PALLEKELE, SRI LANKA // Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, says his opening batsmen were struggling in the World Cup because they were unsure whether to play positively or just try to survive early overs.
"At the moment, boys [openers] are thinking let's play 15 overs, but don't lose wickets and another way they are thinking is to play their positive game," Afridi said.
Openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have scored just 93 runs between them in four matches as their poor starts have put the middle-order under pressure and the team failed to cross the 200-run mark against Canada and New Zealand.
"It's a very good combination [of openers] but the boys are not performing," Afridi said ahead of tomorrow's Group A match against Zimbabwe. "We are trying to give them confidence to perform."
Umar Akmal, the middle-order batsman, suffered another minor injury when he twisted his ankle while playing football during training at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. But he returned to the fielding session with his left ankle heavily strapped.
Akmal also bruised his index finger during fielding practice on Thursday and since then has not batted in the nets.
However, Afridi insisted Akmal was still under consideration for Monday's game. If Akmal could not regain full fitness, Asad Shafiq could get his first World Cup game.
Pakistan have six points from three wins and Afridi was targeting a quarter-finals berth with a win over Zimbabwe, who has just two points after four matches.
Pakistan to host first series in two years
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will host a team from the Indian Punjab in June for a limited-overs series as the country takes steps towards reviving international cricket on home soil following a two-year absence.
No international or representative cricket has been played in Pakistan since March 2009 after militants attacked the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
Today, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, confirmed an agreement had been reached with India's Punjab Cricket Association for a bilateral series in June and September in the Punjab provinces of the neighbouring countries.
"The governments of both countries have given the green light for the series to take place and the Indian Punjab team is also visiting Pakistan with the approval of the Indian cricket board," Butt told the Dawn daily newspaper.
New Zealand await on injury worry to Mills
New Zealand team management said it was too early to draw firm conclusions about the injury to paceman Kyle Mills, who limped off while bowling in Sunday's match against Canada. Mills, who opened the bowling in his team's 97-run win, left the field after only 2.4 overs of his spell, in which time he took 2-2.
The media manager Ellery Tappin said no firm conclusions could yet be drawn. "It was a strain in the quadriceps of his left leg. He will be kept under 48-hour observation," he said.
Captain Daniel Vettori also missed the match due to a knee injury but is expected to return to the side for Friday's game against Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh weigh-up spin option
Fresh from victory over England, Bangladesh may try to put the squeeze on the Netherlands by playing an extra spinner on a low, slow wicket in their quest to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
The co-host meets the Dutch tomorrow with four points from two wins, against Ireland and England, but they needs to win their two remaining games in Group B to reach the last-eight.
Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons said Bangladesh might add Sohrawardy Shuvo as another spin option. "
They have got a lot of right-handers in the team, it will be difficult for them if we put another left-hander in," he said.
Andre Both: Ireland have missed opportunities
Andre Botha, the all-rounder says Ireland have missed opportunities to win games at the World Cup, leaving the underdogs with two must-win matches and only a remote chance of a quarter-final place.
Ireland's only win over England could be rendered insignificant after the Irish fell just short in their opening Group B game against Bangladesh and then allowed a winning position to slip away against West Indies last week.
Botha said the Irish had created chances to win all its games so far "and now we're sitting at this stage where we basically have to win two games."
Ireland have to beat Botha's country of birth, South Africa, on Tuesday and then Netherlands to have any chance of extending their stay at the World Cup.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Honeymoonish
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IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
Bournemouth 0
Manchester United 2
Smalling (28'), Lukaku (70')
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group F
Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)
MATCH INFO
Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Brief scores:
Toss: India, opted to field
Australia 158-4 (17 ov)
Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24
India 169-7 (17 ov)
Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22
Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.