Former England captain scores 75 before Brook and Dawid Malan add unbroken 210-run stand

ECB Reporters Network07-May-2022Harry Brook upstaged former England skipper Joe Root as Yorkshire feasted on the Essex bowling on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Chelmsford.Root, in what was remarkably only his 50th County Championship appearance for the White Rose despite making his debut back in April 2011, stroked his way to a half-century in 88 balls – the exact same number as his successor as England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, had taken to smash 161 against Worcestershire at New Road 24 hours earlier.However, youngster Brook stole the spotlight, giving another stunning audition ahead of the first Test of the summer against New Zealand next month, by smiting a thrilling century, so keeping up his record of scoring 50 or more in every innings so far this season. The 23-year-old, who closed on 110 not out, currently averages over 200 for the campaign.He shared a record unbroken stand of 210 with Dawid Malan, who passed 50 for the fifth innings in a row, as Yorkshire piled up 425 for 5 by the close – a lead of 22.Root was immediately in the action and got underway with a streaky four wide of second slip. Sam Cook beat him all ends up with a peach of a delivery next up, but that was a rare moment of concern.In many ways this was trademark Root, a delicate cut to third man here, a sweep to fine leg there, the back-foot punch and the off-drive all featured. He was merciless on anything short, too – all this either side of a lengthy stoppage for rain just 45 minutes into the day which drove the players off for an early lunch.At the other end, Matthew Revis looked too good for the nightwatchman role he’d played since the previous evening. The 20-year-old blunted the opening salvos and had just three singles to his name from his first 59 balls. A drive creamed through cover off Mark Steketee signalled a gear change and he later struck Shane Snater for successive boundaries.The century stand came up in two hours, but, with a half-century in sight, Revis pushed a ball from Simon Harmer to midwicket and set off without waiting for it to beat the fielder. Root sent him back, and when Critchley returned to the striker’s end Revis was left short.Root’s demise came equally out of the blue when he underedged a Critchley googly on to his leg stump on 75, but this brought Malan and Brook together and the latter got off the mark by slog-sweeping Simon Harmer over the square-leg fence. It was a sign of things to come as bristling with aggression he plundered already tiring bowlers, becoming the leading run-scorer in Division One this season when he reached 49. The single which followed meant his latest half-century had come in 48 balls.At the other end, Malan was all finesse and timing, his driving, whether straight or square a thing of beauty, reaching his landmark in 92 deliveries.The pair forged on in a lengthy last session. With great symmetry, having got off the mark with a six, Brook reached 101-ball century by hoisting Critchley over the ropes at midwicket.In the dying embers of the day, Yorkshire’s record books were rewritten when Brook and Malan’s sixth-wicket stand reached 201, surpassing the 200 set by David Denton and George Hirst against Essex way back in 1902.

Mushfiqur and Mominul had made only 59 and 13 runs respectively in the two Tests in South Africa

Mohammad Isam10-May-2022Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh batting coach, has backed Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque to return to form in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram next week. Mushfiqur and Mominul had made only 59 and 13 runs respectively in the two Tests in South Africa.In fact, Mominul had the personal-worst two-Test series of his career in South Africa, which extended his lean patch that began during the home Test series against Pakistan last year. Mominul has had only three-double figure scores in 12 innings since last November. As for Mushfiqur, he has made only 76 runs in his last three Tests, leaving Siddons with his hands full during Bangladesh’s short training camp in Chattogram in the lead-up to the Test that begins on May 15.”Every batsman goes through patches where they don’t make runs,” Siddons said. “I am really confident that he will make runs out here this week. I have seen some really good signs, the way he is hitting it in the last two days. We worked on a couple of little things with him. I think he is going to have a successful series.Related

