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Zimbabwe’s goal during the upcoming World Cup is “to make sure we play as well as we can

Firdose Moonda in Chennai10-Feb-2011Zimbabwe’s goal during the upcoming World Cup is “to make sure we play as well as we can.” That’s the mantra coach Alan Butcher brought with him to the team’s arrival press conference in Chennai. “We haven’t set any targets regarding the quarter-finals,” he said.For a team that has only twice progressed out of the group stages and has won just eight of 46 World Cup matches, that ambition seems to fit just right. Zimbabwe are among the stronger of the minnow teams but will have to beat at least one of the big names as well as earn convincing victories over Kenya and Canada if they hope to progress. For them, the results are not as important as the method. “If we can play five out of six games to our plans and to our targets, it will represent a good step forward for our team,” Butcher said.Butcher brings with him a team whose last notable World Cup achievement came in 1999, when Zimbabwe beat India and South Africa to advance to the Super Six stage of the tournament. The team that took to the field then formed what was considered the old guard of Zimbabwean cricket, with the likes of the Flower brothers, Alistair Campbell, Heath Streak and Henry Olonga. Those glory days, just like the Springsteen song says, have passed them by in the wink of a young girl’s eye.Now there’s a team of young hopefuls, the Chris Mpofus and Charles Coventrys of the country who have big talent and big hearts but a lot to learn. “We’ve got some way to go to say that we are back at that level (of 1999) but there is every reason to think that that can happen in the future,” Butcher said. This World Cup is more about planning for that future than anything else.”Zimbabwean cricket is in the process of a turnaround,” Butcher said. “They have gone through a period of poor results and difficult times for the players. At the moment, everyone is working very hard not only in this squad but in the first-class system to improve themselves.” Since voluntarily withdrawing from Test cricket, Zimbabwe have pumped resources into their limited-overs formats, which has included a sponsored twenty-over franchise competition that has attracted the likes of Andrew Hall, Lance Klusener and Brian Lara.”He (Lara) helped us a lot and shared some of his experience with us while he was working with us as a batting consultant,” Elton Chigumbura, the Zimbabwe captain, said. “The guys are ready to express themselves during this World Cup, show how they can play and win a couple of games.” Zimbabwe have every reason to be positive because it was just last June that they qualified for their first tri-series final in 10 years, albeit against second string Indian and Sri Lankan sides.It’s the preparation in and against teams for the subcontinent that will serve Zimbabwe best in this tournament. In December, they played against Bangladesh in a five match ODI series, and in the last two years have played in Dhaka and Chittagong 10 times. “There are players with experience of the conditions from when we played in Bangladesh,” Butcher said. “We’ve been playing and practicing in Dubai as well, where they’ve tried to simulate Indian wickets.”Zimbabwe also have a strong arsenal of spinners to make up for their lack of firepower in the fast bowling department, which could serve them well in the subcontinent. “The balance of our attack will be favoured by the conditions here. There’s a fair chance we will go with more than a couple of spinners which puts us at less of a disadvantage.” Butcher said.The search for the next Zimbabwean quick or the next batsman in the Andy Flower mould is still on, but Butcher is convinced that the 15 men he has to work with now will be the start of a permanent turnaround in the fortunes of the team that has for so long been the little brother of African cricket. He hopes the World Cup can help them to illustrate that point. “Zimbabwe cricket is on the up and hopefully we can prove that in the next six weeks.”

Kevin Pietersen has always prided himself on being the man for the big occasion, but in his estimation, nothing that he’s experienced in his career to date can rival the prospect of playing in a potential Ashes decider in front of nearly 100,000 spectator

