BCB lodges appeal with ICC over Taskin ban D H A K A —The BCB has made an appeal to the ICC to reconsider Taskin Ahmed’s suspension from bowling in international cricket. The communication was made personally by the BCB president Nazmul Hassan, who said that he spoke to the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar and chief executive Dave Richardson. While Hassan did not reveal what the BCB’s main argument was, he s a i d t h e y w e r e not convinced with the ICC’s independent assessment report on Taskin’s bowling action. “We are not convinced about Taskin as of now. We don’t have any reason to be satisfied with the report,” he said. “And that’s disappointing, so we have appealed to the ICC. We have a few grounds and we have said these things according to logic. Only the ICC can withdraw the ICC’s decision, which is why I am talking to the ICC directly. It won’t be right to disclose what we presented as our logic. I can tell you that we have done everything possible.” Hassan said the BCB was trying to circumvent the normal procedure of appealing in a bid to quickly overturn the decision made on Taskin. The ICC had said on Saturday that “not all of Taskin’s deliveries were legal”. “The promptness with which we have taken the action is quite different to the way we responded to the others,” Hassan said.—AFP
Hassan wins women’s 1,500m P O RT L A N D —Ethiopianborn Dutch runner Sifan Hassan won the women’s 1,500m at the World Indoor Athletics Championships here Saturday. Hassan held off a furious l a t e challenge from t w o runners from t h e country of her birth — Dawit Seyaum and Gudaf Tsegay — to win in 4min 4.96sec. Hassan, the bronze medallist at last year’s World Championships in Beijing, was forced to dig deep in the final 100m as Seyaum lurked on her shoulder. But the 23year-old found an extra gear to kick for the line and claim a deserved gold. Seyaum took silver while Tsegay won bronze.—AFP
De Villiers stars as SA beat Afghanistan in World T20 MUMBAI—South Africa captain Faf du ing six fours and two sixes at the ghans a formidable run-chase of 210. Plessis praised AB de Villiers’s “matchchanging” half century as South Africa defeated Afghanistan by 37 runs in their
Wankhede Stadium. Du Plessis made a tidy 41, which included seven fours and one six, be-
They made a flying start, racing to 50 in 3.4 overs, as destructive opener Shahzad did his best to frighten South Africa’s bowlers in the early stages. He hit three sixes and a four off a Kyle Abbott over. “I did worry because that was not the way I wanted to start,” said du Plessis. “We need to get a lot better in the first three or four overs. We were a little soft in our execution and need to work on that.” But any hopes the Afghans had of causing a sensational upset were effectively over when Shahzad was bowled by Morris for 44 with the last ball of the fourth over. “The target was slightly too much,” a smiling Shahzad told reporters afterwards, adding that de Villiers was “the difference between the two sides”. Morris grabbed his second wicket shortly after taking his first when Afghan captain Stanikzai was caught behind by wicketkeeper de Kock for seven runs. The right-arm paceman was the star of South Africa’s bowling attack, also grabbing the wickets of Rashid Khan and Dawlat Zadran. Imran Tahir, Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada all claimed two each. The only sour note for South Africa was the withdrawal from the field of Duminy because of a hamstring injury.—AFP
South Africa’s AB de Villiers bats against Afghanistan during their ICC World Twenty20 2016 cricket match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, India on Sunday. World Twenty20 clash in Mumbai on fore being run out in messy fashion Sunday. The right-handed batsman scored a in the tenth over quick-fire 64 to propel the Proteas to but opener Hashim South Africa innings: 209/5 before Chris Morris’s four wick- Amla only made Q de Kock c Shahzad b Amir Hamza .............................. 45 ets helped restrict Afghanistan to 172 five. South Africa HM Amla c Asghar Stanikzai all out on the last ball. De Villiers smashed five sixes and sat on 92/2 at the b Shapoor Zadran ............... 5 four fours in his 29-ball knock as South half-way stage of F du Plessis run out .......... 41 Africa got their bid for a first interna- their innings be- AB de Villiers c Noor Ali tional trophy back on track after an fore de Villiers Zadran b M Nabi .............. 64 came in and upped Duminy not out ................ 29 opening day loss to England. “He wants to show he’s a world- their run-rate, hit- DA Miller c Gulbadin Naib b great batsman and I’m hoping today ting Rashid Khan Dawlat Zadran ................. 19 will make him really, really hungry to for an astonishing D Wiese not out ................. 