Tag Futebol

The teams had also faced off earlier in the year when Sri Lanka played two Tests in South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2021South Africa have confirmed their tour to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is during September. All six matches will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the series starting with the first ODI on September 2 and ending with the third T20I on September 14.”We are delighted to have another tour confirmed for the Proteas men’s team with the ICC T20 World Cup just around the corner,” CSA’s acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “Playing against quality opposition in the sub-continent is the best way for our team to prepare for this event and we are grateful to Sri Lanka Cricket for accommodating us during this time of the year where schedules are highly condensed.”

South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka

• First ODI: September 2

• Second ODI: September 4

• Third ODI: September 7

• First T20I: September 10

• Second T20I: September 12

• Third T20I: September 14

The last time South Africa played a bilateral series in Sri Lanka was in 2018, which included five ODIs and a solitary T20I apart from two Tests. While South Africa had won the ODI series 3-2, Sri Lanka took the only T20I on the tour. This time, they would be playing three T20Is, which would mean better preparation for the T20 World Cup in the UAE in October.”With an ICC white-ball world event in each year of the next three, game time is golden for every team and we are looking forward to watching our team play as they continue to add to the building blocks of their 2021 T20 World Cup preparation”, Moseki added.The teams had also faced off earlier in the year when Sri Lanka played two Tests in South Africa, where the hosts triumphed in both matches in Centurion and Johannesburg.

A framework has also been drawn up to manage athletes who contract Covid-19 when sport resumes

Daniel Brettig01-May-20201:42

Tait: Legalised tampering might be chance for cricket to move forward

Shining the ball with saliva or sweat will be restricted in Australia under a framework released by the federal government about the staged return of both professional and recreational sport amid the coronavirus pandemic.The guidelines, drawn up by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in conjunction with medical experts, sporting bodies and federal and state governments, outline a staged return to play at all levels, hastened by the desires of the winter football codes in particular to return in time to salvage some of their seasons. Cricket Australia’s chief medical officer John Orchard was involved in the preparation of the framework.They will have international implications, and follow the revelation on ESPNcricinfo last week that cricket administrators were actively considering the possibility of allowing the ball to be polished with artificial substances to reduce the risks associated with using saliva on the ball and then passing it around the field of play.ALSO READ: Cricket to consider legalised ball-tampering in wake of coronavirusUnder the AIS framework, restrictions on sport are currently outlined as being at “Level A” restricting all training except that of the individual kind. But there will soon be a move to “Level B”, potentially little more than a week from now, which will allow the following: “Nets — batters facing bowlers. Limit bowlers per net. Fielding sessions — unrestricted. No warm up drills involving unnecessary person-person contact. No shining cricket ball with sweat/saliva during training.”The third and final “Level C”, to be permitted later in the year, is outlined as: “Full training and competition. No ball shining with sweat/saliva in training.”These step by step returns will run alongside government decisions about when and how. The NRL is set to be the first sport to return to action, having flagged a May 28 return date for the competition, which will be reduced to 20 rounds. The AFL is currently debating some of the logistical issues around its own return.Intriguingly, cricket as a non-contact sport may actually be permitted to return before the winter codes, leaving the northern states open to play. The Australian team’s next scheduled matches in Australia were slated to be as part of a limited-overs series against Zimbabwe in August.”Sport makes an important contribution to the physical, psychological and emotional well-being of Australians,” the framework report states. “The economic contribution of sport is equivalent to 2-3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on communities globally, leading to significant restrictions on all sectors of society, including sport. Resumption of sport can significantly contribute to the re-establishment of normality in Australian society.How would you shine the cricket ball in the time of Covid-19?•Getty Images

