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Pakistan veteran Mohammad Hafeez and Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza are also in the mix

Shashank Kishore15-Mar-2022Hanuma Vihari and Abhimanyu Easwaran are among seven Indian players who are taking part, for varying durations, in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL), Bangladesh’s only List A (50-over) competition. The others are Parvez Rasool, Baba Aparajith, Ashok Menaria, Chirag Jani and Gurinder Singh. All of them were unsold at the February auction ahead of IPL 2022.Vihari, who was a part of India’s Test XI, which completed a 2-0 sweep over Sri Lanka in Mohali and Bengaluru, will head home to Hyderabad for a short break before traveling to Dhaka. He is expected to join his team, Abahani Limited, later this week. He will miss the first three games of the season for the team, and Afghanistan middle-order batter Najibullah Zadran has been signed up by the club for those games.Easwaran, captain of the Bengal first-class side in India’s domestic circuit and also on the fringes of the national Test side, which he has been with as a reserve in recent times, will turn out for Prime Bank. Rasool will play for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi, Aparajith for Rupganj Tigers, Menaria for Khelaghar, Jani for Legends of Rupganj, and Gurinder for Gazi Group Cricketers.Vihari, Easwaran, Aparajith, Menaria and Rasool aren’t strangers to the DPL, having taken part in it before Covid-19 struck in 2019-2020. Other prominent Indian players, like Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan, have also played in the DPL in the past.This season, all the participating teams have been allowed one overseas player. Apart from the Indians, Pakistan veteran Mohammad Hafeez will play for Mohammedan Sporting and Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza will turn out for Shinepukur.The premier Bangladeshi cricketers are on tour in South Africa•AFP

Traditionally a 50-overs tournament, the DPL was tweaked to a T20 format last year to give national players game time in preparation for the T20 World Cup in late 2021. That was also the only year when no foreign players were brought in.The DPL features 11 teams, which will play each other once in a round-robin format. The top six teams then play each other in the Super League once. The bottom two teams from the league phase will be relegated to Dhaka’s first division league.The addition of several overseas players adds some heft to a competition that will largely be devoid of local star power, as the national team is currently in South Africa preparing for three ODIs and two Tests. With the tour set to end on April 12, it’s likely the country’s top players will only be available for the last two weeks of the competition.April to September is typically seen as a free window for India’s domestic players that don’t have IPL teams. While some head to Bangladesh for the DPL, some others, like Faiz Fazal, have featured in club cricket in the UK. This season, too, Cheteshwar Pujara will play for Sussex in the English county circuit.This year, the BCCI is in the process of concluding the first phase – league and one pre-quarter-final – of a truncated Ranji Trophy, with the knockouts scheduled for June, after the IPL.

Fast bowler emboldened by displays from Archer, Nortje, Rabada in the UAE this year

