ISLAMABAD: Shan Masood will lead Pakistan in the upcoming Test series against England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday, despite the national side losing five Tests under his captaincy.
The Pakistan cricket selectors announced a 15-player squad on Tuesday for the first Test against England, set to take place in Multan from 7-11 October.
Masood was retained as captain despite some media reports suggesting the 34-year-old had faced an axe after Pakistan’s shocking 2-0 loss to Bangladesh last month.
“Following the squad announcement and based on the recommendation of head coach Jason Gillespie, the selected players have been withdrawn from the Champions One-Day Cup playoffs to allow them some rest ahead of the series,” the PCB said in a statement.
“The squad will assemble in Multan on Monday, 30 September, with the training camp commencing on 1 October.”
Pakistan had never lost to Bangladesh before the twin defeats took Masood’s record to five losses since replacing Babar Azam as skipper in November last year. He lost his first series 3-0 in Australia.
The first of three Tests against England starts in Multan from October 7, the second will be played in the same city from October 15 and the third in Rawalpindi from October 24.
“With a busy domestic and international cricket schedule, it makes sense to give our players some much-needed rest ahead of the Test series against England,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by the PCB.
“We are very much looking forward to the series against England here in Pakistan and cannot wait for it to begin. We are excited about playing in front of our wonderful supporters.”
Pakistan squad:
Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan announce squad for first England Test, retain Shan Masood as captain
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Pakistan announce squad for first England Test, retain Shan Masood as captain
- Masood was retained as captain despite media reports suggesting he had faced an axe after Pakistan’s 2-0 loss to Bangladesh
- Pakistan had never lost to Bangladesh before the twin defeats took Masood’s record to five losses since replacing Babar Azam
Terrific Terrier backheel helps lift Leverkusen back to fourth
- The 2023-24 champions had lost their previous two Bundesliga matches and dropped to sixth
- Terrier’s no-look backheel and captain Robert Andrich’s header ensured Leverkusen will end the weekend in the Champions League places
BERLIN: A backheeled goal from Martin Terrier set Bayer Leverkusen on the way to a 2-0 win over derby rivals Cologne on Saturday, returning the hosts to fourth in the Bundesliga.
The 2023-24 champions had lost their previous two Bundesliga matches and dropped to sixth after Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt won earlier on Saturday.
But Terrier’s no-look backheel and captain Robert Andrich’s header ensured Leverkusen will end the weekend in the Champions League places.
“This win was a must,” sporting director Simon Rolfes told Sky Germany.
“When you lose two Bundesliga games in a row, you have to win the next one, not just because it’s the derby, but for the standings.”
The derby between the Rhine neighbors had an uneasy atmosphere. Hundreds of ultras from both sides boycotted the match, with a Cologne fan group complaining of “inappropriate” and “very intense” police checks, according to German sports magazine Kicker.
Just after halftime, Malik Tillman had a golden chance to put Leverkusen in front when one-on-one with Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwaebe but blasted over the bar.
The hosts broke through in spectacular fashion when Terrier somehow connected with a misplaced pass, looping it over the goalkeeper on 66 minutes.
Andrich’s header six minutes later gave Leverkusen breathing space.
- Frankfurt ‘lack freshness’ -
Earlier on Saturday, a brilliant solo goal from Ritsu Doan gave Frankfurt a hard-fought 1-0 win at home to Augsburg.
Victory moved Frankfurt, who have struggled to manage domestic and European commitments this season in just their second Champions League campaign, up to sixth.
“You can see we lack a bit of freshness,” Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoeller told reporters, adding: “The last six months have been very stressful.
“Today’s performance was one driven by great willpower.”
Augsburg had two strikes chalked off by VAR early against a shaky Frankfurt defense who had conceded 15 goals in their past five games.
Midway through the second-half, Japan international Doan weaved through four Augsburg defenders before hitting a deflected shot past Finn Dahmen.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim stayed fifth thanks to a commanding 4-1 home win over Hamburg, their sixth victory in their past eight league games.
Grischa Proemel, Ozan Kabak, Tim Lemperle and Fisnik Asllani scored for Hoffenheim, while Hamburg’s Rayan Philippe notched a late consolation goal before missing a stoppage time penalty.
Christian Eriksen sparked Wolfsburg to a 3-1 win away at Borussia Moenchengladbach to continue the Wolves’ recent resurgence.
Dangling near the relegation spots for much of the season, Wolfsburg have claimed seven points in their last three matches to climb to 13th.
St. Pauli claimed a first win since September, 2-1 at home to Heidenheim despite going down to 10 men just before halftime.
