New Zealand
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.
Tigers out for preparation in New Zealand
After waiting for about one and a half weeks, the Bangladesh team is finally out for preparation ahead of the two-match Test series against New Zealand starting from January 1.
In the latest Covid-19 Test, all the members of the Bangladesh team returned negative which allowed them to come out from the quarantine and start preparation ahead of the series.
Read:New Zealand vs Bangladesh: Head-to-Head Record, Stats in Test Cricket
This series is part of the ICC World Test Championship. Bangladesh played their first series of this event against Pakistan at home before flying for New Zealand. Bangladesh lost both the matches they played against Pakistan at home.
Bangladesh team left Dhaka on December 9 for New Zealand, and since then, they had been maintaining a strict quarantine. In the first Covid-19 test after arriving there, all the players and support staff returned negative. But in the second test, Bangladesh’s spin bowling coach Rangana Herath returned positive which prevented the Tigers to take the field after completing three days of in-room quarantine.
“It’s Great to be out,” Russell Domingo, Bangladesh’s head coach, said. “Eleven days in our rooms been pretty challenging for the boys after a long year. So, boys are happy to be out in bright sunshine and blue sky.”
Bangladesh team will continue to be practising for two days to get themselves accustomed to batting and bowling once again, and by the time they will get to Tauranga for a six-day preparation camp before the first Test of the series.
The strict quarantine measures had cast doubts over the fate of this series. Had not everybody of the Bangladesh team returned negative in the last Covid-19 test, the period of quarantine might have been extended more which could force both the boards to reschedule the series in a later date.
After the New Zealand series, Bangladesh players will need to maintain another quarantine period when they will play the new season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) which is yet to be scheduled. And after that, Afghanistan will visit Bangladesh, and the players will have to maintain another tight bio-secured environment.
Bangladesh have been suffering in the field for a while now. They won two T20I series against Australia and New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup. But in the World Cup, they failed in every way—which was started with the defeat against Scotland.
Read: Akram Khan set to resign from his BCB post, reveals family
After the shocking defeat in the first match, Bangladesh won against Oman and Papua New Guinea and qualified to the next phase of the event which was full of disappointment for the Tigers where they failed to win any match.
After the World Cup, Bangladesh lost two consecutive Tests against Pakistan. Now, they are taking the challenge of New Zealand at their home ground. Before this series, Bangladesh played 15 Tests against New Zealand and failed to win any of them.
In this tough series, Bangladesh are set to miss the service of Shakib Al Hasan who is currently on leave due to family commitments. The allrounder has great records against the Blackcaps. Along with him, Bangladesh’s most successful opener, Tamim Iqbal, is also out of this series. The opener is currently going through a rehabilitation program to come out from injuries that prevented him to take part in the Pakistan series.
All Bangladeshi players test negative for Covid-19 in New Zealand
All the members of the Bangladesh national team have tested negative for Covid-19 in New Zealand, said Khaled Mahmud, the team director touring with the Bangladesh team.
As all the players are now free from the virus they will be allowed to join practice sessions outside from Tuesday.
“We will start practice sessions from Tuesday at the Lincoln University Ground,” Mahmud said. “We will also get the gym facilities there. And we are now allowed to move to the team hotel and do all normal activities.”
With the negative results of all the players, the doubts over this series have been wiped away. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) earlier said if any player tests positive and Cricket New Zealand extends the period of quarantine, the series might need to be rescheduled at a later date.
Also read: Tigers hope for negative Covid-19 results to take to field
All the Bangladesh players have been going through tight quarantine measures since the home series against Australia and New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup— where they also had to stay in a tight bio-bubble. After the World Cup, Bangladesh also maintained a bio-bubble against Pakistan at home.
It was the third Covid-19 for the Tigers in New Zealand. All the players returned negative in the previous two tests as well. However, the spin-bowling coach Rangana Herath tested positive in the second test. He is yet to test negative and get the clearance from the New Zealand health department to join the team.
