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According to Islamabad police, his name was removed from the FIR after the alleged victim retracted her earlier statement

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2022All charges against Pakistan legspinner Yasir Shah, who was named in a case concerning the alleged rape of an underage girl, have been dropped. According to Islamabad police, Yasir’s name was removed from the First Information Report (FIR) after the alleged victim retracted her earlier statement.”The victim admitted that Yasir Shah’s name was included in the FIR due to misrepresentation,” a supplementary report from the Islamabad Shalimar police station, where the FIR was first lodged, said. “Yasir Shah has nothing to do with the alleged rape case.”The case against Yasir was registered by the girl’s aunt, who alleged that Yasir’s friend Farhanuddin had raped her niece at gunpoint, and that Yasir had threatened the girl’s aunt when she attempted to register a complaint against Farhanuddin. The case against the pair was registered on December 19 under Sections 292-B (child pornography) and 292-C (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.Earlier this week Farhanuddin fled from the courthouse after his pre-arrest bail application was rejected by a district and sessions court.Shah, 35, has not made any public comment on the situation, while the PCB earlier said: “We have noted that some allegations have been levelled against one of our centrally contracted players. The PCB is presently gathering information at its end and will only offer a comment when in possession of complete facts.”

After a poor start to the chase, Fakhar and Khushdil consolidated and Shadab and Nawaz provided the fireworks to take Pakistan home

Danyal Rasool19-Nov-2021Pakistan made it unnecessarily complicated for themselves, but their bowlers had done enough in the first half to ensure they held on for an exciting four-wicket win in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Dhaka. In a gritty, and sometimes ugly, contest where ball didn’t come on to bat much, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Shadab Khan stifled the Bangladesh batters, especially in the first ten overs, to keep them to a below-par 127. Bangladesh managed just three boundaries and seven sixes all innings, with Nurul Hasan and Mahedi Hasan providing a late boost to the innings.

Hasan reprimanded, Bangladesh fined

Hasan Ali has earned himself a reprimand and a demerit point – his first one – for his send-off to Nurul Hasan in the first T20I, while the Bangladesh players were fined 20% of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate (one short of the target) in the game.

It was the sort of target Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam tend to knock off with ease, but on these surfaces in front of a raucous home crowd, Bangladesh weren’t going to let go easily. Mustafizur Rahman found movement with the new ball and castled Rizwan with a beauty early, while an off-colour Babar chopped on to Taskin Ahmed. Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik, too, fell cheaply to put Bangladesh on top. So it was left to Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah to grind their way to keep Pakistan in touch with the asking rate, and for Shadab and Mohammad Nawaz to provide the fireworks at the end.Bangladesh off the boil
Coming off a World Cup where they disappointed, this was Bangladesh’s chance of a reset. But, instead of batting with abandon after winning the toss, they appeared to be playing within themselves, preferring caution to bravery as Pakistan’s bowlers applied the squeeze. It wasn’t until the sixth over that the first boundary was struck, and by the halfway stage, they had hobbled to 40 for 4. The lower-middle order led an impressive recovery and 87 off the final ten meant Pakistan had a chase on their hands.Taskin Ahmed sets off on a celebratory run after sending back Babar Azam•AFP/Getty Images

A poor finish for Pakistan
An odd statistical quirk of Pakistan’s generally spotless bowling performance was how each of the five bowlers had their figures spoilt somewhat by expensive final overs. The final overs of Nawaz, Shadab, Wasim, Hasan and Haris Rauf went for 15, 13, 12, 11 and 15 respectively. It meant five bowlers who had allowed just 61 in their first three overs collectively had leaked 66 in their fourths.Bowlers give Bangladesh a chance
All the good work the bowlers had done looked to have unravelled in a frenetic first ten overs of the Pakistan chase. The two-paced nature of the pitch had Babar checking many of his shots, while Mustafizur sent Rizwan packing early with a classical inswinger. Babar was fortunate not to fall a few balls earlier than he did, when a nick through to the keeper wasn’t reviewed. An untidy hoick by Haider saw him fall for a duck, but Shoaib Malik’s dismissal was the most unforgivable of all.One of the most experienced men in the game, Malik made the schoolboy error of strolling out of his crease while the ball was alive, and in the hands of Bangladesh keeper Nurul Hasan. He spotted Malik’s brainfade and had a shy at the stumps, catching the veteran out of his crease and reducing Pakistan to 24 for 4 in the powerplay.Fakhar, Khushdil heroics
When you think of Fakhar and Khushdil performing heroics for their side, you probably imagine them teeing off, blasting big runs. Instead, the two men who hit 34 each, got their runs at less than a run-a-ball, their combined 68 coming in 71 balls. The middle order had dug in after the early losses, ensuring the asking rate was within touch. They were aware Pakistan had the firepower to catch up at the death, so even when the two fell within three overs of each other, Shadab and Nawaz had an equation they could work with. The two allrounders will grab the headlines, but without the toil of Fakhar and Khushdil, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity.

