Sports
Wasim Akram reveals his era’s top five cricketers
Former Pakistan captain and legendary pacer Wasim Akram has revealed his top five cricketers from his illustrious playing days, naming Sir Vivian Richards as the toughest batter he bowled to.
Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast alongside England greats Michael Vaughan, Sir Alastair Cook, David Lloyd, and Phil Tufnell, Akram reflected on the highlights of his 17-year career.
When asked to name the best batter, the 59-year-old picked West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards.
“People often ask me who the best batsman I bowled to was. For me, it has to be Sir Vivian Richards. It’s not just about his batting — it was the whole package, the charisma he carried with him,” Akram said.
He added that he also faced many other greats, including Allan Border, Graham Gooch, Sachin Tendulkar, and Brian Lara.
“Sir Viv was at the end of his career in 1987-88, but what a character he was — everyone’s hero,” Akram added.
The legendary left-arm pacer went on to name the five best cricketers he played against during his career.
“My top has to be Imran Khan, because of what he did for Pakistan. Then Viv Richards, Martin Crowe, Brian Lara, and Sachin Tendulkar,” he revealed.
Akram also recalled some of the toughest contests he faced, singling out Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist in ODIs.
“I very rarely played against the great Ricky Ponting, but in ODIs, Adam Gilchrist was one who really troubled me,” he admitted.
When asked about the best countries to play cricket in, Akram chose England and Australia.
“It’s hard to pick just one. England is special because of its rich history, excellent facilities, knowledge of the game, and easy travel. And then, of course, Australia,” he said.
“I remember touring there in 1989 after my first year with Lancashire, and Imran [Khan] told me, ‘If you perform against Australia in their own conditions, you’ll be recognised straight away.’ And that’s exactly what happened,” Akram concluded.
Sports
Another late goal is Liverpool’s undoing in loss to last-place Wolves
WOLVERHAMPTON, England — Liverpool can’t say they weren’t warned. Even before a ball was kicked at Molineux on Tuesday night, the modus operandi of hosts Wolverhampton Wanderers was encapsulated in the banner draped over the centre circle, bearing the words: “Fear Nothing.”
Despite being rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table with virtually no chance of escaping relegation, Wolves’ recent triumph over high-flying Aston Villa suggested they are intent on not relinquishing their proud top flight status without a fight. Certainly, Rob Edwards’ side delivered a knockout blow to visitors Liverpool when midfielder André‘s strike deflected past Alisson Becker to consign the Reds to another chastening late loss.
The Brazil international’s 94th-minute winner means Liverpool have now lost five games to goals after the 90th minute this season — the most of any side in a single campaign in Premier League history. In addition to those defeats against Wolves, Manchester City, AFC Bournemouth, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Liverpool have also conceded injury-time equalisers to Fulham and Leeds United, squandering nine precious points in the process.
In a season characterised by late drama — for good reasons and for bad — Liverpool’s propensity for exposing their soft underbelly has too often been their undoing. A heady cocktail of misfortune and poor defending paved the way for Wolves’ last-gasp winner, handing the reigning Premier League champions a 2-1 loss to the league’s last-place team.
But while the Reds can bemoan the missed foul on Dominik Szoboszlai and the heavy deflection off Joe Gomez, the alarming frequency of their capitulations this season means this is no hard luck story.
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Ahead of Tuesday’s trip to the West Midlands, Liverpool coach Arne Slot was asked for his opinion of the Premier League’s increasing focus on physicality and set pieces, and he gave a candid appraisal: “Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it.”
While his comments will have resonated in some quarters, there was very little about Liverpool’s play against Wolves that will have satisfied the football purists. The first half at Molineux was something of a non-event, with Cody Gakpo‘s tame effort on goal the only passable chance carved out by the visitors, who have been culpable of letting too many contests pass them by this term.
Wolves, meanwhile, were content to let Slot’s men have the ball and wait for an opportunity to pounce. They did so with a vengeance in the 78th minute when Tolu Arokodare outmuscled Virgil van Dijk and picked out Rodrigo Gomez, who expertly dinked the ball over Alisson to convert the hosts’ first shot on target.
According to Opta, it is the second-latest a team has scored with their first shot of a Premier League match, after Fulham vs. Newcastle in October 2022 (88th minute). Parity was restored just five minutes later when Mohamed Salah picked off a loose pass from Jean Ricner-Bellegarde and slotted past José Sá.
It was Salah’s first Premier League goal since Nov. 1 but while the Egypt international finally broke his drought, his overall lack of efficacy once again brought Liverpool’s lack of dynamism out wide into sharp focus. On the other flank, Gakpo’s most notable contribution came when he appeared to inadvertently prevent a certain goal from Curtis Jones in the second half, before being substituted shortly after the hour mark.
Despite last summer’s record-breaking spend of close to £450 million, Liverpool once again find themselves with major surgery to do to address the glaring gaps in their squad and assemble a creative unit capable of unpicking increasingly stringent Premier League defences. The return of midfielder Florian Wirtz — currently sidelined with a back problem — cannot come soon enough.
Still, Slot’s side should have had more than enough firepower to steer them past a team that, before Tuesday night, had won only two league games all season. Their desire to push for a winner — not for the first time this term — left them vulnerable in defence and opened the door for Andre to try his luck from the edge of the penalty area.
It was a gamble that paid off for the Brazilian, with his strike catapulting the home supporters into dreamland and sending manager Edwards sprinting down the touchline. That Liverpool’s ineptitude has incited such feverish celebrations on so many occasions this season is perhaps the most damning indictment of their topsy-turvy campaign.
“How do I sum this up?” Slot said in his post-match news conference. “Same old story. Recently we are picking up points because we score many times from set-pieces, but what didn’t change in the last five, six seven games is that we struggle and find it very hard to score from open play chances that we do create.
“Not as much as I would like from all the ball possession we have but enough and far more than the other team. But the end result is we scored one and they scored two and another one in injury time so it sums up our season again.”
It is a fair assessment from the Dutchman, but one that has been too often applicable this season.
Too many times this term Liverpool have encountered the “same old story.” They are fast running out of games to rewrite their campaign’s ending.
Sports
Miami (Ohio) improves to 30-0 as Cinderella run gets more magical
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The Miami (Ohio) RedHawks’ men’s basketball team continued their perfect start to the season on Tuesday night.
The No. 19 RedHawks defeated the Toledo Rockets, 74-72, improving to 30-0 and clinching at least a share of the Mid-American Conference regular-season title. Miami is the only undefeated team in Division I men’s basketball and has the best start and longest win streak in conference history.
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Miami (OH) guard Peter Suder, center, and the team celebrate the regular-season trophy at the conclusion of an NCAA college basketball game against Toledo, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Oxford, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
The team celebrated with the regular-season trophy as confetti fell onto the court in the arena.
“That’s the beauty of basketball: When you’re having fun with the right group of guys, you can become unbeatable,” Miami star Peter Suder told reporters, via the school’s website.
“It’s a surreal moment, obviously,” he added as he reflected on his family and the support he’s received through his collegiate career. “They’ve been with me through it all, and I’m just super-happy they were there tonight and soaked in the moment as well.”