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“Mominul has nine [seven] centuries in Chittagong. This week is another chance to make another couple. He loves this ground. We are just trying to get him ready to go. He is very confident.”Siddons produced a robust defence of Mushfiqur after questions were raised about the senior players’ future in a recent Nazmul Hassan press conference. The BCB chief didn’t mention Mushfiqur, but it resulted in some speculation around Mushfiqur’s career.”I think Mushy is only focused in the next two Tests,” Siddons said. “I don’t think he is worried about his career in any format. I think he is worried about making runs for us in these two Tests. He is quite successful in white-ball cricket.”Good players can have moments when they don’t make runs, and then bounce back. That’s why they are great players. Mushy is a very successful Test player. He keeps making runs. He might have a period like South Africa, and then he will bounce back again.”Overall too, Bangladesh’s batting is a cause for worry. Siddons said that appearances in the Dhaka Premier League and the short camp in Chattogram will be enough for the players to prepare for the Test series. He added that they have had a lot of discussion about Bangladesh’s batting, particularly around building on good starts in the first innings.”South Africa was a long tour. It was a successful tour in my opinion because of the one-day team. Probably [we] didn’t play great Test cricket. We will have good and bad days in cricket. We had a couple of bad days that made us look quite bad. I thought we played some really good cricket in those Tests. Taijul [Islam] gets a nine-for, [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy gets a great hundred, very early in his career. We had some really great starts in the first innings, we didn’t play great in the second innings. The real focus is to make bigger first-innings scores.”

“With this group of players, the sky’s the limit but we could probably go further than that”

Alan Gardner14-Jun-20226:35

#PoliteEnquiries: CARNAGE!

Ben Stokes has seen and done some incredible things during his international career, but England’s Test captain said that they had all been “blown away” by the experience of leading his side to victory on day five at Trent Bridge, as England completed a pursuit of 299 in a scarcely believable 50 overs, in so doing achieving the fifth-highest successful run chase in their Test history.Stokes hit the winning runs, carving Trent Boult through the covers for a four that evoked the dramatic denouement at Headingley three summers ago, to finish unbeaten on 75 from 70 balls. But on this occasion his was the support act, after Jonny Bairstow had demolished New Zealand’s hopes of escape during the final session with a thunderous 136 from 92.It completed a remarkable Test, the eighth-highest scoring of all time, as England found a way to win despite seeing New Zealand rack up 553 after being asked to bat. Although they conceded a narrow first-innings lead, the rate at which England’s runs came ensured that all results remained possible going into the final day, with New Zealand 238 runs ahead and seven wickets down.”I’m struggling to find words for what we witnessed out there today, it was just phenomenal,” Stokes said, after England’s second rousing win in as many Tests to mark the start of his partnership with new coach, Brendon McCullum.”That blows away Headingley, it blows away Lord’s and the World Cup final. Just emotionally and the enjoyment of every minute I had on that field, it was incredible. In the field, it sounds stupid after 150 overs in the dirt but how everybody was just trying to come up with different plans how we were going to change the course of this game to put it back in our hands was just so enjoyable. It was it was just amazing. The whole vibe this week has been awesome. And then to come out and perform the way that we did today…”I just can’t quite wrap my head around how we’ve chased 299 with 20 overs left on day five of the Test match when we had to bowl 15 overs this morning. That’s never going to happen again. But if it does, it is probably us who are going to do it.”Related

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Having bowled out New Zealand just over an hour into the final morning, England were left needing 299 in a minimum of 72 overs. Alex Lees struck the first two balls of the chase for four, but their hopes took a dive with the dismissal of Joe Root – who scored 176 in the first innings – to leave them 59 for 3.Their momentum was further checked when Lees fell for a spirited 44. But rather than dig in, England continued to attack, Stokes hitting his tenth ball for six and then twice reverse-sweeping Michael Bracewell’s offspin for four. England were 139 for 4 at tea, needing 160 from 38 overs, before Bairstow launched his extraordinary assault.”Something we say in the dressing-room – he had his ‘Jonny eyes’ on today and when he gets those eyes on you know you’re on to something,” Stokes said. “We were hardly speaking out there to be honest. That was one of the best things I’ve ever seen, to do it in the fourth innings, chasing a big total, game in the balance, to play the way he did once he got past fifty was just mind-blowing. Phenomenal to watch.”Bairstow and Stokes added 179 in 20.1 overs, as New Zealand’s faint hopes of forcing a win disintegrated. Had they managed to break the stand earlier, England’s plan was to just keep swinging to the end, Stokes said.”The message just was run into the fear of what the game was rather than stand still or back away from it. I’ll say it quite simply, we were either winning this game or losing it. That was the mentality that we wanted all the batters coming in to have. It’s obviously paid off. When you have the backing of the coach and myself saying what I say about how we want to go about things, it obviously rubs off on the players in a very, very positive way. So you’re not fearing failure, if anything you’re just going out and doing what you want to do.”This Test match will probably all be about today but you don’t win Test matches in the last session of day five without all the hard work you put in on day four. The way we bounced back with the bat after being in the field for a long time, them getting 560 or 570, the way we went about it with the bat, the rate that we scored, really allowed us to be in this position on day five. Even bowling them out for 270 on a very flat wicket was a serious effort and I couldn’t be any more proud of the way that everybody stuck at it.”Ben Stokes scored a 55-ball half-century and added 179 with Jonny Bairstow•Getty Images

