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Pakistan makes positive start, chasing 342 to beat Sri Lanka
Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq got Pakistan away to a positive start chasing a target of 342 for victory against Sri Lanka, reaching 68 without loss at lunch on Day 4 of the first test.
Pakistan still need a further 274 runs to take a lead in the two-match series and will have to set a record to reach the target. The highest successful fourth-innings run chase at Galle is 268 set by Sri Lanka against New Zealand in 2019.
Abdullah and Imam had some nervous moments in the morning session Tuesday. Imam was given out LBW to Kasun Rajitha on three but the decision was overturned on review. In Rajitha’s next over, Dinesh Chandimal, running backward from extra-cover, put down a tough chance off Imam.
There was a loud shout for LBW against Abdullah and although Sri Lanka reviewed the original not out decision, the batter survived by narrowest of margins. He remained unbeaten on 41 at lunch and Imam was not out on 25.
Read:Sri Lanka's Parliament readies to accept names for president
Sri Lanka was dismissed for 337 in its second innings, adding eight runs in four overs in the morning after resuming on 329-9.
The hosts were confident that they had enough runs on the board and the only anticipation was Dinesh Chandimal reaching his hundred. He was on 86 overnight and was left stranded on 94 not out when Naseem Shah bowled Prabath Jayasuriya.
The series is being played against the backdrop of an economic and political crisis engulfing Sri Lanka.
The second test, scheduled to start next Sunday, was switched from Colombo to Galle because Cricket Sri Lanka decided not to take any chances with potential political protests in the capital.
The venue switch was confirmed around the time Ranil Wickremesinghe, who became acting President last week after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad and resigned after months-long mass protests over the country’s economic collapse, declared a state of emergency on Monday.
Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence, with severe shortages of essential items such as fuel, cooking gas and medicine.
England vs South Africa Series 2022: Full Fixtures, H2H Records
England will arrange an all-format bilateral series against South Africa starting on Tuesday (July 19). South Africa’s England tour will kick off with the One-Day format contest, followed by T20I and Test series. The longer-version England vs South Africa series 2022 will be a part of the ICC’s Test Championship. South Africa are currently leading the Test Championship points standings. Therefore, the upcoming England series will be important for them to keep their position intact. Aside from that, England will bid farewell to their star all-rounder Ben Stokes after the first ODI as he has decided to quit the format. All the format fixtures and head-to-head records between England vs South Africa are discussed in this article.
2022 England vs South Africa: ODI, T20I and Test Series Fixtures
South Africa will start their international fixtures against England this summer with a 3-match ODI series. The two sides will also play three T20Is and three Test matches against each other. Here are the complete fixtures of the England vs South Africa Series 2022.
ENG vs SA ODI Series 2022 Fixtures
First ODI: July 19 | Venue: Riverside Ground, Chester-Le-Street | Start Time: 6 p.m. (BST)
Second ODI: July 22 | Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester| Start Time: 6 p.m. (BST)
Third ODI: July 24 | Venue: Headingley, Leeds | Start Time: 4 p.m. (BST).
Read England Test captain Ben Stokes retires from ODI cricket
ENG vs SA T20I Series 2022 Fixtures
First T20I: July 27 | Venue: County Ground, Bristol | Start Time: 11.30 p.m. (BST)
Second T20I: July 28 | Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | Start Time: 11.30 p.m. (BST)
Third T20I: July 31 | Venue: Rose Bowl, Southampton | Start Time: 7.30 p.m. (BST)
ENG vs SA Test Series 2022 Fixtures
First Test: 17-21 August | Venue: Lord's, London | Start Time: 4 p.m. (BST)
Second Test: 25-29 August | Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester | Start Time: 4 p.m. (BST)
Third Test: 8-12 September | Venue: The Oval, London | Start Time: 4 p.m. (BST).
Read Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Series 2022: Full Fixtures and Head-to-Head Records
England vs South Africa: Head-to-Head Records
England have a huge advantage over South Africa in head-to-head records in the Test format. Both sides first met each other in 1889 at St George's Park, where England won by 8 wickets. Since then, they have played 153 Tests against each other, and the English team leads the duel with 64 wins.
England and South Africa first met each other in the ODI format in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Since then, they have played 63 ODIs and South Africa have a slight edge over England in head-to-head duels. Besides, both teams have played 22 T20Is against each other.
