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Rain rescues teetering England as Pakistan get first point in Women’s World Cup

Published

2 weeks ago

October 15, 2025

Pakistan’s hopes of of a first victory at the Women’s World Cup were hit by rain on Thursday with their crucial fixture against England being abandoned after a second downpour at the at the R. Pramedasa Stadium in Colombo.

Chasing a revised target of 113 to win after earlier rains had reduced the match to 31 overs per side, Pakistan were 34-0 in 6.4 overs when rains returned to end any chance of the match being completed.

Fatima Sana shone with the ball earlier as England could only make 133-9 after being put into bat. The Pakistan skipper ended with figures of 4-27 that included three of the English top-order batters including their captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.

England’s innings was interupted in the 25th over when rains first arrived in the Sri Lankan capital before the game resumed several hours later.

Having lost their first three matches at the tournament, Pakistan needed a win to boost their chances of reaching the semi-finals and they looked a team on a mission.

Just in the second over of the first innings, Diana Baig struck after Tammy Bemaunt left one that jagged back in and took her off stump — a picture-perfect wicket for Pakistan’s front-line pacer after a no-ball earlier in the over.

Fatima followed it up with an even better delivery — pegging back Amy Jones’ middle stump with one that seamed back in after pitching in the corridor of uncertainty.

The Pakistani skipper followed it up with another booming inswinger to get her opposite number Nat Sciver-Brunt by making a mess of her stumps.

Heather Knight was the next to follow in the same over as England slumped to 39-4 in just the seventh over.

The English side were in all sorts of trouble at the end of the powerplay — losing half their side for just 54 led by Fatima’s three scalps.

Alice Capsey got a chance in the 18th over when Muneeba Ali dropped a regulation catch inside the circle at square-leg off the bowling of Rameen Shamim.

However, Rameem eventually got her scalp five overs later when Capsey missed a sweep and was adjudged lbw on a ball that — according to ball-tracking — would have hit the leg-stump.

Rain came to the rescue of the English batters as their innings was teetering along at 79-7 at the halfway mark of the innings.

Pakistan were by far the happier side going into the rain-induced break, but memories of Beth Mooney’s hundred that rescued Australia back from the brink of disaster after being 76-7 must have been on the minds of Fatima’s charges.

The players also observed a minute of silence in remembrance of squad member Shawaal Zulfiqar’s father, who passed away on Monday.

Last week‘s defeat against Australia left their knockout hopes hanging by a thread as Pakistan registered three losses on the trot and need a win today to keep their campaign alive.

Pakistan had made two changes in their side, with Aliya Riaz and Omema Sohail back in the team.

Speaking at the toss, Fatima said: “Pitch looks like it will spin, and we will want to take advantage. The spinners will want to take advantage … we want to bat longer, build partnerships. We need to finish off games.”

Pakistan women’s all-rounder Syed Aroob Shah said on Tuesday that the team was looking to “perform better with the bat” ahead of the England encounter.

Squad member Shawaal would be continuing with the squad after her father passed away in Sialkot, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on the same day.

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Babar Azam picked as Fakhar Zaman’s replacement for South Africa T20Is, says Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson

Published

10 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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After staying out of favour in the Twenty20 International format for Pakistan’s last five assignments, former skipper Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after Fakhar Zaman’s decided to skip it, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday.

Since Hesson took over the role in June, Babar hasn’t featured for Pakistan in T20Is with the national side playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-nation series followed by the Asia Cup during that period.

Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike-rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday raised suggested a change of mind for the coach before the New Zealander clarified it.

“I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We’ve sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation with him.

“He wanted to focus on improving his technique for one-day cricket, so we gave him a bit of a break from T20s. That’s created an opportunity for another top-order player.”

Hesson confirmed that Babar will take the number three spot instead of the batter’s preferred opening position, where he flourished for Pakistan for a substantial period before eventually falling in form and then out of favour.

The coach, however, has expectations from Babar to make a strong comeback and suggested he saw him in Pakistan’s plans for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in February-March next year in India and Sri Lanka.

“It’s a great chance to have Babar back,” said the coach. “He’s likely to bat at number three, a role I’m confident he’ll perform well in.

“It also gives our squad some flexibility ahead of the [T20] World Cup.”

‘Haris needs to work’

Babar’s unexpected return also coincided with the axing of wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris from the Pakistan squad even after he received ample backing from the team management across Hesson’s tenure so far.

The 24-year-old proved his mettle with a century against Bangladesh back in June but gradually lost form amid frequent change of batting positions.

Hesson believed Haris needed to go back to the drawing board to fix his issues.

“Haris has had a number of opportunities recently, and he’d be the first to admit he hasn’t made the most of them,” he said. “But he’s still young and developing, so I wouldn’t say his career is over.

“He needs to work on his decision-making with the bat. Even in domestic T20s, he averages around 17, similar to international cricket, so that’s an area for improvement.”

Haris has been replaced by Usman Khan — who last year gave up on a career in the United Arab Emirates to play for Pakistan before being eventually dropped. He emerged out of nowhere and Hesson said he sees the right-hander, who keeps wickets as well, as a good player of spin.

“We see our wicket-keeper batting more through the middle rather than at the top, especially with spin being such a big factor in Sri Lanka during the World Cup. That’s why Usman has been given this opportunity.”

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FIFA announces new ASEAN Cup for Southeast Asia

Published

11 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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A new tournament, the FIFA ASEAN Cup, will be launched as part of an agreement between FIFA and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), aimed at boosting the development of football across the region.

The announcement was made during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding.

The tournament will bring together national teams from all ASEAN member states in a format inspired by the Arab Cup, which was first organised by FIFA in 2021.

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“This will be a great addition to the regional football calendar,” Infantino said.

“Through the FIFA ASEAN Cup, we are uniting countries together, and this competition will be a huge success as it will help boost national team football in the ASEAN region and support the development of our sport across all of Southeast Asia.”

World football’s governing body will work with regional stakeholders including the Asian Football Confederation, the ASEAN Football Federation, and the relevant FIFA member associations to finalise the tournament’s format.

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