Football’s governing body in England has said that women playing the sport across its competitions are allowed to wear clothing that follows their religious beliefs after former Somalia captain Iqra Ismail was prevented from playing a match for not wearing shorts.

The Football Association (FA) said on Wednesday they were aware of the matter that arose two days earlier. Ismail revealed in an Instagram video that she was not allowed to come on as a substitute for the team United Dragons during a game in the Greater London Women’s Football League (GLWFL) on Sunday because she was wearing tracksuit bottoms.

The 24-year-old Muslim player, who is also a coach, added that she has been playing in the GLWFL for five years wearing similar clothing.

“Every year, they have made it more and more difficult for women like me to play now they have drawn the line and banned me from playing until I compromise my beliefs,” Ismail said in the video.

The London-based player, who is also a refugee advocate, said the referee for the game told her he had been asked “strictly” not to allow such clothing.

“If we don’t wear shorts, we cannot play – that’s what I was told. So of course I stood by my principles and was not allowed to kick a ball.”

Ismail, who is an advocate for Muslim women in sport, said such actions make it difficult for women like her to participate.

“At this level the priority should be making football accessible and the Greater London Women’s Football League have done the exact opposite,” she went on to say in the video message.

She added that the incident moved her to tears, leaving her feeling frustrated and isolated.

“They ask me why football lacks diversity and why it’s difficult to find women who look like me in the competitive game – things like this are the reason.

“My responsibility is to advocate for women like me so these things can’t happen.”

Following the incident, the FA said it had communicated with all local football governing bodies on clothing earlier in the year.

“We proactively wrote to all county FAs and match officials across the women’s grassroots game earlier this year to confirm that women and girls should be allowed to wear clothing that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised,” a spokesperson from the FA said.

The FA said they were aware of the matter and were in contact with the Middlesex FA to ensure it gets resolved quickly.

The GLWFL said in a statement it was their understanding that players were required to wear shorts on top of clothing that covered their legs.

“However, we have since been made aware that shorts on top of tracksuits or tights are not required… we will be providing this updated guidance to all our match officials and members,” the league wrote on X on Tuesday.

After bowling out England for 267 in their first innings, Pakistan faced trouble due to slumping top order batting line-ups as they lose three wickets on the first day of the deciding third Test being played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

England’s Shoaib Bashir sent off Abdullah Shafique (14) in 9th over, whereas, Jack Leach ended Saim Ayub’s innings at 19 in 12th over. Gus Atkinson gave a big blow to the hosts by claiming Kamran Ghulam’s wicket for 3.

However, skipper Shan Masood (16) along with Saud Shakeel (16) made Pakistan’s slumping lineup steady at the conclusion of day 1 of the series decider at 73/3.

The three-test series is level at 1-1.

Earlier, Jamie Smith (89) and Ben Duckett (52) scored fifties but England’s most frontline batters overall struggled against the turning ball.

Pakistan’s spin duo of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali ran through the England lineup as they claimed six and three wickets, respectively, followed by Zahid Mahmood took one wicket.

After departure of skipper Ben Stokes (12), Jamie Smith revived his side by scoring crucial 89 runs off 119 balls along with Atkinson’s 39 off 71. Zahid removed Smith in 62nd over, whereas, Atkinson was caught and bowled by Noman.

Pakistan’s spin trap led by Sajid Khan and Noman Ali on Thursday wreaked havoc on England to dismiss the top half of their batting lineup in one session reducing the tourists to 110-5 on the opening day of the deciding third Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Ben Duckett (52) gave England a decent start but captain Ben Stokes, batting on six, was left to rue his decision to bat first on a turning track. Jamie Smith was batting on five at the break with England facing a massive job to rebuild the innings.

With the series levelled at 1-1, Pakistan attacked with spin from both ends with Sajid and Noman, who shared all 20 England wickets in the previous test in Multan, bowling in tandem.

Left-arm spinner Noman drew first blood when he tempted Zak Crawley (29) with a flighted delivery, the opener trying for a drive but edging it to Saim Ayub at gully.