“The principles outlined in this document apply equally to high performance/professional level, community competitive and individual passive (non-contact) sport. The AIS Framework is a timely tool for ‘how’ reintroduction of sport activity will occur in a cautious and methodical manner, to optimise athlete and community safety. Decisions regarding the timing of resumption of sporting activity (the ‘when’) must be made in close consultation with Federal, State/Territory and Local Public Health Authorities. The priority at all times must be to preserve public health, minimising the risk of community transmission.”Standards for a return to elite sport are also a part of the report, which dictates how athletes contracting Covid-19 may be dealt with, and precautions that will continue to need to be taken even after full competitive sport is permitted to resume.”The resumption of sport and recreation activities will be a complex process. A careful stepwise process needs to be implemented to ensure the safety of athletes and other personnel and the wider community,” the report states. “Preparation for resumption includes education of the athletes and other personnel, assessment of the sport environment and agreement on training scheduling to accommodate social distancing.”The approach to training should focus on ‘get in, train, get out’, minimising unnecessary contact in change rooms, bathrooms and communal areas. Prior to resumption, sporting organisations should have agreed protocols in place for management of illness in athletes and other personnel. Special consideration should be made for para-athletes and others with medical conditions as they may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. Clubs and individuals should apply a graded return to mitigate injury risk, understanding that sudden increase in training load will predispose to injury.”Individuals should not return to sport if in the last 14 days they have been unwell or had contact with a known or suspected case of COVID-19. Any individual with respiratory symptoms (even if mild) should be considered a potential case and must immediately self-isolate, have COVID-19 excluded and be medically cleared by a doctor to return to the training environment.”Athletes returning to sport after COVID-19 infection require special consideration prior to resumption of high intensity physical activity.”Australia and New Zealand have been two of the world’s least-affected countries in the coronavirus pandemic. After being one of the first nations exposed to the virus, border closures, social distancing measures and business and large scale gathering shutdowns have helped to bring the virus to a standstill relative to events in the UK, United States and India.The full report can be found here.

India have brought back Virat Kohli for this T20I series but the key factor could be how Australia combat the wristspinners

Preview by Andrew McGlashan23-Feb-20196:36

Manjrekar: Dhoni can be rested

Big Picture

India versus Australia. Haven’t we just had this? Well, seemingly, there’s always room for more. Thoughts are turning towards the World Cup, but it’s T20 which begins the latest tussle between these two teams. The corresponding series in Australia during November was shared 1-1 so it’s all to play for. Sort of.India have recently completed a T20I series against New Zealand – which they lost 2-1 – and Australia’s players are fresh from the Big Bash so most involved should be reasonably in tune with the format.It was interesting to hear Justin Langer bundle these two games in with the five-match one-day series a little while ago when talking about the importance of World Cup preparation. Australia have the same squad here for both the T20Is and ODIs, although that does happen to include both the BBL’s highest scorer in D’Arcy Short and leading wicket-taker in Kane Richardson after the latter replaced the injured Mitchell Starc.India have brought back two big guns, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, who were rested for the New Zealand series, so while context may be somewhat lacking, skill and entertainment should not be.

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
India LWLWL
Australia LWLLL

In the spotlight

D’Arcy Short was the player of the tournament in the BBL. He will stay on for the start of the one-day series as a short-term replacement for Shaun Marsh, who has remained at home for the birth of his second child, so having been dropped from the ODI side during the Australian season, these two games are a chance to force his way back in. There is debate about who will open with Aaron Finch but it would be strange if it wasn’t Short given his BBL returns. However, he struggled against spin during his IPL stint so if he does get a berth he will need to show he has improved his game in that area.Chief among those spinners Australia will need to combat is Yuzvendra Chahal who has good memories against them after taking six wickets in the deciding ODI in Melbourne when he switched places with Kuldeep Yadav. How Australia tackle the wristspinner will be key to their chances of coming out on top.Krunal Pandya sends down his left-arm spin•AFP/Getty

Team news

Australia have a lot of options to partner captain Aaron Finch in the opening role; Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell could all be thrown in there, but Short has his recent BBL success behind him. If Pat Cummins makes the XI it would be his first T20I for two years.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 D’Arcy Short, 3 Peter Handscomb, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Kane RichardsonIndia might have to decide between Dinesh Karthik and KL Rahul in the middle order. While Karthik has had success of late, Rahul has built his case by getting runs for India A. Given that this is the first match of the tour, India might prefer to go with more experienced bowlers, which means Siddarth Kaul and Mayank Markande would miss out.India (possible) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Dinesh Karthik/KL Rahul, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Rishabh Pant, 7 Vijay Shankar, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

The forecast is for brilliant sunshine in the day-time and clear skies at night, when the match will be played.

