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Super Kings CEO informs IPL that the entire contingent has gone into a week-long quarantine

Nagraj Gollapudi04-May-2021Wednesday’s IPL game between the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals has been rescheduled after the Super Kings informed the organisers that the squad had gone into a week-long quarantine from Monday.K Viswanathan, the Super Kings’ chief executive officer, told ESPNcricinfo that the franchise had written to the IPL informing them that the entire Super Kings contingent was isolating after it emerged that two people, including bowling coach L Balaji, had tested positive for Covid-19 after Monday’s round of tests.Related

• Balaji among three in CSK camp to test positive on Sunday

• Capitals players isolate, Mumbai and Sunrisers skip practice

• KKR CEO: 'Sandeep fine; Varun a little under the weather'

• BCCI considers moving the IPL to Mumbai

It is the second match to be rescheduled after Monday’s game between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders was also postponed after the Knight Riders’ spinner Varun Chakravarthy and seam bowler Sandeep Warrier tested positive for Covid-19.Incidentally, Viswanathan was originally part of the three people to test positive in the tests conducted on May 2, Sunday, which was a day after the Super Kings lost a last-ball thriller to defending champions Mumbai Indians in Delhi. Then, Monday’s round of follow-up testing cleared Viswanathan, but Balaji and the cleaner of the team’s bus tested positive for the second time in two days.”The IPL SOPs say if any member of the team is infected, the rest of the group needs to isolate for seven days. So we have informed the IPL on Monday,” Viswanathan said.Viswanathan confirmed that the rest of the Super Kings’ contingent had also been tested on Monday and everyone barring Balaji and the bus cleaner had cleared the tests. The Super Kings are scheduled to face the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi on May 7 before moving to Bengaluru for three games, including a match against the Punjab Kings on May 9.

Runners-up to get USD 800,000; the teams will split the prize money in case there isn’t a result

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2021The winners of the India vs New Zealand World Test Championship (WTC) final will take home USD 1.6 million, as well as the Test Championship Mace, while the losing team will get USD 800,000, the ICC has announced. In case there is a stalemate, or weather prevents a winner from being identified despite the reserve day, the two teams will split the total prize money of USD 2.4 million.It will be the first time the sport will have official world champions in the format. “It (the WTC) has come to symbolise the best team in Test cricket, and with the Test championship now being used as the vehicle to identify the best team in Test cricket, the mace is on offer,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC chief executive, said in an interaction with members of the media.Related

• ICC CEO: 'We need to provide a WTC pathway to all 12 Test teams'

• WTC final: Bowlers promise anticipation of the familiar as well as thrill of the unknown

• New Zealand pick Ajaz Patel ahead of Mitchell Santner in final 15 for WTC final

• Boult hopes to 'create a bit of history' in WTC final

• 'Best-of-three series will be ideal' to decide WTC – Shastri

In a statement, the ICC explained that the Test mace, which was earlier awarded every year to the teams topping the Test team rankings, will be given to the WTC winners from now on. In case of a draw or a tie, India and New Zealand will share possession of the mace during the time they remain champions.

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Australia, who finished third on the points table, England, who were fourth, and Pakistan, the fifth-placed side, will receive USD 450,000, USD 350,000 and USD 200,000 respectively, while the remaining teams that were a part of the competition – West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – will get USD 100,000 each.The final between India and New Zealand will be played in Southampton, and will be played from June 18 to 22, with June 23 slotted as a reserve day, to be used only if any time lost during regulation play on each day is not made up on the same day. It will comprise a maximum of 330 minutes or 83 overs plus the actual last hour.

