Williamson confident he’ll be fit for England Tests

Wellington: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is confident of regaining full fitness and recover from an “ongoing niggle” before the start of the two-Test series against England beginning November 21. Williamson is not part of the ongoing five-match T20I series because of a hip injury and Tim Southee is leading the Black Caps in his absence. “It’s been an ongoing niggle, really,” he said. “That comes at goes. It is settling, which is nice. A lot of (the last few months) has been rehab to get the hip right.”

Dhaka
Shakib turns to football after being suspended 

Shakib Al Hasan, who was recently banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for failing to report corrupt approaches made to him, has turned to football. Shakib represented a football team by the name of Footy Hags for a match against the Korean Expat Team at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in Dhaka. “We played 11 a side on a full size pitch at the Army Stadium against the Korean Expat team today. We won 3-2. Good to have Shakib Al Hasan back in the Footy Hags Team,” Footy Hags said in a Facebook post.

New Delhi
BCCI schedules its AGM on December 1

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) will have its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) in three years under Sourav Ganguly’s leadership in Mumbai on December 1 where the old guard of the BCCI would like to revisit the amended constitution as per Supreme Court’s August 9, 2018 order. Since it’s the prerogative of an elected body to call an AGM, the BCCI had to wait for the newly-elected set-up under Ganguly to take charge at a General Body meeting in Mumbai on October 23. “We have received a circular from BCCI that the AGM will be held on December 1 in Mumbai,” an office-bearer of a state unit said. — Agencies

Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia)
India U-19 boys suffer 4-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia

India bowed out of the race for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championships qualification after a 0-4 defeat to Saudi Arabia here. The home side opened the scoring in the second minute through Mohammad Khalil Marran. Midfielder Ahmad Albassas made it 2-0 in the 10th minute. As India pushed forward to reduce the deficit, Albassas scored his second of the game in the 18th minute at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium on Friday. He completed his hat-trick in the 28th minute,converting a low cross from the left flank. 

New Delhi
Tennis star Prajnesh's father passes away   

India's top singles tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran lost his father SG Prabhakaran on Saturday, about three weeks before he is to get married. Prabhakaran was not keeping well for the last few months. Prajnesh's marriage is fixed for November 28 in Cochin.

Los Angeles
US women's football team certified as class in lawsuit   

The US Women's national team won a key court ruling in its equal pay lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation when a California court granted class certification to players. The ruling said it was proper to consider the suit a class action since all sought the same relief and raised the same issues regarding inferior pay and other compensation compared to their less successful male counterparts.

New Delhi
Dennerby named India U17 women's football team coach

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday confirmed the appointment of Thomas Dennerby as the head coach of the Indian women’s U-17 team for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020. Agencies