The New Nation - Internet Edition

Six divisional squads for national cricket league announced

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Cricket Board Thursday announced six 20-member divisional cricket teams for the 10th National Cricket League 2008-09 scheduled to begin on October 10.

The league will be held in the same format as played in the previous season.

The divisional squads are:

Khulna Division : Imrul Kayes, Nazmus Sadat, Monirul Islam, Ashraful Aziz, Tushar Imran, Shakib Al Hasan, Taibur Rahman Parvez, Nahidul Haque, Mustafizur Rahman, Raihan Anas, Sahagir Hossain, Mohammad Salim, Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Ziaur Rahman, Syed Rasel, Dollar Mahmud, Mahmuduzzaman, Robiul Islam, Murad Khan, Abdur Razzak.

Rajshahi Division: Zunaed Siddique, Jahirul Islam, Shakil Haider, Farhad Hossain, Anisur Rahman, Ashraful Hossain, Mahbub Alam, Naeem Islam, Rafiqul Islam, Khaled Mashud, Hamidul Islam Himel, Mushfiqur Rahman, Saiful Islam, Mohammad Shahzada, Delwar Hossain, Alamgir Kabir, Shafaq Al Jabir, Saqlain Sajib, Suhrawardi Shuvo, Shabbir Ahmed Rumman.

Dhaka Division: Javed Omar, Rashedul Haque, Amit Mojumdar, Mohammad Ashraful, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Nadif Chowdhury, Ashiqul Islam, Anwar Hossain, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Emon Ahmed, Mahbubul Alam, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Azim, Eliyas Sunny, Humayun Kabir, Arafat Sunny, Rezaul Islam Rajon.

Chittagong Division:-Tamim Iqbal, Gazi Salauddin, Nafees Iqbal, Tareq Ahmed Ruben, Faisal Hossain, Mahmudul Hassan, Masum-ud Dowla, Marshall Ayub, Nadimuddin Mintu, Arman Hossain, Raihan Uddin Arafat, Rubel Hossain, Moniruzzaman, Kamrul Islam, Golam Kibria, Tarek Aziz Khan, Moktar Ali, Yasin Arafat, Mohammad Younus, Mohammad Sokran.

Barisal Division: Hannan Sarker, Uttam Sarker, Ronny Talukder, Mehrab Hossain, Raqibul Hassan, Nasiruddin Faruque, Imran Ahmed, Raisul Islam, Arafat Salahuddin, Nasir Hossain, Abul Bashar, Shaheen Hossain, Robiul Karim, Sajedul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Monwar Hossain, Talha Jubair, Ariful Hoque, Saju Dutta, Tariqul Islam.

Sylhet Division:-Mohammad Mithun, Golam Rahman, Imtiaz Hossain, Sharifullah, Nizamuddin Ripon, Sonjoy Chakraborti, Rajin Salah, Tarequzzaman, Ejaz Ahmed, Kamrul Islam Emon, Golam Mowla, Mushfiqur Rahim, Lablur Rahman, Saikat Ali, Abul Hassan Raju, Nazmul Hossain, Sumon Saha, Shuvashish Roy, Rashedur Rahman, Nabil Samad.

Dhaka Mohammedan blank Arambagh KS

UNB, Dhaka

Dhaka Mohammedan SC returned to winning ways in the Citycell 2nd B League beating Arambagh Krira Sangha SC by 3-0 goals at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) on Thursday.

This was the first win for the Dhaka Mohammedan after making a 1-1 draw with Chittagong Abahani KC in the opening match on Sunday.

In the day's match, Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Robin and Arman Aziz scored for the winners who led the 1st half 2-0.

Nasir put Dhaka Mohammedan SC ahead in the very 1st minute of the match with a gentle push off a Faisal pass (1-0).

Robin doubled the winners' margin in the 12th minute with a right footer from the top of the D box after a solo move from the midfield (2-0).

Arman Aziz completed the winners' tally with a powerful shot from inside the danger zone capitalizing on a Hazem Khaled corner (3-0).

