Cricket
Bangladesh spin-bowling coach tests positive for COVID in New Zealand
Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath tested positive for Covid-19 in New Zealand, team sources said on Wednesday. He is touring with the Tigers for a two-match series against the hosts starting from January 1. Multiple sources from the Bangladesh team and BCB have confirmed the development. However, Herath has been doing well and he has no complications, sources said.
READ: Another member of Bangladesh women’s cricket team tests positive for Covid-19
Bangladesh team underwent three Covid-19 tests after arriving in New Zealand, and in the first two tests, all players and members of the coaching staff returned negative. But in the last test, Hearth came out positive. Bangladesh team members were allowed to use the gymnasium for the first time on Tuesday except for nine members who were close to a Covid-19 positive passenger while travelling to New Zealand. According to the latest development, they won’t be allowed to use the gymnasium during the quarantine period. The players were scheduled to use the field today for practice, but due to the relentless rain, they were not able to go to the field.
READ: BCL: Central Zone eye a win as Soumya hits a ton Bangladesh team was supposed to maintain a 14-day in-room quarantine period, but the New Zealand authority cut it down to three days. The first Test of the series will take place on January 1, and the second and final Test of the series will be played from January 9. There is no limited-over match in this series.
Another member of Bangladesh women’s cricket team tests positive for Covid-19
Another member of the Bangladesh women’s cricket team tested positive for Covid-19, a BCB source confirmed on Tuesday.
Earlier, two women cricketers tested positive for Omicron, the newest variant of Covid-19. But the third one is not an Omicron case.
Read: Omicron also enters Bangladesh; first 2 cases detected
All the three are now in isolation at the Mugda General Hospital.
“Another member of the team that toured Zimbabwe tested positive,” Jalal Yunus, the chief of BCB media department, told UNB on Tuesday without mentioning whether the infected person is a cricketer or a member of support staff.
“With two cricketers who had tested earlier, all three were shifted to Mugda General Hospital, but they have been doing very well.”
He said that the cricketers were shifted to the hospital due to other arrangement of the hotel where they had been staying.
The other members of the women team who were found negative in the latest test are in quarantine in the BCB academy building. They will have to undergo another test on December 19.
The women national team has recently returned home from Zimbabwe after the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier was suspended midway due to the surge of the new variant of Covid-19 which was first detected in South Africa.
Read: Bangladesh logs 3 Covid-linked deaths, 295 fresh infections in 24 hrs
After arriving in Dhaka, the cricketers had been maintaining the quarantine period in a Dhaka hotel.
On December 6, two cricketers tested positive for Covid-19. Two days later, the health ministry revealed that they were infected with the Omicron variant of the virus which were the first cases of Omicron in Bangladesh.
BCL: Central Zone eye a win as Soumya hits a ton
Walton Central Zone are eying a win in the first round of the ongoing Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) against BCB North Zone at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
Soumya Sarkar, the left-handed batter, hit an unbeaten 104 for Central Zone. And before him, Mohammad Mithun and Mizanur Rahman also smashed a century each.
Read:Mithun, Mizan shine in BCL with centuries
With these centuries, Central Zone declared their first innings at 563 for three
At the end of day three on Tuesday, North Zone are trailing by 172 runs with five wickets in hand with Marshall Ayub and Mahidul Islam Ankon unbeaten on 28 and 0 respectively.
In the first innings of the match, North Zone scored 219 all out.
On the fourth and last day of the match, Central Zone need only five wickets to seal the game.
Hasan Murad, the left-arm spinner, bagged three wickets while Robiul Haque and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury scalped one wicket each.
In the other match of the first round of BCL, BCB South Zone took a commanding position at Shahid Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.
At the end of day three, East Zone are leading only by 26 runs with five wickets in hand— they are batting at 195 for five.
East Zone need to bat as long as possible to avoid a defeat in this match.
Read:Babar hopes to carry momentum against virus-hit West Indies
In the first innings of this match, East Zone posted 260 all out, and in reply, South Zone posted 429 all out, and in their second innings, East Zone scored 195 for five so far with Afif Hossain Dhrubo remaining not-out for 73.
For South Zone, Nasum Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan bagged two wickets each while Nahidul Islam took one. In the first innings, both Nasum and Mahedi scalped five wickets each.
Mithun, Mizan shine in BCL with centuries
Mohammad Mithun hit 176 in the first round of the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) on Monday at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
Mithun and his opening partner Mizanur Rahman added a mammoth 327 in the opening stand with Mizanur hitting 162.
