Sports
Momentum Under Mike Hesson | The Express Tribune
The 51-year-old understands how to operate in Pakistan’s politically-charged cricket environment
Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson speaks to the media in Dubai. PHOTO: AFP
When Mike Hesson signed up for the Pakistan coaching gig, the country was in the midst of aerial combat with its nuclear-armed neighbour.
Additionally, none of his prior coaching appointments would have had a cricket board chief who is also the country’s interior minister.
Now six months into a 2-year contract, Hesson seems to have navigated the opening spell on a difficult pitch.
The 51-year-old understands how to operate in Pakistan’s politically-charged cricketing environment, having coached Islamabad United.
In press conferences and interviews, he demonstrated confidence in a PCB, which, even at the best of times, is under severe scrutiny from its fans.
The Pakistan coaching job not just entails managing a cricket team, but also the egos of its administrators.
Hesson’s predecessors would have asked him to stay far away from the PCB.
World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten, who was reported to have signed a 2-year contract, resigned after six months.
Similarly, his replacement, Jason Gillespie, had a bitter pay dispute with the Board.
This was the backdrop under which the Kiwi signed up for the job.
Then came the Asia Cup and with it a unique crisis. Anyone, from a player to an administrator, would have been at a loss on how to handle an opposing side on a cricket field that would play a match, but refuse to shake hands after. Images then emerged of Hesson going with Salman Ali Agha to the Indian dressing room to convince them to put up a good show of sportsmanship.
Being involved in diplomatic overtures would have come under “other duties as assigned” on the job description, and Hesson could have very well declined to intervene. Yet he did, and it is showing the Kiwi as someone who is in tune with the kind of character a Pakistani dressing room, its administration, and the country can get behind.
Figuring out Pakistan cricket
In one of his first pressers for the national team, he agreed with the decision not to include Babar Azam, even giving a plan for what the world’s leading run-scorer in T20Is needed to do to get back in the side. Just a month into dropping Babar, the Sydney Sixers made him one of the most expensive players in the history of the Big Bash League (BBL). This could not have given much confidence in axing a player so highly revered.
Yet he stuck to it, and nearly seven months into the job, Hesson has now coached Pakistan in 24 T20Is, where his record so far has been 16 wins, for a win rate of 66%. Though these wins have come against weaker competition, including Bangladesh, West Indies, and a depleted South African side, they’ve come at a time when several questions were being raised about the side. Before these wins, Pakistan had lost series against New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and England.
Meanwhile, in the recently concluded Asia Cup, even just a solitary win in what turned out to be a three-match T20I series against India in the tournament would have bolstered team confidence.
Road to the World T20
Hesson’s captain, Salman Ali Agha, has been found wanting in form, and one would argue that if he wasn’t leading the side, he could be replaced by someone else.
At the same time, however, his field placements and bowling changes in the Lahore swing of the tour were a key reason why South African wickets kept falling.
Pakistan is presently only scheduled to play a T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in November, both teams ranked below Pakistan. Even the Afghanistan team that pulled out is ranked below the hosts. There is also presently no domestic T20 tournament scheduled before the 2026 World T20 tournament begins on February 7.
One hopes that the PCB is planning to bring stronger teams to Pakistan or propose a series in Sri Lanka in the lead-up to the tournament. Competition against teams ranked higher up will be the only litmus test that avoids “shock” embarrassment as the global event takes place.
The World T20 is going to be another politically charged event, given that the team is going to only play matches in Sri Lanka, while the rest of the teams also play across India. Hesson might soon have to manage another realpolitik.
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As the NFL trade deadline was approaching, legendary quarterback Tom Brady revealed an interesting personal piece of news about his dog being a clone.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback and current FOX Sports broadcaster said in a statement Tuesday from a company he has invested in that his dog, Junie, is a clone of his late dog, Lua.
Colossal Biosciences, a biotech startup, announced the acquisition of animal cloning company Viagen Pets and Equine. Colossal is venture-capital backed, and among its goals is to “fix” extinction.
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Tom Brady Dec. 7, 2013, in Boston with his dog, Lua, while riding a scooter. (Stickman/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Tuesday’s move marks the company’s first major acquisition, and Brady was involved in it through his statement revealing Junie’s origin.
“I love my animals,” Brady said in the statement. “They mean the world to me and my family. A few years ago, I worked with Colossal and leveraged their non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw of our family’s elderly dog before she passed.”
TOM BRADY’S NFL POWER RANKINGS: WE HAVE A NEW NO. 1, AND IT HAS TB12 FEELING ‘SICK’
Lua was the late dog of Brady and his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen. Lua died in December 2023, after the couple’s divorce was finalized in 2022.
Tom Brady at a local playground with his son, Benjamin Brady, and dog Lua Jan. 12, 2014, in Boston. (Stickman/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
However, as Brady mentioned in the statement, Colossal’s genetic engineering and cloning technology led to Junie being born. Brady’s dog is a pit bull mix.
While Brady’s cloned dog is a feat in itself, Colossal said its cloning and gene-editing technology also led to the birth of three dire wolf pups — a species previously thought to be extinct.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as other groups, disputed Colossal’s claim.
Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady before a game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium Oct. 12, 2025, in Baltimore. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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“Combining the science of genetics with the business of discovery, we endeavor to jump-start nature’s ancestral heartbeat. To see the woolly mammoth thunder upon tundra once again. To advance the economies of biology and healing through genetics,” Colossal’s website states.
“To make humanity more human. And to reawaken the lost wilds of Earth. So we, and our planet, can breathe easier.”
