New Zealand
NZ abandons cricket tour of Pakistan over security concerns
New Zealand abandoned its cricket tour of Pakistan on Friday over security concerns that mystified the hosts, just before the Black Caps’ first scheduled match in Pakistan in 18 years.
New Zealand Cricket said it received a security alert from its government and made the decision to cancel the tour moments before the scheduled start of the one-day international series in Rawalpindi. Both teams stayed at their hotel.
“Following an escalation in the New Zealand government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisers on the ground, it has been decided the Black Caps will not continue with the tour,” NZC said on its website.
“Arrangements are now being made for the team’s departure.”
NZC declined to comment on the nature of the security threat.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke personally to New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern and informed her “we have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team.”
“The Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan government made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand Cricket of the same.”
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja hinted they will protest to the International Cricket Council against NZC’s unilateral decision.
“Crazy day it has been! Feel so sorry for the fans and our players,” Raja tweeted. “Walking out of the tour by taking a unilateral approach on a security threat is very frustrating. Especially when it’s not shared!! Which world is NZ living in??NZ will hear us at ICC.”
New Zealand was to play three ODIs in Rawalpindi and five Twenty20s in Lahore. Both cities and the security arrangements were cleared by NZC’s security team last month.
NZC chief executive David White said the advice he received made the tour impossible to continue, and he was supported by the New Zealand Cricket Players Association.
“I understand this will be a blow for the PCB, who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option,” White said.
The PCB said it tried its best to convince the Kiwis, but “cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last minute withdrawal (of New Zealand).”
Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed his disappointment at the cancellation, while former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar tweeted: “NZ just killed Pakistan cricket.”
England men’s and women’s teams are due in Pakistan for short two-match T20 series next month, and the England and Wales Cricket Board said it would make a final call on the tours this weekend.
England’s men have not played an international in Pakistan since 2005 while the women are visiting for the first time.
“We’re aware of New Zealand’s decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert,” the ECB said. “We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation. The ECB Board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed.”
Pakistan was a no go zone for international cricket teams for a decade after terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009. The ambush killed seven people and injured several Sri Lankan cricketers, including Thilan Samaraweera, who is among the New Zealand tour management as the batting coach.
Since international teams resumed touring Pakistan in 2019, this is the first instance of a team having to abandon while in the country.
“The players are in good hands,” New Zealand Cricket Players Association chief executive Heath Mills said. “They’re safe and everyone’s acting in their best interests.”
Police investigate deaths of 3 young children in New Zealand
Three young children who had just moved to New Zealand from South Africa have died in what police said Friday they're investigating as homicide.
Police said they were not looking for any possible suspects beyond those involved in the incident late Thursday at a home in the South Island town of Timaru. They said emergency services had found a woman at the address who had been hospitalized in stable condition.
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Police said the children were 3-year-old twins and a 7-year-old who were all siblings. All those involved had recently moved from South Africa to New Zealand, police said, and had moved out of a mandatory coronavirus quarantine facility within the past week.
In a brief news conference, police said the investigation was in its early stages and they couldn't yet release many details, including the names of the children or how they died.
Inspector Dave Gaskin, the Aoraki area commander, said the deaths would be “incredibly distressing” for residents of Timaru, particularly after five teenagers from the town were killed in a car crash last month.
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The Stuff news organization said neighbors Karen and Brad Cowper called police just after 10 p.m. when they heard a man screaming and crying. The neighbors said they asked the man if he was OK but he didn't respond other than to say: “Is this really happening?”
Stuff reported the family was living in accommodation for hospital staff, and both the man and woman were medical professionals.
Latham, Allen propel Blackcaps to 161 in final T20
In the fifth and final T20 against Bangladesh, New Zealand posted a challenging total of 161 while batting first after winning the toss on Friday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Tom Latham, the New Zealand captain, continued on a good run and posted an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls while Finn Allen hit 41 off 24 balls.
New Zealand made a good start as Allen and Rachin Ravindra added 58 runs in the opening stand— their highest in the partnership in this series.
Shoriful Islam, the left-arm Bangladeshi pacer, who was playing his first match in the series earned the first breakthrough removing Rachindra for 17 in the sixth over. In the same over, Shoriful removed the other opener as well.
Read: Bangladesh make four changes in final T20 vs New New Zealand
In the last six over, New Zealand scored 65 runs which helped them to post their highest total in this series.
The final match of the series was being played on a different wicket which was not used earlier in this event.
For Bangladesh, Shoriful bagged two while Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed and Afif Hossain took one wicket each.
Bangladesh made four changes to their playing XI in this match resting Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin. To replace them, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Shamim Hossain made it to the XI.
Bangladesh make four changes in final T20 vs New New Zealand
Bangladesh made four changes to their playing XI in the final match of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand on Friday.
The hosts lost the toss and will bowl first.
