Did you know? This is the first time Manchester United have lost three games inside a week since April 22-26 1992
Sport
Thursday, January 9, 2014
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DHAKA TRIBUNE
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15 West Indies destroy Kiwis to draw series
SLC, PCB to send security teams in Bangladesh
Darlington stars with hat-trick
n Minhaz Uddin Khan
The absence of star forward Sony Norde motivated Emeka Darlington to fill his shoes and the Nigerian striker responded perfectly by scoring Sheikh Jamal’s first hat-trick of the season in the 4-1 demolition of Brothers Union at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The tall and tough Nigerian was always the livewire for Sheikh Jamal and his cool and controlled attitude made life difficult for the Brothers’ defence. He was running down the flank and the midfield, switching his positions and showing efficient finishing ability inside the d-box. The satisfaction of the feat was visible in the eyes of the marksman when he appeared at the post-match briefing. “I am very happy to score a hat-trick, it’s not easy to achieve the feat and my first hat-trick for Jamal will continue to motivate me for further challenges. It’s my overall fourth hat-trick and I look forward to repeating it,” said Darlington. The Nigerian admitted that Sony Norde’s absence spurred him to take the driver’s seat, “I am a forward and I have to score goals. I believe Sony Norde is the best player in Bangladesh but
Bangladesh will be keenly looking forward for a positive outcome from today’s International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai as security concerns from the participating nations of the Asia Cup put a question mark on hosting any cricket in the country. However, it is likely that Bangladesh will have to wait for a few more days for a concrete decision. Sri Lanka are scheduled to tour Bangladesh for a complete series of Tests, ODIs and T20s later this month while the Asia Cup involving the hosts, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and newly included Afghanistan is also dated in March. However, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) are reluctant to send a team to Bangladesh due to the political violence while Pakistan had already raised questions and showed signs of not participating in the Asia Cup if held in Bangladesh. Violence linked to polls in Bangladesh has claimed more than 150 lives since October, but the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has said the country would still host the five-nation tournament due to start on February 25. SLC is expected to give a decision in today’s ICC meeting on whether they will go ahead with the bilateral series, but it is highly likely the final decision will be taken after a few days as a security team from SLC will visit Dhaka next
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS Darlington puts Jamal 18”GOAL! ahead, nodding in a low cross
off Okemmiri from the right flank. GOAL! Ghanaian defender Issah Yousuf restores the parity for Brothers from the spot, after Nche Francis earned the penalty. GOAL! Darlington dribbles past two defenders, skips by the goalkeeper and sends the ball into the net. GOAL! Darlington completes his hat-trick, placing in a square pass from Wedson Anselme. Sabuj Das Rogu produces a superb save to deny Wesdon’s free kick from 25 yards out. Mamunul’s 25-yard powerful strike is tipped away by Rogu. GOAL! Wedson smashes the ball in after a one-two with Darlington.
29” 33” 35”
48” 79” 81”
week to assess the arrangements only. As part of the arrangement, BCB has already omitted Sylhet Divisional Stadium from the itinerary and shifted the matches to Dhaka instead. Sylhet was supposed to make its international debut with the first off the three-match ODI series between on February 17. The Pakistan Cricket Board over the last few days expressed concern over the political turmoil and the growing anti-Pakistan sentiment in Bangladesh. However, they too will send an official to assess security in Bangladesh before next month’s Asia Cup, officials said yesterday. PCB said it continues to have reservations over security and will send an official to attend an ICC meeting in Bangladesh to assess the situation. The ICC is also likely to decide on the fate of the World T20, scheduled to be held in Bangladesh in March-April this year. “PCB has decided to send its security representative to Bangladesh to attend the ICC security meeting on 20th January to assess the situation there and report back,” said a statement. “The PCB does have reservations on the prevailing security situation in Bangladesh with specific reference to Pakistan,” it quoted the board’s interim chairman Najam Sethi as saying. Earlier, Sri Lanka offered to host both the Asia Cup and the World T20 if the security situation in Bangladesh does not improve. l
n Shishir Hoque Emeka Darlington continued his magnificent form in the Bangladesh Premier League as the Nigerian forward slammed a sensational hat-trick to give Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club a comfortable 4-1 victory over Brothers Union at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Sheikh Jamal continued to excel, despite the absence of key player Haitian international striker Sony Norde and Darlington has effectively filled the gap in scoring five goals in two games. Darlington gave his side the lead in the 18th minute, which was equalized by Ghanaian defender Issah Yousuf from a controversial penalty 11 minutes later. Darlington then added two
