United News of Bangladesh

Tanzid Hasan hit his maiden Test century on Friday as Bangladesh took a commanding 88-run lead over Australia at tea on the second day of the first Test in Darwin. Bangladesh reached 286 for 3 at tea, with Tanzid’s 101 off 197 balls playing a key role in putting the visitors firmly in control after Australia were bowled out for 198 on Thursday. Tanzid reached 100 from 188 balls, pushing Nathan Lyon to long-off for a single. He was out soon after for 101 from 197 balls, with eight fours and a six. It was only Tanzid’s second Test, but he played with little sign of being overawed by Australia’s attack. He resumed on 32 not out after Bangladesh had finished the first day on 96 for 1, 102 runs behind Australia’s 198. Tanzid and Mominul Haque put on 102 for the second wicket before Mominul fell for 49. Their partnership came four runs short of Bangladesh’s highest second-wicket stand in Australia, the 108 between Habibul Bashar and Hannan Sarkar in Cairns in 2003. Tanzid reached his fifty from 102 balls, hitting five fours. He needed only 86 more balls for his second fifty, adding three fours and a six. He drove well, played confidently off the back foot and twice took on Beau Webster, including a six down the ground. There was one let-off. Tanzid was on 62 when Steven Smith could not hold a chance at slip Smith had described the pitch as “tricky” after Australia were bowled out for 198 on Thursday. Bangladesh’s batters have so far offered little evidence of that, with Tanzid, Mominul and Najmul Hossain Shanto all batting comfortably.  

Just a week ago, Bangladesh were bowled out twice in an innings defeat by a Cricket Australia XI, raising plenty of questions about how they would cope when the real Test began. A start like this would have been difficult to imagine. Bangladesh dismissed Australia for 198 on Thursday, then reached 96 for 1 by stumps on the opening day of the first Test in Darwin. They have already erased almost half of Australia's total and still have their middle order to come. Hasan Mahmud set up the day with a career-best 6 for 55, while Ebadot Hossain and Taskin Ahmed took two wickets each. Australia, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, were never able to build a substantial innings on a surface that had about 4 millimeters of grass at the start of play. Jake Weatherald and Travis Head fell to Hasan in the first 14 overs, and Marnus Labuschagne was out for 1 to Ebadot. Australia were 74 for 4 at lunch, with Steven Smith the only batter offering sustained resistance. Smith made 71 from 109 balls, but Australia's innings fell away after his partnership with Alex Carey had taken the score to 129. Hasan returned late in the innings to remove Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Smith and Nathan Lyon, completing his six-for as Australia were bowled out in 53 overs. Bangladesh then made the most of their opportunity. Shadman Islam fell for 20 after adding 36 with Tanzid Hasan, but Australia struggled to make another breakthrough. Tanzid and Mominul Haque put on an unbeaten 60 for the second wicket, seeing Bangladesh through the final 15.4 overs without a further wicket. Tanzid finished on 32 not out from 67 balls and Mominul on 35 from 49. Bangladesh scored at four runs an over against an attack featuring Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon. There is a long way to go in the Test, and Australia will have plenty of opportunities to recover. But after the tour-match defeat last week, Bangladesh could hardly have asked for a better first day.

Hasan Mahmud took six wickets as Bangladesh bowled Australia out for 198 on the opening day of the first Test in Darwin on Thursday. Hasan finished with 6 for 55 from 17 overs, taking six of Australia’s last eight wickets after returning to the attack late in the innings. He removed both openers early, then came back to break Australia’s lower order. Jake Weatherald made 23 before edging Hasan to Litton Das behind the stumps. Four overs later, Travis Head was bowled for 22 after chopping a length delivery back onto his stumps. Marnus Labuschagne fell to Ebadot Hossain for 1, leaving Australia 61 for 3. Cameron Green was then caught behind off Taskin Ahmed for 13, but Steven Smith and Alex Carey steadied the innings. Smith made 71 from 109 balls, with seven fours and a six. He and Carey added 55 for the fifth wicket before Carey was bowled by Ebadot for 19. Taskin removed Beau Webster for 12, but Hasan returned with Australia 152 for 6 and quickly worked through the tail. Pat Cummins edged behind for 9, before Mitchell Starc nicked a full delivery angled across him for 1. Smith, who had reached his half-century from 76 balls, charged Hasan and skied a catch to Litton for 71. Hasan completed his six-for by dismissing Nathan Lyon for 7, who top-edged a pull to midwicket. Australia were all out for 198 in 53 overs. Taskin finished with 2 for 55 and Ebadot took 2 for 39.

