Pakistan targets right T20 combination against understrength New Zealand

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — The 2009 champion Pakistan is aiming to tick all the right boxes in its preparation phase ahead of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup as it gears up for the five-match series under comeback captain Babar Azam against an understrength New Zealand.

Rawalpindi will host the first three games from Thursday. The remaining two games will be staged at Lahore on April 25 and 27 as both squads build up to the world tournament being staged in the United States and Caribbean in June.

Babar returns as white-ball captain and will lead the squad for the third successive T20 World Cup. He replaces Shaheen Shah Afridi, who lost to the Black Caps 4-1 earlier this year in his maiden series as Pakistan's T20 skipper.

Babar led Pakistan to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup in 2021 in the United Arab Emirates, where it lost to eventual champion Australia, and also skippered the side beaten by England at Melbourne in the 2022 edition.

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir and allrounder Imad Wasim have come out of retirements to give Pakistan plenty of selection options after express fast bowler Haris Rauf was ruled out of the series due to shoulder injury and Mohammad Nawaz was dropped.

Selectors rewarded several performers from the Pakistan Super League, including uncapped Usman Khan and Irfan Khan. Usman was banned by the UAE for five years after switching allegiance to his country of birth. He came into contention for Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad after smashing back-to-back centuries for Multan Sultans in the PSL.

“We have a very balanced side and we have covered all the aspects of the game in this squad,” said Azhar Mahmood, head coach for the series against New Zealand. “Definitely, with the comeback of Amir and Imad we have an edge and we can use them any time.”

Mahmood was appointed on ad-hoc basis as Pakistan is still searching for a long-term head coach ahead of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan is also scheduled to play a three-match T20 series in Ireland next month and another four matches against England are lined up before the team flies out to America.

Mahmood said he wants to give clarity of roles to the players during the series against New Zealand and could also rest key players, including Babar, to test the depth of the squad.

“Definitely, it is quite possible we might give rest to Babar,” Mahmood said. “It’s the best available talent we have picked. We will see how the series goes and what the conditions are.”

The core of New Zealand's World Cup-bound squad, including captain Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell and Lockie Ferguson, is playing in the Indian Premier League. Also missing from the Pakistan tour will be veteran Tim Southee, who was rested, and Tom Latham was given paternity leave.

New Zealand's squad was further depleted when power-hitter Finn Allen and fast bowler Adam Milne were ruled out because of injuries sustained during a training camp last week.

The Black Caps will be led by Michael Bracewell, who hasn’t played an international game since March 2023 after rupturing his right Achilles during the T20 Blast and then breaking a finger.

Mark Chapman, who scored 290 runs in a drawn T20 series in Pakistan last year, hoped players such as fast bowler Will O’Rourke and power-hitter Tim Robertson will do well.

“Any team that plays for New Zealand is a team that’s extremely proud to be representing our country,” Chapman said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to show the depth that we’re building. Obviously the team generally has been pretty settled, but behind the scenes, there’s a lot of talent.

“The young guys like Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke have played this year in test cricket and really impressed. Also, Tim Robertson was outstanding this year in the Super Smash and the guys are really excited because they know that (they're playing) a full-strength Pakistan team.”

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

New Zealand's skipper Michael Bracewell, second left, and teammates attend a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's skipper Babar Azam, left, and teammate Mohammad Rizwan attend a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

New Zealand's cricket players attend a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's cricket players warm up for a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

New Zealand's Ish Sodhi attends a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

New Zealand's cricket players, left, and Pakistan's players attend a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

New Zealand's cricket players attend team meeting ahead of a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's cricket players attend team meeting ahead of a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

New Zealand's Mark Chapman, center, and teammates attend a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's skipper Babar Azam arrives to attend a practice session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — A convicted sex offender is asking the Norwegian Supreme Court to declare that social media access is a human right.

The case before the court Thursday involves a man who molested a minor and used the Snapchat messaging app to connect with young boys.

The unidentified offender was sentenced last year to 13 months in prison and banned from using Snapchat for two years.

His lawyers argue that depriving him of his account is unlawful under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case turns on how vital social media have become for freedom of expression, even though the court must decide the case through laws that predate such sites.

“The case raises important questions about the extent to which the state can restrict access to social media platforms, which are significant tools for exercising the right to freedom of expression and maintaining social connections,” defense lawyer John Christian Elden said.

A November 2023 appeal against the ban failed with the state successfully arguing it was “proportionately measured against the fact that the defendant has used Snapchat to exploit children sexually.” The Appeal Court added that he still had the right to use other social media. If the Supreme Court also upholds the decision, the offender could attempt to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

The European convention has been used before to test the limits on Norwegian justice. Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right extremist who murdered 77 people in 2011, lost a court challenge in February that argued being held in isolation while serving his prison sentence amounted to inhumane punishment under the convention.

Signatories to the ECHR agree to abide by 18 articles guaranteeing citizens rights including life, liberty and freedom of expression. Norway was the second country to ratify the convention in 1952, after the United Kingdom.

Snapchat, run by Snap Inc., allows users to send and receive messages that disappear once they are read. Users also can physically locate other users who opt in to location tracking.

Snap prohibits child sexual exploitation on the app but allows accounts to be create anonymously. In an email it said, “when we disable accounts for sexual exploitation and grooming behavior, we also take steps to block the associated device and other accounts connected to the user from creating another Snapchat account.”

Snap disabled 343,865 accounts connected with child sexual exploitation in the second half of 2023. It sanctioned 879 accounts in Norway though it is not clear how many of these were permanently disabled.

The Norwegian court will issue its ruling in the coming weeks.

A view of the interior of the Supreme Court, in Oslo, Oct. 31, 2023. A convicted sex offender is asking the Norwegian Supreme Court to declare social media access is a human right. The case before the court Thursday, May 2, 2024 involves a man who molested a minor and used the Snapchat messaging app to connect with young boys. (Martin Solhaug Standal/NTB Scanpix via AP)