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Two teams chase elusive win for final berth

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Match facts

Friday, November 25, 2016
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Shai Hope is one of the two batsmen to have scored hundreds in the tri-series•AFP

Big picture

West Indies are yet to cross the line and win a match in Bulawayo on this tour after their tie against Zimbabwe and one-run defeat to Sri Lanka. That leaves them second on the points table, with seven points, while the hosts are third on four, with their points coming from that tie and the rain-ruined encounter against Sri Lanka. Both teams are chasing that winning feeling, and this match is essentially a semi-final, with the winner guaranteed a spot in Sunday’s final.The statistics favour West Indies: they have three of the top five wicket-takers and the top two run-scorers in this tri-series in their squad. But both teams’ recent form has been unpredictable and inconsistent, and West Indies may well be without strike bowler Shannon Gabriel after he limped off with a hamstring niggle during the game against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, making this a difficult match to call.The Zimbabweans floundered in the tournament opener, stooping to an eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka, but the green, seaming conditions they encountered in Harare are a world away from the more benign surface they are likely to find on Friday. Zimbabwe will also be able to draw confidence from their last match against West Indies, as well as the comfort of playing at home in front of a supportive crowd.Zimbabwe’s best hope may be to play on West Indies’ performance anxiety and build pressure on their lower middle order. Captain Graeme Cremer made no secret of his intention to starve West Indies’ batsmen of boundaries as a route towards building pressure at the beginning of this series, and if his batsmen are able to cobble together a score, scoreboard pressure in the chase may be Zimbabwe’s best way to find a route past West Indies.

Form guide

Zimbabwe TLLLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LTWLL

In the spotlight

West Indies’ Nos. 5 to 8 have scored 224 runs at 22.40 in the series, and both times that they chased they were unable to fully close off the game. Whether they are setting or chasing, the West Indies’ lower order will have to find a way to build on the platforms handed to them by the top four, and deal with pressure situations in unfamiliar conditions.It’s all very well formulating and sticking to a bowling plan, but if Zimbabwe’s fielding is not up to scratch that could all be for nought. Before their dramatic comeback, Zimbabwe missed multiple chances in their last game against West Indies, and coach Heath Streak pointed out that, as proud as he was of the fight they showed, this was one area to improve upon. The cliché ‘catches win matches’ should be ringing in Zimbabwe’s ears.There are doubts over Shannon Gabriel’s fitness•AFP

Team news

While Tarisai Musakanda might have seemed the romantic choice for a debut earlier in the series, it’s more likely that Zimbabwe might turn to experience in this situation. Hamilton Masakadza could slot in the opener’s position in place of Brian Chari, who hasn’t been able to take advantage of the Powerplay even when he has looked solid. Masakadza has been somewhat out of sorts recently, but he averages a healthy 34.79 at Queens. There are also questions at the lower end of Zimbabwe’s batting order, and the choice of whether to play Elton Chigumbura or Malcolm Waller as their finisher will have to be made.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Brian Chari/Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Peter Moor (wk), 7 Elton Chigumbura/Malcolm Waller, 8 Graeme Cremer (capt), 9 Donald Tiripano, 10 Tendai Chisoro, 11 Chris Mpofu.Shannon Gabriel could only bowl five overs during West Indies’ match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, and given the fast bowler’s susceptibility to injury they might not want to risk aggravating any niggles by playing him again, in which case Miguel Cummins seems the obvious replacement. Sulieman Benn has struggled to make an impact with the ball, and Zimbabwe’s batsmen might find Devendra Bishoo a more difficult prospect.West Indies (possible): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Kraigg Brathwaite, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Devendra Bishoo, 11 Miguel Cummins.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch being used for Friday’s match is expected to play similarly to Wednesday’s encounter. With a little grass on it, albeit dead, it should hold up through the day and offer a little more for the bat than the ball, without being an absolute road. Friday’s weather forecast suggests a little more cloud cover than the last two days, as well as the threat of thunderstorms in the area.

Stats and trivia

  • Evin Lewis and Shai Hope are the two leading run-scorers in this tri-series, with 193 and 173 runs respectively, and they are the only two batsmen from any of the sides to pass 100.
  • Zimbabwe have chased 300-plus targets twice, with both times coming in the last five years, and both against New Zealand. Just over five years ago, Zimbabwe had chased down 328 at this ground.
  • Craig Ervine is Zimbabwe’s leading batsman in this series, with 115 runs at 57.50 in three innings.

