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The fact that Bangladesh batters didn’t score any hundreds and Zimbabwe had four made “a huge difference,” he says

Mohammad Isam11-Aug-2022Bangladesh’s ODI side has to address a number of areas for improvement, according to captain Tamim Iqbal. Their streak of five consecutive series wins was broken by Zimbabwe, who chased down two challenging totals – 291 and 304 – in the first two ODIs, before petering out in a 105-run loss in the third game on Wednesday.Tamim, who has been in charge of the side since January last year, said that a loss against a lower-ranked side would sting a bit more and hoped that this would ram home the message for improvement in the side.”Talking about improvement is often boring, and it usually comes up when we have lost a match or a series,” Tamim said. “If we had lost to Australia or India, say [Virat] Kohli or [Steven] Smith had played such knocks against us, we wouldn’t have really taken it to heart. They are top players. They are top teams. We didn’t have much to do. I am not belittling them. [Sikandar] Raza, [Regis] Chakabva and [Innocent] Kaia played unbelievably well, but it proved that we have a lot to improve in our ODI side.Related

• Mustafizur four-for, fifties from Anamul and Afif give Bangladesh consolation win

“Ireland, whom we are playing at home and away next year, are also capable of doing similar things. But it doesn’t change the fact that we are a serious ODI team. We are a fantastic ODI team. We had a great run but the graph usually comes down. I am not going to blame the batters or the bowlers separately. We didn’t do well as a unit, which includes planning and execution. There are a lot of areas to work on to reach the top.”Tamim said that four centuries from Zimbabwe’s batters and none from Bangladesh put the two teams apart. Zimbabwe were led by Raza’s twin centuries, with Kaia and Chakabva also hitting hundreds in the big chases. Tamim also praised Zimbabwe for winning the series despite playing with a depleted side.”We couldn’t utilise our chances, they utlilised their opportunity,” he said. “They didn’t have the best possible team. Two of their main fast bowlers were injured, and two batters didn’t play. Credit goes to Zimbabwe. Two individuals took the game away in the first two matches. We didn’t have hundreds, they had four. It was a huge difference.”Tamim said that he wasn’t pleased with his own performance too, despite being one of the few batters showing an intention to score a big one quickly. He struck two half-centuries and was run-out for 19 in the third game.”Though I scored some runs, I am not at all happy,” he said. “It is such a good wicket. You just have to tackle the first ten overs. So getting a 60 and a 50-odd wasn’t enough. It was the difference between the two teams. They had four hundred and we had none.”Tamim believes that unless Bangladesh start scoring big like some of the better teams, they will struggle even on good batting pitches like Harare. “It is one of our team goals to score 350, something that we have not done before. The par score will be 300 in the World Cup in India. Apart from Mirpur and some venues in India where you can win games scoring 260-270, most of the venues are 290-310. This is what’s happening now. Soon you will see us try to reach what others are reaching.”Bangladesh won the third ODI thanks mainly to Afif Hossain’s unbeaten 85 off 81 for which he batted with the tail in the death overs. But Tamim warned that the media shouldn’t start labeling him one way or the other, which might affect his rhythm.”Don’t give any names to him yet. It is too early for him,” Tamim said. “He has a unique quality of taking the game away under pressure. He will do the same thing and sometimes get out, and then we will question him.”But I don’t want him to lose this quality, which is to want to dominate with the way he bats. It is a fantastic quality to have. It is still very early days for him, and I am pretty sure he will have a fantastic career, but it is too early to give him names.”

Sides will play five T20Is from January, three Tests in March after West Indies travelled to England last year

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2021England will extend its tours of West Indies in 2022, adding an extra Test and two more T20Is to their schedule.The tour next January will now feature five T20Is – increased from three matches – to be followed by England returning to the Caribbean for three Test matches in March – increased from the original two games.The possibility of extending the tour, expected to be worth nearly US$100m to the region, was reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, with CWI President Ricky Skerritt saying it would be an acknowledgement of West Indies’ agreement to travel to England last year. That trip, consisting of three Tests behind closed doors in Southampton and Manchester, helped the ECB stage a complete international season in the middle of the pandemic and avoid an estimated £380 million budget black hole, but Skerritt said it had not earned the tourists anything financially.

