Khaled Ahmed has been cut from the group that toured India and Pakistan

Mohammad Isam16-Oct-2024The Bangladesh selectors naming Shakib Al Hasan in the Test squad for the first match against South Africa confirms that he will return to the country for the first time since May. Shakib is reportedly landing in Dhaka on Thursday, which allows him three days to prepare for his final Test match.Shakib announced his retirement in Kanpur on September 26, wishing to complete his Test career with at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. But he had expressed concern about his safety if he came to Bangladesh, given the number of Awami League leaders being arrested since August 5, the day their government effectively resigned from power after 15 years. Shakib was a member of parliament from his hometown Magura. He was one of 147 people named in an FIR for an alleged murder during the unrest.Although the BCB said that they couldn’t guarantee Shakib’s security, Bangladesh’s interim government confirmed – a couple of times – that he is unlikely to be arrested. But the sports adviser Asif Mahmud did say that the allrounder would be better off if he were to break his silence about the student protests. Shakib did that last week, when he put up an apology on Facebook.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Selector Hannan Sarkar said that Shakib was selected only after the BCB had given them the green light.”Shakib had expressed his desire to play his final Test at home. We also know that this was a government issue and BCB issue. We sought the BCB’s clearance so when they gave us the green signal that Shakib is available for selection, we picked him. We are proud to see our legend retiring from the home of cricket.Shakib is among four spin-bowling options in the squad, alongside Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan. Almost everyone that were part of the recent tours to Pakistan and India made it to this squad as well, except the fast bowler Khaled Ahmed, who was picked to play in Kanpur but bowled only four overs.Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan opened in all four Tests, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy has become their back-up. Mominul Haque and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto could continue at No. 3 and 4, rather than the other way around since Mominul got a century batting at No 3. Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das and Mehidy round out a long Bangladesh batting order.
Taijul is usually picked in home Tests ahead of a third seamer. Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud should be the first choice, although Nahid Rana’s pace could be tempting.Bangladesh host South Africa for two Tests, in Mirpur from October 21 and in Chattogram from October 29. It is the first assignment under their interim coach Phil Simmons, who joined the squad on Wednesday, a day after the BCB removed Chandika Hathurusinghe from the position for disciplinary reasons.Bangladesh are currently seventh on the World Test Championship points table, after a 2-0 win in Pakistan and a 2-0 defeat in India. South Africa are fifth on the WTC standings, having most recently won a two-Test series 1-0 in the West Indies in August.

Bangladesh squad for first Test against SA

Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana

Jake Lehmann’s 11th first-class century wasn’t enough to get New South Wales to bat again

AAP16-Nov-2024Former Test quick Jackson Bird has dismantled South Australia with 11 wickets to power New South Wales to a thumping Sheffield Shield win by an innings and one run.After claiming seven first-innings wickets to skittle the hosts for 110, Bird was a handful again with a four-wicket haul in the second innings at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.Despite the best efforts of Jake Lehmann, who scored his 11th first-class century, South Australia were unable to do enough to make NSW bat again.Allrounder Jack Edwards (4-41) helped Bird clean up the tail as SA were dismissed for 283 in their second innings on Saturday. NSW only needed to take nine wickets, with South Australia quick Nathan McAndrew hurt and unable to bat a second time.It was the sixth 10-wicket match haul for Bird in a long and winding first-class career.Bird’s previous five-wicket haul before he rocked South Australia on Thursday was back in March 2021, when he bagged 7-18 against the Blues while playing for Tasmania.South Australia entered the match after beating NSW in the one-day cup match on Tuesday, and were previously undefeated in the Shield. But without Test keeper Alex Carey, who is preparing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, SA suffered a major reality check in losing inside three days to a team on the rise.Former Test batter Kurtis Patterson struck 71 for NSW as they made 394 to claim a first-innings lead of 284.Dropped from NSW’s Sheffield Shield side for most of last summer and fearing his career could be over, Patterson made it three straight half-centuries.

Pakistan were reduced to 46 for 4 before a gritty rearguard from Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel

Danyal Rasool17-Jan-2025Half-centuries from Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan wrestled momentum back for Pakistan after Jayden Seales’ triple-strike had put West Indies in the box seat in Multan. On a surface tailor-made for spin, it was the fast bowler who proved the pick of the bunch, exploiting pace and slight seam movement to send debutant Mohammad Hurraira, Kamran Ghulam and Babar Azam back for single figures. Pakistan had, at that point, been reduced to 46 for 4, with West Indies looming ominously over the tail. But a gritty unbeaten 97-run rearguard for the fifth wicket, from Rizwan and Shakeel, thwarted the visitors for the rest of the day, to ensure Pakistan would end the day with a semblance of control.After the start was delayed by four hours owing to heavy fog that enveloped the ground, Pakistan won the toss and batted first in hazy conditions with the floodlights on throughout the course of the day. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie bowled the first ball, an indication of how both sides perceived the pitch upon which each played three specialist spinners. Motie got rid of Pakistan captain Shan Masood early on, squeezing him down to the debutant wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach on the on side, but for the rest of the hour, it was Seales’ show.He had been sniffing right from the outset, and got his reward when Hurraira hung his bat out and edged to the keeper. It was followed up by a beauty to remove Kamran Ghulam, who had just dispatched an outswinger to the boundary. The next ball, he attempted to shoulder arms but it seamed back into him wickedly, rapping the thigh, with Hawk-Eye showing it would have clipped the top of off.Kamran Ghulam was lbw shouldering arms to Jayden Seales•PCB

The big fish came soon after, another glorious use of the seam. Seales hit a hard length which Babar looked to parry into the off side, but it shaped away just enough to kiss the outside edge through to Imlach. Babar would review, but, like Ghulam, he would not be reprieved.The innings threatened to fall apart at that point, but Saud Shakeel, seasoned on surfaces like these, restored some order to proceedings for Pakistan. The sting was taken out of the quicks and the spinners negotiated deftly, while Mohammad Rizwan at the other end kept his concentration levels up as West Indies continued to prowl.There was a notable acceleration from the pair after tea, right from when Shakeel got to his knees and swept Kevin Sinclair for four. It was a shot that brought the pair bounty through the session, giving them a release shot as the ball began to rip. The next six overs produced seven boundaries with Rizwan the chief aggressor, brave enough to use his feet to spin and ensuring the strike kept ticking over.There remained plenty for the visitors to get excited about. A number of balls beat the outside edge by a whisker, and Shakeel popped one up dangerously close to short midwicket just shy of a half-century. But when he got there, and Rizwan followed up soon after, the milestones were both well-deserved. By now, the light had been deteriorating consistently, and midway through Kraigg Brathwaite’s first over, the light-metre came out, and the players went off. By then, Pakistan were arguably the happier side, having been dragged by Rizwan and Shakeel towards a rather less perilous position than they found themselves in after the first hour.

Visitors inched close to series-levelling win after setting hosts 254 on tricky pitch and reducing them to 76 for 4

Danyal Rasool26-Jan-2025West Indies are inching closer to a series-levelling win after reducing Pakistan to 76 for 4 at stumps on the second day in Multan. The hosts are still another 178 runs away from victory. Earlier, West Indies had produced their best batting performance of the series, led by a half-century from their captain Kraigg Brathwaite to take control. They further solidifying their position when the lower order produced several useful contributions.In the 24 overs West Indies had with the ball in the final session, they inflicted four bruising body blows, including a last-gasp dismissal of Babar Azam that brought nightwatcher Kashif Ali to the crease. In pursuit of a steep target, made especially more awkward by the nature of these surfaces, Pakistan ran into headwinds early. Within 16 deliveries, both openers were gone. Shan Masood was out lbw playing for turn against Kevin Sinclair as the delivery carried on with the arm and rapped into his front pad. Mohammad Hurraira, too, played for phantom spin against Gudakesh Motie, and paid for it with his front leg in front of the stumps and an easy decision for the umpire.Babar and Kamran Ghulam staved off the worst of Pakistan’s fears to puncture the swell of optimism coursing through West Indies’ veins by gradually rebuilding from the ruins of that start. Ghulam was fortunate to be put down off the eighth ball he faced, but the pair found a way to hang on, putting run-scoring on the backburner for a few overs as they bedded in. Babar began to look brighter as his innings went on, and his continued presence began to feel like it would play an outsized role in the outcome of this match.But the partnership was broken when Ghulam failed to get to the pitch of a delivery from Jomel Warrican, and skied it to backward point. That is when the rebuild began anew. With Saud Shakeel, Pakistan’s best player of spin, at the other end, he and Babar were shepherding the day through to the finish.But Sinclair inflicted what at the moment felt like the knockout blow. A touch of extra bounce and a hint of more turn at Babar found a chunk of the inside edge, which deflected off the pad to short leg. West Indies’ slightly wild celebrations belied the magnitude of the moment.Kevin Sinclair had Babar Azam caught at the stroke of stumps•AFP/Getty Images

