The New Nation - Internet Edition

Md. Sabbir Hossain

Bangladesh National Cricket team led by skipper Mohammad Ashraful will leave the city today for New Zealand to play three One Day International matches (ODI), two Test matches, one Twenty||20 match against New Zealand National Cricket team and three warm up one-dayers against the selected elevens of New Zealand during the month-long tour.

Bangladesh will play the Twenty||20 match on December 23 at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.

Bangladesh will play against New Zealand in the first ODI on December 26 at the Eden Park in Auckland on December 26.

The Tigers will face the Kiwis in the second ODI at the McLean Park in Napier on December 28.

The Ashraful-led squad will meet New Zealand in the third ODI at the Queenstown Events Centre in Queenstown on December 31.

Bangladesh will face New Zealand in the first Test, which begins at the University Oval in Dunedin on January 4.

The Tigers will meet the Kiwis in the second test, which starts at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on January 12.

Bangladesh will play three warm up one-dayers on December 16, 18 and 21.

Before leaving the city Mohammad Ashraful said that they did not have much experience then. Ashraful added that they had already played 49 Test matches. Ashraful also added that the conditions of New Zealand was tough, but they would try to perform their best.

The players of Bangladesh team are : Mohammad Ashraful (Captain), Mashrafee Bin Mortaza(Vice-Captain), Javed Omer, Tushar Imran, Abdur Razzak, Shakib Al Hasan, Syed Rasel, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahadat Hossain, Junaed Siddiqui, Farhad Reza, Mehrab Hossain(Junior), Tamim Iqbal and Nazmul Hossain.

The officials are:Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby (Manager) and Jamie Siddons (Coach).

.Bangladesh National Cricket team will depart New Zealand on January 17.

AP, Colombo

Michael Vandort scored a classy century Tuesday and shared a 178-run partnership with captain Mahela Jayawardene to take Sri Lanka to 200-2 at lunch on the third day of the second test, trailing England by 151 runs.

Resuming the day unbeaten on 50, Vandort cut sometime offspinner Kevin Pietersen for two runs to reach his fourth test hundred and remained not out on 106 at lunch.

He took advantage of a dropped catch on 15 by Alastair Cook and faced 195 balls and hit 16 fours.

Jayawardene scored 82 runs in the unbeaten partnership that lifted Sri Lanka from the threat of collapse after left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom took two wickets to leave Sri Lanka at 22-2 on the second day at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.

Sidebottom had bowling figures 2-58 at the break. On the second day, offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan took his 62nd five-wicket haul as England was bowled out for 351.

Captain Michael Vaughan (87) and Cook (81) combined for a 133-run partnership for the first wicket after England won the toss and elected to bat first.

Matthew Prior (79) and Paul Collingwood (52) also batted well in the middle order.

Sri Lanka lost opener Upul Tharanga (10) with the total on 20, caught by wicketkeeper Prior off Sidebottom. The pair also combined for the prize wicket of Kumar Sangakkara for 1. Sangakkara made 92 and 152 in the first test, which Sri Lanka won by 88 runs in Kandy last week to lead the three-match series 1-0. His performance earned him top spot on the ICC's batting rankings. Muralitharan had the hosts' best bowling figures with 5-116, while Malinga took 3-78.

UNB, Dhaka

High flying Bangladesh Under-19 team will play today the first of the five-match one-day series against visiting Sri Lanka Under-19 at Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra.

Suhrawardy Shuvo, who successfully captained the home team to win the five-match one-day series 3-2 against Pakistan in their ground last week, will lead the team against the Lankans.

Ashan Priyanjan Subasinghe will lead the touring Sri Lanka team, which reached Dhaka on Monday.

Sri Lanka youth team will also play two more limited over matches at the same venue on December 14 and 15.

The Young Tigers will play the 4th and 5th one-day matches on December 18 and 20 against the Islanders both at the Narayanganj Osmani Stadium at Narayanganj.