Quotes

“The mood in the camp is happy and confident. We’re hoping for a good home crowd as well, as the support will definitely help to fire us up.”
“We expect a good competition. They played a very good game against us last time, and we don’t expect anything different from them. Their tails will be up, so the situation for us is that we need to buckle down and close off these close games.”

Steven Taylor to captain USA in Auty Cup

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Steven Taylor, the left-handed opening batsman, has been chosen to captain USA at the Auty Cup, which begins on October 13, and the World Cricket League Division Four, which starts on October 29 in Los Angeles.Taylor, 22, made his first tour with USA in 2008, at the age of 15, and eventually debuted as a 16-year-old in 2010. He has turned out 57 times for USA, including 21 50-over matches in which he averages 32, with a high score of 162 against Nepal in 2013. He has spent the last two years with Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League, and skipped USA’s last tournament – the World T20 Qualifier in Ireland last summer – to play for Tridents.”Steven’s game sense in the field is very good. Tactically, he is quite advanced for a young cricketer,” USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake said on Wednesday. “With his big-game experience in both the CPL and national colours, his knowledge of his team-mates, and the respect they have for him, I know his leadership will play a key role in our future success.”Taylor takes over from offspinner Muhammad Ghous, who was axed from the side after captaining USA last year at the World T20 Qualifier. Taylor has leadership experience at the Under-15 and Under-19 levels, and said he is eager to assume his new responsibility.”I’m really excited to be appointed captain and have the opportunity to lead my country,” Taylor said. “I know the entire squad has been working hard to make the most out of the upcoming Auty Cup and work towards our goal of winning World Cricket League Four.”This is not the first time Taylor has been appointed captain. He was picked to lead USA at the age of 19, as a stand-in for the unavailable Steve Massiah, during the previous Auty Cup in Canada in the summer of 2013.However, he was stripped off the role before he could lead the side onto the field, after a late-night drinking incident while on tour as captain of the USA Under-19 side in July 2013. Taylor was also handed a one-match ban for “a breach of the team code of conduct and tour protocols,” including breaking curfew on the U-19 tour. Timil Patel led the men’s side for the 2013 Auty Cup, where they failed to win a match.ICC Americas also announced that Anand Tummala will work as an assistant coach, alongside Dassanayake for the Auty Cup and WCL Division Four. Tummala, a former USA player who also played in the Ranji Trophy for Delhi, was a finalist for the head coach’s role that eventually went to Dassanayake. Most recently, Tummala coached USA Women against a touring Marylebone Cricket Club women’s team in Philadelphia last month.

