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Dhaka Metropolis started the season with a win over Barishal while Khulna and Rajshahi played out a draw

Mohammad Isam23-Oct-2024Rangpur Division stormed to a win by an innings and 81 runs against Chattogram Division in the opening round of the National Cricket League in Bogra.Batting first, Rangpur declared on 273 for 9 after the first day’s play was abandoned due to rain. Khalid Hasan and Mim Mosaddeak stuck fifties as Rangpur batted at 4.7 runs per over. Fahad Hossian took four wickets for Chattogram.But Chattogram’s batting crashed twice. They were first bowled out for 103 runs with five bowlers, including legspinner Rishad Hossain, taking two wickets each.It got worse in their second innings, after Rangpur asked them to follow on. Chattogram were bowled out for 89 runs, with all the Rangpur bowlers taking at least a wicket each. Abdullah Al Mamun returned figures of 3 for 10, while Mukidul Islam, Chowdhury Md Rizwan and Rishad took two each. Rizwan was named player-of-the-match.Dhaka Metropolis beat Barishal Division by eight wickets at the Academy ground in Sylhet.Dhaka declared for 408 for 5, with centuries from their captain Marshall Ayub and Aich Mollah. Marshall struck his 25th first-class century, though he became the first batter in Bangladesh’s domestic cricket history to be dismissed obstructing the field. He had stopped a throw from the covers while trying to complete a single.Marshall added 174 runs for the third wicket with Mollah, who struck his maiden first-class century. Mollah made 122 with 15 fours and a six, while Marshall struck identical number of boundaries in his 127 off 199 balls.Barishal were bowled out for 219 runs in reply, with Iftakhar Hossain Ifti hitting 98. Ashraful Islam took five wickets for Dhaka Metro. Barishal made 251 in their second innings after being asked to follow on. Tasamul Haque struck a fifty while Shohidul Islam and Ashraful returned three wickets each.Dhaka Metro reached their 63-run target in 15.4 overs. Ashraful was adjudged player-of-the-match.Al-Amin Hossain took his eighth First Class five-for (file photo)•Associated Press

Defending champions Dhaka Division drew with Sylhet Division in Khulna. Batting first, Sylhet were bowled out for 146 with Anamul Haque and Nazmul Islam taking three wickets each.Mahidul Islam Ankon struck his third first-class century but Dhaka were bowled out for 224 runs. Mahidul slammed five sixes and eight fours in his 118, and was named player of the match. Khaled Ahmed took four wickets.Sylhet finished on 257 for eight with fifties from Pinak Ghosh, Amite Hasan and Asadulla Al Galib in their second innings. Nazmul took four wickets.Rajshahi Division and Khulna Division also started their NCL campaign with a draw in Sylhet. Batting first, Rajshahi posted 426 runs with Tanzid Hasan hitting his fourth first-class century. Tanzid struck 19 fours and four sixes in his 133-ball 141. He added 105 runs for the third wicket with Pritom Kumar, before Farhad Hossain and Shakhir Hossain struck fifties.Al-Amin Hossain took his eighth five-wicket haul before SM Meherob took 6 for 35 in Khulna’s innings. Khulna were bowled out for 194 with fifties from Amit Majumder and Ziaur Rahman.Sabbir Hossain struck 150 off 139 balls in Rajshahi’s second innings, laced with 13 fours and six sixes. The quickfire knock helped Rajshahi allow Khulna to bat almost a day and a half, but could not bowl them out. Openers Majumder and Soumya Sarkar made eighties as Khulna made 311 for 7 in 123 overs. Sunzamul Islam took three wickets.