Miami (OH) guard Luke Skaljac reacts after a made 3-point basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Toledo, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Oxford, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
Suder had 19 points in the win and is averaging 14.8 points per game this season.
The RedHawks needed to dig deep to hang on against Toledo.
The Rockets cut the deficit to one on four different occasions. Toledo’s Austin Parks had a good opportunity to put the team ahead, but Miami’s Eian Elmer blocked him at the rim. Toledo trailed by two points and had the ball with 13 seconds left but a costly turnover sealed the win for Miami.
Miami completed its first season sweep of Toledo since the 1996-97 season and are now on a three-game winning streak against the Rockets after losing 22 straight from 2012-24.

Miami (OH) guard Peter Suder, center, raises the regular-season trophy with teammates at the conclusion of an NCAA college basketball game against Toledo, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Oxford, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
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The RedHawks will finish the regular season on the road against the Ohio Bobcats on Friday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
Babar, Saim dropped as 15-member squad for Bangladesh ODI series announced
- All three ODIs to be played at Shere Bangla Stadium.
- Shaheen Afridi to continue as Pakistan ODI captain.
- Maaz Sadaqat, Sahibzada Farhan among uncapped players.
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday announced a 15-member squad for the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, with star batter Babar Azam and all-rounder Saim Ayub left out of the selection.
All three ODIs will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka from 11 to 15 March, according to a statement issued by the cricket board.
Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will continue to lead the ODI side, with six uncapped players included in the squad.
The uncapped players are Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan and Shamyl Hussain.

Among them, Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood and Shamyl Hussain were part of the Pakistan Shaheens squad that played against England Lions in Abu Dhabi recently.
Notably, former ODI captain Babar and all-rounder Saim have been omitted from the squad.
For the unversed, Pakistan last played an ODI series in November last year, when they hosted Sri Lanka and completed a 3-0 clean sweep.
The series marked the second ODI assignment for captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, whose maiden stint in charge came in a home series against South Africa, which Pakistan won 2-1.
15-member squad:
Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha and Shamyl Hussain
Series schedule:
March 11 – First ODI at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
March 13 – Second ODI at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
March 15 – Third ODI at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
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