Usha too hot for Azad Defending champions Usha’s prowess was too much for Azad as the Old Dhaka outfit registered a convincing 13-1 victory in the UCB Club Cup Hockey at the MaulanaBhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday. The winners led the first half 6-0. Azad Sporting, all of whose players are BKSP students, found it hard to cope with the pressure applied bytheir opponents, who fielded seven national hockey players. The penalty corner prowess of national skipper Maumunur Rahman Chayan, the speed of Jahid bin Talib, the neat distribution of Sarwar Hossain in the midfield and the scoring abilities of national forward Krishna Kumar andMainul Islam Koushik made all the difference. However the Azad though conceding goals at regular intervals, continued to play attackingly. Chayan scored four goals with his pet penalty corners, mixing his drag
RESULT Brothers
Yousuf 29 Sheikh Jamal forward Emeka Darlington (L) tries to control the ball during their Bangladesh Premier League match against Brothers Union at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M
Jamal win second, move to top
Usha’s Maumunur Rahman Chayan strikes to score from a penalty corner against Azad Sporting during their UCB Club Cup Hockey match at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday MUMIT M
n Raihan Mahmood
n Raihan Mahmood
and flicks with power and precision in the 12th, 25th, 28th and 57th minutes respectively. He hit the roof of the net with two of his dragged efforts while the other two were typical pushes into the board. Usha took the lead in the 3rd minute through midfielder Jahid bin Talib who finished after a combined move. Jahid also scored the 12th goal in the 60th minute. The other players who followed Jahid bin Talib’s two goals were Krishna Kumar and Moinul Islam Koushik. Krishna netted in the 43rdand the 55th minutes, while Koushik’s goal were scored in the 47thand 69thminutes. The other three scorers were Bellal Hossain, Taposh Barman and Sarwar Hossain, who scored field goals in the 4th, 53rd and 33rd minutes respectively. The consolation for Azad was scored by Md. Mohsin, whose 17th minute strike squared the match 1-1 before Usha ran away with the game. l
more in the first half to complete his hat-trick and set up another goal for Wedson to seal Jamal’s second successive victory in the second half. Jamal started without Sony Norde, who was resting due to an injury he sustained in the Federation Cup final. However, their Nigerian coach Joseph Afusi claimed Sony is almost fit but he preferred to keep Sony rested for the game as a precaution. Skipper Mamunul, however, returned to the squad earlier than expected and controlled the midfield with Sohel Rana. After initiating several attacks which they could not turn into genuine chances, Jamal finally broke the deadlock in the 18th minute by way of a lovely finish from Darlington. Nigerian midfielder Okemmiri delivered a low cross from the right flank that found Darlington, who nodded the ball home
past Brothers goalie Rogu. The Gopibag outfit soon leveled the score as Ghanaian defender Issah Yousuf converted a penalty in the 29th minute. Nigerian midfielder Nche Francis earned the penalty after being brought down by Jamal defender Rayhan Hasan inside the box. Darlington restored Jamal’s lead when he netted his second of the evening. The Nigerian striker dribbled past two defenders, rounded off the keeper and sent the ball into the net from a tight angle after Sohel Rana’s through found the Nigerian forward inside the box. It took Darlington just two more minutes to complete the fourth hattrick of his career. After receiving a square pass from Haitian forward Wedson Anselme, an unmarked Darlington placed the ball past Rogu to make the score 3-1.
Jamal continued to attack in the second half and created three chances before they got the fourth goal. Rogu produced a superb save to deny Wesdon’s free kick from 25-yards out just three minutes into the half. Jewel Rana missed a golden chance to pull one back for Brothers when his shot in a one-on-one situation with the keeper was knocked away by Zia for a corner. Wedson completed the route in the 81st minute. Darlington was the architect of the goal. A quick one-two between the duo led to Wedson smashing the ball past the keeper from six yards. Wedson earlier headed down a long ball to Darlington who passed it back to Wedson to unbolt the defence. The victory saw Jamal move to the top of the table with six points, having won both of their games. Brothers, meanwhile, have yet to earn a point. l
1-4
Sk Jamal
Darlington 18, 33, 35 Wedson 81
I also have to score goals and serve my team, I was motivated to put forward my best and I am happy to see Jamal won by a good margin.” The hat-trick man said he enjoyed his first goal the most of his strikes. Meanwhile Jamal coach Josef Afusi was also a happy man to see his players produce another well-organised performance. “As a coach, I tried to use my resources and not think about who is present or absent. The team played well, Sony Norde has been rested as I don’t want to aggravate his injury. Maybe he is fit to play but I am giving him rest for his safety, he will take the field when required. The league is a long journey and I have to use him with caution,” said Afusi. Syed Naeemuddin, the Indian coach of Brothers Union, said the result was upsetting. “It was a bad day. We took the field to salvage a draw. The initial minutes were ok and we created some chances but later, the lapses in defence made the proceedings worse, but I have to say Sheikh Jamal is a strong team in comparison with Brothers.” l
