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Sport
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
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DAYS TO GO
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan ponders what went wrong after his dismissal in the 1st Test against Sri Lanka at the SBNS yesterday
Sri Lanka dominate first day n Minhaz Uddin Khan Careless batting along with a few questionable decisions saw Bangladesh bowled out for 232 on the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka, while the visiting side finished the day at 60 without loss – 172 runs behind - at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. Sri Lankan captain unexpectedly chose to bowl first on winning the toss, after having said he expected the wicket to favour the batsmen the previous day, but the decision paid immediate dividends.
The pacemen were able to obtain moderate movement and good bounce as Bangladesh’s openers – Tamim Iqbal and Shamsur Rahman – were made to struggle. By lunch, Bangladesh had lost four wickets with just 72 runs on the board, with Shaminda Eranga looking the most dangerous of the bowlers and taking two of the wickets. The opening stand was broken at 35 when Tamim fell for six. One down batsman Marshall Ayub followed soon after when he was trapped LBW for one and debutant Shamsur Rahman fell in the next over with the total on 40. Shamsur, who earned his place in the side following a series of good scores in recent times, played in typical
aggressive fashion in making 33 off 34 balls but it was his aggression that led to his downfall. Trying to drive a wide delivery, he only managed to edge the ball to gully. Just before lunch, Mominul Haque was also dismissed for eight.
P15 SCORECARD: 1ST TEST, DAY 1 It was left to senior players Shakib al Hasan and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim to try to repair the damage. They pair put on 86 runs for the fifth wicket which was broken by Shakib’s departure for 55. Nasir Hossain only lasted seven balls for his four runs. Mushfiq was given out LBW six overs after tea in controversial circumstances
‘Big Three’ proposal explained The crucial two day Executive Board meeting of the International Cricket Council, which will decide the comprehensive structural overhaul of world cricket administration starts at the headquarters of the world cricket ruling body at Dubai Sports City today. The ICC Board consists of the chairman or president from each of the 10 full members plus three elected associate member representatives. Bangladesh will be represented by the board president Nazmul Hasan and Mahbub Anam. The meeting will go to polls to decide on the proposal, drafted by a “working group” of the ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee in which the Board of Control of Cricket in India, Cricket Australia and England
&Wales Cricket Board are key members - recommends wide-ranging changes in the ICC’s revenue distribution model, administrative structures and the Future Tours Programme (FTP), questions the relevance of Test rankings and suggests the reinstatement of the Champions Trophy over the World Test Championship. The amendment needs seven votes of the ten to be drafted as the new rules of ICC. The new proposals effectively gives most executive decision-making power to the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB. These boards – who are being called the “Big Three” - is poised to gain more control over world cricket, both on and off the field, a larger share of revenues, in a ratio that is linked to the ICC’s revenue growth. The formation of the ICC Business Co
(IBC) - a newly formed business arm which will be set up to replace the existing IDI (ICC Development International) will control media rights and sponsorship issues The proposal recommends creating a four-member group called the Executive Committee (ExCo) between ICC committees and the Executive Board, which consists of the heads of national boards. The ExCo, the proposal recommends, will include three permanent representatives from CA, ECB and BCCI, who will share an annual rotating chairmanship. A fourth member of the ExCo will be nominated by the ICC’s Executive Board and come from the seven other full members. Regarding Test match promotion and relegation, the proposal states that “relegation exceptions” will apply to India, England and Australia. This is
“solely in order to protect ICC income due to the importance of those markets and teams to prospective ICC media rights buyers. At the administrative level, the recently created post of ICC chairman will, according to the new proposal, be annually rotation between “one of the nominees of the ECB, CA or the BCCI.” The new distribution model of the ICC’s income as recommended in the proposal includes the creation of a “contribution cost” as recognition for every member’s role in “contributing to generating ICC’s revenues required to sustain the game. The Big Three enjoys greater shares of the ICC’s revenues as they increase. For example, the BCCI’s share would be 4.2%; should the new rights cycle gross revenue cross $3.5 billion, the BCCI’s share will be 21% - a total of $766 million. l