South Africa vs England H2H Records (all formats, as on July 18, 2022)
Format
Match
England Win
South Africa Win
Draw / No Result/ Tie
Test
153
64
34
55 (draw)
ODI
63
28
30
4 (no result) and 1 (tied)
T20I
22
11
10
1 (no result)
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read ICC Test Championship: Bangladesh likely to play 34 Tests in next two editions
Bottom Line
Two months long, South Africa’s England tour will end with the third Test at the Oval in September. The last match of the England vs South Series 2022 could be the most exciting one as the Proteas Test team is doing well in the ongoing ICC’s Test Championship 2021-2023, leading the points standings with 71.43 percent. South Africa will be eager to win the Test series, but England’s recent form in the longer-version format has been outstanding. Therefore, a tightly-contested Test series is expected between England and South Africa. Two limited-overs series also promise to be an exciting affair as both teams have some of the world’s best players.
Bashundhara lift BPL title for 3rd time in a row beating Saif
Bashundhara Kings stormed past Saif Sporting 2-0 to lift their third Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football title in a row winning a fierce encounter at Bir Shrestha Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj Monday.
Before Monday's match, the Kings earned 49 points in 19 matches. They need just one win in their remaining three matches against Saif today, Dhaka Abahani on July 24 and Sheikh Jamal on July 30 to lift the title for the third time in a row after Dhaka Abahani.
The Sky Blue Brigade clinched the BPL title for a record six times, including three times in a row.
Soon after the final whistle, the players and officials of the Kings started celebrating on the field on the field wearing champions' jerseys.
In the day's match, midfielder Motin Mia put the Kings into the lead in the 29th minute (1-0).
The Kings were down to 10 men in the 37th minute as their defender Yeasin Arafat received a red card.
Read: Bashundhara one win away from BPL title
Super sub Biplo Ahmed, who replaced Motin Mia, netted the second goal for the Kings in the 81st minute (2-0).
This was the second consecutive victory for the Kings against Saif. They beat Saif 4-3 in the first phase.
The Kings were crowned champions after securing 51 points from 20 matches with 16 wins, three draws and one loss.
Independence Cup and Federation Cup champions Dhaka Abahani secured 41 points from 19 matches, 10 points behind the league leader Kings.
The Kings will play the remaining two league matches against Dhaka Abahani on July 24 and Sheikh Jamal DC on July 30, the results of which will not affect their place in the points table.
England Test captain Ben Stokes retires from ODI cricket
England test cricket captain Ben Stokes will retire from one-day internationals after Tuesday’s match with South Africa, ending an ODI career which peaked with winning the World Cup in 2019.
Stokes said Monday he remains fully committed to Twenty20 internationals as well as the test captaincy, but that he needed a break from the punishing schedule.
“As hard as a decision as this was to come to, it’s not as hard dealing with the fact I can’t give my teammates 100% of myself in this format anymore. The England shirt deserves nothing less from anyone who wears it,” Stokes said in a statement.
Also read: Stokes chosen as England test captain
“Three formats are just unsustainable for me now. Not only do I feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us, but I also feel that I am taking the place of another player who can give (England ODI captain) Jos (Buttler) and the rest of the team their all.”
The match against South Africa will be Stokes’ 105th ODI for England and comes at the Riverside ground at Chester-le-Street, the home of Stokes’ county team Durham.
Stokes’ defining performance in ODIs came in the 2019 World Cup final, when he scored 84 not out as England tied New Zealand’s score and then eight more runs in the deciding super over.
Also read: Ben Stokes take 'indefinite break' from all cricket
Since taking over the test captaincy in April, Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have transformed the team with an aggressive, big-hitting style more reminiscent of ODI and T20 cricket than the often-sedate five-day format
Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Series 2022: Full Fixtures and Head-to-Head Records
The Bangladesh national men’s cricket team will travel to Zimbabwe this month to take part in a 3-match T20I series followed by a 3-match ODI series against the hosts. The star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will not travel with the Bangladesh white-ball teams to take part in the series as the BCB granted him leave for the Zimbabwe tour. Apart from him, all other major members of the national team setup are likely to take part in both the limited-overs contests. Take a look at the full fixtures of the tour as well as head-to-head records between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe Series 2022: Full Fixtures
Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe in 2022 will kick off with the Twenty20 International series on July 30. After that, Bangladesh will play a bilateral ODI series from August 5 to August 10. All the scheduled matches will take place at the Harare Sports Club in Harare.