Andrew Miller03-Nov-2020Mark Wood says he is looking forward to spending more time out in the middle and less time “counting pictures on the walls”, after being named in both squads for England’s forthcoming limited-overs tour of South Africa – a trip on which he hopes to reaffirm the value of raw pace in T20I cricket, following the stand-out performances of Jofra Archer, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada at this year’s IPL.Wood, 30, endured a frustrating home summer in 2020, in which he featured in just the first of England’s six Tests against West Indies and Pakistan, and was subsequently overlooked for a Test contract at end of September. Addressing that issue last week, he warned that he may have to consider becoming a white-ball specialist in order to manage his priorities in the latter part of his career, especially given his long history of ankle injuries.However, speaking at the launch of #Funds4Runs, a new ECB and LV= grassroots initiative, Wood insisted he was relishing the return to England bubble life – with the players set to arrive in South Africa on November 17 ahead of three T20Is and three ODIs from November 27 to December 9 – and that he was still committed to all three formats despite missing out on a red-ball deal, particularly with England’s next Ashes tour looming in just under 12 months’ time.”I obviously love playing for England,” Wood said. “But at the minute, that’s the route they’ve gone down, and I’ll have to prove again that, if selected, I can do the business. Hopefully in the future the rewards come, and if they don’t, then I’ll reassess and see where my cricket lies.”I’d like to play all three formats, but [white-ball only] is something in the future I might have to think about,” he added. “Looking at my body … I’ve got a young family, spending time away from home … things like that. But growing up, I always wanted to play for England across all formats, no matter what it was, so I’m still trying to chase that dream.”Although there was never much doubt that Wood would get the call for South Africa, he did admit to a degree of relief when the selection was announced, given that his last white-ball display in the country, back in February, didn’t go entirely to plan. Coming off the back of his successful return to the Test team, in which he was named player of the match after a rapid nine-wicket display in the series decider at Johannesburg, Wood’s four wickets in the T20Is came at a cost of almost two runs a ball as he struggled to make the adjustment from red ball to white.”Sometimes you have to sacrifice little bits of training because, if you’re solely focused on one format, then you can put all your effort into that,” Wood said. “I didn’t bowl well in South Africa last time, so I’ve got a point to prove this time and, hopefully, I can keep up with the battle-hardened players that have been in the IPL.”Few are as battle-hardened as the trio of quicks who have lit up the tournament in the UAE. With a focus on speed over variations at this year’s event, Rabada and Nortje have formed an at-times irresistible alliance for Delhi Capitals in their run to the play-offs, claiming 25 and 19 wickets respectively, while Archer has taken 20 wickets at an economy rate of 6.55, a return that kept Rajasthan Royals competitive to the bitter end despite them finishing at the foot of the table.And while Wood opted out of any involvement in this year’s IPL, due to his lengthy time in the English summer bubbles, he admits he has half an eye on the next event in the New Year, and recognises that a big performance this winter could well earn him a lucrative call-up, given how in vogue 90mph-plus bowlers currently are.ALSO READ: Archer, Curran, Stokes rested for England ODIs in South Africa“To have two English lads come across, me and Jofra, against the two South African lads in the upcoming series, I think it’ll be quite exciting to see how we both combat each other,” he said. “The game has moved on so much. You need the variations but ultimately, if you get it right at that speed, then it’s hard to deal with. Of course, if you get it wrong at that speed, it can go very wrong, so it is fine margins, but it’s nice to see it’s not just the spinners that can have a massive impact on T20 cricket.”Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje compare notes•BCCI

Wood’s only previous involvement in the IPL was a one-off outing for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in the 2018 event – he conceded 49 runs in four wicketless overs and did not feature again. But given that the 2021 IPL may yet have to take place in the UAE as well due to Covid-19, he knows the franchises could yet come calling in the new year.”The pace lads have had a great impact this IPL,” he said. “I had a small chance to go this year but the timings didn’t quite fit. But if it comes around again, I can maybe prove my worth better than the one game I had for Chennai a couple of years ago.”It’s very hard to get into the IPL because there’s so many good local players, never mind international players,” he added. “It is the hardest competition, but if I can get in, it’ll only help me for England as well, because it’s all about pressure situations. Regardless of whether it’s in India or the UAE, it’s still a fantastic competition to be a part of and one which I hope I can be.”However, any such ambition further down the line will doubtless depend on Wood making his mark for England once again, as he braces for a return to life in the bubble.”We were looked after brilliantly in Southampton and Manchester, and I’m sure South Africa will be just the same,” he said. “Mental health is very important, but now we know what it’s going to be about, we can hopefully cope with it. It will help being in sunny weather in a nice hotel, I’m sure, but if we see someone struggling, the support network is there.”I’m ready to go back in, I think,” he added. “Previously it was a bit into the unknown, but you get used to it. I know now what to take, and what will keep us occupied, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there and trying some cricket, and hopefully not counting too many pictures on the walls this time.”#Funds4Runs is a £1million investment pot jointly funded by ECB and LV= General Insurance which will help support grassroots cricket communities impacted by COVID-19. Register your interest at ecb.co.uk/funds4runs or more info at https://www.lv.com/gi/cricket

India’s chief selector also explains that Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal were picked as World Cup replacements on team management’s requests

