14 Sports Thursday, September 3, 2020 Black Caps coach gets Photo of the Day chance to avenge WCup loss in 2023 WELLINGTON: Black Caps coach Gary Stead’s contract was extended to the 2023 World Cup yes- terday giving the former Test batsman a chance to im- prove on his teams’ “gut-wrenching” loss in the 2019 tournament. New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said Stead’s reappointment followed a successful pe- riod for the Black Caps which has seen them reach number two in the Test rankings and three in one- dayers. “Winning an away Test series against Pakistan and a Test in Sri Lanka was a tremendous effort, as were the home Test series wins against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England and India,” he said. “We had no hesitation, after going through quite a process, in extending his contract.” White also praised the conduct of the team under Stead, particularly after they reached the 2019 World Cup final but lost to England on a technicality after the scores were tied. “To tie the World Cup final and miss out on win- ning the trophy through a countback was a gut- wrenching experience,” he said. “But I think we can all agree on how well the team played during that campaign and, equally, how well they conducted themselves afterwards.” Stead said it was “an honour and privilege” to be involved with the team. “I was motivated to keep working with the team, I’ve still got a lot of energy and feel I can continue to offer something,” he said. White confirmed the New Zealanders expect to host a full season of cricket during the Kiwi summer, with tours involving Pakistan, the West Indies, Aus- tralia and Bangladesh. He said discussions were un- derway with health officials regarding quarantine Nasser Al-Attyiah races at the Qatar Cross Country Rally in Qatar. —Photo taken from www.redbullcontentpool.com arrangements and a fixture list should be finalised in the next fortnight. — AFP Hafeez hails debutant Haider as Pakistan beat England Moeen is a joy to watch, very elegant: Morgan MANCHESTER: Veteran all-rounder Mohammad istan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed on seven, revived their Hafeez praised teenage debutant Haider Ali’s compo- hopes with 61. But when veteran paceman Wahab sure after the pair combined to set up Pakistan’s five- Riaz, in for the injured Mohammad Amir, ran out Chris run victory over England in their tour-ending third Jordan and then caught and bowled Moeen, England Twenty20 international at Old Trafford on Tuesday. were 174-8 with seven balls left. It was Pakistan’s first victory in 66 days of being They needed 12 off two balls when Tom Curran hit in a bio-secure bubble in England amid the coron- a six. But Curran could not repeat the shot when avirus and meant they squared this three-match se- paceman Haris Rauf bowled a last-ball yorker. ries at 1-1 after a 1-0 loss in last month’s three-Test “We had a plan and achieved a total and then series. bowled very well,” said Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Hafeez made 86 not out and Haider 54 in Pakistan’s the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 batsman, who was 190-4. There was a 20-year out for 21 on Tuesday. age gap between the 39-year- “Moeen played a superb old Hafeez and the 19-year-old knock but our bowlers did well Haider but you would not have to win the match,” added Babar, known it while they shared a who will remain in England to stand of exactly 100 after com- Good under play for Somerset in the ing together at 32-2. Twenty20 Blast. Hafeez’s knock followed his pressure Turning to the final over, 69 in England’s five-wicket win Babar said: “I told the bowler at Old Trafford on Sunday and (Rauf) to bowl yorkers. “One was his fourth fifty in his last ball he bowled a really bad ball five T20 international innings. Haider came in at 2-1 (the one hit for six by Curran) but that is part of the after opener Fakhar Zaman was out for one but game!” demonstrated a maturity well beyond his years during Meanwhile England captain Eoin Morgan was a 28-ball fifty featuring five fours and two sixes. pleased by Moeen’s return to form after the left- MANCHESTER: England’s Adil Rashid (R) makes his ground during the international Twenty20 cricket match between “He was good under pressure and just expressed handed batsman had managed just 10 runs in his pre- England and Pakistan at Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester, north-west England. —AFP himself,” said player of the series Hafeez of Haider in vious four