Sanctions handed out for the abuse directed at Australian players during the Lord’s Ashes Test

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2023One MCC member has been expelled from the club, and two further individuals have been handed lengthy suspensions, following the confrontations in the Long Room at Lord’s in the wake of Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping in this summer’s Ashes Test.The sanctions were handed out more than three months after the incidents on the final day of the second Test, on July 2, which Australia eventually won by 43 runs to take a 2-0 series lead. The flashpoint occurred as the players left the field for lunch, shortly after Bairstow had been dismissed by Alex Carey as he walked out of his crease at the end of an over, having allowed the delivery to pass through to the keeper.Footage emerged of several MCC members heckling Australian players as they walked through the Long Room at the lunch interval, with Usman Khawaja and David Warner caught in heated exchanges on their way to the away dressing room. At the time, sources told AAP that at least one person attempted to trip up Warner and Steve Smith as they walked up the stairs.Related

• The Test documentary reveals Cummins' role in controversial Bairstow stumping

• Jonny Bairstow reignites Ashes stumping row

• Stokes: 'I wouldn't want to win a game in that manner'

• Usman Khawaja condemns 'disrespectful' behaviour from MCC members

• Ashes finds its flashpoint as Bairstow stumping ignites England

Such was the febrile atmosphere within the pavilion, MCC chief executive Guy Lavender was forced to address the members at the interval to remind them to respect the visiting team. An official “unreserved apology” was issued to Cricket Australia, who subsequently requested MCC to launch their own investigation, stating their players and staff had been “verbally abused, with some being physically contacted”.While details of the disciplinary process are to remain “confidential”, Thursday’s update from MCC revealed sanctions for life, four-and-a-half years and 30 months, respectively.”The actions of the three individuals in the Pavilion on the day in question fell well below the behaviour expected from our Members,” read the statement. “The penalties set out above are the consequences of breaching the Club’s Code of Conduct.”An appeal process has already been concluded.

USA brush aside PNG to notch second win while Namibia overpower Canada

Peter Della Penna in Windhoek23-Apr-2019Left-arm swing bowler Bilal Khan bagged four wickets on one of his favourite hunting grounds at Wanderers before Jatinder Singh’s half-century paced a simple chase. Oman thus continued their undefeated run at WCL Division 2 with a seven-wicket win over Hong Kong. Oman are now in the driver’s seat for one of the four ODI status berths up for grabs in the tournament, and can be the first team to clinch it with a win over Namibia on Wednesday.Man of the Match Bilal struck a massive blow in the third over, claiming the tournament’s leading scorer Anshy Rath for just 3, caught in the slips by Jatinder. Hong Kong’s innings finally started to stabilise around Babar Hayat and Tanwir Afzal, who added 62 for the fifth wicket to take them to 109 for 4 by the 32nd, but Bilal’s intervention broke the stand with Tanwir dismissed for 32.Hayat carried on to top-score with 56, but was the third of legspinning allrounder Khawar Ali’s victims, leaving Hong Kong 149 for 7. Bilal was then brought back to wipe out the tail in the 48th over. A run out of last recognised batsman Scott McKechnie for 26 was followed by wickets on back-to-back balls for Bilal, which finished Hong Kong off for 176 with two overs unused.Oman faced little pressure in the chase, with the Hong Kong bowling unit lacking any spark as Jatinder and Khawar coasted through a 79-run opening stand in the first 21 overs. Khawar was run-out for 28 to break the stand, but Jatinder compiled 49 runs in tandem with Aqib Ilyas before both fell in quick succession to the spin duo of Kinchit Shah and Jhatavedh Subramanyan. Captain Zeeshan Maqsood and Mohammad Nadeem knocked off the remaining 43 runs without much fuss. Nadeem ended unbeaten on 31, and has yet to be dismissed in the tournament.The last time these two teams met in one-day cricket was in 2011 at WCL Division 3 in Hong Kong, when Papua New Guinea sent USA in to bat under a heavy cloud cover and bowled them out for 44. It took eight years, but USA finally exacted a heavy dose of revenge. The new-ball exploits of Ali Khan and an incisive spell of left-arm spin by Karima Gore decimated the PNG middle order.Monank Patel drives over mid-off•Peter Della Penna

