Tigers face easy challenges ahead to qualify for the Champions Trophy

The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be played from 1 to 19 June in England and Wales, and the host country (England), plus the next seven highest-ranked ODI sides will participate in the event. 

Bangladesh, with 88 points, rose to eighth place lasf month after a 3-0 drubbing of Pakistan, who are a point behind them at ninth. West Indies are at the moment ranked seventh.

As a result, Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies are now locked in a tight struggle for the remaining two slots in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 whose cut-off date is 30 September 2015.

ICC ODI Team Rankings.

The latest Future Tours Program lists the following ODI series for these teams:

West Indies (88 points): No ODIs scheduled
Bangladesh (88 points): Versus India (home, 3 ODIs, June) and versus South Africa (home, 3 ODIs, July)
Pakistan (87 points): Versus Zimbabwe (home, 3 ODIs,May) and versus Sri Lanka (away, 5 ODIs, July).

Bangladesh will make it to the ICC Champions Trophy if they can win at least one match in both the series against India and South Africa. There will be chances for them to qualify even if they don’t win any of their next matches by 30 September. But in that case, they will have to depend on Pakistan’s performance. Pakistan’s a lose against Zimbabwe will be enough for them to secure their entrance in the tournament formerly known as ICC Mini World Cup.

For Pakistan, the equation is a bit more difficult than the Tigers. To secure their place in the event, they must whitewash Zimbabwe and seal the Sri Lanka series by a clinical margin of 4-1. Losing a match against Zimbabwe will eliminate them from the race to grab a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy.

West Indies, who are ranked seventh, currently have no ODIs scheduled between now and September 30, leaving them potentially vulnerable to Pakistan, who have eight matches to come – three at home to Zimbabwe and five in Sri Lanka each at home, and Bangladesh have three against India and South Africa.

To get a chance to play in the tournament – which is second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup – they will have to be praying so that Bangladesh can’t win any of their next 6 matches against the mighty India and South Africa. However, this won’t be enough for them. They will also have to look forward if Pakistan lose at least two of their next 8 matches.

courtesy: tigercricket.com

CSA announces T20, ODI and Test squads for the tour to Bangladesh

Cricket South Africa has announced the T20, ODI and Test squads of the Proteas for its tour to Bangladesh throughout July and August on 27 May 2015.

The 15-man ODI squad is a reflection of the one that attended the World Cup 2015, with only Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander being rested.

The 16-man Test squad has 4 uncapped players, two of whom are top order batsmen and the other two being bowlers. AB de Villiers will be on paternity leave, and will miss the Test Series. It will be the first time since his Test debut that he will miss a Test match.

The T20 squad of 14 has one uncapped name, with the rest having represented the Proteas in T20 internationals previously. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir have been rested for the T20 matches.

South Africa’s tour to Bangladesh will begin with the 2 T20s, followed by 3 ODIs and will finish with the 2 Test matches.

SA T20 squad:

Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, David Wiese, Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Aaron Phangiso, Eddie Leie (uncapped), Wayne Parnell, Beuran Hendricks

SA ODI squad:

AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Rilee Roussouw, JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardein, Chris Morris, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Aaron Phangiso, Wayne Parnell, Ryan McLaren

SA Test squad:

Hashim Amla (c), Dean Elgar, Reeza Hendricks (uncapped), Faf du Plessis, Stiaan van Zyl, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Aaron Phangiso (uncapped), Simon Harmer, Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada (uncapped), Dane Vilas (uncapped)

from tigercricket.com

"We need to make pacer-friendly pitches to bring out new fast bowlers"- BCB President

The President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board Mr. Nazmul Hasan MP stressed on the fact of focussing on bringing out new fast bowling talents to enrich the pipeline for the national team. He spoke to the media at his Gulshan residence on 16 May, almost a week after the concluded Pakistan's tour to Bangladesh. 

The BCB President said, "We have it in our minds about changing the pitches for our domestic tournaments. Most of the domestic teams strengthen their line-ups with spinners. They do not take fast bowlers. We have planned that from now on, there will be atleast two or three seaming wickets where every team will have mandatory fixtures. Even bigger clubs like Abahani and Mohammedan will have to play in these wickets. This will encourage the teams to focus on taking and grooming fast bowlers. Our plans are for all domestic competitions: first division, second division and even the Premier Leagues".

The concern regarding finding and grooming new fast bowlers was an age-old issue, which re-surfaced after the recently concluded Test Series against Pakistan, where Bangladesh had to play with virtually one fast bowler in Shohid after Shahadat Hossain injured himself right at the beginning of the second Test. Rubel Hossain had been ruled out even before the second Test due to injury, and Bangladesh suffered from the lack of fast bowling options to pick from in a wicket which was helping the quicks.

On a different note, Nazmul Hasan mentioned that there is no possibility of changing Mushfiqur as Test captain, at least within this year. He said, "We do not have a suitable replacement for him at the moment. And one must also remember that whatever recent success that Bangladesh tasted in Tests came under his leadership."

"Mushfiqur got injured while keeping, and that must have effected his batting as well in the Test matches. We obviously expect more from him, but we also have to consider the context", said the BCB President.