Brathwaite had challenged his side to be more aggressive, and led from the front. The tempo was set when he launched Sajid Khan over long-on for six in the fifth over, before consecutive boundaries to start off Noman Ali’s spell. It sent the message that the spin duo wasn’t going to have things their way, and Brathwaite kept reinforcing that in offence and defence. Abrar Ahmed, too, saw his second ball whipped through midwicket for four.But Mikyle Louis, Brathwaite’s opening partner, was neither as positive nor looked as comfortable. That was how Pakistan got back into the game: they drew Louis into a prod towards the off side, and Shan Masood took a straight forward catch at short extra cover.Debutant Amir Jangoo, though, took a leaf out of his captain’s book. Brathwaite slapped Noman for six over long-on, but found himself slowed down as he approached his half-century. Jangoo, though, motored along nicely, and when he helped himself to two boundaries off Abrar in an over, West Indies, in total control, had their lead inching towards three figures.But Pakistan’s spinners were bringing them back into the game. Brathwaite survived two raised fingers off consecutive deliveries with successful reviews, but fell the next over when he tried to charge Noman and ended up getting beaten by extra turn. It was a manner of dismissal almost identical to the one that would snare Kavem Hodge in the minutes before lunch.In the meantime, Sajid, too, was getting into the game. He had dismissed Jangoo shortly after Brathwaite went walkabout, forcing the issue with a sweep when he appeared to have misjudged the flight and the pitch of the delivery. It ended up taking a feather off the bottom of the bat to slip, and West Indies were left with two new batters at the crease.Tevin Imlach and the lower order dug in for West Indies•Pakistan Cricket Board

The final over before lunch saw Pakistan strike a fifth time. Noman landed the ball in the footmarks and ripped it back into the pads of Alick Athanaze. An enthused appeal, needed partially because Pakistan had burnt all three reviews, was successful.Pakistan continued making inroads when a miscued reverse sweep from Justin Greaves found backward point. But as the visitors have done all series, their lower order dug in. Tevin Imlach and Sinclair did not take too many risks as they worked to build up a conventional Test partnership, and the runs appeared to follow. The duo batted for nearly 14 overs as Pakistan rotated through their bowlers, and the quest for a wicket became increasingly desperate.The breakthrough came in unlikely fashion when Sinclair somehow played all around a Sajid delivery from around the wicket, throwing his head to the skies in frustration. Imlach succumbed shortly after to fast bowler Kashif Ali, who was naggingly accurate on the brief occasion he was called upon.Yet again, however, the bottom two partnerships found ways of contributing. Motie combined with Warrican to add a further 27, before Kemar Roach, injured taking a splendid catch on Saturday, limped out to add a few more crucial runs. He got his side past 250 before Sajid finally wrapped the innings up. The sense, however, was that it was already too late.

Hamstring injury leaves England looking at potential replacements ahead of Australia opener

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2025 • Updated on 10-Feb-20251:19

Buttler: ‘We are making steps in right direction’

England batter Jacob Bethell is set to miss the Champions Trophy after sustaining a left hamstring injury* on the tour of India. Bethell missed Sunday’s second ODI in Cuttack, with England captain Jos Buttler saying afterwards he was unlikely to be fit for the tournament, which starts in 10 days’ time.”I’m pretty sure he’s been ruled out of the Champions Trophy, to be honest,” Buttler said. “That’s really disappointing for him, obviously he played nicely the other day and has been one of the really exciting players so it’s a shame that the injury is going to rule him out.”With Jamie Smith still recovering from a calf issue – the tourists were forced to name assistant coaches Marcus Trescothick and Paul Collingwood as sub-fielders in Cuttack – Somerset’s Tom Banton has been drafted into the squad as cover, and will arrive in India on Monday.The extent of Bethell’s injury will be established in the coming days, with England yet to make an official announcement about his status. England’s Champions Trophy campaign kicks off on February 22, against Australia in Lahore, and there is optimism around Smith’s recovery, with the wicketkeeper-batter taking part in the warm-ups on Sunday. The deadline for announcing replacements to the 15-man Champions Trophy squad is February 12.Bethell impressed with 51 and 1 for 18 with his left-arm spin in the first ODI against India, which the hosts won by four wickets. Having also performed well on his maiden Test tour of New Zealand at the end of 2024, with three half-centuries and an average of 52, he has been earmarked by head coach Brendon McCullum as a vital cog across all formats.Banton, meanwhile, has a chance to reignite his international career, having earned the last of his 20 white-ball caps in 2022. Though he has underwhelmed for England so far, with just three fifty-plus scores across four ODIs and 16 T20Is, he is in a rich vein of form off the back of a stellar ILT20, topping the competition’s batting charts.The 26-year-old struck 493 runs in 11 outings for MI Emirates, including two centuries, as the franchise reached the Eliminator stage where they were defeated by Sharjah Warriors.1900 GMT – This story was updated with Jos Buttler’s post-match quotes