On a ground where chasing targets has traditionally been best after the pitch flattens out in the afternoon sun, PNG chose to bat first at the toss and paid the price as Ali Khan produced another hostile spell of fast bowling to take three wickets in the Powerplay, giving him a tournament-best 12 wickets after three matches. It began with a brute of a delivery to Tony Ura, who edged to Steven Taylor at second slip, before a pair of inswingers trapped Sese Bau and Assad Vala leg before to leave PNG 19 for 3.Gore arrived in the 24th but attacked the stumps from ball one. His first three wickets were lbw decisions. Chad Soper and Lega Siaka prodded down the wrong line to arm balls before Jason Kila was late on a sweep. Damien Ravu was bowled by Gore for the final wicket as the innings lasted just 39.3 overs.Monank Patel and Xavier Marshall batted ten overs before lunch to take USA to 49 for no loss. PNG extended a streak of three maidens with two more to start after the break, but Monank and Marshall exploded shortly thereafter, scoring 79 off the next 43 balls to end the match. Monank took Siaka’s part-time spin apart in the 19th, driving three sixes in a 22-run frame, and was named Man of the Match.Stephan Baard’s 90 at the top of the order was bookended by an unbeaten 65 from Craig Williams as Namibia bounced back from their final-over loss to USA to notch a 98-run win over Canada. Namibia moves to 2-1 with the win while Canada remains the only winless team in the tournament at 0-3, as their hopes of reclaiming ODI status hang by a thread.Baard and Jean Bredenkamp added 73 for the second wicket to steady the innings after the loss of JP Kotze in the Powerplay for just 6. Bredenkamp eventually fell to left-arm spinner Saad bin Zafar, who along with Nikhil Dutta took two wickets each to slow down Namibia in the middle stage of the innings.But Williams produced half-century stands with Baard and JJ Smit to keep Namibia on course for a well-above par total at United’s sluggish outfield. Smit clubbed three sixes in his 35 off 23 balls to dominate a 51-run stand with Williams before falling in the 49th over to Romesh Eranga.Canada’s batting struggles in Namibia continued as six of the top seven got starts but none passed Rodrigo Thomas’ 28. Dilon Heyliger wound up top-scoring from No. 10 with an unbeaten 29 to save Canada from taking an even bigger hit to their net run rate.

BCB is yet to announce the captain for the third T20I, but it is likely that Litton Das would lead the side

Mohammad Isam01-Aug-2022Nurul Hasan, Bangladesh’s new T20I captain, was ruled out of the remainder of the Zimbabwe tour following a finger injury during his side’s seven-wicket win in the second T20I in Harare on Sunday. Nurul fractured his left index finger while keeping against fast bowler Hasan Mahmud, according to team physio team Muzadded Alpha Sany.The BCB hasn’t announced the captain for the third T20I but it is likely that Litton Das, who led Bangladesh in a solitary T20I last year, will be the stand-in captain.Related

• Zimbabwe riding high after T20 triumph but reinforced Bangladesh a fresh challenge

• Burl, Nyauchi and Evans secure landmark series win for Zimbabwe

• Mosaddek Hossain and Litton Das power Bangladesh to series-levelling win

• Nurul promises 'fearless cricket' and a 'team-first culture'