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai21-Jul-2019The 3D sequels aren’t over yet. Among the clarifications India’s chief selector MSK Prasad made on Sunday were a couple related to World Cup selections. Prasad stressed the decision to leave out Ambati Rayudu did not have any bias. He also explained why Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal had been picked as replacements for the injured Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar respectively, and admitted the choices may have seemed “confusing” to people.The Rayudu riddle
The World Cup final hangover may be wearing off but Indian cricket’s obsession with a discarded No. 4 is not. When India’s World Cup squad was announced in April, Rayudu had been left out in favour of Vijay Shankar, with Prasad saying the latter brought “three dimensions” to the side. A day after the announcement, Rayudu in a not-so-cryptic tweet said: “Just ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the World Cup.” It was followed by a winking and a smiling emoji. On Sunday, while announcing India’s squads for the West Indies tour, Prasad said he had “really enjoyed” that tweet. “Frankly speaking, it was a lovely tweet, I really enjoyed it. Seriously. It was a very timely one, very sarcastic. it was fantastic one. I don’t know how it struck him.”He also addressed the “emotional” side of Rayudu’s decision to retire from all forms of cricket earlier this month.
Although he had been marked as India’s No. 4 by Virat Kohli last year, the selectors didn’t pick him to go to England even after Vijay Shankar was injured and the team needed replacements. Prasad insisted there was no bias in that decision, and added that his committee had backed Rayudu previously.”First of all, how much emotions have gone through anybody, the same emotions also have gone through the selection committee,” Prasad said on Sunday. “When we pick any player and he does well, we feel so happy for him. Similarly, when someone, out of emotions, goes out in this way, selection committee members also feel for it.”But, having said that, with regard to the decision that was taken, it was devoid of any bias or any favouritism. From the beginning, I have been telling why we have picked Vijay Shankar, why we have picked Rishabh Pant or Mayank Agarwal. Somewhere, it is definitely related to Rayudu’s case also. There’s no second thought, there’s nothing against that.”I will give you a small example on Rayudu. When Rayudu was picked on the basis of the 2017-18 T20 performance, we picked him in the one-day side, there was a lot of criticism but we had some thoughts about him. Subsequently, when he failed a fitness test, this selection committee backed him and we put him through a fitness programme for a month, and we ensured that he comes back fit and comes into the side. Once he came into the side we backed him, but due to certain permutations and combinations of the side, we couldn’t pick him. That doesn’t make this selection committee or me, in person, biased.”I hope you will understand that there was a certain programme that was set to see that Rayudu should come into the side. There’s nothing that we did against any particular person. So how much Rayudu is emotional, we are also emotional. We as ex-cricketers also feel for him. That’s it, that’s what I can say.”Getty Images

Picking Pant for Dhawan, Agarwal for Vijay Shankar
When an inexperienced middle-order batsman replaced an injured opener, and then an uncapped opener took an injured allrounder’s place in India’s World Cup squad, it “baffled” several fans and experts, including Sunil Gavaskar. After the side’s semi-final loss to New Zealand, Gavaskar said a batsman like Rayudu should have been in the squad, since he was among the standbys, and could have handled the crisis of being 24 for 4 in a semi-final better.”It is not the selection committee’s decision. It is the team management which has been asking these things,” Gavaskar had said. “We are not saying you are wrong but at the moment what we are seeing didn’t work out, so we need to know.”Prasad addressed these issues on Sunday, clarifying that Pant and Agarwal had been picked on requests made by the team management.”When Shikhar Dhawan got injured, we had a third opener in KL Rahul. At that juncture, after those two-three matches, we didn’t have a left-hander at the top,” Prasad explained. “Since KL Rahul was going to open, the team management requested for a left-hander and we had no choice other than Pant. We were very clear about that. We know what he is capable of. That’s the reason why we had to bring in a left-hander, which actually confused many people thinking why a middle-order batsman has been picked for an opener.”When Vijay Shankar was injured, again a middle-order player was injured, and an opener was brought in. In a game against England, when KL Rahul was trying for a catch, he had a big fall on the boundary line and he didn’t field for the rest of the innings. There was a medical emergency at that stage whether he will be continuing or not. There was so much of a worry factor. At that juncture, a written communication was given to us that we need a back-up opener.”We looked at some of the openers. Some were not in form, the others were injured. That is why we went for Mayank Agarwal. So that is very clear, no confusion on this. I’m sure by the end of the day all these speculations will be clear.”