The popular "black & white" outfit dominated the entire match and deserved the victory. Arambagh KS was totally off-color in the match and got only one scoring chance in the 68th minute, but failed to take its fruit.

The day's result could have been 4-0 for Dhaka Mohammedan if Nigerian striker Alamu Bukola Olaleken had not missed the spot kick in the 59th minute.

Teams:

Mohammedan SC - Aminul, Mamun, Shaikat, Rajani, Arman Aziz, Kamal, Faisal (Komol), Nasir, Hazem (Maruf), Bukola and Robin.

Arambagh KS - Piru, Moni, Farhad (Tutul), Kaba, Akram, Siraji, Molay (Surat), Imrul, Turzo, Awwal (Jerry) and Anunda.

Referee - Abdul Hannan Miron

Today's match - Farashganj SC vs Dhaka Abahani Limited (Narsingdi Stadium 3:30 pm).

Masud Alam gets Ataul Haq Mallick Best Sports Writer award

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Sports Writers Association (BSWA) awarded Ataul Haq Mallick Best Writer of the Year prize to Masud Alam, a sports reporter with the daily prothom Alo.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Kazi Salahuddin handed over a cheque of Tk 10,000 and a trophy to Masud at the National Sports Council Gymnasium on Thursday.

Masud got the prize for year 2007 for his report on "A different battle of the fastest woman" that featured struggle of athlete Nazmun Nahar Beauty.

Sagar takes solo lead in Rating Chess

UNB, Dhaka

FM Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar of Destiny took a solo lead in the point table of the Destiny 2000 Limited 3rd Open FIDE Rating Chess tournament with 5.5 points after the end of the 6th round matches at the Chess Federation hall room here on Thursday.

Seven players followed the leaders with five points each. They are GM Reefat Bin Sattar, FM Abu Sufian Shakil and FM Mehdi Hasan Parag of Biman, FM Sk Nasir Ahmed and FM Mohammad Javed of Destiny, FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman Emon of Chittagong Mohammedan, Monir Hossain of Pritam Prijam, Mahtabuddin Ahmed Robin and Abdur Rauf of Friends Chess.

In the 6th round matches, Sagar beat his teammate Debaraj Chatterjee, Reefat drew with Nasir, Shakil drew with Javed, Emon drew with Monir, Robinbeat Sk. Rashedul Hasan, Alimul Haque Kazal drew with Farhadur Imam and Anisuzzaman drew with Fariduddin.

The 7th round matches start today (Friday) at 3:30 pm at the same venue.

Seminar on anti-doping held

UNB, Dhaka

A seminar titled 'Medical Care and Anti-Doping Awareness Programme', jointly organised by Medical and Anti-Doping Committee (MADC) of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA), was held at the National Sports Council (NSC) here on Thursday.

BOA Secretary General Kutubuddin Ahmed inaugurated the seminar.

Prof SM Idris Ali, Dr Ismail Khan and Dr Muna Salima Jahan presented papers at the seminar.

A total of 141 federation officials, including 20 women, took part in the seminar.

Results of Div II Football

Sports Reporter

T&T Club of Motijheel, Bassabo Tarun Sangha, Sadharan Bima KS won their respective matches of the Second Division Football League on Thursday.

In the day's first match, T&t Club of Motijheel beat Gazir Chat SC by a solitary goal at the Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium.

Jewel scored the match-winning goal for the victorios team.

In the day's second match, Bassabo Tarun Sangha edged past Bangladesh Boys Club 1-0 at the same venue.

Kari struck the all-important goal for the winners.

Meanwhile, Sadharan Bima KS beat Prantik KC by 3-2 goals at the Banani Bangladesh Army Stadium.

Momin of Sadharan Bima KS hit a hat-trick while Sagor and Ferdous netted one each for the losers.

Today Euro Famous Club will face Matuail Udayan Sangsad at the Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium.