“We will do a transparent review of the whole season, starting from the England series”

Umar Farooq11-Jan-2021The PCB’s cricket committee will meet on Tuesday to review Pakistan’s 2020-21 season, including the team’s performance in the recent series against New Zealand. Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling Waqar Younis will both be debriefed on a tour where Pakistan lost the Tests 2-0 and T20Is 2-1.One of the key agendas in Tuesday’s meeting would be to assess the performances of Misbah and Younis, who have both been under scrutiny for the team’s poor results lately. Batting coach Younis Khan, however, has been exempted. While the PCB had indicated after the New Zealand tour that there may be a shake-up in the coaching staff, the board’s chief executive Wasim Khan only confirmed a “transparent review” was in order.Related

• Lovely spells for no reward – the pattern with Mohammad Abbas

• Dropped catches 'really affected our chances in NZ' – Misbah-ul-Haq

“Committees will recommend whatever it is, good or bad, and after that Ehsan Mani will assess and take a final decision,” Wasim said. “At the moment, we can’t speculate and there should be a transparent evaluation of the performance. We will do the review of the whole season, starting from England series. There will be debate and there will be questions, but it doesn’t mean there will be definitely some changes.”Speculations are always there whenever we lose and new names (to replace the present) come up. It is disrespectful to Waqar and Misbah and nothing has changed as yet but their performances will be reviewed.”The committee had been formed in October 2018 to assist PCB chairman Ehsan Mani, but the responsibilities of the panel were limited to just recommendations. Saleem Yousaf, the new head of the committee, is the fourth incumbent in 26 months.The role of the committee broadly encompasses cricketing affairs, both domestically as well as internationally, but they aren’t allowed to interfere in day-to-day selection matters. While the committee has not been given any decision-making powers, they have been handed a wide remit. The committee meets three times a year; the upcoming meeting is the first of 2021.Ever since Misbah took charge of the team, the PCB has taken several bold decisions, such as removing Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain and dropping him from all three formats. Soon after, Azhar Ali was made the Test captain while Babar Azam was chosen to lead the team in the limited-overs formats. However, after the England series last year, Ali was also stripped off the captaincy, with the role handed to Azam.After another review last October, Misbah stepped down as Pakistan’s chief selector, but agreed to continue as head coach till 2022.When asked why the PCB hands three-year contracts to their coaches if the management is reviewed after every series, Wasim said, “There should be some continuity and security in contracts. We do give contracts in good faith and this cricket committee meeting will not necessarily recommend a change. This is purely a review and assessment of the cricket we have played so far.”The meeting will be chaired by Yousaf, while other members Umar Gul, Urooj Mumtaz and Wasim Akram will join via video. The PCB said the committee’s recommendations would be announced in due course.

Abu Jayed and Taijul Islam picked up two wickets each for Bangladesh

Sreshth Shah11-Feb-2021Stumps The first day of the second Test in Dhaka would make neither side too happy. But neither would it make them too sad.West Indies had the opportunity to dominate after lunch, having made 84 for 1 in the morning session. Their early advantage dissipated when Bangladesh’s seam bowlers struck thrice in a post-lunch session that saw only 62 runs scored. But after tea, West Indies’ middle order displayed enough grit to absorb everything Bangladesh threw at them, restoring parity to the contest after 90 overs. At stumps, the visitors finished day one on 223 for 5, the least number of runs scored on the first day of any Test at the venue.There were three stars on the day. Nkrumah Bonner, unbeaten on 74, was West Indies’ rescuer-in-chief. Swing bowler Abu Jayed (2 for 46) – who replaced Mustafizur Rahman in the XI – was the stand-out quick. And left-arm orthodox spinner Taijul Islam (2 for 64) earned his rewards by exerting control and ensuring pressure was never released from one end.After West Indies opted to bat, openers Kraigg Brathwaite (47) and John Campbell (36) put on 66 for the first wicket, with the latter doing the bulk of the scoring in the partnership. With Brathwaite holding up one end, Campbell was more attacking, hitting five fours and a six before his dismissal in the 21st over.Related

• Sarkar replaces injured Shakib for second Test

• Simmons: 'Have to make sure we don't go backwards again'