Bangladesh team was supposed to maintain a three-day quarantine before benign allowed to train outside. But after Rangana tested positive, the quarantine period was extended.
The first Test of the series will begin on January 1 while the second and final Test of the series will commence on January 9.
This is the second series for Bangladesh in the ongoing second cycle of the World Test Championship. The Tigers has started the new cycle of the event with the two-match series against Pakistan at home that they lost 2-0.
Also read: Strict quarantine puts Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour in jeopardy
Bangladesh will miss the service of Shakib Al Hasan in this series along with Tamim Iqbal. While Shakib is on leave due to family reasons, Tamim is yet to be fit to play international cricket. He has been suffering from several injuries.
Before this series, Bangladesh took on New Zealand in 15 Tests and lost 12 of them with the other three ending up in draws.
Tigers hope for negative Covid-19 results to take to field
The members of the Bangladesh cricket team who are travelling to New Zealand for a two-match Test series have given their samples on Sunday for a Covid-19 test.
A negative result of this test will allow them to start practising in the outdoor field— the opportunity they are yet to get in New Zealand on this tour.
After arriving in New Zealand early this month, the Tigers underwent two Covid-19 tests, and all the players had returned negative.
Bangladesh team left home on December 9 for New Zealand, and they were supposed to maintain a three-day in-room quarantine in a hotel, and start practising outdoor after that. But the period has been extended twice after Bangladesh’s spin bowling coach Rangana Herath tested positive for Covid-19.
Also read: Strict quarantine puts Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour in jeopardy
“We have given our specimen today, and we hope that we all will return negative and start practising together at the field,” Shoriful Islam, the left-arm seamer of the Bangladesh team, told in a video message from New Zealand.
“We are excited to start practising outside the hotel. It’s been tough for us to stay at the hotel for days. We only get a few minutes to go out of the room and talk to each other maintaining social distance,” Shorifjul, who is touring New Zealand to play Tests for the first time in his career, added.
Most of the players of the Bangladesh test team are going through the tough quarantine for weeks.
Many of them asked the board to skip the New Zealand series and return home due to bubble fatigue. But the board did not allow them as the New Zealand series is part of the World Test Championship.
“Many of the players wanted to return home skipping the tour,” Nazmul Hasan, the BCB president recently told the media.
“But the New Zealand series is very important for us. We have to continue it unless the quarantine period is extended further. Let’s wait for the result of the next Covid-19 test.”
Before the New Zealand series, Bangladesh took on Pakistan in a two-match Test series at home which was Bangladesh’s maiden series in the new cycle of the World Test Championship. The players had to maintain a strict quarantine during that series as well, and before that, the players were in the bio-bubble of the T20 World Cup after maintaining the same against Australia and New Zealand at home.
After the New Zealand series, the players of Bangladesh will have to participate in this year’s Bangladesh Premier League which will also require maintaining a bio-secure bubble— a tough journey for the cricketers during the pandemic.
Also read: Bangladesh spin-bowling coach tests positive for COVID in New Zealand
The first Test of the New Zealand series is scheduled to take place on January 1 while the second Test will be played from January 9.
Bangladesh failed to win any Test in the last cycle of the World Test Championship. They are eager to make a change in the new cycle of the event, though they failed to register a good start against Pakistan.
The Tigers will miss the service of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal on this tour. While Shakib was granted leave by the BCB after he asked for the same due to family reasons, Tamim has been suffering from injuries for a while.
Bangladesh spin-bowling coach tests positive for COVID in New Zealand
Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath tested positive for Covid-19 in New Zealand, team sources said on Wednesday. He is touring with the Tigers for a two-match series against the hosts starting from January 1. Multiple sources from the Bangladesh team and BCB have confirmed the development. However, Herath has been doing well and he has no complications, sources said.
