He may have died of a heart attack seven weeks ago, but at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday, the influence of Abdul Qadir loomed large. His son Usman Qadir, picked for Pakistan's T20I squad to Australia, could talk about little else on the eve of Pakistan's departure, speaking poignantly about how important it was to his father that he play for Pakistan, and what how much it meant to him.

A kind observer might term it fateful, and a cynical one revisionist, but it's clear either way Usman following the footsteps of his father and donning the Pakistan shirt was never, ever a done deal. He had, years ago, become disillusioned with the nation his father represented with such ebullient distinction, and sought greener (or in his case, yellower pastures) when he declared his allegiance to Australia last year, resolving to represent that country in the international game instead.

Just two weeks ago, the idea he might be selected for Pakistan prompted a derisive snort from head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq. In that sense, his selection is, even by Pakistan cricket standards, an exceptionally quick u-turn, but, even in death, it proved Abdul Qadir prescient.

ALSO READ: Will try to emulate Williamson, Kohli as captain - Babar Azam

"He always said I should stay strong, and that in Pakistan, if you performed, things could change very quickly and you could find yourself selected," Usman said. "He taught me never to give up, and he always wanted to see me represent Pakistan. Even in my last conversation with him, he said he wished I would play for Pakistan.

"It all changed when my father died. My main goal became to fulfil his desire. When I was going to Australia, the one thing he said was 'I wish you go on to get the Pakistan star on your chest.' Everyone wants to represent their own country, and I'm the same. Now that I'm going to Australia, I'm really missing him and if he was alive he'd be so proud."

While many believed, some perhaps too much so, that having Abdul Qadir for a father massively boosted the opportunities Usman would get, the 26-year old insisted it probably went the other way just as much. Whispers of nepotism never quite went away, and it was the desire to prove he was good enough that heavily motivated the move to Australia, telling ESPNcricinfo last year the real reason he gave up on playing for Pakistan would take "two or three hours" to properly address.

It is easy to forget he was selected to tour the West Indies with Pakistan as a 19-year old in 2013, only for the PCB to change its mind, a decision that Usman said led him to "go home and weep". It was the beginning of Usman's disenchantment with Pakistan cricket, leading to a lengthy absence in which he played no first-class cricket in Pakistan. All that while, opportunities from Australia continued to turn his head, with then South Australia's director of cricket Jamie Cox saying Usman would need to make "more of a commitment" if he wanted to play for Australia.

"It became difficult for me in Pakistan because the Qadir name is a big one," Usman said. "I still wear it proudly on my shirt. It was difficult because people believed there was favouritism. I used to play and even when I performed, I couldn't quite make any progress with regards to selection. But my father always said I should be strong, and no need to lose hope. When I was named in the squad for the West Indies tour, I was playing a match and I was told I'd been selected. After [I couldn't go], I didn't play cricket in Pakistan."

It's also clear Usman is always hungry for ways to improve his game. He repeatedly distinguishes himself from his father by talking about much work still lying ahead of him if he was to master the variations that made Abdul Qadir so lethal. His eyes sparkle when he speaks about the finer points of his game and how conducive it is to various grounds in Australia, particularly the new one in Perth where he played the BBL for the Perth Scorchers and where Pakistan will play the third T20I next month.

"My father used to say to me you should learn the yorker. I tried my hardest to work on that ball, but without luck. But the last six or eight months, I've been working on my yorker and getting some control on that ball. I still don't bowl it in actual games, but I think I'm getting closer to mastering it.

"What happens is pitches in Australia are very quick. In Pakistan, the spinners get taken for lots of runs and they have no choice but to bowl in the same slot over and over again and hope for wickets. In Australia, they don't have as many spinners, so they're always on the lookout for any. When they confront a spinner, they find it harder. They practice spinners on the bowling machine, but facing a real spinner is difficult, and I'm hopeful I can cause some problems.

"The new stadium in Perth, the ball breaks a lot. If you pitch the ball outside off stump, in fact, it'll break almost anywhere in the world. When I first played in Perth, I pitched outside off stump and found turn. When I played in Sydney and Canberra, the ball broke quite a lot. In Perth, if you pitch outside off stump, it definitely spins."

And while there's little doubt his father has had the greatest impact on his career, be it advice on wrist position or more apocryphal home remedies ("My father said if you can't control your nerves, breathe through your nose three times and exhale from your mouth and it'll help), there is a more modern influence whose brains he can pick.

