Canada’s Saad bin Zafar called up by Patriots for CPL playoffs & Mitchell Johnson gears up for motorsport debut &
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Peter Della PennaCricket
Saad bin Zafar the Canada left-arm spinning all-rounder, has been called into the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots squad as a replacement player for the CPL 2018 playoffs. Saad comes in following Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah’s departure for the Asia Cup in the UAE. Saad left on Monday night for Guyana, where Patriots face Jamaica Tallawahs in Wednesday’s Eliminator.
Saad, 31, made his Canada debut in 2008, after moving from Pakistan as a teenager. He was one of the top performers in domestic cricket, and one of only two players, along with Nitish Kumar of Toronto Nationals, to play every match for the champions Vancouver Knights in the recent Global T20 Canada tournament.
Saad scored an unbeaten 79 off 48 balls and took 2 for 26 with the ball to be Man of the Match in the final, playing for a Knights side led by Chris Gayle, who also happens to be the captain of the Patriots in the CPL. Aside from Gayle, other teammates from the Knights whom Saad will be joining as part of the Patriots are Rassie van der Dussen, Evin Lewis and Sheldon Cottrell.
Saad’s selection makes him the second North American player to have his stock rise through performances in the Global T20 Canada. USA’s Ali Khan was brought into Trinbago Knight Riders squad as a replacement for Ronsford Beaton after a solid season with Winnipeg Hawks, and finished the league phase tied fourth overall in the season with 14 wickets in nine matches. Khan was subsequently one of five Associate players picked in the Afghanistan Premier League draft on Monday, snapped up by the Kabul franchise led by Rashid Khan.
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Mitchell Johnson made his name as a tear away fast bowler in cricket, but he’s gearing up for a different kind of speed now. Having retired from all forms of cricket in August this year, the 36-year old former Australia quick is set to make his motor racing debut this weekend at the Barbagello Raceway in a Formula 1000 series event.
“I’ve always loved my cars, I’ve always had that passion,” Johnson told the Wanneroo Times. “For me it’s that release – it’s not quite the same as what I got with cricket but it’s a great adrenaline rush for me to get my mind off things. You’re going pretty quick, you’ve got so many technical things to think about – when you’re going to turn into the corner, braking, feeling the car. It’s been a great process – I’m starting to really enjoy it.”
Johnson took a liking to motorsport following a charity event, and since then he underwent a training and development programme with Arise Racing, an outfit based in Perth that helped prepare him for the race he’ll be a part of this weekend. For Johnson, though, it’s not too different from the thrill of fast bowling, whether he’s bounding into his delivery stride, or at the other end facing it.
“I faced Shoaib Akhtar when I was playing for Queensland,” he said. “He’s got this massive run-up – the first ball, I was sort of shaking there. His first ball, hit for four, it was a full toss and I ran past and said ‘please don’t hit me’. It was almost the same as the first time I was driving out here.”
Johnson had retired from all international cricket following a Test series against New Zealand in 2015, finishing as the third-highest wicket-taker among Australia fast bowlers in Test cricket. With 313 wickets in 73 Tests, he’s behind only Glenn McGrath (563 wickets) and Dennis Lillee (355). He was a crucial part of the devastating 5-0 Ashes whitewash Australia inflicted on England in 2013-14, when he took 37 wickets at a stellar average of 13.97 and was named Player of the Series.
It seems like his days in the fast lane aren’t quite done yet.