comprehensive search operation was launched on September 7, 2015 to locate the missing climbers, but no trace of them could be found.
“The bodies of all three missing climbers were spotted last month by two trekkers,” Akhtar Ayoub, in-charge of the Azad Kashmir State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in Neelum district, told Arab News.
“A special rescue team was formed to retrieve the bodies and today, their bodies and remains were retrieved from the advance base camp side.”
Two dozen volunteers, including climbers, rescuers and porters, took part in the mission and brought down the bodies from a height of 16,000 feet, according to the official. The team departed on the mission on Sept. 3 and retrieved the bodies today, Saturday.
“We found the bodies near the advance base camp at the right saddle of the mountain,” Imran Arif, a member of the recovery team, told Arab News, adding that all three had been identified.
Arif said he and his fellow had spotted the bodies while trekking on the mountain on August 12.
“We preserved the bodies and came back to Kel Valley. Four days ago, we went for the rescue mission and today their dead bodies have been shifted to a hospital of Kel Valley,” he said.
“State Disaster Management Authority, district administration, Rescue 1122 and Alpine Club of Pakistan played a good role in this mission.”
Ikram Junaidi, bother of late climber Imran Junaidi, told Arab News they would now find a final resting place for his brother.
“Many attempts were made to find them in the past. But after nine years, we got news about the retrieval of dead bodies. Being a brother and a Muslim, it was our dream to offer funeral prayers for him. Now we will get a chance,” he said. “What matters is the quality of life instead of quantity. My brother went for expeditions on unclimbed peaks.”
Ikram said his mother had lost all hopes of finding Junaidi’s body, but she would now find solace in the fact that her son’s body had finally been recovered.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s head coach Gary Kirsten will be scouting for cricketing talent in the upcoming Champions Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday, following a series of dismal performances by the national side.
Pakistan have been left reeling after their first-ever Test series loss to Bangladesh this month, the latest in a string of poor performances which have seen the game hit rock bottom.
The cricket-mad nation was left in despair after losing the second Test in Rawalpindi by six wickets on Tuesday as Bangladesh swept the series 2-0. It was the 10th winless home Test in a row for former powerhouses Pakistan.
However, the PCB has set its sights on the inaugural Champions One-Day Cup, due to take place at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad from September 12 to 29, to find new cricketing talent in the country.
“Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten will be arriving on 12 September to witness the entire Champions One-Day Cup and it will surely be exciting for him to work in the domestic circuit in order to look into the young talent with an eye on the upcoming white-ball assignments in Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, followed by the home tri-national series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025,” Nadeem Khan, a senior PCB official, was quoted as saying by the board.
“The Champions One-Day Cup will help us unearth future white-ball prospects for the Pakistan’s white-ball teams, also marking the start of the preparation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Having the Champions Cup in September will allow us to give an extended opportunity to the top performers of this tournament in International cricket before the mega-event commences home.”
Team mentors of the five sides in the tournament include Misbah-ul-Haq (Wolves), Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Dolphins), Shoaib Malik (Stallions) and Waqar Younis (Lions). The PCB also announced captains and provisional squads on Friday.
The tournament featuring top players from across the country will be a 50-over competition played on a single-league format. All matches will start at 3pm, except for the match between Lions and Panthers on September 16, which will begin at 9:30am.
Pakistan’s loss to Bangladesh came hard on the heels of chastening losses against Afghanistan and the USA in the ODI and T20 World Cups respectively.
Pakistan also have a dismal record in Tests at home in the past three years — six defeats and four draws, including England’s first-ever 3-0 series sweep there in 2022.
Ominously, in-form England are Pakistan’s next visitors and will play three Tests beginning in Multan on October 7.
Pakistan are not faring any better away from home and lost all three Tests in Australia earlier this year — their sixth successive whitewash there since 1999.
Analysts say frequent changes at the top of the PCB, which has had five chairmen in the past three years, have impeded progress. There have also been constant switches of captains and coaching staff while the domestic system of tournaments has had countless overhauls.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi himself called for “surgery in the system” after the T20 World Cup exit.
“We need to fix our problems,” he said last month. “But when we look at how to resolve them, we don’t have any solid data or player pool which we can draw from.”
Ex-skipper Wasim Akram echoed Naqvi’s analysis.
“The quality of our cricket has gone down with no grassroots activity, so we do not have proper back-ups,” he said recently. “We have a lot to work on.”