• Brathwaite hopes WI don't get 'carried away' after Chattogram

The dismissal, on its part, was a contentious one. Taijul, introduced as second change and in his first spell, got a full ball to angle in from around the stumps and hit Campbell’s front leg. Umpire Sharfuddoula then raised his finger but Campbell reviewed. TV umpire Gazi Sohel checked if the ball grazed the bottom edge of the bat during Campbell’s sweep but felt there was no bat involved despite the tiniest of spikes on UltraEdge. The spike, however, could also have been generated by other sounds picked up by the stump mic and he upheld the on-field decision. A few balls later, a seemingly dissatisfied West Indies coach Phil Simmons could be seen talking to the reserve umpire Masudur Rahman near the boundary line, perhaps wanting to know more about how the TV umpire reached his decision.That was the only moment of joy for Bangladesh in the first session where they otherwise struggled with the ball. Jayed, the lone frontline seamer, was wayward in his first spell. Although he got the ball to swing away from the right-hand batsmen, his inconsistent lines early on allowed Brathwaite and Campbell to begin positively.Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who shared the new ball, occasionally missed his lengths and was regularly put away behind square on either side too. Like Miraz, first-change Nayeem Hasan found turn but didn’t challenge either batsman’s edge. Full balls were defended by Brathwaite, but when the same was offered to Campbell, he attacked the ‘V’ down the ground.But Jayed redeemed himself in the second session when he went back to his most potent delivery – the full ball. His stock ball in the early 130kphs was not troubling West Indies in the morning, but in the afternoon, he looked to pitch the ball, now significantly older, up to the batsmen. That troubled No. 3 Shayne Moseley for enough time, such that when Jayed offered a full and wide ball from around the stumps in the 34th over, he was tempted to drive. But the loose, off-balanced shot from Moseley ended in an inside edge onto leg stump, out for 7.That brought in Mayers, the double-centurion from the first Test. He looked comfortable against spin, but Jayed’s persistence with the around-the-stumps angle earned him a second wicket. It was another full and wide ball, with a hint of swing, that brought out the drive from Mayers and resulted in an edge to Sarkar at wide first slip for 5.Sandwiched between the two Jayed wickets was Kraigg Brathwaite’s dismissal, who was out three short of a 21st Test fifty. Part-timer Soumya Sarkar – who replaced the injured Shadman Islam in the line-up – was rewarded when Brathwaite tried to cut a ball that was too close to his body, only to edge it to Najmul Hassan Shanto at first slip. Those three wickets meant West Indies slipped from 84 for 1 to 142 for 4.But West Indies fought back thereafter, courtesy a 62-run fifth-wicket stand between Bonner and Jermaine Blackwood (28). They ensured West Indies did not lose a fourth wicket in the post-lunch session by adding 30 before the break, and after tea nudged the spinners around to keep the run rate ticking. The longer they batted, the more comfortable they looked. But Blackwood then played Taijul with hard hands in the 72nd over, and the full ball popped off the bat in the air for the spinner to hold on to a return catch. It was a dismissal that came against the run of play, reducing West Indies to 178 for 5.That brought Bonner’s contribution to the fore even more. Early on, he played the spin bowlers with ease and was not in a hurry to look for boundaries. He patiently dead-batted balls that were not in his scoring zone, and when the bowlers erred, he put them away. That template, of selecting his shots on the merit of each delivery, took him to his second successive fifty.But there were still 18 overs to go when Blackwood was dismissed though, and in Da Silva, Bonner found a partner who had the temperament to see off the day without any more casualties. Together they looked to find the gaps, picking up singles and twos with minimal risk. Bonner was also incorrectly deemed lbw late in the 79th over, but he swiftly reviewed to have the decision overturned.Bonner and Da Silva seemed unperturbed against the second new ball too. Jayed’s late, short spell brought no wickets. That made Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque go back to spin from both ends. With extra bounce and significant turn from the rough, the batsmen reined in their attacking shots to see off the day with five wickets still in the bank. It was an attritional day of Test cricket, a classic of sorts. Both teams had to work hard for their rewards and will believe that whichever team dominates the first session of day two could get a stranglehold on this contest.