• Nurul, Bangladesh's new T20I captain, might only be a stop-gap arrangement

“We did an X-ray which revealed a fracture to the index finger. Such injuries take about three weeks to recover from. He is therefore out of Tuesday’s last T20 match and the upcoming ODI series,” Sany said in a video message.The incident took place towards the end of the Zimbabwe innings. Nurul continued as a wicketkeeper but looked to be struggling in pain.Nurul was made captain for the T20I series against Zimbabwe following a change in leadership that saw Mahmudullah, the former captain, being rested from this series. Bangladesh bounced back from a 17-run defeat in the first T20I to win the second game convincingly, and level the series 1-1.Bangladesh will play the third and the final T20I on Tuesday, which will be followed by three ODIs from August, in Harare.

Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke has conceded that the game could be better served with a less crowded international calendar when the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) is devised

Cricinfo staff06-Nov-2009Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke has conceded that the game could be better served with a less crowded international calendar when the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) is devised. His comments came as a stiff and sore Peter Siddle arrived home in Melbourne for the first time after more than five months on tour.Siddle has been one of the hardest-working members of Australia’s squad this year, having not been at home since April, when he enjoyed a brief spell following the Test series in South Africa. Since then he has been in England for the World Twenty20, the Ashes, and the one-day series, then went straight to South Africa for the Champions Trophy and from there dashed to India to play for Victoria in the Champions League Twenty20 and stayed on for the ODI series.”It has been a long tour, I guess,” Siddle said in the Age after touching down in Melbourne. “The guys have been away for a long time now and we’ve probably played a bit too much cricket, but we will see how we go and I’m sure the boys will go well in the next three matches and come home with a [series] win.”The biggest thing is probably the mental side of things. Just being away from family and friends, all the normal stuff you do when you’re back home. You’re always changing hotels, different sceneries and living out of a suitcase, those are probably the things that take their toll the most. It’s always going to be a lot of games and a lot of cricket played, that’s what the spectators want to see and that’s our job.”The questions over Australia’s packed schedule have become more intense due to the high injury rate over the past couple of months. Five men have flown home from India mid-series and four first-choice players were unavailable in the first place, but in several cases the injuries appear not to be due to over-use.Tim Paine and Brad Haddin both broke fingers, Callum Ferguson wrenched his knee in the field, while James Hopes and Moises Henriques tweaked hamstrings despite not being part of the long Ashes tour. But Jack Clarke said it was still worth pushing for a less packed FTP when the current programme expires after 2012.”It is not fixed yet as to what’s going to happen, that’s been one of the hold-ups in releasing the FTP, the ICC events,” Clarke told the . “The type of events and the regularity is one of the things.”I suspect the game can’t support an ICC tournament every year, but the ICC’s also got to get money to get countries dividends, and not just the Test-playing countries but the associates and affiliates. So hopefully less will be more, and I’d be surprised if there’s an ICC event every year, going forward in 2013-2020.”When the Australians – those who haven’t departed already – fly home from India after next Wednesday’s final ODI, they will have only a fortnight to prepare for the first of six home Tests of the summer. The coach Tim Nielsen said the crammed schedule had made things hard and a seven-match ODI series was probably too long, but the squad had to keep doing its best under the circumstances.”It does make it difficult but at the same time I think it is the same for pretty well everyone around world cricket at the moment,” Nielsen said in the . “Five [games in India], to me, would be probably about right but … we know the reasons for seven-game series. There’s television involved, all different things.”