The five-match series will provide an opportunity to both the teams in preparing for the Under-19 World Cup scheduled in February and March next year in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 15-member Under-19 team to play the five-match one-day series. Three new faces in the squad are Nadimuddin Mintu, Hamidul Islam and Ashraful Hossain.

Bangladesh Under-19 team: Suhrawardy Shuvo(Captain), Dollar Mahmud, Marshall Ayub, Ashraful Aziz, Shubhashis Roy, Rubel Hossain, Syed Gulam Kibria, Rony Talukder, Mahmudul Hasan Limon, Nasir Hossain, KM Shakil, Nadimuddin Mintu, Mithun Ali (Wicket-keeper), Hamidul Islam Himel and Ashraful Hossain.

Sri Lanka U-19 squad: Ashan Priyanjan Subasinghe (Captain), Sachith Shanaka Pathirana, Rumesh Lahiru Thirimanna, Imesh Udayanga Rajapaksha, Dinesh Chandimal Lokuge, Roshane Shiwanka Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Dilshan Yasika Munaweera, Hasitha Nalinda Ekanayaka, Chatura Madusanka, Peiris Kashapa Wimanga Kodikara, Lahiru Shashendra Gunatilaka, Dasun Madumal Dinayadura, Navin Madushan Kavikara and Harsha Denuwan Fernando.

AP, Bangalore

Misbah-ul-Haq moved toward his second successive test century Tuesday as he took Pakistan past the follow-on mark, raising hopes of forcing a draw in the third and final test match against India.

Misbah's unbeaten 99 and his 144-run stand for the sixth wicket with overnight partner Kamran Akmal (65) boosted Pakistan to 470-6 at lunch on the fourth day after India made a mammoth 626 in its first innings.

Resuming at the overnight score of 369-5, Pakistan added 101 runs in the first session for the loss of Akmal, who departed after Pakistan had crossed the 427 mark required to make India bat again. Akmal was the more attacking of the pair Tuesday, smashing 12 boundaries off 114 balls before being stumped by Dinesh Karthik off spin bowler Harbhajan Singh.

Rookie Yasir Arafat on 21 was keeping Misbah company at the break.

Playing in his 10th test match, the resolute Misbah followed up his rescue act in the drawn second test, when his partnership with Akmal helped Pakistan avert the follow-on.

Misbah's patient 5-1/4 hour knock featured 13 boundaries off 256 deliveries.

Misbah, 33, posted 161 during the last match for his maiden test century.

India earned the dubious distinction of conceding the highest extras in a test innings with the sundries mounting to 72, surpassing the previous world record of 71 by the West Indies against Pakistan at Georgetown in 1988.

The extras amounted to third highest contributor in Pakistan's score, next only to Misbah and stand-in skipper Younis Khan (80) who is leading the team in place of injured tour captain Shoaib Malik. India is seeking its first home test series triumph against Pakistan in 28 years. India won the opening test match in New Delhi by six wickets.

India's last test series on home soil against Pakistan was in 1979. Out of four subsequent series, Pakistan's touring teams won one and drew three.

AP, Tokyo

Argentina's Boca Juniors aren't looking past Tunisia's Etoile Sportive du Sahel despite being strong favorites to reach the final of the Club World Cup.

Boca will make its 2007 Club World Cup debut Wednesday when it faces Etoile in a semifinals match at Tokyo's National Stadium. Etoile upset Mexico's Pachuca 1-0 in the first round to reach the semis of the Dec. 7-16 tournament, which features the champions of FIFA's continental club competitions. Japan's Urawa Reds take on European champions AC Milan in the other semifinal on Thursday. "A lot of people are talking about a final with Milan, but we know very well that we've got a really tough game ahead of us here," Boca coach Miguel Russo said Tuesday. "This is football and you can never predict what's going to happen."

Boca qualified for the Club World Cup after winning this year's Copa Libertadores. The Argentine side claimed its sixth continental crown at the expense of Brazil's Gremio with a victory in the first leg of the final in Buenos Aires (3-0) and an away win (2-0) in Porto Alegre.