READ: Another member of Bangladesh women’s cricket team tests positive for Covid-19
Bangladesh team underwent three Covid-19 tests after arriving in New Zealand, and in the first two tests, all players and members of the coaching staff returned negative. But in the last test, Hearth came out positive. Bangladesh team members were allowed to use the gymnasium for the first time on Tuesday except for nine members who were close to a Covid-19 positive passenger while travelling to New Zealand. According to the latest development, they won’t be allowed to use the gymnasium during the quarantine period. The players were scheduled to use the field today for practice, but due to the relentless rain, they were not able to go to the field.
READ: BCL: Central Zone eye a win as Soumya hits a ton Bangladesh team was supposed to maintain a 14-day in-room quarantine period, but the New Zealand authority cut it down to three days. The first Test of the series will take place on January 1, and the second and final Test of the series will be played from January 9. There is no limited-over match in this series.
Tigers enter seven-day quarantine in New Zealand
Bangladesh national cricket team reached New Zealand on Friday and started a seven-day in-room quarantine ahead of the two-match Test series against the hosts.
They left Dhaka on Wednesday night after ending the second Test of the two-match series against Pakistan at home.
Read:Anamul wishes a national comeback relying on performance
“We have reached New Zealand safely, and we started quarantine,” Taskin Ahmed, the right-arm pacer told in a video message. “It’s always tough to stay stuck in the hotel room. But we can do anything for the team and the country.”
With the home series against Pakistan, Bangladesh started the second cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. They, however, failed to register a good start as they heavily lost both the matches.
But the Tigers hope that they can do well in New Zealand, though, the real expectation is low because of their history in New Zealand where they never won against the hosts.
The first Test of the series will kick off on January 1, and the second will start on January 9.
In the touring party, Bangladesh have 18 players. Shakib Al Hasan was named in the team initially, but he withdrew due to a family reason. To replace him, Bangladesh included Fazle Mahmud Rabbi.
Read:Tigers set to leave for New Zealand tonight
He scored the most runs in the recently concluded National Cricket League— the biggest First-class domestic cricket event in the country.
Bangladesh also included Yasir Ali and Mahmudul Hasan Joy who got their maiden Test cap in the last series at home against Pakistan. While Yasir got his cap in his hometown Chattogram, Mahmudul got his Test cap in Dhaka.
In the previous cycle of the ICC World Test Championship, Bangladesh played seven Tests but failed to win any of them.
Tigers set to leave for New Zealand tonight
Bangladesh national cricket team is all set to leave for New Zealand tonight (Wednesday night) to play a two-match Test series in January with the first match taking palace from January 1.
This will be Bangladesh's second series in the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.
While the first Test will be played in Tauranga, the second one will be played in Christchurch from January 9.
Right before flying to New Zealand, Bangladesh lost a two-match series 2-0 to Pakistan at home.
The first match was in Chattogram that the Tigers lost by eight wickets, and the second match was in Dhaka that the home side lost by an innings and eight runs.
Bangladesh squad for New Zealand tour: Mominul Haque (Captain), Shadman Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Jayed Rahi, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Shohidul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mohammad Naim, Fazle Rabbi Mahmud.
Agarwal takes India to 111-3 at tea on Day 1 vs. New Zealand
Mayank Agarwal scored a half century to drag India to 111-3 at tea on day one of the second test against New Zealand on Friday.
Agarwal reached 52 not out after Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli fell for ducks.
Ajaz Patel took 3-30 in 15 overs to leave India railing at 80-3 at one stage.
Read: West Indies leading Sri Lanka despite Mendis’ 6 wickets
Agarwal scored a brisk half-century once play began after the morning session was washed out due to a wet outfield. He faced 121 balls, and hit six fours as well as two sixes. It was his best knock since March 2020, when he had scored 58 against the Black Caps in Wellington.
Shreyas Iyer was unbeaten on 7 runs.
Agarwal and Shubman Gill (44) put on a solid opening stand and added 80 runs in 27.3 overs.
Gill was the first to go, edging Patel to slip. The left-arm spinner then triggered a mini-collapse.
