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3rd Ashes test: Boland test debut, England makes 4 changes
Australia will give fast bowler Scott Boland a test debut in the third Ashes match beginning Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground while England has made four changes to its side.
Boland was brought in as cover earlier this week and received the starting nod when fellow fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser were ruled out because of muscle soreness.
Josh Hazelwood was already out as he continues to recover from side strain, meaning captain Pat Cummins and Boland are the two new inclusions to the Australian XI.
"Jhye and Nes were a little bit sore after Adelaide so we've decided to go with Scotty," said Cummins, who missed the Adelaide test after being a close contact of a COVID-19 case. "It's a luxury to have someone like him, fresh and ready to go."
Boland will become the second Australian male indigenous test player after fellow pace bowler Jason Gillespie.
Australia, which leads the five-match series 2-0, can wrap up the series and clinch the Ashes with a victory at the MCG.
England, meanwhile, dropped opener Rory Burns and paceman Stuart Broad, along with Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes.
Bowlers Mark Wood and Jack Leach will return to the starting side, while Zak Crawley and Jonathan Bairstow will play their first tests in this series.
England also confirmed Jos Buttler will continue as wicketkeeper, rather than Bairstow taking over the gloves.
Buttler was in a confident mood Saturday at a Christmas morning media conference.
"We're certainly not here to just take part and let 70,000 people enjoy another Australian victory," Buttler said. "We have to fight back, we want to win the series and we want to win this test match.
"I'm sure it will be a hostile environment here but that's to be embraced and enjoyed, everyone is excited to be here. This is why you play the game because you want to be part of big occasions."
Lineups:
Australia: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
England: Joe Root (captain), Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonathan Bairstow, Jos Butler, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, James Anderson.
V-Day Handball: BGB clinch men’s crown; Ansar & VDP women’s title
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) clinched men’s and Bangladesh Ansar & VDP the women’s titles of the Walton Victory Day Handball Tournament eliminating their rivals in the finals at the Shaheed (Capt) M Mansur Ali National Stadium here on Saturday.
Senior Executive Director of the meet’s sponsor Walton Group FM Iqbal Bin Anwar Dawn was the chief guest in the day’s closing function and later he distributed the prizes. General Secretary of Bangladesh Handball Federation Asaduzzaman Kohinoor was also present on the occasion.
Read: V-Day Handball: BGB, Police reach final
In the men’s final, BGB beat Bangladesh Ansar and VDP by 32-14 goal after dominating the first half 24-9 goal. Taju Islam of the champion team scored highest 10 goals and was adjudged the best player of the meet.
U-19 Asia Cup: Nabil's ton sets up big win for Cubs versus Nepal
Prantik Nawrose Nabil hit a century in the U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE as Bangladesh beat Nepal by a big margin of 154 runs on Friday.
Bangladesh won the toss and batted first in this match.
Nabil came to bat at number three and posted 127 off 112 deliveries with 11 fours and one six. Along with him, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Fahim also did well— scoring 58.
Bangladesh ended up on 297 for four in 50 overs, with Nepal’s Gulsan Jha, Tilak Bhandari, and Mohammad Aadil Alam bagged a wicket each.
In reply, Nepal were scrambled for 143 all wickets in 42.3 overs.
Gulsan Jha was the top scorer with his 35 while Bibek Magar scored 33.
For Bangladesh, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, captain Rakibul Hasan, SM Meherob, and Naimur Rohman bagged two wickets each.
In the next two matches, Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka and Kuwait on December 25 and 28 respectively.
Jamie Siddons to rejoin BCB after a decade
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have announced the return of the seasoned Australian cricket coach Jamie Siddons to Bangladesh setup as batting consultant. He was Bangladesh’s head coach after Dave Whatmore left after the 2007 World Cup.
Australian Siddons, 57, is thus set to rejoin BCB, a decade after his first stint that ended when his contract was not renewed following the ICC World Cup in 2011.
“Jamie is all set to join BCB again this February,” BCB president Nazmul Hasan announced Friday evening. “His role will be set later. He can work for any of our units— be it U-19 or HP or the national team. We will be working across our teams.”
Nazmul also said that the board will emphasize improving the quality of the players even during the off-season.
Read: New Zealand vs Bangladesh: Head-to-Head Record, Stats in Test Cricket
Jalal, who was the chair of BCB’s media and communication department, will now take over as head of the cricket operations department, replacing Akram Khan, who recently expressed his intention to step aside due to family commitments.
Tanvir Ahmed Titu, the newly elected director, will take on the role of chairing the media and communications committee, and Jalal will be the vice-chairman.
