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Towhid Hridoy earned a maiden call-up by scoring over 400 runs in the BPL

Mohammad Isam16-Feb-2023Tamim Iqbal has returned to the Bangladesh ODI side to lead in the first two matches against England next month. Tamim had missed the ODI series against India in December because of a groin injury, with Liton Das leading the side to a 2-1 win.There were three inclusions in the side. Towhid Hridoy earned a maiden call-up while Taijul Islam returned to the side. Hridoy scored more than 400 runs in the BPL, which prompted his call-up, while Taijul is a like-for-like replacement for Nasum Ahmed, who was among the five players dropped.The others to be dropped were Yasir Ali, Anamul Haque, Nurul Hasan and Shoriful Islam.Anamul, who returned to the ODI side after four years against Zimbabwe in mid-2022, made only 33 runs in three innings against India. Yasir played just one game and scored 25. Nurul, meanwhile, didn’t play a single game in the India series.Among those who returned to the side, Tamim played most of the BPL matches for Khulna Tigers, but he missed the last few games to stay fit for the England games. Taijul played only three ODIs last year, taking a five-wicket haul against West Indies.”Towhid Hridoy has been doing well in the BPL,” chief selector Minhajul Abedin said. “He was in our pool of potential players, and was part of the HP [High Performance] and Bangladesh A sides. Yasir remains in our thinking, as we plan to take another player in the squad. Nasum is being considered for another format, while we dropped Nurul and Shoriful due to form.”The three-match ODI series will start on March 1 in Dhaka and will be part of the ODI Super League. Those will be followed by as many T20Is from March 9 to 14.Bangladesh squad for England ODIs: Tamim Iqbal (capt), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain, Taijul Islam, Towhid Hridoy

Defending champions England will begin their campaign against Australia on March 5, while India meet Pakistan the following day

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2021Hosts New Zealand will face West Indies in the opening match of the Women’s ODI World Cup in Tauranga on March 4. Six-time winners Australia will meet defending champions England at Seddon Park in Hamilton the following day, while India, last edition’s runners-up, will face Pakistan in another marquee fixture in Tauranga on March 6.ICC confirmed that the 31 games will be played across 31 days, with the eight teams competing for the trophy. Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Wellington will be the six cities that will host the tournament. Christchurch will host the final on April 3.Related

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Like the previous edition, the tournament will be played in the league format, where each team will meet the other teams once. The top four sides will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played at Wellington and Christchurch on March 30 and 31 respectively. Both the semi-finals and the final will have a reserve day in place.Australia, England, South Africa and India qualified for the global event on the basis of their position in ICC Women’s Championship 2017-20 while New Zealand automatically qualified as hosts. After the World Cup qualifying event in Zimbabwe was called off due to the Covid-19 threat last month, Bangladesh, West Indies and Pakistan secured their places on the basis of their team ranking.This will be the first big women’s global event since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The last global women’s event played was the Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in March 2020, which the hosts won by beating India in the final.As a part of their preparation, India are scheduled to play five ODIs against hosts New Zealand before the World Cup.

Among recent cricketers to have received this honour are Yasir Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2020The late Abdul Qadir has been conferred the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the third-highest civilian award in Pakistan, by president Arif Alvi on August 14, the country’s Independence Day.Qadir, who died last year, is often credited as the one who revived the art of legspin in the 1970s and 1980s. During his career, he took 236 wickets in 67 Tests and 132 in 104 ODIs. After his retirement, Qadir ran a private cricket academy just outside Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. He was also Pakistan’s chief selector for a period of six months in 2008-09.Sitara-e-Imtiaz is awarded to those individuals who have made a meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavours. Among recent cricketers to have received this honour are Yasir Shah (2019) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (2018).

Captain Gulbadin Naib also played a crucial hand, taking 6 for 43 – the third-best figures for Afghanistan in ODI cricket