Bangladesh upbeat despite exodus as New Zealand loom

Reuters, Dhaka

Bangladesh are confident the exodus of players to the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL) would not cripple the national team in next month's home series against New Zealand, a cricket official said on Thursday.

Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar and 12 other leading players signed for the Twenty20 league on Tuesday. The board has said it would slap 10-year bans on those playing in unofficial tournaments.

"No doubt it is a setback for us," Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) media chief Ahmed Sazzadul Alam told Reuters. "But we are confident that we have enough players in the pipeline to fill the void.

Bangladesh, who play three one-dayers and two tests against New Zealand, have only won one of their previous 53 tests (47 defeats) since making their debut in 2000.

"The players waiting in the pipeline are equally talented," Alam said. "The only thing we will be missing is the experience of a few players."

Among those who have signed up for the ICL, only Alok Kapali, Farhad Reza and Dhiman Ghosh were in the Bangladesh squad which played three one-dayers against Australia this month.

Batsmen Shariar Nafees and Aftab Ahmed played in the previous test series, at home against South Africa in February.

At least seven contracted players including Bashar, Nafees and Aftab have put in requests for retirement with BCB without giving any reason.

Alam said many key players had not joined ICL.

"Most of the players like Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Sakib Al Hassan, Tamim Iqbal, Abdur Razzak and Shahadat Hossain who are regulars in the national team, are still with us.

"Our bowling department is not at all affected with their departure."

New Zealand arrive in Bangladesh on Sept.30 and play two ODIs in Dhaka on Oct. 9 and 11 with the final game in Chittagong on Oct.14.

The tests will be played in Chittagong and Dhaka from Oct.17 and 25 respectively.

The BCB officials are also hopeful its depleted team and the Australian test tour of India happening around the same period would not affect the interest in the Bangladesh series and its income.

Dementieva advances to quarters

AFP, Tokyo

Beijing Olympic gold medallist Elena Dementieva earned a place in the season-ending championships when she overwhelmed Alize Cornet of France in the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament here on Thursday.

The Russian third seed, the winner here in 2006 who received a first-round bye, took the first 10 games in a row before scoring a 6-0, 6-3 victory over the 18th-ranked Frenchwoman in 69 minutes.

With the win, she joined Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic in qualifying for the November 4-9 elite championships in Doha, Qatar.

"This is great that I'm gonna be there, because this year I was fighting to get into the tournament. It's very nice, I'm very excited about Doha," said Dementieva, ranked fourth in the world this week.

"First of all, it's great to have a chance to play there, because at the end of the year, this is the biggest event," she said.

With the stadium's roof closed due to rain in the morning, Dementieva got off to a perfect start and Cornet had to wait for the Russian's backhand error at 40-15 to take her first game in the 11th game of the second set.

The 18-year-old Cornet took three straight games, but it was too late to get back into the match.

"In the end of of the match, she (Cornet) had nothing to lose and she started to play very aggressive. We had a good fight," said Dementieva.

"Maybe I lost my concentration a little bit, because I won 10 games in a row. It's never easy, because I was always trying to make a winner."

In the quarter-finals on Friday, Dementieva will take on either Francesca Schiavone of Italy or Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.

Tendulkar says Australia now India's major rivals

AFP, New Delhi

Batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar said on Thursday that India's rivalry with Australia was now even more intense than with long-time arch-enemy Pakistan.

Ahead of Australia's four-Test tour to India, which opens on October 9 in Bangalore, Tendulkar said he expected a fiercely competitive series between two teams who have battled for superiority over recent years.

"I think it (India v Australia) has become bigger largely because of the competitiveness," Tendulkar said.

"All the series between us from 2001 onwards have been very keenly fought and have been very close ones."

In the ill-tempered 2007-2008 series in Australia, India lost the first two Tests but recorded a prized victory over the home team in the third Test in Perth.

"We have gone to Australia and beaten them," Tendulkar stressed.

"We have been able to surprise the Australian team and that's what the Australian public likes: competition and high standards of play. They love to see challenges and competitiveness.