ZIM vs BAN T20I Series 2022 Fixtures
First T20I: July 30
Second T20I: August 1
Third T20I: August 2
Read BCB finalises next three BPL dates
ZIM vs BAN ODI Series 2022 Fixtures
First ODI: August 5
Second ODI: August 7
Third ODI: August 10
Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe H2H: ODI and T20I Records
Bangladesh have a stellar recent record against Zimbabwe across all formats. They haven’t lost an ODI against Zimbabwe since 2014. Team Tigers has remained unbeaten against the Zimbabwe ODI side in the last 19 matches. Overall, Bangladesh have won twelve bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe, while the Zimbabwean T20I side has won six of them.
Bangladesh also have a strong record against Zimbabwe in the T20 format, leading the head-to-head battle with 11 wins. Team Tigers has only lost one T20I against Zimbabwe in the last seven meetings. Six bilateral T20I series have been played between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe thus far. Bangladesh won three of them, and the other three ended in draws. Let’s have a look at some notable ODI and T20I records between these two teams.
Read: ICC Test Championship: Bangladesh likely to play 34 Tests in next two editions
Notable Head-to-Head ODI Records: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
Matches Played (78)
50 wins
28 wins
Most Runs
Tamim Iqbal (1816)
Brendon Taylor (1508)
Highest Score
Litton Das (176)
CK Coventry (194*)
Most Hundreds
Tamim Iqbal (4)
Brendon Taylor (2)
Most Wickets
Shakib Al Hasan (82)
Raymond Price (35)
Best Bowling Figures
Abdur Razzak (5/29)
Bryan Strang (6/20)
Most Matches
Mushfiqur Rahim (48)
Brendon Taylor (56)
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read Pant and Pandya star as India wins ODI series vs. England
Notable Head-to-Head T20I Records: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
Matches Played (16)
11 wins
5 wins
Most Runs
Soumya Sarkar (298)
Hamilton Masakadza (377)
Highest Score
Soumya Sarkar (68)
Hamilton Masakadza (93)
Most Fifties
Soumya Sarkar (3)
Hamilton Masakadza (3)
Most Wickets
Mustafizur Rahman (18)
AG Cremer (11)
Best Bowling Figures
Shakib Al Hasan (4/21)
Neville Madziva (4/34)
Most Matches
Mahmudullah Riyad (15)
Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams (12)
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read Is there any potential suitor to replace Tamim Iqbal in T20I cricket?
Bottom Line
The current Zimbabwe team is not a competitive one that can pose some threat to the visiting Bangladesh team. As a result, the team Tigers will begin as favorites to win both the ODI and T20 formats in the Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Series 2022. Tamim Iqbal can set a new record of winning the most consecutive ODI series as a captain if his team wins the fifty-overs format series. On the other hand, the Mahmudullah-led T20I team will get another chance to prepare themselves ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022. Bangladesh players, who have lacked confidence and are out of form on the international stage, should take the tour seriously.
ICC Test Championship: Bangladesh likely to play 34 Tests in next two editions
Bangladesh's performance in the Test format has declined in recent series. They have only one win in the ongoing 2021–2023 ICC Test Championship and have lost eight out of ten matches. Despite the fact that the players haven’t shown viable improvement in the longer-version format, the latest FTP of the ICC may include 34 Tests for Bangladesh in the next two editions of the ICC Test Championship, claims cricket news portal ESPNCricninfo. Who will be Bangladesh's opponents and other major series in the next two editions of the Test Championship are discussed in this article.
Bangladesh’s probable opponents in next two editions of the ICC Test Championship
Bangladesh will likely play both England and Australia in the 2025-2027 cycles of the ICC Test Championship, which will be two big series for them. England may come to Bangladesh, while Australia's series will be away from home.
Bangladesh have a series against Pakistan in both the third and fourth editions of the Test Championship. In addition, Bangladesh will play an away series against India in the 2023–2025 cycle but not one in the 2025–2027 cycle. Here are the probable opponents of Bangladesh in the next two editions of the ICC Test Championship.
Read Is there any potential suitor to replace Tamim Iqbal in T20I cricket?