England’s victory was witnessed by packed stands, after Nottinghamshire provided free entry on the final day, and the enterprising approach chimed with McCullum’s stated intentions on taking up the Test coaching job of wanting to help revive the format.”It’ll be hard for people not to enjoy what they’ve witnessed today, and everything over the last five days,” Stokes said. “A lot of credit has to go to Notts for what they did today, allowing free tickets and for people who had already bought tickets getting their money back. Having a full house here at Trent Bridge really does help the atmosphere.”You can really feel the home crowd and it’ll make the opposition feel the whole world’s on top of them. If we had a half-full stadium today, it wouldn’t have felt how it did out there. It’ll be nice if some other counties take a leaf out of what they did here today, it was really cool to be a player with a full crowd.”On the startling turnaround in fortunes, with England having won just one of their previous 17 Tests before the New Zealand series, Stokes suggested that there remained room for improvement and reiterated the commitment to aggression that has seemingly been key to unlocking the talent within a largely unchanged group of players.”Things like this do not happen overnight,” he said. “But this couldn’t have been a better start in terms of the new way we want to go forward. We know we’re still working towards a lot of things. We’re never going to be happy with where we are. There is going to be some bad days. We’re yet to really see the bad side of the game at the moment because obviously we’ve had two results go our way, but there will be days that affect us and we’ll probably lose a game with this mindset.”That’s probably going to be the biggest challenge for us, how we respond to adversity, how we respond to things not going our way. Now we go to Headingley 2-0 up, won the series, but with World Test Championship points to play for. We’re going to be even more positive as I said after Lord’s. I don’t know how we can be more positive than this week but we will probably try.”With this group of players, the sky’s the limit but we could probably go further than that.”

Hampshire hot on Surrey’s tail despite Miles Hammond’s efforts on dramatic final day

Paul Edwards22-Jul-2022
“Catches win matches” say the coaches and the club bores. The former know the saying is merely useful but the latter invest the words with such profundity that one might suppose they have been plucked straight from Wittgenstein’s . Rhyme has got a lot to answer for.Runs win matches, too. (See D G Bradman, J B Hobbs and S R Tendulkar etc.) And so also do wickets. See D M Muralidaran, C A Walsh and on this remarkable Friday in Cheltenham K J Abbott, whose five wickets in 12 balls set up a Hampshire win that James Vince and his cricketers will recall contentedly should the pennant be flying over the Ageas Bowl in September. Abbott’s devastating burst either side of lunch included the second hat-trick of his career and it ensured that Hampshire would be chasing a modest 82 to win the game and thereby trim Surrey’s lead at the top of Division One to 14 points.As though paranoid about the approach of thunderstorms from the south-west, Hampshire’s batters moved into full T20 mode and knocked the runs off in 9.3 overs for the loss of four wickets, three of them to Ryan Higgins, whose 115-run partnership with Miles Hammond had earlier appeared likely to delay their opponents’ victory, if not scupper it altogether. Indeed, until Abbott placed his size 13 boots on his opponents’ necks, most of the morning had been dominated by Higgins and Hammond, with the latter being dropped three times in as many overs in a bizarre passage of play. It was, in short, a quiet old day at the College Ground.Related

