England captain Ben Stokes believes “phenomenal” Chris Woakes can lead his team’s bowling attack as they start life without James Anderson as the new-ball spearhead. Anderson retired from international duty following an innings and 114-run rout of the West Indies in the first Test at Lord’s last week. The 41-year-old took 704 Test wickets — the most by any fast bowler in the format’s history — during an England-record 188 matches. With Stuart Broad having retired after last year’s Ashes series against Australia, it means England are now without the pair’s combined 1,308 Test wickets as they head into the…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam and top-order batter Fakhar Zaman were recently seen struggling against young pace bowler Ubaid Shah during a practice session. Ubaid, who is the younger brother of star pace bowler Naseem Shah, has represented the Pakistan Under-19 team as well as the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Islamabad United. Hunain Shah, their third brother, is also part of the United franchise. In a viral video, Ubaid is seen bowling to Babar and Fakhar in the nets, making them struggle to play with his pace and swing. The young pacer bowls an outside off-stump delivery to Babar…
Pakistan Shaheens under the leadership of Sahibzada Farhan will take on Bangladesh ‘A’ in the first of the two four-day matches in Darwin, Australia on 19 July. The second four-day match will commence next Friday, 26 July, which will be followed by two One-Day matches on 4 and 6 August, and then the nine-team Top End T20 series from 9-18 August. This is the first time since 2008 that the two development sides of Pakistan and Bangladesh will play against each other. Sixteen years ago, the Pakistan Academy side toured Bangladesh and won both matches by eight wickets against Bangladesh…
Senior batter Rohit Sharma is set to cut his vacation short and return early to lead India in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, Indian media reported on Thursday. India will tour Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI and T20I series. The upcoming white-ball tour will mark Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment after being appointed as India’s head coach, preceding Rahul Dravid, who stepped down after guiding the team to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 glory. Earlier, reports emerged that senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah would skip the ODI series against Sri Lanka to…
PARIS: Europe is supposed to fully switch to electric vehicles in little over a decade, but sales growth of the climate-friendly vehicles stalled in the first half of the year, data showed Thursday. Instead, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed that the modest 4.4 percent overall growth in the sales of new cars in Europe came primarily from hybrid vehicles. Sales of hybrids, not including plug-in hybrids, rose by 21 percent to just over 2 million, or nearly 30 percent of the market. Sales of battery electric vehicles ticked 1.6 percent higher, to 954,094 units, or 13.9…
Islamabad: In a positive development for the national economy, foreign investors have expressed interest in the privatization of First Women Bank. According to sources, the government of Pakistan has expedited the process of privatizing First Women Bank, and the UAE government has shown interest in privatization of the bank, sources added. Sources said that efforts have been made for a government-to-government privatization plan for First Women Bank since February 2024. The privatization of First Women Bank is expected to improve the bank’s performance and attract more foreign investment in the country, sources added. In February, the federal government of Pakistan…
Incarcerated PTI leader Imran Khan “will remain imprisoned for the foreseeable future” despite his successful legal appeals in April and June, Business Monitor International (BMI), an arm of the Fitch credit ratings agency, has said in its latest country risk report for Pakistan. The comprehensive report, a copy of which became available to Dawn.com today, includes 10-year forecasts extending to 2033. The report covers macroeconomic and political factors to provide insight into emerging trends in the country. The prediction came after an Islamabad district and sessions court recently accepted the appeals filed by Khan and his spouse against their conviction in the…
LONDON: Britain’s King Charles set out Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s legislative agenda on Wednesday, promising a government of service focused on reviving the economy and tackling issues from an acute housing shortage to a cost of living crisis. In a ceremony full of pageantry, before an audience of robed lords and lawmakers, Charles read out the laws the government is prioritising after Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party won a large majority at this month’s election. The package of more than 35 bills will focus on growing the economy, reforming planning laws to make it easier to build homes and speeding up…
TAIPEI: Taiwan should pay the US for its defence as it does not give the country anything, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek, sending shares of Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC lower on Wednesday. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100% of our chip business. I think, Taiwan should pay us for defence,” Trump said in interview on June 25 that was published on Tuesday. “You know, we’re no different than an insurance company. Taiwan doesn’t give us anything,” he added. The United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier,…
A blaze struck a shopping centre in China which claimed at least eight lives while the emergency workers in Zigong city rescued 30 others, a state broadcaster reported on Wednesday. The fierce fire incident prompted a large-scale search and rescue operation at the shopping mall to rescue people who remained trapped inside the 14-storey building. Images and videos on social media platforms showed a huge column of black smoke billowing from the shopping mall. According to the state media CCTV, the fire broke out in a shopping centre in Zigong, a city in China’s western province of Sichuan, at around 6pm…
