England captain Stokes to donate Pakistan match fees to flood relief appeal

By Sports Desk November 28, 2022

England captain Ben Stokes says he will donate his match fees to the Pakistan Floods Appeal during his side's Test tour of the country this week.

The tourists will kick off their three-match series in Rawalpindi on Thursday, in what is their first visit for red-ball cricket since 2005.

Stokes, who helped fire England to T20 World Cup glory against Pakistan in Australia earlier this month, is taking charge of his first overseas trip since succeeding Joe Root as captain.

But amid fierce weather that rocked the country earlier this year, the captain says he will be donating his earnings from the tour to relief causes throughout his stay.

"The floods that devastated Pakistan earlier this year [were] very sad to see," he wrote in a statement on social media.

"The game has given me a lot in my life and I feel it's only right to give something back that goes far beyond cricket."

Meanwhile, head coach Brendon McCullum says his side will be looking to maintain an offensive approach to their game after a successful year so far.

England won six of their seven Tests on home soil earlier this year and the New Zealander says there will be no change for their journey abroad.

"We'll be pushing for results, but we want to play entertaining cricket," he told BBC Sport. "There may be a time where you risk losing to win and if Pakistan are good enough to beat us, that's cool too."

"Our goal is to make Test cricket a sport which people want to turn on and be prepared to pay their money for, and they walk away entertained.

"With some of the conditions we'll be faced with, it might push us into that more aggressive style, which we like anyway."

Related items

  • Zimbabwe crush Pakistan in rain-affected ODI series opener Zimbabwe crush Pakistan in rain-affected ODI series opener

    Zimbabwe's spinners took centre-stage as they earned a crushing 80-run victory over Pakistan in the teams' rain-affected ODI opener on Sunday.

    Torrential rain, thunder and lightning halted play after 21 overs of the Pakistan innings, with the tourists toiling at 60-6 after bowling Zimbabwe out for 205.

    Sean Williams, Blessing Muzarabani and Sikandar Raza each scalped two wickets apiece as no Pakistan batter surpassed the 19 runs managed by Mohammad Rizwan.

    The dismal weather would ensure no further play was possible, with Pakistan having completed the requisite 20 overs to ensure a result would be declared, ensuring Zimbabwe won on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

    Richard Ngarava had earlier top-scored for Zimbabwe with a steady 48 off 52 balls, with Raza adding an important 39 from 56 deliveries after the hosts had been dropped to 99-5.

    Salman Agha and Faisal Akram finished with three wickets apiece for Pakistan, but it was not enough to prevent Zimbabwe from being declared comfortable victors, with their total some way clear of the DLS par score of 141. 

    Data Debrief: Zimbabwe end Bulawayo hoodoo

    Zimbabwe's victory may not have come in the circumstances they would have envisaged, but it did end their dismal run against Pakistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

    They had lost each of their previous eight matches against Pakistan at the venue, only winning one of their last nine there overall (one draw, seven defeats), after winning three of their previous four.

    They will hope to carry this momentum into Tuesday's second match at the same venue, as they bid to clinch victory in the three-match series.

  • Greaves hits unbeaten ton as West Indies dominate Bangladesh Greaves hits unbeaten ton as West Indies dominate Bangladesh

    Justin Greaves hit an unbeaten century – his first red-ball ton – as West Indies ended day two of their first Test against Bangladesh with a commanding 410-run lead.

    Greaves resumed alongside Joshua Da Silva with West Indies 250-5 after day one in Antigua, eventually slamming 115 runs off 206 balls faced as the hosts established a dominant position.

    His steady knock ensured the Windies recovered nicely after slipping to 261-7 early on, while Kemar Roach hit a career-best 47 through four defiant hours at the crease.

    Hasan Mahmud took three day-two wickets for Bangladesh, including that of Roach, as his short delivery angled in to clip the top of middle stump.

    Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite declared to put Bangladesh at the crease late on, and there was no respite for the tourists against the hosts' four-man pace attack.

    Zakir Hasan fell to Jayden Seales for 15, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy edged Alzarri Joseph for five shortly after being dropped, leaving Bangladesh 40-2 at stumps.

    Data Debrief: Career-best for Greaves

    Greaves' unbeaten 115 marked his first century in Test cricket, surpassing his previous best knock – a score of 33 versus Australia in January – by some distance.

    His strike rate of 55.83 on Saturday, while steady, also bettered his effort of 55.00 during that match in Brisbane. Thanks to his efforts, Bangladesh have a real mountain to climb on day three.
     

  • Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock

    Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.

    The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.

    After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.

    Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*). 

    "It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.

    "When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"

    Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.

    "Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."

    During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.

    Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.

    "I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.

    "The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.

    "It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.