Bangladesh spinners have Windies in trouble

Bangladesh, fresh from their first overseas Test win, spun their way into a strong position on the first day of the second Test against a makeshift West Indies [ Images ] team in an almost empty stadium. 

With tour captain and seamer Mashrafe Mortaza [ Images ] ruled out with injury, Bangladesh went into the game with three spinners and, after putting in West Indies, the trio collected three wickets each as the hosts were dismissed for 237.

West Indies, again missing their leading players who are striking in a dispute over contracts and payments, collapsed after a good start. Travis Dowlin top scored with 95.

As in St.Vincent though, local fans showed little interest in watching what could not even be called a second-string West Indies team.

The day started brightly for Floyd Reifer's side with openers Dale Richards and Omar Phillips making a positive start before Bangladesh, who must have been delighted to see another turning track, switched to spin.

Phillips drove stand in skipper Shakib Al Hasan to Tamim Iqbal to leave West Indies at 60 for one in the 13th over.

Richards powered on though, making his first test half-century but the introduction of Mohammed Mahmudullah - the match-winner last week - turned the innings in Bangladesh's favour.

Richards crashed Mahmudullah's second ball for six but then gave the off-spinner a simple caught and bowled - two balls later, Ryan Hinds, brought in to strengthen the batting doled up an almost identical catch to the spinner.

After lunch, West Indies again showed their inability to deal with the slow turning ball - Reifer was trapped leg before to Mahmudullah and then Dave Bernard woefully sliced Al Hasan to Mohammed Ashraful at point.

Enamul Haque, brought in for Mortaza, had Darren Sammy lbw and then had West Indies keeper Chadwick Walton with the worst shot of the day - a half-hearted mis-timed slog to Ashraful at mid-on.

Dowlin got a little support from the tail but then brought a close to the innings, five short of his maiden test century when he was superbly caught by Tamim Iqbal at cover off Al Hasan.

Bangladesh lost opener Imrul Kayes, caught behind off Sammy, as they moved to 35 for one in the ten over session before the close.

Scorecard

  West Indies (1st innings):
 D. Richards c & b Mahmudullah 69
 O. Phillips c Tamim Iqbal b Shakib Al Hasan 23
 T. Dowlin c Tamim Iqbal b Shakib Al Hasan 95
 R. Hinds c & b Mahmudullah 2
 F. Reifer lbw b Mahmudullah 1
 D. Bernard c Ashraful b Al Hasan 17
 D. Sammy lbw b Haque 1
 C. Walton c Ashraful b Haque 2
 R. Austin hit wicket b Hossain 19
 T. Best b Haque 0
 K. Roach not out 4
 Extras: (lb-1, nb-3) 4
 Total: (all out, 76.1 overs) 237

 Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-104, 3-106, 4-114, 5-157, 6-158, 7-160, 8-219, 9-220

 Bowling: S.Hossain 9-2-30-1 (nb-2), R.Hossain 6-0-27-0 (1nb), E.Haque 24-2-62-3, S. Al Hasan 21.1-7-59-3, M.Mahmudullah 13-2-44-3, M.Ashraful 3-0-14-0.

 Bangladesh (1st innings):
 Tamim Iqbal not out 14
 Imrul Kayes c Walton b Sammy 14
 Enamul Haque not out 5
 Extras: (lb-1, w-1) 2
 Total: (one wicket, 10 overs) 35

 Fall of wickets: 1-26

 To bat: Zunaed Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful [ Images ], Raqibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammed Mahmudullah, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain.

 Bowling: Roach 3-0-14-0 (1w), Best 4-0-16-0, Sammy 3-1-4-1

Rain disrupts the play--- breaking the heart of 14 crores of Bangladeshi

West Indies 141/4 (35.2 ov)

Bangladesh 

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field

Match delayed by rain - Day 1 
West Indies RR 3.99
Last 10 ovs 33/1 RR 3.30
Min overs remaining 55.4  
Refresh scorecard 
 Current time: 13:25 local, 17:25 GMT Test career
 Batsmen Runs B 4s 6s SR This bowler Last 10 ovs Mat Runs HS Ave  
 *David Bernard (rhb) 11 30 0 0 36.66 4 (12b) 11 (30b) 3 127 53 42.33  
 Travis Dowlin (rhb) 34 59 3 0 57.62 12 (26b) 21 (26b) 2 75 34* 37.50  
   
 Bowlers O M R W Econ 0s 4s 6s This spell Mat Wkts BBI Ave  
 *Shakib Al Hasan (sla) 11.2 4 45 1 3.97 52 7 1 5.2-2-16-0 14 41 7/36 31.04  
 Enamul Haque jnr (sla) 11.0 1 34 0 3.09 46 3 0 2-0-4-0 14 35 7/95 43.80

Real want early games

Afp, Madrid

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wants to bring forward the club's matches, which are usually played at night, to the afternoon to boost its international television audience, especially in Asia, sports daily AS reported Thursday.