Andrew Miller in Melbourne22-Dec-2010Kevin Pietersen has always prided himself on being the man for the big occasion, but in his estimation, nothing that he’s experienced in his career to date can rival the prospect of playing in a potential Ashes decider in front of nearly 100,000 spectators at the MCG on Boxing Day. With the series perfectly poised after Australia’s emphatic victory in Perth last week, and expectation levels in both countries at fever pitch, the grandest stage awaits for a player who loves nothing better than to be right at the centre of attention.In 2005, Pietersen played the defining knock of the series, and of his life, as he hauled England out of a final-day tail-spin with a brilliant, counter-attacking 158, to ensure a draw and secure the return of the Ashes for the first time in 16 years. Going into last week’s WACA Test, he looked in the right form and frame of mind to administer a similar coup de grace, having put the Adelaide Test way out of Australia’s reach with a career-best 227, but in the event he was scythed down on a lively deck for scores of 0 and 3. That experience, however, has not dented his desire to be right in the thick of the action.”Leading 2-1 in ’05 going into an Oval Test was pretty big, but this is huge,” said Pietersen. “Having won a Test, lost a Test, two to play, and one to win to take the Ashes home is an incredible opportunity for the team. I don’t know what ticket sales are like but it could be potentially around 400,000 people watching the five days. That is so exciting.”I’ve played a little bit, and I get goosebumps thinking about it,” he added. “Everyone in the team including the management and the Australians are really looking forward to what should be a great week’s cricket if the sun shines. Any day of Test cricket is amazing, but if you get 100,000 watching you on a particular day, you’re pretty pleased.”It’s a sentiment shared by the only Victorian in the Australian squad, Peter Siddle, who is desperate to make the cut for this match, despite being the likeliest seamer to miss out should the selectors opt to play the debutant spinner, Michael Beer. “Any Boxing Day Test is going to be big but an Ashes series just makes everything a lot more exciting,” said Siddle.”All this talk about the big crowd, you can’t stop to think about it,” he added. “There were 60-70,000 for South Africa [in 2008-09], they are predicting another 20,000 on top of that. It’s a big increase and you want to be a part of it and hear the roar. All the boys are looking forward to it and hopefully it does turn out to be a record.”The Melbourne curator, Cameron Hodgkins, has already set about preparing the grassier of the two MCG strips that had been earmarked for this Test, which implies that another all-seam attack might not be the worst idea for Australia, especially given that they’ve got Steve Smith’s legspin waiting in reserve. But whatever happens, Pietersen is confident that England will be better prepared for the challenge that awaits them, particularly from Mitchell Johnson whom, he admitted, had bowled an exceptional spell of inswing bowling that exposed a few unprepared techniques.”He took us by surprise for sure,” said Pietersen. “He bowled well, really, really well and had a good game of cricket, and we’re going to have to prepare ourselves for that swinging ball. We knew he could swing it, but we didn’t realise he would swing it that much. He did some really good work in the week off he had, but we will be a lot better prepared for it here in Melbourne so we will play him a lot better.”As for the row over the choice of wickets, Pietersen said he had no issue with Australia choosing a livelier deck. “Of course they are going to do it,” he said. “They’ve just had success in Perth on a bouncy wicket, but we’ve had success around the world on bouncy wickets. We lost that Test within half an hour, 5 for 20, that’s where we lost it. Full swinging balls knocked over our top order. We didn’t lose it to a bouncy wicket. We lost it to balls that swung that we didn’t prepare ourselves properly for. We will be prepared fully for everything come Saturday morning so I don’t think the wicket will play any different part.”An added aspect of the Perth contest was the renewed chirpiness of Australia’s cricketers, after a subdued performance in the one-sided match at Adelaide. From the moment Mitchell Johnson started trading verbals with James Anderson during his half-century on the first day, the tensions between the teams were cranked up an extra notch, and it was Australia who came out on top in every respect. Right at the heart of it all was Siddle, whose confrontation with Matt Prior on the second evening was especially fiery, and who admitted he’s at his best when let off the leash a little bit.”It’s part of my game anyway,and I think that’s when I’m at my best,” said Siddle. “That’s how Ricky goes about it with me, he knows that if he can get me up and firing and at my best, I can get the rest of the boys going. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t, but in this case it has and no doubt down the track it won’t. But hopefully we can keep it going down the series and we can keep on top of them.”It was a bit different from Adelaide,” he added. “When you’re 1 for 500 [sic] the sledging isn’t going to look as obvious, you’re not going to have much to say, and you’re not going to be out there as much. But both teams are going hard at it, it’s good fun out there. They’re at us, we’re at them, and it makes it lively out there. And no doubt the spectators like to see it.”Pietersen, however, played down Australia’s fighting talk, and suggested that things had been rather more intimidating in past series. “I’ve played against Australia in I don’t know how many Test matches, and believe me, the first time I played and the second time I came out here, with the likes of Warne, McGrath etc, there were some pretty big verbal contests. I haven’t seen or heard anything different from what’s happened in the first two Tests, let alone last year in England. There are not really any big chirpers or sledgers.”It’s England v Australia, an Ashes series,” he added. “Blokes get the red mist occasionally and you’re allowed to do that, things happen. You’re playing for that little urn and it’s historic, it’s huge. But there’s nothing that’s been overboard, and if things go overboard match referees deal with stuff like that and there’s been nothing like that. There’s not been anything close to it.”Either way, Pietersen is determined to move beyond the Perth experience, and concentrate solely on the challenge that awaits in Melbourne. “You can’t live in the past or think about things in the past,” he said. “You have to focus your attention on what’s to come and that’s what all the team are doing. We took momentum into Perth and we got hammered, so we’re not thinking about things that have happened.”The key to us being successful on this Ashes trip would just be to forget about last week,” he added. “Learn from the mistakes we made, but just forget about last week. The open and honest meeting we had the evening the game finished was a very good meeting. We have left that and it’s time to look forward now. We’ve got to learn from the mistakes we made and we’ll be better prepared come Sunday.”

