JEDDAH: Sergio Perez stepped up for Red Bull to ensure the team started from the pole at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a mechanical issue sidelined two-time defending world champion Max Verstappen.
Verstappen was fastest in all three practice sessions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but his qualifying effort was cut short Saturday when he radioed “I have a problem. Engine, engine problem,” during the second session. The Dutchman drove to the pits, where a driveshaft issue was discovered, and Verstappen’s qualifying effort was over.
It left Perez as the lone Red Bull representative in the final round of qualifying and he went on to win pole for the second consecutive year — the only two poles of his career.
Verstappen will start 15th.
Charles Leclerc qualified second for Ferrari but will drop 10 positions at the start of Sunday’s race because of a grid penalty for exceeding the allotted electronics control unit on the car’s engine in the season-opening race.
The penalty to Leclerc pushes Fernando Alonso to the front row for the start after the Spaniard qualified third in his new Aston Martin ride. Alonso finished third in his season-opening debut race with Aston in Bahrain.
George Russell qualified fourth for Mercedes — four spots ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champion qualified eighth.
Carlos Sainz Jr. was fifth for Ferrari followed by Lance Stroll of Aston Martin. Esteban Ocon was seventh.
Oscar Piastri was ninth for McLaren and Pierre Gasly 10th for Alpine.
Logan Sargeant, the American rookie driving for Williams, was briefly atop the speed chart in the first qualifying group until his time was deleted for violating track limits. Sargeant’s tire had briefly touched an area of track considered off limits and the FIA quickly deleted his lap.
Sargeant later spun in the qualifying group in his desperate push to not qualify last. Had his earlier lap not been deleted, Sargeant would have advanced into the second round of qualifying.
Nyck de Vries missed Saturday morning practice with an engine problem then spun almost immediately at the start of qualifying, and Lando Norris of McLaren smacked the wall in the first qualifying group and had to go to the pits for repairs. It prevented him from advancing as his rookie teammate Piastri moved on to the third round for the first time in his career.
The Jeddah circuit is the second-longest track on the F1 circuit at 6.174 kilometers (3.836 miles) and was built alongside the Red Sea. It debuted as the penultimate race on the 2021 calendar and is considered the “fastest street track” on the schedule with average speeds exceeding 250 kmh (160 mph).
Sergio Perez on pole for Red Bull in Saudi Arabia for 2nd year running
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Sergio Perez on pole for Red Bull in Saudi Arabia for 2nd year running
- Verstappen was fastest in all three practice sessions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but his qualifying effort was cut short
- Charles Leclerc qualified second for Ferrari but will drop 10 positions
Manchester City stop the rot with victory at Leicester
Savinho and Erling Haaland struck either side of half-time as City ended a run of eight away games without a win.
The performance was still far from the standards that Guardiola’s side have set in winning an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles.
But the effusive celebrations of Haaland’s header 16 minutes from time showed that three points was all that mattered for the visitors to at least temporarily halt their remarkable slump.
Victory lifts City up to fifth but they are still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.
Defeat leaves Leicester still rooted in the bottom three.
Guardiola made just one change from the 1-1 Boxing Day draw against Everton as Kevin De Bruyne replaced his Belgian international colleague Jeremy Doku.
De Bruyne’s fitness struggles have played a part in City’s slump and he immediately showed what Guardiola’s men have been missing for most of the season.
Rico Lewis picked out De Bruyne, who cushioned a cross into the path of Haaland but his low effort was well saved by Leicester’s stand-in goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Leicester have now lost their last four games after a bright start to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s reign.
The Foxes were left to rue not taking their chances to inflict more misery on a City side still showing a clear lack of confidence.
Any time the home side crossed into City territory in the first half they appeared a major threat.
Jamie Vardy would surely have won a penalty had he not strayed offside before being brought down by Stefan Ortega, while James Justin’s header hit the post after a goalmouth scramble.
City, though, got the crucial opening goal on 21 minutes.
