West Indies beats Bangladesh by 3 runs and level the series 1-1

Beating Bangladesh by 3 runs in the second ODI match at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Wednesday (July 25), the host nation leveled the series 1-1 and kept their hope alive of winning the series. Now, both teams will have to wait for the third and final ODI match to decide the fate of the three-match ODI series.

Coming to chase West Indies’ 272-run target, Bangladesh required just eight runs in the last over of the innings to take a 2-0 series lead. However, the visitors could manage to score 268 runs losing 6 wickets in their stipulated overs. Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim scored 54, 56 and 68 runs respectively.

For West Indies, Joseph, Holder, Nurse, Paul and Bishoo took one wicket apiece.

Bangladesh ODI skipper, Mashrafe Mortaza, won the toss and invited West Indies to bat first. The hosts lost top four wickets- Gayle, Lewis, Hope and Mohammed by the time they reached 102. It was Shimron Hetmyer who took the responsibility of his team on his young shoulder once again. He made 103-run fifth-wicket stand with Rovman Powell and helped his team reach a handsome total. Hetmyer scored 125 runs off 93 balls and became the youngest West Indies batsman to score an ODI hundred in the Caribbean. However, it was his second ODI century. They were bundled out for 271 in 49.3 overs.

For the Tigers, Rubel Hossain took three wickets while Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman equally shared four wickets.

West Indies skipper Jason Holder played the most crucial role. He bowled the last over of the innings and kept his nerve under control to snatch the victory. In the first ball of the last over, he took the wicket of Mushfiq, who turned out to be the main threat for the hosts, and gave away just four runs in the next five balls.

Shimron Hetmyer was awarded “Player of the Match” for his performance.

Scorecard-

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18712/scorecard/1146721/west-indies-vs-bangladesh-2nd-odi-bangladesh-tour-of-west-indies-and-united-states-of-america-2018

BCB to implement new policy for national cricketers

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials are not happy with the performance of their national cricket team in the longest format of the game. In the recently concluded two-match Test series in West Indies, Bangladesh performed poorly as the results of both Tests came within three days. Not only that Bangladeshi batsmen failed to score 200 runs in any of their four Test innings, but also they registered their lowest ever team total in Test cricket when they got all out for just 43 runs in the first innings of the first Test in Antigua. 

Seeing this poor performance of the national team, BCB President, Nazmul Hassan, said that senior players, including Shakib, Mustafizur and Rubel, were unwilling to play Test cricket. The main reason behind this failure is thought to be their lack of interest in playing first-class cricket. For this reason, with a view to improving Bangladesh cricket team’s performance in Test cricket, board officials are planning to implement a strict policy to ensure the participation of national cricketers in domestic first-class cricket and it will be mandatory for their selection in the Test squad. Players reluctant to participate in the two first-class tournaments- National Cricket League (NCL) and Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL)- will not be considered for Test selection.

Bangladesh has poor record in Test cricket. Since getting Test status, the Tigers have so far played 108 Tests of which they have won 10 while lost 82, most by innings margin.

Source-

https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/103264/bcb-to-make-first-class-participation-mandatory-for-national-stars

BCB bans Mustafizur Rahman from taking part in the franchise leagues

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President, Nazmul Hasan, has been making media headlines for his stern remarks against some of the senior national team players as well as the overall performance of the Bangladesh national cricket team. It is clear that he is very much concerned about Mustafizur Rahman for picking up injuries recurrently.

While playing for Mumbai Indians in the last edition of the Indian Premier League, the southpaw sustained a toe injury which ruled him out of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan and the two-match Test series against West Indies, both of which Bangladesh lost 0-3 and 0-2 respectively. That is why, Nazmul Hasan has asked him not to play in any franchise cricket for at least two years. The reason behind taking this decision is to keep the fast bowler feet so that he can perform for his national team without being interrupted by injury. After this decision, he will not be available for the Mumbai based franchise for the next two years. So, the club will have to release him from their duties.

Bangladesh cricket team suffered a lot because of the absence of Mustafizur Rahman. However, he is now completely fit and is playing the ongoing ODI series against West Indies. Falling in injuries repeatedly is a very common scenario for fast bowlers. That is why, they cannot give service to their team for a long time. So, I cannot find any problem in playing more franchise based leagues and earning as much money as possible. I hope BCB officials will allow their players to play more foreign leagues. It will help them understand the condition of their pitch and eventually will increase their possibility to win more matches abroad.

Source-

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/article/bangladesh-cricket-board-bans-mustafizur-rahman-from-taking-part-in-the-t20-leagues-owing-to-injury-concerns/257863