Ricky Ponting has suggested that Billy Stanlake can become one of the great Test bowlers and it appears new Australia coach Justin Langer is of the same mind

David Hopps16-May-2018Australian fast bowler Billy Stanlake has been withdrawn from his deal with Yorkshire for the Vitality T20 Blast as he switches his focus to proving that he has a future at Test level.The late change of heart, determined by Cricket Australia and Stanlake’s representatives following Justin Langer’s appointment as head coach, leaves Yorkshire high and dry only a month before the start of the T20 season.It will only heighten the feeling within county cricket that with the game in such flux, and the cricket calendar so crowded, agreements with overseas players can no longer be relied upon.Stanlake, who is centrally contracted by Cricket Australia, sustained a fractured finger playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and only began bowling in the nets again last Friday.But fitness was not an issue for the abandonment of his Yorkshire deal. He has been named in Australia’s squad for five ODIs and one T20 in England from June 13-27, which represents Langer’s first assignment.Langer, it appears, also believes that Stanlake has potential in the red-ball format and the player is also eager to prove his worth in the longer form of the game.Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, certainly thinks so, suggesting in February that he “could be one of the all-time great fast bowlers.”So far his injury record has precluded him from making much of an impact – he has managed only two first-class games, the last of them in November 2015, afflicted by serious back injuries and, more uncommonly, an infected toe which came close to amputation.He will now concentrate on a full pre-season with the Queensland Bulls, with an eye on potential Sheffield Shield involvement later in the year.Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, was in disconsolate mood when he said: “Cricket Australia got in touch on Friday and have decided on a different strategy for Billy Stanlake.”Now the new Australia coach is in place, they want him to play some different cricket to T20 during the period he was due to be with us. Consequently, they’ve pulled him out of our deal, which is obviously very disappointing for us. We’re not the only county, it would appear, who has been affected by this.”We’ll assess the situation as to whether we go for a replacement or not. We may choose to stick with our own players.”Stanlake was set to play a minimum of 12 matches for Yorkshire, missing the opening two because of Australia commitments but then due to play right through to final group match against Nottinghamshire at Headingley on August 17.

South Africa legspinner Imran Tahir has claimed the top spot in the ODI rankings for bowlers, to go with his No. 1 rank in T20 internationals

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-20170:45

Tahir tops ODI rankings for bowlers for the third time

South Africa legspinner Imran Tahir has claimed the top spot in the ODI rankings for bowlers, to go with his No. 1 rank in T20 internationals. South Africa have also overtaken Australia to become the No. 1 ranked ODI team after their 5-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka at home.Tahir passed New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult and West Indies spinner Sunil Narine in the ODI charts, after claiming ten wickets at 20 apiece against Sri Lanka. Kagiso Rabada, at No. 7, is the only other South African bowler in the top ten.South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis also achieved a career-high rank in ODIs – climbing seven places to No. 4 – after making 410 runs in five innings against Sri Lanka, at an average of 102 and strike rate of 105. His team-mates Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla are at No. 5 and 7, while AB de Villiers is at No. 2.After taking a 3-0 lead in the series against Sri Lanka, South Africa were in with a chance of taking the No. 1 spot from Australia because Aaron finch’s side lost the Chappell-Hadlee Series 0-2 in New Zealand.. AB de Villiers’s team duly went on to complete the 5-0 result.

A round-up of the Momentum One Day Cup games played on January 29, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2016Half-centuries from Andrew Puttick, JP Duminy and Jason Smith gave Cape Cobras the platform for a 68-run win over Dolphins in Cape Town. Cobras, who chose to bat, got off to a good start courtesy Puttick and Stiaan van Zyl (35), who added 116 for the first wicket. Ayavuya Myoli picked up three quick wickets thereafter, and Cobras were 125 for 6 when Puttick was dismissed for a 95-ball 79 (10×4, 1×6). Duminy then resurrected the innings with a 62-ball 68 (4×4, 2×6), putting on 45 with Justin Ontong (20) for the fourth wicket and then 91 with Smith for the sixth. Smith finished unbeaten on a run-a-ball 50 (3×4, 1×6), as Cobras closed on 265 for 7.Dolphins slipped to 31 for 3 in 11 overs, and their chase never really recovered. There were no substantial contributions barring David Miller’s 42 and Ryan McLaren’s 52, as they were bowled out for 197 inside the 45th over. To go with his performance with the bat, Duminy also picked up two wickets with his offspin.A splendid all-round effort from Chris Morris helped Titans complete a comfortable 55-run win against Knights in Benoni. He first blitzed a 16-ball 45, an innings that featured two fours and five sixes, to lift Titans past the 300 mark and then returned figures of 3 for 30 to help bowl Knights out for 246.After being inserted to bat, Quinton de Kock (22) and Henry Davids (65) added an opening stand of 45. However, it was Faf du Plessis’ 72 that anchored the middle overs, steadily building the score in the process. Albie Morkel provided the impetus towards the end with a brisk 40, before Morris struck four consecutive sixes in the final over to lift Titans to 301. Malusi Siboto and Shadley van Schalkwyk picked up two wickets apiece.In the chase, Knights were reduced to 36 for 3 before Rilee Rossouw (62) and Pete van Biljon (32) forged a 87-run stand to keep them in the hunt. However, another clump of wickets fell, which effectively killed the game. Knights were ultimately bowled out in the 47th over, with Morkel and Tabraiz Shamsi contributing with two scalps each.Stephen Cook struck his second century of the tournament to lift Lions to a thrilling four-run win against Warriors in Johannesburg. Chasing 257, Warriors were cruising and required 12 to win off the last two overs before the set-man Christiaan Jonker was dismissed. The penultimate over, bowled by Carmi le Roux, went for just two. Colin Ingram and Jonker compiled fifties to keep Warriors on course in the chase, but Lions regularly chipped away at the wickets.Earlier, it was Cook’s ton that anchored the Lions innings. He formed stands of 69 and 74 with Alviro Petersen (37) and Nicky can den Bergh (45), but momentum was lost with a host of wickets towards the end. Sisanda Magala picked up his third List A five-for to help derail the Lions charge.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has underscored the spunk in Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy campaign, and marked their spirit a vital asset as they attempt to topple India, who have been the form team of the competition