Read:Bangladesh’s celebrated umpire Nadir Shah dies at 57
Both the team will observe a one-minute silence in memory of Nadir Shah, an umpire who died on Friday morning. He was battling with cancer for the last two years.
After securing a series win, Bangladesh rested Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin and Mahedi Hasan. To replace them, Soumya Sarkar, Shamim Hossain, Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed made it to the playing XI.
In the first four matches, Bangladesh played with an unchanged team while New Zealand kept changing the combination.
Bangladesh won three of the first four matches of the series and secured a series win. Ahead of this series, Bangladesh beat Australia 4-1 in a five-match T20 series.
Read:BAN vs. NZ 2021: Top Performers in Bangladesh's Series-Clinching Victory Over New Zealand
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (w), Mahmudullah Riyad (c), Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Latham(w/c), Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ajaz Patel, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears
Tigers record maiden T20I series win vs New Zealand
Bangladesh beat New Zealand by six wickets in the fourth match on Wednesday clinching their first T20I series sweep against the Kiwis at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Tigers scripted their historic win with one match to play in the five-match series. It came not long after Bangladesh stunned Australia by wrapping for the first time a five-match T20I series against them 4-1 at the same stadium.
Bangladesh won the first match of the series by seven wickets, the second match by four runs, but they lost the third by 52 runs. They came back strongly in the fourth match, making their third win in the series.
It was Bangladesh’s first T20I series win against the Blackcaps. Before this series, Bangladesh took on the Kiwis in 10 matches but failed to win any of them.
On Wednesday New Zealand won the toss and posted only 93 while batting first. In reply, Bangladesh chased down the target of 94 in 19.1 overs with six wickets in hand.
Mahmudullah Riyad, the T20I captain and Afif Hossain remained unbeaten for 43 and 6 respectively.
Read: New Zealand opt to bat first in 4th T20I vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh lost the first wickets in the third over, and subsequently, they lost two more wickets in quick succession. Liton Das (6), Shakib Al Hasan (8) and Mushfiqu Rahim (0) failed to shine with the bat.
Nasum, Mustafiz take four each as NZ tumble for 93
Left-arm bowlers Nasum Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman bagged four wickets each as Bangladesh wrapped up New Zealand for 93 in 19.3 overs in the fourth T20I of the five-match series on Wednesday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
New Zealand, once again, won the toss, and opted to bat first but failed to have a good start as they lost the first wicket with no score on the board.
Nasum removed Rachin Ravindra off the fifth ball of the first over. Inside the power play New Zealand lost only one more wicket.
READ: New Zealand opt to bat first in 4th T20I vs Bangladesh
Finn Allen (12), Tom Latham (21) and Will Young (46) did well with the bat, but after their departure, the other New Zealand batsmen failed to continue the momentum.
In the 12th over Nasum removed Henry Nicholls and Coiln de Grandhomme for one and a duck respectively. The last five of the New Zealand batsmen scored only 11 runs. In the last over, Mustafizur removed Will Young and Blair Tickner from two consecutive deliveries.
READ: To take the series, Tigers must dig deep against resurgent Kiwis
While Nasum bagged four for 10, his best in the format, Mustafizur scalped 4 for 12. Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin bagged one wicket each.
Mushfiqur opts to quit wicket-keeping in T20Is: Domingo
Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo has said that Mushfqiur Rahim is no longer interested in keeping the wickets in T20Is.
As per the initial plan of the Bangladesh team, Mushfiqur was set to keep the wickets in the third and fourth T20Is in the ongoing series against New Zealand.
But spectators were surprised to see Nurul Hasan keeping the wicket in the third match instead of Mushfiqur.
“There has been a change. Initially, after speaking to Mushy, he was going to keep after the second game. But he told me he probably doesn’t want to keep wickets in T20s anymore, so we have to move on,” Domingo said on Sunday after the third match that Bangladesh lost by 52 runs.
“I don’t think Mushfiq’s desire to stand behind the wickets in this format is great anymore. We have to focus on Sohan, and possibly let him do those duties going into the competition,” the Bangladesh head coach added.
Read: New Zealand bounce back as Tigers suffer first defeat
Mushfiqur has been under scrutiny for while due to his wicket-keeping lapses over the last few years. He was advised by the coaches to give up the keeping and focus more on his batting.
But Mushfiqur has always been reluctant to leave wicket keeping. He instead has been saying that wicket-keeping helps him understand the wicket better and bat well.
Back in 2005, Mushfiqur had been added to the Bangladesh team as a specialist batsman.
But after the retirement of Khaled Mashud the then number one wicketkeeper of Bangladesh, Mushfiqur put on the gloves. He left the wicket-keeping in Tests for a while now. It is Liton Das, who replaced Mushfiuqr as the wicketkeeper in Tests.
As a fielder in the outfield, Mushfiqur has been doing well in the ongoing series. He grabbed four catches in three matches so far.