At the end of day two, Walton Central Zone posted 430 for two against BCB North Zone with Soumya Sarkar and Salman Hossain Emon remaining not out for 39 and 40 respectively.
Earlier, BCB North Zone posted 210 for all wickets in the first innings of the match with Parvez Hossian Emon hitting the highest 46 for them. For Walton Central Zone, Robiul Hoque scalped three wickets and Shuvagata Home took two.
Also read: Ashraful hits a fifty, Nasum, Mahedi take five each as BCL kicks off
At the end of day two, Walton Central Zone led by 211 runs with eight wickets in hand.
“I just wanted to play according to my strength,” Mithun, who opened the innings for the first time in BCL, told in a video message. “Mizanur also played a wonderful innings. When we started well, we wanted to make it as big as possible. We are happy that we could put a big partnership. We will try our best to play like we started and go match by match.”
Mithun has recently lost his national team place for his prolonged bad patch in the middle. According to some sources, Mithun was advised to open the innings in the longer version matches by head coach of the national team Russell Domingo.
If Mithun can continue to do well at the opening slot, he might get a comeback call to the national team, at least for the longer version of cricket.
In the other match of the first round, BCB South Zone are leading by 28 runs with four wickets in hand.
Riding on 88 by Anamul Haque Bijoy and 91 not-out by Zakir Hasan, BCB South Zone scored 288 for six in 82 overs at the end of day two in reply to Islami Bank East Zone’s 260 for all wickets.
For Islami Bank, right-arm spinner Nayeem Hasan bagged three wickets while Mohammad Ashraful, who hit a fifty with the bat, took two wickets.
Earlier, in the first innings of the match, Nasum Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan of BCB South Zone bagged five wickets each to wrap up Islami Bank East Zone for 260.
Babar hopes to carry momentum against virus-hit West Indies
Captain Babar Azam hopes to keep Pakistan's winning momentum going against a virus-hit West Indies in the limited-overs series, starting Monday.
Three West Indies players -- left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell, allrounders Roston Chase and Kyle Mayers -- have tested positive for coronavirus in Karachi and were ruled out of the Twenty20 series. They will be in isolation for 10 days in Karachi and will be monitored by the team physician until they return negative tests.
The West Indies Twenty20 squad was already missing several top performers for the three-match T20 series which will be followed by three ODIs -- also at Karachi. The notable absentees include white-ball skipper Kieron Pollard, who will miss out due to a hamstring injury he sustained during the T20 World Cup, while Andre Russell is playing in the Big Bash League in Australia.
"We will try to carry the momentum which started in the (T20) World Cup," Babar told reporters during a video conference on Sunday. "We are not going to take them (West Indies) easy because they didn't bring their best players. They have played in the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) and international games, so you have to give your 100% to beat them."
Babar led from the front in the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates as Pakistan went on to win its five group games before being beaten by eventual champion Australia in the semifinals. Pakistan followed its brilliant run by sweeping Bangladesh in the Twenty20 series 3-0 in Bangladesh before winning the two-match test series 2-0.
Defending champion West Indies, on the other hand, floundered in the UAE as it failed to qualify for the semifinals. Nicholas Pooran replaced the injured Pollard for the Twenty20 series while Shai Hope will lead the side in the ODIs.
"We had original plans of what the (starting) eleven is going to look like, who's going to play and who's not going to play," Pooran said. "But other guys are going to get the opportunity to showcase their talents and their abilities, so I'm looking forward to see those guys take the opportunity."
Pooran has high hopes for allrounders Romario Shepherd and Dominic Drakes, who have recently exceled in a T10 league in the UAE and also did well in the CPL back home this year.
"I am very excited to see this new crop of players to get onto the cricket field," he said. "I, for one, believe that there's a lot of talented players here, especially when it comes to the shorter form of the game."
Babar sympathized with West Indies for losing three players due to coronavirus and believed it's tough for cricketers to spend time in isolation.
"It's difficult time for a team when your player tests positive," he said. "It's difficult to live in isolation, our team has gone through this. Lots of negative things do come in your mind when you are alone in the room and the team combination also gets affected."
Pakistan has lost just one home Twenty20 series since international cricket returned to Pakistan in 2015 when Sri Lanka routed them 3-0 in 2019. It has twice beaten Zimbabwe and also recorded series wins against Bangladesh, South Africa, a World XI and the West Indies when it last toured in 2018.
The Pakistan government has allowed full capacity crowds at the National Stadium for the first time since the pandemic began and Babar hoped the home team fans will get to see some quality cricket.
"The main thing is we are playing the home series and for us the best thing is full crowd will be allowed inside the stadium."
