United News of Bangladesh

The first Test of the two-match series between the hosts West Indies and Bangladesh is all set to begin Thursday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua. The series has been named after the Padma Bridge – "Padma Bridge Dream Fulfilled Friendship Test Series Presented by Walton." In Test cricket, the Tigers are more experienced than the Caribbeans who recently played against Pakistan in a different format and a different condition. Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the hosts who will miss the services of Jason Holder and Kemar Roach. The West Indies have included three uncapped players in their Test squad which is already a young side. Bangladesh will look to regain their confidence in Tests in this series under the captaincy of Shakib Al Hasan who returned to the role after Mominul Haque stepped aside recently. In the last series at home against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh suffered a 1-0 defeat. There were some individual flashes of brilliance, but that was not enough for the Tigers to avoid a sweeping defeat. If experience is an advantage for the visitors, they may suffer playing against the Dukes ball which is not used in the subcontinent. The hosts' pacers could pose a serious challenge with this type of ball in their backyard. READ: WI vs BAN Series 2022: Where to Watch Live Streaming Bangladesh will miss the service of Mushfiqur Rahim who chose to not play in this series due to personal reasons. Yasir Ali Rabbi who suffered a back injury during the tour match was subsequently ruled out of the series. Liton Das might not keep wicket in this series. Nurul Hasan Sohan might get a place in the playing XI as a specialist wicketkeeper. This series will be a great chance for the Tigers to get some points for the ICC World Test Championship. Bangladesh have only one win in this cycle of the event. They beat the hosts New Zealand earlier this year. The first match will begin at 8pm Bangladesh time Thursday. However, it is still not clear who will telecast the series in Bangladesh. As of Wednesday evening, the Bangladesh Cricket Board was unable to provide any information about it. Probable Bangladesh XI Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan, Najmul Hossain, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das (vc), Nurul Hasan (wk), Mosaddek Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Mustafizur Rahim Probable West Indies XI Kraigg Brathwaite (c), John Campbell, N Bonner, Kyle Mayers, Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Joshua Da Silva, Raymon Reifer, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales

The Bangladesh national cricket team is now fully prepared for the multi-format series against the West Indies. Through the WI vs BAN Test series 2022 two countries will face each other on Thursday, June 16. The Caribbeans are two times T20 World Cup winners. As the host, there is pressure to prove themselves against Bangladesh in Test, ODI (One Day International), and T20. Let's get to know where to watch this series. West Indies vs Bangladesh series 2022 at a glance A total of 8 matches will be played in this bi-national cricket series. The series will start with two Test matches of 5 days, followed by three T20 matches, and finally three ODI matches. Starting on Thursday, June 16, the one-month long series will extend to Saturday, July 16. A total of four major Caribbean stadiums have been designated as venues for the matches. Those are: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, Darren Sammy National Stadium in St. Lucia, Windsor Park in Dominica, and Providence Stadium in Guyana. Read BAN vs WI 2022: Five Reasons Why Bangladesh Can Win the Test Series Against West Indies The West Indies have so far only announced their Test squad which will be led by Craig Brathwaite. The Bangladesh Test, ODI, and T20 squads will be led by Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, and Mahmudullah Riyad respectively. Fixtures of WI vs BAN series 2022  The opening Test match of the series will take place at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium from June 16 to 20. The match will be broadcast at 7:30 pm Bangladesh time.  The second Test will then go live from the Darren Sammy National Stadium at the same time from 24 to 28 June.  Read ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Participating Teams, Venues, Super 12 Fixtures, Top Favourites All T20 Trio matches will be held on July 2, 3, and 7 at 11 pm Bangladesh time. Among them, the first two matches are set to play at Windsor Park Stadium. Providence Stadium is set as the venue for the last one.  Finally, the three ODIs will take place on July 10, 13, and 16 starting from 7 pm (Bangladesh Time) at Providence Stadium. WI vs BAN series 2022 live streaming channels Due to the internal business conflict of the consortium with a couple of domestic TV channels, this time the BAN-WI series will not be shown on any TV channel in the country. Sadly, Bangladeshi cricket fans have to rely on foreign channels to enjoy the matches live.  Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: Major Highlights of the Warm-Up Match Tiger vs. Caribbean cricket battle will be seen in Star Sports, Super Sports, and Sony. Besides, premium subscribers of Disney+ Hotstar can watch the series from Bangladesh.  As the digital platform has an agreement with Airtel, the Airtel customers will also get the opportunity to watch the Bangladesh vs West Indies series. Verdict The BAN vs WI series 2022 is equally important for the cricket profile of the two countries. Bangladesh last played a series against Sri Lanka at home. In the two-match Test series, Sri Lanka won one and drew the other. The West Indies, on the other hand, lost all three of their three-match ODI series against Pakistan. Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: SWOT Analysis of Two Teams At least from this side, Bangladesh can be said to be a little ahead. There is also the possibility of the Tigers winning the series, but a lot can happen on the cricket field. It is not impossible for the whole series to go in favor of the Caribbeans with their outstanding performance. The cricket enthusiasts can watch the Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022 online. Checkout the above-mentioned livestreaming channels and time schedule if you don't want to miss the matches.

