Pakistan hopes its tried and tested spin template will be successful against the West Indies as the two bottom-placed teams in the World Test Championship gear up for the two-test series starting from Friday. The same pitch has been prepared for the first test in Multan on which Pakistan spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali neutralized England’s aggressive “Bazball” in October when the groundskeepers successfully dried out the 22-yard strip with the help of giant industrial-sized fans and patio heaters. “We emphasized during the England series that home conditions are very important in test cricket,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said on Thursday. “We adapted a style of play, style of pitches, (and) now we will try ... to carry forward the momentum of the England series.” Pakistan came from behind to beat England 2-1 on engineered dry pitches in Multan and Rawalpindi after losing the first test by an innings when the tourists amassed a record 823-7 declared in the first innings. Clark’s century powers Chittagong to big win over Khulna Off-spinner Sajid and left-arm spinner Noman grabbed 39 of the 40 wickets in the last two test matches against England, and were in the 15-man squad after being overlooked for the away series against South Africa, which Pakistan lost 2-0. Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, who missed the home series against England because of illness, was included as the third specialist spinner in the playing XI with off-spinner Salman Ali Agha giving the home team a fourth spin option. Pakistan has lost eight of its last 10 test matches under Masood’s captaincy since he was elevated to red-ball skipper in December 2023. But the skipper believed Pakistan couldn’t capitalize a number of times against Australia, Bangladesh and South Africa after putting opponents on the back foot. “There are lots of test matches during last year when we lost the games after coming into a winning position,” Masood said. “There were only one or two one-sided matches … we came into good positions but couldn’t finish it. The lesson for this team is how we can convert it into victories.” Pakistan will be without its in-form opening batter Saim Ayub, who was ruled out of competitive cricket for up to six weeks after fracturing his right ankle during the series in South Africa. Ayub will be replaced by Mohammad Huraira, who scored half-centuries in both innings during the three-day warmup game against the West Indies in Islamabad. The West Indies has yet to win a series in this WTC cycle. It has lost to India, England and South Africa while drawing 1-1 against Australia and Bangladesh. But captain Kraigg Brathwaite was hopeful that his team could finish the WTC cycle on a high. “This series is very important for us,” Brathwaite said. “It’s a new year … it is important to finish this cycle strong and that’s our focus.” Fast bowler Shamar Joseph was ruled of the series due to shin splits while another pacer, Alzarri Joseph, preferred to play in the ILT20 league in the United Arab Emirates. Brathwaite said the tourists have left out vice-captain Joshua Da Silva from the playing XI while fast bowler Kemar Roach misses out because of illness. Multan will also host the second test, starting from Jan. 25 due to ongoing upgrades at Pakistan’s two main stadiums in Karachi and Lahore for next month’s Champions Trophy.

Steve Smith’s stylish century, his 34th, powered Australia to a strong position against India at lunch Friday on the second day of the fourth test of the five-match series. Australia resumed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 311-6 and reached 454-7 at lunch, thanks to a 112-run stand between Smith (139 not out) and tailender Pat Cummins (49). Debutant teenager Sam Konstas (60), Usman Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72) and Smith all made half-centuries in front of a crowd of over 87,242 on Thursday’s first day’s play. Smith, who was 68 overnight, moved into the 90s in spectacular fashion with a six over fine leg off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah in the 11th over of the day. The 35-year-old Smith climbed to equal-seventh in test cricket with 34 centuries, reaching his hundred off 167 deliveries with a glorious cover drive to the boundary. Smith, who began the series with scores of 0, 17 and 2 in the first two tests, also hit 101 in the third in Brisbane. Cummins and Smith crushed India’s hopes of an early breakthrough Friday with a century stand for the seventh wicket. Cummins was caught at deep cover off the bowling of spinner Ravindra Jadeja at 411-7. Read: Kohli and Australia teen Konstas provide a fiery start to the 4th cricket test Smith’s unbeaten knock has included 13 fours and three sixes. Mitchell Starc is 15 not out as India’s bowlers struggle to contain Australia’s batters. In an explosive start to the fourth test Thursday, the audacious batting of 19-year-old Konstas, including reverse-scooping India’s pace spearhead Bumrah over slips to the boundary, infuriated India batting great Virat Kohli. At the completion of the 10th over of the match, ex-skipper Kohli collided shoulder to shoulder with Konstas, who had his head down adjusting his batting gloves. Kohli pleaded guilty after play to making “inappropriate physical contact” with Konstas. Match referee Andy Pycroft fined 36-year-old Kohli 20% of his match fee. Kohli also received one demerit point. The five-match series is level at 1-1 after a rainy draw at Brisbane, The fifth and final test is scheduled to start on Jan. 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has named the squad for the two ICC World Test Championship (WTC) matches against the West Indies. It'll be Bangladesh's first Test series in West Indies since 2022, when they suffered a clean sweep in a two-match series. Bangladesh brought back left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam for this series. He missed home series against South Africa and also missed the India series before that. The first Test is scheduled to begin on November 22 at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, followed by the second match on November 30 at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The tour will begin with a 4-day warm-up match from November 15-19 at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. After the Test series, Bangladesh will play a limited-overs segment, with the first ODU set for December 8 at Warner Park in St. Kitts. The subsequent ODIs are scheduled for December 10 and December 12, both at the same venue. Read: Pakistan beats Australia by 8 wickets to clinch 3-game ODI series Following the ODI series, the tour will conclude with a three-match T20I series in St. Vincent. The T20Is are slated for December 15, December 17, and December 19, all taking place at Arnos Vale Playing Field in Kingstown. Bangladesh Test Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque Showrab, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Litton Kumer Das (Wicketkeeper), Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Vice Captain), Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Hasan Murad.