Dane Vilas fifty, Graham Onions five-for give Lancs a good lead in Sedbergh

Paul Edwards02-Jul-2019
For many devoted followers of cricket the big parade has not taken place at Sedbergh these last three days. Affairs at Edgbaston and Chester-le-Street have commanded attention, filled airwaves and ensured there are no spare seats in press boxes. Empires are being challenged in the World Cup – and perhaps replaced. Yet for other, equally enthusiastic supporters of the game there has been nothing else worth watching but the contest in this fell-ringed theatre. International cricket passes them by until the morning papers arrive on the breakfast tables of their hotels. So do posturing politicians; so would minor wars.And then, at just before a quarter to twelve on this third day, a 36-year-old fast bowler bent down and felt his calf. Suddenly two worlds were joined in mild frenzy. James Anderson, England’s best bowler, was injured. Phones rang. Texts bleeped. Where the hell was Sedbergh anyway? When do the Ashes start? Above all, how was Jimmy? Tell us, quickly, tell us NOW!On the field Graham Onions caused some spectators to speculate for the umpteenth time as to how many Test Matches he might have played had his career not coincided with that of Anderson, of whom he is a great admirer. The former Durham seamer took four wickets in 31 balls against his old mates to finish with 5 for 93. It is Onions’ 30th haul of five or more wickets in first-class cricket. Two of the wickets were caught behind but Ned Eckersley and Nathan Rimmington were pinned lbw on the back foot, the later for a well-struck 53. Lancashire took a 56-run lead into lunch.News emerged of Anderson, who had only bowled eight balls in the morning. Two further attempts to complete run-ups had been abandoned and Sam Byrne, the Lancashire physio, had come out to meet him on the steps of the Knowles Pavilion, a building which has no doubt seen its share of tears over the decades. Burnley’s finest had suffered tightness in his right calf. He would not bowl again in the game but might bat. He will be assessed. The ECB’s bulletin would have to satisfy the frantic text-senders. Good luck with that.Yet perhaps it was curiously fitting that Anderson should suffer the injury at a school whose motto is (Stern Nurse of Men). Anderson has been known to be a trifle grim, even in moments of triumph, and he was certainly in need of nursing. Moreover, the motto of his own school, St Theodore’s in Burnley, : (For the Faith of our Ancestors) is absolutely bugger all use when you’ve gone in the fetlock.Almost immediately Lancashire’s blazered supporters, who have gathered in two temporary stands at the Powell End, had even more pressing pains with which to deal. Chris Rushworth found the channel on or outside off stump in his first over. Keaton Jennings edged the first ball of the innings to Ned Eckersley; Haseeb Hameed, the fourth to Cameron Bancroft at slip. Lancashire 0 for 2.Alex Davies was joined by Liam Livingstone, who immediately batted with his characteristic contempt for half measures. If he defended, the drawbridge was pulled up; if he attacked, the kitchen sink, washing machine and waste-bin were thrown at the ball. Six boundaries followed, some of them reminiscent of Kevin Pietersen. Livingstone flicked Brydon Carse through midwicket and drove Nathan Rimmington through mid-off. A major innings beckoned, one which might define the match and transcend the pitch’s variable bounce. But the first time Livingstone could not decide between the fish or meat course he edged Raine to Bancroft and departed for 36. By then Davies had gone too, caught on the boundary when miscuing Rimmington. And in the over after Livingstone’s dismissal, Rob Jones was beaten by Liam Trevaskis’s throw from the boundary and run out for five. Lancashire were 59 for 5 and their lead was 115.But if Anderson is a competitor whose galaxy of skills is underpinned by a fierce professionalism, so is his county captain. Some skippers change the bowling; Dane Vilas changes the team he leads. He will not ask any young players to go into the trenches if he has not led him there and faced the bullets, too. Cricketers like Jones and Josh Bohannon could not have a better leader in seasons when they are coming to understand how tough – and how glorious – the life of professional cricketer can be.Steven Croft, for whom this season has been a lovely late renaissance, is hewn from similar rock. He joined Vilas in an 87-run partnership which may be seen as the most important of the match. If Durham’s seamers overpitched, Vilas malleted them through midwicket; if they pitched it short Croft hooked them on his way to 35. Home supporters decided that a tub of Howgill Fellside Ice Cream might be in order; it is glorious stuff. In the small hospitality area a drink or two was taken. Sedbergh staff looked at the field they knew so well and marvelled anew. It is only love.Then Croft received a ball from Rimmington which pitched on off stump and stayed there. The former skipper had no hope at all but dropped his bat and then kicked it. Durham’s fielders celebrated but some may have recognised that Lancashire’s lead was already 202 and the visitors will have to get those runs. Bohannon made a useful 23 and Saqib Mahmood was unbeaten on 11 at the close when Vilas had 74 runs against his name. The skipper had taken blows to the arm and hand but was still there. Unvanquished as ever.Suddenly memories of Anderson’s injury began to fade a little but the evening news bulletins were now mad with hunger for news. They will be less ravenous tomorrow when the big parade will be at Chester-le-Street. But at Sedbergh we will watch the last day of a great game. The people up here, and maybe the cricketers, too, deserve something to cherish.