Bangladesh’s probable opponents in the 2023-2025 ICC Test Championship
Opponents
Host
New Zealand
Home
South Africa
Home
Sri Lanka
Home
India
Away
West Indies
Away
Pakistan
Away
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read WI vs BAN Series 2022: Top 7 performers from Bangladesh team
Bangladesh’s probable opponents in the 2025-2027 ICC Test Championship
Opponents
Host
England
Home
West Indies
Home
Pakistan
Home
Australia
Away
South Africa
Away
Sri Lanka
Away
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read Pant and Pandya star as India wins ODI series vs. England
How many Tests will the other teams play?
Like in the first two editions, nine Test playing nations will take part in the third and fourth cycles of the ICC Test Championship. The participating teams are Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies. Each team will take part in six bilateral Test series, three series at home and three away series.
According to ESPNCricinfo, England will play the most Tests (42), followed by Australia (41) and India (38). Surprisingly, Bangladesh will play the fourth highest, with 32 Tests in the next two cycles, while New Zealand will play 32 Tests. The remaining four teams will play fewer than 30 Test matches in the next two editions of the competition.
Bottom Line
The second edition of the ICC Test Championship will end in March 2023. Bangladesh are in the bottom position in the points standings with one win, and they will likely finish last at the end of the competition. As per ESPNCrincfo’s report, Bangladesh will play 17 or 18 matches in the next two cycles of the Test Championship, allowing them to face some of the toughest opponents in the competition. The BCB should take this opportunity to be more serious about the development of the longer-version format. The Cricket Board should aim to instill a culture of Test cricket in the country so that fans are more interested in the format and players are more motivated to excel on the field.
Read BCB finalises next three BPL dates
Pant and Pandya star as India wins ODI series vs. England
Hardik Pandya’s all-round brilliance and Rishabh Pant’s 125 not out off 113 balls carried India to a five-wicket win in the one-day international series decider against England on Sunday.
India won the series 2-1.
Pandya dismissed Jason Roy and Ben Stokes in an outstanding opening burst in the third and final ODI before returning to take the wickets of Liam Livingstone and Jos Buttler in the same over to finish with an ODI-best 4-24.
“For the team this win means a lot,” Pandya said.
Buttler top-scored with 60 off 80 balls in England’s 259 all out in 45.5 overs, but that was put in the shade by Pandya's 71 off 55 deliveries in a decisive 133-run stand for the fifth wicket with Pant at Old Trafford.
While pacer Reece Topley (3-35) followed up his England record 6-24 on Thursday with the prize wickets of Rohit Sharma (17), Shikhar Dhawan (1) and Virat Kohli (17), Pant and Pandya expertly led the recovery after India appeared in real trouble at 72-4.
The pair offered chances but grew in confidence with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius.
Pandya departed with 55 required but Pant’s unbeaten ton — with 16 fours and two sixes — got India over the line with some 7.5 overs to spare.
Read:WI vs BAN Series 2022: Top 7 performers from Bangladesh team
A carnival-style atmosphere greeted Pant’s first ODI century, in which he accelerated after going past 50. He mixed orthodox strokes to give England a lesson after it failed to bat out its 50 overs for the third time in the series.
After being asked to bat first, Roy settled with an authoritative punch, the first of three fours in Mohammed Shami’s opening over. But if an unchanged England was relieved at Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, it was quickly put into perspective as his replacement Mohammed Siraj exploited some early movement to find the edges of Jonny Bairstow and then Joe Root, both for three-ball ducks.
Roy continued to assert himself and Stokes was bullish but Pandya put the brakes on. Roy skied a top edge to depart for 41, while a charging Stokes got in a tangle after Pandya dragged his length back and offered a return catch on 27.
David Willey (18) and Craig Overton (32) made useful contributions down the order and, though 25 balls went unused in England’s innings, the hosts' hopes grew as Topley picked up where he left off at Lord’s.
Dhawan’s bat turned in his hands as he skewed to backward point, Rohit nibbled at a delivery angling away from him, as did Kohli, whose luckless run across formats was extended after another low score.
Suryakumar Yadav nicked off to Overton, who then strayed too far in-field from fine leg and watched Pandya’s pull bounce inside the rope, just after Pant had been reprieved on 18. Advancing to Moeen Ali, Pant was beaten by lavish turn, but Buttler failed to take the stumping chance.
They were costly misses, with the India pair unfurling some glorious drives down the ground against England’s rotating cast of bowlers.
Hardik reached a 43-ball fifty first before Pant got to his off 71 deliveries.
Neither batter took any undue risks and it was only when Pant was in his 70s that he thumped Overton for India’s first six. England at least claimed Pandya as Stokes took a sensational low catch diving forward from midwicket.