The Victoria government has imposed a strict five-day lockdown due to a Covid outbreak starting on Friday night

Alex Malcolm and Daniel Brettig12-Feb-2021Victoria and New South Wales are planning to push ahead with Monday’s Marsh Cup opener at North Sydney Oval despite difficulties in getting the Victoria side to Sydney following their state government’s decision to impose a strict five-day Covid lockdown starting at midnight on Friday.The Victorian government announced on Friday afternoon that the state would head into its third strict lockdown in 10 months following an outbreak of the new variant of Covid-19 from a quarantine hotel near Melbourne Airport.In response, the NSW government announced that any travellers arriving from Melbourne into NSW would be forced to undergo a five-day stay-at-home order in line with the Victoria lockdown.Related

• Pucovski might require shoulder surgery, could miss rest of domestic season

• Pat Cummins named NSW captain for the rescheduled Marsh Cup

• Restructured Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup to forge ahead

The decision by the Victorian state government forced a flurry of meetings at Cricket Australia and amongst the state cricket associations as the men’s 50-over Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield were due to recommence next week while the women’s 50-over competition, the WNCL, was already in progress with Victoria and New South Wales playing the second of back-to-back matches at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Friday.The NSW women were able to secure a flight out of Melbourne on Friday night prior to the lockdown being imposed at midnight. But Victoria’s men’s team was unable to get on an early flight to Sydney ahead of Monday’s Marsh Cup match.On Friday evening, Cricket Victoria was still working with Cricket New South Wales and the Victoria and NSW state governments on the team’s travel plan to Sydney with the aim for the match to still go ahead. The team first needs government clearance to fly to Sydney and also needs to secure enough seats on a plane as the number of flights available between the two states changed due to the Victorian government’s lockdown. There is an expectation that the Victorian team will get clearance and be able to fly to Sydney on Sunday.The game is due to be Pat Cummins’ captaincy debut for NSW after he was named as the Blues’ Marsh Cup captain for the remainder of the season.Victoria and Australia batsman Will Pucovski is set to miss the Marsh Cup and Shield match that follows as he continues to struggle with his shoulder injury.Earlier this week, Cricket Australia announced a restructured Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup fixture for the remainder of the season despite some state border concerns already existing prior to the Melbourne outbreak.Only Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Queensland were fixtured to play on resumption next week because the majority of Western Australia’s playing squad and coaching staff are stuck in mandatory 14-day home quarantine in Perth. The WA government has imposed a 14-day quarantine on travellers from states that have not been Covid-free for 28 days, meaning that the players and coaches involved with the Perth Scorchers in the BBL final in Sydney had to quarantine on return home.The WA team is due to travel to NSW for a Marsh Cup match on March 14 although the WA government’s quarantine requirements for travellers from NSW will be dropped between now and then should NSW remain Covid-free.Victoria’s women are due to head to WA for a WNCL match on March 18 while the men are due to travel to WA for a Shield match on March 23. The WA government has reinstated a hard border with Victoria meaning no travellers can enter without police clearance, and any exempt travellers with clearance would be required to do 14-days hotel quarantine.Victoria coach Chris Rogers spoke early on Friday morning prior to the announcement of Victoria’s five-day lockdown and expressed concern about whether the season could be completed in full.”We’re worried about the fact that we might not get games in,” Rogers said. “There’s probably an expectation or at least some wriggle room around the fact that we might have some games cancelled.”It’s probably up to me and the coaches to prepare players to play and what will be will be. We just have to roll with the punches as a lot of sports have done and take what comes.”You’d love for every game to go ahead but one of our last games is against Western Australia in Perth so that’s going to be touch and go. We’ll have to see how that plays out.”