Elton Chigumbura guided his side to a second successive victory and condemned Ireland to a series loss in a fluctuating tussle at the Harare Sports Club

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2010

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin O’Brien’s gutsy 73 was not enough to prevent Zimbabwe taking the series with a three-wicket victory•AFP

Elton Chigumbura guided his side to a three-wicket victory and condemned Ireland to a series loss in a fluctuating tussle at the Harare Sports Club. His unbeaten 32 ensured Brendan Taylor’s classy 71 did not go unrewarded as Zimbabwe survived a flurry of late wickets to sneak over the winning line.Though hardly overawing, the target Ireland set could have been more straightforward for Zimbabwe had Kevin O’Brien not rescued the innings from 107 for 6 with a patient 73 not out that carried the score to 238.Hard as Ireland scrapped, first with the bat and then again later with the ball, they could not withstand the a Zimbabwe side comfortable in home conditions. Chigumbura again asked Ireland to bat first and was rewarded in the second over when Ireland captain William Porterfield fell to Ed Rainsford for 9.Paul Stirling responded by taking 18 – including a six and three fours – off Rainsford’s next over on his way to a fluent half-century and while he and Andre Botha were together Ireland looked to be building a meaningful total. Instead, they lost four wickets for 15 runs as Botha, Stirling, Gary Wilson and Andrew White fell in quick succession.Kevin O’Brien could only watch helplessly at the procession until he found support first from John Mooney (16) and then in a 55-run stand with Trent Johnston (30). Having picked off singles diligently O’Brien finished the innings with a bang, smiting 29 off his final eight deliveries, including 24 off Rainsford’s last over to take the total to 238.O’Brien then rode the momentum to remove Hamilton Masakadza early in Zimbabwe’s chase before Taylor and Sean Williams steadied the innings. Much was expected of George Dockrell, who is already turning into the linchpin of the attack, but his first contribution was in the field, running out Williams to revive Ireland’s hopes.Taylor found a fluent partner in Tatenda Taibu and the pair laid the platform for the successful run chase with an 80-run stand in 16.2 overs before Dockrell broke through by rattling Taibu’s stumps. At 137 for 3 it looked too late for Ireland to come back and Taylor passed his fifty from 72 balls. Having worked his way to 71 he was trapped in front by Johnson to give keep Ireland interested before Craig Ervine and Charles Coventry then fell in quick succession to set up a tense finish.Zimbabwe needed 64 from 70 balls with four wickets in hand but Chigumbura held his nerve to guide towards the target. Prosper Utseya was run out with 47 still needed but Chigumbura, together with Graeme Cremer, sealed the result with seven balls to spare.