"Imran Tahir has been a friend of my family since my childhood. He's a wonderful man, and someone I always look to for advice. I got a message from him a couple of days ago telling me not to panic, and to call him if I had any questions or problems."

Abdul Qadir can rest easy. His boy may be off to Australia, but it's the Pakistan star he'll sport on his chest.

Zack Greinke is the third past-Cy Young winner to start this World Series (Scherzer, Game 1; Verlander, Game 2). That had occurred only twice before: 2018 Dodgers-Red Sox (Kershaw, Price, Porcello) and 1999 Yankees-Braves (Maddux, Glavine, Cone, Clemens).

‘I’m concentrating on the court, not the view’
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

World No.1 Raneem El Welily, World No.3 Nour El Tayeb and World No.5 Nouran Gohar all claimed wins on day two of the 2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship to secure a place on the iconic glass court held in front of Cairo’s famous Great Pyramid of Giza, the only remaining wonder of the ancient world.

This season’s women’s World Championship is the first to be held in front of the stunning landmark since the men’s World Championship in 2006 and El Welily is the only woman ever to win a trophy in front of the Pyramids courtesy of her Al Ahram Open victory three years ago.

She will appear there again in round three after getting the better of United States No.2 Olivia Blatchford Clyne at the Shooting Club 6th of October, winning 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 in 32 minutes.

“All in all, I was very prepared for Olivia today given how well she is playing this season,” said El Welily after her 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 triumph.

“She must be very disappointed to go out in the second round of this tournament. I honestly think with her level of squash this season she could have gone further. I wish her all the best in her next tournament.

“It’s definitely very good for us [playing at the Pyramids] but I’m not really thinking about it that much. I’m thinking about the glass court, that’s all it is for me. We’ve been looking at the Pyramids all week long, so by now it’s okay for me.”

The 30-year-old will play the experienced Englishwoman Alison Waters for a place in the last eight after she defeated compatriot Julianne Courtice, while 2018-19 World Championship runner-up El Tayeb defeated fellow Egyptian Rowan Elaraby in four games.

It was a meeting of two former World Junior Champions just two weeks after El Tayeb comfortably dispatched Elaraby at the U.S. Open but the latter proved much more of a test this time around, fighting back from three match balls down to force a fourth game this time around.

But El Tayeb held firm to win 13-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8, and she will take on Egypt’s Salma Hany in round three.

“I fell into the trap of being match ball up and thinking that the match was over, but I was very glad that I was able to come back in the fourth and win,” El Tayeb said.

“It’s the one tournament you want to do well at, especially in front of the Pyramids and with it being the World Championship. I’m sure there is going to be a lot of pressure on both of us, but hopefully we can enjoy it and play well.”

Gohar, who comes into the back of this match after winning her third PSA Platinum title at the U.S. Open – beating El Tayeb in the process – was in dominant form against Belgium’s Nele Gilis as she powered to an 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 victory in just 28 minutes.

She will take on Nele’s younger sister, World No.26 Tinne, in the next round, with Tinne overcoming Malaysia’s Aifa Azman 3-0.

“It was a little bit tricky to play this tournament straight after the U.S. Open, but I am just trying to take each game and forget about the U.S. Open and I’m really looking forward to my next match,” said Gohar.

“It feels extra special to be playing on the glass court. The last time we had a tournament there, I didn’t get to play on the glass because I lost first round, so to make it to the glass court in front of the Pyramids is huge and I can’t wait to be there on Sunday.”

There were also wins for the likes of England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Tesni Evans of Wales. Perry dispatched 2007 champion Rachael Grinham – the 42-year-old playing an unprecedented 300th career PSA tournament – while Evans defeated France’s Coline Aumard and they will go head-to-head in round three.

The men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open got under way today, with Frenchman Victor Crouin picking up the biggest win of his career to date as he twice came back from a game behind to upset World No.22 Cesar Salazar.

Crouin, ranked No.61 in the world, was making his first appearance at a Platinum tournament, but wasn’t overawed by the occasion as he twice came back from a game down to win 10-12, 11-4, 5-11, 11-1, 11-4 in a battling performance.

Salazar’s level of performance varied dramatically as he looked to be struggling with a hamstring issue at times which stunted his normally impeccable retrieval abilities.
Crouin took advantage as he forced his opponent into some long, testing rallies down the forehand side to force some errors, and he never looked back after going 2-1 down as Salazar dropped off considerably.

“Although he was injured, it’s my best win ever, he is 22nd [in the world], and I’m so happy to get to the next round, even in the circumstances,” Crouin said.

