Tapu Banned for Misconduct

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tapu banned

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has imposed a three-match ban and a fine of Tk 20,000 on Bangladesh Boys Club official Ziaur Rahman Tapu.

Tapu was disciplined for misconduct during a First Division Cricket League match between Bangladesh Boys and Jatrabari KC at the City Club ground on February 15.

Match referee Hemayet Ahmed Siddiky in his report concluded that Tapu used abusive language and charged one of the umpires by running on to the field during over 42.5 of the Bangladesh Boys innings which falls under misconduct -- "Discipline on the Field' (section 19.3 of the League's Playing Condition).

Razzak off to Australia

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Razzak off to Australia:

Spinner Abdur Razzak was scheduled to leave Dhaka last night for reassessment of his bowling action in Australia.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) applied to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the reassessment of the left-arm spinner's action after its bowling review group expressed satisfaction over Razzak's progress following a rehabilitation programme.

The spinner, who will be accompanied by national coach Jamie Siddons, will head to Brisbane first where he will work with specialists at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence to fine tune his bowling action.

The bowler will then appear for the reassessment tests at the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) in Canberra on February 23, 2009. Member of the ICC Panel of Human Movement Specialists at the AIS Biomechanics Department Dr. Marc Portus will conduct the assessment.

The ICC in November last year suspended Razzak from bowling in international cricket pending fresh assessment after independent analysis of his bowling action revealed that his action exceeded the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under regulations.

Women's soccer final round from tomorrow

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The final round of the Citycell National Women's Football Championship kicks off tomorrow at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Eight teams split into two groups will play each other with the top two advancing to the semifinals, to be held on February 26.

Group A comprises Bangladesh Ansar, Satkhira, Rajshahi and Narayanganj while Jessore, Bangladesh VDP, Rangamati and Khulna play in the Group B.

Earlier a total of 25 district teams, divided into four zones, played in the preliminary round from where zonal champions and runners-up qualified for the finals.

"To make the championship competitive, we have kept two zonal champions and as many zonal runners-up in a group and the other group follows the same format," said Sirajul Islam Bachchu, chairman of the Bangladesh Football Committee (BFF) Women's Committee, at a press conference yesterday.

The champions will get Tk 40,000 while runners-up receive Tk 20,000. The losing semifinalists will also be awarded Tk 5,000 each.

State Minister for Youth and Sports Ahad Ali Sarker will declare the meet open with Bangladesh Ansar taking on Rajshahi in the first match.

The BFF also plans to hold the National Women's Super Championship with the top four teams in the national women's championship fighting it out.

To promote the women's game at district level, the BFF is also considering holding the Super Championship matches on home-and-away basis and arranging a few matches at neutral venues.

Div-1 Cricket Ruselt

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Ton, tie & low scores mark the day:

Rupali Bank and Baridhara Dazzlers featured in the first tied match of the Dhaka First Division Cricket League yesterday in the City Club Ground. The bankers posted 237 runs on the board losing nine wickets, which the Dazzlers exactly matched in their share of 50 overs.

Rupali's Raihan Mallik picked up four wickets for 45 runs in his ten overs but failed to shelter a win for his team.

At the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium, Eskaton secured a surprise victory over strong horses Kalabagan beating them by 20 runs. In what was a low scoring affair altogether, Eskaton were all out for 89 in the 33rd over, but later bowled brilliantly to bundle out Kalabagan for just 69 runs.

Dhaka Wanderers notched up their first win of the tournament when they defeated Brothers Union by seven wickets at the Dhaka University Ground. Brothers batted first and with the help of Rony's 82 finished with 204 runs losing nine wickets. Wanderers reached the winning target without a hitch as Rubel slammed 120 from 115 balls, hitting 15 boundaries and one six. The winners lost just three wickets and made use of 39 overs.

Shaib Akhtar Hopes to Return for Bangladesh Series

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

SHOAIB AKHTAR, Afp, Karachi.

Injury-prone Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar said Monday he hoped to recover from a knee injury and return to action in time for next month's tour of Bangladesh.

The 33-year-old fast bowler was ruled out of Pakistan's two-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting later this week, due to the injury.

Initial reports suggested he would need an operation but Akhtar expressed hope that the injury would heal with rest.

"Doctors have advised me that the blood and pieces of bones in my knee could be removed through injections and there won't be any need for an operation," Akhtar told AFP.

Akhtar had both knees operated on in early 2006. It was feared that he would miss most of this year if he went back under the knife. But Akhtar said he had been reassured about his condition after a medical update.

"I sent the MRI reports to Australia and England, and the advice was not to have an operation, so I hope to be back in action by next month," said Akhtar, who was dropped from the third one-day international against Sri Lanka last month.

Akhtar managed just one wicket for 88 runs in the first two matches.

The controversial paceman played just three Twenty20 matches last year due to injuries and a ban on discipline charges.

He returned to the team for Pakistan's three-match one-day series against the West Indies in November last year.

But he sat out the entire series, played in Abu Dhabi, after he hurt his hamstring on the eve of the first match.

Pakistan are due to play two Twenty20 fixtures and five one-day matches in Bangladesh in March.