Dav Whatmore has questioned the selection of Yuvraj Singh in the Test squad against Sri Lanka ahead of batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who had a prolific run during the recently concluded A tour to England

Cricinfo staff14-Jul-2010Dav Whatmore, the Kolkata Knight Riders coach and the former director of coaching at India’s National Cricket Academy, has questioned the selection of Yuvraj Singh in the Test squad against Sri Lanka ahead of batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who had a prolific run during the recently concluded A tour to England.”The team surely has some finest Test match players. But, where is Cheteshwar Pujara? I personally think he is a must in the team, especially considering his form. Yuvraj Singh ahead of Pujara is completely baffling. This is just the right time to bring him in,” Whatmore told .Pujara, who represents Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, was also part of the Kolkata squad in the IPL supervised by Whatmore. He cracked an unbeaten 208 against West Indies A on the tour of England, and scored 332 runs in five limited-overs games as captain, averaging 83. In first-class cricket, Pujara, 22, averages 60.38 and has a triple-century to his name. He has been named Parthiv Patel’s deputy for the upcoming Emerging Players’ Tournament in Brisbane in August.Yuvraj, however, has virtually cemented his position in the middle order for the first Test that begins on July 18, scoring a fluent century against Sri Lanka’s Board President’s XI in the tour game.India are without Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth on the Sri Lankan tour – both are injured – and Whatmore expected a difficult time for the visitors in the three-match Test series. “Good players are always missed in the team. The key is how ready the playing XI is. Sri Lanka is a very formidable unit and it would be a tough contest for Dhoni and company.”Jaidev Unadkat, a left-arm seamer who Whatmore coached in the last IPL, is part of the Indian outfit in Sri Lanka as a net bowler. Whatmore said he needed more exposure in first-class cricket. “These are early days for him. But there is no doubt that he is a promising talent. Unadkat needs to play and concentrate in first-class matches. He holds a bright future.”The first Test will be Muttiah Muralitharan’s last, and Whatmore, while acknowledging his absence would affect Sri Lanka, said they have some impressive reserves in the spin department. “Muralitharan is arguably the greatest spin bowler of the modern era. He was one man, who created a fear psychosis. For the first time ever, batsmen started fearing offspin bowling. Teams always had a specific plan against Murali. His retirement will create a huge hole.”But Sri Lanka have the young talent. Suraj Randiv is a great offie and a future star. Ajantha Mendis has also troubled many teams and is definitely in Sri Lanka’s scheme of things.”India, Whatmore said, are among the front-runners heading into the 2011 World Cup but urged the media to not put pressure on captain MS Dhoni. “Of course India can win the World Cup. But for that to happen, everything should fall in place. But the media have the habit of exaggerating things till it is too close for comfort. No one has the Midas touch. It is just that Dhoni is a wise captain and has a thinking head on his shoulders.”But the media have added unnecessary pressure on him by branding him ‘Captain Cool’ and what not. After all, he is a human being. Gary [Kirsten] is a good coach and India has relatively performed well under his guidance.”

Bawne had refused to leave the field after his dismissal against Services, causing a 15-minute delay

Shashank Kishore23-Jan-2025Maharashtra batter Ankit Bawne has been handed a one-match suspension for dissent. The decision was communicated to the team ahead of the side’s Ranji Trophy sixth round Group A fixture against Baroda in Nashik.Bawne’s refusal to leave the field after being given out in their fifth-round game against Services, prior to the white-ball season, created a flutter, even though there appeared to be conclusive evidence that the ball had bounced before Shubham Rohilla completed the catch at slip off left-arm spinner Amit Shukla.Bawne, who was the stand-in captain in that game, couldn’t opt to review the decision as the match was only on a livestream and not televised, which meant there was no infrastructure for DRS to be in place. His refusal to leave the field led to play being suspended for nearly 15 minutes, before the game resumed upon the intervention of match referee Amit Sharma and Maharashtra coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.Related

