Pakistan blow as Sarfraz Ahmed leaves Australia tour ( Pakstan )

Sarfraz Ahmed has become the second Pakistan player forced to return home this week in a troubled lead-up to Friday’s opening one-day international against Australia in Brisbane.

Captain Azhar Ali confirmed on Thursday that his team will be without their vice-captain and wicketkeeper for the opening game at the Gabba and possibly this month’s entire five-match series.

Azhar said Sarfraz had gone back to Pakistan to be with his mother, who is in intensive care in hospital.

Mohammad Rizwan will take the gloves for the first day-night match and could remain in the side if Sarfraz does not return to Australia.

The news comes just days after fast bowler Mohammad Irfan also left the team following the death of his mother.

“We’ll definitely miss Sarfraz tomorrow. Hopefully, he can rejoin the team but, as for right now, he’s not here,” Azhar told reporters.

Pakistan have retained half the players who were involved in 3-0 Test series wipeout to Australia for the ODI part of their tour.

Azhar said the addition of some new faces and Tuesday’s 196-run thumping of a Cricket Australia XI in a one-day practice game in Brisbane had helped lift the team’s mood.

“I know it wasn’t a very competitive game, but I still believe the batsmen who scored runs will get a lot of confidence,” he said.

“The bowlers had a good outing as well. There’s nothing like playing matches. It’s good to be out there no matter what sort of team you play against.”

Pakistan’s need for victories is even more urgent given they are currently the eighth-ranked one-day nation in the world, three rankings points ahead of the West Indies.

If they drop out of the top eight by September, they’ll miss out on automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup and be forced to enter a 10-team qualifying tournament in Bangladesh in 2018.

Australia can extend their lead in the ODI rankings if they can pull off a series whitewash.

Australia lead Pakistan 33-16 head-to-head in Australia, including 15 wins in 19 ODIs this decade.

work work work 22:17 No comments

Losing to Kansas should be Charlie Strong's last straw

Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin are probably thinking the same thing right now: It’s time for a coaching change.

Charlie Strong made that path painfully obvious with the Longhorns’ 24-21 overtime loss to a 1-9 Kansas team Saturday night. The embattled head coach’s time at Texas is likely coming to an end.

Fenves and Perrin badly wanted Strong to succeed. They respect him and believe he does things the right way. They believed he could get Texas turned around. They must know now that he can’t.

Strong seemed to recognize this, too, in his emotional and brief postgame news conference. He was asked if he knew what the loss meant for his long-term future. He said, "No, I don't. No idea." But he knows.

Moving on from Strong won’t be a painless procedure by any means. He’s worked hard and recruited well. His players love him. And he’s owed a $10 million buyout. But at least now Texas leadership can move swiftly with some peace of mind that they’re doing what must be done.

Because Texas cannot lose to Kansas. Texas hasn’t lost to Kansas since 1938. And Texas, 23-point favorites this time around, needed to beat Kansas to clinch a bowl bid. The Longhorns knew exactly what was at stake. And they blew it.

There’s no need to dive deep into the particulars of Strong’s 20th loss at Texas, because we’ll really remember this night only for the utter astonishment and the unthinkable numbers.

D'Onta Foreman, Strong’s Heisman-candidate running back, carried the ball 51 times. He ran for 250 yards. He fumbled twice. The Longhorns had six turnovers, the final one an interception by freshman quarterback Shane Buechele in overtime.

A close game that unraveled on late, costly mistakes is nothing new for Strong and the Longhorns. He's now lost 10 games by one-score margins. And the other 10 were blowouts by 18 points or worse. Victories over Notre Dame, Baylor and Oklahoma in the past two seasons inspired hope. Losses at Iowa State and now at Kansas were brutal reality checks.

Strong restocked the cupboards with talent at Texas. He assembled a group of good, young players. He found a quarterback. This season, Strong needed to prove he was the coach capable of winning big with those players. The bar after 6-7 and 5-7 seasons wasn’t even that high; eight wins would’ve been plenty. He couldn’t reach it.

Texas’ president and AD almost certainly have to go all-in on Houston coach Tom Herman now, offering him anything he wants in the belief Herman can take this team to that next level.

There’s a good chance Fenves and Perrin might’ve arrived at that conclusion anyway, even if Texas had survived in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday. But Kansas 24, Texas 21 is a rock-bottom moment for the program, one that shatters any belief Strong can still save the day.

Change appears to be coming in Austin, and it'll be tough for all involved. But there's no other choice.

work work work 22:31 No comments