The details of the committees will be revealed soon, as Nazmul told the media.
Right before the T20 World Cup this year, the seventh general election of BCB took place, Nazmul became the president of the board for the third time.
It’s tough to play all formats together: Shakib
Bangladesh star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan said that it’s tough for him to continue playing all three formats of the game due to the pandemic-forced situation.
The allrounder recently skipped the tour of New Zealand for a two-match Test series.
It was not the first time when Shakib skipped a series due to his personal reasons. In recent interviews, Shakib said it’s getting tough for him to spend quality time with his young family due to his business in cricket.
Also read: Ajaz disappointed being overlooked in Tests vs Bangladesh
While talking to a private TV channel, Shakib said he knows what is the most important format for him to take part in.
“I know what the format should get my preference,” he said. “I think the time has come for me to think about how I play Test.” Shakib clearly indicated that he is not interested to play every Test match Bangladesh play.
Bangladesh’s neighbouring Test-playing nation India is looking to introduce a good rotation policy to manage the workload of the players. But Bangladesh is yet to make such a move.
“I’m not saying that I’m retiring from Tests,” Shakib added. “But I can refrain from playing T20s after playing the 2022 World Cup. I might play Tests and ODIs then. But it’s not possible to play all three formats together.”
Also read: Shakib Al Hasan's next stop: Bank director
The 34-year-old allrounder also said the pandemic-forced quarantine is also taking a toll on him. He said that staying in quarantine feels like ‘staying in jail”.
Shakib has a tendency to live in the USA with his wife and young children. He is currently in the USA and will be there until the next season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) takes place.
According to the latest development, the new season of BPL will begin on January 21, and Shakib is expected to play for the team based in Barishal. However, it’s not official yet.
Victory Day Handball advance to final stage
The Walton Victory Day Men’s and Women’s Handball Tournaments advanced to the finals at the Shaheed Capt (Retd) M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium here on Thursday.
Both the finals will be held on Saturday (Dec 25) morning at the same venue.
Bangladesh Ansar & VDP will play Jamalpur Sports Academy in the Women’s final at 10 am while Bangladesh Ansar & VDP will face Boarder Guard Bangladesh in the men’s final at 11:30 am on Saturday at the same venue.
Also read: Victory Day Handball Tournanent underway
In the day’s men’s first semifinal, Bangladesh Ansar & VDP defeated Tetulia Upazila Sports Association of Panchagarh by 36-17 goal after leading the first half by 13-11 goal.
In the day’s 2nd semifinal, Jamalpur Sports Academy eliminated Bangladesh Police Handball Club by 27-21 goal after dominating the first half by 13-9 goal.
Also read: Youth Handball: Panchagarh emerge champions beating Naogoan
UK study makes case for AstraZeneca boosters
A third dose of both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines significantly increased the immune response to the omicron variant, according to a new study by University of Oxford researchers.
The laboratory study, which hasn’t been peer reviewed yet, compared antibody levels in blood samples from people who received two doses of vaccine with samples from those who had received a third dose.
While two doses provided much less protection against omicron than earlier variants, levels of neutralizing antibodies rose sharply after a third dose, the study found.
Also read: Boosters key to fight omicron, lot still to learn
“In summary, neutralization titres against omicron are boosted following a third vaccine dose, meaning that the campaign to deploy booster vaccines should add considerable protection against omicron infection,” the researchers wrote.
The study also found that unvaccinated people who had recovered from COVID-19 probably have “little protection from reinfection with omicron,” though they may have some protection against serious illness.
Also read: Moderna: Initial booster data shows good results on omicron
Ajaz disappointed being overlooked in Tests vs Bangladesh
New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel, who has recently bagged 10 wickets in a Test innings only as the third bowler in the history, said that he is disappointed after being left out of the team in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh starting from January 1.
Bangladesh team is already in New Zealand, and players have started preparation for the series following maintaining an extended quarantine.
New Zealand Cricket has recently announced a 13-member squad for this series overlooking left-arm orthodox spinner Ajaz. The bowler said he understands the reason behind his omission but he is disappointed.
“It’s disappointing to be out of the team,” he said to the media. “Still, you have to express yourself and show that you are passionate to play for New Zealand. I have talked to the coach, and it was an honest conversation.”
Read: Tom Latham to Lead New Zealand Test Team for Bangladesh Series
In the 13-member team, Rachin Ravindra is the only spin-bowling option for the hosts. Before this series, Rachin played only two Tests and bagged three wickets.
The first Test of the series will be played in Tauranga while the second is slated to take place in Christchurch.
