Sports
Tanzid’s 61 in vain as West Indies seal T20I series win
West Indies took an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series against Bangladesh, shrugging off a batting collapse that had taken them from 106 for 1 to 149 for 9 in Chattogram. It also marked their first T20I series win after seven consecutive defeats.
The West Indies bowlers – Romairo Shepherd and Akeal Hosein played lead roles with three wickets each – were effective in defending the moderate total. Bangladesh could not chase 150 on a good batting pitch despite the presence of dew, which hampered the bowlers. Tanzid Hasan kept them going with 61, but the rest were often caught in two minds on a surface that encouraged playing through one’s shots.
The Bangladesh line-up did not do justice to their bowlers, who engineered West Indies’ batting collapse. Mustafizur Rahman picked up three wickets, while Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain took two each.
West Indies had luck in the first half of their innings. Litton Das dropped Brandon King first ball, and Towhid Hridoy couldn’t hang on to a tough chance at mid-on off Alick Athanaze in the third over.
Athanaze launched Tanzim Hasan over square-leg in the same over, before Shai Hope struck Taskin Ahmed straight down the ground for his first six in the next one. The pair struck boundaries at ease during the powerplay and beyond. Athanaze hit five in total, while Hope picked up three.
Athanaze and Hope both reached their half-centuries off their 30th deliveries. They brought up their 100-run stand shortly afterwards too, in 10.5 overs, as the pair put West Indies in a position from where they could aim for 200 and beyond.
Athanaze fell in the 12th over, holing out on the deep square-leg boundary, giving Nasum his first wicket. Sherfane Rutherford fell next ball for his second successive golden duck.
Mustafizur then removed Hope for 55, when the West Indies captain mistimed a slower ball and was caught at point. By the time Rishad got Rovman Powell also caught at point in the 15th over, West Indies were in free fall. Jason Holder was dismissed in the same over, caught at long-on for 4.
Romario Shepherd tried to resurrect the innings but did not succeed. Mustafizur had him caught at deep point in the last over, before hitting Khary Pierre’s stumps next ball. Hosein was run out off the last delivery to complete a remarkable turnaround for the home side.
Bangladesh lost Saif Hassan early in a slow start, when Holder sucked him into an uppish shot against a short ball. Brandon King took the catch in the covers, making up for dropping the same batter in the second over. Litton Das got the chase on track with three fours in the fifth over, using Jayden Seales’ pace – twice playing the ball down to deep third, and also scooping over short fine leg.
Rutherford dropped Litton but the Bangladesh captain could not press on for much longer. Hosein bowled him for 23. Tanzid hit big sixes over midwicket, even as another catch went down in the field: Seales dropped Hridoy in the 11th over.
Seales made amends in the 13th over when he took a tumbling catch, after Hridoy top edged Shepherd. Tanzid reached his fifty with a boundary soon after but Bangladesh still needed 50 off the last five overs.
Tanzid started the death overs with a four past cover, but Jaker Ali could not accelerate at the other end. Tanzid perished in the hunt for boundaries, caught on at deep point. He finished on 61 off 48 balls, having hit three sixes and three fours. Jaker fell in the same over to Shepherd, caught at the deep square-leg boundary for 17 off 18 balls.
Holder started the 19th over by hitting Shamim Hossain’s off-stump with a yorker, and gave away just five runs. Bangladesh were left needing 21 off the last over. Hosein did not concede a boundary and also taking two wickets to finish with 3 for 22.
Brief scores:
West Indies 149 for 9 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 55, Alick Athanaze 52, Mustafizur Rahman 3-21, Nasun Ahmed 2–35, Rishad Hossain 2-20) beat Bangladesh 135 for 8 in 20 overs (Tanzid Hasan 61; Jason Holder 2-20, Akeal Hosein 3-22, Romario Shepherd 3-39) by 14 runs
[Cricinfo]
Qualifier Maja Chwalinska continued her dream French Open run as she beat Anna Kalinskaya to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.
The world number 114 was left open-mouthed with shock after completing a superb 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over 22nd seed Kalinskaya on a blustery Paris day.
Poland’s Chwalinska is the second qualifier after Nadia Podoroska in 2020 to reach the singles semi-finals at Roland Garros.
She is only the sixth qualifier in the Open era to reach the women’s singles semi-finals at a Grand Slam.