Stolarczyk should have done better than to parry Phil Foden’s long-range effort into the path of Savinho, who swept the rebound into the roof of the net for his first City goal.
Chances continued to come and go for Leicester early in the second half.
Justin should have levelled but his mishit finish from close range allowed Manuel Akanji to clear off the line.
Vardy then had the biggest chance to level when he prodded over Stephy Mavididi’s brilliant in-swinging cross.
However, they were hit by a City sucker punch to end the defending champions’ miserable run on the road.
Savinho was the creator this time as his cross perfectly picked out Haaland, who powered home his 19th of the season ending his four-game goal drought.
ICC nominates Pakistan’s Babar Azam for T20I Cricketer of the Year award
- Azam played 24 matches and collectively scored 738 runs at an average 33.54 run in last 12 months
- Others nominated for award include Sikandar Raza, Australian Travis Head and India’s Arshdeep Singh
ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has nominated Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam for its Twenty20 International (T20I) Cricketer of the Year award, saying no other Pakistan batter scored as many T20I runs as Azam in the last 12 months.
Other players nominated in the category include Sikandar Raza from Zimbabwe, Australian Travis Head and India’s Arshdeep Singh, according to the ICC.
Azam played 24 matches and collectively scored 738 runs at an average 33.54 run. His highest score was 75 against Ireland.
“With six fifties and close to a hundred boundaries, Babar was Pakistan’s mainstay and the year saw an improvement in his strike rate, with the batter clocking 133.21 runs every 100 deliveries,” the ICC said on its website.
“Still only 30, Babar is primed to break Rohit Sharma’s record as the highest run-getter in T20I cricket soon, sitting just eight behind the Indian’s mark of 4231 runs.”
The winners of the awards are likely to be announced in late January, 2025.
Pakistani Saim Ayub has also been nominated in the category of Emerging Cricketer of the Year along with Sri Lankan Kamindu Mendis, Shamar Joseph of West Indies and England’s Gus Atkinson.
Ayub scored 515 runs from nine one-day internationals (ODIs), averaging at 64.37.
“In Ayub, Pakistan found a new flamboyant southpaw at the top of their batting order. While Ayub was a consistent feature across all three formats, many of his best performances in 2024 came in ODIs,” the ICC said.
“As Pakistan won multiple away series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa to prime themselves for the ICC Champions Trophy defense, Ayub went big as an opener.”
In South Africa, the left-hander sizzled with two tons from the three games and finished as the Player of the Series in a 3-0 clean sweep — South Africa’s first at home. Ayub was also impressive in a low-scoring affair in Australia that saw Pakistan edge past the hosts to clinch their first ODI series triumph Down Under in 22 years.
The 22-year-old also provided Pakistan a handy option with the ball, claiming five wickets and boasting an economy rate of 4.63.
South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan
- Needing 148 runs to win, South Africa crashed to 99 for eight owing to superb bowling by Mohammad Abbas
- But Kagiso Rabada went on the attack, hitting 31 not out, before Marco Jansen hit the winning 16 runs
CENTURION: South Africa tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen hung in against relentless fast bowler Mohammad Abbas for a tense two-wicket win in the first test on Sunday and sealed the Proteas’ place in next year’s World Test Championship final.
Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas’ brilliant figures of 6-54 with a square driven boundary against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4 and escaped with a close win in the two-match series.
Abbas, making a comeback after more than three years in the test wilderness, had knocked back South Africa’s tricky chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch on Day 4 as the home team limped to 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs.
However, Rabada changed gears in an unbroken 51-run stand with Jansen and made an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable victory and denied Pakistan its first test win in South Africa in almost 18 years.
South Africa had started this WTC cycle with a loss against New Zealand, but since then the Proteas drew 1-1 in India and then went on to beat West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to stay on top of the table.
India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the other teams still in contention for next June’s WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s.
Captain Temba Bavuma (40) and Aiden Markram (37) had thwarted Abbas for an hour after South Africa resumed at a wobbly 27-3, still needing 121 for victory.