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After the incident, Kulkarni had lashed out at the umpiring standards in domestic cricket. “Players are subject to fines and reprimand, what about proper assessment of umpires,” he had said. “Why do the same erring umpires continue to officiate and play spoilsport? When there are blunders of this nature, the anger is justified.”At the time, Maharashtra’s regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, too, had posted replays of the dismissal. Gaikwad was playing for India A in Australia at the time.Bawne has been Maharashtra’s leading run-scorer this season, with 361 runs from five matches at an average of 51.57. He has scored one century and two fifties.Maharashtra are second from bottom in Group A and are already out of the reckoning for a playoff berth as they can reach a maximum of 22 points. As things stand, there are already two teams in the pool – Baroda and J&K – with more points.

West Indies, who had threatened to take a bigger lead at various stages of their second innings, folded for 193 after tea on the third day

Tristan Lavalette27-Jan-20241:53

McGlashan: There could yet be some nervy moments for Australia

Stumps Steven Smith made a positive start to Australia’s chase of 216, but a shorthanded West Indies attack hit back late on day three to breathe life anew into the second Test at the Gabba. Australia reached stumps at 60 for 2 and need a further 156 runs to claim a sweep of the home Test summer. But this unpredictable contest may have more twists and turns with heavy showers forecast on days four and five due to the after-effects of Cyclone Kirrily.New-ball bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph started sluggishly and failed to make the most of favourable conditions under lights. Australia rattled off 24 runs before opener Usman Khawaja tickled Alzarri Joseph down the leg side.West Indies’ hopes of ending a two-decade Test drought against Australia were further raised when Justin Greaves squared up Marnus Labuschagne, whose edge was brilliantly snaffled by Kevin Sinclair in the slips. Sinclair – not for the first time in his debut Test – celebrated by crossing his arms after he rose from the turf.Smith and Cameron Green survived a probing examination before stumps. Green was all at sea and struck on the pads by Greaves, but West Indies were unsuccessful in their review. He then edged the next delivery in front of second slip.In contrast, Smith looked technically sound and hit the ball crisply to finish unbeaten on 33 from 56 balls.Kavem Hodge was brilliantly run out by Travis Head from forward short-leg•AFP/Getty Images

It was a resilient effort from West Indies, who were without quick Shamar Joseph after he was struck on the toe on his right foot by an inswinging yorker from Mitchell Starc. It was initially given out lbw but Starc had overstepped. He had to retire hurt to end a West Indies second innings that fell away.They had moved to 148 for 4, with a lead of 170, when the in-form Kavem Hodge hit to Travis Head at forward short-leg and took a couple of steps forward with the stroke, and Head quickly flicked the ball at the stumps. A desperate Hodge dove back but his bat was in the air when the ball hit the stumps in what might prove a match-turning moment.It followed a trend where West Indies lost wickets almost out of nowhere and were left to rue four of their top six batters scoring between 29 and 41 but not kicking on.No. 3 Kirk McKenzie, who drove well during his stay, top-scored with 41 and along with Alick Athanaze played attractively and threatened substantial scores before they both fell to Nathan Lyon either side of the dinner break.Australia’s attack toiled in oppressive conditions, but managed to conjure breakthroughs at crucial junctures much like they did when challenged against Pakistan earlier in the summer.Nathan Lyon had a big job to do as the quicks suffered in the heat•AFP/Getty Images

With the quicks feeling the effects of the hot and humid weather, Lyon was relied upon and he threatened on a ground he has a terrific record at. Bowling quicker than usual, Lyon produced sharp turn and bounce to finish with 3 for 42 from 22 overs.After a frenetic day two, the match returned to normalcy as the surface settled and West Indies eyed batting long. Resuming at 13 for 1, West Indies needed to survive the new ball onslaught and reached the 25-over mark, after which batting has proven easier, relatively unscathed.But the surface did not offer as much zip as it did late on day two when Australia had declared 22 runs behind and Josh Hazlewood had sent back Tagenarine Chanderpaul.McKenzie motored along to thwart Australia’s pace attack. In contrast, skipper Kraigg Brathwaite was anchored to the crease and scored just six runs off his first 33 balls before whacking Starc uppishly through the covers for his first boundary of the innings.The batters defied probing hard-length bowling from Pat Cummins and notched a half-century stand before Brathwaite chipped Green to cover.Kirk McKenzie played a flurry of check-drives down the ground•Getty Images

