T20 World Cup
T20 World Cup: West Indies beat Zimbabwe to boost Super 12 hopes
Two-time champions West Indies kept their Super 12 hopes alive from Group B of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup beating Zimbabwe by 31 runs in a must-win match in Australia's Hobart Wednesday.
The Caribbean side suffered a 42-run defeat against Scotland in their first group match but came back strongly against Zimbabwe, who made a flying start by beating Ireland by 31 runs Monday.
In Wednesday's other Group B match, Ireland beat Scotland by six wickets, also in Hobart.
After the day's first phase Group B matches, all four teams – Scotland, Zimbabwe, the West Indies and Ireland – secured two points each from as many matches.
Friday's deciding final round of matches will see Ireland face the West Indies before Scotland take on Zimbabwe.
Read: T20 World Cup: Rain plays spoilsport for Bangladesh
The top two sides from each group will qualify for the Super 12s, which start Saturday. The winner of Group A and the runner-up from Group B will go into a group.
In today's crucial match, the West Indies batted first after winning the toss and scored 153-7 in 20 overs. Opener Johnson Charles was the top scorer for them (45 runs off 36 balls).
In today's match, Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe claimed three wickets for 19 runs in four overs.
In reply, Zimbabwe were all out for 122 runs in 18.2 overs. Lower-order batter Luke Jongwe (29) and opener Wesly Madhevere (27) were the top scorers for them.
Alzarri Joseph ripped through the Zimbabwe batting order, grabbing four wickets for 16 runs in four overs and was adjudged the player of the match. Jason Holder took three wickets for 12 runs in 3.2 overs.
T20 World Cup: Bangladesh to take on South Africa Wednesday in warm-up match
The cornered Tigers are set to take on South Africa on Wednesday in their last warm-up ahead of the Super 12s of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia.
In the first warm-up match, Bangladesh suffered a heavy defeat to Afghanistan. So the match against South Africa came as the last chance for Bangladesh to finalize their plan and the playing XI ahead of the main event.
Bangladesh has been going through a prolonged bad patch in T20Is for a while. They failed to do well in the Asia Cup, they also failed to do well in the last few series as well. So the team now came under immense pressure to do well.
Read: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021: Bangladesh Cricket Team’s Full Schedule
Ahead of Wednesday’s clash, Minhajul Abedin, the chief selector of Bangladesh, said it’s the players who have to play well on the field.
“We have done enough experiments, now the players should play well,” Minhajul said on Tuesday while talking to the media in Brisbane. “We have a few practice sessions after the warm-up match. After that, we have to play well in the World Cup.”
The match will begin at 2 pm (Bangladesh time) on Wednesday.
T20 World Cup: Ibrahim, Nabi propel Afghanistan to 160 vs Bangladesh, Taskin takes three
Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi scored 46 and 41 respectively to propel Afghanistan to 160 against Bangladesh in the warm-up match.
Right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed did well taking three wickets.
Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first in Brisbane. Hazrat Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz added only 19 runs in the opening stand.
But the number three Ibrahim came up with a steady innings and Nabi also did well to post a big total.
For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed bagged three wickets while Shakib Al Hasan and Hasan Mahmud scalped two wickets each.
After this match, Bangladesh will play their second warm-up match against South Africa on October 19 at the same venue.
T20 World Cup: Scotland steal the show, beat West Indies by 42 runs
What a start to the T20 World Cup! After Namibia defeated Sri Lanka yesterday (October 16, 2022), Scotland today (October 17, 2022) stole the show – beating West Indies by 42 runs – in Hobart.
Scotland batted first in the match after losing the toss, and riding on George Munsey’s 66 off 53 balls, they posted a big total of 160 for five. West Indies, the former T20 champions, have failed to chase it down.
The West Indies, while chasing a target of 161, tumbled for 118 all wickets in 18.3 overs. They got a good start with Kyle Mayers and Evin Lewis playing a few big shots, but the Scotland bowlers did not allow them to continue on the good run.
Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh may play Sri Lanka, West Indies in Super 12s
Mark Watt bagged three wickets for the Scottish conceding only 12 runs in four overs. Brad Wheal and Michael Leask scalped two wickets each to seal the game.
Jason Holder was the only West Indian batter to offer some resistance scoring 38 off 33 balls, but that was never enough to chase a tall target of 161 runs.
The way West Indies played in this match, it’s quite safe to say that it was not really “an upset”. The former champions never were in a position to challenge the total of Scotland. They rather kept losing the wickets when they needed to come up with partnerships.
Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Namibia stuns in opening match by beating Sri Lanka
In the last World Cup, Scotland were close to beating New Zealand, but they failed to do so. But this time, they finally beat a Test-playing nation.
