Dhaka, Oct 9 (UNB) — Bangladesh A lost the three-match one-day series opener against Sri Lanka A by seven wickets on Wednesday at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. 

Bangladeshi batsmen failed to live up to the expectation in the middle which has eventually handed them a defeat. 

Bangladesh A won the toss and opted to bat first but they disappointed to put up a challenging total on the board. They ended the innings on 116 for all wickets in 33.3 overs. 

The touring side lost the first wicket just in eight runs. In the second wicket, Saif Hassan and Najmul Hossain Shanto added 46 runs, which was the only 40-plus partnership in Bangladesh’s innings. 

Saif fell for 32 while Shanto posted 24. Captain Mohammad Mithun (21) and Afif Hossain (11) other two batsmen have scored two-digit runs. Eventually, Bangladesh ended on 116 runs only for all wickets in 33.3 overs. 

For Sri Lanka, captain Ashan Priyanjan bagged four wickets in only 4.3 overs conceding 10 runs while Chamika Karunaratne bagged two wickets. 

In reply, Sri Lanka chased the target of 117 in just 25.5 overs losing three wickets in spite of losing first wicket in five runs. Captain Ashan Priyanjan remained unbeaten scoring 50 off 62 with three fours and two sixes. They ended on 120 for three and won the game by a big margin of seven wickets. 

The remaining two matches of the series will be held on October 10 and 12 at the same venue. 

Before the one-day series, both teams have faced each other in a two-match four-day series which has ended in a draw.

Dhaka, Sept 30 (UNB) - The start of the National Cricket League (NCL) 2019 was rescheduled again as the event will now commence on October 10, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said on Monday. 

The tournament committee of BCB held a meeting today and after that, BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury confirmed that the most prestigious First-class cricket event of the country will begin on October 10.

“We’ve decided to start the NCL from October 10. Most of the national players will participate in this edition of the NCL. They’ll play at least first two rounds of the league before the tour of India in November,” Nizam told the media. 

The BCB set a fitness bar for the players who are interested to play in NCL as they have to score at least 11 in the beep test in order to get selected in a team of the NCL. 

“We’ve decided to set a fitness bar for the players who are willing to play in the NCL. Despite this, if the selectors consider any player for a team with a lower level of fitness, they can do it,” Nizam added. 

Earlier, some senior cricketers have expressed their concerns to score 11 or more in beep test as they do not get the best quality of practice facilities because of being out of the national setup. 

The NCL 2019 will be played across four venues of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Rajshahi and Khulna. 

The BCB CEO said the match fee of this NCL will be increased. He, however, did not disclose the match fees in exact amount. 

At the same time, the CEO confirmed that the quality of the wickets will be better this time. “We’ve discussed about the quality of the wickets. I hope we’ll be able to provide the best wickets this time.”
 

Dhaka, Sept 30 (UNB) — Bangladesh A have a lead of 156 runs in their first 3-day match against Sri Lanka A in Hambantota at the end of day 2. 

Bangladesh A won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted 360 runs in 120.1 overs with the help of Jahurul Islam (90), Shadman Islam (53), Mohammad Mithun (92) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (57). 

For Sri Lanka A, Ramesh Mendis and Ashitha Fernando bagged three wickets each while Vishwa Fernando and Ashan Priyanjan took one wicket each. 

In reply, Sri Lanka posted 204 for two wickets in 55 overs at the end of day two with the help of Sangeeth Cooray’s 104 off 151. 

Sri Lanka A are still trailing by 156 runs with eight wickets in hand. It means, the three-day match is heading to a draw. 

In this tour, Bangladesh A will play two 3-day matches and three unofficial ODIs. The second 3-day match will take place from October 4 while the unofficial ODIs will be played on October 9, 10 and 12.
 

Dhaka, Sept 29 (UNB)– Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday announced the fixture of the eight–nation Emerging Teams Asia Cup’2019 beginning on October 14 in the country’s tourist town of Cox’s Bazar.

On the opening day (Oct 14), hosts Bangladesh will play Hong Kong while India meets UAE in Group B matches. Sri Lanka will face Oman while Pakistan will take on Afghanistan in Group A encounters. 

Eight teams, divided in two groups, will initially compete on a league basis match in Cox’s Bazar. Later, two top teams from each of the groups, will play in the semifinals on October 20 and 21 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. The final will be held on Oct 23 at the same venue.   

Participating teams are: 

Group A – Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Oman
Group B – India, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates (UAE)

In the remaining group matches, Bangladesh will play India on Oct 16 and meets UAE on Oct 18. 

All the foreign teams, will arrive in the capital on October 12 and travel to Cox’s Bazar on the same day.
 

Dhaka, Sept 29 (UNB) — The chief executive officer of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday said they are working on security assessment ahead of Bangladesh’s scheduled tour to Pakistan early next year.

As per the future tour plan (FTP) of International Cricket Council (ICC), Bangladesh have a tour to Pakistan to play a two-match Test series and a three-match T20I series in January-February 2020. But the series will go ahead only if the security assessment of BCB is done in a positive manner. 

“We’ve a commitment to touring Pakistan for a two-match Test and three-match T20I series. We’ve been working on it with the related government agencies,” BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury told the media on Sunday.

“We forwarded the report from Bangladesh high commission in Pakistan to the government. I think a security inspection team will tour to Pakistan soon. Since Sri Lanka are touring Pakistan now, it will be easy for our team to observe their ground security arrangement during this series. It’ll help us to understand the current situation of Pakistan,” Nizam Uddin added. 

Before the tour of Bangladesh national men’s team, women’s team is also scheduled to tour Pakistan on October 23 and the series is already finalized.

“We’re hopeful about a security assessment before the tour of our women team. It will help us getting a circumstantial idea about the situation in Pakistan,” Nizam Uddin further said. 

During Sri Lanka’s Pakistan tour in 2009, a terrorist group attacked Sri Lankan cricketers and six cricketers were wounded. Since then, no team visited Pakistan to play Test match. During the last decade, Pakistan hosted four ODIs and nine T20Is till the date. West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka were the only teams to visited Pakistan in this period. 

Despite hosting these matches, Pakistan's image of week security situation was not developed as it was expected by the Pakistan authority. If Bangladesh tour Pakistan to play a Test in next January-February, it will be the first country to play a Test in Pakistan after that horrible terror attack.