The Report Deivarayan Muthu21-May-2019
Afghanistan shook off Sunday’s drubbing against Ireland and tuned up for the World Cup by levelling the two-match series in Belfast. Mohammad Shahzad led the way with a blistering century, showing off his range, before Najibullah Zadran’s unbeaten 60 off 33 balls vaulted Afghanistan to 305 for 7 – the highest total at the Civil Service Cricket Club. Ireland opener Paul Stirling peeled off his fourth successive score of fifty or more, but the rapidly rising asking rate was just too much to overcome for the hosts in their steep chase.The outfield was rather sluggish because of the wet weather over the past couple of days, but Shahzad’s batting was anything but. Shahzad set the scene for the day when he dashed down the track to the first ball and launched it over mid-on. Noor Ali Zadran, who was picked in place of Hazratullah Zazai, chipped seamer Mark Adair to mid-on in the fourth over, but the early dismissal of his opening partner did not hold Shahzad back.He unfurled a variety of shots – ranging from the helicopter shot to the good ol’ slog – and bent Ireland’s attack out of shape. Rahmat Shah’s solidity proved the ideal foil for Shahzad’s ferocity as the pair put on 150 for the second wicket at a run rate of 5.35.Shahzad was particularly severe on Adair and Barry McCarthy, hitting 48 runs off 32 balls from them. He reached his sixth ODI hundred off 85 balls when he eased Boyd Rankin to fine leg in the 31st over. Shahzad celebrated the landmark by placing his helmet on the bat and holding them aloft, Chris Gayle-style.Rahmat had needed 13 balls to get off the mark, but soon found his groove when Rankin offered up back-to-back leg-stump half-volleys in the 17th over. Both balls were put away for boundaries. He was also pretty fluent driving on the up through extra cover, but the partnership ended when Andy McBrine had him holing out for 62 in the 32nd over. In the same over, Shahzad, too, holed out, and then by the 41st over Afghanistan were 212 for 5.Rankin and Tim Murtagh then unleashed a short-ball barrage on Najibullah, but the batsman took them on and swatted them away like flies. He smoked three sixes, including one that sailed out of the ground and onto the road. Hashmatullah Shahidi pitched in with 47, helping Afghanistan ransack 93 in the last nine overs to breach 300.Ireland had picked an extra seamer in McCarthy at the expense of left-arm spinner George Dockrell, but three balls into his fourth over he sustained a knee injury and hobbled off the field. McCarthy did not return to bowl. Rankin gave Ireland another injury scare when Shahidi stuck him on his right knee with a drilled drive, but the quick recovered sufficiently to bowl his full quota of ten overs.In pursuit of 306, Ireland lost James McCollum early, but Stirling’s rich form and his 48-run stand with Andy Balbirnie gave the side some hope. However, captain Gulbadin Naib hit hard lengths and removed both batsmen to dent the chase. Naib then turned it into a full-blown collapse by scything through the middle order. By the end, Stirling, Balbirnie and wicketkeeper Gary Wilson were the only Ireland batsmen to get to 20 or more, and the hosts were dismissed for 179 in 41.2 overs.Fittingly, Naib sewed up the victory with 6 for 43 – the best figures by an Afghanistan seamer in ODI cricket. The new captain couldn’t have asked for a better lead up to the World Cup.

Karnataka defended 253 in the final against Saurashtra as Cheteshwar Pujara’s 94 off 127 balls could not see his side through

The Report by Sreshth Shah27-Feb-20180:59

Mayank Agarwal’s incredible run of domestic form

Mayank Agarwal’s rollicking form continued in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Saurashtra, as his 79-ball 90 set up Karnataka’s 41-run victory at Feroz Shah Kotla under the watchful eyes of India selectors MSK Prasad and Sarandeep Singh. The title was Karnataka’s third Vijay Hazare title win in five years as they defended 253 by bowling out Saurashtra for 212 in the 47th over. Captain Cheteshwar Pujara was the only Saurashtra batsman to cross 30 but his 94 off 127 balls could not take them close to the target.Agarwal, who missed out on selection for the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka, increased his domestic season’s tally to 2141 runs with two games yet to go in the Deodhar Trophy, and three if Karnataka reach the final.Pujara opted to bowl in the day game, citing early morning moisture and Jaydev Unadkat’s return to the XI as reasons behind his decision. That choice gave Saurashtra early rewards as opener Karun Nair and No. 3 KL Rahul, who recently returned from South Africa, fell for ducks inside the first three overs. Shaurya Sanandia set Nair’s wicket up by bowling three outswingers first up before sliding an inswinger off the fourth ball of his over to burst through the Karnataka captain’s defense. Rahul fell seven balls later, guilty of running lazily while looking for a single.With Karnataka at 5 for 2, Agarwal combined once again with R Samarth (48) to rescue their innings. They added 136 runs in 131 balls to set up a solid base for a big finish, but a second collapse – wrapped up by offspinner Kamlesh Makvana’s four wickets – ensured Karnataka could not post a huge total. Once Agarwal holed out to long-off in the 25th over, Samarth was bowled for 48 in the next over and Stuart Binny fell for 5 soon after. No. 5 Pavan Deshpande contributed 49 and Shreyas Gopal scored 31 off 28 as Makvana took the last four wickets for 30 runs.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Karnataka also struck with early wickets with their pace bowlers. Opener Samarth Vyas crunched two fours in the first over of the chase, but edged one to the keeper off the over’s final ball. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was promoted from No. 11 to No. 3, but that experiment didn’t last long as he chopped one on and Saurashtra were 15 for 2 after 2.2 overs. Pujara came in at No. 4, one spot lower than usual to combine with opener Avi Barot (30).Barot’s solid 43-ball innings came to an end when he holed out to long-on off Binny, attempting to increase Saurashtra’s run rate. With Pujara consuming dots at the other end – being 7 off 34 balls at one point – the other Saurashtra batsmen, too, fell chasing the game as the run rate had dropped under four runs per over. First, Ravindra Jadeja – playing as a batsman due to a side strain – top-edged a slog sweep to mid-off, after which Prerak Mankad and Arpit Vasavada fell for ducks to offspinner K Gowtham, reducing them to 101 for 6.Pujara struck 10 fours and a six overall but his strike rate hovered in the 60s for the longest time. With Saurashtra needing 105 runs off the last 10 overs with only two wickets in hand, Pujara started freeing his arms. He and Makvana collected 30 runs off the 42nd and 43rd overs together, but it was too late.It didn’t help Saurashtra that Pujara was involved in two run-outs: first a mix-up causing Chirag Jani’s wicket before the captain fell to a rocket throw from Nair at mid-off. Pujara was the ninth man to go, and nine balls later, Prasidh Krishna knocked Sanandia’s leg stump as Karnataka began their celebrations.Karnataka were missing their frontline bowlers – Vinay Kumar out with an injury while Abhimanyu Mithun was unavailable – and yet their bowlers came through. Fielding a second-string bowling attack, their pacers Prasidh and T Pradeep kept things tight at the top, following which Gowtham strangled Saurashtra’s middle order. Both Prasidh and Gowtham took three wickets each. Left-arm quick S Aravind went wicketless but ended his Karnataka career on a high; the final was his last match for the state side because he wants to give more chances to younger players.Karnataka will play the Deodhar Trophy – that starts on March 4 in Dharamsala – along with India A and India B.

