Sports
Vantage FFSL President’s Cup 2020
The Vantage FFSL President’s Cup 2020 match between Matara City FC and New Yungs FC ended in a 1-1 draw at the Racecourse Ground on Sunday.
(Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)
Bangladesh Cricket Board on Thursday (June 12) announced Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the new ODI captain, replacing Najmul Hossain Shanto, “for the next 12 months”. The surprising decision comes less than a month ahead of three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on July 2.
Shanto, who recently stepped down from T20I captaincy in order to concentrate on his batting, was all set to continue as ODI captain though the board think-tank felt otherwise.
“The Board felt that Miraz’s consistent performances with the bat and ball, his ability to fight and inspire the team and his energetic presence on and off the field make him an ideal candidate to lead the ODI side during a transitional time,” Chairman of BCB’s Cricket Operations Committee Nazmul Abedeen said. “We believe he has the temperament and maturity to take Bangladesh forward in this format.
“We take this opportunity to thank Shanto for the positivity and character he has demonstrated as captain. He remains very much a part of the leadership group and we know how important his batting is to the team.”
With 1617 runs and 110 wickets in 105 ODIs, Miraz is currently ranked No. 4 among allrounders in the ICC ODI rankings – the highest for any Bangladeshi player. He is also a part of the elite club – comprising Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, and Shakib Al Hasan – who have achieved the 1000 runs and 100 wickets double in the 50-overs format at the highest level.
“It is a huge honour for me to be entrusted with this responsibility by the Board,” Miraz said in a statement released by the BCB. “Leading the country is a dream for any cricketer and I am grateful for the confidence the Board has shown in me.
“I have every faith in this team. We have the talent and the belief to play fearless cricket. I want us to perform with confidence, play without inhibition and continue giving our best for the country.”
Mehidy has previously led the national side in four ODIs in Najmul’s absence.
With this move, the BCB has once again reverted to different captains for different formats, a formula they followed earlier when Tamim Iqbal led the ODI side while Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah captained in Tests and T20Is respectively. Currently Najmul is leading the country in the longest format, while Litton Das is the T20I skipper.
Shanto, who scored 1565 runs averaging 34.77 in 49 ODIs including three centuries and 10 fifties, made 564 runs in 13 ODIs that he captained in, averaging 51.27. He lost nine games and won four during his tenure as Bangladesh’s ODI captain.
For two hours in the middle of day two, Australia had one hand on the WTC mace after taking a 74-run first-innings lead at Lord’s. For the next two, South Africa did their utmost to prise their fingers from it, and for the one after that, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc fought them off with a 61-run eighth-wicket partnership. As things stand, Australia still have a few fingers on the mace after a gripping day of Test cricket.
It was, once again, a day for bowlers. Fourteen wickets fell on day two, the same number as the first day, for a total of 28 wickets in six sessions.
Pat Cummins stole the early headlines when he became the first visiting captain to take a five for at Lord’s and then went on to pluck his 300th Tet wicket. Then it was over to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, who had Australia 44 for 3 before Lungi Ngidi, back in the Test side after ten months and coming off a poor first innings, redeemed himself with three wickets in a nine-over spell that broke Australia open.
Where things stand at the end of the day is that South Africa will already have to pull off the fourth-highest sucessfyl chase at Lord’s, and do it against Australia’s unrelenting attack. That means it’s probably still advantage Australia after a breathless seven-and-half-hours in a final that has hit fast-forward.
South Africa resumed the day on 43 for 4, 169 runs behind Australia’s 212, and on a go-slow. Temba Bavuma had laboured his way to 3 off 37 overnight as South Africa’s innings ground yo a halt. but he showed more initiative on the second morning. He struck two glorious lofted drives in Mitchell Starc’s second over of the day and looked to be finding his touch. Bavuma was on 17 before he was given out lbw off a Josh Hazlewood delivery that nipped in and struck his back pad, and he reluctantly reviewed. To everyone’s disbelief including Bavuma’s, Snicko showed an inside-edge. Bavuma went on to drive Hazlewood and Starc over the covers and pull Cummins into the stands for six in what looked like an increasingly authoritative stay at the crease.
His partnership with David Bedingham grew to 64 and it took a moment of magic in the field to separate them. Bavuma drove Cummins in the air and to the right of Marnus Labuschagne, who dived full length at cover and pouched it with both hands.
Bavuma’s dismissal sent South Africa back into their shell. Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne scored 17 nervy runs in the next 52 balls and both looked vulnerable: Bedingham was drawn into a false stroke by Hazlewood and Verreynne was on 1 when he edged Beau Webster just short of Smith at second slip. But the moment of controversy came when Bedingham edged Webster onto the flap of his pad. Alex Carey moved towards him in an attempt to take a catch and the ball bobbled into and then out of Bedingham’s pad flap. At that moment, Bedingham reached for the ball and dropped it close to his foot. Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith began appealing for obstructing the field, and there was some excitement before it was decided the ball was dead. Bedingham responded by hitting the next ball, a half-volley, for four and South Africa went to lunch on 121 for 5, 91 runs behind.