0 go out and score massive runs,” du four sixes in the Extras: (lb 2, w 4) .............. 6 Total: (5 wickets) ........... 209 17th over. Plessis said of de Villiers. He was caught Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-90, 3“Not just to have small impacts of 20 run-bursts but actually have a match- by Noor Ali 97, 4-173, 5-203 off Bowling: ............. O-M-R-W changing impact and today he did that. Zadran Mohammad Nabi Amir Hamza .......... 3-0-25-1 He played beautifully,” he added. The skipper also lavished praise on near the boundary Dawlat Zadran ....... 3-0-46-1 Morris, who was named man of the in the 18th though Shapoor Zadran ...... 3-0-28-1 match after he took four for just 27 in as he attempted Mohammad Nabi ... 4-0-35-1 Rashid Khan .......... 4-0-51-0 yet another six. the Super 10 Group One match. David Miller Samiullah Shenwari 3-0-22-0 “He bowled with great intensity,” made 19 while JP Afghanistan innings: the Proteas captain told reporters. South Africa won the toss and opted Duminy was not Shahzad b Morris ............. 44 to bat with elegant left-hander Quinton out on 29 as South Noor Ali Zadran st de Kock b de Kock making 45 off 31 balls, includ- Africa set the Af-
Imran Tahir ...................... 25 Asghar Stanikzai c de Kock b Morris ................................ 7 Gulbadin Naib ... c de Kock b Abbott .............................. 26 M Nabi c de Villiers b Imran Tahir ................................. 11 Samiullah Shenwari c Wiese b Abbott .............................. 25 Najibullah Zadran c de Kock b Rabada .......................... 12 Rashid Khan b Morris ...... 11 Dawlat Zadran b Morris .... 0 Amir Hamza not out .......... 3 Shapoor Zadran b Rabada .. 1 Extras: (lb 1, w 6) .............. 7 Total: (all out) ................ 172 Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-60, 3105, 4-109, 5-140, 6-156, 7156, 8-167, 9-169, 10-172 Bowling: ............. O-M-R-W K Rabada ............... 4-0-37-2 KJ Abbott ............... 4-0-36-2 CH Morris .............. 4-0-27-4 Imran Tahir ............ 4-0-24-2 D Wiese ................. 4-0-47-0
Bangladesh fans vent anger at ICC over bans
Dong strikes gold for China PORTLAND—Dong Bin became only the third athlete from China to win a gold medal in the history of t h e Wo r l d Indoor Athleti c s Championships h e r e Saturday aft e r claiming victory in the triple jump. The 27-year-old from Changsha led the competition from start to finish, taking gold with a best leap of 17.33m at the Oregon Convention Center. Germany’s Max Hess took silver with 17.14 while Frenchman Benjamin Compaore won bronze. Only two other Chinese athletes — sprint hurdler Liu Xiang in 2008 and shot putter Sui Xinmei in 1991 have won gold at the world indoors before.—AFP
Need to work a lot on our batting: Malik KOLKATA—After yet another loss to India at other teams, not beaten them in World Cups, a world event, Pakistan allrounder Shoaib
Malik highlighted the team’s batting as the main area in need of improvement. “Victory and defeat happen in the game. I think there are a few areas where we need to improve, especially our batting, even though it was a tough pitch to bat on,” he said. “I think that we could have set a better target. There is another thing: we may have lost matches to
but when it comes to India, it just becomes bigger. But we must give credit to the Indian team for the way they played on a difficult pitch.” Pakistan won their opening game of the World T20 comprehensively and regained some confidence after a poor showing in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. They posted a mammoth 201 to set up a 55-run victory over Bangladesh at Eden Gardens. On Saturday, at the same venue, they huffed and puffed to 118 in 18 overs. Malik said that the nature of the pitch, which began turning sharply from the second over onward, had taken both teams by surprise. He also indicated that losing the toss in a raincurtailed game had further stacked the odds against Pakistan. “If you compare the last wicket we played on and this one, we couldn’t see much difference. In fact, this was looking a better wicket, but as I said that even Dhoni mentioned that even he didn’t think the wicket would spin that much, but we can control these things,” Malik said. “We couldn’t win the toss so that was also… that is part of the game. These things are not in your hands, but there is one area we need to improve and that is our batting. “Our total was not enough to defend against such a great batting line-up. We should give credit to Virat Kohli’s innings. He was the only difference between the two teams. He backs his skills and that’s the key. —AFP
WI knock Bangladesh out
Stafanie Taylor works one through the off side during Bangladesh vs West Indies, Women’s World T20, Group-B match at Chennai on Sunday.