Setback for the defending champions as they slump to their second straight loss

Firdose Moonda08-Mar-2022After their takedown of hosts New Zealand on the opening night, West Indies beat England for the first time at a Women’s World Cup to throw the qualification race wide open. A second straight win, this one almost as late in the script as the previous one, took them to the top of the standings, even as the defending champions suffered their second straight loss.Stafanie Taylor’s side defended 225 on a slow pitch in a see-saw match. For a while, it seemed to have settled with England as their ninth-wicket pair of Sophie Ecclestone and Kate Cross added 61 to take them within nine runs of victory. Then some magic, along with a bit of luck, for Anisa Mohammed turned the game again as West Indies pulled off a sensational win.Tasked with bowling the 48th over, Mohammed was at the receiving end of a ferocious Ecclestone hit. But she stuck out a hand and deflected the ball on to the stumps to run Cross out at the non-striker’s end. Three balls later, Mohammed bowled Anya Shrubsole, who yorked herself as she charged down the track and missed a full ball, to seal the deal.It was heartbreaking for England after Ecclestone and Cross had brought them back from 156 for 8, through a mix of street-smart cricket and calculated aggression.The game was set up, however, by West Indies openers Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin, who added 81. Then they lost four wickets for 17 runs to concede the advantage. And then came the bailout courtesy a 123-run fifth-wicket stand between Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation, which took them to 225, which at the halfway point seemed a decent total on a slow pitch.Anisa Mohammed leads the West Indies victory sprint after her sensational last over•Getty Images

It looked even bigger than it was when England were reduced to 94 for 5, before Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley put on 60 for the sixth wicket to keep England in the hunt. But they fell away again by losing three wickets in six balls before Ecclestone and Cross took them close, only to fall short again.Both teams will be disappointed with their efforts on the field. England dropped four chances, and West Indies three. England sent down 23 wides, West Indies 15. Yet, the clincher that started England’s troubles was Dottin’s leaping one-handed stunner at backward point that broke England’s steady opening stand. She was fully airborne as she leapt to her left and put out her non-dominant hand to dismiss Lauren Winfield-Hill. It came on the back of two dropped catches.Three overs later, Heather Knight was out caught behind as she advanced down the pitch to a Matthews delivery that drifted away and held its line. The decision was initially referred for a stumping, but UltraEdge confirmed a thin spike and Knight was given out. Matthews had a second when Nat Sciver top-edged a slog sweep to mid-on. England had slipped to 58 for 3 at that stage.When Amy Jones offered a return catch that was shelled by Aaliyah Alleyne, England had a brief reprieve, but Alleyne had the last laugh when she had Jones driving to Matthews at slip. Tammy Beaumont looked good, but fell to Mohammed when she played all around a full ball. A wobble had turned into a full-blown collapse.Dunkley and Wyatt repaired the innings by ticking the runs sensibly. The pair put on 60 and appeared to have eased the nerves in the England camp when Dunkley mistimed a swat straight to Taylor at short midwicket in the 34th over. Two balls later, Wyatt sliced a lofted hit to mid-off. When Katherine Brunt slapped Shamilia Connell to point, it looked like the writing was on the wall at 156 for 8.Sophie Ecclestone was impressive, and her three-wicket burst gave England a good chance•Getty Images

Earlier, Dottin and Matthews started briskly, scoring at close to six runs an over. It changed after the 11th over. Cross could have had Matthews but for a return catch that went down. She did, however, apply the squeeze with Sciver before Ecclestone forced a slowdown through eight boundary-less overs that led to a collapse.Matthews was the first to go on 45 when she top-edged a heave to short third to break an 81-run opening stand in the 21st over. Three balls later, Dottin was run-out after a mix-up with Kycia Knight, as Wyatt swooped in to under-arm a direct hit at the striker’s end. One ball later, Taylor met a slow Ecclestone delivery with an open-faced bat to defend but got the outside edge and was caught behind for a first-ball duck.West Indies could have lost a fourth shortly after but Campbelle’s lbw decision was overturned by DRS when the impact – she had attempted a sweep off Knight – was found to be outside off. But England only had to wait until the next delivery to get a wicket as Knight drilled Ecclestone straight to short cover.West Indies were 98 for 4 after 27 overs. Only 37 runs came in the next ten overs, with just one boundary, as England continued to apply pressure, but Campbelle and Nation absorbed it. They saw off Ecclestone, who bounced back from none for 77 against Australia to finish with 3 for 20 today, and brought up their 50-run stand in the 40th over.As the innings approached its end, the pair became more aggression. Nation broke a 13-over drought when she drove Sciver square of the wicket for a boundary in the 45th. Then Campbelle swivel-pulled Sciver behind square and flicked her to midwicket to raise a 70-ball half-century. Soon, they also raised the century stand. This proved to be the difference in the end as it gave West Indies a total they managed to defend after a struggle.

“The team culture has improved in the last two years under the senior players. We have to continue on that.”