Schedule

• January 28: 1st T20I

• January 30: 2nd T20I

• February 2: 3rd T20I

• February 4: 4th T20I

• February 5: 5th T20I

• March 1-4: warm-up game

• March 8: 1st Test

• March 16: 2nd Test

• March 24: 3rd Test

Each Test match of the West Indies tour is estimated to be worth US$20-$25 million to the hosts and each T20I US$4 million.”This expansion of next year’s England tour to the Caribbean is welcome news for West Indies Cricket and for the region’s tourism economy,” Skerritt said when the tour extension was confirmed on Wednesday. “It has come about because of the special relationship that has been developed between our respective boards.”We have already begun discussions on how the ECB can help us in our development programs and I am pleased that ECB has been showing so much appetite and goodwill to assist.”Ian Watmore, the ECB Chair, said: “We hugely appreciated the support of Cricket West Indies, and all its men’s and women’s players, in helping us host a full season of international cricket in the summer of 2020. Following the conclusion of those tours to England we have been in discussions with CWI to understand how we can best support them moving forward and one way was to extend our existing England men’s tours to the Caribbean in 2022.”The three Tests will form part of the next ICC World Test Championship, while the additional T20Is will make it the biggest series between the sides in the shortest format, providing extra preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia the following October.The Test series will be the first in which England and West Indies compete for the newly commissioned Richards-Botham Trophy, named in honour of West Indies’ batting icon Sir Vivian Richards and England’s great allrounder Lord Ian Botham.The venues for the matches are expected to be announced by the end of April.

Kumar Sangakkara labels Kane Williamson’s side ‘worthy winners’

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2019New Zealand have been awarded the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket award for their “sporting conduct” in the aftermath of the World Cup final at Lord’s.Kane Williamson’s side were beaten to the trophy after a tied super over in the final by virtue of having scored fewer boundaries, and were praised by the judging panel for their “sportsmanship, humility and selflessness in defeat” following Jos Buttler’s run-out of Martin Guptill.The award, created in 2013 by the MCC and the BBC in memory of the broadcasting great, is presented annually to the player or team that has “best epitomised the principles of playing hard but fair”.Kumar Sangakkara, the MCC president, said New Zealand were “worthy winners” of the award.”In the heat of battle they displayed a level of sportsmanship that was fitting for such a fantastic final, and indeed tournament.”It is a testament to their squad that even after a match that will live long in the memory for the cricket that was played, we are still talking about the Spirit of Cricket. Their actions deserve this recognition.”Williamson was presented with the award during the drawn Test in Hamilton this week.

The left-armer underwent back surgery during the season after suffering the fifth stress fracture of an injury-hit career

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2018Hampshire have confirmed that Reece Topley, the left-seamer, has left the club.It was a decision that was expected with him out of contract following three years which have continued to be injury-plagued as he featured in just 21 matches during his time with Hampshire.At the beginning of the 2018 season he signed a white-ball only deal so he could focus his energy on the shorter formats, but underwent surgery during the summer to have a pin inserted in his back having suffered a fifth stress fracture.”Not an easy decision to make to leave a team, however I want to thank those who supported me over the last three years I have been associated with Hampshire,” Topley posted on Twitter. “I’m excited about what’s to come…”Giles White, the Hampshire director of cricket, said: “Mid-way through the 2018 season Reece made it apparent that he wanted to pursue his career elsewhere – we wish him well.”Topley has played 10 ODIs and six T20s and before suffering the recurrence of his back injury enjoyed success for England Lions against India A and West Indies in the 2018 summer, taking eight wickets in four matches.

Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope lived up to West Indies’ promise to fight back after their humiliation at Edgbaston

