Six dead as truck hits Dutch village barbecue

NIEUW-BEIJERLAND: Dutch police on Sunday said six people were killed and seven others hurt after a truck ran off the top of a dike and ploughed into a neighbourhood barbecue. Police were questioning the Spanish-registered driver of the lorry following the accident on Saturday evening in Nieuw-Beijerland, a village 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Rotterdam. The victims were three women aged 28, 32 and 75, and three men aged 41, 50 and 62, all from the local area, police said. One of the injured was in a critical condition in hospital. Dutch King Willem-Alexander said he was “shocked” and Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered condolences over the “terrible” accident. Police had first confirmed at least two dead after the vehicle drove into the crowded community barbecue, which Dutch news reports said was being hosted by an ice-skating club. “We now have six people killed and seven injured, one seriously after yesterday’s accident,” police spokeswoman Mirjam Boers told AFP. “We are still investigating what exactly happened,” she said. Witnesses said the truck stopped for a moment at a T-junction on the narrow Zuidzijdsedijk dike, before taking off and ploughing into the revellers, according to local broadcaster Rijnmond. Photographs from the scene taken immediately after the accident identified the truck as belonging to the El Mosca company, based in Spain. They showed scattered chairs lying on the ground and bunting hanging from trees. – ‘Ripped from their lives’ – Local mayor Charlie Aptroot said the accident had devastated the tight-knit community. “Six residents have literally been ripped from their lives. One of the victims was heavily pregnant,” he said, adding that children were among the injured. Three of the dead — a mother, son and daughter-in-law who was eight months pregnant — came from the same family, Rijnmond reported, quoting a local church announcement. Residents were laying flowers at the location of the accident on Sunday, an AFP journalist at the site said. A police car stood guard at the scene. “When we got here it was really terrible. There were a lot of police, ambulances, fire trucks, they were all here,” local resident Bob van den Burg, 20, who went to the scene after the accident on Saturday, told AFP. “Everybody is affected and mourns with the people here. Nothing ever happens here, there are almost no thefts or something terrible, and suddenly something like this happens.” – ‘Unimaginable sadness’ – Police spokeswoman Boers confirmed the 46-year-old driver from Spain had been arrested “and was not under the influence of alcohol” at the time of the accident. “He was arrested for causing a fatal accident and serious bodily injury. His role in the incident is under investigation,” police said in a statement. Investigators had taken blood samples to see if he was on any medication and were also checking whether he was using his phone at the time of the accident, Dutch prosecutors said. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said they were “shocked” by the tragedy. “We are shocked and moved by the terrible accident in Nieuw-Beijerland last night in which so many people were killed. An unimaginable sadness within this close-knit community,” they said in an official message. Premier Rutte also sent condolences. “Terrible news… my thoughts are with the victims and relatives of this terrible drama. I wish them a lot of strength,” Rutte said on Twitter. People from the surrounding region travelled to the village to offer their support. “We live in another town close by and we all heard the sirens,” said Jolanda Koster, 61. “Of course you mourn with these people. Now we are here to lay some flowers to show we are thinking of the relatives and all the other people that have been affected.”

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Several dead in Netherlands street party accident

Fast News

Truck rolls into street party in Nieuw Beijerland town, leaving multiple casualties, police say.

Photographs from the scene identified the truck as belonging to the El Mosca company, based in Spain. (twitter/@realzaidzayn)

Several people have died in an incident when a truck rolled into a street party in the town of Nieuw Beijerland in the south of the Netherlands. Police said on Saturday it was investigating the incident, which happened at about 7 pm, around 30 kilometres south of Rotterdam. "At some point a truck went off the road and crashed into the party," police spokesperson Elianne Mastwijk told local broadcaster Rijnmond. Dutch broadcaster NOS said at least three people died. Police said they were investigating what caused the truck to leave the road in the village of Nieuw-Beijerland just south of Rotterdam and career down the side of a dike. Pictures published by Rijnmond and other local media websites showed a heavy truck from a Spanish transport company at the bottom of a small dyke, amid broken picnic tables. The truck's driver, who was not injured, has been arrested and taken into custody by the police, the NOS national broadcaster said. Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Recent Match Report - Pakistan vs Netherlands 3rd ODI 2022

Pakistan 206 (Babar 91, Nawaz 27, de Leede 3-50, Kingma 2-15) beat Netherlands 197 (Cooper 62, Vikramjit 50, Naseem 5-33, Wasim 4-36) by nine runs

Pakistan nearly paid the price for extreme caution with the bat, but standout bowling performances from Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim spared their blushes as they eked out a nine-run win in the third and final ODI in Rotterdam and sealed the series 3-0.