Mohammad Isam24-Jul-2022Bangladesh’s new T20I captain Nurul Hasan wants his side to play “fearless cricket” in Zimbabwe in the three-match series next week. In his first press conference as captain, Nurul offered a glimpse into his thinking as he fended off tough questions about a struggling team and his own performance in the format.BCB named Nurul captain for only their next three T20I games, replacing Mahmudullah who had been in charge since 2019. But it is a major concern that Bangladesh have won only one of their last 13 T20Is, and have stagnated in the format. It is widely believed that Nurul is a stopgap option before Shakib Al Hasan, who has been rested from the Zimbabwe tour, takes over for the Asia Cup next month.Related

• Fractured finger puts Bangladesh captain Nurul Hasan out of remainder of Zimbabwe tour

• Nurul might only be a stop-gap arrangement

• Nurul replaces Mahmudullah as T20I captain

But Nurul is to be taken seriously. He is known for his shy demeanor off the field and his aggression on it. For a cricketer who only returned to the T20I setup in Bangladesh’s most recent series, it is a big ask to lead a side that has so much expectation riding on it. He said that the characteristic of not being too excitable will be handy for him as captain.”It is important to play fearless cricket,” Nurul said. “It creates more opportunity. We want to stick to our process too but we can’t plan too far ahead. Captaincy is definitely a matter of pride but I am thinking more about the challenge ahead. At every level I have led teams, I tried to [get the players to] play as a team. I want to continue that team-first culture.”I have very little expectation and excitement in my life. I don’t worry too much about results or the past. These things don’t really matter to me. I have been successfully doing this for a long time.”Nurul said he would take the best bits of what he has learned from the previous leaders, but believes that captains differ vastly. “I have learned a lot playing under [Mahmudullah] Riyad ,” he said. “I have learned from all our captains, all of whom are quite different. I want to work by taking something from each of those experiences.”The team culture has improved in the last two years under the senior players. We have to continue on that. You can’t mention the contribution of our senior cricketers in one or two words. They have brought Bangladesh cricket to a level, so now our job is to take it forward.”Nurul’s T20I record with the bat is modest – 271 runs at an average of 12.90 and a strike rate of 111.98, with a top score of 30 not out from 29 innings – but he felt those numbers didn’t reflect the extent of his contributions.”The type of batting I do, it creates more impact than what my score often suggests.” he said. “I might score 15-20 runs but it has a direct consequence for the team. I will try to continue in that vein.”Meanwhile, the man widely tipped to take over from Nurul after the Zimbabwe tour endorsed the new captain. “I think he is a worthy captain,” Shakib said. “BCB also feels he can contribute to Bangladesh’s future, which is why they made him the captain. I wish him well. I hope he can overcome the challenge in Zimbabwe.”

Increase in WBBL salary cap, 25% hike for centrally contracted players could see multiple Australian women break the million-dollar bracket

Andrew McGlashan03-Apr-2023Cricket Australia (CA) has poured money into the BBL and the WBBL under the new five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed on Monday to try and ensure both leagues remain competitive in the changing global landscape.In a deal where the women’s game was the huge financial winner, the WBBL salary cap has been doubled to AU$732,000 per team amid the increased competition from the Hundred and most significantly the WPL.It comes as part of an MoU that could see multiple female Australian stars break the million-dollar bracket over the coming years alongside overseas earnings, with the top centrally-contracted player now able to earn AU$800,000 when a national deal and WBBL are combined. Domestically, the average earnings for a player with a WBBL and WNCL contract – which is around 75% of cricketers – will be A$151,000.Related

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• Early start, early finish for the BBL might see overseas players stay longer

• Australia's fast-bowling back-up earn central contracts, Marcus Harris also gets deal

“I think we’ll have a few of them [earning a million] in the next few years,” Todd Greenberg, the Australia Cricketers’ Association CEO, said. “Some of our girls who are playing in India earn significant amounts of money in the WPL, and on top of this deal now, they will become million-dollar athletes. And so they should because they’re the best in the world at what they do.”Unashamedly we stand here and want them to be remunerated at the levels that we are talking about. That is a wonderful thing, not only for those athletes but for every girl who wants to make a choice of what sport they want to play. Cricket is that choice and it’s where you can achieve those things.”