The two-match Test Series between Bangladesh and West Indies beginning on Thursday (June 16) at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, has been named as " Padma Bridge Dream Fulfilled Friendship Test Series".    Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the 6.15 kilometers long bridge on June 25 at a grand ceremony.  READ: Yasir Ali ruled out of WI Tests with a back injury The image of Padma Bridge was also included in the logo of the Test series to introduce the country's dream project with the world. The series is powered by country's reputed electronics brand "Watlon". The 2nd test will be held at Saint Lucia on June 24-28.

Bangladesh and the West Indies will begin their bilateral series with a two-match Test series on Thursday, June 16. The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua will host the first match of the Bangladesh vs West Indies Series 2022. Both sides will be without some important players due to injury and personal reasons, requiring other key members to shoulder more responsibility during the Test series. Bangladesh's problem has become even worse since Yasir Ali was forced to withdraw due to injury. The first match preview of BAN vs WI Series 2022 is discussed in this article. First Match Preview of the West Indies vs Bangladesh Test Series 2022 Bangladesh’s second-most success in the Test format has come against the West Indies side. Bangladesh have a record of winning both home and away series against the West Indies. There is a lot of anticipation in this two-match series to see whether the team Tigers can beat the Caribbean side in a bilateral contest for the second time away from home. The first match will start at 8 p.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time) on Thursday. Bangladesh Bangladesh’s main problem at the moment is batting. For personal reasons, Mushfiqur Rahim is not part of the series. Yasir Ali was supposed to replace Mushfiqur for the number 4 spot, but he got injured while playing the warm-up match. Two important batters in the middle order won’t play in the series. Read BAN vs WI 2022: Five Reasons Why Bangladesh Can Win the Test Series Against West Indies The team management has to find the best possible option from the squad to replace Yasir Ali. Nurul Hasan Sohan could be the best replacement for Yasir. Nurul had a relatively good outing in the practice match and he is currently the best wicket-keeper in the country. Bangladesh need Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das to take extra responsibility in batting. In bowling, Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam will have to shoulder the bulk of the responsibilities. The West Indian batting line-ups will be under a lot of strain if both of them find their rhythm during the BAN vs WI Series 2022. Besides, if the pace bowling unit finds good assistance from the Caribbean wickets, that will aid Bangladesh to put pressure on the West Indies side. Predicted playing XI Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Nurul Hasan Sohan (Wicket-Keeper), Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed. Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: Major Highlights of the Warm-Up Match West Indies West Indies Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and wicket-keeper batter Joshua da Silva had brilliant outings in the England series. They will be their main players in the batting line-up as the other batters struggled in the last series. The middle-orders need to show their true potential against Bangladesh's bowling line-up. In bowling, Kemar Roach’s participation in the first Test is subject to his fitness, while Jason Holder will miss the entire Bangladesh series. So, the other bowlers need to step up and, thankfully, some of them had fantastic performances against England. Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, and Alzarri Joseph can all be devastating against Bangladesh batting line-ups. Predicted Playing XI Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), John Campbell, Nkruma Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Joshua Da Silva (Wicket-Keeper), Devon Thomas, Raymon Reifer, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales. Read ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Participating Teams, Venues, Super 12 Fixtures, Top Favourites Pitch Report and Weather Forecast The first Test may be cloudy for most of the days, but there is no chance of rain in Antigua in the next five days, according to the forecast. The wicket may aid fast bowlers, but the toss-winning captain should bat first to put up a huge first-inning total on this pitch. Bottom Line The opening Test match of the BAN vs WI series 2022 is vital in determining the contest's final outcome. The winner of the first match in the series will have an advantage going into the second match. Therefore, both teams will need a flawless game plan and execution on the field. Bangladesh's main challenge will be to form partnerships in the middle, and for that, senior members will need to be more cautious in their approach. On the other hand, the Caribbean team is full of confidence after recently winning a series against England at home. Read ENG vs NZ 2nd Test 2022: Bairstow shines in England's series-clinching victory

