New Zealand, Dec 16 (AP/UNB) — Tom Latham and Kane Williamson made half centuries in an unbroken 116-run partnership which steered New Zealand into a strong position at tea Sunday on the second day of the first cricket test against Sri Lanka.

Latham was 57 not out, Williamson 71 not out and New Zealand was 175-1 at the break, replying to Sri Lanka's first innings of 282.

The half centuries were a study in contrasts; Latham had to toil for 169 minutes and face 123 balls to raise his 16th half century in tests while Williamson reached his 29th at better than a run a ball, from 45 deliveries in 93 minutes.

Both players hit six boundaries but their approaches could not have been more different. Latham worked laboriously to overcome a recent loss of form and his attacking shots were sprinkled sparsely among a long and difficult innings.

Williamson hit boundaries from the first three balls he faced and later brought up his 50 with a four from the bowling of Suranga Lakmal.

Williamson's innings was also a continuation of his recent good form: he made 89 and 139 in New Zealand's previous test against Pakistan to help it to a 2-1 win in the three-test series.

Latham had only one half century in the Pakistan series, in which he tallied only 99 runs in six innings. But he showed determination on Sunday to occupy the crease and force his way back into form in home conditions.

The pair helped New Zealand recover from the ill-timed fall of Jeet Raval (43) to the last ball before lunch. Latham and Raval had produced a solid 59-run opening stand before Raval was caught behind with the safety of lunch in sight.

The Sri Lanka bowlers were accurate and sometimes taxing on a wicket which has dried out a little and was becoming almost ideal for batting. Clear overhead conditions also reduced the influence of swing, which New Zealand had used to its advantage when it bowled after winning the toss on the first day.

Sri Lanka had been 9-3 after four overs but recovered with the help of Dimush Karunaratne (79) and Angelo Mathews (83) to reach 275-9 by stumps. Its innings lasted a further three overs on Sunday before Lahiru Kumara was the last man out. His dismissal left Niroshan Dickwella unbeaten on 80, after a fighting rearguard innings which further revived the Sri Lanka innings.

Tim Southee, who claimed the last wicket, ended with 6-68 — his first five-wicket bag on the Basin Reserve.

Tim Southee took 6-68 as New Zealand dismissed Sri Lanka for 282 Sunday on the second day of the first cricket test at the Basin Reserve.

New Zealand suffered a setback when it lost opener Jeet Raval for 43 to the last ball before lunch, leaving the hosts at 59-1 at the break and 223 runs behind Sri Lanka.

Tom Latham made a laborious 15 not out from 68 balls and will be joined by captain Kane Williamson after the interval.

Southee had completed his first five-wicket bag in 11 tests on the Basin Reserve on day one when Sri Lanka was 275-9. He claimed the last wicket of the innings within three overs on Sunday, sharply improving his record at the ground where he had previously averaged 46 runs per wicket with a best of 3-24 against the West Indies.

Tailender Lahiru Kumara was the last man out, caught at leg gully by Colin de Grandhomme after squirting a delivery from Southee between his legs to the close-in fielder who dived forward to take the catch.

Wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella finished 80 not out after playing a leading role in Sri Lanka's fightback from 9-3 early on the first day. A 133-run fourth wicket partnership between Dimuth Karunaratne (79) and Angelo Mathews (83) rebuilt the innings and Dickwella took the fight to the New Zealand bowlers with a half century from 59 balls.

He hit 11 fours in an attacking innings which helped lift Sri Lanka to parity at the end of the first day.

New Zealand appeared to have regained the upper hand when Raval and Latham compiled a half-century opening partnership from 126 balls. But Raval's rash stroke immediately before lunch off a wide delivery from Kumara (1-11) brought the teams back on terms.

Dhaka, Dec 15 (UNB) - Steve Rhodes, the Bangladesh head coach, believes that the Windies are very difficult to beat in T20 Internationals. The Tigers will play a three-match T20I series against the visiting West Indies beginning on Monday.

“The Windies are best team in T20Is. They are the world champions in this format. I think it will be very difficult to beat them in T20Is,” Rhodes said on Monday in Sylhet.

Bangladesh have won both of Test and ODI series against the Caribbean boys. Now both the teams are set to lock horn in T20I series.

“To beat them again in the ODI series was very special. We became disappointed as could not beat them in second ODI and wrapped it up earlier, but having said that I thought that yesterday (Friday) was a great game. Good cricket played by Bangladesh,” Rhodes insisted.

In the last T20I series against West Indies in their home, the Tigers came up as victorious. Bangladesh coach rated the win ‘very special victory’ for the Tigers.

“The way we beat them in the West Indies was a very special victory for us. It was a little bit unexpected but the boys did extremely well to win that last game in Florida,” Rhodes said while remembering the last series.

Despite the ongoing dominance over the West Indies, Bangladesh coach thinks the T20I series will be tough one for the hosts. He believes the newcomers to T20I squad of West Indies can make Bangladesh’s chance difficult.