Bangladesh are set to qualify directly for the 2027 ODI World Cup after Afghanistan’s win over Ireland strengthened their position in the ICC ODI rankings. The qualification list will not be official until the rankings cutoff on Sept. 30. But with less than seven weeks to go, Bangladesh are in the top eight and cannot realistically be overtaken. The top eight teams in the ODI rankings on Sept. 30, excluding the two host nations, will qualify directly for the World Cup. South Africa and Zimbabwe have already qualified as co-hosts. Afghanistan secured a place in the top eight by beating Ireland by three wickets in Belfast on Sunday. The result left Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the eight direct-qualification spots. Bangladesh are therefore on course to avoid the qualifying tournament and go straight into the World Cup, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year. Their place will be confirmed after the Sept. 30 cutoff. West Indies, meanwhile, will have to take the longer route. The two-time world champions are ranked 10th and cannot break into the top eight even if they win their two remaining ODIs against India before the cutoff. They will have to play in the World Cup Qualifier in February and March next year. It will be the third consecutive World Cup cycle in which West Indies have had to go through the qualifiers. They failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup after finishing fifth in the Super Six stage, missing the tournament for the first time in their history. That failure also kept them out of the 2025 Champions Trophy, a tournament they have not played since 2013. The 2027 Qualifier will include West Indies and Ireland, the two lowest-ranked non-host Full Members, along with teams advancing from World Cup League 2 and the Qualifier Playoff. The qualification route has also changed. The Qualifier winner will advance directly to the second round of the World Cup, while the teams finishing second through fourth will enter a Super Series. The winner of that series will also advance to the second round. Bangladesh, barring a late change in the rankings, will not have to take that route.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will consult the Indian government before deciding whether the national team will travel to Bangladesh for a six-match limited-overs series next month, according to India Today. India are scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is. The first ODI is set for September 1 in Dhaka, with the other two on September 3 and 6. The T20Is are scheduled for September 9, 12 and 13. The Indian team is due to arrive in Dhaka on August 28. But the BCCI has not yet confirmed whether the tour will go ahead. BCCI officials told the media that the board will approach the government for guidance and permission before making a decision. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has already written to the BCCI about the tour, and the two boards remain in regular contact, the source said. The issue comes as relations between Bangladesh and India remain strained. Earlier this year, Bangladesh withdrew from the T20 World Cup after the BCCI removed Bangladesh all-rounder Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL following security threats. Bangladesh then asked the ICC to move its matches to another venue. When that request was rejected, the BCB withdrew the team from the tournament. Relations appeared to improve after Bangladesh's change of government following the national election. Tensions rose again after India allowed former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been convicted in Bangladesh and remains in India, to hold a news conference in Delhi. The India tour was originally scheduled for August 2025. The two boards later agreed to move it to September 2026, citing international scheduling and logistical considerations.

Travis Head is open to continuing as an opening batter for Australia after making a successful move to the top of the order during the Ashes. Head had been a middle-order regular in Test cricket until Usman Khawaja’s injury in the first Ashes Test in Perth forced a change. Head had experience opening in white-ball cricket and had also done the job in Tests against India and Sri Lanka, scoring 321 runs at an average of 45.85. He made an immediate impact in Perth, scoring 123 off 83 balls on a difficult surface. He added two more centuries during the series and finished with 629 runs, the most by any batter. Still, Head does not regard himself as a traditional Test opener. “I might have opened in 10, 12 of them,” Head told ESPNcricinfo. “I think it would suggest that I'm not an opening batter, a true opening batter, in terms of what Australian cricket is known for.” The Australian batter said his game was suited to the role but acknowledged that opening brought different demands, particularly against the new ball. “I know that I've still got to work continuously hard at the new ball. I know I'm going to make mistakes. I'm very comfortable with where my game is at,” he added. Khawaja’s retirement has left Australia with an opening spot to fill, and Head’s Ashes performance has made him a strong candidate. He is also Australia’s leading run-scorer in the current World Test Championship cycle, with 853 runs at an average of 53.31. But Head said his focus is less on his own numbers than on helping Australia win. “I'd love to score hundreds, I'd love to be in the runs column all the time, but at the end of the day I'd just love to contribute to winning Test matches,” he said. Australia, who lead the WTC standings, will begin a two-Test series against Bangladesh in Darwin on August 13. Their schedule also includes tours of South Africa and India, a home series against New Zealand and next year’s Ashes in England.