Stats and Trivia

• This will be the third T20I held at the venue. In 2012 an India-New Zealand match was abandoned without a ball bowled and in 2016 India dismissed Sri Lanka for 82
• Australia played 19 T20Is in 2018, comfortably their most in a year, despite it not including a T20 World Cup. India also played 19, but that was their second highest tally of games in a year
• Rohit Sharma needs two sixes to be the most prolific six-hitter in T20Is

Quotes

“We obviously expect a stiff competition overall from the Australian team but if I had to single out one player that can make more impact, that would be Marcus Stoinis because he’s come around really well during the BBL and he’s making standout performances. You can see he’s grown in confidence and he’s definitely going to be a very important player for them.”

The 17-year old fast bowler has impressed all year, with wickets against the touring West Indies, England and Namibia U-19 teams

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2017Thando Ntini, the 17-year old son of former South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, has been selected in South Africa’s squad for the 2018 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Ntini is part of the 15-member group that will be captained by Raynard van Tonder.Like his father Makhaya – who also played one U-19 World Cup – Thando is a right-arm fast bowler and has taken ten wickets in eight youth one-dayers. His breakthrough series was against the touring West Indies U-19 team in July, where he took seven wickets in four matches in what was also his first outing as an U-19 player. Since then, Ntini has been part of the team’s fabric and also played during the recent youth tri-series against England and Namibia.Wicketkeeper Wandile Makwetu is the only member of the squad to travel for a second World Cup. He was part of the national team in the 2016 tournament in Bangladesh as well.”I’m confident that we have chosen the combination that will give us the desired results,” Lawrence Mahatlane, the team’s coach, said. “More than half of the squad have semi-professional cricket experience and we even have a franchise player in Matthew Breetzke.”The U-19 World Cup will be played between January 13 and February 3, with South Africa slotted into Group A. They will open their campaign against Kenya on January 14 in Lincoln. The other teams in Group A are hosts New Zealand and defending champions West Indies.South Africa U-19 squad: Raynard van Tonder (capt), Matthew Breetzke, Jean du Plessis, Jason Niemand, Gerald Coetzee, Jade de Klerk, Fraser Jones, Wandile Makwetu, Andile Mogakane, Kgaudise Molefe, Thando Ntini, Jiveshen Pillay, Hermann Rolfes, Kenan Smith, Akhona Mnyaka

Zac Toumazi, Sussex’s chief executive, will step down from his role at the end of 2016, after four years in the position

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2016Zac Toumazi, Sussex’s chief executive, will step down from his role at the end of 2016, after four years in the position.Toumazi, who joined Sussex at the start of 2013, oversaw the integration of Sussex’s professional, recreational and community cricket into one organisation, Sussex Cricket Limited, as well as a major overhaul of the ground infrastructure at Hove, including the development of a new media centre.He arrived at Sussex following a career in investment banking, as well as commercial roles at both Hampshire and Surrey and used that experience to help the club to punch above its weight, not least in securing a notable naming-rights deal for what became known as the BrightonandHoveJobs.com (latterly 1st Central) County Ground.However, Sussex’s relegation in 2015 hit the club hard, with the departure of their long-standing coach, Mark Robinson, effectively bringing to an end an era in which they won three County Championship titles in five seasons, including their maiden success in 2003.”It has been a difficult decision to make but I do believe that it is right for me to move on and hand over the reins to a successor,” said Toumazi. “The role of CEO of such a great club has been a privilege and an honour. I have enjoyed my time at Sussex and leave behind an excellent team that is set for the future. Our professional cricket is poised for exciting times ahead under the new management team, our Academy is bearing fruit with the young players coming through the programme, and I am sure that trophies are not too far away.”I take away many fond memories and lasting friendships. A special thank you to our members and partners who have been an absolute delight to interact with and who are always ready to support. I have no doubt that the future is bright for Good Old Sussex by The Sea.”Sussex’s chairman, Jim May, added: “Zac Toumazi has been a very professional and well respected chief executive who has brought great energy to the role and has been a great ambassador for Sussex. Aside from overseeing the ground-breaking formation of Sussex Cricket, Zac has accomplished much including the restructure of our pro-cricket department and has helped drive our commercial business.”He will be rightly remembered as a man with strong values whose interpersonal skills have helped strengthen our relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. Zac has been an excellent chief executive who leaves Sussex with our very best wishes, and, in very good shape for his successor.”