Shakib, Mushfiqur, Tamim among 113 players who will be part of the draft

Mohammad Isam08-Nov-2020The players’ draft for the Bangabandhu T20 Cup, a five-team domestic competition, will be held in Dhaka on November 12, while the tournament scheduled be begin in the third week of November. The competition will feature no overseas players.Fortune Barishal, Beximco Dhaka, Minister Group Rajshahi, Gemcon Khulna and Gazi Group Chattogram are the five teams competing, with each of these companies buying teams from the BCB for a reported BDT Two crore (US $235,000 approx) each.Among them, Beximco and Gemcon owned the now-erstwhile BPL franchises Dhaka Dynamites and Khulna Titans respectively, while Gazi Group has teams in the Dhaka league system.The BCB will use the money earned as franchise fee to pay the players. The BCB have set four grades of payments. Those in Grade A (Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Mustafizur Rahman) will get BDT 15 lakh (US $18,000 approx) each. In Grade B, twenty cricketers are marked for BDT 10 (US $11,800 approx). Twenty five players in Grade C will earn BDT 6 lakh (US $7,100 approx) while those in Grade D, comprising players from the High Performance setup will earn BDT 4 lakh (US $4,800 approx).Around 113 players, including Shakib, who haven’t been a part of BCB’s camps in recent months, will take part in a fitness test on November 9 and 10 to determine whether they make it to the draft. Mashrafe Mortaza will miss the tournament due to a hamstring injury, according to Akram Khan, BCB’s chairman of cricket operations.Each squad will comprise 15 players, two coaches, one trainer, one physio and a manager, who will be included in the bio-bubble. Bangladesh’s overseas coaching staff of Russell Domingo (head coach), Daniel Vettori (spin bowling coach), Ottis Gibson (fast bowling coach) and Ryan Cook (fielding coach), will take charge of the teams, with the BCB organising a bubble at the same hotel in Dhaka.The BCB had last month conducted the President’s Cup one-day competition, where in similar arrangements with regards to a bio bubble were made.The Bangabandhu Cup is likely to take up four weeks in the cricket season, after which it is likely that the West Indies will tour Bangladesh in January. The BCB is also pushing for the resumption of the 2019-20 Dhaka Premier League, which was put on hold due to the pandemic.

Andrew Strauss has described England’s defeat against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi as among the most painful of his career

George Dobell in Abu Dhabi28-Jan-2012Andrew Strauss has described England’s defeat against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi as among the most painful of his career.Strauss, the England captain, top scored with 32 as his side was dismissed for 72 in pursuit of a target of 145. It was England’s lowest total against Pakistan and only the second time they failed to chase a target of under 150 in the fourth innings in more than a century. The result condemned them to their first series defeat since losing in the West Indies in 2009 and jeopardised their reign as the world’s No. 1 Test team. If England fail to win the final Test and South Africa inflict a 3-0 defeat upon New Zealand, then South Africa will usurp England.To make the defeat all the more galling, England had several opportunities to win. Not only was their target modest but, had Kevin Pietersen hit the stumps with a simple throw on day three to run out Asad Shafiq, Pakistan’s key second-innings partnership would have been ended. In the context of a low-scoring game, the extra 49 runs the pair added were vital.”It is a struggle to think of a loss that has hurt more than this,” Strauss said. “It’s bitterly disappointing to lose a game you should have won. These are the games that hurt the most, because you feel like you’ve done everything you can to win the game – and then you aren’t able to nail the final nail in the coffin.Strauss’ disappointment was increased by the sense that England had failed a significant challenge. Winning in Asian conditions remains the Holy Grail for England and, after the success of the last couple of years, they felt they had an excellent opportunity on this tour. He was, however, frank when assessing where England had gone wrong.Andrew Strauss was one of two batsmen to make it past single digits in England’s second innings•AFP