Ashraful hits a fifty, Nasum, Mahedi take five each as BCL kicks off
Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful hit a fifty in the opening round of the 9th Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) on Sunday at Shahid Kamruzzaman Stadium (SKS), Rajshahi.
On the same day, the spinners-duo of BCB South Zone, Nasum Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan, bagged five wickets each.
Ashraful is representing Islami Bank East Zone in BCL. In the first match, they are taking on BCB South Zone
Ashraful and Imrul Kayes scored 101 in the first wicket stand for Islami Bank. Imrul scored 46 off 93 balls while Ashraful hit 61 off 120 balls with eight fours.
Islami bank ended their first innings on 260 for 10 in 86.2 overs.
For South Zone, Mahedi bagged five conceding 173 runs while Nasum also bagged five taking 104 runs.
In reply, at the end of day one, South Zone scored three in two overs without losing any wicket— both the openers- Anamul Haque Bijoy and Pinak Ghosh— are yet to score any run.
In the other match of the day, BCB North Zone took on Walton Central Zone.
In the first innings of the match, North Zone posted 219 for 10 in 65.1 overs on Sunday at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram.
Left-handed opener Parvez Hossain Emon scored 46 while captain Marshal Ayub posted 35 for them as well.
For Central Zone, Robiul Hoque took three wickets while Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury scalped two.
Before the end of day one, Central Zone batted for 17 overs to score 61 without any loss. Mohammad Mithun and Mizanur Rahman remained unbeaten for 43 and 18 respectively.
Expected personal milestones to achieve in the Upcoming NZ vs BAN Test Series 2022
The two-match bilateral Test series between New Zealand and Bangladesh will start on January 1 of the following year. New Zealand are much ahead of Bangladesh in terms of Test statistics between the two countries. Bangladesh have never won a Test match against New Zealand, despite the fact that they have faced fifteen times in the format. Some players will be able to achieve personal milestones in the series. This article highlighted a few expected personal milestones that can be achieved during the NZ vs BAN Test Series 2022.
Attainable personal milestones in the NZ vs BAN Test Series 2022
Cricketers strive for individual success in addition to giving their all for the team. It is possible to accomplish individual records by regularly playing for the national team. Here are some personal milestones that could be reached in forthcoming Bangladesh vs New Zealand Test series.
5000 Test Runs
Mushfiqur Rahim just needs 144 runs to get 5,000 runs in Test cricket. He has a 37.06 batting average and has scored 4,856 runs in 142 innings.
Read Babar hopes to carry momentum against virus-hit West Indies
13000 International Runs
If Mushfiqur Rahim scores 98 runs in the NZ vs BAN Test series in 2022, he would become the second Bangladesh cricketer after Tamim Iqbal to reach 13,000 international runs.
1000 Test Runs
All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz needs only 43 runs to get 1,000 Test runs. He has 957 runs with a 20.36 average in 54 innings.
4000 International Runs
Mominul Haque needs 20 runs to get 4,000 international runs. In 117 innings, he has 3,980 runs.
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150 Test Wickets
Left-arm orthodox spinner Taijul Islam needs only 6 more wickets to join Shakib Al Hasan as the second Bangladeshi player to reach 150 Test wickets. He has 144 wickets in 35 Test matches.
100 International Wickets
Right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed has 98 international wickets and just needs two more to get 100 international scalps.
50 Test Dismissals
Liton Das has 47 Test dismissals to date, and he only needs three more to reach 50 in Test cricket.
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50 International Catches
Liton Das needs one catch and Mehidy Miraz needs two to reach 50 international catches.
13000 International Runs
Martin Guptill of New Zealand needs 188 runs to reach the 13,000 international run mark.
4000 International Runs
All-rounder Henry Nicholls needs 173 runs to get 4,000 international runs.
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150 International Wickets
Matt Henry has taken 142 wickets in 75 international matches. On the international level, he needs 8 more wickets to hit the 150-wicket mark.
350 International Catches
Ross Taylor needs four more catches to reach 350 international catches.
150 International Catches
Tim Southee has 146 catches in 316 games, and he only needs four more to get 150 international catches.
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300 International Wickets
Trent Boult has 292 wickets in 73 international matches. He only needs 8 more international wickets to achieve the 300-wicket mark.
50 International Wickets
Colin de Grandhomme needs three wickets and Ajaz Patel needs seven to achieve the 50-wicket mark in international cricket.