white-ball international innings. a post-match interview with Sky Sports. “Moeen is a joy to watch, very elegant,” said Mor- “I was just trying to back him every time, tell him gan. “For him to come out and almost be the corner- out for just 10 after a mix-up with Tom Banton. And ing, legside six before pulling him for four to become ‘you are playing well, continue like that,’” he added. stone at the back-end of a victory was great.” when Banton was lbw for 46 to Rauf, England were the first Pakistan batsman to score a fifty on his T20 “It is great to see youngsters coming from our system England suffered a setback just four balls into their 69-4 before Moeen threatened to deny Pakistan. international debut. and performing well.” chase when Jonny Bairstow was bowled for a duck Haider, in after Moeen bowled Zaman, slog-swept Hafeez’s swept four off leg-spinner Adil Rashid England were 69-4 in their chase before Moeen by a superb yorker from left-arm quick Shaheen his second ball in international cricket for six. Haider saw him to a 31-ball fifty, including four sixes, before Ali, who should have been stumped by former Pak- Afridi. Morgan, fresh from his 66 on Sunday, was run struck Lewis Gregory’s first ball for an elegant, soar- Haider was bowled by Jordan. — AFP for next year’s T20 World Cup in India. Smith, however, insisted he was happy to Australia’s Smith There are those who believe there is still serve under Test captain Tim Paine and UFC teams up with a place for Root’s traditional batting skills white-ball counterpart Aaron Finch. “The taken aback by even amid the power and innovation of T20 guys we’ve got are doing great jobs across cricket and Australia have now recalled the formats,” he said. China to prepare Root’s T20 absence Smith, their leading Test batsman, into the “I’m pretty chilled at the moment doing Twenty20 side after a three-year absence what I’m doing, scoring as many runs as I athletes for Olympics from 2016-2019. can, fielding as well as I can and giving bits “It’s a surprise. Joe is a terrific player of advice here and there. I’m just enjoying SOUTHAMPTON: Australia star batsman across all formats of the game,” Smith told it so there’s no real thought from me (on SHANGHAI: The Ultimate Fighting Cham- conditioning, sports science, physical ther- Steve Smith believes England’s “surprising” Britain’s Press Association news agency on captaincy).” pionship will help train a range of Chinese apy and nutrition. Olympic athletes to get them in shape for “UFC is proud to partner with the Chi- decision to omit Joe Root from the upcom- Tuesday. Smith was jeered relentlessly by home ing Twenty20 series between the two sides next summer’s delayed Tokyo Games and nese Olympic Committee and be a valu- “I guess England are opting for all-out crowds during last year’s World Cup and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics under a able resource for their athletes,” said is a sign the hosts want to play an “all-out power and are continuing to go that way. Ashes in England, but the advent of behind power” game. deal announced yesterday. Although UFC- Kevin Chang, its Asia-Pacific senior vice- Everyone’s got different game-plans and closed doors cricket in response to the style mixed martial arts is not an Olympic president. “UFC built this (Shanghai) facil- Test captain Root has been left out of the different ways to go. If everyone played the coronavirus means there won’t be any bar- sport, the US-based promotion has ity to demonstrate its strong commitment squad for a three-match contest starting at same it would be a pretty boring game.” rackers present during the T20s and the reached a “multi-year” agreement with the to China and to serve elite-level athletes Southampton on Friday even though the Smith was clear about his role in Aus- three one-day internationals that follow Chinese Olympic Committee allowing the who want to develop their skills and likes of Jason Roy and Ben Stokes are un- tralia’s T20 top order. “I know if I’m batting later in September. country’s best athletes to draw on UFC achieve excellence in their respective available. with someone like Glenn Maxwell or Aaron “It’s just a shame there’s no crowds be- expertise and use its multimillion-dollar sports.” The Tokyo 2020 Games were He has not featured, however, in the Finch my role is to get them on strike and let cause we love entertaining and playing in performance institute in Shanghai. shifted from this summer to next because ongoing T20 series against Pakistan, them smack it,” he said.