For a large part of the chase, it seemed that Netherlands would topple Pakistan, particularly during a 71-run fourth-wicket partnership between Vikramjit Singh and Tom Cooper. But with the pressure at its most intense, Naseem and Wasim bowled with a composure that belied their inexperience, taking nine wickets between them to close out the game. Naseem's career-best figures of 5 for 33, backed up by Wasim's 4 for 36, made all the difference in the end as the Netherlands batters failed to close out the game.

Earlier, a miserly bowling performance from Netherlands saw Pakistan bowled out for 206 in 49.4 overs, handing the home side a golden opportunity to nab a win. Pakistan were exceptionally conservative with the bat for much of the innings; by the end of 30 overs, they were 105 for 3. Bas de Leede, Netherlands' best player of the series, was once again exceptional with the ball as he ran through the middle order, striking thrice to prevent Pakistan ever really breaking away. Only Babar Azam, who scored a steady, if sedate, 125-ball 91, was able to keep the innings together, but in the absence of a supporting cast or an injection of impetus, a modest total was all that Pakistan could muster.

Netherlands sniffed an opportunity, but they were abundantly cautious early on, and Naseem, as he had done all series, continued to punch holes in their batters' defences. Max O'Dowd played at one that nipped away to cap an indifferent series before Naseem cleaned up Musa Ahmad with a ball that held its line from around the wicket. Wasim, who replaced the somewhat less potent Shahnawaz Dahani, took up the mantle from the other end, sending de Leede back after he nicked one through to Mohammad Haris.

But with the target relatively low, the hosts were never out of the game, and one big partnership was enough to give Pakistan a real fright. Vikramjit and Cooper began to rebuild after the early blows, the former's three successive boundaries off Wasim a clear signal of intent. The duo looked comfortable against most Pakistan bowlers.

Pakistan needed a breakthrough fast, and for that, Babar turned to Wasim once more. In the second over of his new spell, he sent Vikramjit packing. Naseem, of course, was not to be outdone, removing Scott Edwards in his first over back with a dream delivery that beat the outside edge of the bat and crunched into off stump.

But Netherlands rebuilt with Cooper and Teja Nidamanuru, a 56-run stand taking them to within 35 of the target. At that stage, the asking rate was under seven, and Netherlands were turning the screws once more.

Aryan Dutt had Babar Azam caught and bowled on 91•KNCB/Gerhard van der Laarse

But the Naseem-Wasim duo refused to give up, combining in a scintillating death-overs display to remove the pair in the space of six balls and burrow into the tail. From thereon, it was an uphill task for Netherlands against two bowlers in top form and, while Pakistan were made to sweat, victory always seemed a touch out of their reach. Wasim rattled Aryan Dutt's stumps to finish off the game, and Pakistan just about got away with one.

In the morning, Pakistan made four changes to their side, bringing in Abdullah Shafique as opener for his ODI debut, as well as Haris in place of Mohammad Rizwan. After they opted to bat, Shafique had the opportunity to impress straightaway, but Vivian Kingma struck early once again.

Kingma and Dutt kept things tighter than a taxman's purse, never allowing Pakistan any freedom to accelerate. The fielding was lively, and with the batters finding the fielders with most shots, Pakistan began to feel suffocated. Neither Fakhar Zaman nor Babar could truly break away, and even when there were changes in the bowling, a change in fortunes for Pakistan did not accompany them.

The pressure finally got to Fakhar, who went for a huge heave against Logan van Beek, only to be beaten by the pace and have his off stump rattled. Netherlands only squeezed harder, with the run rate continuing to snail along well under four.