Grameenphone Womens Cricket Tri-Nations Final Today

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Current Result:

• PAK Women Vs SL WomanPAK Women 123/10 Over - 47.1; Javeria 23; C. Polagampala 3/16SL Woman Over - PAK Woman won the toss elected to bat. (Grameenphone Womens Cricket Tri-Nations Series; Venue: SBNS; Date; 17th Feb-2009) Final

Big finale today
Experience meets enthusiasm

A DRESS REHEARSAL: Sri Lanka captain Sashikala Siriwardene (R) shakes hands with her Pakistan counterpart Urooj Mumtaz Khan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday ahead of today's Grameenphone Tri-Nation Women's Cricket Tournament final.Photo: STARAmeeruddin Zain

Experience will be the only differentiating factor when Pakistan meets Sri Lanka in the final of the GrameenPhone tri-nation Women's Cricket Tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

The islanders have a lot more international matches under their belt and go into the final with a clear psychological advantage having beaten Pakistan in both their previous games in the tournament.

It is a fact not lost on Pakis-tan captain Urooj Mumtaz Khan, who maintains that while both sides are evenly matched in skill levels, experience is the vital difference. But the Pakistan skipper is quick to state that in one-day cricket, anything can happen.

"Two teams can be different on paper but when you walk into a match, your days performance decides the outcome."

Reflecting on the two losses against Sri Lanka Urooj seemed quite unnerved. The right-hander has made her maiden international fifty against the islanders and their strengths in all departments of the game are well known to Pakistan, as they have played each other quite frequently in recent times.

Star off-spinner Javeria Khan concurs with her captain's view saying that the experience garnered from the tournament can help them pull off an upset in the final.

"Cricket is a funny game and anything can happen on a match day, a game can go either side so we will go into the final with the confidence that we have derived from our games so far, hence that gives us some self-assurance," said Javeria.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Sashikala Siriwardene regards the final as a completely fresh match, although she agrees with their role as favourites.

"It's a good thing that we are going into the match as favourites, but it will be a new match and more importantly our batsmen, are going into the game with a lot of confidence."

Both camps were fulsome in their praise of the tournament organizers and sponsors for providing excellent service and were particularly appreciative of the crowd that had turned up to cheer them on -- and thus provided support to women's cricket.

On the state of Bangladesh cricket, both teams were optimistic. Urooj said that the Bangladesh team were a good bowling and fielding unit, and picked out left-armer Champa Chakma for particular praise.

Siriwardene was slightly more guarded in her praise, saying that although the hosts had come a long way, their batting deficiencies were still quite evident. She went on to congratulate Bangladesh for pulling up an upset win over her charges.

Abahani finish in style

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Abahani finish in style:
Thanks for Champion Abahani Citicell B league Winner

Abahani midfielder Mamun performs a back flip after scoring his side's opening goal against Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society in their last Citycell B. League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Abahani celebrated their title triumph with a 6-3 thrashing of the old town outfit.

Abahani rounded off a championship-winning season in style by thumping Rahmatganj 6-3 in their final Citycell B. League game of the season at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Nigerian striker Emeka Christian struck an imperious hattrick as the Sky Blues set the record straight by thrashing a side who had beaten them 2-1 in the opening game of the season.

The result was only icing on the cake, and the poor turnout only validated that fact, as Abahani had already confirmed their second successive league title with a 2-1 win at Sheikh Russel in the previous matchday.

Away at Chittagong, league top-scorer Alamu Bukola struck twice as another popular Dhaka outfit Mohammedan finished runners-up after a 3-1 victory over Chittagong Abahani.

At the Bangabandhu National Stadium, with the title already in the bag Amalesh Sen's charges struck up a brand of exciting football with Emily, Zahed Parvez and Mamun also getting on the scoresheet alongside Emeka.

Rahmatganj replied through two Francis penalties while Hirok netted the other.

The big Nigerian, Emeka, a constant thorn in the side of other defences this year, finished with 17 goals, just one shy of Bukola who scored 18 for the season.

The only downside for the Sky Blues was that they celebrated the end of a successful campaign infront of a small crowd.

However, coach Amalesh Sen could not stop smiling.

"Our football standard has declined in the last few years and the country didn't see any action in the last season. So it's time to bring back the old crowd and I am hopeful," said Amalesh who had a poor start in the season when his side lost the curtain raiser Federation Cup.

"I think it's (the championship) totally a combined effort but if you want to single out any player, he is none other than Yussif (Samad)," said the veteran coach, praising his Ghanaian center-back.

In the end, it was Abahani's strength in depth that paid dividends as they managed to cover for lengthy absences of inspirational captain Arif Khan Joy, defenders Nazrul and Sujon and attacker Ujjal.

Abahani won the title with a six-point margin and their good management of resources contributed to that fact. They started the season in poor fashion but managed to come out on top in all the major battles of the season, disposing of Mohammedan, Russel and Brothers. In addition they also strung together a record nine-match winning run.

Amalesh also observed that his players have a better chemistry than the other teams.

"They have had very good understanding because they trained together for long," said Amalesh.

Abahani had continued their camp last season despite there were no action on the field.

Away at the MA Aziz Stadium, Dhaka Mohammedan had needed only one point to confirm the runners-up gong but came up all three when Bukola scored twice in the 3rd and 14th minutes and Hazem netted one in the 51st minute.

Mithun pulled back one for the local Abahani in the 23rd minute from a penalty to finish with 23 points.

In the day's other inconsequential match, Muktijoddha Sangsad finished with a 2-1 victory over Khulna Abahani at the Khulna Stadium.

Moni and Kanchan scored for the struggling Muktijoddha, who were lackluster in this season while Bhasani netted the lone goal for the losers.

Bottom-side Khulna have five points and Muktijoddha finished with 13 points to be placed 10th in the eleven-team fray.