McKenzie slowed down and on his 50th delivery, he missed an attempted sweep to be trapped lbw on Lyon’s second delivery. McKenzie decided to review, having been hit high on his back leg, but ball tracking showed it to be clipping the off bail and the decision was upheld.Athanaze, who has had limited impact in the series, showed glimpses of why he is highly rated with several attractive strokes and combined well with Hodge after dinner to rattle Australia.Australia’s frustrations boiled over when Mitchell Marsh made a hash of a fielding attempt leading to Lyon, the bowler, gesticulating in annoyance.But Lyon’s mood soon brightened when he dismissed Athanaze on 35 after tossing up a delivery that was edged to slip, where Smith took a sharp catch.It was a relief for Smith, who had earlier in the innings dropped Athanaze and Brathwaite, as West Indies fell away before their late fightback left the match delicately poised.

Litton Das is set to replace the injured Najmul Hossain Shanto in Bangladesh’s XI

Karthik Krishnaswamy05-Sep-20233:13

How will Bangladesh deal with Shanto’s absence?

Big picture: Teams share complicated relationship

Talk of rivalries has dominated the Asia Cup. India-Pakistan. Pakistan-Afghanistan. The derby. Heck, you could even throw in the Rohit derby.Here’s another sizzling rivalry to kick off the Super Four stage. Pakistan and Bangladesh have endured a long and complicated relationship on and off the field, and Wednesday will be their first ODI meeting since the 2019 World Cup.It was against Pakistan, of course, that Bangladesh had their breakthrough moment as a cricketing nation. It was also against Pakistan, however, that they experienced their most protracted struggle to turn the gains from that breakthrough into results on the field. Between Northampton 1999 and Mirpur 2015, Bangladesh beat every other opposition at least once in international cricket, but lost 40 straight games to Pakistan. Some of those defeats were genuine heartbreaks, not least those in the Asia Cups of 2012 and 2014.They have turned a corner since then, certainly in ODIs where they’ve beaten Pakistan four times in their last five meetings. Pakistan have dominated the rivalry since then, in Tests and T20Is, but those results will have little bearing on Wednesday’s match since the 50-overs format is where Bangladesh are at their strongest.You’d have to count Pakistan as favourites since they’re playing at home and seem to have every base covered as befits the world’s No. 1 ODI side. Bangladesh, already weakened by injuries to key players, are now also without Najmul Hossain Shanto, their most in-form batter. But they’re a smart, experienced group who know their way around ODI cricket, and they’re familiar with the conditions with Lahore, having pulled off a rousing win there over Afghanistan on Sunday. Expect them to be well-prepared and ready for whatever Pakistan have to throw at them.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWWL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)

Bangladesh WLWLLCan Fakhar Zaman make a big score against Bangladesh?•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Fakhar Zaman and Shoriful Islam

Since scoring three hundreds on the bounce against New Zealand in May, Fakhar Zaman has made 19, 14, 33, 2, 30, 27 and 14 in his last seven ODI innings. If he gets in against Bangladesh, he’ll try his hardest to make sure he stays in.It’s early days yet, but Shoriful Islam has a terrific record after 19 ODIs, with 30 wickets at an average of 24.93. The left-arm quick is fresh off a three-wicket haul against Afghanistan, and could cause Pakistan’s top order problems if he can get the new ball moving around.