After reaching his 106-ball ton — his second fifty came off just 35 deliveries — Pant was in no mood to hang around. Willey disappeared to all parts as he conceded five fours in as many balls before Pant ended proceedings with a reverse sweep for four off Root.
Buttler said he was still “a young captain” and needed more time.
“I feel like a really experienced cricketer, but in terms of captaincy I’m quite a young captain with lots of opportunity to grow and learn about the role,” Buttler said. “I think it will take a bit of time, I want to try and walk before I can run, I’ve just got to work out, be myself and use the people around me to help me."
India won the first ODI at the Oval by 10 wickets before England responded with a 100-run victory at Lord's in the second match.
BOA hopes for better Commonwealth, Islamic Solidarity Games results
The Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) has hoped that the country would do better in the 22nd Commonwealth Games 2022 in the UK's Birmingham and the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey's Konya.
Despite the exclusion of shooting, the discipline which brought all eight medals in the Commonwealth Games for Bangladesh, from the upcoming Birmingham edition, BOA Secretary General Syed Shahed Reza hoped that athletes would put up a better performance in the multi-sport event.
"Bangladesh is doing well in shooting and archery at the international level. But this time, shooting has been excluded from the Commonwealth Games. Also, the discipline has been included in the Islamic Solidarity Games as skeet events, in which Bangladesh is not very strong," Reza said at a pre-games press conference in Dhaka Sunday.
"However, I believe that the athletes will deliver their best in the international sports competitions and bring laurels for the nation."
Read: NZ Rugby calls series loss to Ireland "not acceptable"
A 50-member team will represent Bangladesh in seven disciplines – athletics, boxing, gymnastics, swimming, weight-lifting, wrestling, and table tennis – at the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held from July 28 to August 8.
Weight-lifter Mabia Akther Simanta, who clinched gold medals in the last two South Asian Games, will carry the national flag during the march past of the 22nd edition multi-disciplinary sports event.
An 84-member Bangladesh team will participate in the Islamic Solidarity Games 2022, set to be held from August 9 to 18, in 11 disciplines – athletics, archery, fencing, gymnastics, handball, karate, shooting, swimming, table tennis, wrestling, and weight-lifting.
Fencer Fatema Mujib, who won a gold medal in the last South Asian Games, will carry the red and green flag in the 5th edition of the multinational, multi-sport event, to be held during August 9-18.
Bangladesh Archery Federation President Lieutenant General Mohammad Moinul Islam (retired); BOA Vice-President Sheikh Bashir Ahmed and Information, and Media Committee Member Secretary Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir were also present at the press conference.
Bashundhara one win away from BPL title
Defending champions Bashundhara Kings are one victory away from clinching the 12-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football.
The Kings will be crowned champions if they beat Saif Sporting at the Bir Shrestha Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj at 4pm Monday. They beat Saif 4-3 in the first phase.
Read: BPL Football: Dhaka Abahani thrash Swadhinata 4-1
The Kings collected 49 points in 19 matches. They need just one win in their remaining three matches against Saif SC tomorrow, Dhaka Abahani on July 24 and Sheikh Jamal on July 30 to lift the title for the third time in a row after Dhaka Abahani.
The Sky Blue Brigade clinched the BPL title for a record six times, including three times in a row.
Independence Cup and Federation Cup champions Dhaka Abahani secured 41 points from 19 matches, seven points behind the league leader Kings.
BCB finalises next three BPL dates
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan has said they have finalised the dates of the upcoming three Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) seasons, starting in 2023.
The BCB often finds it difficult to find a suitable window for the BPL. If there are no fixed dates for the competition, the foreign players cannot take part in it due to their other professional commitments.
"To get rid of the recurring problem, we have fixed the dates for the next three seasons of this event," Nazmul told the reporters Sunday in Dhaka after a board meeting.
"We will sign contracts with the franchises for the next three years. And since we are doing it for three years, we have finalised the dates for three seasons so that the teams can prepare accordingly," he added.
Read: Is there any potential suitor to replace Tamim Iqbal in T20I cricket?
The next season of BPL will take place between January 5 and February 16 in 2023; the next two seasons will be played between January 6 and February and January 1 and February 11 in 2024 and 2025.
Nazmul also said the BPL 2023 is going to be a seven-team event. "The board will start working on finalising the franchises soon."