Record Maxwell fifty powers Australia sweep

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSri Lanka had been changing their side every match and Australia had already sent several men home, but like a well-heeled theatre troupe, the players that remained delivered the same performance they seemed to have given many times over this series.Sri Lanka won the toss again, batted again, did well for a little while, but mainly collapsed to a modest 128 for 9. Australia were disciplined with the ball, and athletic in the field, bruising at the top of their innings, a little shakier in the middle against spin, but got home with some comfort. The margin of this particular victory was four wickets, and they had 13 balls to spare – Glenn Maxwell providing the game’s best innings again. If you have been following this series closely, though, this report may feel familiar.One point of difference was that this was Tillakaratne Dilshan’s final international. What didn’t change, really, was his limited impact with the bat. He was out for one, edging an attempted cut off John Hastings to slip, before the stadium had even properly filled. Kusal Perera dazzled briefly before sending a top edge off James Faulkner to a running, diving David Warner, to be dismissed inside the Powerplay, for 22. That wicket brought two more in quick succession. Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis were both out in single figures, seven runs apart.Steering clear of trouble at the other end, was a serene Dhananjaya de Silva, who had leant into a flowing cover drive off Mitchell Starc’s fourth ball, and set about gracefully collecting runs into the outfield after that. He was light on his feet to spin, and was wise to the seamers’ pace variations, hitting five fours in his 62 off 50 balls. One of the more memorable of his strokes was a delightfully late dab to third man, off Maxwell. At the other end, teammates played out a series of forgettable innings. Only de Silva and Kusal Perera made double figure scores.Chamara Kapugedara and Thisara Perera were both out slogging Adam Zampa, and Seekkuge Prasanna holed out at long on, to Faulkner, and it was these two bowlers who each collected three wickets this time around. They were economical as well as penetrative – neither conceding 20 runs off their four overs. John Hastings was also effective taking two for 23, while Mitchell Starc ensured he would not go wicketless in a single innings of the tour, when he had de Silva caught at mid off in the final over of the innings.The first over of Australia’s response produced just two, but the remainder of the Powerplay was full of Maxwell and David Warner’s pyrotechnics. They struck their first boundaries in Sachithra Senanayake’s first over – Warner unleashing a particularly vicious reverse-sweep. Suranga Lakmal was carted for 13 in the next over, and Maxwell’s reverse-slap for six made an appearance soon after, when he hit the game’s first six off Sachith Pathirana.The fifth and sixth overs, bowled by Senanayake and Thisara Perera, were Australia’s most productive, yielding 20 and 19 respectively. Eighteen of those runs against Thisara came off four consecutive balls – Maxwell clubbing him over the deep square leg first up, then slapping three nonchalant fours.The Powerplay brought 75 runs, and the openers had virtually made the game safe by the ninth over, when Sri Lanka removed Maxwell for the first time in two games. He played on to a full delivery, and the bowler, Seekkuge Prasanna delivered a graceless send-off, which left the departed Maxwell fuming.That wicket, though, introduced a significant wobble to the innings. Pathirana claimed two wickets in the next over, and Faulkner was run out soon after. Australia needed fewer than 20 runs when Dilshan claimed his first wicket, and fewer than 10 when he took his second, but both breakthroughs prompted joy from the retiring star, and gave an adoring crowd a reason to chant his name. Travis Head finished the match with a slog-swept six that burst through the hands of Senanayake, at cow corner.

Perera bowls Sri Lanka to series triumph

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRemember the way this series began? Angelo Mathews won the toss and chose to bat in Pallekele, and his men were bundled out for 117. They failed even to survive 35 overs. Eight days of cricket later, the series has been decided, and one of these two teams has been completely humiliated. And it’s not Sri Lanka. What a turnaround it has been. Mathews will lift the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, and Sri Lanka could hardly have won it more comprehensively.In Pallekele, rain and bad light conspired to drag the first Test into its fifth day, but in Galle Australia could not even reach the scheduled halfway point of the match. In less than two and a half days, they had lost an eighth consecutive Test in Asia. The No.1 team in the world had been beaten – crushed, in fact – by No.7. Sri Lanka’s spinners have embarrassed Australia’s batsmen this series, and in Galle it was Dilruwan Perera who starred.Perera picked up 6 for 70 in Australia’s second innings of 183 and became the first Sri Lankan to take 10 wickets and score a half-century in the same Test. Only 25 times in all of Test history has a player achieved that remarkable feat. Along the way, he also became the fastest Sri Lankan to reach the mark of 50 Test wickets, reaching the milestone in this his 11th Test. Perera and Rangana Herath proved unreadable to the Australians, their sliders as dangerous as their spinners.The statistics of note did not end there. Only once in the past 87 years had Australia survived for fewer balls in a Test match they had lost: in Galle they lasted for 501 deliveries across the match, two more than the 499 they faced against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1995. It was thus their second-worst performance in that regard since the advent of covered pitches. And for the first time in 19 years, no Australian scored a fifty in a Test.The Sri Lankans were understandably jubilant when the result was confirmed, the final wicket coming from a brilliant run-out effected by Kusal Mendis at bat-pad. Peter Nevill, who had fought off the inevitable for 38 balls, flicked Herath off his pads and took a couple of steps out of his crease, but with remarkable reflexes Mendis managed to get the ball back onto the stumps to find Nevill short.It meant a 229-run win for Sri Lanka and an unassailable 2-0 series lead heading into the third and final Test in Colombo. The result was effectively certain when both teams arrived at the ground on the third morning, the only questions being the margin and the time that Sri Lanka would take to run through Australia’s final seven wickets. Australia started the day at 25 for 3, and before drinks in the second session they were bowled out for 183.David Warner was the first to depart, lbw to Perera when he missed a ball that failed to turn as he expected. Given out on field, Warner asked for a review but received no satisfaction, with replays showing the ball would have hit the leg stump. Steven Smith then departed on 30, caught at bat-pad off Perera, a not-out decision on-field overturned on review.It has been a match full of referrals, and Mathews has proven himself a five-star reviewer. Perhaps his best came when Richard Kettleborough turned down an appeal for lbw against Mitchell Marsh, who thrust his pad well outside off against Lakshan Sandakan. Marsh was not playing a shot, so being struck outside the line did not matter, and Sandakan’s big turn was enough to have the ball hitting the stumps.Marsh was out for 18, and the last of Australia’s specialist batsmen followed not far behind. Adam Voges had employed the reverse sweep liberally throughout his innings, without ever quite looking like he had it perfected, and on 28 the shot brought him undone when he failed to get bat on ball and was bowled by Perera. Sri Lanka were three wickets from triumph at lunch.After the break, it was only a matter of time. Mitchell Starc whacked a six and three fours before he was bowled by Herath trying another big shot, and Josh Hazlewood prodded a return catch to Perera to complete the spinner’s ten-wicket game. Then came the run-out, the celebrations, the glory. Sri Lanka had done it. A new generation had not only won the series but dominated it. And who’d have guessed that after day one in Pallekele?