Read:Dhaka Test: Tigers set to take on Pakistan Saturday, hope to draw the series
Pujara was bowled while charging the spinner after just five deliveries. Kohli, returning to the side after resting during the Kanpur test, lasted four deliveries. He was out lbw to Patel as India lost three wickets in the space of 16 balls.
Test cricket returned to the Wankhede Stadium after a gap of five years when India last played against England in 2016.
New Zealand ekes out dramatic draw in 1st test against India
Rachin Ravindra played out 91 deliveries to help New Zealand eke out a dramatic draw in the first test against India just as the home team’s spinners looked like forcing the win on Monday.
Set 284 to win, New Zealand was 165-9 when umpire Nitin Menon called off play having checked light readings in each of the previous six overs.
Ravindra was unbeaten on 18 runs, while tailender Ajaz Patel faced 23 balls to score 2 not out. The last-wicket partnership faced 52 deliveries to deny India victory late on the fifth day.
Also read: New Zealand 79-1 at lunch on 5th day, chasing 284 to win
Ravichandran Ashwin took 3-35 and fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja had 4-40 as New Zealand lost six wickets for 66 runs either side of the tea break. Axar Patel also took 1-23.
“Ravindra showed great composure (and) Ajaz Patel with his defense,” said Ashwin, who moved to 419 wickets — past Harbhajan Singh’s 417 — and became the third on India’s all-time list after Anil Kumble (619) and Kapil Dev (434).
“Everybody hangs in there, everybody can defend well these days.”
After lunch, which New Zealand reached at 79-1, the downfall began as Umesh Yadav (1-34) got the elusive breakthrough when nightwatchman William Somerville was caught first ball after resumption for 36 off 110 deliveries.
Somerville put on 76 with Tom Latham for the second wicket, with the pair batting through the first session.
Latham was the top-scorer with 52 off 146 balls for his 22nd test half-century. He also scored 95 in the first innings.
The meltdown began after New Zealand crossed 100 in the 47th over.
Latham played onto his own stumps off Ashwin, sparking a collapse from 118-3 to 128-6 in the span of 15.1 overs.
Jadeja accounted for Ross Taylor (2), while Kane Williamson (24) was trapped lbw as New Zealand went to tea at 125-4.
Also read: Chattogram Test: Pakistan make it close as openers hit fifties
Axar Patel had Henry Nicholls (1) dismissed lbw and New Zealand’s middle order put up little resistance as Ashwin bowled Tom Blundell (2).
Kyle Jamieson (5) and Tim Southee (4) helped Ravindra eat up 11 overs before falling to Jadeja and there were just 10.4 overs remaining in the day.
The umpires checked fading light repeatedly but play carried on until the dramatic call-off with approximately two overs remaining.
Both sides earned four points for a draw in the World Test Championship. The second and final test begins in Mumbai on Friday.
New Zealand 79-1 at lunch on 5th day, chasing 284 to win
Tom Latham and William Somerville combined in a 76-run partnership as New Zealand reached 79-1 at lunch on the final day of the first test against India, needing a further 205 runs to win or to survive two sessions for a draw.
Set a target of 284, the second-wicket pair batted through Monday’s first sessions and frustrated India’s attack.
At the interval, Somerville was unbeaten on 36 and Latham was 35 not out.
Opener Latham continued his form from the first innings, when he scored 95 in New Zealand’s total of 296.
Somerville’s form and technique against spin was the greater surprise. He faced 109 deliveries and hit five fours.
India’s attack was hampered after Ishant Sharma injured his hand while fielding early in the session. He bowled only four overs and had figures of 0-13.
Read: Bangladesh add Sohan in Chattogram Test as concussion replacement of Yasir
India relied heavily on spin, as expected. Ravichandran Ashwin (1-19), Axar Patel (0-6) and Ravindra Jadeja (0-11) sent down 21 overs of spin without any reward.
Frustrations grew as India wasted a DRS review against Latham in the 19th over. Replays proved there was no edge and the opener survived.
Ashwin had trapped Will Young (2) lbw before stumps on day four.