“I had a good start to the season, I won the Marietta Open, then was runner-up against [Greg] Lobban in Cleveland, I was happy with that match, I just lacked consistency I felt.”

Round two action at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship continues tomorrow from 12:45 (GMT+2) onwards, while the second round of the CIB Egyptian Squash Open begins at 12:00.

Matches at the Great Pyramid of Giza begin at 17:30 and will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour. 

2019-20 CIB PSA $340k Women’s World Championship, Great Pyramids, Giza, Egypt.

Second Round (Top Half):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [18] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 (32m)
[11] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [29] Julianne Courtice (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (33m)
[13] Salma Hany (EGY) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 (29m)
[5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [25] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-1: 13-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 (47m)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [24] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (21m)
[9] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt [31] Coline Aumard (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (28m)
[26] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [L] Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (26m)
[4] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [17] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 (28m)

Second Round (Bottom Half) October 26:
[3] Camille Serme (FRA) v [21] Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
[32] Nada Abbas (EGY) v [15] Yathreb Adel (EGY)
[14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [27] Donna Lobban (AUS)
[30] Milou van der Heijden (NED) v Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
[6] Joelle King (NZL) v [19] Zeina Mickawy (EGY)
[22] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v [10] Annie Au (HKG)
[12] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Ho Tze-Lok (HKG)
[28] Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)

Third Round (Top Half) October 27:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [11] Alison Waters (ENG)
[13] Salma Hany (EGY) v [5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [9] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[26] Tinne Gilis (BEL) v [4] Nouran Gohar (EGY)

Men’s 2019 CIB Egyptian Squash Open
First Round:
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Vikram Malhotra (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (26m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 15-13, 11-8 (45m)
Max Lee (HKG) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 (69m)
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Edmon Lopez (ESP) 3-0: 11-3, 4-0 retired (10m)
Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Shehab Essam (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-1 (26m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (48m)
Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt Mazen Gamal (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-8 (29m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0: 14-13 retired (30m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-2 (35m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-2: 11-2, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7 (65m)
Nathan Lake (ENG) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-2: 13-11, 12-10, 8-11, 5-11, 11-7 (82m)
Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-1: 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5 (99m)
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (44m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt [WC] Moustafa El Sirty (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 12-10 (38m)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [WC] Yahya Elnawsany (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4 (46m)
Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-2: 10-12, 11-4, 5-11, 11-1, 11-4 (42m)

Second Round (Top Half) October 26:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
Max Lee (HKG) v Daryl Selby (ENG)
Chris Simpson (ENG) v [6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
[5] Paul Coll (NZL) v Lucas Serme (FRA)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Iker Parajes Bernabeu (ESP)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
Fares Dessouky (EGY) v [4] Simon Rosner (GER)

Second Round (Bottom Half) October 27:
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Greg Lobban (SCO)
Leo Au (HKG) v Adrian Waller (ENG)
Nathan Lake (ENG) v Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
Mostafa Asal (EGY) v [7] Diego Elias (PER)
[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Baptiste Masotti (FRA)
Raphael Kandra (GER) v Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
Victor Crouin (FRA) v Zahed Salem (EGY)
Joel Makin (WAL) v [2] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.
 

Pictures courtesy of PSA 

MEXICO CITY – Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of the day during Mexican Grand Prix practice on Friday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Vettel put his Ferrari on top of the scoring pylon with a 1:16.607, which was .115 seconds ahead of the Red Bull driven by Max Verstappen. From there it was a big gap to the rest of the field, with Charles Leclerc clocking in nearly a half a second slower than his Ferrari teammate.

Valtteri Bottas was fourth fastest overall on the day, .614 seconds behind Vettel. His teammate, championship leader Lewis Hamilton, ended the day nearly a second back of Vettel in fifth after leading the first practice.

The second practice was interrupted when Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, who caught the curb in turn seven and crashed into the barriers, resulting in a lengthy red flag period to remove the stricken Red Bull from the track.

Several other drivers had issues throughout the day, with Leclerc and Bottas both spinning during the second practice, though both continued without incident. Leclerc actually spun twice, with his second spin coming at the end of the second practice.

In the first practice Racing Point’s Lance Stroll also found the barriers after a crash in turn 16, leading to a 10-minute red flag. He was able to returned to the track in the second practice, setting the 11th fastest time.

Yaelimi Noh took control of the LPGA Q-Series field on Friday, following her back-to-back 69s with a third-round, bogey-free 66 at Pinehurst Resort. Noh sits at 9 under overall. 