Two one-sided matches, with the teams batting first folding for identical scores and losing by big margins, have given the third ODI at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium the status of a final

The Preview by Mohammad Isam in Chittagong14-Jul-2015

Match facts

Wednesday, July 15
Start time 1500 local (0900 GMT)1:51

Are South Africa missing AB de Villiers?

Big picture

Two one-sided matches, with the teams batting first folding for similar scores and losing by big margins, have given the third ODI at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium the status of a final. After their seven-wicket win in the second game, Bangladesh could not have found a better time to discover a way to beat South Africa.Sunday at the Shere Bangla National Stadium was only the second time Bangladesh defeated South Africa at the international stage. It was a clinical performance from the home bowlers, who teamed up well under Mashrafe Mortaza to bowl out South Africa under 200. The visitors had dished out a similar meal in the first ODI when Kagiso Rabada took a hat-trick in his six-for on ODI debut.With both teams getting bowled out in the 160s in the first two games, the pitch in Mirpur was questioned. Some players said it was two-paced, but it was actually not any different from how it usually is. In Chittagong, however, the wicket is likely to be flatter and better for batting, which would mean a lot of the onus will be on the side batting first.South Africa chased well in the first game but looked slightly directionless in the second, partly due to AB de Villiers’ absence. The visitors had eight partnerships between 16 and 29 on Sunday, but none of them kicked on to define the innings. Three batsmen – Faf du Plessis, David Miller and JP Duminy – got out softly in their attempt to chip the bowler.Bangladesh had their own batting troubles, but Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah calmly guiding them to the win that gave Mashrafe and Chandika Hathurusingha momentary relief. The decider could go either way as the visitors have lost some of the momentum and lustre from the first three games on this tour.

Form guide

Bangladesh: WLLWW
South Africa: LWLWW

Players to watch

Soumya Sarkar batted with ease after battling an initial rough period in the second ODI. With constant talk about his irregularity in converting good starts, he will have a big role to play in the decider.Hashim Amla has not had a longer fifty-less streak in ODIs in the last seven years than his current run of six games. Wednesday could be the occasion to break the streak.

Team news

The win on Sunday could keep Bangladesh unchanged, but a more positive mentality could bring the discussion of an extra bowler into the fray.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Litton Das, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Nasir Hossain, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur RahmanSouth Africa do not have a spare batsman, so their current top seven will have to make amends for Sunday’s failure. They are likely to trust the same bowling attack.South Africa (possible): 1 Hashim Amla (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 David Miller, 6 JP Duminy 7 Farhaan Behardien, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

There is not much a difference between the pitches across Bangladesh, so the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium will be expected to favour batsmen and spinners. The average score batting first is 260-plus. There is a 50% chance of shower on match day.

Stats and trivia

• Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and bowling coach Charl Langeveldt played South Africa’s only game at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
• Hometown boy Tamim Iqbal has the most runs (391) at this ground, while Shakib Al Hasan has the most wickets (27).