Mahmud, McInnes Mahmudullah looks to cash in from BCL plan for the future said, “It will definitely help us. Playing and if he is available for the longer n Mazhar Uddin two matches before Sri Lanka arrives version it will be of great advantage for n Mazhar Uddin the Tigers. The Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) will be great for the cricketers.” The chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) game development Khaled Mahmud informed that he sat with the head coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Richard McInnes to plan strategies for the rising cricketers and also make use of the local coaches in various camps. “There was very little work for the academy cricketers as there were no programmes so we had a long discussion regarding this issue at the same time we are thinking about utilising our local coaches for the camps,” said Mahmud yesterday. Bangladesh U-19 team failed to reach the semifinals of the U-19 Asia Cup recently but the chairman of the game development informed that the main focus is to improve the game for the youngsters. “I won’t say that it was a failure, we are not thinking about winning a championship in the age levels. All we want is to improve the game and prepare those cricketers for future,” said Mahmud. “Once we used to hide the age of the cricketers which is now not happening and we are spending so much to develop the cricketers where we don’t want to think about what happened in the past,” he added. McInnes echoed Mahmud and said, “Sujon (Khaled Mahmud) and I both agreed to the point of utilising the young talents for future and also fulfill the requirements of the cricketers for the national side by preparing the cricketers from age levels.” l
will begin from January 12 and the first two rounds of the four-team competition will be held at the BKSP, informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board through a press release yesterday. The national selection panel has selected 20 players for each participating team and the teams will determine their final 15man squad. After the first two rounds, the franchisee-based first class tournament will take a break and make way for Sri Lanka’s tour of Bangladesh, the Asia Cup and the ICC World Twenty20. Bangladesh vice-captain Mahmudullah is looking forward for the BCL as he thinks playing the longer version before the international series will be of huge benefit to the cricketers. He expressed his desire for the BCL and
Jan 12-15
The right-handed batsman was hopeful that the series against Sri Lanka would go ahead and hoped the political issues going on at the moment gets better soon. “Asia Cup is a huge tournament which we are going to host. At the moment, we are only concentrating on the Sri Lanka series and we are preparing ourselves for that. We all are working hard and hoping to play those two matches in the BCL where all the national cricketers can prepare and play against Sri Lanka positively,” he said. Meanwhile, pacer Mashrafe bin Mortaza recovered from his injury and has been included in the BCL for Islami Bank East Zone. Mahmudullah said having Mashrafe back is a great boost
Central Zone v East Zone at BKSP-2 North Zone v South Zone at BKSP-3
Bangladesh faced Sri Lanka last year and produced some brilliant individual performances and Mahmudullah hoped they play as a team and fare well in the Tests. “We have played good cricket in Sri Lanka where we had some good individual performances and this time, we will be playing on our home condition and I am hoping to get something positive in the Test series,” he said. Meanwhile, country’s leading allrounder Shakib al Hasan, named for Prime Bank South Zone, will be unavailable for his commitment to Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League in Australia. Shakib is expected to return prior to Bangladesh’s home series against Sri Lanka later this month. l
Central Zone v South Zone at BKSP-3 North Zone v East Zone at BKSP-2
Jan 18-21
SQUADS BCB North Zone Mushfiqur Rahim, Junaed Siddique, Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Myshukur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Forhad Hossain, Mizanur Rahman, Saqlain Sajib, Sanjamul Islam, Taijul Islam, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Hamidul Islam, Farhad Reza, Muktar Ali, Shuvhashish Roy, Mahmudul Hasan, Delwar Hossain, Jahurul Islam, Nazmul Hossain
Islami Bank East Zone Tamim Iqbal, Nafees Iqbal, Mominul Haque, Nazim Uddin, Rumman Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Tasamul Haque, Jubair Ahmed, Liton Kumar Das, Enamul Haque Jr, Nabil Samad, Dhiman Ghosh, Nur Hossain, Alauddin Babu, Abu Zahed Chowdhury, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Tapash Baisya, Yasin Arafat, Alok Kapali
Prime Bank South Zone Anamul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Md Mithun, Taibur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Nasiruddin Faruque, Monir Hossain, Salman Hossain, Fazle Rabbi, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Nazmul Opu, Shakib al Hasan, Abdur Razzak, Ziaur Rahman, Al Amin, Rubel Hossain, Robiul Islam, Murad Khan, Sohag Gazi, Shuvagata Hom
Walton Central Zone Shamsur Rahman, Mahmudullah, Abdul Majid, Roqibul Hasan, Shahriar Nafees, Sharifullah, Dewan Sabbir, Rony Talukder, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Marshal Ayub, Nurul Hasan, Elias Sunny, Arafat Sunny, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Sharif, Mohammad Shohid, Tarek Aziz, Saikat Ali, Sahagir Hossain, Talha Jubaer