Babar was curiously passive through the innings, and the failure of the inexperienced middle order to capitalise made his wicket even more valuable. It didn't come until fairly late in the innings, but his failure to break free meant he couldn't inflict much damage anyway. It was Dutt, the pick of the bowlers, who got rid of him for the second time this series, taking a superb one-handed catch off his own bowling. Dutt had deserved it more than perhaps any other bowler, his figures of 10-1-34-1 just rewards for a sensational showing.

The final few overs saw Pakistan trying to accelerate, only for Netherlands to shackle them further. The odd four or six gave hopes of a change in momentum, but it was swiftly followed by wickets. No. 10 Zahid Mahmood struck a six in the penultimate over, but Kingma returned to help Netherlands get the final two wickets.

At that stage, Netherlands looked on track for their first home win of the summer. They might well have reached there but for two young Pakistani fast bowlers.

Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000

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Babar Azam says Shaheen Shah Afridi will be rested for at least two ODIs against Netherlands

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said the team is looking to manage Shaheen Shah Afridi's "long-term workload and health" as he recovers from a knee injury, with the aim of getting him ready in time for the Asia Cup.

"We're taking a couple of doctors on the way to take care of Shaheen," Babar said at a press conference before Pakistan's departure for the Netherlands. "We're looking long term at his fitness and health. We want him to play a game against Netherlands if he's fit and be ready for the Asia Cup. Our combination is quite good. In T20s the middle order responded well to challenges."

With Hasan Ali dropped from the side, that opens the door for lesser experienced fast bowlers to make their mark in the Netherlands, especially as Babar believes the conditions on offer will be similar to what England throws up, and therefore presumably suitable to fast bowlers. Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim are all part of the travelling contingent, and expected to be heavily involved in the three ODIs.

There will be particular interest in who Pakistan pick as their opening bowling pair, an area where, Afridi's reliable brilliance aside, Pakistan have been unsettled in the ODI format. Each of Rauf, Dahani and Wasim have taken the new ball at some point or another, and since the 2019 World Cup, so have Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir and Usman Shinwari. Haris and Hasan, who have been tasked with this responsibility most regularly aside from Afridi, have the worst economy and strike rate with it. In Afridi's absence, that will be a weakness Babar hopes to address properly.

"Our fast-bowling bench strength is excellent," he said. "They've now got an opportunity to showcase their skills. This is how you expand your pool. I support Hasan Ali because he's a team man. Yes, he's not in form, but it's not like he has to prove anything. Domestic cricket is coming up. He'll play that and make a strong comeback hopefully.

"We have 11 trump cards. Each of them can be matchwinners on their day. I have faith in every one of them, whether batters of bowlers. I think the conditions will be similar to England. The weather will be cooler. We practiced with the air conditioning on indoors, perhaps that helps simulate the conditions! We couldn't practice much because of the rains, but we got a practice match in, which gives you a good sense of conditions."

Babar also appeared to pour cold water on murmurs of a return to the side for veteran Shoaib Malik ahead of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, emphasising the importance of backing young players who had been assigned to replace him.

"The team has been announced after discussions with everyone. We met with the coach and chief selector and did what was best for Pakistan. There are matches immediately after Netherlands, so it's unlikely there will be time for changes.

"When senior players leave the side, those replacing them need focus. Hafeez and Malik were huge players and we'll miss them a lot, and players like Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar need to fill their boots. We want to give them plenty of matches and confidence, and these players have performed. We're also looking to utilise Shadab Khan's batting, because batting depth is very useful in T20 cricket now.

"We're not going to just rest our senior players, we'll play with a combination of senior and junior players. There are important Super League points at stake which we can't lose. I'm going to the Netherlands for the first time, too. If things go badly after we field young players, we'll cop criticism then, too. Everyone won't be happy with our decisions, but we have to do what's best for Pakistan cricket."

Babar, or indeed any of his team-mates, may want for nothing or need no introduction in Pakistan, but that is emphatically not true of other athletes in the country who happen to pursue a sport not called cricket. Babar paid rich tribute to Pakistan's most successful athletes at the Commonwealth Games, where the country came away with a gold medal each in weightlifting and javelin throwing. He called on increased support to athletes across sports, bemoaning the facilities they enjoyed as being "not good enough".