Quotes

“This (decider) is big no doubt because we haven’t achieved such things before. Whenever you go to achieve something you haven’t then it will obviously seem big. We haven’t beaten South Africa in a series before so this is a big deal.”

Bengal squandered an opportunity to dominate the Ranji match against Mumbai, and conceded a big lead

The Report by Siddhartha Talya at Brabourne Stadium02-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Ankeet Chavan’s 4-61 is his best haul so far in first-class cricket•Fotocorp

Bengal have never beaten Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, and at stumps on the second day it seemed they may have squandered another opportunity to end that winless run since 1949. Bengal have had a frustrating tournament so far, and the current game is threatening to head the way of their low-scoring encounter against Madhya Pradesh in the previous round, which they had lost. Having bowled Mumbai out for 297, Bengal should have got themselves into a position to take a lead, but their batsmen, barring opener Arindam Das, who stayed through to the finish to be stranded on 98, let them down. Ankeet Chavan, the left-arm spinner, picked up four for 61, his best haul in first-class cricket.The Brabourne Stadium track continued to offer assistance to the seamers, and helped the spinners derive extra bounce and sharp turn. But Bengal’s performance had less to do with the conditions than failing to seize on a second chance offered through slip-ups in the field from Mumbai. Three senior Bengal players, including their captain, were guilty of that. Manoj Tiwary, who did better than his counterpart Rohit Sharma, was given a life on 23 when Wasim Jaffer dropped a simple chance at slip. Wriddhiman Saha, the vice-captain, was bowled off a no-ball on nought and Subhomoy Das was put down at first slip on 19. Tiwary added just 16 more after his reprieve, and the other two fell the very next delivery.Mumbai came hard at Bengal. They rarely stationed more than two fielders in the deep, and showed the urgency in their approach, if not their fielding, to defend a gettable total. They began with four slips and a gully for Dhawal Kulkarni and the steady flow of wickets that followed enabled them to retain packed close-in fields against the seamers as well as the two specialist spinners. The first wicket, of Rohan Banerjee, was a slice of luck, however, as he was run out after being sent back while attempting a third run. Shortly after, the first ball Kulkarni bowled round the wicket got him the wicket of Writam Porel, who was caught at third slip.Tiwary is not one to look completely settled but he’s got a prolific record in domestic cricket to back up his style. His brief innings today had its fair share of plays and misses. It included a leading edge that wasn’t far from extra cover, an edge over the slips, an airy shot into the off side that almost carried, and a missed chance by Jaffer at slip off Chavan’s next ball. Tiwary counter-attacked, lofting Chavan for successive boundaries that over, one being a six over long-on. He added 72 with Arindam but loosely chipped a flighted delivery from Chavan to mid-off immediately after punching a short ball through cover for four.Chavan bowled consistently from the Club House end, and round the wicket, targeting some rough areas on the track. He averaged 63.5 for his four wickets on flat tracks in the two games before this, and his captain Rohit Sharma had an extended conversation with him on the eve of this game. “It was a pep talk. On my part, in the previous games my bowling wasn’t that good as such so I had to do well getting this game. Fortunately, the wicket favoured me and it happened,” Chavan said. “On that [flat] wicket, we needed patience and [were required to] just keep bowling, and if the batsman made a mistake, you could get him out. Here, you had chances of getting him out.”Saha was bowled by a flighted delivery from Ramesh Powar, only for the umpire to double-check for a no-ball and rule that Pawar had overstepped. But the next ball was even better, as Pawar got it to jump off a good length and rap Saha on the glove, resulting in a catch at short leg. Subhomoy looked promising during his innings, smashing Pawar over his head and welcoming Kulkarni in his new spell with an imperious drive down the ground. He, too, was put down, by Hiken Shah at second slip, but prodded again at one of Chavan’s deliveries that turned away to be caught at first slip. Bengal had slid to 132 for 5.There was still depth in Bengal’s batting, but Abhishek Jhunjhunwala nicked Avishkar Salvi after looking good with a couple of boundaries and Chavan trapped Laxmi Shukla in front while he tried to sweep. All this time, as wickets kept crushing Bengal’s hopes raised by partnerships that had looked encouraging, Arindam’s solidity and assuredness stood out at the other end.Arindam, playing his first game in this Ranji season, cashed in on the width provided by seamers to pierce the off-side field. He used his feet well against spin, though he, too, had some nervous moments when he edged to slip, but the ball had bounced before reaching the fielder as he had played it down with soft hands. As Mumbai spread the field to give him the single when Bengal were eight down, he still managed to find the ropes, once pulling Kulkarni handsomely past two men in the deep. But he was to be deprived of a ninth first-class ton, as Kshemal Waingankar nipped out the last two wickets and robbed Bengal of greater consolation.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Chittagong