Only one – Britain’s Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open – went on to win the title.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka could await Chwalinska the last four, with the Belarusian taking on Russian Diana Shnaider later on Wednesday.
“I honestly don’t know what is going on,” Chwalinska told the crowd.
“I know I repeat myself, but every match here is kind of crazy for me.”
It is a remarkable run for Chwalinska, who arrived at the tournament with just two victories in WTA Tour-level main-draw matches under her belt.
Her sole Grand Slam match win came at Wimbledon in 2022 – but Chwalinska now finds herself on an eight-match winning streak on the Parisian clay, having dropped just one set on the way.
Everything appears to have clicked in place for a player who once feared she might have left the sport for good.
Chwalinska struggled with depression for two years and took an indefinite break from tennis after losing in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon in 2021.
She did not know whether she would return at that point, having lost her enjoyment of training and competing.
With the support of the people around her, the openness of fellow players such as Naomi Osaka in speaking about their mental health, and brief attempts to enjoy other sports, Chwalinska found herself gradually gravitating back to the tennis court.
It has all led her to this moment of a first major semi-final – and a potential David-versus-Goliath showdown with title favourite Sabalenka.
In Paris, Chwalinska has played with infectious freedom and joyful creativity, beating two seeded players and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen along the way.
She kept her composure well against Kalinskaya, first having to reset after letting a 5-1 lead slip in the opener, before reeling off five straight points from 3-2 down in the resulting tie-break to take the lead.
She then held her nerve in the second, recovering from being broken as she tried to serve out victory before clinching her first match point on Kalinskaya’s serve.
“I was definitely nervous. I am stressed, of course, but I try to focus on my job and my games,” Chwalinska said.
“I am not focusing on confidence. I am playing against the best players in the world, so I will not compare myself to them.”
Whatever happens in the semi-finals, Chwalinska is now projected to leap up the rankings and into the world’s top 30.
By reaching the semi-finals, she has also secured prize money amounting to £647,700 – more than doubling her career total earnings of £642,400 in the space of 10 days.
[BBC Sport]
Marta Kostyuk accused Russian players of hiding behind silence over the war in Ukraine, saying after four years of conflict they had shown “whose side they are on”, as she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open.
The 23-year-old beat fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-3 2-6 6-2 in an emotional quarterfinal on Tuesday, played hours after another night of Russian strikes on Kyiv, then launched a scathing attack on Russian players who continue to avoid publicly condemning the war.
Kostyuk, who will next face Russian Mirra Andreeva, said she no longer accepts the argument that Russian athletes could remain silent because of possible repercussions at home.
“There is a way if you don’t agree,” Kostyuk told reporters. “I know some people who have left Russia the moment the war began, who sold all their business, who left everything behind because they just don’t agree with what their country is doing to other people.”
She cited fellow player Daria Kasatkina, who switched her allegiance from Russia to Australia last year, as an example of someone who had publicly spoken out despite pressure on her family.
“I don’t think she lives in Russia anyways, but the majority of players don’t live in Russia,” Kostyuk said. “There is nothing that’s stopping you if this is something you don’t believe in.
“After four years, I think they’ve made it very clear whose side they are on.”
Kostyuk’s comments came after she was asked about remarks from Russian players, including Diana Shnaider and Andreeva, who have previously said they focus only on the tennis ball and avoid political discussion.
“They are all grown-ups. They know what they’re talking about. They know what’s going on. They have phones. They have Instagram. They have news,” Kostyuk said.
“I wish there was some more clear stance on what’s going on, especially when your country is killing other people.”
Earlier, the Ukrainian dedicated her victory to “the Ukrainian people” after revealing she had woken up to news of another deadly night of bombings before checking on her family’s safety.
Kostyuk said representing Ukraine had become more important than the results themselves.
“With everything that’s happening, for me being here is a real blessing, and I don’t think about winning,” she said. “I’m here to represent Ukraine and to enjoy.”
[Aljazeera]
New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland have requested a meeting with Cricket Australia (CA) for Thursday to discuss the fallout from Cricket Victoria’s announcement about the merger of Melbourne Stars and Renegades, while the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) says the development has created “confusion, uncertainty and anxiety” among the players and believes the game is not unified on a way forward for BBL privatisation.
