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Qais Ahmad of BBL fame and Azmatullah Omarzai, who was part of the U-19 squad which made the 2018 semi-final, are also in

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2020Shapoor Zadran’s time away from the game comes to an end having been named in the Afghanistan squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series against Ireland. The 32-year-old left-arm fast bowler is one of the most recognisable faces in Afghanistan cricket, gaining cult-hero status when he starred in their first-ever World Cup win back in 2015. But he hasn’t played for them since March 2019.That too was a game against Ireland – an ODI, though Zadran’s career, over the last five years has largely been limited to T20I appearances. He sticks to the shortest format in domestic cricket as well and was a notable performer in the final of Shpageeza Cricket League in October 2019. He picked up 4 for 31 for Amo Sharks but ended up on the losing side. Zadran then played T10 cricket in Abu Dhabi in November, picking up three wickets in six matches for Karnataka Tuskers. That was his last piece of top-flight action.Afghanistan will face Ireland over three T20Is to be played in Delhi on March 6, 8 and 10 with Asghar Afghan back as full-time captain across formats.The Afghanistan captaincy hot potato•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There are a couple of new faces in the squad as well. Qais Ahmad, the 19-year-old legspinner who shocked Andre Russell with a bouncer and subsequently took the Big Bash League by storm, gets a chance to play T20 internationals. So does Azmatullah Omarzai, who was part of the Under-19 team that made the semi-finals a couple of years ago. The 19-year-old seam-bowling allrounder has not played any T20 cricket since October 2018, but he has been moving up the ranks in regional 50-over cricket. In the September tournament, he emerged as Speen Ghar’s leading wicket-taker with eight strikes at an average of 17.50.Afghanistan T20I squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Karim Janat, Najib Zadran, Asghar Afghan (capt), Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen ul Haq, Shapoor Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Qais Ahmad, Azmatullah Omarzai, Samiullah Shinwari, Usman Ghani.

Tamim Iqbal says Bangladesh’s players are mentally fine and the fans’ reactions to their loss against West Indies would not affect them since they had seen similar things before

Sidharth Monga in Chittagong07-Mar-2011Three days after the 58 all out fiasco against West Indies, Bangladesh’s practice session at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Monday began with a loud game that involved every member of the team. The squad, including the support staff, was divided into two groups who competed at a sort of relay race, which also involved cricket balls. Every member was involved; there was loud cheering, fighting, banter, sledging, celebrations, and noise. The plan for Tuesday is to spend the day away from cricket and have Tamim Iqbal, one of the most popular people – if not the most – in Chittagong, take the team out.Bangladesh’s next game is against England on Friday, and they know they can do with some time off to help release the pressure that the performance against West Indies, and the reactions of some of the fans, has brought. “It was just to take our mind off the last game,” Tamim said of the unusual training session. “We have been trying to do that since yesterday [Sunday]. We played some soccer and a few things today; the team is feeling better and the players are mentally fine now. We are looking forward to doing something special in the coming games.”The last game and its aftermath won’t be that easy to forget, as Jamie Siddons said yesterday. West Indies’ bus was hit by some stones, and there were reports that captain Shakib Al Hasan’s house was also attacked, incidents which Tamim condemned. “It was only one stone I think that was thrown at his [Shakib’s] place, and that became a very big issue. It’s disappointing because he is the best player in the country and the No. 1 allrounder in the world. He doesn’t deserve this treatment. I will request the public of Bangladesh to not do this silly stuff. We win one day, we lose one day, these kinds of things happen in cricket. So they need to support us in good times as well as bad times.”Tamim said that the reaction will not affect his or his team’s game. “We have seen enough of this kind of thing, so it won’t play any role on my mind. I know one thing: if we do something special on March 11 everything is going to be fine.”It is Tamim who the side will be looking to to provide them with a start that helps them forget the last match. It is personally a big match for him; a World Cup match at home. “It is very big for me, and also for Chittagong. It will take Chittagong to the next level I am sure.”Tamim knows his role is important but doesn’t agree with the notion that the team rely on him too much going into every big game. “We have got a couple of very good players in our team. I know I need to perform in every game and that is my goal. But I don’t think the team relies on just me. I need to give them a solid start, and after that they can build a foundation. Players like Mushfiqur [Rahim] and Raqibul [Hasan] didn’t have a great game on Friday, but I am sure they are capable of making big scores and will do it in the next game.”

It took less than an hour for Warwickshire to wrap-up victory on the final day of their Championship match against Somerset.

