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Confident Bangladesh pose Australia a fresh challenge after 15-year wait for an ODI series
The voyage of discovery for Australia’s depleted one-day squad now moves to Dhaka against a Bangladesh side who are confident on their own turf. The visitors had hoped for reinforcements by now but that hasn’t proved the case with captain Mitchell Marsh still sidelined and Travis Head granted leave from the whole tour. But they were not a million miles away from beating Pakistan in spin-heavy conditions.
It is the first men’s bilateral ODI series between these teams in 15 years. One of the intriguing aspects of this leg of the tour is what conditions will confront Australia in only their second ODI series in the country. In times gone by it would have been billed as another trial by spin, but it may not play out that way this time. Pace bowling is now having a big say in Bangladesh. Across the six ODIs played this year – five of which have been in Mirpur, the venue for this series – pace bowlers have taken 69 wickets at 22.60 while spin has accounted for 26 at 35.50.
Having largely relied on Nathan Ellis for the last two matches in Pakistan – and even he was effectively bowling fast cutters most of the time – along with a handful of overs from Cameron Green, the likes of Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis could well have a role to play.
Should pace play a significant part that should, in theory, provide a more familiar challenge for Australia’s batters. However, a home attack that could consist of Nahid Rana, Taskin Ahmed and the variations of Mustafizur Rahman should pose plenty of questions, especially for those struggling for form such as Marnus Labuschagne – if he is able to retain his place in the side. That isn’t to say spin won’t be a threat as well, with Bangladesh well covered in that department. Either way, it’s been a country where the bowlers are in the game: there hasn’t been an ODI total over 300 in Bangladesh since 2023.
The hosts have won their last four series at home – against Sri Lanka, West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand – and while each of those teams have had problems of their own, Bangladesh have found a formula that is working.
Australia will get their first look at Nahid Rana who is emerging as one of the most exciting pace-bowling prospects in the world. In the recent six ODIs against Pakistan and New Zealand he took 16 wickets at 17.43. He impressed, too, in the Tests against Pakistan which is something to keep in the back pocket with Bangladesh touring Australia for two matches in August.
Mosaddek Hossain will most likely return to the Bangladesh ODI side for the first time since August 2022, while the pace attack will include the first choice trio.
Bangladesh (probable): Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana
Australia will likely need an extra pace bowler compared to how they finished the Pakistan series. Both Bartlett and Dwarshuis offer something with the bat, too, which is helpful for the balance of the lower order. Cooper Connolly remains available as a batter only, at least for the ODI series, and both he and the uncapped allrounder Liam Scott could put pressure on Labuschagne if the batting order was shuffled.
Australia (probable): Matt Short, Josh Inglis (capt & wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aex Carey, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Ollie Peake, Xavier Bartlett, Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
(Cricinfo)
The head of Turkiye’s football refereeing body and four other officials have been placed in pretrial detention by a court as part of a corruption investigation, the state news agency Anadolu reports.
Ferhat Gundogdu, head of the Central Referees Committee, and six others appeared before a judge over allegations of manipulation of the referee administration process, Anadolu said on Saturday.
They appeared on Friday before a judge at Istanbul’s Caglayan courthouse on several charges, including forgery of official documents, breach of trust and illegal acquisition of personal data, the report said.
The judge remanded five people in custody and granted the other two conditional release, Anadolu said.
It was the latest scandal to shake football in Turkiye, coming exactly a year after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees on charges of illegal betting.
On Thursday night, police from the illegal betting and sports crime unit also detained Yasin Kol, a referee from Turkiye’s top-flight Super Lig, as well as an assistant referee, media reports said.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors are examining claims about “interference in the processes of referee classification, assignments, scoring and appointments as well as the exams on rules”.
During raids on Tuesday, police searched the VAR room at TFF’s headquarters in Istanbul. Observers said the investigation was likely linked to last year’s betting scandal and would have implications for the federation.
“It does seem to be a continuation of 2025, and it looks like it will continue further,” sports journalist Ayhan Sensoy told the AFP news agency.
Sensoy, who wrote a 2024 book on the issue called The Gambling Pit, said it was unlikely that federation bosses “have any chance of staying in office”.
So far, the TFF has not directly addressed the arrests as its top officials are due to fly home on Saturday after attending Friday night’s Belgium-Turkiye UEFA Nations League clash in Liege, which Turkiye lost 3-0.
[Aljazeera]
A car has crashed into a crowd of rugby league supporters in the eastern Australian city of Newcastle, injuring 10 people, including three children.
New South Wales police said on Saturday that two of the injured – a five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man – were in a critical condition and the other eight were in stable condition in hospital.
Police said they had arrested the 18-year-old man driving the vehicle and were investigating what happened. They said the crash was not believed to be related to “terrorism”.
The crowd had gathered to farewell the local rugby league side, the Newcastle Knights, ahead of their grand final against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said the driver, a rugby league fan, had lost control of his vehicle and had been taken into custody.
“He was revving the car, he was excited, he was a supporter, he was there for the joy of the moment,” Morris told the national broadcaster ABC.
“Somehow he lost control of the car … and he’s gone into the crowd,” he added.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “My thoughts are with everyone injured or involved in the horrible incident this morning in Newcastle.”
“Rugby league brings people together, and this should have been a weekend of excitement and pride for Newcastle fans,” he wrote in a social media post.
[Aljazeera]
Polls have opened in Latvia for an election taking place against the backdrop of perceived security threats from Russia and a nationwide cost-of-living squeeze.
Saturday’s vote is the first electoral test for Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs after coming to power in May this year when his predecessor resigned due to a backlash from stray drone incursions from Ukraine.
Kulbergs, whose right-wing United List party is currently polling at about 20 percent, is expected to hold onto his position, but the decline of two allies in his current coalition means he is set for a complicated negotiation over the makeup of any future government.
Polls opened at 05:00 GMT and will close at 17:00 GMT. The results are not expected to change Latvia’s pro-European and pro-Ukrainian course.
About 1.5 million people are eligible to vote in the country’s 11th parliamentary election since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Latvian politics are highly fragmented, with parties rarely seeing above 20 percent vote share and coalitions being the norm.
This year, 14 electoral lists are contesting the election, but polls indicate only seven are likely to enter parliament, with the rest expected to fail to meet the minimum 5 percent vote threshold.
Rising living costs, low wages, strains on the healthcare system and long-term population decline have all featured prominently in campaign debates.
Most parties in Latvia are pro-Ukraine; however, the populist Sovereign Power party – which says it wants Ukraine to win but argues money spent supporting Kyiv would be better spent at home – looks likely to become the country’s second-biggest party, with more than 9 percent of the vote. Most other parties have ruled out forming a coalition with Sovereign Power.
Latvia First, a pro-Ukraine and populist nationalist party currently polling at about 9 percent, could be a potential coalition partner for PM Kulbergs.
The Progressives, a pro-European social democratic party, are polling at 6 percent.
Ethnic Russians make up roughly one in four Latvian citizens, but their vote, which has traditionally been cast along identity-based lines, looks set to be made according to economic and social issues.
Latvia is the poorest of the Baltic states, and it has sharply increased its defence spending since Russia invaded Ukraine, now allocating nearly 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defence.
[Aljazeera]
Turkish court detains football refereeing chief pending corruption trial
Ten injured after car crashes into rugby supporters in Australia
Polls open in Latvia against backdrop of perceived Russia threat
Abhishek, Tilak and spinners secure gold for India at Asian Games again
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