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Cardiff19-Jun-2013Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has underscored the spunk in Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy campaign, and marked their spirit a vital asset as they attempt to topple India, who have been the form team of the competition. Sri Lanka did not arrive in England as one of the favourites, but are now set to play their sixth semi-final in the last eight global tournaments.Their two victories, over England and Australia, have ultimately been comfortable, but there were tense moments in both matches, where things might have easily gone awry for Sri Lanka. England set Sri Lanka 294 at The Oval, thanks in part to a 28-run final over. Sri Lanka rode down their target in the 48th over, thanks largely to an unbeaten 134 from Kumar Sangakkara, but also to Nuwan Kulasekara’s 58 from 38, which made light work of a challenging required run rate.The victory against Australia was no less dramatic. Mahela Jayawardene’s 81-ball 84 first saw the side overcome the loss of two wickets inside the first four overs, and later, it took a stunning Tillakaratne Dilshan return take to end a 41-run last wicket stand that had brought substantial anxiety in a must-win match. The closest game of the lot was the one-wicket loss against New Zealand, which might have turned Sri Lanka’s way if all the umpiring decisions late in the match had been correct.”Especially after the New Zealand game, we had to do it the hard way,” Mathews said. “We had to beat England in English conditions and also the Australians, who have played well recently. All three games went down to the wire, and we had to fight really hard to win. The team confidence is very high. We know that we are a fighting team, and we fight to the last moment. Hopefully we can once again have a good performance.”Sri Lanka have relied on their three experienced batsmen so far in the tournament, with Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawardene topping the run-scoring lists for the side. Only Lahiru Thirimanne among the other batsmen has a half-century to his name, but Mathews was confident Sri Lanka’s batting order was not top-heavy.”I would say Mahela and Sanga are the backbone of the batting line-up, but we’ve got a few youngsters in Dinesh Chandimal, Thirimanne who can take the bowling apart,” he said. “We are not just depending on certain people in the team because all seven are good batters. Whoever gets set on that day has to continue for a long spell and try and get the team into a good total.”Sri Lanka have faced India regularly in ODIs in the last three years, but have not fared well in comparison to their exploits against other teams. Since 2010, Sri Lanka have lost 12 matches and won only eight, with one game having ended in a tie. Part of the reason for that record has been spearhead Lasith Malinga’s poor form against India, which some Indian batsmen have credited to their familiarity with his bowling in the IPL. Malinga has not trained with the team on days immediately preceding matches during the tournament, but ahead of the semi-final, he sent down several overs in the nets as well as doing specialised work with bowling coach Chaminda Vaas. Mathews said the extra effort was due to desire on Malinga’s part to overcome an average of 40.88 – his worst against any team.”Lasith takes every game seriously, but it’s just that he wants to do a little bit more for tomorrow,” Mathews said. “We play against India a lot, as well, not only in the IPL. Whoever is playing against anyone all the time gets used to them. Lasith is a very good bowler and he’s an experienced bowler and I’m sure he will come into those situations and have a few different ideas for tomorrow.”

