September 8, 2024

BCB Clarifies Hathurusingha’s Role as Head Coach

Bangladesh Cricket Board cleared the air on the future of men’s national team head coach Chandika Hathurusingha. A board official said that the Sri Lankan will arrive in Bangladesh before the upcoming tour of India and guide the team forward against the Asian neighbours. Since Faruque Ahmed took over as BCB president, there has been speculation regarding Hathurusingha’s future.

Hathurusingha has a contract that runs until next year’s Champions Trophy and just oversaw a historic series win in Pakistan. However, it is no secret that Faruque has been vocal against Hathurusingha in the last two years. He even made it clear that he hasn’t changed his stance after taking over the BCB post.

Hathurusingha intended to get together for a talk with the BCB hierarchy, but arrived in Bangladesh with the team and left the following day without meeting the new board president. BCB director Nazmul Abedin however, brushed aside all kind of speculation regarding the immediate future of Hathurusingha.

“The head coach will come, and he will be here in Bangladesh (and will guide the team against India),” Nazmul said. Hathurusingha is expected to reach Bangladesh on September 12.

Onto Shakib Al Hasan’s availability, Nazmul stated that he will not be present when Bangladesh begin preparation for the tour at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Dhaka on September 9. Shakib is currently in England playing county cricket for Surrey.

“Shakib will come to India from England to play. For now we know this much and we want to keep it that way,” he said. “There is no injury problem as far as I know. Hopefully the whole team will be available. Shakib has gone to play County and I am hoping everyone else will be available. From September 9, the whole team is expected to practice in full swing,” he added.

India and Bangladesh are scheduled to play a two-match Test series and a three-game Twenty20 International series starting from September 19.

Security Concerns for Bangladesh Ahead of India Tour; Nazmul Optimistic About Series

The first match of the two-Test series will get underway on September 19 in Chennai, while the second Test is set to begin from September 27 in Kanpur. But even before the start of the series, security has become a concern for the Bangladesh team ahead of their much-anticipated tour of India.

“These things happen (threat) and it is present while playing in almost all the countries,” said Nazmul.”I don’t think it’s a big threat. We will go the way our tour has been fixed,” he said.

“Naturally we are communicating with the host board and we are pretty confident that they will give us adequate security during the tour and increase it (security) if required,” he said.

Nazmul also reckoned that India will look at them differently following their success in Pakistan. “India will appreciate Bangladesh more than ever. They will try to play with a little more planning. They (India) may not see Bangladesh the way they used to see before.”

“I think India are a little stronger compared to Bangladesh. So whether we can play with the mentality we had against Pakistan, whether we can keep that going consistently, will be a challenge for us. The pressure we were able to apply against Pakistan it may not be as easy against India. There we have to be more consistent, and show more patience. But self-confidence is very important,” he said.

“If we can hold it (the pressure), we have the ability to do good. Especially the power I saw in our bowling. If we can use it, then we have a good chance. We will dominate more than ever,” he said.

“Of course, they are a good team in any version. It is a little difficult to say about T20Is right now. However, Test cricket is a version that plays a role in improving the game of all formats. I’m sure that confidence will work here too. And as I said, the bowling is getting very good. Bowling power is important for any team and that will surely work in T20,” he added.

Sri Lanka Makes a Dramatic Comeback with Stronger Bowling

After the hammering received on the truncated opening day, Sri Lanka’s bowlers responded in style with a significantly improved bowling performance to claw their way back into the game on the second morning of the final Test against England at The Oval. Ollie Pope carried on to get past the 150-plus mark, the quickest by any batter at this venue, but that was arguably the only high point of the morning session for the home side as they failed to consolidate on the platform provided by their skipper and Ben Duckett.

The notable feature so far on day two has been the increase in amount of swing generated by Sri Lanka’s pacers. Statistically, it was more than two times the degree of swing they got on the first day. It also helped the visitors that the pitch quickened up a touch and that their seamers were far more accurate than they were on day one. However, the initial hour seemed more like a deja vu of the previous day for the Lankans as luck evaded the pacers despite an improved start to the day. Pope and Harry Brook both survived close calls, given out initially only for them to use DRS to reverse the calls. A few inside edges, top-edges also fell short.

Sri Lanka’s Timely Breakthroughs Spark Collapse and Boost Chances

Luck finally turned for Sri Lanka in the second hour when Brook mistimed one to extra cover to open the floodgates. The breakthrough was essential for the tourists to extend their stranglehold on the session and they continued to build up the pressure with accurate bowling. Jamie Smith scratched around for a bit as Sri Lanka dried the runs down and the wicket-keeper batter eventually fell to the pressure, whipping one straight to mid-wicket. Smith’s wicket triggered a brisk collapse that, however, started in unusual fashion. With the ball swinging and seaming, Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva brought himself on from one end.

Spin seemed the last feasible option in such conditions but the tactic worked to great effect as de Silva took out Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson, while Vishwa Fernando removed Pope to ensure that England wouldn’t be able to perform a lower-order resistance like the previous two Tests.

Asitha Fernando and Milan Rathnayake mopped up the last two wickets respectively to complete the formalities as England lost their last seven wickets for just 64 runs. This total of 325 is still a competitive one, given the nature of the surface but Sri Lanka have given themselves a chance of putting up a strong fight in the game.

The Lankan openers negotiated the solitary over bowled at them before lunch was taken, to seal what was clearly a morning that belonged to de Silva’s troops.

Brief scores:England 325 (Ollie Pope 154, Ben Duckett 86; Milan Rathnayake 3-56, Dhananjaya de Silva 2-18, Vishwa Fernando 2-46) lead Sri Lanka 1/0 by 324 runs