More drama ensued after the break when Cummins hit Verreynne on the pad as he shuffled across, and the ball deflected to fine leg. Verreynne attempted a run, Cummins turned to appeal, and the pair collided, by which point a throw had come in and there was also the chance of a run-out. Cummins asked for a review on the lbw and replays suggested the ball would have gone on to hit leg stump. Three balls later, Jansen handed Cummins a simple return catch, and at 126 for 7, South Africa were in disarray.
Cummins completed his five-for when he had Bedingham caught behind off a thin edge three overs later and then got his 300th when Rabada nailed a pull to Webster at deep square. Cummins finished with 6 for 28 in a final analysis that included six maiden overs out of 18.1 and barely a bad ball. Crucially, he gave Australia an important lead that could still have a decisive say on this game.
The same could be said of South Africa’s collapse. They lost 5 for 12 in 35 balls; Australia had lost 5 for 20 at around the same time on day one.
South Africa came out looking flat as Labuschagne took Rabada’s opening over for seven. Rabada and Jansen bowled three no-balls in the first four overs, but started to find their rhythm when Rabada hit Labuschagne on the pad in his third over and then induced an outside edge.
In the next over, Jansen thought he had Khawaja caught behind and Bavuma burned a review to see daylight between bat and ball. It took until the 11th over for things to start happening for South Africa. For the second time in the match, Rabada struck twice in an over, against the same two batters. Khawaja was caught behind poking outside off and Cameron Green edged to third slip. Smith sought to restore order with a straight drive that went for four. Australia went to tea on 32 for 2, 106 ahead.
As was the case on day one, the evening session could only be described with one word: mayhem. Jansen bowled a marathon spell either side of the break and was into his eighth over when he offered Labuschagne a full one that was just short of driving length, and he nicked off.
Khawaja, Labuschagne and Green had collectively scored 49 runs in this match, the worst return by an Australian top three since 1890.
Then came Ngidi. After three unspectacular overs post-tea, he went fullish and straight. Smith missed and was hit on the back pad and Bavuma was convinced to review again and was successful this time. Ngidi then hit Webster on the back pad with a ball that tailed in and the No. 6 reviewed unsuccessfully. In the next over, Wiaan Mulder beat Travis Head’s inside-edge and the ball ricocheted off his pads onto the stumps, and then came the delivery of the evening: Ngidi’s yorker to Cummins. It thudded into middle and off and Australia were 73 for 7.
But just as South Africa may have started to sniff something special, their momentum drained away. Carey and Starc put on 61 for the eighth wicket at a good clip – 4.31 runs an over – before Rabada had one last word on the day. He got the ball to move back into Carey from around the wicket and had him out lbw in an over peppered with no-balls. All told, Rabada bowled five on the day and six in the match and South Africa have overstepped 19 times.
They’ll worry about that as much as what could have been in the final over when Jansen dropped Starc at gully, off Mulder, off the third-last ball of the day. By then, South Africa had moved the fielders behind the bat closer in, as several balls had dropped short, and Jansen’s attempts to juggle were not as successful as they had been on the first day. Australia go into the third day with a lead of 218 runs and two wickets in hand.
Brief scores:
Australia 212 in 56.4 overs and 144 for 8 in 40 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 22, Alex Carey 43; Lungi Ngidi 3-35, Kagiso Rabada 3-44) lead South Africa 138 in 57.1 overs (David Bedingham 45, Temba Bavuma 3; , Pat Cummins 6-28, Mitchell Starc 2-41) by 218 runs
[Cricinfo]
In a pulsating day of Test cricket, it was Pat Cummins who turned the tide with a captain’s spell for the ages, breathing life back into Australia’s World Test Championship campaign. Trailing and under the pump after a modest first innings, Cummins dug deep and delivered a spell that not only levelled the playing field but tilted it firmly in Australia’s favour.
At one stage, South Africa looked to be tightening the screws, inching away at 126 for five. But after lunch, Cummins returned with fire in his belly and thunder in his boots. What followed was a breathtaking collapse – South Africa folded for 138, losing their last five wickets for just 12 runs in the space of 34 balls. The Lord’s faithful watched in disbelief as the Australian skipper ran through the tail like a hot knife through butter.
Cummins finished with six for 28 – his best at the Home of Cricket – and in the process, joined the elite 300-wicket club. It was not just a captain’s effort with the ball; it was a rallying cry, a statement of intent.
The Proteas, who had been on top in the morning, suddenly found themselves on the ropes. Their lower middle order crumbled under pressure, riddled with soft dismissals, a comical run-out thrown in for good measure – turning the Lord’s slope into a South African slide.
From promising to pitiful, the collapse wasn’t so much triggered by demons in the pitch as it was by lapses in temperament. Day one had been tailor-made for the quicks – gloomy skies, nip off the seam, and swing on tap. But on day two, the sun was out, and the conditions far friendlier. Yet, South Africa batted as if the clouds were still hanging over their heads.
For a side with several players seasoned in County Cricket, the meek surrender was hard to digest. They were expected to weather the storm, but instead, they walked straight into it without a raincoat.
The final word? A familiar tale in Protea folklore – another high-stakes final, another slip-up when it mattered most. The game hasn’t yet run away from them, but they’re chasing leather and momentum now, and Pat Cummins has well and truly bowled Australia back into contention
President scheduled to attend a meeting with representatives of Germany’s Tourism and Travel Industry Associations and Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce today
Mehidy Hasan replaces Najmul Hossain as Bangladesh ODI captain
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