George Dobell at Edgbaston23-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Boyd Rankin earned praise from both sides after his efforts against Somerset•Getty Images

It took less than an hour for Warwickshire to wrap-up victory on the final day of their Championship match against Somerset.When Nick Compton’s obdurate resistance was finally ended – Compton, with only the hapless Charl Willoughby for company, was caught on the long-on boundary just five short of his second Championship century of the season – it left Warwickshire requiring only 23 runs for victory. They raced to the 10-wicket win in just 20 deliveries.In truth, this game was defined on the first afternoon. An unusually hostile spell of fast bowling from Boyd Rankin ensured Somerset were unable to take advantage of winning the toss on a flat pitch. Generating sharp pace and gaining steep bounce from his towering six feet, seven inch frame, Rankin also found enough swing to claim three wickets for four runs at one stage. It was a point not lost on Somerset captain, Marcus Trescothick afterwards.”Rankin just blew us away,” Trescothick admitted. “It was a really good spell of hostile fast bowling – right up there with anything I’ve faced this year – and it was too good for us. He was easily the fastest bowler on either side.”It’s the best I’ve seen him bowl. He’s up there in terms of pace, but it’s his bounce that really causes the problems. And now he’s swinging the ball, too. He hit me four times – that doesn’t happen very often – and I just couldn’t pick him up. There was nothing wrong with the pitch – it was a bit slow, if anything – and the sight screens are fine. He’s just improved massively.”Trescothick is no stranger to fast bowling, of course. So to hear him talk in such terms of the 26-year-old Irishman is noteworthy. England have quite a pack of tall fast bowlers at present, but if Rankin keeps performing like this, he’ll force himself into contention.Trescothick also credited Rikki Clarke as being “a very clever bowler.” That may surprise a few but the four wickets Clarke claimed in Somerset’s second innings take his Championship tally this season to 30 at just 21 apiece. He’s quietly become a bowling all-rounder. And a very good one.It might be stretching a point to suggest that Warwickshire should now be considered genuine title contenders. The way that Durham and Lancashire blew them away undermines that theory. But Warwickshire have now won five games this season – as many as when they won the title in 2004 – and, at full strength, have a battery of seamers to rival any side. The one worry is the slightly disappointing form of Chris Woakes. By the very high standards he has set himself, Woakes has yet to find his best form this season.Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, rated the performance as his side’s “best of the season” and had particular praise for Ian Westwood, who made the top score in the match in recording his first Championship century since September 2009.”Losing the toss could have ended with us facing a big deficit, but we were hugely disciplined throughout,” Giles said. “Westwood has had a tough time, so I’m overjoyed for him. From the outside, people don’t see the whole package a guy offers a team, but Ian is a pleasure to work with and really deserves his success.”Giles also had praise for Rankin. “He’s a big bastard,” Giles said, both simply and accurately. “And facing him upsets teams. He has a presence about him and you can see them talking, and worrying, about him.”We always knew he had the attributes: the height, the pace and the bounce. But now we’re seeing him become more consistent. That’s largely because he’s fitter now. In the past he was always in and out because of injuries.”Somerset’s season is now at something of a crossroads. Tipped by many as prospective champions at the start of the season, they’ve lost half of their first eight games and, on this form, look a side more likely to finish nearer the bottom than the top of the table. Their mis-firing middle-order, perhaps cosseted by the flat tracks of Taunton, is simply not performing in these post-heavy roller days.”We’re getting off to good starts, but then it’s clear to see where we’re going wrong,” Trescothick said, referring to his side’s middle-order woes. “We’re probably just lacking a bit of experience in the middle-order and losing Zander de Bruyn [to Surrey] is part of that. We can’t afford to keep losing.”Tellingly, Ashley Giles admitted he was “a little surprised” at how intimidated some of Somerset’s batsmen appeared to be by the pace of Rankin and Clarke.Meanwhile, the game marked the end of an era. By the time the next Championship game begins, in the best part of a month, Warwickshire hope to have moved into their new pavilion. The hand-over date – the day the club take possession of the new facility from the builders – is just one week away and there appears to be an enormous amount of work still to be completed. With 380 builders working at the ground today, however, the club are still confident that they are on track.