Vinod Rai, the chairman of the court-appointed committee that will oversee the BCCI till fresh elections are held, said the panel will have the role of a “nightwatchman”

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Jan-2017Vinod Rai, the chairman of the court-appointed committee of administrators that will supervise the BCCI till fresh elections are held, has said that the panel will be serve as “very short and interim” body. Along with Rai, the Supreme Court of India appointed senior banker Vikram Limaye, former Indian women’s captain Diana Edulji and social historian Ramachandra Guha on the committee of administrators, which will run the BCCI through its chief executive officer Rahul Johri.Rai summarised the role the committee as that of a “nightwatchman” with the aim of putting in place the pillars of transparency and accountability in order to make the BCCI a professional organisation.”I look at it as a role of a nightwatchman, in the sense that [the committee’s job is] to enable a smooth transition from the BCCI as it is today into the BCCI being run by an elected body,” Rai told ESPNcricinfo. “And to put in place structures, systems which will ensure that BCCI is run with transparency and accountability. It is going to be a very short and interim body.”Although the court had assembled an “eminent” panel of administrators, Rai stressed that “we are not long-term administrators” of the game. “It needs to put in hands of the people of merit, people with competence, professionals,” he said.A civil servant from the 1972 batch of the Kerala cadre, Rai originally comes from Lucknow. He has been a civil servant for close to four decades, having worked for the federal government in various capacities. Between 2008 and 2013 May, Rai was the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Since his retirement, he has served in various facilitating roles with the government-run organisation. He is currently also chairman of the Banks’ Board Bureau, which is working on bringing in reforms in the banking sector.Rai said he was “biting his nails” on Sunday evening while watching Jasprit Bumrah help India edge out England in Nagpur to level the three-match T20 series. Rai played club cricket, but has never dealt with sports administration. Incidentally, this was not the first time the court has appointed Rai in an important advisory role.In 2014, the court asked Rai to prepare an audit report into the Sri Padmanabha Temple controversy in Thiruvananthapuram. In his findings, Rai noted financial irregularities and corruption among the temple authorities.In May 2016, Rai was part of the three-man committee appointed by the court to oversee the operations of the Medical Council of India. The brief for that committee was to arrest the corruption and decay prevalent in medical education and the profession in India. That committee was led by RM Lodha, the former Chief Justice of India, who is also chairman of the Lodha Committee.Rai said that since the court had already “entrusted” him previously with such responsibilities, he was confident about the handling this next challenge. He said the first task was to get acquainted with his panel members. He has already worked with Limaye, the banker on the four-member panel. “We will familiarise ourselves on the team firstly,” he said. “We will see what the BCCI administration is all about. We will study very closely the Lodha Committee’s recommendations. Then having sensitsed with all this, we will go about the tasks.”

Nic Maddinson led New South Wales to a tense victory in his first match captaining the state as the Blues chased down 214 in the dying overs of the fourth day against Queensland in Mackay

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2015
ScorecardCaptain Nic Maddinson top scored for New South Wales with 80 (file photo)•Getty Images

Nic Maddinson led New South Wales to a tense victory in his first match captaining the state as the Blues chased down 214 in the dying overs of the fourth day against Queensland in Mackay. In what had been a slow-scoring match that had seen run-rates hovering around 2.5 an over for the first three innings, New South Wales lifted their tempo to reach their target in 58.4 overs.Maddinson’s 80 off 72 balls was the key – he struck seven fours and four sixes having come to the crease with New South Wales wobbling against Queensland’s spinners at 2 for 59. The Blues had been 2 for 66 at tea, still requiring another 148 runs in the final session and Maddinson made it possible, despite the best efforts of Jason Floros (4 for 71) and Mitch Swepson (3 for 69).Maddinson fell with 23 runs still required and the loss of his partner Ben Rohrer for 31 in the next over gave Queensland a sniff once again, needing five wickets. Sean Abbott and Ryan Carters both departed cheaply, which left the Bulls in need of three more breakthroughs and New South Wales needing 12 more runs as the light closed in.But Steve O’Keefe and Gurinder Sandhu were able to get New South Wales over the line, Sandhu striking two consecutive fours off Swepson to seal the result.