England made an incredible effort, led by Jonny Bairstow, in the fourth innings of the England vs New Zealand Second Test 2022 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, to win the three-match series with a game to spare. New Zealand set a target of 299 runs, which would have been England's third-best run chase at home. Scoring 300 runs on day five is really tough, but England did so thanks to Jonny Bairstow's stunning effort. The ENG vs NZ 2nd Test 2022 match report as well as notable records are discussed in this article. Second Test Match Fifth Day Report: England vs New Zealand England made a fantastic effort by picking up three quick wickets late in the final session of day 4. New Zealand were down to 224/7 at the end of day 4. The hosts didn’t take too much time to pick up the rest of the three Kiwi wickets as they bowled New Zealand out for 284 within the first session of the final day. The target was set at 299 for the English side to clinch the match as well as the series. Had it been any other country, they would have played safe and drawn the match. However, England has become more aggressive over the years, and it was expected that they would go for the win. Read: Brutal Bairstow smashes England to series win over NZealand There was a concern of losing wickets while chasing such a big total, and it came true when England lost 4 wickets for 93 within the middle of the second session. Despite losing four wickets, England had shown real intent to chase down the target from the start of the fifth wicket partnership between Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. At tea, the partnership made 46 off 52 balls and carried the total to 139/4 at Tea. With the equation of 160 off 228 balls to win the match in the third session, England had to come up with a lot more intent in the post tea session. Two unbeaten batters, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, came to the crease with an aggressive mindset and counter attacked the Kiwi bowlers. Amazingly, England had to play only 16 overs in the third session to collect those 160 runs. In other words, England took a T20 approach against New Zealand in the final session, which perfectly paid off for them. Bairstow, in particular, was ruthless and hammered the New Zealand bowlers all over the ground. It took him only 77 balls to reach the three figure mark, which is the second fastest century by an English player after Gilbert Jessop. Trent Boult eventually removed Bairstow when he was at 136, but by then England required only 27 runs to win. Read IND vs SA 2022: India Eye to Win Third T20I to Stay Alive in the Series Fastest Test Centuries by English Players Player Opposition Balls Gilbert Jessop Australia (1902, the Oval) 76 Jonny Bairstow New Zealand (2022, Trent Bridge) 77 Ben Stokes New Zealand (2015, Lord’s) 85   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ An unbeaten 27-run stand between captain Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes for the sixth wicket guided England to a 5-wicket victory in the second Test. Stokes hit the winning run through a boundary. He also played an aggressive knock and was unbeaten with 75* runs. Read: Yasir Ali ruled out of WI Tests with a back injury Notable Records in the ENG vs NZ Second Test 2022 The majority of the records were set in the fourth innings of the second Test match between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge. The following are some significant records set during the match. 1) Trent Boult of New Zealand became the highest run scorer in the Test format, batting at No. 11. He has scored 640 runs in 79 innings. Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralidaran (623) and England's James Anderson (618) are in second and third positions, respectively. 2) English pacer James Anderson took his 650th Test wicket in this match, becoming the format's only fast bowler to do so. He is currently the third highest test wicket-taker with 651, just behind Shane Warne (708) and Muthiah Muralidaran (800). Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: Major Highlights of the Warm-Up Match 3) Jonny Bairstow played 77 balls to reach his ninth Test century, which is the second fastest by an English player. Gilbert Jessop hit the fastest Test century for England against Australia in 1902 at the Oval with 76 balls. 4) England successfully chased down the 299-run target and clinched the match. This was England’s fifth most successful run chase in the fourth innings and third best at home. 5) Jonny Bairstow’s 136 runs was the third best in the fourth innings among the English batters in winning matches. Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Participating Teams, Venues, Super 12 Fixtures, Top Favourites 6) Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow’s 179-run fifth wicket stand was the third best in the fourth innings for England in winning matches. Bottom Line England's Test team has struggled a lot under Joe Root's leadership in the last one year. Therefore, the ECB made a major decision in handing over the captaincy to Ben Stokes. Besides, former New Zealand batter, Brendon McCullum was appointed as head coach. The Three Lions won their first Test series since January 2021 against Sri Lanka with a victory in the ENG vs NZ Second Test 2022. Jonny Bairstow's knock was crucial in clinching the victory, and he deservedly took home the player of the match award. Bairstow's century will probably go down as one of the most memorable fourth-inning Test knocks ever. Furthermore, Ben Stokes is off to a strong start as captain, with the England Test team looking rejuvenated under his leadership.  Read ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Participating Teams, Venues, Super 12 Fixtures, Top Favourites

