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Upcoming season of WBBL to be staged across Australia after two years of disruption

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 Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday announced that the upcoming season of women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), comprising 59 matches, will be staged all across Australia after two years of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and state border closures.

The eighth edition of the tournament will begin with Brisbane Heat hosting rivals Sydney Sixers under lights in Mackay on Thursday, October 13 and the final is scheduled for November 27. Matches will be staged in all six states as well as the ACT, with a total of 14 metro and regional venues to host games.

The return of WBBL to teams playing at their home venues is a piece of joyful news for fans of Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars, with the clubs set to host matches in Victoria for the first time since 2019 as matches will be played at Junction Oval, Ballarat’s Eastern Oval and Moe’s Ted Summerton Reserve.

“The WBBL evolving into more of a prime time competition is exactly what it merits and it’s a great evolution for the competition. I think those festival weekends have proven really popular, and I think the players really enjoy them and fans love being able to see lots of cricket on one weekend.”

“But equally, in previous years we’ve had smaller festivals midweek, which is what we’ve been able to largely avoid this year and been able to move those midweek games into more standalone matches. More than ever, we’ve got one-off matches on an individual night, which just lends itself to sort of bigger crowds and bigger audiences. Ultimately, I think it’s one of the strongest schedules we’ve had, if not the strongest since we moved to a standalone season,” Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia’s Head of the Big Bash, was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

Sydney Sixers fans will be able to watch the Sixers and Sydney Thunder at North Sydney Oval and Blacktown International Sportspark, while the Thunder will also host a game at Canberra’s Manuka Oval. Hobart Hurricanes also make a return to hosting matches at Blundstone Arena and Latrobe Recreation Ground.

Brisbane Heat will return to the redeveloped Allan Border Field for the first time since 2019, while Adelaide Strikers will host Melbourne Stars at Nuriootpa’s Centennial Park and also at the Karen Rolton Oval. Perth Scorchers will once again host matches at both the WACA Ground and their popular Lilac Hill festival venue

Dobson pointed out that the WBBL has avoided a clash with the Men’s T20 World Cup, to be held from October 16 to November 13. “Ultimately, (the World Cup) hasn’t caused us too much disruption, partly because the venue mix is pretty separate and equally, the Australian matches in the World Cup are something we’ve been able to avoid.”

Perth Scorchers are the defending champions of the competition, defeating Adelaide Strikers in the final last year.

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Centre approves reopening of 32 airports as tensions ease on India-Pakistan border

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New Delhi, May 12: The Centre on Monday issued the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to reopen the 32 airports that had been shut down since May 9 due to the cross-border drone and missile attacks following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre of 26 tourists by Islamabad-backed terrorists.

The airports that will gradually reopen include Chandigarh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhuntar, Kishangarh, Patiala, Shimla, Kangra-Gaggal, Bathinda, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Halwara, Pathankot, Jammu, Leh, Mundra, Jamnagar, Hirasar, Porbandar, Keshod, Kandla and Bhuj.

The airports will be opened gradually as, although the ceasefire announced following the Pakistan DGMO’s (Director General of Military Operations) request is largely holding, the government does not want to take any chances.

“The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir and other areas along the International Border. No incidents have been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” according to a statement issued by the Indian Army on Monday.

The opening of these airports which are close to the Pakistan border reflects a de-escalation in the cross-border hostilities which saw India successfully launching ‘Operation Sindoor’ to avenge the Pahalgam killings.

The reopening of these airports will help to restore normalcy in flight operations which have undergone widespread disruption due to the conflict.

Meanwhile, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Monday that operations at the airport are “currently smooth,” however, due to changing airspace conditions and increased security measures, some flight schedules and security checkpoint processing times may be affected.

The airport management has advised passengers to follow updates and instructions from their airlines, allow extra time for security checks due to heightened measures and adhere to hand baggage and check-in luggage regulations.

Passengers have been advised to check the latest flight status through their airline or the official Delhi Airport website.

Although an agreement for a ceasefire was reached on Saturday, the government is not taking any chances on the security front.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on Sunday with the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff to take stock of the latest situation.

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PCB postpones men’s domestic tournaments with immediate effect amid India-Pak tensions

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Lahore, May 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday announced the immediate postponement of all men’s domestic tournaments in the country owing to escalating cross-border tensions with India.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board confirms that the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-II, Regional Intra-District Challenge Cup, Inter-District U19 One-Day tournament have been postponed with immediate effect due to prevailing security condition in the country.”

“The tournaments will resume from the same stage later and a revised schedule will be shared closer to the resumption,” said the PCB in its official statement on Saturday.

Previously on Friday, after the BCCI paused IPL 2025 for a week due to growing tensions between the two nations on the border areas, the PCB had announced it has postponed the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for an indefinite period, citing the advice given by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The tournament’s postponement news came hours after PCB claimed it was going to host the remaining eight matches of the tournament in the UAE, though the organisation didn’t specify the dates or venues of those rescheduled matches.

PSL’s future had come under great uncertainty after a drone had crashed at a food street near the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium, which resulted in Thursday’s match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings being postponed indefinitely.

Two weeks after 26 people were gunned down by terrorists in Pahalgam – a popular tourist destination in Jammu & Kashmir, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.

Pakistan continued its aerial attacks, comprising drones and missiles, on Indian border cities as well as across other military stations in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat on Friday. But all of them were successfully foiled by India’s defence systems.

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IPL 2025 suspended indefinitely, BCCI cites national interest

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New Delhi, May 9: Amid the escalating military conflict between India and Pakistan, the BCCI has decided to suspend the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season indefinitely in an emergency meeting on Friday, sources told Media.

After Thursday’s IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was called off after 10.1 overs of play at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala following the air and drone strikes from Pakistan which resulted in blackouts in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur, all of which are in close proximity to Dharamshala, the future of the tournament looked uncertain and BCCI convened emergency meeting to decide the way forward.

“IPL to be suspended, BCCI will issue detailed information anytime soon, the BCCI sources told Media on Friday. “Yes, the meeting just got over. After discussing with all the concerned authorities, this decision was made. Further details will be shared by the BCCI, ” it added.

“BCCI wants to stand with the nation at this time and thus suspends IPL 2025 with immediate effect. It’s indefinite at the moment (on a window to resume IPL 2025 in future). It will only happen if there will be time later in the year. But for now nothing,” said IPL sources to Media.

Following the abandonment of the Dharamshala match, several Australian players involved in the league reportedly expressed anxiety over their safety.

A special train has been arranged to evacuate both Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals players and support staff members, match officials, commentators, broadcast crew members and other key personnel associated with IPL 2025 to get them to a safe place.

After India launched precision strikes targeting nine high-value terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok), in response to the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, Pakistan attempted to engage in number of military targets in Northern and Western India on May 7-8.

India on Thursday morning targeted the Air Defence Radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan, during which the one at Lahore has been neutralised.

Later, Pakistan launched aerial attacks on Jammu as well as several military stations near the western border, but those were successfully foiled by India’s air defence systems.

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