To play a two-match Test series against the hosts, the South Africa cricket team arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday morning. The first Test of the series will take place in Dhaka on October 21, while the second Test will be played in Chattogram. This series is part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC Test Championship. With two wins in six matches, South Africa are currently in fifth place in the points table, while Bangladesh are in seventh place with three wins in eight matches. So, the upcoming series will provide a great chance for both teams to advance their position in the points table to finish as top two. South Africa’s regular captain, Temba Bavuma, will not be available for the first match in Mirpur due to an injury. In his absence, Aiden Markram will lead them in the series opener. Bavuma is expected to return for the second match in Chattogram, beginning on October 29. Read: BCB appoints Phil Simmons as Head Coach of Bangladesh National Cricket team Left-arm pacer Nandre Burger was named in the original squad, but he is missing the tour due to a lumbar stress fracture. To replace, the South Africa Cricket added Lungi Ngidi for the Bangladesh series. While the South African team has already landed in Dhaka, the BCB has yet to announce the squad. The Bangladesh team just returned home from their disastrous tour of India, where they lost all of two Tests, and three T20Is. South Africa Test squad for Bangladesh series: Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne.

Top-order batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto will lead the Bangladesh team in the upcoming two-match series against New Zealand starting later this month. Jalal Younus, chairman of the cricket operation department of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), confirmed the development to media on Saturday (November 18, 2023). “Shanto will lead the team in the two Tests against New Zealand,” Jalal said at a press briefing at the BCB media lounge. In the ICC World Cup 2023, deemed “the worst” for Bangladesh by Shakib Al Hasan, Shanto led the team in two matches when the regular captain Shakib was out of the playing XI due to injury concerns. Read: New Zealand to visit Bangladesh in November for 2-Test series Shakib, who was ruled out of the World Cup before the last match for Bangladesh, is set to miss the upcoming Test series as he continues to recover from a finger injury. Opener Litton Das has also been granted leave for a month. He recently became father of a baby girl. “Litton asked for leave for two months; we have accepted one month,” Jalal confirmed. “He became a father, so he needs leave, and we understand it.” Meanwhile, Allan Donald resigned from his post as the pace bowling coach of Bangladesh. In his absence, coaches from the high-performance unit may join the national team to fulfill his role. The BCB will soon appoint a new pace-bowling coach. Read more: New Zealand tour of Bangladesh in 2023-2024: Schedules, Fixtures, Team

The India national cricket team arrived in Dhaka on Thursday evening. The tourists will play a three-match ODI and two-match Test series against the hosts Bangladesh. Read more:  India to arrive in Dhaka Thursday for ODI, Test series It will be the first series of these two teams in Bangladesh in seven years. India last toured Bangladesh for an ODI and Test series back in 2015 when Bangladesh beat them 2-1 in the ODI series. Bangladesh took on India in 36 ODIs so far, and they won five, with one match ending with no result.  Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team in this series, while Lokesh Rahul will play the role of his deputy. The first ODI of the series will take place in Dhaka on December 4, while the second will be played at the same venue on December 7. The third and last ODI will be played in Chattogram on December 10.  After the ODI series, both the teams will lock horns in a two-match Test series. The first Test is scheduled to be played in Chattogram from December 14, while the second and last Test will take place in Dhaka from December 22.  Read more: Unofficial Test: India A in the driving seat against Bangladesh A India's squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL  Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen

India is set to arrive in Dhaka Thursday evening to play a three-match ODI and two-match Test series against hosts Bangladesh. It will be the first ODI series between these teams in Bangladesh in seven years. India last toured Bangladesh for an ODI series in 2015 when the hosts beat them 2-1. Read more: Unofficial Test: India A in the driving seat against Bangladesh A Bangladesh took on India in 36 ODIs; they won five and one was a no result. Rohit Sharma will lead Team India in the series and Lokesh Rahul will play the role of his deputy. The first ODI of the series will take place in Dhaka on December 4 and the second at the same venue on December 7. The third and last ODI will be played in Chattogram on December 10. After the ODI series, both the teams will lock horns in a two-match Test series. The first Test is scheduled to be played in Chattogram from December 14 and the second and last one in Dhaka from December 22. Read more: Unofficial Test: Fragile Bangladesh A on the back foot against India A India squad for ODIs Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar, and Kuldeep Sen