Team news: Litton set to replace Shanto

Pakistan played the same XI in both their group games, but start the Super 4s with one change. They’ve left out Mohammad Nawaz for the Bangladesh game, and in comes Faheem Ashraf, the medium-pacer, who was included in the XI on the eve of the fixture. Pakistan’s decision to leave left-arm spinner Nawaz out could be because of the many left-hand batters in the Bangladesh line-up.Pakistan: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Agha Salman, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Haris Rauf.Litton Das, who has recovered from the illness that kept him out of the group stage, is expected to walk back into the top order in place of Shanto. It will be interesting to see if he opens, or if Mehidy Hasan Miraz remains there after his century against Afghanistan.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 3 Litton Das, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Towhid Hridoy, 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Afif Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Hasan Mahmud.

Pitch and conditions

Conditions at the Gaddafi Stadium tend to be batting-friendly, with the last five ODIs here producing three 300-plus first-innings totals as well as Sri Lanka’s 291 against Afghanistan on Tuesday. The weather is expected to be hot and dry, with temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius.

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh are yet to beat Pakistan in Pakistan in any format. They have lost each of their meetings in 11 ODIs, five Tests and three T20Is.
• Shaheen Shah Afridi (22.39) has the best average of all Pakistan bowlers with at least 50 ODI wickets ahead of Sarfraz Nawaz (23.22), Wasim Akram (23.52) and Waqar Younis (23.84).
• Mohammad Rizwan is one catch short of 50 as a keeper in ODIs. He has also taken 12 catches as a fielder.

Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag among those to come out in support of the wrestlers, who have levelled sexual-harassment allegations against the wrestling federation chief

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2023Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Shikha Pandey have become the first cricketers to break their silence on the protests being carried out by India’s top wrestlers demanding the dismissal of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Indian wrestling federation chief. The wrestlers have alleged that Singh sexually abused and exploited women wrestlers over the past decade.On Friday afternoon, the Delhi Police agreed to investigate the charges against Singh, a week after the complaint was first filed and only after the wrestlers moved the Supreme Court for action. But the wrestlers’ larger mission is to remove Singh from his position as federation chief, and to draw attention to the charges against him.”Will they ever get justice,” Kapil asked in an Instagram post with a photograph of Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik – the latter two Olympic medalists – who have been leading a protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for the past five days. They were part of a group of 30-odd wrestlers at Jantar Mantar in January this year, too, when they made public the allegations against Singh, a member of parliament from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.Instagram/Kapil Dev

Following that, the union sports ministry, of which former BCCI president Anurag Thakur is the man in charge, tasked its oversight committee to investigate the matter and submit the findings by February. The committee included, among others, boxer MC Mary Kom and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, both Olympic Games medallists (Mary Kom is also a former member of parliament). Reports suggest that even two months on, the findings of the oversight committee have not been made available to the wrestlers.Support for the wrestlers had been extremely limited all along. On Thursday, PT Usha, the champion athlete on the 1980s who is now the president of the Indian Olympic Association, said that the conduct of the protesting wrestlers amounted to “indiscipline” and that it was “not good for sport”. Her comments were met with severe public criticism and Punia expressed disappointment at the “harsh reaction”.Then, on Friday, Phogat issued a plea of sorts to the Indian cricket community, asking why they had been silent on the plight of their fellow sportspersons.”The entire country worships cricket but not even a single cricketer has spoken up,” the quoted Phogat as saying. “We aren’t saying that you speak in our favour, but at least put up a neutral message and say there should be justice for whichever party. This is what pains me… Be it cricketers, badminton players, athletics, boxing…”It’s not like we don’t have big athletes in our country. There are cricketers… During the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, they showed their support. Don’t we deserve even that much?”You do come forward to congratulate us when we win something. Even the cricketers tweet when that happens. [What has happened now]? Are you so afraid of the system? Or maybe there’s something fishy going on there too?”While Kapil’s message had come a day before, on Thursday, Harbhajan tweeted on Friday, “I am pained as a sportsperson to find pride of our country coming out to protest on the streets”, while Sehwag wrote, “It’s a sensitive matter and needs an impartial investigation”, and Pathan said, “Indian athletes are always our pride not only when they get medals for us…”.Later on Friday evening, Pandey tweeted her support for the wrestlers too, hoping “that justice shall be served at the earliest.”