"The fan following for the India-Australia series has definitely increased as compared to say 15 years ago," he added.

The "little master", now aged 35, is closing in on Brian Lara's record for the most runs ever scored in a Test career, but said statistics were not his priority.

"I don't think much about records. I want to enjoy my game. If players focus on their performance, records automatically fall into place," said Tendulkar, speaking to reporters in New Delhi.

"I focus on playing the game well. If it (the record) comes in doing so I will be happy," added the ace batsman, who is only 76 runs short of overtaking Lara's mark of 11,953 runs.

India's last tour of Australia was marked by personal insults between teams, and allegations of racial abuse and bad sportsmanship.

But Tendulkar said he did not expect a repeat of such problems during the upcoming series.

"Talking on behalf of the Indian team, I can say we will play hard but fair and I feel the Australians also will do so," he said.

Sri Lanka Academy takes 143-run lead over GP-BCB Academy on day 3

UNB, Dhaka

Hosts Sri Lanka Academy team took an overall 143-run lead over touring GP-BCB National Cricket Academy on the third day of the 2nd four-day match at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo Thursday.

Replying to Sri Lanka Academy's first innings total of 252 runs, visiting GP-BCB Academy team resumed the first innings with overnight total of 310/8 and scored 321 for all in 97.2 overs to take a 69-run first innings lead.

Two night watch batsmen -- skipper Nayeem Islam (73) and Ziaur Rahman (13) -- went back to the pavilion without adding any run on the third day today. Earlier, Imrul Kayes scored 67 runs while Arafat Sunny 63.

BMAJ Mendis emerged as the best performer of the match displaying an all-round performance. Mendis, who made a century in the first innings, today also showed his brilliance in bowling to capture four Bangladesh wickets for 61 runs.

In reply, Sri Lanka Academy Eleven opened the second innings Thursday morning and scored 212 for 5 in 84 overs when bails were drawn for the third day.

BMAJ Mendis, who scored a polished 136 in the first innings in addition to four wicket haul, today also displayed his mantle in batting scoring an unbeaten 93 off 185 balls featuring 11 boundaries in the second innings.

Pacer Mahbubul Alam Robin was the most successful among Bangladesh bowlers capturing three wickets for 63 runs while Sajedul Islam and Arafat Sunny claimed one wicket apiece.

National boat race competition October 18

UNB, Dhaka

The National boat race competition, organized by Bangladesh Rowing Federation, will be held on October 18 in River Buriganga, adjoining China-Bangladesh friendship bridge.

The competition will be held in six events. The events are seven-oar women and men groups, 25-oar kosha boat group, 50-oar kosha boat group, 50 and above oars sarengi boat group and 50 and above oars chhip boat group.

The participating divisions, districts, services teams, associations and affiliated clubs have been advised to enroll their entry by September 30 at the federation office.

Brazilian Fabiano hit with nine-match ban for spitting

AFP, Sydney

Melbourne Victory's Brazilian striker Ney Fabiano has received a nine-match ban after being found guilty of spitting at an opponent during an Australian A-League match last weekend.

Fabiano, signed from Thai club Chonburi FC last June, was found guilty of the charge after a four-hour tribunal hearing here late Wednesday.

Fabiano was sent off in the 29th minute of the match against Adelaide United after an altercation with Adelaide defender Robert Cornthwaite.

The judiciary committee said it found that Fabiano had deliberately spat at Cornthwaite.

The nine-match suspension is second only in length in the A-League to the nine-month ban given to Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic for striking the hand of referee Mark Shield in last season's grand final.

Powell powers home again

AFP, Poland

Jamaica's former 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell continued his impressive form since finishing out of the medals at the Olympics as he eased home here on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old recorded a time of 9.89 seconds - his seventh successive time under 9.90sec since finishing fifth in the Olympic final - in pretty terrible weather conditions.

American Mike Rodgers finished second in 10.23sec while Andrew Hinds of Barbados was third in 10.41sec.