Misbah urges batsmen to rise to 'their biggest challenge'

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Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, has called on his batsmen to rise to “their biggest challenge” of competing in English conditions, to give a powerful bowling attack – that looks set to be led by the returning Mohammad Amir – enough runs to put England under pressure.Misbah, who led Pakistan to a 2-0 series win in the UAE in their last campaign against England, praised the manner in which his team has gelled in the six years since the controversies of their 2010 tour.However, he emphasised that a series win in England was the “point they had to prove” to draw a line under the spot-fixing scandal that tarnished their image on their last visit to Lord’s.”This is the biggest challenge for us in a long time,” Misbah said during the Investec Test series launch at Lord’s. “This is the best chance for us, and me as a captain, to perform here especially in these conditions. That’s the point we have to prove.”To perform in England, Australia, even South Africa, these are the tours where you really develop your team. The 2010 tour, I think, was a tough tour, but guys like Azhar Ali did well in tough conditions and situations, and that makes you a better player.”Pakistan’s exhaustive preparations for this series have included training camps in Lahore and at the Ageas Bowl in Hampshire, prior to a satisfactory first outing of the tour against Somerset this week, in which Younis Khan and Azhar both made hundreds, and Asad Shafiq chipped in with a brace of half-centuries.Either side of those performances, Amir impressed with three top-order wickets while legspinner Yasir Shah – who is also making a comeback after serving a three-month suspension for a doping violation – showcased his form with two wickets.”That’s a fact that, whoever comes from Asia in these conditions, the batting really has to stand up,” Misbah said. “If you can put good scores on the board, the Pakistan seam attack is good, and we’ve got the best spinner at the moment who’s really bowling well. We really have to stand up as a batting unit and give them good scores, and we are capable of doing well against them.”Throughout their preparations for the series, Pakistan have treated the England tour as the culmination of a long campaign to restore their image, and Misbah praised the extent to which his players had bought into that vision. With Mickey Arthur installed alongside him to add extra discipline as a coach, the signs are promising in the lead-up to the Lord’s Test.’This is the best chance for us, and me as a captain, to perform here especially in these conditions. That’s the point we have to prove’ – Misbah-ul-Haq•Getty Images