Our guide to Sunday’s main player draft for the new competition’s first season

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2019What is it?The Hundred is the ECB’s new 100-ball tournament, which will be played in July-August 2020. It will be played by eight new teams, based in seven different cities (there are two London teams).Who are the new teams?Birmingham Phoenix (Edgbaston)
London Spirit (Lord’s)
Manchester Originals (Old Trafford)
Northern Superchargers (Leeds)
Oval Invincibles (The Oval)
Southern Brave (Ageas Bowl)
Trent Rockets (Trent Bridge)
Welsh Fire (Cardiff)Who’s making the picks?All the teams are owned by the ECB, so unlike in plenty of other leagues there will be no owners on the draft tables. Picks will be made by head coaches, but with plenty of behind-the-scenes inputs from the rest of their staff and their analysts.The head coaches are as follows:Birmingham Phoenix – Andrew McDonald
London Spirit – Shane Warne
Manchester Originals – Simon Katich
Northern Superchargers – Darren Lehmann
Oval Invincibles – Tom Moody
Southern Brave – Mahela Jayawardene
Trent Rockets – Stephen Fleming
Welsh Fire – Gary KirstenDo they have any players already?Yes. Each of the men’s sides has picked one England player. Teams could choose one Test-contracted player from their ‘catchment area’, meaning Northern Superchargers faced the choice between Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, and Joe Root (they went for Stokes), while those players left over were allocated to a team without a Test player.Joe Root of Trent Rockets, one of the eight new teams that competing in The Hundred•Getty Images

Each team then picked two ‘local icons’, each of whom spent the 2019 season at a county in the new team’s catchment area. They were able to negotiate a salary with their new team, and ESPNcricinfo understands that some players were convinced to take lower salaries due to the security of being picked up before the main draft.That means that the majority of England’s one-day players have been picked already, though a handful – Joe Denly, Sam Billings, and Mark Wood, for example – will be available in the draft.How does the draft work?After a random draw, the order of picks for the first round was decided, with Stephen Fleming’s Trent Rockets set to pick the first player. The order of picks will then be reversed for the second round, and so on. Where a local icon has been picked, the team will skip that turn in the draft.Each team has 100 seconds to make their pick in each round. Salaries are pre-decided, and depend on how early a player is picked. First and second-round picks will earn £125,000 each, while round 13 or 14 picks earn £30,000.What about overseas players?As revealed by ESPNcricinfo, some 240 overseas players have registered for the draft, and with the exception of India’s white-ball stars and AB de Villiers, most of the big names are available.Each team will be permitted three overseas players, in both their squad and their XI.Can they sign anyone after the draft?Yes – each team will also be able to make a ‘wildcard’ pick after the conclusion of next season’s Vitality Blast, who will receive a £30,000 contract.What happens next season?Teams will be able to retain up to ten players in their squad for the 2021 edition of the tournament, and will mutually agree the salary band with the relevant player.What about the women’s competition?There’s no draft for the women’s competition, with players instead negotiating deals directly with head coaches. Each team has already signed two England-contracted players, and has until the end of May 2020 to complete their squad.When is the draft?The draft starts at 7pm local time in Sky’s London studios, and ESPNcricinfo will bring you live coverage throughout the evening to see who ends up where.