T20 World Cup: Bangladesh bowl first vs Afghanistan in warm-up match
Bangladesh bowl first in their first warm-up match against Afghanistan on Monday in Brisbane.
The Tigers will play two warm-up matches ahead of the main event. While the first match is against Afghanistan, the Tigers will take on South Africa in the second on October 19 at the same venue.
Bangladesh will test their final squad in these two matches.
Ahead of the World Cup, Bangladesh played a Tri-Series in New Zealand where they lost all four matches against the hosts and Pakistan. Prior to the Tri-Seris, Bangladesh failed to do well in the Asia Cup as well.
Due to consecutive failures in the T20 format, the supporters do not expect much from the Bangladesh team in the World Cup.
Bangladesh playing XI:
Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Afif Hossain, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Liton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam.
SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2022 Squad
The Bangladesh Cricket Board revealed a 15-man roster for the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2022 on Wednesday (September 14) in the late afternoon. Mahmudullah Riyad's exclusion and Najmul Hossain Shanto's inclusion in the World Cup team are the two main discussion points. In addition, the World Cup setup contained all the anticipated names. Let's look at the SWOT analysis of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2022 team
The players who have recently competed for Bangladesh in the Twenty20 International series are taken into account for the forthcoming eighth T20 World Cup in Australia. Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will lead the team in the main event.
Mushfiqur Rahim’s retirement announcement from the T20 format made the task easy for the selectors. The cricket board was in doubt over picking Mahmudullah Riyad for the tournament. They ultimately decided to go with Najmul Hossain and Yasir Ali on the team in place of Mahmudullah for the World Cup campaign.
Read Mahmudullah was Dhoni’s equivalent in Bangladesh: Sridharan
The social media platforms roared with Mahmudullah's omission from the squad. The majority of them have welcomed the BCB’s decision to exclude the veteran cricketer from the World Cup squad. A small portion of the Bangladesh supporters, though, haven’t liked the idea of a Bangladesh T20 World Cup team without Riyad. Only time will tell whether Mahmudullah’s exclusion was a timely decision or not. One thing is confirmed, that the Bangladesh Cricket Board wanted to give the young players a chance even though most of their recent performances haven’t been so impressive.
Among the young players, Najmul Hossain Shanto’s inclusion is a surprising one. Shanto has a BPL hundred, but his overall record hasn’t been impressive either. Then how did he make the squad? According to the chief selector, Najmul Hossain Shanto has the potential to play aggressive innings and was included as a backup opener.
But it is widely considered that Najmul Hossain was selected based on his age and his batting technique. The left-handed opener will likely open the innings by partnering with Litton Das. This will be another great opportunity for Najmul to showcase his talent on a big platform, and he should better seize the opportunity.
Read BCB announces Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup: Mahmudullah Riyad overlooked
Besides, Yasir Ali was picked, which many believe is a direct replacement for Mahmudullah Riyad. Yasir has only played one T20I in his international career and that was against Afghanistan in March this year. The right-handed middle order is known to be a very effective hard-hitter in the middle-order. If given the chance, the selectors believe Yasir will excel.
This announced Bangladesh squad will play the New Zealand tri-nation series before taking part in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. The selectors also picked four standby players, and they are Soumya Sarkar, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, and Sheikh Mahedi Hasan.
The 15-member Bangladesh squad for the T20 World Cup 2022
Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Mossadek Hossain, Litton Das, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain, Nasum Ahmed.
Read Starc out of Australia’s Twenty20 cricket tour to India
Let’s analyze the Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 squad’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Strengths: a versatile bowling attack
Bangladesh's roster has a variety of bowlers, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to display their full potential on Australian surfaces. The selectors included five fast bowlers, two left-arm orthodox spinners and two off-spinners in their kitty.
Therefore, Shakib has the luxury of picking suitable bowlers from the squad to form an effective bowling lineup. However, not having a leg-spinner could be an issue given the fact that leg-break bowlers have proven to be very effective in T20 format cricket.
Read Bangladesh’s new target is 2024 T20 World Cup, says Nazmul
Bangladesh's top three most successful T20I bowlers since the Twenty20 World Cup 2021
Player
Innings
Wickets
BBI
Econ
Mustafizur Rahman
18
16
4/36
8.50
Shakib Al Hasan
12
16
4/9
6.16
Mahedi Hasan
18
15
3/19
6.03
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read Bangladesh start preparing for World Cup challenge after disastrous Asia Cup
Weaknesses: Unstable opening lineup and unreliable power hitters
Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto are the main two candidates to open the innings for Bangladesh in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. None of the batters have performed as expected on the international stage since 2021. But there are no ideal alternatives for Bangladesh in the opening at the moment. Therefore, the BCB has picked players who have better techniques as top order batters.