“I think we’ve done really well in the last six years and all credit to the players,” Misbah said. “We’ve understood what was going on with the Pakistan team at that time, and they responded really well in terms of performances, roles and especially, their off-field behaviours. It’s about restoring that image for Pakistan and, as a whole, it’s quite satisfying.”The focus will doubtless be on Amir come the first morning at Lord’s, and though Misbah conceded he had not initially been in favour of his recall following his five-year ban, he insisted he was now fully supportive of his reintegration, not least because it was what Pakistan’s fans wanted for their star bowler.”Obviously those are decisions not in your control,” Misbah said. “More importantly it is the fans and how they reacted, they wanted to see him back playing and so they [the PCB] made the decision with the support of the ICC. So we are there to support him, everyone wants to see him playing again.”Plenty has been said and written about the reception that Amir, and Pakistan as a whole, will receive when they take the field next Thursday, but already Misbah was blocking his ears to the off-field noise.”Honestly speaking, I don’t care about these things,” he said. “Personally I focus on what’s going on in the middle, and how [Amir] performs when he bowls, that’s what we are looking for.”He’s got the best chance to prove himself out in the middle, and he doesn’t need to worry about what’s happening with thousands of spectators saying something. He just has to focus on what’s going on in the middle.”I think he’s bowling really well even on flat tracks in T20 cricket, one-day cricket, four-day cricket,” he added. “His pace is there, he’s swinging the ball, he’s got all the tricks to get batsmen under pressure. But one more thing is that he’s more mature. He wasn’t that mature at that time [in 2010], but that maturity can help him now.”On the subject of maturity, Misbah himself conceded his slight concern that, at the age of 42, this campaign may yet prove to be a bridge too far for, arguably, Pakistan’s most influential captain since Imran Khan – and scores of 0 and 19 in the tour match at Taunton were inconclusive. Nevertheless, he insisted he was eager for the challenge, and that in itself would help to get him through.”That’s what you always really fear,” he said. “But when there is no hunger, there’s no need to play.”

Munro clubs 68 off 39 in Trinbago Knight Riders' win

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsColin Munro’s third 50-plus score of CPL 2016 ensured Trinbago Knight Riders chased down 173 with ease on Saturday as they defeated Barbados Tridents with 14 balls to spare at the Kensington Oval. Munro’s 68 off just 39 balls moved him to second place on the run charts in the tournament with 258 runs in six innings, just 24 behind team-mate Hashim Amla.The pair produced a 107-run stand across 10.1 overs for the second wicket and by the time Amla fell in the 15th over, Knight Riders needed just 37 runs off 34 balls with eight wickets in hand. Amla only hit one four in his 31 off 34 balls as Munro did most of the damage. Munro brought up his fifty in 27 balls in the 12th over and few bowlers were spared from his fury with Navin Stewart taking the brunt of it, including two sixes as part of a 16-run 14th over.Munro eventually fell to Ravi Rampaul, caught near the long-on boundary by AB de Villiers, but Dwayne Bravo struck the next two balls for a four and a six before doing the same in the 17th over to Parnell, dashing any hopes Tridents had of a late turnaround. Knight Riders needed two runs off the last three overs and Bravo hit the winning run to finish on 23 off 11 balls.Bravo had earlier played a key role in the field, taking 2 for 34 including the wicket of Tridents’ top-scorer Shoaib Malik for 47, as their late surge was stifled despite wickets in hand. Tridents had scored 26 off the previous two overs when Bravo came back to bowl his last over in the 19th and crucially snared the dangerous Nicholas Pooran for a golden duck as part of a seven-run over. Kieron Pollard finished unbeaten on 41 off 20, with three fours and as many sixes, and de Villiers scored a 32-ball 45, sharing crucial stands with Malik and Pollard but in the end they were not enough for Tridents, who now sit in fourth place with five points from five games.

Floundering Zimbabwe target upset in decider

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Match facts

Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Start time 1300 local (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

If Zimbabwe had a time machine, they would rewind to Saturday, June 18, 2016. Amid the adversity of non-engaged spectators and their prior 3-0 thrashing in the ODI series, Neville Madziva gave Zimbabwe’s supporters a reason for song and dance. Even interim coach Makhaya Ntini couldn’t stop himself from busting out a celebratory jig after his side won the first T20I of the three-match series.Two days later, Zimbabwe slumped to their fourth collapse in five limited-overs matches against India this month. To “compete with the big boys” in the series decider on Wednesday, Zimbabwe will have to strive for positive consistency, at least in performance if not results. Despite India’s ten-wicket victory in the second T20I, the hosts have a compelling opportunity – they are yet to win a T20I series of two or more matches.All to play for then? India wouldn’t mind finding themselves in such a situation. “It is a good learning curve for the youngsters, providing they’re learning out of it. When some of these players play for India consistently, they will feel the pressure and that is where a game or tour like this will help,” MS Dhoni said at the post-match conference after the first T20 which India lost by two runs. On the only occasion India have been challenged on this tour, the batsmen failed to chase.After India handed five caps in the first T20I, they handed two more to Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni and both bowlers set the tone for the side’s largest win in the format. In the process, India adopted arguably their best bowling combination in this squad. India’s settled batting line-up meant Zimbabwe had to find another day and another way to get through them. Will Wednesday be different?