England vice-captain Ollie Pope (three) fell to Sajid for the third time in three innings after fluffing a sweep shot.

The off-spinner then delivered a body blow when he trapped Joe Root, currently the top-ranked test batter, lbw for five with a sharply turning ball.

Duckett hit a six off Sajid en route to his fifty and got a reprieve when Noman spilt a return catch. The spinner got his man though, dismissing Duckett lbw in the same over with a delivery that kept low.

Sajid’s trademark thigh-slap celebration was on display again when he bowled Harry Brook (five), who looked ill at ease against the turning ball.

Currently, England are 118-6 with Jamie Smith batting at 7* and Gus Atkinson on zero, while Pakistani spinners Sajid and Noman’s tally of wickets stands at four and two, respectively.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir

Sajid Khan claimed six wickets, while Noman Ali took three to help Pakistan bundle England for 267 after Jamie Smith’s gutsy 89 on the first day of the third Test here on Thursday.

England could add only 25 runs after the Tea, thanks to Jack Leach’s 16 as Sajid Khan took the final two wickets to claim his second five-wicket haul of the series.

Rehan Ahmed became Sajid’s fifth victim as he came down the track only to get deceived by the spin. Meanwhile, Leach got out stumped in an attempt to hit a short ball by Sajid.

Other than Sajid’s six wickets, Noman Ali got three while Zahid Mahmood bagged one.

England scored 242-8 at Tea with Rehan Ahmed (2) and Jack Leach (1) on the crease.

Ben Stokes (6) and Jamie Smith (5) resumed England’s innings after the Lunch with 110-5 on the board.

However, Stokes was soon dismissed by Sajid Khan after scoring 12 runs, bringing Gus Atkinson to the crease.

Smith and Atkinson raised a 105-run partnership to get England out of the trouble much to the frustration of Pakistan bowlers.

Atkinson, who missed the second Test, played a gutsy knock on his return to the side and scored 39 runs from 71 balls with the help of five boundaries before miscuing one back to the Noman Ali.

Jamie Smith top-scored for England with a stellar innings of 89 runs, which ended with him getting stumped off Zahid Mahmood.

England captain Ben Stokes opted to bat first on a tricky Rawalpindi pitch. The visitors got off to a decent start as opening batters Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett stitched a 56-run partnership.

However, Pakistan’s spinners continued from where they left in the last match and Noman Ali provided the first breakthrough, removing Crawley after he scored 29.

Duckett continued to anchor through the innings while new batters Ollie Pope (3) and Joe Root (5) fell prey to Sajid Khan.

The left-handed opener completed his second half-century of the series but soon became Noman Ali’s victim. Duckett departed after scoring 52 off 84 with the help of four boundaries and one six.

Sajid Khan castled Harry Brook (5) to leave England in a struggling position with the scoreboard reading 98-5.

Stokes was then joined by wicket-keeper Jamie Smith and they ensured that the English side did not suffer any further damage in the first session.

It’s worth noting that the three-match Test series is currently levelled 1-1 and the deciding third match is currently underway at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

England have announced their playing XI for the decisive third Test against Pakistan, set to begin on Thursday in Rawalpindi. With the three-match series tied, both teams are looking to secure a win, and England have made two changes to their lineup in preparation for the clash.

Seamer Gus Atkinson makes his return to the side, providing an additional pace option for England’s bowling attack. Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed is also included, marking his first appearance since playing against India in Rajkot earlier this year.

Both players will be key in helping England challenge Pakistan on what is expected to be a turning pitch. Missing out on the final XI are Durham duo Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts, who were part of the second Test in Multan.

England’s squad features a mix of experience and youth, with captain Ben Stokes leading the side. The batting order remains solid with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett at the top, followed by Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Harry Brook.

Jamie Smith retains his spot, while Jack Leach is set to lead the spin attack alongside Ahmed. Shoaib Bashir, another key spinner, rounds out the bowling lineup.