Abdullah Shafique scored his sixth Test century and shared an unbeaten 168-run third-wicket partnership with Babar Azam as Pakistan took control on Day 2 of the second Test against the West Indies. The West Indies were bowled out for 344 in their first innings shortly after resuming Monday at 239-5. Pakistan then made a strong start to its reply, reaching 266-2 at stumps. Shafique was unbeaten on 107 and captain Babar was 86 not out as Pakistan enjoyed its best day of the two-Test series. The West Indies won the first Test by 90 runs. Batting was difficult on the opening day as the pitch offered assistance to the slow bowlers. Conditions improved considerably Monday, allowing Pakistan to score freely and move within 78 runs of the West Indies total. Azan Awais scored his maiden Test half-century, making 55 with nine boundaries. He put on 34 for the first wicket with Imam-ul-Haq, who scored 14, before adding 64 for the second wicket with Shafique. Awais was trapped lbw by Jomel Warrican after missing an attempted sweep. The umpire initially rejected the appeal, but West Indies captain Roston Chase reviewed the decision. The television umpire ruled that the ball was turning enough to hit the leg stump. Babar joined Shafique and immediately adopted an aggressive approach as the pair added 100 runs from 139 balls. Shafique reached his half-century first with four fours and two sixes, while Babar soon followed with his 33rd Test half-century, including eight fours. Shafique then completed his century from 173 balls, his first Test hundred in almost two years. His previous century came against England in October 2024. He missed the first Test against the West Indies and returned to the side after last playing against South Africa in October. Pakistan will be keen to avoid another second-innings collapse later in the match. In the first Test, Pakistan scored 282 in its opening innings before being dismissed for just 120 in the second. Earlier, Justin Greaves top-scored for the West Indies with 73, while Chase made a determined 70 to help the hosts reach a competitive total. Off-spinner Sajid Khan took 4-85, while left-arm spinner Ali Usman, playing only his second Test, Mohammad Ali and Ubaid Shah took two wickets each.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hopes a strong performance in next month's two-Test series in Australia will help secure more opportunities for his team to tour the country in the future.Bangladesh will leave Dhaka on Friday for their first Test tour of Australia since 2003, ending a 23-year gap between series."Our main goal is to earn respect by playing good cricket," Shanto told reporters on Thursday. "If we can make the series competitive, hopefully they will invite us again." Nahid's Zimbabwe appearance aimed at keeping him ready, says Bashar While Bangladesh's long-term hopes hinge on building stronger ties with Australia, Shanto said the team's immediate focus remains on the two matches. "We go into every match trying to win," he said. "The important thing is how well we play and how much pressure we can put on them. If we play two good Test matches, that could create more opportunities for us in the future." The captain described the tour as a rare opportunity for Bangladesh, who have not played a Test in Australia for more than two decades. "I feel fortunate to be leading the team there," Shanto said. "Looking back, we probably should have played more Tests in Australia over the last 23 years, although we also have to admit that we did not play good enough Test cricket for a long period." The lengthy absence means several generations of Bangladesh cricketers have gone through their careers without a Test in Australia. Veteran Mushfiqur Rahim, despite playing more than 100 Tests across a career spanning two decades, is set for his first Test appearance on Australian soil. Shanto also said the growing expectations surrounding Bangladesh's Test side reflected the progress the team has made in recent years. "It is a positive thing that our supporters expect us to win every series," he said. "Twenty-three years ago, that probably was not the case. Now, people believe Bangladesh can beat any team, and that is a good sign of how far we have come."