Feni hold Brothers n Raihan Mahmood Brothers Union and Soccer Club, Feni shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in the Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Monday. Sayed Rashed Turza put Feni ahead in the 61st minute. Midfielder Rony Islam neatly passed the ball through the defence to Turza, who placed it past onrushing Brothers goalie Md. Sujon in the far post. Brothers restored the parity through their midfielder Faisal Mahmud 10 minutes later. Controlling a chip from attacking midfielder Rubel Mia, Faisal went past his marker and placed a left footed shot into the net. Brothers came close to another strike but their Nigerian forward Kestor Akon shot missed the post in the dying minutes. With the draw, Brothers took their tally to 7 points from 6 matches while the Feni outfit moved to 2 points from the same number of games. l
15 I deserved Aussie
win, says surprise package Stan
n Minhaz Uddin Khan
n Minhaz Uddin Khan
n Raihan Mahmood
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A blessing and relief
Batsmen to blame for below par total: Shakib Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan admitted the team’s batsmen are to blame for the below par score in the first innings against Sri Lanka in the first Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. The former national skipper said the wicket did not trouble the batsman, rather the Lankan attack should be given credit for Bangladesh’s poor showing. “I felt the wicket was good enough to bat at least as long as I was there. I believe according to our ability, we could have scored 380 plus runs if we could have managed to bat till tomorrow. We failed to do that and we are far behind in the game to be honest. It will be tough to get wickets on this pitch,” said Shakib at SBNS after the day’s play. “They bowled well and at the same time we also made mistakes. I believe we should have performed better after our recent performances. If you look at the board, we didn’t lose any wicket in the first 10 overs and had scored 40 runs so I believe no one will say that the wicket was difficult. There were not too many balls to miss or that moved. The bowlers will now have to take the responsibility,” the left-arm all-rounder added. The Bangladesh innings was also plagued with a few questionable decisions – of Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain and Marshal Ayub, all seemed unlucky to have been given out. It might have had frustrated the home side but Shakib stayed clear from making any direct comments on the issue. “Looking into the replays might give one doubts over the decisions but at the end it is the umpires call. Replays can show you many bad decisions but it’s difficult in real time. I don’t think its right to comment on this,” he said. With Bangladesh all out with 232 runs in the first innings, Shakib believes the bowling department will have to take the responsibility. The three seamers in the Bangladesh line up was a rare combination for the side. Shakib believes the decision by the coach, selectors and the captain will pay off. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sri Lanka pacer Shaminda Eranga (C) celebrates the wicket of debutant Bangladeshi opener Shamsur Rahaman (L) during the 1st Test at the SBNS yesterday MUMIT M
MUMIT M
as replays suggested that he had edged the ball. The wicket-keeper nonetheless top scored with 61 and Sohag Gazi added 42 useful runs before the Sri Lankans wrapped up the innings. For Sri Lanka, Shaminda Eranga returned his best-ever figures of 4/49, Suranga Lakmal took 3/66 while Rangana Herath chipped in with two wickets. The Sri Lankan openers - Dimuth Karunaratane and Kaushal Silva – played out 19 overs before bad light brought the day to an end six overs early. They were untroubled by Bangladesh’s trio of pacemen and Mushfiq was forced to bring in the spinners just ten overs into the innings. Sri Lanka ended the day 60/0, 172 runs behind Bangladesh. l