Jonny Bairstow smashed England’s second-fastest test century with some brutal hitting to lead his country to a record run chase at Trent Bridge and a five-wicket victory in the second test against New Zealand, clinching the series with one match to spare. Set 299 to win in a little over two sessions on Day 5, England reached its target in 50 overs with Bairstow falling for 136 off 92 balls just before the victory was sealed. Thrown together with England in a tough spot at 93-4 in the reply, Bairstow and captain Ben Stokes (75 not out) could have played for the draw to preserve the team’s 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Instead, they went on the attack — following the attacking approach favored by new coach Brendon McCullum, a Kiwi — and it blew the New Zealanders away. In the first nine overs after tea, which England reached still needing 160 runs off a minimum 38 overs, Bairstow and Stokes hit 102 runs in a savage assault that saw the ball disappear to all corners of the ground that was sold out for the final day. Bairstow dominated the strike, completing his ninth test century in 77 deliveries — one ball more than Gilbert Jessop’s record for England set in 1902. Stokes was mostly an onlooker at the other end as he struggled with pain in his right knee that meant it was a struggle to run between the wicket. Bairstow eventually departed to a standing ovation after nicking Trent Boult behind, having struck 14 fours and seven sixes. That left Stokes and Ben Foakes (12 not out) to guide England to the winning post. Also Read: Yasir Ali ruled out of WI Tests with a back injury Bairstow said England treated the chase like a one-day game, and he was told by Stokes to “just hit it into the back of the stand.” “If you go into it with a negative mentality, then all of a sudden you might be a bit apprehensive,” he said. “The positive approach, the brand of cricket we are looking to play, the players in that dressing room are able to play it. Today was very exciting and if this is happening now, let’s see what happens in the next few weeks and the next few months. Wow, it’s going to be a journey.” England had won one of its last 17 tests before the launch of a new era under Stokes and McCullum for this international summer. The team has won its first two tests under new leadership, with this Trent Bridge triumph backing up England’s five-wicket victory at Lord’s in the first match of the series against the reigning world test champions. The previous highest successful chase in Nottingham came in 2004 when England’s 284-6 defeated New Zealand. There had been only two others aside above 200 from that. New Zealand somehow lost a test match having scored 553 in its first innings after being put into bat. The tourists even looked marginal favorites after adding 60 runs to its overnight score of 224-7, eventually getting dismissed for 284 about 45 minutes before lunch. But they proved to be massively handicapped by the absence of fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, who was unable to bowl — even though he came out and batted — because of a back injury. Still, the way England responded was nothing short of sensational. “Today was set up absolutely perfectly for the way we want to go about things going forward,” Stokes said. “It’s pretty simple — run into the danger and rather than back away, just stand still. That’s definitely what we did today.” END/AP/UNB

Right-handed Bangladesh batter Yasir Ali Rabbi has been ruled out of the two-match Test series against the West Indies starting on June 16 in Antigua. The batter suffered a blow in his back during the three-day practice match against the Cricket West Indies President XI,  confirmed the physio of the Bangladesh team.  “Recovery from such injuries takes about two to three weeks time. Therefore, he will not be available for the Test series,” Bayjedul Islam, the Bangladesh team physio, told the media.  Yasir was expected to take extra responsibility in the absence of Mushfiqur Rahim on the West Indies tour. Mushfiqur is out of this tour due to personal reasons.  The batter has played five Tests, six ODIs and a T20I for Bangladesh so far. He has two fifties under his belt.  Apart from the two-match Test series, Bangladesh will take on the hosts in a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series on this tour as well.  Also Read: WI vs BAN: Tour match ends in a draw after Mustafizur bags three The first Test of the series will begin on June 16 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and the second Test will be played at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia from June 24.  While the first two T20Is will be played at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica on July 2 and 3 respectively, the third T20I and all three ODIs will be played at Providence Stadium, Guyana on July 10, 13 and 16 respectively. 