As the teams prepare for this crucial match, England will be eager to finish the series on a high note after strong performances in the earlier Tests. Both teams will be looking to exploit the conditions in Rawalpindi to clinch the series victory.

Pakistan set a 297-run target for England after grabbing a handy lead of 296 runs with the help of Salman Agha’s 63 in their second innings on day three of the second test in Multan on Thursday.

Pakistan’s top order slumped after England’s Shoaib Bashir took three crucial wickets of Abdullah Shafique (4), Saim Ayub (22) and skipper Shan Masood (11), while he also removed Noman Ali (1).

Jack Leach also played his part for his side by sending off Kamran Ghulam (26), Saud Shakeel (31), and Aamer Jamal (1) which further dimmed the chances of resistance from the hosts.

However, Salman took the charge and responsibly brought Men in Green back to the game to stretch the lead by smashing 63 runs off 89 balls.

Brydon Carse ended Salman’s innings in 58th over, who also grabbed the key wicket of wicketkeeper-cum-batsman Mohammad Rizwan in 31st over.

After grabbing a crucial lead of 75 runs against England, Pakistan was hit with challenges, slumping to 77-4 in their second innings.

Pakistan Off-spinner Sajid Khan claimed seven wickets as the Green Shirts bowled out England for 291 as the visitors tried to chase Pakistan’s first-innings total of 366 in the spin-dominated contest.

Ben Duckett smashed 114 for England but several of their frontline batters failed to convert starts into big knocks.

On a track where the ball turned sharply and shot-making was difficult, England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir then delivered three huge blows to keep England in the contest.

Kamran Ghulam, who smashed a hundred in the first innings of his debut test, was batting on five having lost partner Saim Ayub (22) on the stroke of lunch but soon was knocket out at 26 by left-arm spinner Jack Leach.

England captain Ben Stokes began with spin from both ends due to the nature of the pitch, putting in off-spinner Bashir with Leach.

Stokes stayed with spin even when Leach had to be rested, pressing part-time off-spinner Joe Root into service.

Bashir drew first blood when he had Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique caught behind for four. England successfully reviewed the original not-out decision and replays confirmed the faintest of edges.

Bashir dismissed Shan Masood for 11 after the Pakistan captain tried to flick a ball only to offer an edge to Ollie Pope at second slip.

Saim looked comfortable before falling to the same Pope-Bashir combination in the final delivery before the lunch break.

England had earlier resumed on 239-6 and lost their remaining four wickets in the first hour to concede a first-innings lead of 75 to the hosts.

Sajid dismissed Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Bashir to finish with impressive figures of 7-111.

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali claimed the remaining three as England lost all 10 wickets to Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack, which has Aamer Jamal as the lone seamer.

Previously, Ben Stokes’ squad had shown a strong response, particularly through Ben Duckett’s outstanding century, establishing a robust position against Pakistan.

Before that, the Shan Masood-led side got out for 366 with debutant Ghulam top-scoring for the hosts with a fluent 118 and Saim contributing 77.

England are 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

Pakistan Playing XI

Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood

England Playing XI

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir

England were dismissed for 291 on Thursday, largely due to Sajid Khan’s outstanding bowling performance, claiming seven wickets in the first innings.

Resuming at 239-6, Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse were at the crease, but both batsmen failed to provide much resistance. England’s innings quickly wrapped up, with Jack Leach remaining unbeaten on 25.

Pakistan now hold a lead of 75 runs after their first-innings total of 366.

A day earlier, England had taken control of the match with Ben Duckett’s century leading the visitors’ strong response to Pakistan’s opening score. However, Sajid’s brilliance has turned the tide in Pakistan’s favor.

The right-arm off-break bowler dismissed centurion Duckett, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ollie Pope to turn the tide in favour of the hosts.

Before that, the Shan Masood-led side got out for 366 with debutant Kamran Ghulam top-scoring for the hosts with a fluent 118 and Saim Ayub contributing 77.