The month long series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh that started yesterday with the first Test at the Sher-eBangla National Stadium comes both as relief and a blessing to the millions of cricket fans of the country. The withdrawal of the West Indies U-19 team from Bangladesh and preelection political unrest which lasted for more than two months had raised the possibility that the series might be cancelled. Two other major events - the Asia Cup 2014 in February and the ICC World Twenty20 in March – were also in jeopardy with certain boards like Sri Lanka Cricket and the Pakistan Cricket Board, expressing reservations about sending their teams to Bangladesh. “We are very much happy that Sri Lanka came into Bangladesh to play. For us cricket is not only entertainment but pride. I am glad that the series has overcome all the speculation and taking place,” said Taiabur Rahman, a college student. While for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) the series is a relief and also the dress rehearsal for the Asia Cup and the World Twety20. “This is not only a bilateral series for us but a way to demonstrate that cricket is above any kind of situation in Bangladesh and it will never be hampered,” BCB media committee chairman Jalal Younus told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. The BCB’s diplomatic relations with the other Test playing nations has often been strained and bilateral ties have frequently been described as “inefficient”, but Jalal believes this is not true. “If we didn’t have a sound diplomatic relation, it couldn’t have been possible to convince them (the other boards) to not turn their faces away from the events. “We ensured that the political parties support our motive and that the best possible arrangements are made for all the team. The Sri Lanka tour has just started and hopefully, the other events will also take place accordingly,” said Jalal. l
Lankan pacemen show the way n Mazhar Uddin The first Test of the series against Sri Lanka saw a different Bangladesh and it came as a surprise for the supporters when the Bangladesh think tank opted to play three seamers. In another surprise move, Sri Lanka elected to field first in a move that was vindicated as Bangladesh lost four wickets in the first session. The Tigers were expected to play two pacemen and two spinners but with the pitch looking favourable for seam bowling in the morning, Al-Amin was selected in place of spinner Abdur Razzak. Sri Lanka put in an impressive bowling performance to bowl Bangladesh out for 232 with the opening attack of Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal being the chief destroyers. Tamim Iqbal was the first to fall when he was caught on the deep square leg boundary from a pull shot. The stylish Marshal Ayub struggled with his footwork and was trapped in front of the wicket by an off-cutter from Angelo Matthews for one. Debutant Shamsur Rahman, however, played in typical belligerent fashion and struck seven boundaries in his almost run-a-ball innings of 33 but gifted his wicket away by slashing a wide ball to gully. By claiming both openers, Eranga justified his captain’s decision to put Bangladesh in. Bangladesh’s most recent batting sensation Mominul Haque fell to a short ball from Lakmal, which he tried to pull to leave Bangladesh reeling at 59/4. It was left to the two most experienced cricketers in the Bangladesh side - Shakib al Hasan and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim - to hold the ship for the batting side and the pair put on 86. Both men reached half centuries before the partnership was broken by spinner
Rangana Herath, who had Shakib LBW missing a sweep shot. Nasir Hossain received a nasty delivery that bounced up unexpectedly and he was given out caught behind. There was however, some doubt as to whether the ball had come off his body or glove. There was however, no doubt that Mushfiq was unlucky to be given out LBW as replays clearly showed he had hit the ball before it went onto his pad. Sohag Gazi was able to add some quick runs but the rest of the tail were found wanting in the face of the aggressive Sri Lankan attack as the Tigers were bowled out for 232. The pacemen accounted for eight of the wickets. While helped along by a couple of rash strokes and questionable decisions, their performance was of a high quality. Both Eranga and Lakmal were consistent in their line and length and were able to obtain movement from the pitch, in addition to using the short ball to great effect. By contrast, in the few overs Bangladesh’s paceman bowled at the end of the day, they were erratic of direction and largely ineffective. Eranga, whose previous career best figures were 4/60 against Pakistan in his previous match, topped that performance with 4/49. At the post-day press briefing, he said that Bangladesh’s batsmen had helped. “Actually the pitches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are both similar to here. But the Pakistani batsmen were harder to dismiss while Bangladeshi batsmen helped us a lot,” he said. The 27-year old added that peppering the batsmen with bouncers was very much planned and succeeded as both Tamim and Shamsur were dismissed by short balls. “Yes it was a plan to bowl the shorter deliveries. Obviously you practice, tactics were used, the short ball,” he confirmed. l