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The morning had begun more or less as Hampshire might have wished. In the fourth over of the morning Graeme van Buuren half-drove at a ball outside his off stump and edged a shoulder-high catch to Vince at first slip. Not for the first or last time, one was quietly amazed at the ease with which county cricketers snaffle balls that are travelling at 80mph/130kph. The professionals may view such catches as regulation; many of their club counterparts certainly don’t.But no cricketers, regardless of their level of expertise, regard keeping wicket to spinners as straightforward, so there may have more understanding seven overs later when Ben Brown dropped a feathered chance from Hammond off Dawson when the Gloucestershire left-hander had already reached a career-best 124. Five minutes later, the left-arm spinner had his head buried in his hands once again after Vince had put down Hammond at slip, the sharp chance going waist-high to the skipper’s left.Those errors, though, were merely preludes to the absolute dolly put down in Dawson’s very next over, when Hammond top-edged a reverse-sweep and Felix Organ at backward point muffed a gentle, lobbed catch to which he had to make little ground before diving comfortably forward. The fielder was plainly aghast, the bowler frustrated beyond words. It was a chance which most serious club players would have taken. But two balls later, Nick Gubbins trotted across from short leg to console Organ and pat him on the hip. Such simple acts of encouragement often mark out successful sides from the rest. They are also a good way of identifying decent people.For an hour or so afterwards, Hammond and Higgins batted as if fate could not touch them. Hammond continued to stroke the ball around with classical ease, reaching his 150 off 235 balls with 23 fours and three sixes. “It’ll come, it’ll be better when it does,” shouted Hampshire’s fielders but by now there were strains of doubt in their yells. At the other end, Higgins played in a manner antithetical to his irresponsibility on Thursday. Of course there were attacking shots – seven fine boundaries in his 79-ball 50, indeed – but there was balance and judgement as well. Runs came easily and a lead that had once seemed impossible grew: twenty, thirty, forty…Miles Hammond works into the covers•Getty Images

On the stroke of lunch Hampshire got the wicket they craved. Hammond drove at a pitched-up ball from Abbott but only edged a catch to Vince at slip. He led the players off having made 169 off 278 balls. It had been a chance-littered innings to be sure but one that was revelatory of character and studded with fine strokes.Over lunch there was talk of rain in Bristol. On the resumption Abbott bowled as if half a dozen of the plagues of Egypt were about to descend on Cheltenham. His first ball was slanted across Zafar Gohar but compelled the shot; the batter nicked the catch to Brown. Abbott’s next ball was full and straight and quick. Tom Price missed and Graham Lloyd’s tumultuous week drew to a close with an easy decision. Abbott was mobbed by his team-mates and this in itself was a fine effort; in case you have not noticed, there is rather a lot of Kyle Abbott to mob.Suddenly Gloucestershire were 316 for 8. As though refusing to display such grim tidings, the scoreboard conked out. Cheerily undaunted by such mechanical non-compliance, Abbott continued his merry dance. In his next over Higgins swung him to deep square leg and was caught by James Fuller for a fine 63; ten minutes later Josh Shaw swiped him to Gubbins at midwicket.Even in a place as strange as the College Ground, the only threat to Hampshire was now the weather. Vince came out to open but watched as Organ drove Higgins for three fours in the first over. Organ eventually fell for an eight-ball 17 but Vince hit 24 off 16 deliveries in what became a race against the approaching elements. That was a sprint Hampshire won and they now go to Scarborough on Monday after the sort of week that defines a season.

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

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“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.