Perez will try to convince Spanish league officials and television stations to allow Real matches to be staged at 3 pm (1300 GMT) in winter and an hour later in the spring, a move which would likely lead to a drop in ratings for matches in Spain.

But the paper said the change would boost the live global audience for Real matches to 1.8 billion from the current 800 million, due largely to a jump in the number of viewers in Asia who would now be able to watch matches in the evenings.

Real has spent over 200 million euros (280 million dollars) on new recruits, including Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, since Perez returned to the helm of the club last month and he sees the match timetable change as a way to make more profits off of the club's star signings, it added.

Real, like its mains rivals Barcelona, have stepped up their marketing efforts in recent years to develop their brand in Asia and repeat the success with English Premier League teams, which play in the afternoon, have had in the region with sales of jerseys and advertising revenues.

Ronaldo and Kaka are very popular throughout Asia. Barcelona's cross-town rivals Espanyol, meanwhile, have signed Japanese international midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura from Celtic in a move seen as an attempt to boost its Asian appeal.

Earlier this month the Tourism Panel, a trade body which groups about 30 major Spanish tourism-related companies, predicted that Real's recruitment of stars like Ronaldo and Kaka would lead a rise in the number of visitors from Asia to Spain.

Tigers chase a dream Second Test against WI starts today

Flintoff to retire from Test cricket

Andrew Flintoff has announced that he will retire from Test cricket at the end of this Ashes summer, although he still intends to make himself available for Twenty20 and ODI cricket, and is expected to be fit for tomorrow's second Test against Australia. 



Flintoff, who has missed 25 of England's last 48 Tests through a variety of injuries, suffered another fitness scare on the eve of the Lord's Test, when he reported soreness and swelling in the same right knee that required surgery back in April, after he tore his meniscus while playing in the IPL. 


"It's not something I have just thought of overnight, it's something that's been on my mind for a while regarding this series," said Flintoff. "With the knee flaring up again and getting the injections on Monday, now is a time I felt comfortable with doing it. There's been a lot of speculation over my future for the past few weeks, so I wanted to get it out there, and concentrate on playing cricket. 

"I've had four ankle operations and knee surgery, so my body is telling me things, and I'm actually starting to listen. I can't just play games here and there while waiting to be fit. For my own sanity, and for my family's, I've got to draw a line under it. I've been going through two years of rehab in the past four, which is not ideal." 


Prior to England's practice session on Wednesday morning, Flintoff gave the team talk in a sombre atmosphere, and afterwards Paul Collingwood immediately came up and shook him by the hand. "Freddie simply said that these four Tests would be his last in Test cricket," a team insider told Cricinfo. Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said the team were saddened, though not surprised, about Flintoff's decision to stand down from Test cricket. 

"As players we've had a feeling this would come sooner rather than later," Strauss said. "We feel sad he's had to make this decision at his age, but we're sure it will motivate him even more for this series." 

The knee injury that has threatened his participation at Lord's followed a spirited performance in the first Test at Cardiff, in which Flintoff bowled 35 overs but was once again under-rewarded with figures of 1 for 128. Strauss was optimistic on Wednesday that Flintoff will come through a fitness test and make himself available for selection, and he was seen skipping during England's warm-up in the indoor nets, before padding up for batting practice, then sending down a few pacey overs on the outdoor nets. 

"The indications are that he's going to be fine," Strauss said. "He had a good bowl today, we just need to see how he reacts to what he did today before we can be 100% sure. At this stage we are hopeful but we can't be sure. 