Brazil's Internacional beat European powerhouse Barcelona 1-0 in last year's final.

Etoile beat Egypt's Al Ahly 3-1 on aggregate in the CAF Champions League final to qualify for the Club World Cup. Etoile coach Bertrand Marchand said playing against the Argentines will be a much bigger challenge that facing Pachuca. "Boca is a very strong side, more so than Pachuca, and they're one of the world's big clubs," said Marchand. "Diego Maradona played for them. Obviously taking them on will be another dream come true for us on this adventure."

Boca will be without the services of midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme, who FIFA has ruled ineligible because he was not listed on a preliminary roster submitted by Boca Juniors.

A day after the Buenos Aires club finalized the Argentine's transfer from Villarreal of Spain, FIFA said in a statement posted on its official Web site that Riquelme will have to remain on the sidelines at the Club World Cup.

Boca announced on Nov. 26 that Riquelme had rejoined the team he led to six league and international titles from 1996 to 2002. The deadline to make roster changes was Nov. 23.

AP, Dubai

The International Cricket Council welcomed the return of its sport to the Olympic movement Tuesday after 107 years - and hoped cricket could one day feature again in the games.

The International Olympic Committee granted provisional recognition to the ICC on Monday, giving it official association with the IOC and some financial assistance. However, it is only a first step toward any possible approval as an Olympic sport. The recognition is for an initial two-year period, after which the sports bodies can seek full recognition and apply for inclusion in the Olympics starting in 2020.

"This is great news for cricket," ICC president Ray Mali said. "The Olympic movement is instantly recognizable around the world and for cricket to be a part of that again has to be a good thing." Cricket, which is largely played in Commonwealth countries, has been played only once at the Olympics, at the 1900 Paris Games. Britain beat France, which was made up of players from the British embassy in Paris, for the gold medal.

Mali and other ICC directors met with IOC president Jacques Rogge in Lausanne, Switzerland, in October. Mali said it had been an ICC goal to be recognized by the IOC.

"We want to play an active role in the Olympic movement and we will be looking at ways in which we can work with the IOC for the benefit of cricket, sport and society in general," Mali said. "Maybe one day it will be right for cricket to return to the Olympic program."

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Navy won their respective matches of the Total Victory Day Basketball Tournament on Tuesday.

In the day's first match at the Mirpur Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium, Bangladesh Army eased past Eagles Club 93-48 points.

The winners dominated over their opponents by 53-20 points in the first half.

Tuja of Bangladesh Army scored 18 points and his teammate Baten caged 16 while Rahat returned 13 points for the losers.

In the day's second match at the same venue, Bangladesh Navy edged past BKSP 76-62 points.

The winners led the first half by 39-36 points.

Siraj of Navy top-scored with 22 points and his teammate Lutfor netted 21.

On the other hand, Shetu and Mithun of BKSP scored 19 points each.

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh Army will meet Bangladesh Navy today in the opening match of the Victory Day Volleyball Tournament, which will be arranged by Bangladesh Volleyball Federation at the Dhaka Volleyball Stadium.

Top five teams of the country will compete in the volleyball meet. The tournament will be held to observe the Victory Day. The teams, which will take part in the volleyball competition, are: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Bangladesh Rifles and Bangladesh Water Development Board.

Besides, Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party will participate in the five-match series tournament for women.

President of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation Golam Quddus Chowdhury will formally open the volleyball meet at 3.30 PM.

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Grand Master Abdullah Al Rakib finished 9th in the Commonwealth Chess Championship with 7.5 points beating Indian WGM Nisha Mohota in the 10th and last round match held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Country's first Grand Master Niaz Mushed became 11th despite collecting 7.5 points, another GM Reefat Bin Sattar was placed 29th with 6.5 points, FM Kh Aminul Islam finished 95th bagging 5.5 points while IWM Rani Hamid became 209th securing 3.5 points.