The revelations on Tuesday that Cricket Victoria plans to merge Stars and Renegades under a new name and colours for the upcoming BBL, while selling off the second BBL license entirely to a private owner, has caused chaos and confusion across Australian cricket. ESPNcricinfo understands that NSW are particularly angered by the situation and held a call with SA and Queensland, the other two states with varying concerns over privatisation, to discuss the issue on Wednesday before requesting an unscheduled meeting with CA on Thursday.
It is also understood NSW were not informed of an executives trip to Chennai – which included leaders from CA, the BBL, Victoria, WA and Tasmania – to discuss the BBL match that is planned to be played there and to speak to prospective investors interested in buying a stake in clubs from those states when CA push ahead with a hybrid privatisation model.
NSW has also long requested a formal meeting with CA, beyond the face-to-face meeting that CA chair Mike Baird and NSW chair John Knox had on May 11, to discuss their alternative proposal to self-fund the BBL without private investment but say they are yet to get a response. State executives are due to meet in Melbourne next week ahead of the chairs meeting on June 15.
Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the ACA, delivered the strongest statement yet in the aftermath of CV’s announcement amid uncertainty among players. ESPNcricinfo had been contacted by players seeking further details while a number from both Melbourne clubs have reached out to the players’ union since the news broke on Tuesday evening about the merger. Marsh delivered a statement via social media strongly urging a fractured Australian cricket to come together.
“There has been much recent discussion around privatising the Big Bash League clubs,” Marsh said. “This is a significant decision for Australian cricket and one that the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) believes must be made with the long-term, broader interests of the game in mind.
“As it stands, Australian cricket is not unified on a way forward and as a result, we are a long way off a solution.
“Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Cricket Australia (CA), the States and the ACA, it is clear that agreement must be reached with the ACA for any Big Bash clubs to be privatised. Whilst a potential agreement between CA and the ACA is being discussed, it is not imminent and as such, anby talk of privatising any teams for the coming season is premature.
“Cricket Victoria’s announcement about a merger between the Stars and Renegades with the introduction of a new, privately owned club has created confusion, uncertainty and anxiety amongst players. Whilst this may or may not happen at some point in the future, we reiterate that there is a process to play out here before this can occur.
“The ACA believes now is the critical juncture for all in Australian cricket to come together to find the best model for the future of all stakeholders in our game.”
CA CEO Todd Greenberg also released a statement on Wednesday stressing that nothing had been decided yet.
“We continue to work with the States to explore options for private investment in the Big Bash Leagues,” he said. “There’s still plenty of work to be done and nothing has been decided or approved as yet.
“We are aware of Cricket Victoria’s intentions, which would still mean there are two teams in Melbourne. As I’ve said before, private investment would involve some changes to the Big Bash Leagues and the clubs as we look to secure the future of Australian Cricket.”
There was initial confusion around the situation for the players but each contracted playing member was contacted by representatives from CV on Tuesday to assure them that their deals would remain in place despite the administrative changes.
Stars have 10 contracted men, which include long-time stalwarts Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, and seven WBBL players including Meg Lanning, Annabel Sutherland and Marizanne Kapp. Those players will all remain on contract for the merged team.
Renegades have nine BBL players, including Oli Peake and Jake Fraser-McGurk, but not Adam Zampa who is looking for a new home, while in the WBBL six contracts include Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham.
The two clubs will need to fill the remaining lists with 18 spots for the men and 15 for the women. That will be done by the list management teams for each however those groups have not been finalised.
The coaches for each BBL team are not set for next season despite Cameron White (Renegades) and Peter Moores (Stars) having a year to run on their contracts. Renegades do not have a WBBL coach after Simon Helmot resigned while Andrew Christie is contracted to Stars.
Adding to the uncertainty, long-time Renegades general manager, James Rosengarten, who has been heavily involved in list decisions will now take control of the new merged team. Meanwhile Stars general Max Abbott, who oversaw Clint McKay as Stars director cricket and Moores as coach, has been moved over to the caretaker role with Renegades.
[Cricinfo]
Qualifier Maja Chwalinska extends dream French Open run
Foreign nationals among at least 21 killed in Delhi fire
US and Iran launch new strikes, as Kuwait says airport hit by Iranian drones
Ukraine’s Kostyuk blasts Russia stars in French Open outburst over war
Iran armed forces vow to fight ‘to the death’ on Khomeini death anniversary
Urgent meeting called for amid BBL chaos; ACA says merger has caused ‘anxiety’
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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