The New Nation - Internet Edition

Fragile Bangladesh aim to fill ICL void

Cricinfo

There is one big question ahead of Bangladesh's home series against New Zealand: how will a team, already struggling to justify its status as a Test-playing nation, cope with the loss of 14 players to the ICL? The likes of Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Rafique may not be key figures anymore, but Bangladesh will surely feel the pinch of an exodus that includes several recent internationals. At full strength, they have failed to challenge major opposition since the World Cup last year and, with the talent pool now depleted, few would bet a change of odds against New Zealand.

On their last international assignment - a three-ODI series in Darwin - Bangladesh were humbled by Australia, with batting failures largely to blame. Glaringly, Mohammad Ashraful's own place in the side is under scrutiny following wretched form. But the dismal tour has been overshadowed the exodus to the ICL. While Bangladesh play New Zealand the Dhaka Warriors, comprising the ICL's Bangladesh recruits led by former captain Bashar, will be showcasing their talent in India.

Bangladesh's insipid batting has been the reason behind their recent failures, and the exit of Aftab Ahmed, Shariar Nafees, Alok Kapali and Nazimuddin is potentially massive. The biggest problem is at the top of the order. Tamim Iqbal has been Bangladesh's leading run-scorer this year - and the only one to average over 30 - but they have been unable to find him a capable partner.

Both Nafees and Nazimuddin are in the ICL, while Junaid Siddique and Mehrab Hossain jnr have struggled to make it past single figures. In their last nine ODIs, Bangladesh's openers have not managed a first-wicket stand over 20. Two of their three uncapped players named in the squad, Imrul Kayes and Naeem Islam, are top-order batsmen and could get a chance.

Mahbubul Alam is the new face in a bowling attack that managed to restrict Australia to below 200 during the recent ODIs. But it is unlikely he will play, with Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain and left-armer Syed Rasel in the squad. The spinners are likely to play a key role, and Bangladesh will rely on Abdur Razzak and allrounders Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah.

Bangladesh are perhaps not ideal opposition before an Australian challenge, but it is the ideal opportunity for Daniel Vettori's side to gain confidence. Although their only warm-up game of the tour was washed out, they will head into the three one-day internationals with hopes of a sweep, which will move them up to No. 2 in the ICC ODI rankings.

The postponement of the Champions Trophy allowed New Zealand to arrive early and acclimatise to conditions in Bangladesh, and Vettori expects nothing less than victory in the ODIs and two Tests. If it works out, it would be a repeat of their tour in 2004 and last season's home series.

New Zealand lost both their home and away Test series against England earlier in the year but they have been more successful in limited-overs games. They beat England 3-1 both home and away. New Zealand have won their last five ODIs, the recent two beind comprehensive wins against Scotland and Ireland.

New Zealand' s slightly revamped batting - Peter Fulton and James Marshall have been dropped - will be bolstered by the return of opener Jesse Ryder after he nearly jeopardised his career in February by punching a window. However, barring Scott Styris, the line-up is largely inexperienced. For the likes of Jamie How and the developing Ross Taylor, this tour is the first in the subcontinent.

Allrounders lend the team a good balance, while Tim Southee and Kyle Mills form a potent pace attack. Vettori's left-arm spin could prove a handful: on his last tour of Bangladesh he topped the wickets chart in both the Tests and ODIs. His seven ODI wickets came at an average under ten.

The first ODI is in Mirpur on October 9, followed by matches on the 11th and 14th.

BRAC Bank becomes title sponsor of Bangladesh-New Zealand series

UNB, Dhaka

BRAC Bank Ltd has become title sponsor of Bangladesh's home series against New Zealand that begins Thursday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur in the city.

The ODI and test series between Bangladesh and New Zealand will now be named as BRAC Bank Series 2008.

BRAC Bank got the title sponsorship rights from BCB's marketing agent Adtouch.

BCB member and vice chairman of marketing and commercial committee Shakil Kashem disclosed this at a press conference at the SBNS here Wednesday.

BRAC Bank CEO and managing director AEO Muhaiman, and its head of marketing and corporate affairs Abidur Rahman Shikder, and Adtouch directors Tareq Ali and Qazi Aynul Islam were, among others, present.

The amount of the title sponsorship was not revealed at the press conference, but earlier Adtouch acquired the rights from BCB providing US$85,000 as the highest bidder.

Speaking on the occasion, BRAC Bank CEO AEO Muhaiman said, "We hope that our boys will put up a good show."

He added that they are looking ahead for a long-term supporting partnership with BCB.