New Zealand bounce back as Tigers suffer first defeat
New Zealand bounced back strongly beating the hosts Bangladesh by 52 runs on Sunday in the third match of the five-match T20I series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh won the first two matches of the series, and they had a good chance to wrap up the series with two matches to play. But yet another poor batting performance handed the Kiwis a big victory and stay alive in the series.
New Zealand have won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a challenging total of 128 on the tricky Dhaka surface thanks to the 66-run stand in the sixth wicket by Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell.
In reply, the hosts tumbled for 76, their second-lowest in the format, and lost the match by 52 runs.
Bangladesh never looked to dominate the Kiwis as they did in the first two matches. The hosts lost the first four wickets inside the power play. Openers, Mohammad Naim and Liton Das, returned to the dressing room in a span of one run.
Liton smashed three fours and hinted that he would enjoy batting, but he failed to continue and fell for 15. He perished to Cole McConchie. In the very next over, Naim was removed by Rachin Ravindra.
Also read: Tigers do enough to see off Latham's Black Caps in 2nd T20I
Mahedi Hasan, who got a chance to bat up of the order, failed to justify the decision as he only scored one run, and right after him, Shakib Al Hasan was out for a duck. Both Mahedi and Shakib were hunted by Ajaz Patel.
The onus was on Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan to keep the Tigers in the match. While Mushfiqur was firm at one end of the wicket, Mahmudullah, Afif and Sohan fell in quick succession.
Eventually, Bangladesh tumbled for 76 all out in 20 overs with Mushfiqur remained unbeaten for 20 off 37 balls.
For New Zealand, Ajaz bagged four wickets while McConchie took three.
Earlier, New Zealand failed to secure a good opening stand once again as they posted 16 on the first wicket. Mustafizur Rahman earned the first breakthrough for the Tigers removing Finn Allen for 15.
Allen was playing his first match in this series. He was tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the series. He has recently returned negative in two Covid-19 tests and joined the New Zealand team.
Also read: Tigers eye to seal series against Kiwis on Sunday
For Bangladesh, Mohammad Saifuddin bagged two wickets conceding 28 runs in four overs while Mahedi Hasan, Mustafiz, and Mahmudullah Riyad took one wicket each.
It was the 100th T20I for Mahmudullah. He became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to have played 100 T20Is.
The hosts fielded an unchanged playing XI, while the visitors made three changes.
They overlooked Hamish Bennett, Ben Sears and Doug Bracewell to pave the way for Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Jacob Duffy.
The remaining matches of the series will take place on September 8 and 10 at the same venue. Bangladesh need to win any of those matches to seal the series while the Blackcaps need to win both for the same.
Bangladesh require 129 to wrap up series vs New Zealand
Bangladesh need to score 129 to wrap up the five-match T20I series against New Zealand with two matches to play. In the third match on Sunday, New Zealand batted first and posted 128 for 5 in 20 overs.
Henry Nicholls scored 36— the highest by any New Zealand batsman, while Tom Blundell scored 30. Both of them were unbeaten adding 66 runs in the sixth wicket stand.
Read:New Zealand opt to bat first against Bangladesh in 3rd T20I
New Zealand failed to secure a good opening stand once again as they posted 16 on the first wicket. Mustafizur Rahman, made the first breakthrough for the Tigers removing Finn Allen for 15.
Allen was playing his first match in this series. He was tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the series. He has recently returned negative in two Covid-19 tests and joined the New Zealand team.
For Bangladesh, Mohammad Saifuddin bagged two wickets conceding 28 runs in four overs while Mahedi Hasan, Mustafiz, and Mahmudullah Riyad took one wicket each.
It was the 100th T20I for Mahmudullah. He became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to have played 100 T20Is.
The hosts fielded an unchanged playing XI, while the visitors made three changes.
They overlooked Hamish Bennett, Ben Sears and Doug Bracewell to pave the way for Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Jacob Duffy.
Read:Tigers eye to seal series against Kiwis on Sunday
Bangladesh XI: Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah Riayad, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Tom Latham(w/c), Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell, Cole McConchie, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ajaz Patel, Jacob Duffy
New Zealand opt to bat first against Bangladesh in 3rd T20I
New Zealand have won the toss and opted to bat first in the third T20I of the five-match series against Bangladesh on Sunday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh won the first two matches of the series. So the third match came as a big chance for them to wrap up the series with two matches to play on September 8 and 10 at the same venue.
The hosts fielded an unchanged playing XI, while the visitors made three changes.
Also read: Tigers eye to seal series against Kiwis on Sunday
They overlooked Hamish Bennett, Ben Sears and Doug Bracewell to pave the way for Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Jacob Duffy.
Bangladesh XI: Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah Riayad, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Tom Latham(w/c), Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell, Cole McConchie, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ajaz Patel, Jacob Duffy.
Also read: Tigers do enough to see off Latham's Black Caps in 2nd T20I