From tiger cricket.com

Anticipation of a blockbuster series

The countdown had begun long ago, ever since India's tour to Bangladesh had been put in pen and paper on the ICC calender. And then there was the World Cup quarter final match between the Tigers and the men in blue which kept on fueling the hype to the tour. The wait for a blockbuster bilateral between the South Asian neighbors reached a new height after India announced its squad full of superstars to face the roaring Tigers at their den.

Team Bangladesh has already begun preparing for the series, which unfolds on 10th of next month, leaving the fans with 20 more days to wait in anticipation before Mushfiqur and Virat stand toe to toe for the toss of the one-off Test match at Fatullah.

Masrafe will then lead the Tigers against MS Dhoni's men for the 3 match ODI series beginning on 18th of June.

Amid the possibility of rainfall, some fireworks await the much talked about series between the South Asian Giants and the roaring challengers.

Let the countdown begin!

Bangladesh name unchanged squad for second Test

DHAKA, Sunday, 03 May 2015

Media Release

DAN CAKE TEST SERIES: Bangladesh name unchanged squad for second Test

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) today announced an unchanged squad for the second and final Test against Pakistan which gets underway at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on 06 May:

BANGLADESH SQUAD FOR SECOND TEST

1              Tamim Iqbal (Vice Captain)

2              Imrul Kayes

3              Liton Kumar Das

4              Mominul Hoque

5              Shakib Al Hasan                   

6              Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain)

7              Mahmud Ullah

8              Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury

9              Soumya Sarker

10           Taijul Islam

11           Zubaer Hossain

12           Rubel Hossain

13           Shahadat Hossain

14           Mohammad Shahid

3-0: Bangladesh inflict historic whitewash on helpless Pakistan

DHAKA: Opening batsman Soumya Sarkar hit a maiden one-day century as Bangladesh thrashed woeful Pakistan by eight wickets in Dhaka on Wednesday to sweep the one-day series 3-0.

The 22-year-old left-hander smashed an unbeaten 127 as the fired-up hosts surpassed Pakistan's modest 250 all out in the 40th over at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali's 100 made no difference to his team's fortunes after Bangladesh had won the first match by 79 runs and the second by seven wickets.

It was the first series whitewash by the Tigers against an Asian Test-playing nation, and followed their appearance in the quarter-finals of the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said he was delighted at the way the team had shaped up in the past few months and hoped to continue the good work in future.

"This is a good team we have and I am really happy the way we are playing," he said. "Soumya (Sarkar) was brilliant today but our work is not done yet. We will now focus on the remaining matches."

The two teams will play a Twenty20 international on Friday before starting a two-Test series from April 28.

Dramatic collapse

The win was never in doubt after Sarkar, who hit 13 boundaries and six sixes in his 110-ball innings, put on 145 for the first wicket with Tamim Iqbal.

Tamim, who had slammed centuries in the first two matches, missed a third consecutive hundred when he was leg-before to Junaid Khan for 64.

The left-arm seamer also bowled Mohammad Mahmudullah in his next over, but Mushfiqur Rahim (49 not out) ensured victory with an unbroken stand of 97 for the third wicket with Sarkar.

Pakistan were left to rue a dramatic collapse when they lost eight wickets for 47 runs after Azhar's century had lifted them to a comfortable 203 for two in the 39th over.

Shakib Al Hasan, Mortaza, Arafat Sunny and Rubel Hossain claimed two wickets each as Bangladesh clawed their way back after wayward bowling earlier in the innings.

Azhar led from the front to become the first Pakistani captain in five years to score an one-day century following Shahid Afridi's 124 against Bangladesh in 2010.

He heaped praise on Bangladesh for outplaying his young team that included just four players from the World Cup.

"I would like to congratulate Bangladesh because they played very good cricket," he said. "We played well in patches but we could not put it together.

"As everybody knows, our senior players have left the one-day scene. The youngsters have to stand up and we have to pull our heads together.

"Hopefully we do well in the Twenty20 and the Test series."

Having won the toss and elected to bat, Azhar shared an opening stand of 91 with debutant Sami Aslam, who made 45.

Nasir Hossain provided the breakthrough when he had the left-handed Aslam caught by wicket-keeper Rahim.

Senior all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was bowled by Sunny for four to extend his batting misery in a series in which he compiled just eight runs in three matches.

Haris Sohail (52) added 98 with Azhar for the third wicket before the rot set in.

Azhar was bowled by Shakib and Mortaza dismissed Haris to launch Bangladesh's comeback.

from dawn

Upfront Have a Bangla Wash ?

Bangladesh are well set to complete a banglawash of Pakistan when they meet in the third one-day international match at Mirpur on Wednesday.

The Tigers, who recorded their first ODI win after 16 years and also two in a row, do not want to miss the opportunity to seal a 3-0 series victory.

Bangladesh’s top order batsmen built the platform in the first two matches to make comfortable wins in the end – in the first one they posted a huge 329 runs and in the second match, they chased down Pakistan’s 239 runs without any fuss.

Opener Tamim Iqbal, too, is awaiting a landmark to score a third consecutive century in the series.

The home side have been more encouraged by Pakistan’s acknowledgement that their team are in a rebuilding stage at the moment.

Still, both the captains will be desperate in their respective missions – Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is set to improve on two wins while Azhar Ali is expected to play an all-out game to avoid what is called “Bangla-wash” for the first time.