CHENNAI—West Indies Women put in a domi- was hampered by the regular fall of wickets.
nant performance to hand Bangladesh Women a Taylor, Matthews and Dottin were the standout 49-run loss in Chennai, thereby knocking them bowlers, taking 7 for 46 in 11 overs between them. Two run-outs did not help Bangladesh’s out of the Women’s World T20. Stafanie Taylor, Hayley Matthews and cause either. The result puts West Indies in a Deandra Dottin starred with both bat and ball to strong position to qualify for the semi-finals, lead a strong all-round effort from West Indies, while Bangladesh will look to put in a better who notched their second win in as many games performance in their last group match against Pakistan.—Agencies to move to the top of the Group B table. Bangladesh, by contrast, slumped to a third heavy defeat in the tournament. After electing to bat, West Africa innings: Fargana Hoque b Matthews ..... 17 Indies laid a solid platform with South West Indies Women innings: Salma Khatun run out ................ 8 openers Matthews and Taylor Matthews b Nahida Akter ........ 41 Rumana c Fletcher b Taylor ...... 4 putting on a stand of 67 in 70 Taylor c Lata b Nahida Akter .. 40 Nigar Sultana lbw b Fletcher ... 27 balls, before Matthews was B Cooper c & b Nahida Akter ... 9 Jahanara Alam lbw b Taylor ...... 0 stumped off Nahida Akter. Akter Dottin st Nigar b Rumana ....... 24 Fahima Khatun run out ............. 1 King not out ................. 20 Lata c Aguilleira b Dottin .......... 1 struck twice more in her next SACA SA Campbelle not out ............... 5 Ritu Moni lbw b Dottin ............. 0 two overs, dismissing Britney Extras: (b 2, lb 1, w 6) ............... 9 Nahida Akter not out ................. 2 Cooper and the set Taylor to Total: (4 wickets) ................... 148 Extras: (b 1, lb 1, w 11, nb 1) .. 14 leave West Indies at 98 for 3 in Fall of wickets: 1-67, 2-87, 3-98, 4- Total: (all out) .......................... 99 130 Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-35, 3-55, 415.1 overs. ..................... O-M-R-W 55, 5-70, 6-71, 7-76, 8-82, 9-82, 10But West Indies finished the Bowling: Jahanara Alam ............... 4-0-34-0 99 innings strongly as Dottin and Salma Khatun ................ 4-0-23-0 Bowling: ..................... O-M-R-W Stacy-Ann King chipped in with Rumana Ahmed ............. 4-0-31-1 SS Connell ..................... 2-0-16-0 cameos. This ensured that 50 runs Fahima Khatun .............. 4-0-30-0 SR Taylor ....................... 3-0-13-3 were plundered in the last 4.5 Nahida Akter ................. 4-0-27-3 HK Matthews ................ 4-0-16-2 DJS Dottin ..................... 4-0-17-2 overs, lifting West Indies to 148. Bangladesh Women innings: Islam c Dottin b Taylor 14 A Mohammed ................ 3-0-21-0 After a solid opening stand Sanjida Sharmin c Dottin b Matthews . 11 ASS Fletcher ............... 2.3-0-14-1 of 24, Bangladesh’s run chase
‘Mamu’ family in India preparing to catch Sarfraz in Mohali B IPIN D ANI O BSERVER CORRESPONDENT