Alan Gardner at Headingley26-Aug-2017Leeds is only 65 miles from Scarborough – aka “Scarbados” – so it was perhaps appropriate that a sun-kissed Headingley was the scene for a pair of Bajans to revive West Indies’ hopes on this tour. Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope put on 246, West Indies’ second-highest partnership on the ground, to underpin a day of unexpected domination in their attempts to fight back into the series after being thrashed at Edgbaston.Hope’s unbeaten innings of 147 was his maiden Test century, coming two years after his debut against the same opposition in Bridgetown. Brathwaite, meanwhile, made his second hundred against England – the first was a valiant attempt to stave off defeat in Grenada during the 2015 series – and provided the bedrock for the tourists to go past England’s 258 during the evening session; not since Old Trafford 2004 had West Indies secured a first-innings lead in England.”The key word for us was ‘fight’,” Hope said on Sky TV. “We are not coming here to let people run over us.”Brathwaite, the team’s vice-captain, echoed that sentiment. “It was very important for us,” he said. “We know what we can do. We decided we would show fight, work hard and believe in ourselves and that’s what we did. Looking in the mirror after [Edgbaston], we knew we could do better, as a team we said we won’t give up and we’ll come out and work twice as hard.”While Hope and Brathwaite both hunkered down and made the most of their luck during a tricky morning session, neither got stuck. Brathwaite went to both fifty and a hundred with sixes down the ground, while the pull that took Hope to 99 had more than a touch of Gordon Greenidge’s flamboyance to it, one knee proudly pointing upwards. The next delivery was tucked for the single that took him to three figures, a moment he greeted with a full-throated roar of celebration.”Relief. It was good to get the monkey off my back,” Hope said. “I felt the pressure. As a professional you want to perform to your best. I wasn’t thinking about the 100 as much as I would expect [in the 90s]. I just tried to bat as long as possible and stick it out.”Having won his first cap as a 21-year-old, Hope’s introduction to Test cricket was a difficult one. It was not until his 17th innings that he finally passed fifty – although that helped West Indies to a series-levelling victory against Pakistan in Bridgetown earlier this year – but Brathwaite predicted that a player he has grown up alongside would now go on to establish himself.”I think Shai’s a top-quality player and I know he will do extremely well in international cricket,” Brathwaite said. “He already has a lot of one-day runs. This is the start of a lot of big things for him.”We played from Under-13 right up, so I’ve played a lot of cricket with him – we play first-class cricket together as well. I know him well and I’m very happy for him.”Although England fought back to remove Brathwaite, for 134, and Roston Chase with the second new ball, Hope remained at the crease until the close, in the company of the dangerous Jermaine Blackwood. From a perilous position of 35 for 3, and with last week’s twin capitulations with the bat still fresh in the memory, it was a quite remarkable performance. After West Indies’ impressive display with the ball on the first day, Kemar Roach had said he was expecting “big things” from the batsmen. Brathwaite and Hope ensured they did not disappoint.Brathwaite was involved in four reviews in all – twice overturning decisions given against him, twice surviving England’s attempts to winkle him out via DRS. The majority of his scoring inside the first hour was done behind the wicket, as several edges went to ground, but England were forced to reassess their tactics as the early cloud cover moved through and Headingley’s Janus face decided to smile on the batsmen once more.”I know my strengths and weaknesses,” Brathwaite said of his watchful approach. “I know it won’t be easy but once I’m out there, it’s good for my team. I try my best to be out there as long as possible and make sure I put away all the bad balls and it worked quite well for me.”Of West Indies’ turnaround in form from the previous Test, he added: “We stuck to our plans, as a bowling unit we were a lot more disciplined and, as batters, we just had to believe in what we’re working towards. We work hard in the nets and we believed we could do it. It’s not impossible and we showed our fight.” England will certainly know they are in a fight now.

Mark Davis has spoken about Sussex’s frustration in having to wait for Mustafizur Rahman, one of the club’s overseas signings, to arrive

Mohammad Isam20-Jun-2016Mark Davis has spoken about Sussex’s frustration in having to wait for Mustafizur Rahman, one of the club’s overseas signings, to arrive. Mustafizur has been working to regain fitness after the IPL and his stint in England remains uncertain.Davis, Sussex’s head coach, said the club was struggling to find another replacement for Mustafizur, after South Africa allrounder David Wiese departed for the CPL. Wiese was initially signed as cover for two games at the start of June but ended up making four NatWest T20 Blast appearances. Ahead of their game against Gloucestershire on Sunday, Sussex will also be without Chris Jordan who is away on England duty.”We have a couple of people but it is very late in the day so it is very hard to get replacements,” Davis told the Brighton-based . “The top players in the world have been signed, or are playing CPL, or their countries aren’t allowing them to play. That’s the frustration because we have chosen Mustafizur as probably the No. 1 bowler in the world in that format.”On June 9, the Bangladesh physio Bayjidul Islam had said that Mustafizur would take at least two weeks to be ready but last week, trainer Mario Villavarayan said he would require another month to recover from his injuries.Sussex had earlier said they would be happy to wait for Mustafizur, at least until June 10, but that time has now passed. Davis said he had only been able to get advice from Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha but he was confident that Mustafizur would show up for his side.”I spoke to the Bangladesh head coach and he said he would be assessed after two weeks, which is now,” Davis said. “It hasn’t been easy to nail Bangladesh down. Their coach has been the one I have got most direction from. But we are also dealing with physios and trainers who are putting things on the internet. I am sure we will get it nailed down.”