Ravi Bopara’s unbeaten half-century rescued a difficult situation for Essex at Northampton

06-Jun-2012
ScorecardRavi Bopara battled Essex out of a difficult position•Getty Images

Ravi Bopara’s unbeaten half-century allowed Essex to recover from a shaky start on a rain-affected first day of their County Championship Division Two clash at Northamptonshire.Essex were reduced to 57 for 4 just before lunch but England international Bopara’s 65 not out off 129 balls, including 12 fours, helped the visitors to move on to 138 for 4 before rain brought about an early close at Wantage Road.Northants paceman David Willey took 2 for 23 as the hosts’ attack dominated early on with former Sri Lanka seamer Chaminda Vaas also claiming a wicket.Essex won the toss and chose to bat but they lost Tom Westley for 12 in the fourth over when he edged Vaas to James Middlebrook, who took a simple catch at second slip. Former England batsman Owais Shah then faced just one ball before he was run out by a direct hit at the stumps by Ben Howgego from point after he tried to run a quick single off Vaas.The visitors’ morning then took another turn for the worse when Mark Pettini was judged to have edged Willey to Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy after making 32. Willey struck again in the penultimate over of the morning when his delivery crashed into Ben Foakes’ off stump to dismiss the youngster for a seven-ball duck.Essex struggled to 62 for 4 at lunch, during which the heavens opened meaning the start of the afternoon session was delayed by an hour and a half and 16 overs were lost.In the second over after play restarted, Essex captain James Foster was given a scare before he opened his account when he edged Jack Brooks but Kyle Coetzer put down a difficult chance at third slipBopara, who had originally taken 67 balls just to reach double figures, went on to complete a half-century off 112 deliveries with a straight four off Lee Daggett. But he was also given a second chance after being dropped on 60 by Murphy off the same bowler before rain forced the players off again.Umpires Trevor Jesty and Tim Robinson came onto the field half an hour later for an inspection but the skies began to darken again and a heavy downpour meant play was officially called off at 5.20pm.Bopara will be looking to complete his second century of the week when play resumes tomorrow, with Foster striving to add to his unbeaten 25 off 71 deliveries.

Alex Wakely came within a whisker of a century on the second day of Northamptonshire’s finely-poised County Championship match against Leicestershire at Wantage Road

25-May-2011
Scorecard
Alex Wakely came within a whisker of a century on the second day of Northamptonshire’s finely-poised County Championship match against Leicestershire at Wantage Road. After the league leaders slumped to 70 for 5, Wakely made 98 off 165 balls as his side were bowled out for 312 – one run short of their opponents’ first innings total.Wayne White and Australia international Andrew McDonald took three wickets each before Leicestershire closed on 52 for 0 with the match very much in the balance.Northants began the day 281 runs behind their opponents, with their openers, Stephen Peters and Ben Howgego, resuming on 26 and 6 respectively. But Peters was to last just two balls before he was well caught at third slip by Matthew Boyce off the bowling of Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard.And Howgego was removed on 10 when he edged White (3 for 92) to wicketkeeper Paul Dixey and Rob White soon followed when he nudged Nadeem Malik to the same player. McDonald (3 for 51) then took the wicket of David Sales (15) with his first over of the day when he was slashed to Will Jefferson at second slip.Northants captain Andrew Hall made just five before going cheaply by nudging McDonald’s wide delivery to Dixey to leave the hosts reeling. James Middlebrook survived a huge scare when he was dropped at mid-off by Malik off White, but went two balls later after cracking 42 off 48 balls by edging the same bowler to Dixey.But Wakely stuck around to complete his half-century off 92 balls as he and Chaminda Vaas stabilised their side’s innings with a seventh-wicket stand of 96. Wakely was to agonisingly fall two runs short of a deserved century when McDonald’s delivery went through his defences and took out his leg stump in the third over before tea.Hoggard took the second new ball as soon as it became available and with the second delivery, he forced Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy (22) to edge to Jefferson at second slip. Vaas was to depart on 46 in the next over when he launched White to Hoggard at midwicket before Malik ended the innings by taking out David Lucas’ (24) off stump.Leicestershire managed to get off to a better start in their second innings than they did with their first, where they were reduced to 15 for 3. Their openers, Jefferson and Boyce, comfortably survived 18 overs and will resume on 15 and 36 respectively.