Read Ashraful hits a fifty, Nasum, Mahedi take five each as BCL kicks off
Verdict
Cricketers from both countries will have the potential to achieve personal milestones during the NZ vs BAN Test Series 2022. However, the primary objective for both teams would be to perform well as a team in the series. The host New Zealand will be aiming for a clean sweep of Bangladesh. On the other side, Bangladesh's big priority would be to qualify for the ICC Test Championship, which they can do by drawing at least one match in the series. Earning points will not be difficult if the team tigers give their best effort in the series. Overall, the Bangladesh Test team will face a difficult challenge in the upcoming series.
Read Root: England's best option is to make brave calls
Root: England's best option is to make brave calls
Joe Root didn't back away from the contentious calls to bat first in the Ashes series opener when conditions appeared to heavily favor the bowlers, or on a team selection that omitted England's two most experienced pacemen.
One regret he had after England's nine-wicket loss to Australia at the Gabba on Saturday was not giving left-arm spinner Jack Leach more protection against some aggressive batting.
Leach was punished by the batsmen, conceding 102 runs for one wicket and going for almost eight runs per over on a pitch that didn't really take much conventional turn but did offer plenty of bounce to suit Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Travis Head, who scored 152, and David Warner, who scored 94 in Australia's first innings of 425, were particularly attacking against Leach, who was playing his first test since March and his first ever in Australian conditions.
Root said setting a more defensive field would have helped Leach gain some confidence and "ease into the series."
"I put a lot of that on myself ... made it very difficult for him and it's probably more on my shoulders than looking at the selection," he said.
Leach's place in the starting XI was only confirmed at the coin toss, with England hoping to get a more varied attack by leaving out fast bowler Stuart Broad.
It didn't help that England wasn't defending many runs, having lost a wicket on the first ball of the series and been dismissed for 147 just before heavy rain ended play on Day 1.
"If we go about things the way we did on the last two tours we'll get the same result," Root said, reflecting on England's last two tours to Australia which included nine losses, one draw and no wins. "We have to be brave. I look back and think (batting) was the right decision.
"In terms of selection, we could have gone a different way (but) we wanted variety in our attack and ways of changing things."
Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes created opportunities for England, but some missed catches and poor fielding let them down. Allrounder Ben Stokes was restricted in his first test since March, had issued with his run-up and the popping crease, and appeared to be bothered by injury.
A veteran of four Ashes tours to Australia, Broad was a surprising omission, a decision confirmed a day after the news that 39-year-old Jimmy Anderson, who has been to Australia on five Ashes tours, would be rested for the series opener.
The pair have a combined 1,156 wickets from 315 test matches, but are coming off injuries. They will both come into calculations for the second test — a day-night match starting Thursday at the Adelaide Oval. Their ability to swing the ball could be pivotal for England in those conditions.
"You can't question the guys that were out there - our seamers created so many chances - we just weren't good enough to take them," Root said. "But it's nice to know (Broad and Anderson) should be fit and available and ready to go," for Adelaide.
After Adelaide, the five-test series moves to Melbourne for the traditional Boxing Day test starting Dec. 26, then to Sydney and Hobart in January.
Lyon joins Warne, McGrath as Aussies with 400 test wickets
A bit of banter from the new captain was all Nathan Lyon needed to end his 11-month wait to move from 399 test wickets and become just the third Australian to hit the 400 milestone.
Lyon didn't get a wicket in the first innings when England was out for 147 on Day 1 of the Ashes series, and bowled 24 overs and conceded 69 runs without taking a wicket on Day 3 as the tourists rallied to reach 220-2 at stumps, cutting Australia's lead to 58.
The 34-year-old offspinner admitted it was playing on his mind. Australia hadn't played a test match since January, and he'd taken only nine wickets in that losing four-test series against India — the masters against spin.
Lyon isn't usually one to acknowledge milestones, he said, but teammates were joking with him about the length of time between wickets and what he planned to do to celebrate. So he couldn't ignore it.
Pace bowler Pat Cummins, in his first test as Australia captain since replacing Tim Paine, took Lyon aside after play on Friday to joke about it.
"I said last night, 'You're never going to get your 400!'" Cummins, recalling his novel motivational approach for his long-time teammate, said after Australia completed a nine-wicket win on Saturday. "Nice for him to get that this morning. He bowled really well yesterday without luck."
Lyon laughed, let off steam and, in just the fourth over on Saturday morning, he dismissed Dawid Malan to end England's 162-run third-wicket partnership and his personal wait since Jan. 19 to progress his career tally from 399 to 400 test wickets.
"There's been a lot of banter going on so it was probably on my mind more because of that," Lyon said. "It's been some hard toil to get it to get it, but it's very, very rewarding."