Spinner Jack Leach (4-114) and seamer Brydon Carse (3-50) impressed with the ball for England, who are 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir

The day ended with Jamie Smith (12*) and Brydon Carse (2*) on strike.

The Ben Stokes-led side will be resuming their first innings on the third day of the second test.

The touring side were 88 for one at tea with Ben Duckett unbeaten on 53 and Ollie Pope on five.

Scoring the most runs, Duckett made a century with 114 runs off 129 balls after smashing 16 boundaries solely.

He was dismissed after Agha Salman caught the catch by first slip when Sajid Khan delivered the first ball of the 43rd over.

Pope, on the other hand, couldn’t score much for the team, making 29 after taking 16 runs from his four boundaries.

Aiming for a half-century, Joe Root (34) was dismissed after Sajid, eyeing his third wicket, hit the stumps on the third ball of the 41st over.

Players including Harry Brook and English skipper Ben Stokes scored less than 10 runs in the first innings.

With Brook scoring 9 and Stokes making one run and leaving the stadium at the second ball of the 44th over delivered by Noman Ali.

The Shan Masood-led side so far played good with the ball, taking six wickets down of the visitors.

With Sajid taking four wickets solely while Noman dismissed two players in the innings so far.

Earlier today, England’s Duckett smashed a rapid unbeaten fifty as he opened for the visitors, leading their robust reply to Pakistan’s first-innings 366.

Duckett combined in a breezy 73-run opening stand with Zak Crawley, who led a charmed life before he fell for 27.

Crawley survived a run-out after a mix-up with Duckett only because bowler Sajid had broken the stumps before he could collect the ball.

Sajid appeared to have redeemed himself in the next over when his lbw appeal against Crawley was upheld.

Pakistan’s joy was short-lived, however, as Crawley, convinced by Duckett, reviewed the decision, which was reversed after replays confirmed the ball would have narrowly missed the stumps.

Crawley could not make the most of the reprieves, though, and fell to Noman Ali.

After the caught-behind appeal against Crawley had been turned down, left-arm spinner Noman cajoled his captain Shan Masood to review the decision and replays confirmed an edge.

Pakistan all out in first innings

Earlier, Pakistan were all out for 366 in their first innings on day two of the second Test with debutant Kamran Ghulam top scoring for the hosts with a fluent 118 and Saim Ayub contributing 77.

Spinner Jack Leach (4-114) and seamer Brydon Carse (3-50) impressed with the ball for England, who are 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

Aamer Jamal and Noman Ali showcased the resilience of Pakistan’s lower order, reaching 358 for eight at lunch on day two of the second Test against England in Multan on Wednesday.

Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha opened the second day at 37 and five, respectively, on 259-5. However, the Green Shirts soon lost Rizwan to Brydon Carse for 41 as England dominated the opening hour.

Rizwan had survived a strong lbw appeal in the previous over from Matthew Potts but edged Carse and Jamie Smith took a sharp catch behind the stumps.

Meanwhile, Agha contributed 31 but failed to convert the start into a big knock. He also fell caught behind after Potts managed to extract some extra bounce from a docile track, inducing an edge that nestled into Smith’s gloves.

Leach removed Khan for two but Jamal frustrated England even though the batter struggled to get going and needed on-field treatment.

Jamal is the lone specialist seamer in Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack and his fitness is crucial for the home side’s hopes of levelling the series in Multan.

Previously, Ghulam, 29, hit a superb century on his debut to guide Pakistan to 259-5 on the opening day of the second Test, replacing out-of-form Babar Azam at number four and foiled England’s aggressive bowling and fielding to score 118.

Ghulam led a fightback after the hosts, who won the toss, were struggling at 19-2 with Leach striking twice in the first hour. He added 149 for the defiant third wicket with Saim Ayub, who hit a career-best 77, and another 65 for the fifth wicket with Rizwan.

The debutant reached three figures with a boundary off spinner Joe Root, taking 280 minutes and becoming Pakistan’s 12th batter to score a century in his first Test.