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya08-Dec-2011

Match facts

Friday, December 9
Start time 0930 (0330 GMT)What does Mohammad Ashraful have in store this time?•PA Photos

Big Picture

It’s been 11 years since Bangladesh made their Test debut and 71 games later their status as a Test-playing nation continues to divide opinion. There have been those who’ve been dismissive of their ability, others have been more generous and patient about their progress. There have been some highs, though very rare. They challenged Pakistan in Multan and Australia in Fatullah, and beat a severely-depleted, strike-ridden West Indies in 2009, but 61 defeats, and most of them by a comprehensive margin – 34 by an innings – is a bitter, embarrassing fact to digest.Their fast bowlers aren’t express but their spinners have been quite effective, and remain their biggest strength. It’s in the batting that the team has been found most wanting. While their batsmen have promised much and even earned some success in limited-overs cricket, and won a few sessions in Tests, batting time, preserving their wickets and proving their durability are areas in which they’ve failed consistently.They’ve, once again, found the going difficult in recent weeks, struggling against Pakistan’s slow bowlers on pitches keeping low and taking turn, and face an even more testing challenge in the five-day format. If the results in the recently-concluded ODI series are anything to go by, Bangladesh don’t stand much of a chance but how hard they make Pakistan’s bowlers work for their wickets will be the focus.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LDLLL (most recent first)
Pakistan: DWDWW

In the spotlight…

Mohammad Ashraful is back in the Bangladesh squad. Again. Once their best batsman, his form underwent a serious slump and he was relegated to the fringes of the national team. He was dropped for the Tests against West Indies in the series before this, and Stuart Law, the Bangladesh coach, said he’d have to perform in domestic cricket to warrant selection. In his last three innings on the domestic circuit, Ashraful scored two half-centuries and a ton to win his place back. Some say his call-up is a backward step; that it’s time for other youngsters to take Bangladesh’s batting forward. He’s still only 27, and has plenty to offer. How desperate and determined he is to ensure his selection this time is one for some time to come remains to be seen.One of the best slow bowlers in the world currently, Saeed Ajmal, who is on top of the ODI bowling rankings, has had plenty of success in Tests as well. He’s well acclimatised with the tracks in the Middle East, where Pakistan play England early next year, and can be potentially lethal with his variations on even slower pitches in Bangladesh. At 34, recognition has taken time to come to Ajmal but in Pakistan’s post-spot-fixing revival, Ajmal has been a key performer. The Bangladesh batsmen didn’t have too many answers against him in the ODIs and it doesn’t bode well for the Tests either.

Team news

Bangladesh have left out opener Imrul Kayes and Raqibul Hasan from their Test squad. Mahmudullah, who missed the Test series against West Indies due to dengue fever, makes his way back and so does Ashraful. Bangladesh have also selected batsman Nazimuddin, and medium-pacer Robiul Islam in the squad. Allrounder Naeem Islam has been withdrawn from the Bangladesh squad for the first Test after failing to recover from sinusitis and flu-like symptoms.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Nazimuddin, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Mahumudullah, 8 Nasir Hossain, 9 Elias Sunny, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Shahadat Hossain.Pakistan are without Junaid Khan and should they choose to go in with two seamers, Aizaz Cheema could open the bowling with Umar Gul.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema.