Board president Nazmul Hassan also lists out further major changes in BPL, including preferable batting positions to Bangladesh batsmen

Mohammad Isam17-Oct-2019The BCB have dismissed two NCL coaches for failing to carry out the board’s directives. Rangpur Division coach Masud Parvez Razan didn’t pick Fardeen Hasan, and legspinner Rishad Hossain, while Dhaka Division coach Jahangir Alam also lost his job for not picking legspinner Jubair Hossain in the playing XI during the second round that began on Thursday.BCB president Nazmul Hassan said both coaches have been issued with a show-cause notice for not picking the legspinners, with the BCB keen on implementing certain rules in domestic cricket to help strengthen the national side. ESPNcricinfo has learned that both Masud and Jahangir have already been replaced by Zafrul Ehsan and Mohammad Salim, as the Rangpur and Dhaka coach, respectively.”We gave clear instructions to play legspinners in the NCL, but neither [Jubair Hossain] Likhon nor Rishad [Hossain] were picked in the XI in this round,” Hassan said. “We have show-caused two coaches from Dhaka and Rangpur for not selecting the legspinners despite being told to do so. We have to give them game time. How else can they improve otherwise?”

BPL set for further radical changes

The BCB have already put in place a rule for quick bowlers and legspinners in the BPL, and Nazmul Hassan said batting orders too would be mandated based on the national team’s interest.
“They must have a legspinner in the squad and if he is a local, he must be picked in the best XI. Teams should also set a batting order which is consistent with how the Bangladesh players are suited or needed in international cricket,” Hassan said. “We will give preference to fast bowlers who bowl 140kph. You can call this season’s BPL as preparation, a trial for the World T20.”

This is the first time that the BCB has taken such drastic action against coaches for not picking a legspinner. Over the years, domestic sides in Bangladesh have mostly opted for left-arm spinners and offspinners, leading to a paucity of legspinners in domestic cricket that has been lamented by players, coaches and selectors. Jubair did make his international debut in 2014, but though he had the backing of Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza and then coach Chandika Hathurusingha, he didn’t get the same backing in domestic cricket.The BCB has reportedly made it mandatory for first-class sides to pick legspinners in their XIs in the 2019-20 season. Minhajul Abedin Afridi, whom the chief selector first spotted as a net bowler in Chittagong last year, made his first-class debut in Chittagong Division’s previous match, while Aminul Islam Biplob, who made his T20I debut last month against Zimbabwe, made his debut for Dhaka Metropolis.Hassan said that in keeping with their plan to troubleshoot weaknesses, the BCB have also put in place rules for BPL teams to pick a local or foreign legspinner in every game, as well as give preferable batting positions to Bangladesh batsmen, whether in the top or middle-order.”They must have a legspinner in the squad and if he is a local, he must be picked in the best XI. Teams should also set a batting order which is consistent with how the Bangladesh players are suited or needed in international cricket.”We will give preference to fast bowlers who bowl 140kph. You can call this season’s BPL as preparation, a trial for the World T20,” he said.Hassan said that players will also require a fitness test to play in the Dhaka Premier League from this season, a first in the tournament’s history, while the bleep test level will be raised further next year. “We will raise the fitness level next year too but we will inform them at least a year in hand.”Players have to pass fitness test to play Dhaka Premier League too, and all of them have to be done in Dhaka,” he said.”Suggestions from the senior team’s coaching staff are being taken seriously,” Hassan said. “After the World Cup, our fielding coach pointed out that there’s a basic lack in fitness and understanding of fielding’s basics among our national team. Some of them can’t even throw properly. We are working on all the suggestions from the support staff. Initially we will stumble, but it is the best for the long-term,” he said.Hassan said that the board’s focus is building a side by 2021, so that they have a settled group by the 2023 World Cup in India.”We have been playing to win, but now we will do some experiments, as part of our long-term plan. Some of our decisions may seem different but by 2021, we want to build a solid team for the 2023 World Cup. A team that can serve Bangladesh for at least four or five years,” he said.

Martin Guptill, the New Zealand top-order batsman, has signed up with Derbyshire for the English domestic season later in the year

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2011Martin Guptill, the New Zealand top-order batsman, has signed with Derbyshire for the English domestic season later in the year. He’s their second overseas player after Usman Khawaja signed with the county earlier this month. Guptill and Khawaja will feature together in the Friends Provident t20 tournament and and Guptill will take over from the Australian batsman for the second half of the County Championship and the limited-overs tournament.A part of New Zealand’s World Cup squad, Guptill has played 15 Tests averaging 34.96 and 39 ODIs with a century and eight fifties. He also has a handy Twenty20 record.”Martin has made a significant impact on the international scene in recent times and we are excited about bringing such a talented cricketer to Derbyshire,” the county’s head of cricket John Morris said. “I’m sure the experience of playing County Cricket will be of great benefit to Martin as it has been for many international cricketers in the past.”