But Noh is used to being near the top of leaderboards. In August, Noh finished runner-up as a non-member at the Cambia Portland Classic after Monday qualifying to earn her way into the field. She now holds the 54-hole lead in North Carolina, just as she did in Portland that week.

“I know I’m ready and have what it takes to play on the LPGA because of this year, but playing well right now feels really good,” Noh said after her round on Friday. 

One shot behind Noh sits University of Alabama alumna, Emma Talley, who shot a third-round 66 to move her into solo second place at 8 under par. 

Lauren Kim, who held the 36 hole lead, double bogeyed her last hole of the day to shoot even par and fall into a tie for third place with Muni He (67) and Maia Schechter (66). 

The third and final stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament is being contested over 144 holes, with the first 72 played at Pinehurst No. 6. A minimum of the top 45 players and ties will earn LPGA status at the end of the competition. There are 98 players in the field.

A complete list of scores can be found here. 

WASHINGTON -- MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league office would continue conversations with the Houston Astros regarding the incident last weekend that resulted in the termination of a member of the team's front office.

Speaking before Game 3 of the World Series after a photo session with Cleveland Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco, this season's recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, Manfred declined to characterize the nature of those conversations.

"I will say that there are a variety of issues," Manfred said. "I'm not going to narrow the statement. We're going to continue to review the situation, have conversations with [Astros owner Jim] Crane. It's one thing to comment and investigate for 24 hours on a specific incident."

The incident in question came to light after a report was published earlier this week by Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein. According to the report, during the celebration in the Astros clubhouse after Houston clinched the American League Championship Series on Saturday, assistant general manager Brandon Taubman turned to a group of female reporters -- including one wearing a purple domestic violence awareness bracelet -- and repeatedly yelled, "Thank God we got [Roberto] Osuna! I'm so f---ing glad we got Osuna!"

Last season, Osuna served a 75-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy, stemming from an incident that happened while he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Astros initially called the report "misleading and completely irresponsible" and accused SI of trying to "fabricate a story where one does not exist." Taubman later apologized for his language but said his comments were misinterpreted. After a league investigation into the allegations outlined in the report was completed, the Astros announced on Thursday that Taubman's employment with the team had been terminated.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow met Friday with Apstein, who requested a retraction of the team's initial statement. Luhnow acknowledged the request but had not yet issued a retraction.

Manfred declined to say whether more disciplinary actions might follow.

"I didn't say that there is going to be further action, but there are things we want to talk to the Astros about, continuing to have those conversations and gather information," Manfred said. "I think it was important that they recognize that they had made a mistake. They issued an apology and they dealt with the individual situation in a decisive way, and those are all positives."

Manfred said the league would continue its inquiry into the incident and its fallout after the World Series concludes. The Washington Nationals lead the series 2-0 entering Game 3 at Nationals Park on Friday night. Manfred added that the league would address the matter publicly when the conversations he referenced are finished and any further decisions related to the matter are made.

Manfred emphasized that there is no timeline on the next phase of the inquiry, or even what the scope of the inquiry might be.

"I think we've had pretty good record of transparency when we make decisions," Manfred said. "So I think when we get to the point when we have something more to say, it'll be public. Again, I don't want the expectation that this piece of it is going to be as quick as the last piece, because there is more to it."

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Filip Krajinovic 3-6 6-4 6-4 to book a semi-final with nine-time champion Roger Federer at the Swiss Indoors.

The 21-year-old world number seven served 12 aces and beat the 46th-ranked Serbian in an hour and 53 minutes.

Fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut's hopes of reaching next month's ATP finals were dented by a 6-3 3-6 6-3 defeat against American Reilly Opelka.

World number 37 Opelka served 31 aces in his win in an hour and 33 minutes.

With the top eight players qualifying for the O2 Arena from 10-17 November, ninth-placed Bautista-Agut was trying to keep pace with eighth-ranked Matteo Berrettini, but the Italian reached the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna to increase his lead to 130 points.

Federer, who dropped only six games in wins over Peter Gojowczyk and Radu Albot, had a walkover into the last four after fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka withdrew because of a back injury.

Tsitsipas famously beat Federer in their first meeting at the Australian Open in January, but lost in straight sets when Federer won the Dubai title in March.

Opelka will face Alex de Minaur in the first semi-final in Basel on Saturday after the Australian beat Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-4 7-6 (7-4).