"I was very proud to see Noah Dastagir and Arshad Nadeem win gold medals. There's so much respect for how much hard work they put in. You cannot praise them enough. But you need to give them better facilities. I saw the conditions they were practicing in, and I think that was unacceptable. When you give the athletes better facilities, they'll win many more gold medals."

Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/babar-azam-says-shaheen-shah-afridi-will-be-rested-for-at-least-two-odis-against-netherlands/?feed_id=9670&_unique_id=62f57ad24f0e5

Hasan Ali dropped from Pakistan squads for Asia Cup and Netherlands ODI series

Hasan Ali has been dropped from both Pakistan's squad for the ODI series in the Netherlands as well for the Asia Cup T20Is later this month. Naseem Shah has been named in both squads. Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed the second Test in Sri Lanka last month because of a knee injury, has been included in both squads, with a PCB statement saying, "his rehabilitation programme will be overseen by the team trainer and physiotherapist, who will also decide on his return to international cricket".

Babar Azam continues to be in charge of both the set-ups, with Shadab Khan as his deputy.

Hasan's form across formats in the last year has been middling at best, with his T20I bowling strike rate moving to 23.2; he has picked up eight wickets in nine games in this period. In the three ODIs he has played in the last 12 months - all at home between March and June this year - he averaged 76.50 with the ball, picking up two wickets overall. Earlier this year, in the PSL, he had a bowling average of 40.55 and had an economy rate of 10.84 as he got nine wickets in nine games for Islamabad United.

"We have done our homework, especially for the players who have served Pakistan well and have won so many games for the country," Mohammad Wasim, the men's chief selector, said when asked about Hasan. "To give them a longer run is a part of the plan, but then there is the stage when you realise that now is the time we think he needs a break for his own and the team's betterment.

"So we had a similar thought process with Hasan Ali, to give him an extended run, but now we think he needs to regather himself and return as a match-winner. We hope going forward we will find the same old Hasan Ali."

It has been a downward spiral for Hasan since last year's T20 World Cup, where he dropped a catch that could, potentially, have won Pakistan the semi-final against Australia. He ended the tournament with five wicket in six bowling innings, at an average of 41.40 and an economy rate of 9.00.

Naseem, who has never played ODIs or T20Is, has taken Hasan's place after a good performance in the two Tests in Sri Lanka last month, when he picked up seven wickets on not-very-helpful pitches. Naseem had struggled with fitness issues till recently, but has come back stronger.

"Naseem Shah is a quality bowler, and we have seen him in domestic white-ball cricket," Wasim said. "He has got express pace and we wanted to include an attacking option; it is important to take wickets in white0ball cricket. He has that ability. He can swing the ball, he has got pace, and if we talk about his temperament, we have seen the evidence in Tests.

"He was a good replacement for Hasan Ali, and we hope he can take his success from red-ball to white-ball cricket."

Agha Salman, the middle-order batter who made his international debut in the Test series against Sri Lanka last month, now has a chance of making his ODI debut in the Netherlands.

The selectors have also kept faith in PSL sensational Mohammad Haris, the wicketkeeper-batter, for the ODIs. He made his debut in the home series against West Indies in June, but failed both the times he got a chance to bat, scoring 6 and 0 from the middle order.

He has, however, been identified as the back-up to Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps, which will likely ensure more opportunities, at least in the short term. Haris shot to prominence at PSL 7, scoring 166 runs in five innings at a strike rate of over 185 for Peshawar Zalmi. At the 50-over Pakistan Cup last year, he scored 289 runs in eight innings at an average of 41.28 and strike rate of over 100 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The selected players will assemble in Lahore on August 6 for a six-day training camp. The ODI side will leave for Amsterdam in the wee hours of August 12 for the three-ODI series - the matches are on August 16, 18 and 21, all in Rotterdam - and the T20I specialists will reach Dubai on August 22, where they will be joined by the T20I members of the ODI squad.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/hasan-ali-dropped-from-pakistan-squads-for-asia-cup-and-netherlands-odi-series/?feed_id=6350&_unique_id=62eb52a9169ba