Bangladeshi cricket fans burn an effigy during a protest against International Cricket Council for the suspension order against Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny in Dhaka on Sunday. “Shame on you ICC. Your action is protest. An AFP photographer at the scene DHAKA—Scores of Bangladeshi cricket fans took to the streets of Dhaka on Sun- illegal,” one banner read as young fans said at least 100 people joined the hourday to express their outrage hours after rallied against what they described as a long protest at Dhaka’s Shahbagh square. Thousands of Bangladeshi fans also global cricket officials banned the “conspiracy” targeting Bangladesh. “The ICC has been consistently try- vented their frustration on social media country’s top bowlers from competing in ing to destroy the chances of small teams after the bowlers failed assessment tests the World Twenty20 in India. The demonstrators formed a human like Bangladesh to do better in the World to clear the suspicion over their bowling, chain as they marched along a busy road Cup. The bans of Taskin Ahmed and Arafat as the bans made front-page headlines in the capital, after the International Sunny are part of this conspiracy,” enraged across the cricket-crazy nation on Sunday. Bangladesh face an uphill task to make Cricket Council suspended pacer Taskin cricket fan Sanjiban Sudip, 23, told AFP. “This is nothing new. No players from the semi-finals of the World T20 for the Ahmed and Arafat Sunny on Saturday from bowling in international matches for India, Australia or England have been first time after losing their opening match illegal actions. The bans came as a blow banned for suspect actions. In contrast, to Pakistan last week. Their next game is against Australia to Bangladesh’s chances in the World plenty of players from teams like Twenty20 after they lost to Pakistan by 55 Bangladesh were suspended,” he added. in Bangalore on Monday while they must The protesters burned a “symbolic ef- also face New Zealand and India in the runs in their opening match of the tournafigy” of the ICC as they concluded their group stages.—AFP ment.
MUMBAI—The closest family of Pakistani wicket keeper Sarfraz Ahmed was over the moon in India on Saturday when Dhoni’s men conquered over Afridis at the Eden Gardens. “Pakistan can never win against India”, Mehboob Hasan, the brother of Sarfraz’s mother (Akeela Banu), said over telephone from his home in UP. “I had told this to Sarfraz when I went to Karachi to attend his wedding last year”, the mamu adds. “We watched the entire match on Saturday night. Sarfraz came in to bat at number six when hardly any overs were left in the raincurtailed match. He, however, remained Not Out with 8 runs, which also included a fourrun boundary”. “No, we didn’t go to Kolkata as my children have their examinations”, Mehboob, the Head-Clerk at the Etawah’s Agricultural Engineering College, which is situated near the UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s home,
said. Mehboob Hasab, however, will meet his nephew in Mohali. “I am leaving for Mohali on 24th and will watch Pakistan’s match against Australia. Will get an opportunity to meet Sarfraz there. He has requested me not to bring any gifts but how can I ignore the Indian tradition ?”, he says, adding, “I shall need to get the clearance from the security officials there”. “Sarfraz is coming to India nearly after 25 years. He was three when he came with his mother, my sister, in my wedding in 1991. He was a very naughty boy then”, he recalls. Interestingly, the mamu and his entire family also reciprocated the visit last year when Sarfraz got married to Khushbakht) last year. “We very much enjoyed the hospitality in Pakistan”, he added. The mamu also believes that Afridi’s recent comments about love for Indians was unnecessarily made a hype. “Indians are known for the hospitality and why so fuss about it when Afridi praised the people of our country”, he asks.