A decade of frustration

1999 Returns early from South Africa with broken foot.
2000 Back injury ends Pakistan tour.
2002 Delays a hernia operation to try and complete India Test series but still misses final Test. Later returns from Ashes tour with groin problem.
2003 Plays in the World up, but misses Zimbabwe Tests back in England with shoulder injury after being hit in the nets by Sajid Mahmood.
2003 Ruled out of the two-Test series in Bangladesh, but returns for the one-dayers.
2005 Returns from South Africa in January and misses one-day series to have ankle surgery. Is fit in time for the home season including the Ashes.
2006 After captaining England against Sri Lanka in Test series he is out for 12 weeks after ankle surgery and misses rest of the summer. Returns in Champions Trophy as a batsman and leads England in the Ashes.
2007 More surgery to his left ankle after the World Cup and misses most of the home season before returning for the one-day series against India. However, he can't play all seven games due to a recurrence of the problem.
2007 Takes part in the ICC World Twenty20 but barely limps through it. Following the tournament he goes under the knife again and misses rest of the winter.
2008 Was set to return against New Zealand in the home series but strains his side playing for Lancashire. Comeback delayed until second Test against South Africa at Headingley.
2009 Returns from West Indies after the third Test with a hip injury but rejoins the tour for the one-day series.
2009 Returns from South Africa after his IPL stint with Chennai Superkings was cut short by a torn meniscus in his right knee. Subsequently misses the World Twenty20.
2009 Injury scare following the first Ashes Test in Cardiff after Flintoff has soreness and swelling in the knee.





"When you go in with three seamers, you've got to expect all three to bowl a lot of overs. Fred understands that, but this week in all likelihood there will be four seamers and maybe [they] won't have quite as big a workload. We'd never play any bowler in a Test match who we didn't think could contribute as fully as anyone else." 

Though he acknowledged that Flintoff's overall statistics do not bear greatness, Strauss lauded Flintoff's effect on the modern game. 

"He's had a dramatic impact in English cricket over the past few years, in the style with which he's batted, and for a long period he's been one of the bowlers in world cricket that batters least like facing, although the figures maybe don't show that," Strauss said. "And also as a personality, he's done a huge amount for cricket in the way he's played with a smile on his face. Test cricket will miss him, there's no doubt about that. I'm sure he'll go out in a style that befits his quality, with a bang, with big performances, and with some stories to tell at the end." 


Regardless of his immense stature in the England dressing-room, the statistics of Flintoff's recent form and impact on the Test side are not flattering. Since the 2005 Ashes, he has averaged 28.25 with the bat and 34.68 with the ball in 23 Tests (both figures down on his overall Test record of 31.69 and 32.51), and he has not managed a century or five wickets in an innings in any series since then. 


Moreover, he has been unable to impose himself on matches in the same way that he did in his 2005 pomp. Although some leeway has to be made for the quality of the opponents he has faced - Flintoff has often been recuperating during low-key series in preparation for the marquee events - the statistics paint a sorry tale. In the 25 matches that Flintoff has missed since 2005, England have won 12, drawn 10 and lost on only three occasions. In the 23 matches in which he has been present, those numbers are almost exactly reversed - won 3, drawn 7, lost 13. 


"Being part of an Ashes-winning team was very special, and so was beating everyone in the world for a period of time, and playing a major part in that," said Flintoff. "I'd have liked my career to kick on after that, but being a professional rehabber for two years makes it pretty difficult to do that. It would have been nice if it had carried on a bit longer, but I've no regrets. I'm happy." 


Flintoff received a cortisone injection on Monday, and is sure to play through the pain if he has to. "For the next four Test matches I'll do everything I need to do to get on a cricket field and I'm desperate to make my mark," he said. "I want to finish playing for England on a high and if you look at the fixtures going forward, the way my body is suggests I won't be able to get through that." 

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo
 Feeds: Andrew Miller

Mahmudullah triple rocks WI

West Indies were pegged back by a twin strike from Mahmudullah in the penultimate over prior to lunch, after Dale Richards had hit an attractive fifty to get them off to a good start. 

West Indies were cruising at 104 for 1 when Mahmudullah lured Richards, who had just hit a six, to drive loosely back to him. One ball later, Mahmudullah induced the same mistake from Ryan Hinds to lead Bangladesh's revival. 

Until then, Richards had seized the advantage for West Indies with his positive strokeplay. Richards drove, cut and pulled his way to an attacking half-century. The seamers - Shahadat Hossain and Rubel Hossain - tried to hit the full length on a damp pitch but there wasn't much seam movement on offer. Richards took full toll. He started with couple of fluent drives and a smashing pull against Rubel before lifting the same bowler to the long-on boundary. He tried to impose himself against the spinners as well. He cut and pulled Shakib Al Hasan but the highlight was a lofted hit over long-on against the same bowler. He looked good when he got on to the front foot against spin, and had a few iffy moments when he went back to arm-deliveries from Shakib and Enamul Haque Jr. 