The wicket of Malan, caught in close by Marnus Labuschagne at bat-pad, also ended England's resistance in the 1st Ashes test. Lyon added three more wickets and returned 4-91 as England was bowled out for 297 in its second innings — setting Australia a paltry target of 20 runs for victory with more than 1 1/2 days to spare.
Lyon joined legspinner Shane Warne, who took 708 test wickets between 1992 and 2007, and paceman Glenn McGrath, who took 563 between '93-'07, as the only Australians to surpass the 400-wicket barrier in test cricket.
He's only the second spinner from outside of Asia — the other is Warne — to reach 400, and he's the 17th bowler overall across more than 140 years to reach the milestone. The all-time list is topped by Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 800 between 1992 and 2010.
Lyon, now with 403 wickets from 101 tests, has mostly been a regular in the Australian lineup for a decade, first emerging in 2011 following a stint working as a curator at the Adelaide Oval.
That, along with the end of a nervous wait, will mean he's relaxed for the second test against England — a day-nighter at the Adelaide Oval starting Thursday.
Champions League 2021-2022: Will Messi and Ronaldo meet in the Round of 16?
The group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2021-2022 season finally concluded with a match between Villarreal and Atalanta on December 9 (Thursday). Villarreal qualified for the Round of 16 after defeating Atalanta 3-2, and they will be joined by 15 other teams for the first knockout round draw in Switzerland on Monday, December 13th. It's possible that PSG and Man United could meet in the Round of 16 of the competition. Let's have a look at the Round of 16 draw scenario for the Champions League 2021-2022.
Group Winners of Champions League 2021-2022
The eight group winners are Manchester City (group A), Liverpool (group B), Ajax (group C), Real Madrid (group D), Bayern Munich (group E), Manchester United (group F), Lille (group G), and Juventus (group H).
Manchester City won Group A with a total of 12 points. The defending English Premier League Champion won four of their six group stage matches. Liverpool finished first in Group B with 18 points after winning all of their games. The Dutch league winner Ajax also won all of their matches in Group C, finishing with 18 points. Real Madrid were stunned at the Bernabeu by Sheriff Tiraspol, but the most successful European team returned to the top of Group D with 15 points.
Bayern Munich won Group E with a total of 18 points. Manchester United got the first position in Group F with 11 points, while Lille took top place in Group G with 11 points. Juventus took the first position in Group H with 15 points.
Group Runners-up of Champions League 2021-2022
Paris Saint-Germain (group A), Atletico Madrid (group B), Sporting CP (group C), Inter Milan (group D), Benfica (group E), Villarreal (group F), Red Bull Salzburg (group G), and Chelsea (group H) are the eight group runners-up.
PSG finished second in Group A with 11 points. They won three games, drew two games, and lost one. Atletico Madrid finished second in Group B with 7 points. They only won two games, drew one, and lost the other three. Sporting CP finished second in Group C after winning three matches and losing three. The Italian Serie A Champion Inter Milan finished second in Group D with ten points.
Portuguese team Benfica defeated Barcelona to finish second in Group E. Spanish team Villarreal finished second in Group F with ten points. Red Bull Salzburg finished second in Group G with ten points. The defending Champions League champion Chelsea finished second in Group H with 13 points. They were two points behind Italian giants Juventus.
Potential Round of 16 opponents for PSG and Man Utd
Each group's winners are seeded, while the group's runners-up are unseeded. Seeded teams are matched against unseeded ones. Teams from the same group or football federation are not allowed to play each other in the Round of 16.
As per the aforementioned rule, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Real Madrid could be PSG's Round of 16 opponents. Therefore, Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain is expected to face a difficult opponent in the next round.
On the other hand, PSG, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Inter Milan, RB Salzburg, and Sporting CP might well be Manchester United's Round of 16 opponents. Given Man Utd’s current form, they would have a tough battle in the first knockout round of the Champions League 2021-2022 season.
Mathematically, Ronaldo's Manchester United has a 20% probability of facing Messi's PSG in the Round of 16. It would be a huge match if these two teams were drawn against one other in the first knockout round.
Aside from that, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, and Inter Milan may face a difficult opponent in the Round of 16 as well.
Verdict
Given the outcome of the Champions League group stage in the 2021-2022 season, there is a good chance that the next round will include some tough matches. If Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United meet in the Round of 16, it will be the most anticipated match of the tournament. Because fans will be able to see Messi and Ronaldo play against each other for their new teams. At least two more fascinating Round of 16 matchups are possible in this draw. Overall, the first knockout round of the Champions League 2021-2022 is predicted to be an exciting event in February and March of next year.