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Headed into its season opener against Texas on Tuesday night (8:45 ET, ESPN), No. 6 Duke boasts a 2-0 exhibition record, with its last win coming against No. 18 Tennessee.
That’s due in large part to freshman star forward Cameron Boozer‘s video game-like numbers in those wins: The former five star prospect averaged 28.5 points, 17.5 rebounds and five assists in Duke’s wins over the Vols and Central Florida.
Still, as mind-boggling as that production is, Andrew Moran — Boozer’s former coach at Columbus High School in Miami — said he expects Boozer to produce at that level consistently all season. Boozer was picked by three ESPN experts as a preseason first-team All-American.
“He’s that good,” said Moran, now an assistant coach at the University of Miami. “He just understands the game at a high level, he’s a machine on the glass and he scores so easy. That’s not to say he won’t have adjustments and times when he’ll have to regroup and figure it out, but he’ll always respond. He’s just a winner, bottom line.”
We had Moran dish on his top five Boozer moments during his reign at Columbus.
First state title (2022)
Boozer anchored a talented but young roster against an experienced Dr. Phillips squad. Against all odds, Boozer showed the full array of his skill set, pumping in 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a 45-44 championship game win.
In Moran’s words: “We were not supposed to win that game. They had three Power 4 kids and one All-American, but we found a way to get it done. He was killing in that game, and it was just a big moment because we’d never won a title before.”
The Georgia takeover (2023)
Boozer led his team into a hostile environment at national hoops powerhouse Wheeler High School (Marietta, Georgia) against its duo of top-ranked point guard Isaiah Collier and four-star big man Arrinten Page. After falling behind in the first half, Boozer shot 100 percent from the field in the second to lead his team to the win.
In Moran’s words: “That was one of those games where I was really like, ‘Wow, this is really impressive.’ He was just so skilled and strong and always made the right plays. He just had it.”
Winning a second Gatorade National Player of the Year award (2025)
Boozer is on a short list of players to win the prestigious award twice, first taking home the hardware as a sophomore, when he averaged 21.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2 blocks and won a state title. He was even more impressive as a senior, when he averaged 22.6 points, 12 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2 steals to win his fourth state title and first Chipotle Nationals title.
In Moran’s words: “It’s a big deal to win that award once, but to win it twice was just surreal. It just speaks to how dominant a player that he is.”
Triple-OT win over Gonzaga College High School (2024)
Boozer pulled out his clutch gene for a big win in a top-five matchup vs. Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) in his senior year. He drained a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime and then another one at the end of the second overtime. Boozer finished with 31 points in an 85-79 win.
In Moran’s words: “He just wasn’t going to lose that game; he just wasn’t. He’s got that gene that kicks him into another gear. He steps up to the challenge every time.”
Bringing home the Chipotle Nationals title (2025)
After getting rolled by Montverde Academy (Florida) in the Chipotle semifinals the previous year, Boozer came into the 2025 Chipotle Nationals on a mission, leading Columbus to the title after posting 11 points and eight rebounds in a 67-49 romp over Dynamic Prep (Irving, Texas).
In Moran’s words: “It wasn’t one of his big-time statistical games, but once again, he was never going to let us lose. He was just focused on winning; didn’t care about the stats. It was a surreal moment that we’ll never forget. He’s just one of those special players that are rare.”
North Carolina FC announced on Tuesday that it will not compete in the men’s USL Championship next season, and will instead file an application to join the USL’s proposed Division One league that will likely not begin play until 2028.
In a statement, NCFC said that “the application begins a formal process that could bring top-level professional soccer to Raleigh, supported by a long-term stadium plan and strong market infrastructure.”
The USL said in a statement that North Carolina’s franchise agreement ended after 2025, and that “The USL believes Raleigh has strong potential as a future Division One market if it meets the league’s professional standards, including a minimum 15,000-seat, purpose-built soccer stadium that will serve as an anchor for real estate development.”
The decision by NCFC to essentially go dormant for two seasons comes at an awkward time for the USL, which in addition to starting the Division One league that will sit atop the USL Championship, League One and League Two, is also attempting to implement a system of promotion/relegation.
The USL is also in the middle of negotiations with the USL Players Association on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for players in the USL Championship. The current CBA expires at the end of this year.
A source with knowledge of the situation said that all player contracts will be voided following the end of the season, allowing them to become free agents.
This creates a fraught situation for players who had multi-year contracts with North Carolina, as well as injured players who will no longer be covered by health insurance once the contracts are terminated, and will likely have to file workman’s compensation claims. The source estimated that there are around 10 players who will have the contracts terminated prematurely.
The source added that per the current CBA, NCFC players with multi-year contracts will get two months severance.
A club spokesperson told ESPN that NCFC “will follow the CBA and we’ll do everything we can to go above and beyond” in terms of aiding players.
NCFC’s chairman, Steve Malik, who has owned the club since 2015, also owns the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage, and has been attempting to build a soccer-specific stadium in the Raleigh area that should be shared by both teams since 2019. But despite some getting regulatory approvals, as well as acquiring the needed land, so far Malik hasn’t been able to secure the needed public financing for the stadium project to move forward.
The men’s team has also been plagued by poor attendance, averaging just 2,550 fans per game during the regular season. This ranked 21st out of 24 teams in the USL Championship. NCFC drew just 2,005 fans to last weekend’s playoff game against Loudon United.
NCFC has been in existence since 2006, having started life in the USL as the Carolina RailHawks, then moving to the North American Soccer League in 2009, and then returning to the USL in 2017. Malik moved the club down to USL League One in 2021, but then returned to the USL Championship in 2023.
NCFC is scheduled to play Rhode Island FC in the conference semifinals this Saturday.
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