Australia will host the eighth edition of the Twenty20 World Cup from mid-October to mid-November. A total of 16 teams will compete in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. Four teams from the first round will advance to the Super 12 round. The top two teams from each group of the Super 12 will qualify for the semifinals. Let's take a look at the venues, groups, and top contenders for the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup. 2022 Twenty20 World Cup: Participating Teams Twelve teams who played in the Super 12 round in the 2021 World Cup automatically qualified for the 2022 edition. The rest of the four teams will be decided through the ICC’s Global Qualifier competition. The top eight teams in the ICC T20 rankings as of November 15, 2021, will get a direct entry into the Super 12 phase. The first round will be split into two groups for the remaining eight teams. Each group will see two teams qualify for the Super 12 phase. Qualified Teams for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Qualification Process Berths Teams Host 1 Australia (Top 11 teams of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, excluding host Australia) 11 New Zealand Pakistan England India South Africa West Indies Sri Lanka Bangladesh Afghanistan Namibia Scotland Global Qualifier A 2 Ireland United Arab Emirates Global Qualifier B 2 TBD    Source: https://www.t20worldcup.com/qualifiers/overview In the first round, Namibia, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the Global Qualifier B Runner-up will play in Group A. On the other hand, Ireland, Scotland, the West Indies, and the winner of the Global Qualifier B will compete in Group B. The matches of the first round will be held from October 16 to October 21. Read IND vs SA 2022: India Eye to Win Third T20I to Stay Alive in the Series Twenty20 World Cup 2022: Venues Australia were supposed to host the 2020 World Cup, which was later postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus epidemic. However, because of travel restrictions and a series of lockdowns in multiple Australian cities due to the COVID-9 outbreak, Cricket Australia was reluctant to organize the seventh edition of the tournament in their country. Later, India stepped in to organize the competition, but they had to relocate the mega event to the UAE as India were also hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The ICC eventually handed over the 2022 T20 World Cup hosting rights to Australia all alone. Australia already have the best facilities to organize a mega cricket event. Therefore, they don't need to build new stadiums for the upcoming competition. Seven well-known cricket grounds in seven different cities will host the matches of the World Cup. The cities which will host the tournament are Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. The venues for the 2022 twenty20 World Cup City Stadium Capacity Adelaide Adelaide Oval 53,500 Brisbane The Gabba 42,000 Geelong Kardinia Park 20,000 Hobart Bellerive Oval 20,000 Melbourne Melbourne Cricket Ground 100,000 Perth Perth Stadium 60,000 Sydney Sydney Cricket Ground 42,500    Source: https://www.t20worldcup.com/venues Twenty20 World Cup 2022: Super 12 Round Groups and Fixtures The ICC has already confirmed the two groups for the Super 12 phase. Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, the winner of Group A and runner-up of Group B will play in Group 1 in this round. Oppositely, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, the winner of Group B and runner-up of Group A, will compete against each other in Group 2 in this phase. As per the groupings, Australia, New Zealand, and England are the hot favourites to advance to the semifinals from Group 1. On the other hand, India, Pakistan, and South Africa are heavy favourites to qualify for the semifinals from Group 2. The Super 12 Round will begin on October 22 with a match between Australia and New Zealand and will end on November 6. Read BAN vs WI 2022: Five Reasons Why Bangladesh Can Win the Test Series Against West Indies Full fixtures of Super 12 Round (Group 1) Date Match Venue 22 October New Zealand vs Australia SCG 22 October England vs Afghanistan Perth Stadium 23 October Group A Winner vs Group B Runner Up Bellerive Oval 25 October Australia vs Group A Winner Perth Stadium 26 October England vs Group B Runner Up MCG 26 October New Zealand vs Afghanistan MCG 28 October Afghanistan vs Group B Runner-Up MCG 28 October Australia vs England MCG 29 October New Zealand vs Group A Winner SCG 31 October Australia vs Group B Runner-Up The Gabba 1 November Afghanistan vs Group A Winner The Gabba 1 November England vs New Zealand The Gabba 4 November New Zealand vs Group B Runner-Up Adelaide Oval 4 November Australia vs Afghanistan Adelaide Oval 5 November England vs Group A Winner SCG    Source: https://www.t20worldcup.com/fixtures Read Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: SWOT Analysis of Two Teams Full fixtures of Super 12 Round (Group 2) Date Match Venue 23 October India vs Pakistan MCG 24 October Bangladesh vs Group A Runner-Up