Rizwan, Hasan Ali promoted to Category A in Pakistan’s central contract list Mohammad Rizwan and Hasan Ali are among twelve players who have earned promotions in the 20-player contract list released by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Hasan Ali, who was not contracted last year due to injury, has gained a place in the highest-earning Category A contract list after exceptional performance since the start of the year. Since his comeback into the side in 2021, Hasan Ali has picked up 40 wickets in 11 matches so far across formats which include 4 fivefors and a ten-wicket haul. He remains Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in international cricket in 2021. Fawad Alam and Fakhar Zaman both received promotions to Category B while Azhar Ali moved down from the previous year’s Category A spot to B. Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hasnain, and Nauman Ali are the new faces to be handed a contract in 2021-22. However, Shan Masood, Haris Sohail, Usman Shinwari, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, and Usman Shinwari have not
been retained this time. The 12-month contracts will run from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 with the list trimmed down from 21 to 20 which includes the three players - Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Usman Qadir - in the Emerging Category. PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said that the door remains firmly open for players who missed out while they stay committed to improving the value of contracts year on year. “Selecting 20 players amongst a big pool of quality cricketers is always a challenging task. I would like to thank the panel for their diligent work in selecting the 2021-22 central contract list against agreed criteria,” said Wasim Khan. “In the new list, we have seen eight new players
emerge who have now gained central contracts. Due to the competitive nature of the central contract system, nine players who had contracts in 2020-21 have sadly missed out on this occasion. The door remains firmly open for these players and they will continue to remain in the plans of the selectors. “Emerging Category recognises and rewards the up and coming talent. We have seen the emergence of Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain move from an Emerging Category to Category C, and the likes of Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir breaking into the Emerging Category. The Emerging Category remains a platform for young players to break into the central contract system,” added Wasim. “The equalisation of
match fees means that all players who walk out together to represent Pakistan will receive the same match fees irrespective of which category they are in, or whether they have a central contract or not. “Despite the challenging economic climate, we as the Pakistan Cricket Board believe that it is important to continue to show advancement in the value of central contracts. In the last two years, we have seen significant progress in central contract payments and we will remain committed to the principle of improving the value of contracts year-onyear.” Contract List: Category A – Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi Category B – Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah Category C – Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed Emerging Category – Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
Australian rugby sevens star Chloe Dalton ruled out of Tokyo Olympics with cheek fracture Australian rugby sevens star Chloe Dalton has been ruled out of the Tokyo Olympics after suffering a cheek fracture at a recent tournament in Townsville. Dalton, a member of Australia's gold-medal winning squad at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, said she would have surgery after sustaining the injury in a tackle at last week's Oceania Sevens. She said she was devastated at missing out on appearing at a second Games. "Writing these words is
Dalton suffered the injury playing for Australia at the Oceania Sevens She was a member of the Australian squad that won gold at the Rio Olympics
absolutely devastating, and makes it all feel so much more real," Dalton wrote in an Instagram post. "This past 18 months
Dalton will play the next AFLW season with the GWS Giants have been some of the most challenging in my life, and I've overcome so many
mental and physical battles to get to this point. Dalton said she was so proud of her teammates and their preparation for the Olympics. "These girls are the elite of the elite, and it has been such a huge honour to be playing alongside them," she wrote. Dalton will turn her attention back to her AFLW career, having completed a move from Carlton to GWS last month. She debuted for Carlton in 2019 but sat out the 2021 season to focus on rugby sevens.
Women's Soccer Adds National Champion Goalkeeper for 2021 Creighton women's soccer head coach Ross Paule continued to stockpile talent for the 2021 season, inking Ayama Aoyagi (Brisbane, Australia) from Tyler JC. Aoyagi appeared in 16 matches with 15 starts in 2020 as Tyler claimed the Junior College National Championship in June. She claimed 14 victories last season, with 10 shutouts. In 1,003 minutes, Aoyagi allowed just three goals,
while making 27 saves. During the national tournament, Aoyagi allowed just one goal in four matches. She was flawless in the semifinal and final. As a freshman in 2019, Aoyagi saw 540 minutes of action in 12 matches. She also allowed three goals in 2019, making 14 saves. She joins Tyler teammate Hitomi Yamaue, who also is joining the Bluejays in the fall of 2021.
44 — THE BRISBANE INDIAN TIMES, July, 2021
Finch maps out Australia's T20 World Cup blueprint ahead of West Indies series
Australia's contingent has landed in Saint Lucia, with a five-match T20I series on the itinerary before three ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs in Barbados. Aaron Finch leads a new-look squad on the tour, though declares that even with changes to his side and plans to experiment, winning as many matches as possible will be the best thing to carry momentum through to the T20 World Cup in October. “We’re obviously wanting to win every game that we play, every series that we play, so that’s first and foremost our absolute priority," Finch told the press upon arrival in Saint Lucia. “If there’s a chance to gather some information along the way, and maybe guys getting more of an opportunity, then we’ll take it as it comes.” Australia are yet to taste Men's T20 World Cup victory, with their runner-up finish at 2010's tournament the closest the side have come to filling the void in the trophy cabinet. Finch's Australian team in the format has usually comprised of six specialist batters and five bowlers, though the skipper admits the nature of the Saint Lucia surface and the absence of allrounder Glenn Maxwell force him to experiment with his tactics. “That was a model that had worked very well for us (in Australia). It worked well for us in South Africa as well, having six batters and five specialist bowlers and not deviating. I think the only time is when Maxy’s chipped in with a couple of overs when the conditions and the matchups have suited.” “I think in conditions like this (in Saint Lucia) where we expect the wickets to be a bit slower,
and again playing five games at the same venue, we expect that they’ll start turning a little bit more. We’ve seen that already in the South Africa/West Indies series.” Twenty players have made the trip for the tour, as the side attempt to build depth and improve its overall flexibility. Finch believes the preparation both in the Caribbean and on their Bangladesh tour in August will be crucial for their major tournament aspirations. “It’s a chance to tinker with that and give ourselves some more options up our sleeve when we’re planning the T20 World Cup squad and looking forward a little bit to that, just trying to get more information and not being hamstrung I guess by just playing one style of cricket the whole time.” On the World Cup moving to UAE and Oman, Finch believes most of their original strategy of playing in India should translate well in the new conditions. “Having played there (UAE) quite a bit over the last four or five years I think that we’ll be okay in terms of how our plan has gone, compared to if it was in India. “We expect the wickets to be pretty similar: little bit of turn, and probably turning more and slowing up as the tournament goes on.” After the World Cup, Australia are set to host a home Test match against Afghanistan and an Ashes series against England, though Finch reiterated that Australia intends to play their strongest sides despite the packed schedule. “It (the T20 World Cup) is the one bit of silverware that’s eluded us in our time and anyone who is available and is selected, there’ll be no management for Test cricket.”