Manchester Originals crash out after failing to complete tall chase inside 72 balls

Joe Boaden31-Aug-2022Oval Invincibles qualified for the Women’s Hundred final in style, racking up the highest score of this year’s competition as they brushed Manchester Originals aside by 32 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.Invincibles’ score of 163 for 2 was powered by an unbeaten 79 from captain Suzie Bates, and they can now look forward to the showcase match at Lord’s on Saturday against either the Southern Brave or Trent Rockets.In reply, Originals never got close, with the defeat ending their slim chance of qualification for the latter stages of the competition, despite 64 from Lizelle Lee in what could be her last match for the team.Seventeen-year-old Sophia Smale and Marizanne Kapp, who enjoyed a good day with bat and ball, were the pick of the bowlers, both finishing with two wickets as the Originals were restricted to 131 for 6 in a dominant display for the London-based side.Sophia Smale’s two early wickets extended Oval Invincible’s advantage•ECB/Getty Images

Knowing that a victory would guarantee them top spot and an automatic berth to the final, the Invincibles won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision justified by the fluent start provided by the experienced opening pairing of Bates and Lauren Winfield-Hill.The pair had raced to 62 in just 43 balls when Winfield-Hill was caught by Erin Burns in the deep of Emma Lamb for 25 but New Zealander Bates was undeterred, bringing up an impressive fifty off 33 balls, before Alice Capsey was bowled by Sophie Ecclestone for 18 trying to keep the runs flowing.That brought Kapp to the crease, returning to the team after missing the last two outings, and she and Bates played powerfully around the ground to elevate their team to an impressive 163 with an unbroken partnership of 67 from just 36 balls.Bates’ innings of 79 featured nine fours and two sixes, while Kapp’s 36 contained five boundaries, including one maximum.That total was just short of the overall record team total for the Women’s Hundred – 166 set by Southern Brave last year – but Invincibles will take satisfaction from knowing that their victory, coupled with the Brave’s shock defeat to Northern Superchargers earlier in the day means they will avoid having to play in Friday night’s Eliminator at Brave’s expense.Related

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Originals had an academic target to chase the runs down in 72 balls for a spot in the play-offs, which seemed unlikely when Emma Lamb was bowled by Smale without scoring. Bates and Kapp then combined again, as Amy Satterthwaite was caught by the former off the latter’s bowling for just two.Lee’s lone hand was set against the wickets that tumbled around her. Burns was bowled by Smale for five, Sophie Ecclestone was caught by Capsey off Kapp for one, and Daisy Mullan was run out for nine on her Hundred debut.Lee reached her fifty off 34 balls before finally perishing for 64 off 41, caught on the boundary off Eva Gray, to a warm ovation from the appreciative home crowd.Ami Campbell restored some pride in Originals’ performance, striking a couple of boundaries in a run-a-ball 23, but it wasn’t enough to save her side from elimination.

Opener in the runs once more as Northants are made to work for first-day wickets

ECB Reporters Network05-Sep-2022Hampshire 229 for 5 (Organ 71) vs Northamptonshire
Felix Organ continued his fine form with 71 as LV= Insurance County Championship title-chasing Hampshire batted out a truncated even day with Northamptonshire.Opening batter Organ ended the Royal London Cup with 54 in the semi-final against Kent Spitfires, having scored 72, 118, 41 and 65 in his last four Championship matches.He also almost single-handedly helped his club side, Winchester-based St Cross Symondians, to the ECB Southern Premier League title on Saturday with a masterful 135, in addition to four wickets.Against Northamptonshire, he put on fifty stands with Joe Weatherley and Nick Gubbins to take Hampshire to 229 for five at close – with Jack White claiming two for 35.Organ started the season batting at No.7, in the team predominantly for his off-spin option in the fourth innings.But after Weatherley damaged his finger in the slips against Lancashire, he was promoted to open – his more familiar position – and immediately made an impact with a century.He slumped with a lean spell but arrived in this match averaging 46 in his previous seven innings.Having been put in by Will Young on a green-tinged wicket and seen his opening partner Ian Holland edge to second slip to the first ball he faced, Organ faced a great deal of pressure.But the 23-year-old was compact with the ball nipping around, with Ben Sanderson particularly finding good subtle movement to find the outside edge of Weatherley’s bat to again find Emilio Gay at second slip.Organ set up deep in his crease with an off-stump guard, and knew exactly where his stumps were, even if there were regular plays and misses from either end either side of the early lunch – with rain and bad light eventually lobbing 34 overs off the day.He particularly peppered the off side although his fifty came up with a sumptuous straight drive off 88 balls.With him, Gubbins and James Vince showed moments of their carefree nature but failed to capitalise on solid starts.Luke Procter entered the attack, got cut for four by Gubbins but found movement in off the seam to bowl the left-hander for 23, while Vince was caught behind for 19.Organ eventually departed when he failed to move his feet to White and feathered off the under-toe of the bat to Ricardo Vasconcelos.But Liam Dawson and Aneurin Donald briskly put on 62 unbeaten runs, with the latter often showing glamour with his driving ability before the light worsened to end play just after 6pm.Hampshire are hoping to get a jump of title rivals Surrey in this round of fixture, but the forecast is not looking too kind to their bid for a first Championship since 1973.