Omar Phillips, the other opener, played a strange little innings. He was a pale shadow of the batsman who made the highest score for West Indies in the last Test. He kept edging the seamers and struggled against spinners, and played some poor cricket to get out. He had just been dropped at mid-on but he tried to go for another big shot in the same over and holed out to deep midwicket.

Katich and Hussey settle Australia

The Bulletin by Alex Brown at Lord's

July 17, 2009

Tea Australia 87 for 2 (Katich 40*, Hussey 37*) trail England 425 (Strauss 161, Cook 95, Anderson 29, Hilfenhaus 4-103) by 338 runs

Michael Hussey and Simon Katich guided Australia through a treacherous, rain-interrupted second session, but still have quite the mountain to climb to reel in England's intimidating first-innings total. The Australian pair endured two rain delays and a testing period of short-pitched bowling from Stuart Broad to head into the final session with an unbroken 77-run partnership. 


Hussey, who has not posted a Test century since Australia's tour of India last year, was the more assertive of the pair, pulling with authority and driving when the bowlers allowed. Katich, meanwhile, was watchful after surviving a torrid early exchange in which Phillip Hughes and Ricky Ponting fell to James Anderson. 

The latter dismissal was a contentious one, and left Ponting decidedly unamused after being ruled out to a delivery he missed by a considerable margin. Playing across a sharp, slanting offering from Anderson, Ponting struck the instep of his shoe as the ball threaded the gap between bat and pad and lobbed to Andrew Strauss at first slip. Rudi Koertzen, officiating in his 100th Test, asked the third umpire, Nigel Llong, whether the ball had carried to Strauss, and subsequently ruled him out for two. A sizeable dollop of luck had gone the way of the English. 

Ponting's dismissal followed that of Hughes, who gloved an Anderson delivery to Matt Prior down the leg side. Hughes, whose run-scoring exploits for Middlesex prompted many to predict a profitable Ashes campaign, has yet to make his mark in the series, and will be most disappointed to have lost his wicket to a relatively unthreatening delivery. 

Katich and Hussey safely negotiated the final five overs to lunch, only to find themselves ordered back to the field to meet the Queen, along with their team-mates. It is uncertain whether Her Majesty ordered Katich to get a wriggle on - she spoke with him longer than any other player on her rounds - but the batsman certainly looked to attack more frequently during the second session, particularly against the unconvincing Broad. 

Katich and Hussey plundered 11 runs from Broad's final three deliveries before the second rain delay, moving Australia within sight of the half-century mark. They continued in a similar vein through to tea, which was taken at 4.20pm on account of the rain delays. In all, the players were off the field for 78 minutes during the second session, with play extended to 7.40pm. 


Earlier, Ben Hilfenhaus led a resounding Australian fightback in the first hour of play, seizing two quick wickets as England's first innings was closed out for a solid, though hardly impregnable, 425. Hilfenhaus claimed the vital scalp of Strauss with his second ball of the morning, then followed with that of Broad, as the hosts lost their final four wickets for 61 before the first drinks break. 

The events of Friday morning stood in stark contrast to the corresponding session on Thursday, during which Strauss and Alastair Cook sprinted to 129 without loss at lunch, as part of an historic 196-run opening stand. Thereafter, England squandered a prime opportunity to bat the Australians out of the match, losing their last six wickets for 123. 

Hilfenhaus began Australia's second day resurgence with a brilliant, swinging delivery that pegged back the off-stump of Strauss for 161. Speaking after stumps on Thursday, the England captain had emphasised the importance of batting through the first session of the second day, only to be undone by the aerial movement of Hilfenhaus, who obtained more new-ball swing in 30 minutes than either side managed in the entire first Test. 

Peter Siddle accounted for Graeme Swann nine balls later, using both angle and the Lord's slope to coax the batsman into a false stroke. Hilfenhaus then removed Broad in the next over - the third English wicket to fall in 15 minutes - en route to figures of 4-103, his best in Test cricket. 

Australia did not have it all their own way, however. As was the case in Cardiff, England's 10th wicket partnership proved problematic, as Anderson and Graham Onions added 47 valuable runs. With Siddle taken from the field with illness - effectively reducing Ponting to just two frontline bowling options, given Hauritz's dislocated finger from the previous day - England's tail enders took the attack to the out-of-sorts Johnson. He eventually accounted for the wicket of Anderson for 29, but not before his figures had swollen to 3-132 from 21.4 overs. 

Alex Brown is deputy editor of Cricinfo