Bellerive Oval 24 October South Africa vs Group B Winner Bellerive Oval 27 October Bangladesh vs South Africa SCG 27 October India vs Group A Runner-Up SCG 27 October Pakistan vs Group B Winner Perth Stadium 30 October Bangladesh vs Group B Winner The Gabba 30 October Pakistan vs Group A Runner-Up Perth Stadium 30 October India vs South Africa Perth Stadium 2 November Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-Up Adelaide Oval 2 November Bangladesh vs India Adelaide Oval 3 November Pakistan vs South Africa SCG 6 November South Africa vs Group A Runner-Up Adelaide Oval 6 November Bangladesh vs Pakistan Adelaide Oval 6 November India vs Group B Winner MCG    Source: https://www.t20worldcup.com/fixtures Read: Australia’s tour to give Sri Lanka Cricket a financial boost Favourites to Win the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 The hosts and reigning champions, Australia, are overwhelmingly favourites to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The Australians have a very strong squad and they can utilize the home advantage to secure their second World Cup title. The runner-up of the 2021 edition, New Zealand will be looking to win their first-ever Twenty20 World Cup in the upcoming edition.  India, Pakistan, South Africa, and England are also among the favourites, apart from Australia and New Zealand. Besides, teams like Bangladesh, Afghanistan, West Indies, and Sri Lanka will aim to perform well during the tournament, and qualifying for the semifinals will be a great achievement for them. Let’s take a look at the present scenario of each heavy favourite prior to the main event. Australia Australia are the fifth-ranked team as per the ICC’s latest T20 rankings. However, the Baggy Greens' recent twenty20 record has been outstanding. Since the 2021 World Cup, Australia have played 16 T20I matches. They have only lost three matches and won 13 of them, including their maiden World Cup trophy and three bilateral series victories. So, the Aussie side is having a nice preparation to retain the trophy next November. Australia’s main obstacle in the Super 12 Round will be to overcome either New Zealand or England to finish in the top two in Group 1. Three Key Players for Australia: Steve Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell World Cup 2021 Performance: Champions. Read Joe Root Reaches 10,000 Runs Milestone as England win First Test Against New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand became runner-up in the 2021 edition of the Twenty20 World Cup. It was their first appearance in the final. After losing the 2021 World Cup final against Australia, the Blackcaps have only played three T20 matches against India and lost all of them. New Zealand are currently ranked sixth in the ICC rankings. They need to play some bilateral series prior to the main event to test their strengths and weaknesses. However, the Kiwi team has some seriously talented T20 players who have the ability to single-handedly win matches. Three Key Players for New Zealand: Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and Trent Boult  World Cup 2021 Performance: Runner-Up England England were heavy favourites for the 2021 World Cup, but they were knocked out by New Zealand in the semi-finals. England have played five Twenty20 matches since last year's World Cup and all of them against the West Indies. They lost the 5-match series to the West Indies by 3-2. However, there is a reason England are the second-ranked team in the world; they have some outstanding T20 players. England will definitely be well-prepared for the upcoming event and will try to win their second Twenty20 World Cup. Three Key Players for England: Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali World Cup 2021 Performance: Semi-Finals. Read ICC Player of the Month for May 2022: Check Out the Nominees Pakistan Pakistan have become a very competitive team across all formats in the last one and a half years. In particular, Pakistan's T20 side is very strong and has the ability to choke any opposition on their day. The Pakistan team was applauded for their brilliant showing in the 2021 World Cup and they will once again be one of the hot favourites to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. Pakistan reached the semi-finals in the last edition but lost to Australia by 5 wickets. Since then, they have only lost one match and won six. Pakistan’s main hurdle in the Super 12 round will be to overcome India and South Africa to finish top two in their group. Three Key Players for Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi World Cup 2021 Performance: Semi-Finals India India were overwhelming favourites in last year's World Cup, but they lost steam after losing to Pakistan in their opening match. India will once again be one of the favourites in the upcoming edition and will try to win their second T20 World Cup trophy. India went onto to win twelve straight matches after their defeat to New Zealand in the 2021 World Cup, and they are currently the number one ranked team. The Indian side has some seriously talented Twenty20 players