Tributes had been paid to the late allrounder during the Australia-Zimbabwe series

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2022The grandstand at Riverway Stadium in Townsville has been officially named after Andrew Symonds.The Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds Grandstand was unveiled by his children, Chloe and Will, and his mother Barbara on Friday.”It just feels like he’s going to be loved from every direction, like he’s going to be loved from everyone,” Chloe, 10, told reporters. “I know he didn’t like anything big, and it’s not a big grandstand…so he would probably have loved that.”Symonds, who played 238 times for Australia and was a huge figure in Queensland cricket, died aged 46 in a car accident near Townsville on March 14.Related

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When Australia played Zimbabwe in Townsville last month there were tributes paid to Symonds but the process to name the stand hadn’t quite been completed.At the innings interval of the opening match in the series his family, along with best friend Jimmy Maher, walked to the pitch where they laid his baggy green, bat, his Akubra hat, a fishing rod and a crab pot at the wickets. Symonds two dogs, Buzz and Woody, were also part of the occasion.On Friday, Symonds’ mother Barbara said: “He was just my boy who loved playing cricket. But to know that he was loved so much by so many people, it makes you very proud.”Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said that Symonds had a huge impact on the local community.”Roy was a proud North Queenslander who gave back to the Townsville community through charity and his involvement in junior sports,” she told the . “He was also a great friend to many people and would light up any room he was in. Roy’s passing has been a tragic loss to our community, and I know his absence is felt far and wide across the country.”The temporary sign will be replaced by a permanent version after further community consultation.

Though Tamim and Taskin are missing, Litton has Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah to rely on in three-ODI series

Mohammad Isam03-Dec-20225:33

Jaffer: India need to stick with 12-13 players going into ODI World Cup

Big picture

Cricket-mad Bangladesh is currently football-mad. The ongoing World Cup is not just watched in this country, but also celebrated in every corner, dominating most conversations. The visiting Indian players were welcomed by flags of Brazil and Argentina in the buildings overlooking their training ground in Dhaka. There’s little cricket paraphernalia for what is the BCB’s first marquee home series this season. International cricket, even if it is India’s first ODI in Bangladesh in seven years, will have to jostle for space.Bangladesh have qualified for the ODI World Cup next year, but they will not want to take the foot off the gas. India, with their first-choice players back in the squad, would want to start well, and lead into their home World Cup in October next year strongly. This series, remember, is not part of the World Cup Super League, but that shouldn’t reduce the intensity.Related

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Rohit Sharma is back as India’s ODI captain, with KL Rahul his deputy. Virat Kohli has also returned to the side. The star players’ comeback in this format indicates India are starting their preparation for the next year, after sending a second-string side to the recent tour of New Zealand.However, this also means the likes of Ishan Kishan, Rajat Patidar and Rahul Tripathi might not get as many opportunities, as the top and middle orders are loaded with big names. With Mohammed Shami ruled out of the ODIs, and several allrounders like Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar in the mix, it will also be interesting to see how India balance their side with the match being played on the slow Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch.Bangladesh will be missing the services of two star players: Tamim Iqbal, the regular ODI captain, who had earlier pulled out of the series because of a groin injury, and Taskin Ahmed, who was ruled out of the series because of a back injury.Both players have been in good form in ODIs. Tamim has led the side to direct qualification for the World Cup while scoring important runs, and Taskin is seen as the lynchpin of the pace attack these days. Litton Das, who will lead the hosts, has a major role to play with the bat, too, opening against a solid Indian bowling attack.Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are back in the ODI side•AFP/Getty Images