Her one-time coach Muslim Uddin passed away soon after the team had arrived in Australia

Annesha Ghosh in Melbourne29-Feb-2020Tears streamed down Bangladesh medium-pacer Ritu Moni’s face at the Junction Oval’s press conference room as she took her mind back to where her journey began – Bogra – and to Muslim Uddin, the man who helped her live her dream.It is in Bogra, a northwestern city in Bangladesh, that the dreams of many of the team’s current women’s cricketers started taking shape under local coach Muslim. As Moni, one of Muslim’s students, reflected on the career-best 4 for 18 – also the best so far at the ongoing T20 World Cup – she picked up against New Zealand on Saturday, memories of a personal loss – Muslim’s death on February 10 – left her sobbing inconsolably.ALSO READ: The toilet leading a women’s cricket revo-loo-tion“I started training under him and I am here today because of him,” Moni said after Bangladesh’s 17-run loss. “He passed away soon after we arrived in Australia for the World Cup. It is a big loss for all of us, considering how he helped so many of us to realise our dream of playing for Bangladesh. He was a great person, and has played a big part in my life.”We were to play a practice match a few days after his death, and it was quite difficult for me to get over the shock. But I told myself, ‘Muslim sir showed a lot of confidence in me. I must try to do my best in the tournament because it would be the best I can do for him.’ If he were alive today, he would have been able to see this day in my life.”In an international career spanning nearly eight years, Moni, now 27, has made 45 international appearances, scoring 292 runs and taking 17 wickets across the white-ball formats. The defining moment of her career, though, arrived on Sunday, her maiden four-for orchestrating New Zealand’s biggest collapse in T20Is – 8 for 25 – from the fall of the third wicket.By the innings break, Moni’s exploits, complemented brilliantly by captain Salma Khatun’s 3 for 7, had begun inspiring hopes of an unlikely upset in Group A as New Zealand set Bangladesh a modest target of 92.New Zealand’s slide began with the dismissal of Suzie Bates, their leading run-scorer in the format. Hurled at a gentle pace hovering just above 90kph, Moni’s inswinger on off had enough benignity to lure Bates to aim towards midwicket, only for her to lose her middle stump. Bates’ wicket in the 13th over was followed by Katey Matin’s in the next as she holed out to point, in a bid to force some pace on a slow, sun-baked Junction Oval track. It wasn’t long before Moni’s control and slowness through the air earned her two wickets in her fourth – and the innings’ 19th – over, with Fargana Hoque taking a stunning catch diving forward and Fahima Khatun gobbling up Amelia Kerr’s square drive with ease.”I didn’t do much, to be honest; just maintained my line and length,” Moni said, praising the role played by head coach Anju Jain and assistant coach Devika Palshikar, both former India players, in her growth as a medium-pacer. “Devika ma’am has been of incredible help. She makes sure that at the nets I am focused on my line and length. She asks me to bowl in, say, one area over after over.”And Anju ma’am says the same thing about bowling in my block, you know, to not try anything fancy. Sometimes simple and uncomplicated bowling can get you wickets, break partnerships, so that has been one instruction from our coaches I have tried to respect.”And Javed Omar [the former Bangladesh men’s Test cricketer, who was appointed manager of the women’s team last year] has also encouraged me to believe in myself. I hope that the confidence I have got from today’s performance takes me ahead in the future.”

Worries stem from hosting back-to-back matches on October 9 and 10 and their ability to provide adequate security

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Aug-2023Days before the 2023 World Cup tickets go on sale, the BCCI has been put in a spot by the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) which has raised a concern about hosting back-to-back ODIs on October 9 and 10.ESPNcricinfo has learned that, on Saturday, the HCA alerted the BCCI that the Hyderabad Police was concerned about providing adequate security for two matches – New Zealand vs Netherlands on October 9 and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka on October 10. It is understood that the BCCI has told the HCA that it will examine the issue and respond.Related

• ODI World Cup: Hyderabad to go ahead with hosting back-to-back games

• Why aren't the World Cup organisers prioritising fans?

• ODI World Cup tickets to go on sale on August 25, 41 days before the first match

• Date changes for India-Pakistan and eight other World Cup games

The HCA concern comes five days before the first batch of World Cup tickets go on sale, on August 25. The ICC announced the dates for a staggered sale of tickets after it was forced to revise the original World Cup schedule which comprised changing the dates for nine matches, including the one between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad – the marquee contest was shifted from October 15 to October 14. But that resulted in Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad being pushed from October 12 to October 10 to give Babar Azam’s team an adequate gap leading into their India match. It could not be confirmed whether the BCCI had spoken to HCA when the revised schedule was finalised.