With just half an hour before stumps, Ghulam was bowled by spinner Shoaib Bashir, ending a resolute 323-minute knock spiced with 11 fours and a six.

Meanwhile, England employed a short mid-off and two mid-wicket fielders to get wickets after lunch but the Multan pitch — the same used for the first Test — gave very little help to the spinners after some early promise.

England lead the three-match series 1-0.

Pakistan Playing XI

Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood

England Playing XI

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir

Former England captain Nasser Hussain criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after the board announced the exclusion of the former skipper Babar Azam from the second Test against England.

The former English captain highlighted the inconsistency of the board, which makes it hard to predict the future of the national team.

In regard to this he stated that there have been significant changes in the team, adding that constant upheaval hinders long-term planning.

“Pakistan has seen the replacement of 27 selectors, frequent changes in board heads, and the shifting of team captains, which has disrupted stability within the organisation,” he said. “No institution can succeed with such frequent changes.”

Continuing his conversation, the 56-year-old expressed dissatisfaction with the exclusion of the star batter Babar Azam.

He said: “After witnessing just one poor performance, how can you exclude someone in the mid of the series. Also, such decisions should be taken either before or after the series ends.”

“The issue is not with Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, or Naseem Shah. The real problem is with how Pakistan cricket is being run,” Hussain said.

Moreover, the commentator wasn’t happy with the Pakistan cricket repeatedly making decisions that are detrimental to its progress.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally announced a 16-member team for the second and third Tests against England after much deliberation, with key players including Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi out of the squad.

Young pacer Naseem Shah and experienced wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz are also not part of the team.

“Taking into consideration the current form and fitness of key players and looking ahead to Pakistan’s future assignments in the 2024-25 international cricket season, the selectors have decided to give rest to Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi,” a statement released by the cricket governing body read.

It stated that the four players have been replaced by Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, fast bowler Mohammad Ali, off-spinner Sajid Khan and all uncapped Kamran Ghulam.

Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood, who were initially part of the original first Test squad but were subsequently released, have also been included in the 16-player squad, the PCB added.

It further stated that leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed remains unavailable for the second Test as he is still recovering from dengue fever.

The PCB said that the same squad had been finalised for the third Test match as well, which will be played in Multan and Rawalpindi on 15 and 24 October, respectively.

Speaking to the media after the squad announcement, member of the men’s national selection committee Aqib Javed said:

“Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule.”

He said that the decision to rest Babar and other key players has been made in the best interest of Pakistan cricket and its players.

“We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges,” Javed added.

The former cricketer went on to say that Babar, Shaheen, Naseem and Sarfaraz remain some of “our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket”.

He expressed commitment to support the cricketers during this period so they can come back even stronger.

Speaking about those who have been included in the squad, Javed said that they now have the chance to showcase their skills against a formidable England side.

“We believe they will rise to the occasion and make the most of this opportunity in the remaining two Tests,” he added.

The second Test is set to take place from October 15-19 at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.

As the second Test match between Pakistan and England approaches, star batter Babar Azam is likely to be rested for the upcoming match.

The second Test between the two teams is set to take place from October 15-19 at the Multan Cricket Stadium, while the announcement of the squad is likely to be made today.

Several changes, as per the sources, are expected in the Pakistani squad, which will be announced following an approval from Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

Insiders said the suggestion to rest “out-of-form” former captain has been given by the selectors due to his below-the-par performance in the first Test match with the English side.

They added that both the Green Shirts and England will practice for the upcoming Test today at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Moreover, Green Shirts are also likely to include two spinners to the squad and left arm spinner Noman Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan are being considered in this regard.

It may be noted that leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed is going to miss the second Test, as he fell ill and is currently undergoing treatment.

Sources had earlier stated that a fast bowler or batter could also be dropped for the second Test to accommodate the spinners.

Pakistan faced a humiliating defeat in the first Test against England by an innings and 47 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium on October 11.

In order to stay in the tournament, the Shan Masood-led side must perform well, as their previous performance has badly affected their rankings, with Pakistan now ranked No. 9.