Half-centuries for England pair set up Vipers for 34-run victory in opening match

ECB Reporters Network06-Aug-2019Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt, who also struck with the ball, hit half-centuries in an explosive second-wicket partnership of 100 to underpin a resounding Southern Vipers victory over Lancashire Thunder at Aigburth, Liverpool on the opening day of the Kia Super League.Beaumont smashed five sixes in her 53 off 33 balls, including three in as many balls, as the Vipers posted an imposing 166 for 7 after having elected to bat. Beaumont’s first game as captain after taking over from Suzie Bates saw the 2016 champions fly out of the blocks as opener Wyatt hit ten fours in her 54 off 39 balls against her former side, while the dangerous Stafanie Taylor hit a late 25-ball 40.In reply, Thunder opener Georgie Boyce hit a bright 43, but Wyatt’s offspin returned 2 for 14 from three overs, doubling her tally of career KSL wickets, as the hosts were bowled out for 132.Lancashire, who lost by 34 runs, will rue erring in line and length all too often with the ball on a true pitch. Kate Cross, who actually struck early to remove Bates, used eight bowlers on her captaincy debut, with only England team-mate Sophie Ecclestone able to offer any real control with her left-arm spinners. Another left-arm spinner, Alex Hartley, claimed two wickets but was expensive.Wyatt and Beaumont, England’s opening pair in T20Is, shared 100 in 10.3 overs to advance from 8 for 1 in the second. Both were particularly punishing on anything short and wide. Wyatt was first to 50 off 33 balls before, in the 11th over, Beaumont moved to 50 off 23 with three successive sixes off seamer Cross. Sophia Dunkley later took a superb return catch to remove Beaumont in an attempt to stymie progress.Beaumont further stamped her authority on the game early in the Thunder chase when she took a good high catch in swirling wind at midwicket to help seamer Lauren Bell remove Sune Luus, leaving the score at 11 for 1 in the fourth over.Boyce and Tahlia McGrath both hit sixes as 32 then came off the medium pace of Bates and the legspin of McGrath’s Adelaide Strikers team-mate Amanda Wellington in the ninth and tenth overs to take the hosts to 65 for 1 at the halfway mark.But Wyatt’s offspin claimed the scalp of McGrath in the 11th, caught at long-on, as the score fell to 68 for 2. She struck again in the 13th to get Harmanpreet Kaur stumped by Carla Rudd for 1 before wickets fell in a hurry in a forlorn pursuit of quick runs and the victory target.Boyce was one of those, while Wyatt also added a catch to rubber-stamp her memorable day. Tash Farrant finished 3 for 18.Both sides are next in action on Thursday – the Vipers travel to Loughborough and the Thunder take on champions Surrey at Guildford.

Brian Lara has been invited by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board to represent the side in domestic Twenty20 events if he is interested

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2010Brian Lara has been invited by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board to represent the side in domestic Twenty20 events if he is interested.”There is only one Brian Lara in this world, and if he is interested in representing T&T at T20 cricket, I am sure the selectors will be more than willing to give him a very serious look,” TTCB president Azim Bassarath said. “Brian has done a lot for cricket. He is a hero, a legend and we have to take care of our heroes. I would like him to know that the TTCB stands ready to support him in his future endeavours.”Lara retired from the international game in 2007, but returned to action in October this year when he turned out in the Zimbabwe domestic Twenty20 tournament. He has also expressed an interest is participating in the 2011 edition of the India Premier League, and has been included in the preliminary auction list, at the highest base price of $400,000.Bassarath hoped Lara would play in the Cricket Festival T20 series starting Tuesday. “I spoke to Brian and offered him an opportunity to play in the T20 invitational,” Bassarath said. “However, he flew into Trinidad on Thursday night and said he would be off again on Monday so it will be difficult to take part in the series.”Earlier Lara told ESPNcricinfo that the league in Zimbabwe was not the toughest. “If I was to give myself a chance to play in the IPL, then I need to start now,” he said. “I tried negotiating with Surrey in May and that fell through. I am not going to say that I am ready for the IPL. The option is around the corner, and I have put my name in the hat. But I need to play cricket regularly from now till then to get fit and capable of doing justice to the game and to my form in such a highly competitive league.”