Litton Das has been appointed Bangladesh’s new ODI captain, replacing Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the Bangladesh Cricket Board split the leadership of its red-ball and white-ball teams. Litton, who already leads the T20I side, will now captain Bangladesh in both white-ball formats. Towhid Hridoy has been named ODI vice-captain, while Najmul Hossain Shanto will remain Test captain. The decision was announced by BCB President Tamim Iqbal after a board meeting in Mirpur on Wednesday. “We have decided to have two captains across the three formats,” Tamim said. “We believe white-ball and red-ball cricket require different leadership, and the board supports that approach.” Miraz took over the ODI captaincy in June 2025 after Najmul was removed from the role. Bangladesh won 10 of the 24 ODIs under his leadership, including series victories over West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia. His last assignment as captain ended with a 2-1 series defeat in Zimbabwe. Tamim said the change was not a reflection of Miraz’s record as captain. “Miraz has been an excellent captain and has led the team well,” he said. “But we feel Bangladesh need more from him as a cricketer. We have not seen the level of batting and bowling he is capable of, and we want him to focus fully on getting back to that standard.” The BCB chief said he had discussed the decision with Miraz beforehand and that the all-rounder understood the board’s thinking.

Although the 2026 FIFA World Cup concluded only weeks ago with Spain lifting the trophy, several Southeast Asian nations have already shifted their focus toward qualifying for the 2030 tournament. The ASEAN Cup is currently underway in Phnom Penh, where host nation Cambodia suffered defeats in its opening Group A fixtures, losing 2-1 to Singapore before being beaten 5-1 by Indonesia. The biennial competition features 10 national teams from across Southeast Asia, a region with a population of around 650 million. While the championship title will be decided in late August, many participating teams are using the tournament as an opportunity to build momentum ahead of the next World Cup qualifying campaign, which begins next year. Regional football powers Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are aiming to use the event to strengthen their squads before the Asian qualifiers. Indonesia remains the only Southeast Asian nation to have appeared at the World Cup, having competed as the Dutch East Indies in 1938. ASEAN Football Federation President Khiev Sameth expressed confidence that a Southeast Asian team can soon secure a place on football's biggest stage. He said the long-held ambition of seeing an ASEAN nation qualify for the FIFA World Cup is becoming increasingly realistic and believes the achievement would be a milestone shared by the entire regional football community. Indonesia came closest among Southeast Asian teams to reaching the 2026 World Cup but is still searching for its first ASEAN Cup title despite finishing as runner-up six times in the tournament's history. Earlier this year, Indonesia appointed English coach John Herdman, who guided Canada to its first World Cup appearance in 36 years at the 2022 tournament, to lead the national side. Following its commanding victory over Cambodia, Indonesia is scheduled to play Timor-Leste on Friday before taking on Vietnam and Singapore next week. Herdman said his primary objective is to help Indonesia qualify for the World Cup, adding that he wants to be part of the team's journey when it reaches that historic milestone. Indonesia has also accelerated its player naturalization program by bringing in overseas-born footballers eligible to represent the country. In July, Australian-born players Mitch Baker and Luke Vickery officially became Indonesian citizens during separate ceremonies in Jakarta. Minister of Youth and Sports Erick Thohir, who also serves as president of the Indonesian Football Association, attended Baker's citizenship ceremony. The 19-year-old midfielder marked his ASEAN Cup debut with a hat-trick and earned player-of-the-match honors. Thohir said Indonesia has set ambitious goals across major international competitions, including the SEA Games, Asian Games, Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, emphasizing that the country welcomes players committed to representing Indonesia with pride. Vietnam head coach Kim Sang-sik is also targeting future World Cup qualification. The former South Korean international, who played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, said watching the recent tournament inspired both him and his players to dream of competing on the global stage. Thailand, the most successful nation in ASEAN Cup history with seven titles, begins its campaign in Group B alongside Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines and Myanmar. Thai head coach Anthony Hudson acknowledged the expectations surrounding his team, saying the pressure reflects the quality of the squad and the passionate support of the country's fans, who are eager to see sustained success. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, with the winners meeting in a two-legged final scheduled for Aug. 22 and Aug. 26. Once the ASEAN Cup concludes, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will shift their attention to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, which is set to begin on Jan. 7 in Saudi Arabia.