Another major concerning factor is the lack of power hitters in the death overs. Bangladesh's players are lacking in big hitting in the death overs to accelerate run rates. Sabbir, Afif, Mosaddek, Yasir, and Nurul will be responsible for doing the power hitting in the final five overs of the innings. They are all well-known for being aggressive, but none of them is consistent on the international platform.
Top three best strike rates (at least 5 innings) of Bangladesh's middle-order (5 to 8 positions) since the T20 World Cup 2021
Player
Innings
Runs
Strike Rate
Mosaddek Hossain
6
110
161.76
Mahedi Hasan
14
137
118.10
Nurul Hasan
11
140
116.66
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read 6 must watch T20I series before ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022
Opportunities: Captain Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Yasir Ali and Najmul Hossain Shanto
Shakib Al Hasan will have a great chance to demonstrate that he is a captain who can make a difference with a decent team at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. It's a significant test for him, but Shakib enjoys taking on new challenges. Bangladesh will be trying to win at least two games during the main event. Shakib will face a barrage of criticism if his team loses these games.
The forthcoming mega event will be important for Sabbir Rahman, Yasir Ali, and Najmul Hossain Shanto, in addition to skipper Shakib. They are very talented players, and Bangladesh's cricket would greatly benefit if they could maintain consistency in their performances. Sabbir, Yasir, and Najmul will need to perform well at the next Twenty20 World Cup to secure their positions in the Bangladesh T20 lineup.
Threats: Poor form in the pace unit
Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, and Mohammad Saifuddin are expected to make the Bangladesh playing XI. However, their recent T20I outings showed that none of the players are in the best of their form at the moment.
Read Top Individual performers in Asia Cup Cricket 2022
With low confidence, can they make an impact during the tournament? Bangladesh pacers should feel confident in getting an extra advantage from the Australian wickets, which will likely be pace-friendly. However, they need to be well prepared to face some of the world’s best power hitters.
Performances of Bangladesh's pacers in T20I since January 2021 (who have been picked for the World Cup 2022)
Player
Innings
Wickets
BBI
Econ
Mustafizur Rahman
9
6
2/50
8.38
Ebadot Hossain
1
3
3/51
12.75
Hasan Mahmud
2
3
2/28
6.75
Taskin Ahmed
4
2
2/24
9.57
Mohammad Saifuddin
1
1
1/27
13.50
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read Australia captain Aaron Finch says goodbye to ODI cricket
Aftermath
There isn't a significant controversy regarding Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad, with the exception of Mahmudullah Riyad's omission. However, the main concern is whether this side is capable of competing against quality teams in unfamiliar Australian conditions. The Shakib-led team will need to put on a strong performance against teams like India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Afghanistan to vie for a semifinal spot.
As the Sri Lanka cricket team recently demonstrated in the Asia Cup 2022 competition, a team with good momentum can do incredible things in a big tournament. Bangladesh might perform well at the 2022 T20 World Cup if they can find a good team combination, even though the odds are not in their favour. Hope our T20 Cup 2022 Bangladesh team's SWOT analysis helps you find the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of tigers.
BCB announces Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup: Mahmudullah Riyad overlooked
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday announced the 15-member Bangladesh team for T20 World Cup 2022, to be held late October in Australia.
Bangladesh overlooked Mahmudullah Riyad for the T20 World Cup.
“Mahmudullah did very well for Bangladesh, but looking at the future, he is not part of our future plan,” Minhazul Abedin, the chief selector told media.
“The decision was taken after discussion with all involving parties — selectors, coaches and the board.
Read:Bangladesh’s new target is 2024 T20 World Cup, says Nazmul
Minhazul also said the new T20 consultant Sridharan Sriram set a plan for the future for Bangladesh team and that has no space for Mahmudullah.
Mahmudullah has been going through a bad patch for a while now. The allrounder failed to impress in the Asia Cup. Before that, he failed to do well in Zimbabwe and West Indies tours as well.
Bangladesh will miss the service of seniors like Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal as both have retired from the format recently.
With being overlooked from the T20I squad, Mahmudullah’s T20I career has unofficially ended.
“Everyone has a chance to play for Bangladesh,” Habibul Bashar, the former captain and current selector said. But it’s clear, Mahmudullah’s career in the shortest format of the game has ended.
Sabbir Rahman, the top-order batter, has been added to the team, but Soumya Sarkar, who was in discussion, has been overlooked. Bangladesh, however, added Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has no impressive performance in the format.