In the other 10th round matches, Niaz beat IM Hafizulhilmi of Malaysia while Reefat lost to IM RR Laxman of India.

GM RB Ramesh became champions while GM SS Ganguly finished runners-up securing 8.5 points each.

UNB, Dhaka

BAF Base Zahurul Haque retained the title of the Inter Base Athletics Championship of the Bangladesh Air Force securing 9 gold 9 silver and 5 bronze medals at the BAF Base Kurmitola Sports Ground here Tuesday.

BAF Base Matiur Rahman team became runners-up with 9 gold 3 silver and 4 bronze medals. LAC Rouf of BAF Base Matiur Rahman Team was adjudged the best athlete of the meet. BAF Base Zahurul Haque team also won the overall Championship Trophy-2007 in sports and athletics competition held throughout the year among BAF Bases and Units.

Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall SM Ziaur Rahman witnessed the final day's events as chief guest and later distributed the medals and trophies among the winners. He also gave away the BAF Sports Colour to Wing Commander Imran Mazid for his overall best performance in sports.

UNB, Dhaka

Rangamati DSA moved into the semifinal as group C champion when they drubbed Gaibandha DSA by 5-0 goals in the 2nd Inter-District Women's Football Competition at the Dhanmondi Women's Sports Complex today (Tuesday).

Sainu Pru who earlier scored double hattrick against Shariatpur DSA in opening match scored two goals while Mainu, Lina and Jaya netted one goal each for the winners.

Sainu Pru of Rangamati DSA was adjudged best player of the match.

In the day's other matches, Khagrachari DSA also confirmed their super-four berth as group B champion after playing to a goalless draw with Rajshahi DSA while Jessore DSA blanked Sirajganj DSA by 3-0 goals, both at the same venue.

Dhaka DSA was the first team to confirm the semifinal.

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Army will face Bangladesh Police in one of the opening day matches of the Victory Day Kabaddi Competition begin today at the Kabaddi Stadium Court at 3 pm.

In the day's other match, Bangladesh Prison Directorate meet Bangladesh Fire Service.

Organised by Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation, seven teams, split into two groups, will compete in the single league basis competition. Later, top two teams will qualify for the final.

The participating teams are Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Fire Service and Bangladesh Prisons Directorate (group A) and Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Airforce and Bangladesh Navy (group B).

UNB, Dhaka

Asgar Ali emerged unbeaten champion in the GrameenPhone 8th National Special Chess Tournament-2007 securing 7 points after the 7th and last round matches on Tuesday.

Last year's champion Kamal Hossain became runner-up while Mohammad Nazmul grab the 3rd position. Kamal and Nazmul earned 6 points each. Later, their places were decided through tie-breaking system.

Eleven players secured 5 points each. Their positions are Ferdous Hasan (4th), Mir Hossain (5th), Abid Hossain (6th), Habibur Rahman (7th), S.M. Shahin (8th), Md. Sohel Rana (9th), Abu Nayem Mamun (10th), Mohammad Hasan (11th), Golam Mostafa (12th) and Mohammad Shaheb Ali (13th). In the last round matches, Asgar beat Mir, Kamal defeated Abid, Nazmul beat Ferdous while Mamun beat Monir.

After the final round, Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) vice president Mizanur Rahman Manu distributed prizes among the winners as chief guest at the National Sports Council (NSC) conference room. BOA director and COO Col (retd) M Wali Ullah, GrameenPhone media manager (market communications) Moeen Tariq were, among others, present on the occasion.

UNB, Dhaka

The EXIM Bank Women Kabaddi League, organised by Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation and sponsored by EXIM Bank, began on January 10 at the Kabaddi Stadium.

Six teams of metropolis clubs-Brothers Union Club, Azad SC Dhaka Wanderers Club, Jurain Janata Club Jatrabari KC and Matuail Milon Smrity Sangsad split into two groups - will take part in the competition, a Kabaddi Federation official told UNB.

Top team from each group will qualify for the final.