How Australian women’s cricket is winning

• Top women’s CA contract holder with a WBBL deal now able to earn AU$800,000

• Next six contracts potential to earn on average AU$500,000

• Minimum and average CA women’s contract increases 25%

• Number of contracts rises from 15 to 18

• Average domestic earnings for a player with WNCL and WBBL contract now AU$151,019

• WBBL salary cap doubles to AU$732,000

• Top WBBL player can earn AU$133,000; average retainer doubles to $54,200

• Two additional state (and ACT) contracts per team

BBL boost to ward off new leagues

In the BBL, the salary cap has risen from AU$2 million to AU$3million with the top bracket of players now earning A$420,000 for a season in the competition. That money will also come across a shorter tournament after it was trimmed to a 10-game season under the new broadcast deal which begins in 2024, although it has yet to be confirmed if a reduced competition will start with the 2023-24 edition.It is hoped that the new schedule will entice big-name overseas players to sign tournament-long deals, rather than start the BBL and then fly to either South Africa or the UAE as happened last season, while also ensuring more local players do not look to take the route of Chris Lynn who negotiated to split his time between the BBL and ILT20. The average BBL retainer will be worth AU$167,000.The average BBL retainer will be worth AU$167,000•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“We’re prioritising to make sure playing in the Big Bash is the destination for them,” CA CEO Nick Hockley said. “We are excited about the fact that the BBL going forward will be that tighter 43-game format. Overall, the players on a played-match basis are more than doubling. With those levels, we think it makes it a really competitive proposition for domestic and overseas players.”

Increased central contracts

CA will also increase the women’s national contract list from 15 to 18, with a 25 percent pay increase for those players.”Cricket now clearly offers the best earning opportunities of any team sport for elite female sportspeople,” Hockley said. “I am particularly pleased that this MOU represents another major step forward in the rise of women’s cricket with significant increases in remuneration for the inspirational role models of the world champion Australian women’s team and the WBBL, who are driving substantial growth in female participation.”Centrally-contracted Australian male players will have their pay increase by 7.5 percent to an average of AU$ 951,000 before match payments, while the squad will increase to 24 players. That average figure will cross AU$ 1 million during the lifetime of the MoU.

Coach Andrew McDonald also stands by the decision: “Ashton was suited to these conditions and we needed to make room”

Matt Roller23-Jun-20243:23

Moody: These were ideal conditions to trouble Australia

Australia’s captain and coach defended the “tough decision” to leave Mitchell Starc out for their defeat to Afghanistan, which has left them reliant on other results ahead of their final Super Eight fixture against India in St Lucia on Monday.On a slow, turning pitch in St Vincent, Australia opted to play only two frontline seamers – Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – and brought Ashton Agar into the side in Starc’s place, as a second specialist spinner alongside Adam Zampa. Agar bowled tidily, taking 0 for 17 in his four overs, but Afghanistan’s 118-run opening stand brought Starc’s absence as a new-ball strike bowler into focus.”It’s always a tough decision to leave Mitch Starc out of a team,” Andrew McDonald, Australia’s coach said. “But from the way that the game unfolded, Ashton was suited to these conditions and we needed to make room. We knew we were going to need more than eight overs of spin on that surface and it’s probably something we’ve been planning and preparing for once we knew we were at this venue.Related

• Naib orchestrates Afghanistan's historic win over Australia

• Marsh confident Australia will be 'up and about' for India challenge after Afghanistan loss

“It’s always a difficult decision. You never know whether you’re right or wrong, but I thought Ashton bowled incredibly well today, used his skill, some good arm-balls, found some purchase early and he made it tricky to navigate through those first few overs. We got two [overs] out [of him] in the powerplay which then set up the bowling for that end with him and Zamps operating. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take those early wickets.”Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s captain, said Starc had been “unlucky” to miss out but added: “We’ve said right from the start of the tournament that we’ve got 15 guys here, and we’ll pick a team that we think can win us the game in those certain conditions, and everything pointed towards Ash… The reality is, when you’ve got this much talent, someone’s always unlucky to miss out.”Despite Agar’s two tight powerplay overs, Afghanistan made a steady start to their innings, scoring 40 for 0 in the first six. It stood in contrast to Australia’s own start, losing Travis Head, David Warner and Marsh himself to be 33 for 3 after six. But Marsh insisted: “I don’t think the game was won or lost in the powerplay tonight.”Ashton Agar bowled tight but couldn’t get early wickets•ICC/Getty Images