“I said at the start of this tour, this is the final frontier,” Strauss said. “England teams haven’t done very well out here [in Asia] in the past. We felt like we had a great chance to win this series, but I think the fact that we got rolled over twice in Dubai meant that there was some baggage there going into this final innings. Test
cricket is hard and it exposes any vulnerability or weaknesses you have.”As a batting unit we have to hold our hands up and say we haven’t done well enough. We have been rolled over three times in four innings this series. There are no excuses – we need to be better than that.”We just didn’t play well enough, individually or collectively. Individually we’ve not been clear enough in our game plans against spin, we’ve not been clear enough in our methods of where our scoring areas are, and we’ve allowed pressure to build.”Strauss admitted that England’s cautious approach might have contributed to the defeat. England were almost strokeless at times, with Alastair Cook labouring for 15 overs for his seven runs.”It is easy to get caught between two stools,” Strauss said. “You don’t know whether to be patient or to take the bull by the horns. There is always a balance to strike between attack and defence and ultimately we didn’t do it right. I’m a strong believer that players should play their natural game in positions like this, but it was a bit unfortunate that our attacking players were out very quickly.”Strauss was also keen to credit Pakistan for their performance. “It’s very important in circumstances like this, and particularly after this game, to give a lot of credit to Pakistan,” he said. “They were outstanding. They’ve been a good, close-knit unit – and they’ve got some very good spin bowlers. Ultimately, they’ve played better cricket than we did.”

Shashank Manohar is set to be elected BCCI president unopposed on Sunday, replacing Jagmohan Dalmiya who died in Kolkata on September 20.

Nagraj Gollapudi and Amol Karhadkar03-Oct-20154:48

Ugra: BCCI’s legal wrangles the challenge for Manohar

Shashank Manohar is set to be elected BCCI president unopposed on Sunday, replacing Jagmohan Dalmiya who died in Kolkata on September 20. At 3 pm on Saturday, the deadline to file nominations, only Manohar’s name was filed as a candidate for the election that will be held during the special general meeting in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon.Manohar received backing from all the six members from East Zone – Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), National Cricket Club, Odisha Cricket Association, Jharkhand Cricket Association, Assam Cricket Association and Tripura Cricket Association. It is understood all six East Zone members nominated him, as it is the zone’s turn to nominate the president for the period till 2017. Soon after Dalmiya’s death, there was talk of the East camp wanting one of its own to stand for the elections, but there was no consensus, thus paving the way for Manohar.Confirming the East zone’s stand, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, representing the CAB, told the media at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai: “A lot of important people have led BCCI in the past and Manohar has also done it quite well. I am sure he will do a good job.”Dalmiya was the first BCCI president to die while in office, thus necessitating the unprecedented action of the board choosing a replacement at a special general meeting. This will be Manohar’s second stint as BCCI chief – he served as president between October 2008 and September 2011. He had first emerged as the consensus candidate when the ruling political party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party, backed him and opposed Sharad Pawar’s candidature.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in Kolkata

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran13-May-2012

Match facts

Monday, May 14, 2012
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Super Kings have two remaining games as opposed to Knight Riders’ three•AFP

Big Picture

The Saturday double-header produced unexpected results, adding more intrigue to the race for the playoffs. Both Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders – the top two teams – suffered heavy defeats, giving the teams below a chance to sneak into the final four at the end of the league stage.Chennai Super Kings’ campaign, which had stuttered midway, was revived by two consecutive victories, the latest coming against Daredevils. The manner in which they brushed aside the table leaders in Chennai should cause shivers to Knight Riders, who took their foot off the pedal on Saturday and paid the price. Super Kings silenced a powerful batting order on a pitch that gave the seamers a lot of assistance. Knocking off the required 115 was a mere formality. If Super Kings lose to Knight Riders and then beat Kings XI Punjab to finish on 17 points, they’ll need a lot of other results to fall into place for them to make the last four. Having seen off one powerhouse, they need to get past another.Knight Riders are ahead of Super Kings by points, but, have played one game less at this stage. One win in their remaining matches will give them a very good chance of qualifying. However, their aim won’t be to just qualify. They’ll want to finish among the top two and give themselves the best chance of making it to the final.

