Fawad Ahmed tests positive for Covid-19
Australia’s spin-bowling consultant coach has begun a five-day isolation period after returning a positive Covid-19 result.
Ahmed was a member of the Lahore Qalanders’ squad in the PSL and travelled to Islamabad to begin his role with the Australian side on Monday after the Qalandars’ victory in the final.
He was tested on arrival and was isolating before he received the positive test result. It’s a huge blow for Ahmed, coming exactly one year after he contracted the virus during the 2021 edition of the PSL.
He is the second Qalandars player involved with the series to test positive after Haris Rauf was earlier ruled out of the first Test.
A simply marvellous prize
After playing for cricket’s tiniest trophy in the shape of the Ashes Urn, Australia now hope to claim what must be one of the sport’s largest pieces of silverware, the Benaud-Qadir Trophy.
The newly minted prize was unveiled at training on Wednesday as a perpetual trophy for future men’s bilateral Test series between Australia and Pakistan.
Although Richie Benaud and Abdul Qadir played Test cricket in different eras - Benaud in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Qadir following in the ‘70s and ‘80s - the two men were chosen in part because of their importance to the evolution of leg-spin.
Benaud’s wife, Daphne, said her late husband would have heartily approved: “Richie had a very high regard for Abdul and the fact that both were leg-spinners has a nice ring to it.” The trophy is certainly an imposing sight and if Pat Cummins’ team manage to win the trophy, they may need to charter a second jet to transport it back to Australia.
The return of the marble slab
Pakistan have taken a marble slab on tour with them to South Africa and Australia in the past and it has been dusted off and placed in the nets during preparations for the first Test.
The slab provides extra bounce and skid and the Pakistan players have used it in an attempt to replicate the bounce and skid of Australian and South African fast bowlers on harder pitches.
The appearance of the 25 kilogram slab at Rawalpindi will undoubtedly please Australia’s quicks and give them hope of a helpful pitch from Friday.
Wordle fever strikes the Aussies
The Australian players came to Pakistan well prepared to entertain themselves for several weeks in a tightly controlled security bubble.
Sporting News understands Mitchell Starc is hard to remove from the golf simulator, while several players brought Playstation consoles over in special flight cases.
But, despite all the high-tech gear on offer, a Wordle gang is growing in the camp.
It started when ACA Chief Executive, Todd Greenberg, introduced the word quiz to Pat Cummins and it has quickly spread from there, with Marnus Labuschagne one of the latest to succumb to the global fad.
"I sent my wife a screenshot of how many it took to get it and she beat me today,” said Labuschagne.
“So disappointing. But yeah, it seems fun. Actually me and Steve were playing it a bit on the bus on the way home.
So yeah, it seems to be the talk of the town, the Wordle.”
CA and ACA AOK
Greenberg was an influential supporter of Australia’s tour to Pakistan in getting players on board and he has been in the bubble along with CA’s CEO, Nick Hockley, who also played a huge role in this tour.
The relationship between the governing body and the player’s association has been much friendlier with the two men at the helm and they have been spotted chatting on the outfield during training.
It’s a stark contrast to the acrimonious dealings between the two organisations under previous leadership.
