Let us look at some of the most-discussed cricket stories on the news on 17 September.
New Zealand abandon Pakistan tour following security concerns
New Zealand Men have abandoned their tour of Pakistan. The decision came after ‘an escalation in the New Zealand government threat levels for Pakistan’. The NZC has stated it will not comment on the details of the security threat as they plan for their contingent to return home.
New Zealand were scheduled to play Pakistan in the first of three ODIs in Rawalpindi on 17 September before moving to Lahore for a five-match T20I series.
Root's grandfather slams The Hundred
Don Root, the grandfather of England Test captain Joe Root, has slammed The Hundred, which had its inaugural edition in this July to August. In a letter to The Cricketer Magazine published on 17 September, Don Root compared the tournament to Covid-19.
‘The Hundred is among us. So is Covid and it's just about as welcome. We are constantly being lectured about the necessity to attract more funding to spread the gospel and nourish the grassroots of cricket,’ wrote Don Root.
He further opined that the tournament has led to the downfall of England’s Men in Test cricket. ‘Apparently this can only be done by an increase in some form of the white-ball version of the game. At what cost to the red-ball version? Onwards and downwards would appear to be the new ECB mantra. The results of this policy can be seen in the Test series.’
England’s unsure of touring Pakistan after New Zealand’s abandonment
The England and Wales Cricket Board has said it will decide ‘in the next 24-48 hours’ whether their Men’s and Women’s teams will travel to Rawalpindi next month. The development came hours after New Zealand abandoned its Pakistan tour, scheduled to begin on 17 September.
‘We're aware of New Zealand's decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert. We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation,’ ECB said in a statement.
England Men and women are scheduled to play two T20Is on 13 and 14 October before the Women's team play three ODIs on 17, 19 and 21 October.
Zimbabwe level T20I series against Scotland
Zimbabwe levelled the three-match T20I series against Scotland with a 10-run win in the second match at the Grange Cricket Club, Edinburgh.
Opting to bat, Sean Williams top-scored with an unbeaten 60 to take Zimbabwe to 136/5. In reply, Scotland were skittled out for 126 in 19.4 overs. Richie Berrington and Matthew Cross scored 42 runs each. Richard Ngarava returned excellent figures of 4-1-13-2