Nafees Iqbal dropped for Sri Lanka series


Bangladesh have dropped their out-of-form opening batsman, Nafees Iqbal, for the upcoming one-day series in Sri Lanka this month.

Iqbal, part of the team which created history when Bangladesh shocked the world champions, Australia, in Cardiff in June, was left out of the 15-man one-day squad but will retain his place in the Test set-up.

Their injured fast bowler, Tapash Baisya, will also miss the three one-day matches but is expected to return for the two-Test series. Abdur Razzak, a left-arm spinner, and the left-arm medium-pacer, Syed Russel, were both called up for the one-dayers on the strength of their performances in Bangladesh A's tour of England.

Bangladesh have lost 33 of their 38 Tests, drawn four and won only one since gaining Test status in 2000. Their maiden Test win came against a depleted Zimbabwe side earlier this year. And Bangladesh have won just 10 of their 115 one-day internationals, including the memorable victory against Australia which prompted tens of thousands of fans to pour on to the streets in celebration.

Iqbal, Baisya, Enamul Haque jr and Shahadat Hossain will join the squad on September 4 before the two-Test series. The one-dayers start on August 31.

Bangladesh Habibul Bashar (capt), Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Rajin Saleh, Tushar Imran, Aftab Ahmad Chowdhury, Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, Mohammad Rafique, Khaled Mahmud, Manzarul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Khan Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Russel.

Bangladesh have named uncapped left-arm paceman Syed Russel in a 15-man squad for three one-day games in Sri Lanka.

Out-of-form batsman Nafees Iqbal has been left out for the one-dayers on 1, 3 and 5 September in Dambulla.

But he, Tapash Baisya, Enamul Haque junior and Shahadat Hossain will join up with the squad for the two Tests which follow in Kandy and Colombo.

Russel and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak were called up after impressing on the Bangladesh A tour of England.

The senior Bangladesh side, who won their first Test series against Zimbabwe in January, were crushed in both Tests in England but pulled off a sensational victory over Australia in the triangular one-day series.

They face a stiff challenge against Sri Lanka, who won a tri-series one-day tournament - also featuring West Indies - by beating India in the final on Tuesday in Colombo.

Bangladesh squad: Habibul Bashar (capt), Khaled Mashud, Javed Omar, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Rajin Saleh, Tushar Imran, Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafe Mortaza, Khaled Mahmud, Manjural Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Syed Russel.

bbc.co.uk

Two Tests are not enough





Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara have called on the ICC to end two-Test series, arguing that two matches are not enough to make for a real contest.

"Test cricket is the most intense cricket you play and it is the best testing ground for a player," said Sangakkara. "So these two-Test series should definitely be done away with. I know there are commercial interests to consider, but all series should be a minimum of three Tests. Then both teams have a chance to get back into the series after the first Test."

And, as shown by attendances in England for this summer's matches, Sangakkara went on to say that he believed Test cricket still had huge appeal. "It is very popular. Even in Sri Lanka, where there is no national interest in the two teams, people have been watching the Ashes on TV with great interest."

Those views were echoed by Muralitharan, who added: "Two tests are not enough for you to get the best reflection of the two teams."

Sri Lanka have just competed a two-Test series at home to West Indies, and their next outing will be another two-match series against Bangladesh

Bangladesh team to arrive in Sri Lanka next week

COLOMBO: The Bangladesh cricket squad will arrive in Sri Lanka next Wednesday to contest two Tests and three limited-overs internationals, Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed on Saturday.

The first limited-overs international will be played August 31 at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, while the next two matches will be played as day-night games at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on September 2 and 4 respectively. Premadasa will also host the first Test match starting September 12, while the second match will be played at Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo from September 2. ap

Bangladesh confident of playing well in Sri Lanka tour

DHAKA: The Bangladesh cricket team, fresh from a sensational one-day international victory against number Australia and a successful home series against Zimbabwe, is confident of continuing their good form in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, officials said Tuesday.

“The Sri Lanka tour will be an opportunity to further our progress – that’s what we want to do,” Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh’s Sri Lankan-born Australian coach, told a news conference on Tuesday, the eve of the team’s departure. “We had two good ODIs against India and Australia. But we need to show a few more wins to prove we are heading in the right direction,” Whatmore said of his expectations for the Sri Lanka tour.

Low-ranking Bangladesh orchestrated one of the biggest upsets in cricket history with a five-wicket win over Australia in a triangular one-day series during a tour of England in June. It also enjoyed a memorable 15-run ODI win against India at home in December, and clinched their first Test series 1-0 against Zimbabwe in January. “Our aim is to be perform consistently, play good cricket regularly – not in just one or two games,” captain Habibul Bashar said. “When we win, I won’t consider it an upset, but a normal thing,” he added.

The monthlong tour starts with three one-day international matches – on August 31, September 2 and 4; to be followed by two Tests beginning September 12 and 20, in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. “Yes, I think the team is capable of winning, but we respect Sri Lanka in their home conditions,” said Whatmore, a former World Cup-winning coach of Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh selectors earlier named a 19-member squad led by Bashar, as well as a rookie pacer, three specialist spinners and four Test experts. “The changes were made to strengthen the team,” Whatmore said. Rookie Syed Russel, a left hander who can swing the ball, was included to “bring something different” to the team. “Russel’s a boon for the team. He deserves to be in it,” Whatmore said of the youngster who has been performing well with the “A” team.

Bashar said he also expected solid individual innings, and good all-round performances in bowling, batting and fielding. The team will also have Mohammad Ashraful, who became cricket’s youngest Test centurian on debut when he hit a ton against Sri Lanka in Colombo in the 2001 Asian Championship. Ashraful’s century off 100 balls also helped to secure the historic win against Australia.

Whatmore said he was expecting “better performance this time round” in the two Tests. During the latest England tour, Bangladesh lost a two-Test series 2-0 – both by an innings. “Conditions are different in longer games,” Whatmore said. “The (England) Tests were not so good on the surface. But it was a huge learning curve,”he said.

The coach said the Test team will be “determined by local form and conditions.” Test specialists Nafees Iqbal, Tapash Baishya, Enamul Haque and Kazi Shahadat Hossain will join the team on September 4. Sri Lanka have won all three previous Test matches against Bangladesh, as well as all 11 limited-overs matches played since 1986.

Meanwhile, this will be the first time that both sides will be playing the ODI series under new International Cricket Council rules, which allow substitutions and fielding restrictions. “We haven’t had an opportunity to put the new rules into practice – that will happen in training matches,” Whatmore said. Bangladesh will get a chance to apply the new rules for the first time in a one-day warm-up match in Colombo. “We have to think harder than before,” Bashar said of the new rules, which are likely to put more pressure on captains. “We will all face the same benefits and problems.” ap

Sri Lanka names 15-member squad

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s cricket selectors Tuesday named a 15-member squad for the upcoming home Test and limited over series against Bangladesh. The squad – led by Marvan Atapattu – has seven specialist batsmen, three fast bowlers, two spinners and three allrounders for the matches in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

Squad: Marvan Atapattu (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Russel Arnold, Gayan Wijekoon, Dilhara Fernando and Shantha Kalavitigoda. ap