England's cricket team arrived in Islamabad early Sunday to play its first test series in Pakistan since 2005. Led by Ben Stokes, England will kick off the tour in Rawalpindi -- an adjacent city to Islamabad -- which hosts the first test from next Thursday. The second test will be played at Multan from Dec. 9-13 before England round off the tour with the final test at Karachi from Dec. 17-21. England had played a seven-match T20 series in Pakistan prior to the T20 World Cup in Australia where it went on to beat Pakistan in the final. England was due to tour Pakistan last year before the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates but abandoned the tour due to security concerns after New Zealand had aborted its tour to Pakistan just minutes before the toss in the first ODI at Rawalpindi. There were some concerns over England’s test tour to Pakistan after former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was wounded in Wazirabad, a district in eastern Punjab province, during his protest against the sitting government. “It’s been a long time since England have played test cricket in Pakistan,” Stokes had said in Abu Dhabi last Friday where the team trained for a week before flying out to Pakistan. Read more: England to play 3 Test matches in Pakistan in December “With what happened with Imran Khan recently, there was a little bit of concern, but we have Reg Dickason, who has been the security man for many years with England, and we left it in his capable hands.” Last Monday Khan had met with the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja and British High Commissioner in Lahore and assured the officials that his protest against the government will not disturb England cricket team’s tour to Pakistan. Pakistan had hosted England twice in a test series at UAE over the last 17 years with foreign teams reluctant to travel to Pakistan after the Sri Lanka cricket team was attacked in Lahore in 2009. However, since 2015 Pakistan has started regaining the confidence of foreign countries that it could organize international games at home and have hosted almost all the major cricketing nations, including South Africa and Australia. The three-test series will be part of World Test Championship where Pakistan is sitting in fifth place while England is seventh. Pakistan needs to win the three-test series to keep its hopes alive for next year’s final. Read more: England crush Pakistan in T20 decider to win series 4-3 Pakistan will be without its key fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, who has been ruled out of the series due to knee injury. The home team has also dropped middle-order batter Fawad Alam and ace leg-spinner Yasir Shah due to poor form. Uncapped fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Mohammad Ali have been called up to the squad along with mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed, who is expected to make his debut during the series. England also has injury concerns ahead of the first test with fast bowler Mark Wood in doubt due to a hip injury. Stuart Broad has been given paternity leave from the tour as England will be banking on its experienced fast bowler James Anderson to trouble Pakistan batters. England has included 18-year-old Leicestershire allrounder Rehan Ahmed in the squad after originally drafting him as a net bowler for the tour. Squad: Ben Stokes (capt), Harry Brook, Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Ben Foakes, Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, James Anderson, Jamie Overton, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed.

South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first in the second of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh at Port Elizabeth on Friday. Bangladesh has, however, made two changes in the playing XI -- Tamim Iqbal has replaced Shadman Islam, and Taijul Islam is in the team in place of Taskin Ahmed, who has been ruled out due to a hand injury. With the return of Tamim, Bangladesh can hope for a strong top-order batting display. Bangladesh lost the first Test in Durban by a big margin of 220 runs after a batting collapse in the second innings. Also Read: SA vs BAN 2022: Bangladesh Aspire to Level the Test Series with Fresh Strategy Mahmudul Hasan Joy was the best performer for Bangladesh in the first Test. The young batter hit a ton in Durban, which was the maiden Test century by any Bangladeshi batter in South Africa. While Bangladesh have made two changes, the hosts are playing with an unchanged XI. Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das (w), Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Also Read: Pat Cummins Makes Headlines with Fastest IPL Fifty South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar (c), Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Temba Bavuma, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne (w), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Lizaad Williams, Duanne Olivier

With the job half done, Bangladesh are all set to take on New Zealand from Sunday in the second Test of the series aiming to finish the job — to win their first-ever Test series against the Blackcaps. The Tigers, who had no win in New Zealand despite playing a total of 32 matches across all the formats, won the first Test of the series in Tauranga by eight wickets. Along with becoming their first-ever win in New Zealand, this win ended the drought of Bangladesh of not winning a Test against any of the top-five Test teams away from home. Experts said it was one of the best things that Bangladesh have done in their cricketing history, though Masrhafe Bin Mortaza, the former captain of the Tigers is not a big fan of this idea. He rather said ‘not one of the best’, it actually is ‘the best-ever win’ of Bangladesh in cricket regardless of the formats. Read: Bangladesh National Men's Cricket Team Schedules for 2022 Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan echoed Mashrafe. To him, this win proved those who used to think that Bangladesh is unable to do big things sans the service of the big players wrong. Shakib pointed to the absence of himself and Tamim Iqbal in this series. While Tamim was left out due to an injury, Shakib skipped it citing family reasons. “Bangladesh’s media fraternity used to say that the Bangladesh team is all about some four-five players, but it is proved wrong now. The young players are also capable of doing big things if they are given adequate chances,” Shakib said recently during a media interaction in Dhaka. Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo believes the Tigers are pumped-up thanks to the win in the first match, and they are eager to create a new chapter of their history winning the second Test in a tougher condition in Christchurch which will surely offer a wicket with grass on it. Given the current stats of Bangladesh in the longer format of the sport, one might say it’s a daydream of the Tigers to aim for a series win against New Zealand— the current champions of the ICC World Test Championship. But a win with the contribution from most players of the XI changed the atmosphere of the Bangladesh team.