Pitch and conditions

It rained in Chittagong during the Test against West Indies but the weather forecast is encouraging for this game, with plenty of sun for the next few days. The pitch is usually slow with adequate assistance for spinners, calling for graft and patience from batsmen which is something Bangladesh have rarely shown.

Stats and trivia

• Both of Pakistan’s wins in Bangladesh, in 2002 which was the last time they played a bilateral series in this country, were innings victories. Taufeeq Umar, Younis Khan and Mohammad Ashraful were part of that series.
• Younis Khan is 60 away from reaching 6000 runs in Tests.

Quotes

“It’s actually time for the batsmen to show something because our bowling and fielding was not bad in the series. Bangladesh always bounce back strongly when they fell in dire state.”
Shahriar Nafees
“If they stick to their goals, they will give us tough competition. It will not be easy for us since Bangladesh are playing in home conditions.”
Younis Khan

At the end of the second day, with India falling hopelessly behind, Rahul Dravid didn’t promise to show “what batting actually means”, but said India believed they could get out of this rut

Sidharth Monga at SuperSport Park17-Dec-2010Rahul Dravid is not a man for false bravado. At the end of the second day, with India 230 runs behind, with three days to go and eight South African wickets still standing, Dravid didn’t promise to show “what batting actually means”, but said that the team believed they could get out of this rut.”We are way behind in the game, that’s pretty obvious,” Dravid said. “We are far behind. But yeah we have got to bat well in the second innings. Yeah, it’s going to be tough, but we have got some quality there. We have shown some fighting spirit in the last couple of years. We have got to believe that we have got that and we are going to have to play well.”Dravid is not alien to India’s slow starts on important tours, but was distraught the team went back to old ways. “I thought we had come a long way over the last few years to correct that,” he said. “Over the last decade we have tried to correct that. We sometimes do tend to start off slowly, and in a three-match series you cannot afford that sort of thing.”Dravid, though, can’t do anything about one of the reasons behind this particular slow start. “In an ideal world, you know, you would play warm-up game or a couple of warm-up games before a tour like this,” he said. “But we don’t live in a Utopian world, we don’t live in a perfect world, you have got to make do with what you have. We tried to do the best we could, we came here as early as possible – some of us – and practised a bit. The conditions yesterday were a bit different from what we have practised on also, but having said that, there’s still a lot of cricket left in this series. We have got to keep our heads up, and we have got to show some fighting spirit with the ball tomorrow and later with the bat.”Despite the weather leading into the match, South Africa are not looking for an adventurous declaration just as yet, which could mean India will begin their second innings some time after tea on day three – weather permitting and assuming South Africa won’t collapse against the run of play. That would leave India more than two days to bat, facing a deficit of around 450.”We just can’t think about how many runs behind we are, and how much time is left,” Dravid said. “We have got to play ball by ball, hour by hour, session by session, we have to bat for long periods of time. We can’t afford to look too far ahead, we are so far behind in the game.”That the pitch has eased out considerably does give Dravid hope. “We saw today that it did get a lot better. It will be interesting to see how it plays as the game goes on. We have got to still bat really well, with us so many runs behind on the fourth and the fifth day. It’s a good test, it’s going to be a great challenge.”

Mohammad Asif completed a stunning six-wicket haul before the end of his 18th over as part of Pakistan’s broader demolition of Australia. In union with Mohammad Sami, who dismissed Australia’s top three batsmen before the first drinks break, Asif exploite

The Bulletin by Alex Brown at the SCG03-Jan-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Mohammad Asif was the toast of the Pakistan team with 6 for 41•Getty Images