It’s fair to say that Bangladesh have not enjoyed the ideal build-up to the first Test at Lord’s

Andrew Miller at Lord's26-May-2010It’s fair to say that Bangladesh have not enjoyed the ideal build-up to the first Test at Lord’s. For all that they competed above expectations in their recent home series against England, the prospect of negotiating England’s lively early-season surfaces is one that, when they last toured the country in 2005, was cited by the then-captain Habibul Bashar as the toughest assignment of his 50-Test career.To have any real hope of putting up a fight, therefore, the Bangladeshis would surely, at the bare minimum, require their star players to be at the peak of their form and fitness. Alas, the two men most likely to provide the inspiration for an upset have spent large swathes of the tour to date on the sidelines. Tamim Iqbal has been labouring with a wrist injury that may yet require surgery, while the captain, Shakib Al Hasan, has only just emerged from quarantine after contracting chicken pox.Shakib’s style since assuming the captaincy in the Caribbean last year has been to lead from the front in every respect, both on and off the field. So the enforced isolation, with only the occasional visit from those team members who were sure that they had contracted the illness in the past and were therefore immune, was far from the best preparation for such a daunting contest.”I’ve been kept away almost for two weeks,” said Shakib. “It was very hard, staying a whole day in your room. It was weird, and a bit frustrating when you’re not going with your team-mates for dinner or a practice session. You’re missing everything. It was very hard. But I’ve been talking and going out with all the guys since, and we’re feeling much better.”After two days of practice, Shakib is certain that he’s now over the worse, and can instead concentrate on the build-up to one of the undoubted highlights of a cricketer’s career. Only three members of the Bangladesh squad have previously played a Test at Lord’s – Mohammad Ashraful, Shadahat Hossain and the wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim – and Shakib can’t wait to lead his team through the Long Room and onto the field on Thursday.”It’s exciting for most of the guys, because only a couple of the guys have played here before,” he said. “If we take 20 wickets and our batsmen do their job, we have a fair chance [of winning]. But we need to stick to our basics and be very disciplined. England know the conditions much better than us. But we’ve been here for 15 days, so we’ve got very good experience of the conditions.”Though Shakib habitually talks a good game, he’s fooling no-one as to the scale of the challenge that awaits Bangladesh. As was the case back in 2005, they are running the misfortune of encountering an England side on the up, and once again, there’s the prospect of an Ashes series on the horizon to galvanise their mindsets. It may still be some six months in the distance, but the ambitious selections of Steven Finn and Eoin Morgan are evidence that the planning for the Gabba starts right here.On their own wickets, Bangladesh were able to keep England’s ambitions in check with a spin-heavy bowling attack, but that’s not a viable option this time around, especially with the need to incorporate an extra batsman to guard against the sort of batting meltdown that has undermined all too many of their 57 Test defeats.”The practice wickets have turned a bit, so we hope it will in the middle too, but we’ll have to change our tactics,” said Shakib, who implied that there would be a Test debut for the seamer Robiul Islam, who impressed with 3 for 72 in the nine-wicket defeat against England Lions in Derby last week. “We have got some very good fast bowlers, and we have a newcomer, who will be perfect for the future of Bangladesh cricket.”The Lord’s Test will also mark the return to action of an old-stager, Ashraful, who missed England’s recent visit due to a loss of form, but is sure to slot into the middle-order at a venue that he remembers from his last Test tour back in 2005. “Being at Lord’s is a very different feeling,” he said. “We don’t have any tour to the UK until 2020, so we are not sure whether we will get another chance to play here. Everyone is excited.”Ashraful’s career has been undermined by uncertainty, with too much advice and expectation constraining the natural ability that he demonstrated both on debut as a 16-year-old in 2001, but also back in 2005, when his memorable century was responsible for the humbling of Australia in a never-to-be-forgotten one-day victory at Cardiff. Now, however, he says he intends to jettison the angst, and just get back to striking the ball with all the confidence he can muster.”An England tour is challenging for most teams that come here, and even Australia lost two Ashes Tests last summer,” he said. “But I just hope to play a big innings to cement my place, and to do that, I have gone back to my old style. I used to be a strokemaker but over the last few months I tried to check my strokes. But it did not bring any benefit, so I’ve decided to go back to my natural game.”