Sri Lanka Cricket decided to play in Pakistan for the first time since its team bus was attacked in Lahore in '09 after being left "fully satisfied" with "stringent security measures." The two teams will meet in a Twenty20 int'l at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Oct. 29 after what SLC described as "a thorough evaluation" (BBC, 10/16).
Next month's leg of the World Cup qualifying tie between the All Whites and Peru in Wellington is "on track for a full house with 25,000 tickets sold in the first day of pre-sale." That included 20,000 tickets being sold in the first hour, "which began at midday Tuesday for those fans signed up to the waitlist," before exceeding the 25,000 mark by 6pm (STUFF, 10/17).
Carlos Takam replaced Kubrat Pulev as the Int'l Boxing Federation mandatory challenger for Anthony Joshua's world title at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Oct. 28. Frenchman Takam, ranked No. 3 by the IBF, has been "on the hunt for a showdown with the champion" and gets his "golden chance at ripping away Joshua's titles" after Pulev suffered a shoulder injury (London TELEGRAPH, 10/16).
The Asian Football Confederation said that Malaysia's rescheduled 2019 Asian Cup qualifying match away to North Korea "could be played at a neutral venue." With the Group B clash postponed three times "due to security concerns and strained diplomatic ties between the nations," the AFC added that a decision would be made "at the end of this week" (ESPN.com, 10/17).
The Pakistan Cricket Board agreed to be a part of the Int'l Cricket Council's World Test and one-day leagues only if the BCCI honors the MOU signed between the two boards in '14 to play bilateral series, according to PCB Chair Najam Sethi. The ICC announced "nine teams would take part in the World Test league scheduled to start after the 2019 World Cup," with each team playing six series on a home-and-away basis across two years (PTI, 10/17).