Mohammad Asif completed a career-best six-wicket haul as part of Pakistan’s broader demolition of Australia that called into question Ricky Ponting’s decision to bat first on a Sydney green-top. In union with Mohammad Sami, who dismissed Australia’s top three batsmen before the first drinks break, Asif exploited the heavy pitch and atmospheric conditions to full effect to rout Australia for 127 – their second-lowest total batting first at the SCG and worst at home since 1996.Ponting was left to rue the decision to bat first on a green, seaming pitch after rain delayed the coin toss until shortly before 2pm. Not since his infamous decision to send England into bat at Edgbaston in 2005 has Ponting called correctly and opted to bowl. How he must wish to have his time over.Only a 44-run eighth-wicket stand between Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz saved Australia from complete embarassment although, as it stood, the humiliation ran deep enough. Sami, playing his first Test in more than two years following a stint in the unauthorised ICL, scythed through Australia’s top order with seven overs of express pace and prodigious movement to account for Phillip Hughes, Ponting and Shane Watson before the first drinks break.Asif then swung into gear in the period leading up to tea with the wickets of Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North and Brad Haddin. He went onto remove Hauritz and Johnson to finish with the career-best figures of 6 for 41 as Australia were rolled inside 45 overs.Pakistan’s opening batsmen, Imran Farhat and Salman Butt, added 14 runs without loss before bad light stopped play 4.1 overs into the tourists’ innings. Both survived the odd anxious moment, particularly against Doug Bollinger, but their battles paled into insignificance compared to those experienced by the Australian batsmen against a Pakistan attack at its enigmatic best.Sami was an eleventh-hour inclusion in the Pakistani side after the withdrawal of Mohammad Aamer, one of the heroes of Melbourne, with a groin injury. The move almost paid immediate dividends when Sami had Hughes, a replacement for the injured Simon Katich, dropped by the hard-handed Umar Akmal at backward point from his first delivery. Retribution followed in the next over, however, when Sami lured Hughes into an aggressive push to a straighter, fuller delivery that flew low to Faisal Iqbal at second slip.The inspired paceman then removed Ponting with his very next ball, wafting at a shorter delivery that reared off the surface, and might well have completed a hat-trick had Billy Doctrove ruled Watson out to an excellent lbw appeal that struck him on the front toe. The Pakistanis sent the decision for video review, however Hawk-Eye confirmed Sami’s 150kph bolt had struck the batsman outside the line of off stump. Watson successfully dodged that bullet, but was not so lucky in Sami’s next over, edging a seaming, straightening delivery to Kamran Akmal.That left Sami with figures of 3 for 5 from his first four overs, and Australia gasping for breath. Clarke rounded out an eventful hour by successfully overturning Asoka de Silva’s decision to adjudge him lbw to an Umar Gul delivery that was comfortably clearing the stumps, but his defiance ended shortly after the drinks break when he was bowled through the gate to an Asif delivery that straightened off the pitch.The task fell to Hussey and North, both well short of peak form, to pull Australia from the mire. Neither looked comfortable repelling Asif’s relentlessly probing lines and it came as little surprise when Hussey fell to a top-edged pull-stroke that was accepted by Misbah-ul-Haq in the slips. North followed next ball, waving at a delivery outside his off-stump, and Asif completed the first session rout by removing an attack-minded Haddin.Australia enjoyed a brief period of respite in the final session as Johnson and Hauritz took the attack to the Pakistanis. The hosts showed no nerves through the nineties – a curious twist on an oft-mentioned topic this summer – as the lower-order duo pounded 17 runs from one Danish Kaneria over to guide the team into triple figures.But the wheels fell off thereafter. Hauritz was bowled to an Asif delivery angled back into the right-hander, while Johnson fell attempting to loft over extra-cover. Umar Gul completed the rout with the final wicket of Doug Bollinger – the sixth Australian batsman to post a single-figure total – to close out the hosts’ innings in just 44.2 overs.Much will be made of Ponting’s “anti-Edgbaston” moment at the coin toss, but few of Pakistan’s wickets were the result of exaggerated aerial or surface movement. Disciplined Pakistani bowling and questionable Australian decision-making played as much of a role in the hosts’ disintegration as swing or seam. Let the inquest begin.