Yorkshire bowled superbly, with control and discipline, as the Division One leaders, Middlesex, were restricted to only one batting point

Jon Culley at Headingley07-Jun-2015
ScorecardJack Brooks finished with 5 for 44 to help cover for the continued absence of Ryan Sidebottom•Getty Images

This was more like it from Yorkshire, who had looked out of sorts as they escaped with a draw in Somerset a couple of weeks ago. They bowled superbly, with control and discipline, as the Division One leaders, Middlesex, were restricted to only one batting point after James Franklin, on winning the toss, had been content to invite Yorkshire to field.Jack Brooks, wicketless in Taunton, advertised the restorative benefits of a 10-day break by taking 5 for 44. Brooks is in his third season at Headingley after his move from Northamptonshire but he still celebrates every wicket as if it is his first, wheeling away to his left, fists pumping, crossing at least half a dozen neighbouring strips before coming to a halt.He came up with some terrific deliveries, dismissing Joe Burns, the Australian opener, with the ninth ball of his opening five-over new ball spell at the Football Stand End before returning for the final half hour of the morning at the Kirkstall Lane End, removing Sam Robson with his fifth ball, one that nipped back and beat the erstwhile England opener’s defence to clip the top of middle and off stumps.Robson was probably a key wicket, given that he was striking the ball nicely and taking his scoring chances well, better certainly than the more cautious Nick Compton, and had he survived until lunch the day might have unfolded differently. As it was, the fillip of his dismissal put a spring in Yorkshire’s step as they emerged for the afternoon session, by the end of which Middlesex were all out for 212.Yet as Middlesex reduced Yorkshire to 52 for 4 in reply, before Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leaning laid the foundations of a recovery, the value of Compton’s three-and-a-half hour 70 was emphasised. The 31-year-old, batting at No. 3, relishes the responsibility of holding his team together in difficult situations and this was a pitch on which there was always likely to be incident.During the morning session, with Brooks at the top of his game and Steve Patterson bowling his consistently testing line from the other end, Compton went 40 minutes without scoring a run, with 25 dot balls between his seventh and eighth scoring shots. “It doesn’t bother me at all to do that,” he said. “As long as I’m still in, I’ve got a chance. You want to be scoring but I’m happy to be patient. If you go searching for it on a wicket like that you’re going to give yourself a bit of trouble.”Where he feels less patient is in relation to his England career, which was so abruptly nipped in the bud on the eve of the last Ashes series and which has yet to resume. “Patience is one of my qualities as a batsman but as a person it is not my greatest asset,” he said.”I’m desperate to get back in the England side again and I feel I have the ability and the credentials to be a thorn in the side of the Australians in this Ashes if I was picked. But I have had to reset my goals a bit, concentrate on contributing for Middlesex and whatever will be, will be.”Yorkshire had to change their plans at the last minute when Ryan Sidebottom, who was to have made his comeback here after suffering a calf injury in the opening fixture, pulled up in the warm-ups, feeling all was not well. It meant Will Rhodes kept his place. Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance came back from Test duty, neatly filling the places vacated by Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett’s secondment to the England one-day squad.Yorkshire’s spin gamble paid off. It had been supposed that James Middlebrook, who took nine wickets in the match when he stood in for Rashid earlier in the season, would take that duty again but Yorkshire chanced that Glenn Maxwell, an allrounder but primarily a batsman, could fill in and how well they were rewarded.Introduced at 108 for 4 after 45 overs, Maxwell’s off-breaks claimed two key wickets in the space of three deliveries when Franklin inside-edged to short leg and John Simpson was trapped leg before, his ball keeping a touch low, at which point the Middlesex innings was collapsing at 119 for 6. Ollie Rayner went after him, hitting five of his next eight deliveries to the fence and surviving a dropped catch at short leg, but Maxwell came back with a ball that somehow squeezed through between his legs and bowled him.Compton ultimately fell to Brooks. Required to be bolder as wickets fell around him he gave Brooks his fourth wicket when he drove at one that found the edge and was taken at third slip by Leaning at the second attempt. Patterson, reliably consistent as ever, picked up his second wicket before James Harris, whose last-wicket show of defiance with Tim Murtagh at least meant Middlesex’s effort was not pointless, hooked to long leg to give Brooks his second five-wicket haul of the season.Murtagh was back in the Middlesex side for Steven Finn, called up by England, and took two wickets as Yorkshire’s day ended with something of a backs-to the-wall effort needed. Ballance, who needs some county runs more than most, struggled again, dismissed by Murtagh for 1 and Lees’ run of low scores continued when he edged the same bowler to second slip.Lyth looked in better shape, but the ball after he had hit one delicious drive past mid-off for four he followed a ball from Toby Roland-Jones that left him late and was caught, also at second slip. Andrew Gale’s dismissal left Yorkshire in difficulties and much will depend on Bairstow and Leaning staying out of trouble in the first hour on the second day.