Before this series, Bangladesh lost all 15 Tests they played against the Blackcaps. This series is a part of the ICC World Test Championship that Bangladesh started with a disappointing result with Pakistan at home— losing a two-match series 2-0.
Read: Tigers out for preparation in New Zealand
In the previous cycle of the same event, Bangladesh played seven Tests and failed to win any of them. This time, the Tigers are eager to make a mark and try to turn the tide.
Federation Cup Football begins Saturday
The Bashundhara Group Federation Cup Football Tournament ’21 with the participation of the country’s 12 leading clubs begins on Saturday at the Bir Shreshta Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in the city.
The ceremonial draw of the country’s one of the major and regular football tournament, the Federation Cup Football, was held on Thursday at the conference room of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) in Motijheel
Senior Vice President of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and Chairman of the Professional League Management Committee Abdus Salam Murshedy MP was present at the function.
The champion team will be awarded with prize money of Tk five lakh while the runners-up will get Tk three lakh as prize money.
Read: Grouping of Federation Cup Football finalised; Abahani, Mohammedan in same group
All the 12 teams, split into four groups, will initially complete of league basis matches till December 30.
Holders Bashundhara Kings and 10 times champions Dhaka Mohammedan SC were drafted in tough Group A with Swadinata KS while eleven times champions Dhaka Abahani Limited. Sheikh Russel KC and Uttar Baridhara Club put in Group B.
Saif Sporting Club, Chittagong Abahani and Bangladesh Police FC was placed in Group C while Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, Rahmatganj MFS and Muktijoddha Sangsad KC in Group D.
Read: Federation Cup Basketball: Navy, Air Force move into final
Later, two top teams from each of the four groups, will play in the quarterfinals on January 1 and 2. The two semifinals billed for January 5 and the final will commence on January 8.
Tom Latham to Lead New Zealand Test Team for Bangladesh Series
The New Zealand Cricket Board will host the Bangladesh cricket team for a two-match Test series as part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship. New Zealand are the reigning Champions of the newly formed Test tournament. They lost 1-0 against India to begin their quest for the second edition of the Test Championship. Therefore, the upcoming series is crucial for New Zealand to move up the points standings. Despite Kane Williamson’s injury, the selectors named a solid Test squad for the Bangladesh series. Let's take a look at New Zealand's Test team for the Bangladesh series.
New Zealand's Test Team for the Bangladesh Series 2022
The New Zealand Cricket Board confirmed the Test squad for their next home series against Bangladesh on Wednesday (December 22).
The majority of the players that were part of the India trip in 2021 were selected by the New Zealand selectors. Only Devon Conway, who missed the India series due to injury, has been added to the lineup for this series. Captain Kane Williamson has been rested for the series. He has an elbow injury and is expected to miss international cricket for an extended period of time, according to sources.
Read Six-team Bangabandhu BPL kicks off on January 21
One of the most significant moves was to drop spinner Ajaz Patel for the series. Ajaz had an incredible outing during the India series. He took ten wickets in India's first innings in the Mumbai Test, making him only the third bowler in history to take ten wickets in a single innings. Jim Laker of England collected ten wickets in an innings against Australia in Manchester in 1956, while Anil Kumble of India grabbed ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999.
According to head coach Gary Stead, Ajaz Patel is not an ideal option for the Bangladesh series. Instead, they have put their faith in Rachin Ravindra, a genuine part-time bowler who has yet to make his Test debut for the Blackcaps. In fact, Rachin is the team's lone spinner. Will Somerville and Glenn Phillips are two other players who did not make the squad. Apart from them, the team has all of the expected names.
Read Nayeem takes six to stun Central Zone in BCL
New Zealand Squad:
Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, and Will Young
Probable New Zealand XI (first match)
Tom Latham (c), Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult
Read Akram to stay in his BCB position for now, next decision on Dec 24: Nazmul
NZ vs BAN 2022: Test Series Fixture
The Test series between New Zealand and Bangladesh will begin on January 1, 2022. The first Test match will be contested at the Bay Oval in Tauranga from January 1 to 5. The second Test will be held three days later, from January 9 to 13, at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Both games are scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time).
Bottom Line
Bangladesh have met New Zealand in a total of 15 matches in Test cricket. However, they have failed to win a Test match against the Kiwis, having lost 12 of them. New Zealand's current Test setup will put Bangladesh's team to the test. Therefore, New Zealand will be a clear favorite in this home series, with a strong chance of winning all 24 points.
Read Bangladesh-New Zealand Test Series: Three Inspiring Knocks From Bangladeshi Batters