According to the Daily Mail, four Premier League clubs are interested in signing Glasgow Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara.

Premier League clubs eye Kamara

The report claimed that four English top-flight sides – Brighton, Southampton, Burnley and Leeds United – are all eager to capture Kamara’s services. Championship outfit Watford are also interested if they are able to earn promotion.

At the moment, the £4.05m-valued Finland international is said to be relaxed over his position, while no official approach has yet been made.

Unsurprising

Given Kamara’s displays so far this season, it is unsurprising that he has popped up on the radar of a number of teams south of the border. He has made 44 appearances in all competitions (Transfermarkt) for the Gers this term, and has helped control the middle of the park on many an occasion, earning a 6.90 average match rating from WhoScored.

Steven Gerrard has previously revealed his desire to tie the 25-year-old down to a new contract (via FourFourTwo), but so far he has been unable to do so. Unfortunately, the time may be coming when Kamara feels he has achieved all he can at Ibrox. The Gers do have the carrot of Champions League football to offer him next season, but whether that is enough to convince him to resist the temptations of a move to England – where he has had scant senior experience – remains to be seen.

In other news, many Rangers fans are delighted by this Old Firm news.

KV Oostende are keen to take up their option of making Jack Hendry’s loan move permanent in the summer, however, his stay in Belgium could be short-lived.

According to sources close to Give Me Sport, the Jupiler Pro League side are looking to make the centre-back’s deal permanent over the coming months.

They add a damning seven-word detail on the Belgian outfit’s interest in the £8,000-a-week Hoops man; ‘if only to sell him on quickly’.

Premier League interest in Hendry

Reports back in March suggested that up to eight Premier League sides have shown an interest in the Scotland international, with Oostende well aware of that situation.

It seems as if they’ll therefore look to activate a clause to sign the player for around a reported £1.75m and could then move him on for bigger money fairly swiftly.

Transfer Tavern take

Celtic, in our view, will only have themselves to blame if they miss out on millions this summer.

The Hoops only signed Hendry, described as a ‘leader’, for £1.44m back in 2018, so they’ll be in line to make just a £310,000 profit.

Hendry’s Parkhead deal runs until 2022, so it’s not as if the club were under major pressure to make a long-term decision last summer.

Oostende feel that they could sell the defender for £10m in the upcoming window, resulting in an £8.25m profit.

It remains to be seen if a move to the Premier League will materialise, but the Hoops may well be hoping it doesn’t or they will certainly have egg on their faces.

In other news: Transfer update emerges on Celtic midfielder who wants to leave Parkhead, find out more here. 

If anyone from Leeds had one eye on Manchester United’s Europa League clash against Granada on Thursday night, then they would have been left suitably impressed by the performance of Yangel Herrera.

Reports in recent days have suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are interested in signing the Venezuela international, and he put in a star showing despite his side’s 2-0 defeat on the night. As per Sofascore, he won a mammoth nine duels at Old Trafford, which was the second-most of any Granada player on the pitch, despite playing in a more advanced number 10 role.

The 23-year-old also racked up five shots on goal, by far the most of any player on either side, and also completed two of his four dribbles, showcasing a real South American flair with his touch and skill.

La Liga Lowdown’s Heath Chesters raved about the Venezuelan, and in particular his ability to win the ball back for his side and then do something productive with it, saying that he is “full of energy, his movement on and off the ball is excellent”.

Chesters continued: “He’s taken to the jump in levels like a duck to water, and particularly impressive is his reading of the game. Most impressive is his pressing, how he steals the ball and immediately sets his sights on shooting or playing a killer pass.”

La Liga pundit Terry Gibson also lauded Herrera’s knack of timing his runs into the penalty box, which is no surprise given that he has already bagged eight goals in all competitions this season.

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Gibson said: “He’s been outstanding it was a real coup to get him to stay (at Granada). He’s a really athletic, dynamic player who has a habit of getting into the box at the right times. He’s a threat in the air too. He’s a fantastic acquisition (for Granada). He’s shown his talent, he’s really good.”

Given the kind of rave reviews he has earned, and the performance he put in at Old Trafford in a major European tie, Herrera looks like he’s got all the tools in his locker to be a real star for Bielsa at Elland Road.

If Victor Orta had his eye on the match, then he would surely have been left in no doubt that Herrera is a must-sign for Leeds this summer.

Meanwhile, Leeds could finally wave goodbye to this liability…