Bavuma’s controversial dismissal punctuated a South Africa collapse in the latter half of first session with Abbas grabbing three off his six balls in a sensational home team collapse.
Bavuma, who made 40, surprisingly didn’t request a television review when replays suggested that Abbas’ ball had brushed the batter’s pocket and didn’t make contact with the inside edge of the bat but the South African skipper walked back to the dressing room.
Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs, but had to wait as Markram and Bavuma saw off eight overs from the fast bowlers.
Resuming at 27-3, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas’ probing line and length before the fast bowler finally got the breakthrough after the first drinks break.
Abbas was rewarded for his brilliant seam bowling when he beat the outside edge of Markram’s bat and knocked back the off stump.
Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned an on-field lbw decision against him early in the day and Naseem Shah couldn’t hold onto a sharp catch at fine leg as he overstepped the boundary cushion while grabbing the ball over his head.
South Africa had controlled the game at 96-4 before Bavuma’s dismissal saw Abbas finding the outside edges of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bosch’s (0) bat off successive deliveries and in between Kyle Verreynne dragged Naseem Shah’s delivery back onto his stumps.
Abbas found the outside edge of Rabada’s bat in his first over after lunch that fell just short of wicketkeeper Rizwan before both tailenders took the team home.
ICC shortlists Pakistani batter Saim Ayub for Emerging Cricketer of the Year award
- Saim Ayub scored two centuries in recently concluded ODI series against South Africa
- He has been nominated alongside Kamindu Mendis, Shamar Joseph and Gus Atkinson
ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) this week shortlisted Pakistan’s new batting sensation Saim Ayub for the Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year award for his match-winning performances against South Africa and Zimbabwe this month.
Ayub has played six Test matches for Pakistan, scoring 323 runs at an average of 26.91 and scored three half-centuries. He has played nine ODIs, scoring 515 runs at an average of 64.37 with three centuries and a fifty already under his belt.
The aggressive opening batter’s two centuries against South Africa in the recently concluded ODI series has earned him critical acclaim and comparisons with former Pakistan batting legend Saeed Anwar.
“With nine categories in total, cricket fans around the world have the opportunity to cast their votes and help decide the winners of the ICC Awards 2024,” the ICC wrote on Saturday.
Ayub has been nominated for the award with Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis, West Indies’ bowler Shamar Joseph and England’s Gus Atkinson.
Pakistan are currently playing the first of their two-Test match series against South Africa in Centurion. The hosts have handed the Proteas a 148-run target, as South Africa struggle at 27/3 to chase the target.
Gilgit-Baltistan defeats Chitral in ice hockey match at Shandur Lake
- The match was part of Shandur Ice Sports Challenge held from December 24 to 28
- The ice hockey match was tied 2-2 before Gilgit-Baltistan won on penalty shootouts
PESHAWAR: Shandur Lake in Pakistan’s northern region hosted an ice hockey match on Saturday, with Gilgit-Baltistan defeating Chitral 4-3 in a penalty shootout, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Authority said.
The match concluded the Shandur Ice Sports Challenge, organized by the tourism authority, which was held from December 24 to 28 and featured competitions in ice hockey and speed skating.
While ice hockey remains a developing sport in Pakistan, it has gained traction in the northern regions, where freezing temperatures and frozen lakes create natural rinks.
“A large number of locals participated in the ice hockey event,” said Tashfeen Haider, Director General of the tourism authority. “The match at Shandur Lake demonstrates the region’s potential to host winter sports.”
Shandur is widely known for its annual polo festival, a tradition dating back to 1936, when British officials set up a polo ground at the Shandur Pass, located at approximately 3,700 meters above sea level.
The festival attracts teams from Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan and has become a significant cultural and sporting event.
The tourism authority informed that the ice hockey match at Shandur was tied 2-2 in regular time before being decided on penalty shootouts.
The match highlighted the growing interest in winter sports in Pakistan’s northern regions, which can help boost local tourism and community engagement.