McDonald said that there was no point trying to work out what might have happened if Starc had been selected against Afghanistan, and said that conditions in St Vincent had been as Australia expected. They had long earmarked the game as a potential scare given the strength of Afghanistan’s spin attack and the nature of the pitch at the Arnos Vale Ground.”When you’re hopping around the islands, the conditions change dramatically, and we got what we expected,” McDonald said. “I was comfortable with that decision and now we’ve got to turn our focus to India: a totally different line-up on a totally different surface, and we’ve got to make good decisions at the selection table.”That’s part of the art of navigating through a World Cup, to get those decisions right – and you can’t play the same game twice. You can’t put Mitchell Starc in there, or Nathan Ellis, and work out what the game would have looked like. We went to Ash and backed him in, and we’ve got full trust in whoever we call on in that 15 to get a job done and we’ve got a task ahead.”

Kane Williamson, meanwhile, felt New Zealand’s bowlers could have been more disciplined against Pakistan’s openers

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2022Coming into their semi-final against New Zealand at the SCG, Pakistan had one of the worst powerplay records of any batting team at this World Cup, with a scoring rate of just 5.93 in that phase – only Zimbabwe and Netherlands had done worse. Their openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were under pressure both individually and as a combination, with numerous experts including ESPNcricinfo’s Robin Uthappa suggesting that one of them move down the order, with Mohammad Haris promoted to open.On the big day, however, Babar and Rizwan delivered, scoring brisk fifties and putting on 105 off 76 balls to put Pakistan on top in a chase of 153. They scored 55 of their runs in the first six overs – it was Pakistan’s best powerplay of the tournament, bettering their 42 for 3 against South Africa by a fair distance.Related

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• Near-perfect Pakistan make light work of New Zealand to storm into final

Rizwan was the early aggressor, hitting five fours in the first five overs to race to 26 off 13 balls. While receiving the Player-of-the-Match award for his 43-ball 57, Rizwan said it had been a deliberate ploy from Pakistan to go hard in the powerplay, with the awareness that batting would get harder against the older ball on this used pitch at the SCG.”When we crossed the boundary line, me and Babar decided that we can attack the new ball, because we knew that the pitch was tricky, a little bit difficult, and 150 [153] was a good target on this pitch,” Rizwan said. “We decided we’re going to do hard work and attack these guys, and when we finish the powerplay, one of the guys will go deep, because obviously pitch was tricky, and , Allah helped us and we succeeded.”Kane Williamson felt New Zealand’s bowlers could have been more disciplined with their lines to Babar and Rizwan•AFP/Getty Images

There was clear aggressive intent in a number of Rizwan’s early boundaries, most notably when he swung across the line to belt good-length balls from Tim Southee into the leg side. But some of Pakistan’s early running was also helped by loose bowling from New Zealand’s quicks. Trent Boult, in particular, had an off day – he found Babar’s edge early, only for wicketkeeper Devon Conway to put down a diving chance, but he also offered the batters width on several occasions.New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted that his bowlers could have made it harder for Pakistan’s openers.”Fielding was okay,” he said, when asked about New Zealand’s uncharacteristic lapses on the field. “Yeah, look, Babar and Rizwan, at the top of the order, put us under pressure and played really nicely. If we’re honest with ourselves, we wanted to be a little bit more disciplined with our areas, and make that a little bit more difficult to get away on, if we were able to just keep it nice and straight.”Having said that, there’s always different parts of the game you want to touch on to do a little bit better, but at the end of the day Pakistan certainly deserved to be the winners.”Like Rizwan, Williamson also felt New Zealand had posted a fairly challenging total given the conditions.”I thought we were put under pressure early,” he said. “Pakistan bowled really nicely, and we managed to sort of wrestle back some momentum. Unbelievable knock from Daryl Mitchell [53 off 35 balls], and at the halfway stage we were all feeling like that’s a competitive total.”We knew the wicket was a little bit tough, a used surface, and yeah, very disappointing to not make Pakistan work a lot harder for that. They were outstanding, we were outplayed today. Credit goes to their quality – they certainly deserved their win. A tough pill for us to swallow, we certainly pride ourselves in a number of areas, strengths of ours, and didn’t quite do that today.”