“I think the West Indies, with some new players who have arrived here, will be tough opposition. It’s the format that they know very well. We will give our best shot,” the Bangladesh coach further said.

The T20I series opener will take place in Sylhet on 17 December at 2:00 pm, while the remaining two matches will be played in Dhaka on 20 and 22 December respectively at 5:00 pm.

Dhaka, Dec 15 (UNB)- The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday announced squads of Shaheed Jewel XI and Shaheed Mushtaque XI for the annual Victory Day Cricket match 2018 which will be played at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday (16 December).

The traditional exhibition match in T20 format will commence at 10:30 am where many former national and domestic cricketers will take part.

The former national captains likes of Habibul Bashar, Akram Khan, Minhajul Abedin Nannu and Faruque Ahmed will represent Shaheed Jewel XI while Khaled Mashud Pilot, Javed Omar Belim, Mushfiqur Rahman will play for Shaheed Mushtaque XI.

The veteran cricket coach Dipu Roy Chowdhury will play the role of the coach of Shaheed Jewel XI and Azhar Hossain Shantoo will be their manager while the other experienced coach Wahidul Ghani will be with Shaheed Mushtaque XI and ASM Roquibul Hassan will play the role of manager of Shaheed Mushtaque XI.

Shaheed Jewel XI: Habibul Bashar, Hannan Sarker, Akram Khan, Minhajul Abedin Nannu, Faruque Ahmed, Hasibul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudul Hasan Rana, Mohammad Ali, Enamul Hoque Moni, Ehsanul Haque Sezan, Mohammad Selim, Nasir Ahmed Nasu, Monjurul Islam, Sajal Chowdhury.

Shaheed Mushtaque XI: Mehrab Hossain Opee, Jahangir Alam, Harunur Rashid Liton, Anwar Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahman, Mohammad Rafique, Hasanuzzaman Jhoru, Javed Omar Belim, Anowar Hossain Monir, Khaled Mashud Pilot, Morshed Ali Khan, Shafiuddin Babu, Mizanur Rahman Babul, Faisal Hossain Deckance

Dhaka, Dec 15 (UNB)- Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has made it clear that he is not thinking about retiring just now.

“I have not given it (retirement) a deep thought. We want to prepare ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead,” he told the media after leading Tigers to a 2-1 series win against West Indies on Friday.

“I will think about whether I want to continue playing or not after the World Cup,” he said. “I will let you know my decision.”

His recent involvement in national politics and decision to contest from his home district added fuel to speculations about his retirement. The 35-year-old had previously said he could retire after the next World Cup.

Mashrafe assured his fans that his political involvement did not distract him from the game. “It was just like any other series for me. I was completely focused,” he said.

The skipper had suffered a hamstring problem during a practice game at BKSP before the series opener. But he chose to play against West Indies.

Mashrafe will be busy for the rest of the month as he prepares to participate in the December 30 parliamentary election from Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League party. His next cricketing assignment is against New Zealand, where the Tigers will play three Tests and three ODIs.

Bangladesh have seven ODIs before the showpiece event in England next year. But they will not play any other ODI at home before the World Cup.

Wellington, Dec 15 (AP/UNB) — Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews put on 133 runs for the fourth wicket to help Sri Lanka rally from the loss of three early wickets to 167-4 at tea Saturday on the first day of the first cricket test against New Zealand.

Opener Karunarate and Mathews came together in only the fifth over of the Sri Lanka innings after Tim Southee had taken three wickets — Sri Lanka was reduced to nine for 3 — with high-class swing bowling as New Zealand fielded after winning the toss.

The veteran pair had batted 23 overs by lunch, when Sri Lanka had recovered to 73-3, and continued throughout the second session before Karunaratne fell to a soft dismissal half an hour before tea when the tourists were 144.

Mathews batted on and was 71 not out at the break while captain Dinesh Chandimal was on 6.

The stand between Karunaratne and Mathews lasted 42.3 overs and was a classic example of technique and the value of perserverence in conditions which favored the bowling side. The ball was swinging, fractionally most of the time and substantially some of the time, and that demanded batsmen who stood tall and still at the crease and were able to make accurate judgements of line and length.

Karunaratne, continuing a strong run of form this year, had batted 200 minutes and faced 144 balls when he finally fell in unfortunate circumstances and against the run of play.

New Zealand had seemed to exhaust almost every idea for breaking the partnership until its third seamer, Neil Wagner, resorted to his successful tactic of recent seasons of bowling short and around the wicket.

Karunaratne had not been able to resist the pull shot, though there were two fielders back for the shot, and when he went to the shot once to often he misjudged the bounce and gloved a catch down leg to wicketkeeper B.J. Watling.

Mathews carried on and by tea had batted close to four hours.

Southee also resorted to short-pitched bowling after lunch, putting away the fuller length which allowed him to swing the ball and capture the early wickets of Danushka Gunathilaka (1), Dhananjaya de Silva (1) and Kusal Mendis (2) within the first four overs. As early cloud melted into a fine day and the ball aged, swing was less prevalent.