Form guide

(most recent first, completed games)
Chennai Super Kings: WWLWL

Kolkata Knight Riders: LWWWW

Players to watch

In a forgettable game with the ball for Knight Riders against Mumbai Indians, Shakib Al Hasan was the lone wicket-taker and finished with the best economy rate – 6.75 – off his four overs. Shakib returned after nearly a month on the bench and enhanced his reputation by bowling 12 dot balls.Ben Hilfenhaus was the standout performer for Super Kings against Daredevils with a match-defining 3 for 27, but Albie Morkel‘s contribution was also significant. He took a wicket but gave away just 15 runs off four overs. Morkel’s overall economy rate for Super Kings over five seasons is a pricey 8.22. His returns on Saturday were a refreshing change.

Stats and trivia

• Ravindra Jadeja is Super Kings’ leading wicket-taker with ten wickets and has bowled 29 overs. Dwayne Bravo is second with nine but has bowled 13 overs more.
• Sunil Narine has gone wicketless in an innings only twice in his ten games for Knight Riders.

Quotes

“Ben’s action is different to that of Doug [Bollinger]. But, Ben is very good at swinging the brand new ball. It is an asset, though his action is a little different to both Albie [Morkel] and Doug.”
.”Calling his innings excellent will be an understatement. It’s hard to describe his innings in words.” .

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal has said the six-match Twenty20 tour of Europe has helped the team develop the habit of winning, despite the two losses to Scotland and Netherlands

Mohammad Isam30-Jul-2012Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal has said the six-match Twenty20 tour of Europe has helped the team develop the habit of winning, despite the two losses to Scotland and Netherlands. Tamim was the only batsman to score in excess of 200 runs, including two half-centuries. He said he was happy to see progress on an individual and collective level.”The tour had more positives than negatives,” Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. “We won the first game against Ireland easily but in the next two we fought back from dire situations. I think the game in which [Mahmudullah] Riyad bowled well in the last over was a difficult win. We never thought we were in it but we fought till the end.”Leaving aside the Scotland game (which the hosts won by 34 runs), I thought we showed a lot of positive signs. We wanted to get into the habit of winning, so I think the tour has given us that. All in all, there were improvements but there’s still a long way to go.”After sweeping the series 3-0 against Ireland, Bangladesh had a wake-up call when the Scotland batsman Richie Berrington hammered a 57-ball century. The Bangladesh batsmen faltered and lost the one-off game.Tamim’s unbeaten 69 in the next game, against Netherlands, helped them to an easy win but the tour ended in a disappointing note after they were defeated in a last-ball finish against the same opponents.”Personally, I feel happy after the tour,” Tamim said. “I thought it was a decent effort in conditions which I wouldn’t call ideal for Twenty20 cricket.”The mixed results caused some bizarre movements in the ICC Twenty20 rankings. Bangladesh jumped to No. 4 after winning 3-0 against Ireland. However, one loss to Scotland brought them back to No. 9, which didn’t change despite beating Netherlands the next day and losing the day after.”We felt good when we became the No. 4 team in Twenty20s, but when we lost to Scotland and became No. 9, we obviously didn’t feel that good,” said Tamim. “It wasn’t important to be honest and it wasn’t really our goal during the series. But going up the rankings is definitely a goal for the future.”The players will take a break, but Tamim and four others are set to play the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) Twenty20 competition, which begins on August 11. Tamim believes the whole team stands to benefit and not just the contracted players.”It will be great for the five players but since we’ll be playing the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September, it’ll definitely help us as a team because the captain [Mushfiqur Rahim] is also one of the five players,” he said.