Litton will have seniors in Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah to bank on, while the likes of Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali and Anamul Haque will be expected to step up in their respective roles.Mustafizur Rahman, who broke through in India’s last ODI series in Bangladesh in 2015, has to lead the attack now, sharing the duties with Hasan Mahmud and Ebadot Hossain. Mehidy Hasan Miraz has risen to the challenge this year, often proving handy when the chips are down .India would not want to take Bangladesh lightly this time, particularly at home where the hosts have not lost a bilateral ODI series since the defeat to England in October 2016. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will rely on their experienced players to get them through.

Form guide

Bangladesh: WLLWW
India: LWWLW

In the spotlight

Virat Kohli is 30 runs short of becoming the second overseas batter to get 1000 runs in ODIs in Bangladesh, where he averages 80.83. In good form in T20Is of late, there couldn’t be a better place for Kohli to get back into rhythm in ODIs after averaging 21.87 in eight games in the format this year.Litton Das has been in excellent form this year•Getty Images

Litton Das has scored 500 runs in ODIs this year while averaging 62.50. But there is an added responsibility this time, leading the side in Tamim’s absence. How he responds to the new test will be interesting to see. The Bangladesh captaincy has, of late, been quite a story.

Team news

Shakib batting at No. 3 should mitigate Tamim’s absence. It would also allow Bangladesh to play an extra batter, which will likely be Yasir Ali. Taskin is also missing, which means Ebadot could get the nod for his pace.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Litton Das (capt), 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Yasir Ali, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Hasan Mahmud, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Ebadot HossainWith Shami ruled out of the series, young quick Umran Malik has been called up. Unless India decide to give Kuldeep Sen a debut, it is likely that both Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar will play.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Pitch and conditions

It is going to be a typical Mirpur pitch but not the raging turner we see often in Test cricket. The Shere Bangla Stadium last hosted an ODI in May 2021, and the pitch has mostly produced scores on the higher side for the teams batting first. Dhaka is cool this time of the year, with no rain forecast.

Stats and trivia

• Litton now has the most runs (1703) in a calendar year in all formats for Bangladesh, and is the second highest in 2022 behind Babar Azam.
• Bangladesh have won only five ODIs against India since 1988. They beat India the last time when the two teams met in 2015.

Quotes

“This format is such that we play well each time at home. We’ll miss two of our main players, but we still believe that who we have with us are very capable”

The two had a 77-run stand to help New Zealand post 148, which was well beyond Bangladesh’s reach

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2022Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green set up New Zealand’s 37-run over Bangladesh in the second women’s T20I and give them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in Dunedin on Sunday.Opting to bat first, New Zealand rode on Kerr’s unbeaten 30-ball 46 and Green’s 37 not out in 25 balls to put up 148. They lost two early wickets, of Sophie Devine and Georgia Plimmer, inside the powerplay, both to medium-pacer Marufa Akter, but Suzie Bates and Rebecca Burns scored 20 each to steady the innings. They were both sent back after the halfway mark of the innings, before Kerr and Green played entertaining knocks in a 77-run stand for the fifth wicket. Kerr’s innings had five fours, while Green’s had four.Like New Zealand, Bangladesh also lost two wickets early – Murshida Khatun and Dilara Akter – inside five overs in a quite start to the chase. A 45-run partnership in 48 balls between No. 3 Sharmim Akhter and captain Nigar Sultana followed. But Bangladesh were never able to catch up with the asking rate.Sultana top-scored with 33 and Akhter chipped in with 22, but they were both run-out just when Bangladesh would have looked to accelerate. From 81 for 3, Bangladesh lost five wickets for 30 runs and stopped 37 runs short.For New Zealand, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson and Fran Jonas picked up a wicket apiece, while Hayley Jensen struck twice in the 19th over.The third and final T20I will be played on December 7 in Queenstown.