Form guide

Zimbabwe: LWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India: WLLWW

In the spotlight

With the bat, Sikandar Raza has propelled Zimbabwe’s innings on numerous occasions with an intent that forces bowlers to fiddle with their lengths. In his last 12 T20Is, however, he has scored 92 runs at an average of 7.66, with a highest of 20. A significant contribution could go a long way towards setting Zimbabwe up for a grandstand finish.India’s seamers Barinder Sran, Dhawal Kulkarni and Jasprit Bumrah claimed combined figures of 8 for 53 in 12 overs on Monday. A discernible pattern – swinging the newer ball followed by a variety of slower offcutters and wide yorkers towards the end – left Zimbabwe defenceless.

Team news

Richmond Mutumbami’s hip injury meant Peter Moor came into Zimbabwe’s XI as designated wicketkeeper for the second match. He top-scored with 31. The management could contemplate dropping allrounder Tinotenda Mutombodzi, who has scores of 3 and 0 in this series.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Peter Moor, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Malcolm Waller (wk), 6 Elton Chigumbura, 7 Tinotenda Mutombodzi/Timycen Maruma, 8 Graeme Cremer (capt), 9 Neville Madziva, 10 Taurai Muzarabani, 11 Donald TiripanoWith the series on the line, India are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination.India (probable): 1 KL Rahul, 2 Mandeep Singh, 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Dhawal Kulkarni, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Barinder Sran

Pitch and conditions

For both T20s so far, the boundaries were brought in significantly at the Harare Sports Club. If Zimbabwe’s top order fires, the series decider could be a high-scoring encounter.

Stats and trivia

  • Jasprit Bumrah needs three more wickets to equal Dirk Nannes’ record for most T20I wickets in a year. Nannes took 27 in 2010. Bumrah has 24 from 18 matches this year.
  • The decider will be Masakadza’s 50th T20I. He will become the first Zimbabwean to play 50 or more T20Is.
  • India had never won a T20I by ten wickets before the second match.

Abdur Razzak resigns as selector to contest in BCB elections

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Former left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak has resigned as a Bangladesh national selector after deciding to contest in the upcoming BCB elections. Razzak, 43, collected his nomination papers to stand as a director candidate from the Khulna division on October 6.Razzak played 13 Tests, 153 ODIs and 34 T20Is for Bangladesh, and remains the third-highest wicket-taker for his country in ODIs. He is one of 61 nominations for the 23 directors’ position that will be contested in the upcoming BCB elections.The general members body, known as the councillors, will elect 23 of the 25 board directors, and the BCB president will be elected from that pool of 25 to serve a four-year term. The most prominent candidates are the incumbent BCB chief Aminul Islam and Tamim Iqbal, who have both announced that they will contest for the board president.”I had the honour of playing for the national team for 14 years and the privilege of serving as a national selector for over four years,” Razzak, who has been a selector for the Bangladesh men’s team since 2021, said in a statement. “I believe the time has come for me to step down from this position to explore the possibilities of contributing to the game that has given me so much, on a larger scale if the opportunity presents itself. I feel this is the right thing to do.”Following Hannan Sarkar’s resignation in February last year, Razzak was one of two members in the selection panel alongside chief Gazi Ashraf Hossain.Reflecting on Razzak’s tenure as a selector, Ashraf praised his colleague. “He was an invaluable member of the panel and brought his undoubted experience and vision to the selection process,” Ashraf said. “We thank him for his contribution and wish him the very best for the future, which we hope will remain closely connected with Bangladesh cricket.”