and they have plenty of options to pick an ideal playing XI. Three Key Players for India: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya World Cup 2021 Performance: Super 12 (3rd Position in Group 2). Read WI vs BAN Test Series 2022: Who has better record? South Africa The Proteas national team is rebuilding after losing some of its most prominent players in recent years. South Africa won the same amount of games as Australia and England in the Super 12 Round of the World Cup 2021. However, they were unable to qualify for the semifinals due to net run rates. There are some genuine power hitters on the South African side, as well as some efficient pacers. The Proteas T20 team is capable of winning the next World Cup. Three Key Players for South Africa: Quinton de Kock, David Miller, and Tabraiz Shamsi World Cup 2021 Performance: Super 12 (3rd Position in Group 1) Aftermath Australia will host a Twenty20 World Cup for the first time, which promises to be an exciting competition to watch. Australia and New Zealand will be big favorites to win the trophy since they are very familiar with the conditions and wickets. In addition, India, Pakistan, England, and South Africa have a good chance of winning the tournament's eight editions. The ICC T20 World Cup will begin on October 16 and finish on November 13, with the championship match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The semifinals will be held on November 9 and 10 at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval, respectively. Read BAN vs WI Test Series 2022: Five potential Bangladesh players to watch

Rangpur Shishu Niketon High School emerged as the new champions of the Prime Bank National School Cricket Tournament after beating Meherpur Government High School by 59 runs at the Shamsuzzoha Sports Complex in Narayanganj Monday. Put in to bat first in the final, Shishu Niketon finished at 102/10 in 37.1 overs, and later they restricted Meherpur High School to 43/10 in 20.2 overs to lift their maiden title. Ahmed Tejan Kaibya top-scored (28) for the champions. Arafat Aman Riyan of Meherpur picked up four wickets for nine runs. Shishu Niketon captain and leg-spinner Shykh Imtiaz Shihab was adjudged man of the final for taking five wickets for 14 runs. Deputy Commissioner of Narayanganj Monjurul Hafiz was the chief guest at the final and distributed the trophy. Managing Director and CEO of competition's sponsor Prime Bank Hasan O Rashid, former national cricket team captain and current national team selector Habibul Bashar Sumon, former national team pacer Hasibul Hossain Shanta, Tanveer Ahmed Titu, media committee chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), and Iftekhar Ahmed Mitu, BCB umpires' board chairman, were also present.   Roll of honour of school cricket tournament   Year Champions Runners-up Final venue 2021-22 Shishu Niketon, Rangpur Meherpur Government High School Narayanganj 2018-19 Cumilla High School, Cumilla Police Lines High School and College, Bogura Rangpur 2017-18 Police Lines High School and College, Bogura Government Jubilee High School, Sunamganj Sylhet 2016-17 Baliapukur Vidya Niketon, Rajshahi Kashinath Alauddin High School and College, Moulvibazar Rajshahi 2015-16 Tangail School and College, Tangail Dinajpur High School, Dinajpur Dhaka  

The lone warm up match of Bangladesh ahead of the series against the West Indies has ended in a draw. Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Ebadto Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman shone well in this match. Bangladesh batted first in the tour match in Antigua and declared their first innings at 310 for seven. Tamim scored 162, and Najmul hit a fifty for the visitors. In reply, the Cricket West Indies President XI scored 359 for eight in their first innings before declaring. For Bangladesh, right-arm pacer Ebadot and left-arm pacer Mustafizur bagged three wickets each. Also read: Bangladesh vs West Indies Test Series 2022: Major Highlights of the Warm-Up Match It was Mustafizur's first red-ball game after a long break. The pacer last played a competitive cricket match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last season, which is a white-ball event. In the long tour of West Indies, Bangladesh will take on the hosts in a two-match Test, three-match ODI and three-match T20I series. The first Test of the series will begin on June 16 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and the second Test will be played at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia from June 24. While the first two T20Is will be played at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica on July 2 and 3 respectively, the third T20I and all three ODIs will be played at Providence Stadium, Guyana on July 10, 13 and 16 respectively. Also read: WI v BAN: Ebadot shines with ball in tour match Shakib Al Hasan, the left-handed all-rounder, is set to lead the Tigers in the Test series. He returned to lead the Tigers after Mominul Haque stepped down as the captain. In ODIs, Bangladesh will be led by Tamim, and in T20Is, Mahmudllah Riyad will be the skipper.