Reigning Champions League and Big Bash League title holders the Sydney Sixers’ polish could not be questioned as they vanquished their motley local rivals Sydney Thunder by seven wickets at the SCG

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the SCG08-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrad Haddin began with a six for the Sixers•Getty Images

Reigning Champions League and Big Bash League title holders, the Sydney Sixers can rightfully call themselves the world’s most accomplished Twenty20 team. Their polish could not be questioned on this night, as the Sixers vanquished their motley local rivals Sydney Thunder by seven wickets at the SCG.More open to question was the Sixers’ crowd-pulling power, for the match was watched by a Sydney audience of 15,279 after most in the team’s marketing and membership camps had confidently expected a sell-out, or close to it. This was after all their tournament opener, a local derby, and a balmy Saturday evening with no major competing sport in the city.In truth, the attendance was an improvement on the 12,285 who turned out for the BBL’s inaugural match on this ground a year ago. But the amount of money outlaid on the second edition of the competition – a $10 million loss has reportedly been budgeted for by Cricket Australia – has been spent in the confident hope of greater gatherings than this.The Sixers’ successful chase was guided by the captain Brad Haddin and his deputy Steve Smith. Haddin’s 59 began with a six first ball before settling down, while Smith played with the purposeful busyness he has shown for most of the season so far with New South Wales. Nic Maddinson also contributed with a spiky 39 at the top of the order.Ryan Carters was the only Thunder batsman to pass 30, as most of the innings was constricted by Luke Feldman and Mitchell Starc, who claimed 4 for 46 between them. The Thunder will again be heavily reliant on the bludgeoning of Chris Gayle, who will join them in time for game two.David Warner had been the Sixers’ big ticket signing in the off-season after he did not enjoy his first season with the Thunder. But after a poor Perth Test match against South Africa Warner was also out of sorts as the chase began, his diagonal-batted swish at Chris Tremain unwisely reminiscent of the shot he played on the second morning at the WACA ground. Then as now, the result was an edge through to the wicketkeeper.Haddin has been in altogether finer fettle, and he blithely upper cut his first ball for six over point. Together with Maddinson, Haddin set about allaying any uncertainty among the Sixers’ batsmen via a series of punchy strokes. Maddinson’s highest score for New South Wales since returning from the Champions League had been a mere 36, but now he prospered, driving attractively and offering both a neat reverse sweep and a brazen straight hit as Luke Doran’s first over went for 18.Though Tremain returned to strike middle stump as Maddinson walked so far across his crease that he could barely reach the ball, Haddin and Smith kept composed to roll towards the target as the overs ticked by, piercing the field often enough while absorbing Dirk Nannes’ exemplary spell of 4-0-17-0. Haddin was bowled when trying to crash a six with the scores tied, but next ball Moises Henriques blazed down the ground to finish the chase.As he did in the Sixers’ very first BBL match on this ground against the Brisbane Heat a year ago, Haddin won the toss and sent the visitors in. Brett Lee and Starc shared the new ball, the latter not gaining much of his pet inswing to the right-hand batsmen but bending it the other way instead. Usman Khawaja, having been parachuted in on the day after playing two days for the CA Chairman’s XI against the Sri Lankans, was the victim of this movement, ruled lbw for 19 to a swerving yorker that may have missed leg stump.Chris Rogers and Martin Guptill both made starts, but at 61 in the ninth over Rogers tried to nibble Feldman down to third man and succeeded only in edging through to Haddin. Guptill perished to a premeditated mow over the legside, the ball plucking leg stump and causing the newly introduced “disco” bails and stumps to flash in a fashion more familiar to King’s Cross than the SCG.Playing his first BBL match after missing out on a contract last summer, Feldman returned a tidy 2 for 19. His efforts had swung the innings firmly towards the Sixers. Starc returned with another yorker that Cameron Borgas’ outlandish footwork rendered nigh on unplayable, and when Rhett Lockyear swung at Henriques and was also bowled, the Thunder had slipped to 5 for 88.At this point the ground PA system blared Gangnam Style, drawing a more lively response from the crowd than much of the innings, which concluded with a Thunder rearguard. Sean Abbott hoisted Lee into the Ladies Stand, and Carters hustled well between the wickets before slicing Jeevan Mendis’ final ball of the innings for six. Despite their efforts the final tally looked inadequate, and so it would prove.