Bangladesh include teenagers Nishita and Sumaiya in World Cup squad

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Bangladesh have brought two teenagers into their squad for the Women’s World Cup, which the BCB announced on Saturday. They are Nishita Akter, the 17-year-old offspinner, and the 19-year-old batter Sumaiya Akter. Both were part of Bangladesh’s team at the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia in February.Bangladesh have also picked the 28-year-old keeper-batter Rubya Haider, who has played six T20Is but is yet to make her ODI debut.Between them, these three relative new faces have played three ODIs and seven T20Is, and none of them has played for the senior Bangladesh side in 2025.Related

  • WI's historic chase ends in heartbreak as Bangladesh seal World Cup spot

The selectors have offloaded Dilara Akter, Jannatul Ferdus and Ishma Tanjim from Bangladesh’s most recent squad, which played in the World Cup Qualifier in April. Bangladesh qualified from that tournament ahead of West Indies by a net-run-rate margin of just 0.013, but they haven’t played any international matches since then.Recently, the squad has played a number of matches against Bangladesh’s Under-15 boys side as preparation for the World Cup.Women’s chief selector Sajjad Ahmed was excited by the addition of the three young players. He said Rubya, who has played six T20Is, will be the squad’s back-up opener and wicketkeeper behind captain Nigar Sultana.”Rubya has earned her place through sheer hard work,” he said. “Her development over the last six months has been outstanding. We see her as a valuable option both as a reserve keeper and a back-up opener.”Nishita is still young, but she bowls with great maturity. She is consistent, calm under pressure and her ability to contain left-handers gave her an edge. We believe this experience will serve her well and add depth to our spin attack.”Sajjad added that Sumaiya’s patience would be an asset to the side, and her fielding a bonus. “Sumaiya has been knocking on the door for some time. She brings the ability to occupy the crease and accelerate when needed. With her skillset and fielding standards, she gives us an all-round option in the top order.”Apart from these three, the squad wears a familiar look with Nahida Akter as vice-captain to Nigar, and the likes of Fargana Hoque, Fahima Khatun and Marufa Akter bringing the experience that Bangladesh hope will cover for their recent lack of match practice.Bangladesh are scheduled to open their World Cup campaign against Pakistan in Colombo on October 2. India are the hosts of the tournament, with Colombo hosting all of Pakistan’s matches.

Bangladesh squad for Women’s World Cup 2025

Nigar Sultana (capt), Nahida Akter, Fargana Hoque, Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Sobhana Mostary, Ritu Moni, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Fariha Trisna, Sanjida Akter, Nishita Akter, Sumaiya Akter.
IN: Rubya Haider, Nishita Akter, Sumaiya Akter
OUT: Dilara Akter (wk), Jannatul Ferdus, Ishma Tanjim

Ashton Agar back at Northamptonshire for Blast quarter-finals

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Northamptonshire have confirmed the return of Australia spinner Ashton Agar for their vitality Blast quarter-final against Somerset.Agar was signed as a replacement for Sikandar Raza during the group stage, joining after the T20 World Cup and helping Northants to four wins out of five as they qualified from the North Group in second spot.The club are also working to try and bring back Matthew Breetzke, the South Africa opener who is currently Northants’ leading run-scorer in this year’s Blast, with 460 at a strike rate of 153.84 – although head coach, John Sadler, said the decision was in the hands of Cricket South Africa.Breetzke was recently involved on South Africa’s Test tour of West Indies but is not part of the squad currently playing a three-match T20I series.”We’re hopeful that Matt will be able to get over but we’re not sure how that’s going to pan out,” Sadler said. “We obviously want to get him back because he’s been brilliant for us but we’ll see how it unfolds.”It’s a situation that is out of our and Matt’s hands to be honest. I know he’s desperate to come back but he’s on the verge of playing for South Africa in all three formats so that’s understandably his main driver.”I also know that he so wants to come back and play for us that he’s happy to fly in, play and fly back out but that is a situation that we’ll have to negotiate with Cricket South Africa.”Agar, who opted to go freelance earlier this year, will be available after completing a stint at the Global T20 Canada, and strengthens Northants’ options ahead of a soldout game at Wantage Road against the defending champions on September 5.”Ashton is in, he’s booked to come back and he’s incredibly excited,” Sadler said. “He has been over at a tournament in Canada so he’s off back home to spend some time with his family but then he’ll be back with us so we’re absolutely delighted with that.”