Spain stays at world No.1, Brazil up to fourth

AP, Zurich

European champion Spain extended its lead as the world's No. 1 football nation in the latest FIFA rankings published Wednesday.

Italy and Germany remain second- and third-ranked. Brazil is South America's best, climbing two places to No. 4 overall, while pushing the Netherlands and Croatia down a place each. Argentina remains ranked seventh.

The one change in the top 10 nations has Russia returning at No.9 at the expense of fellow Euro 2008 semifinalist Turkey, which drops three places to No. 13. The two traded places in the elite group last month.

Cameroon continues to rise as the leading African nation, climbing two places to No.12, two places above England. Israel climbs three to reach its best-ever ranking of No.16. The United States is once more best among CONCACAF countries, climbing seven places to No.21, while Mexico holds steady at No.24.

Japan leads the Asian Confederation at No.32, while New Zealand is the big mover at No.54. Its two World Cup qualifying match wins over Oceania rival New Caledonia helped lift the Kiwis up 57 places. Other nations rising to best-ever placings were Lithuania, up 17 places to No.37, and Macedonia, up 10 to No.46 after beating Scotland in a World Cup qualifier. The Scots suffered the biggest drop in status among leading nations, down 10 places to No.26. A total of 125 international matches played in the past month, including 106 qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, counted toward the rankings.

The next standings are due Nov.12.

Balanced bowling gives India the edge

Cricinfo

All the talk of retirement and succession planning has hogged the limelight over the last few weeks, but thankfully the focus will switch to the cricket when India and Australia take the field in the first of four Tests, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday. For both teams, the series is of massive importance: the Australians are in transition mode, and are searching for replacements who can adequately fill the huge voids left by Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist; the next month could be a pointer to just how well the team will fare in their absence. For the Indians, this series is the last time their five experienced stalwarts will all be playing together. With the Australians so inexperienced to these conditions - none of their specialist bowlers have bowled a ball in a Test in India - this is an excellent opportunity for India to sneak a series win after two successive losses against them.

Australia may be a relatively weaker team, but that's only when compared to their formidable sides of the recent past. The batting has plenty of class, while the pace attack will probably ask uncomfortable questions of the Indian line-up even on slow tracks.

India have the better balanced bowling attack and plenty of experience in their batting, but most of their top order are coming off a lean spell in Sri Lanka. The home advantage belongs to India, but Australia have done well in Bangalore in the past: the last time they played here was also in the series opener, and they cruised home by 217 runs, with Michael Clarke scoring a delightful 151 and winning the Man-of-the-Match award on debut.

Stuart Clark: All eyes will be on Brett Lee when the Indian innings gets underway, but watch out for Stuart Clark, whose nagging accuracy and ability to seam the ball both ways can be a huge weapon for Australia.

Ricky Ponting:. Enough has been written about Ponting's abysmal record in India, and he'll be keen to make an emphatic statement to counter that as soon as possible. He has conquered Muttiah Muralitharan in Sri Lanka, so there's no reason why he can't tackle Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in India.

Sourav Ganguly: His decision to retire at the end of this series means he will probably bat with greater freedom. Plus, he has pleasant memories of this ground - the last time he batted here, he scored 330 in two innings, which is the second-highest runs scored by any batsman in a single Test in Bangalore.

Harbhajan Singh v Australian top order Ponting has struggled against him in the past, and Matthew Hayden has had plenty to say about him off the field. Expect some intriguing clashes when Harbhajan gets the ball.

Team news :

India have left out S Badrinath and RP Singh from their squad. They are almost certain to go with six specialist batsmen, which means Amit Mishra and Munaf Patel will probably miss out as well.

India (likely) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Anil Kumble (capt), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ishant Sharma.

Australia have excluded Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle and Phil Jaques in their XII, and the only decision they need to make on the morning of the game is which spinner to play. Considering the ease with which Jason Krejza was handled in the tour game, it's likely that Cameron White will make his Test debut. White also happens to be a very handy option with the bat.

Australia (likely) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Shane Watson, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Cameron White, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Stuart Clark.

Pitch & conditions

Both captains reckoned the pitch looked fairly hard and would be good for batting on the first couple of days before aiding spin. The weather has been unpredictable over the last couple of days, and the forecast is for scattered thundershowers over the next five days. If overcast conditions prevail, the fast bowlers will have something to cheer as well.

Stats & Trivia

India haven't won a Test in Bangalore in the last 13 years. During this period they've played six Tests here and lost four, including two to Australia.

Anil Kumble's batting average in Bangalore (27.87) is higher than that of VVS Laxman (24.28) and Rahul Dravid (20.54) at this ground.

The last six decisive Tests between India and Australia have all been won by the team winning the toss.