“Najmul has been added to the squad after discussion with the captain, and coaching staff,” Minhajul said.
Ahead of the World Cup, Bangladesh will take part in a tri-series T20 in New Zealand which also involves Pakistan.
The tri-series will begin on October 7 at Christchurch.
Bangladesh will play five matches in the Super 12s round of the World Cup in Group 2. They will have India, Pakistan, South Africa and two teams from the T20 World Cup qualifiers.
Bangladesh women's team to play T20 World Cup qualifiers in UAE
Bangladesh women's cricket team left Dhaka Thursday for the UAE to take part in the Women's T20 World Cup qualifiers.
Bangladesh will take on Ireland, Scotland and the US in the first phase.
The next Women's T20 World Cup will take place in South Africa in 2023.
"We don't want to play the qualifiers again," Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana told the media Thursday. "It adds extra pressure on us. So, we have to play well when we take other teams in other events."Bangladesh have included Marufa Akter, who performed well in the domestic arena recently, in the squad. The pacer was among the top bowlers in recent events.
Read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2022: Can Bangladesh still Qualify for the Semi-Finals?All the first phase matches of the Bangladesh team will be played in Abu Dhabi. Along with Bangladesh, other teams who are participating in the qualifiers are Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe, UAE, USA, Thailand and Papua New Guinea.Bangladesh squadNigar Sultana (capt and wk), Sharmin Akter, Shamima Sultana, Fargana Hoque, Rumana Ahmed, Ritu Moni, Lata Mondal, Salma Khatun, Sobhana Mostary, Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Fahima Khatun, Sanjida Akter, and Marufa Akter
Singapore-born Tim David in Australia's T20 World Cup squad
Singapore-born allrounder Tim David has been named in Australia's Twenty20 World Cup squad for the host country's defense of its title beginning in late October.
After being bought by the Mumbai Indians for more than a million dollars in this year’s Indian Premier League auction, David decided to be part of Australia’s squad. The 26-year-old David played 14 T20 matches for Singapore in 2019 and 2020, averaging 46.5 with the bat.
David was raised in Perth but moved back to Australia with his Australian family when he was 2.
The Australian side will travel to India for three T20 Internationals in September before returning home to play the West Indies, England and India leading into the World Cup which Australia opens against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Oct. 22.
Legspinner Mitchell Swepson has been overlooked after heading to the United Arab Emirates last year when Australia won its first T20 World Cup.
“This is a similar squad to that which became the first Australian’s men’s team to win a T20 World Cup who are now very excited about playing the tournament at home,” chairman of selectors George Bailey said Thursday.
“Tim (David) continues to establish himself with some quality performances in leagues around the world, earning a place in the squad. He is a highly gifted, natural ball striker who will add extra batting depth to the group which has had a lot of success in T20 cricket."
Read: Andrew McDonald named head coach of Australian cricket team
Veteran opener David Warner will miss the three T20s in India in preparation for a busy summer of cricket, with young allrounder Cameron Green replacing him.
The T20 World Cup final is scheduled for Nov. 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Afghanistan, Australia, England and New Zealand are set to play in Group 1 with two qualifiers to be determined, while Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and South Africa and two qualifiers will make up Group 2.
An eight-team qualifying tournament precedes the main event and is also being played in Australia. Namibia, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka make up one qualifying group, while Ireland, Scotland. West Indies and Zimbabwe are in the other, with the top two teams in each advancing to the main tournament.
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Schedule of ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifiers announced
The schedule for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier has been announced on Wednesday (August 31) with eight teams competing for the final two spots of the next year’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and USA put in Group A while Thailand, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and hosts UAE pooled in Group B..Two qualifiers for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 to be determined from the eight-team league tournament that runs from September 18-25 in Abu Dhabi The top two teams from each group will make the semi-finals and both the finalists will book their places in the next year's T20 Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa.Hosts the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will play Thailand at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on the opening day of the global qualifier. Zimbabwe will also be in action on day one as they take on Papua New Guinea at the adjacent Tolerance Oval.
Read: Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier: Bangladesh’s first game goes into reserve dayBangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and the USA complete the line up in the qualifier in the battle to join Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and hosts South Africa at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup next year.Hosted at Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub, the matches at the Tolerance Oval will be the first full internationals at the ground since it was given ICC accreditation, while the Zayed Cricket Stadium will be the venue for the final as well as both semi-finals.Bangladesh and Thailand, who played in the highly successful T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020 and qualified for this tournament on that basis, are the two leading teams in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings and are drawn in different groups.Two qualifiers for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 to be determined from the eight-team league tournament that runs from September 18-25 in Abu Dhabi.