If he bats at No.3, which he is likely to, Dravid will become the first batsman to bat at that position in 100 Tests.

Sachin Tendulkar needs 76 runs equal Brian Lara's record of 11,953 runs in Test cricket.

Ctg Mohammedan taste first victory beating Rahmatganj MFS 2-0

UNB, Chittagong

Chittagong Mohammedan SC tasted the first victory in the Citycell 2nd B League beating giant-killer Rahmatganj MFS by 2-0 goals at their home ground MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on Wednesday.

After a barren first half, Rafael Saknu scored for Chittagong Mohammedan in the 48th minute, while Towhidul Islam confirmed the victory adding one more goal in the 66th minute. With the day's feat, the black and white team from the port city has secured five points from four outings with one win, one defeat and two draws. Chittagong Mohammedan played to identical 1-1 draw with Brothers Union Club and Sheikh Russell KC and lost to Dhaka Abahani Limited by 0-2 goals.

Today's matche: Dhaka Abahani Limited vs Khulna Abahani KC (Khulna Stadium).

Venus Williams upset in 1st round at Kremlin Cup

AP, Moscow

Venus Williams was beaten in the opening round for the second time in 12 tournaments this season, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to Flavia Pennetta of Italy at the Kremlin Cup on Tuesday.

The Wimbledon champion, who also lost in the first round at Memphis in March, dropped to 1-3 against Pennetta.

"I totally came here because I love winning," the eighth-ranked American said. "I have never won this title, but I just had a day where I could not control my game. She played well."

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, two seeded Russian who have never reached the final of their home event, won their first-round matches.

On the men's side, where Russians have won nine of the last 11 Cups, the winners included two-time defending champion Nikolay Davydenko and Marat Safin, runner-up to Davydenko in 2006.

Pennetta and the sixth-seeded Williams traded breaks in the first set before the Italian broke decisively on her third chance in the ninth game with a lob.

Williams broke twice in the second set, but dropped serve in the first game of the third and never recovered.

"I think the match was very tough," said Pennetta, a two-time winner on tour this year. "Venus is always a tough opponent. Today, I was playing my best tennis. My service was working very well. I am very happy with the match."

Davydenko beat Florent Serra of France 6-1, 7-5, and seventh-seeded Safin struggled past Israeli qualifier Noam Okun 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4 to begin his 12th attempt to win the hometown event.

Davydenko, who also won the title in 2004, improved to 16-2 in Moscow.

"I would like to defend my title here, but as usual I'm my worst enemy," he said.

Robby Ginepri of the United States beat Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4 and eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia held off Russian qualifier Alexandre Kudryavtsev 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Former U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova earned a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Li Na of China, who ended Serena Williams' reign as No. 1 last week in Stuttgart.

"Li Na beat many serious opponents this season and to win in two sets, I think, it's not a bad start to the tournament," Kuznetsova said. Ranked No. 7, she has lost all seven of her WTA Tour finals this season.

Seventh-seeded Zvonareva ousted Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4 and Ekaterina Makarova beat Elena Vesnina 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) in all-Russian matches.

In another men's match, Uzbek qualifier Denis Istomin upset sixth-seeded Michael Llodra 7-6 (2), 6-3 in only his second ATP match.

The 121st-ranked Istomin will face French veteran Fabrice Santoro in the second round.

BCB strikes deal with mobile content provider Wintel

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday struck a one-year deal with mobile content provider Wintel Limited.

Under the deal, Wintel will deliver the scores of the National Cricket League (NCL) as well as different domestic tournaments to be organized by BCB to the mobile phone subscribers.

BCB's tournament committee chairman Ghulam Mohammed Alomgir revealed this at a press conference at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) here yesterday.

Alomgir, also the chairman of Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), and additional general manager of Wintel Limited Rana Abul Bashar signed the contract for their respective organizations.

To get the NCL scores, the subscribers will have to go to the message option of any mobile phone and type NCL. Then they will have to send it to 2777.

Igloo becomes official ice cream Bangladesh NZ home series

UNB, Dhaka

Igloo has become the official ice cream of Bangladesh's home series against New Zealand that begins Thursday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur in the city.

As the official ice cream, Igloo will provide Tk 100,000 to BCB. Besides, the company will supply ice cream to the hospitality box, VIP enclosure and gallery at company rate, at the games venues in Dhaka and Chittagong.

BCB's marketing and commercial committee vice chairman Shakil Kashem disclosed this at a press conference at the (SBNS here Wednesday.

General manager of Igloo Kamrul Hasan and, head of marketing Abdul Mazid were, among others, present.