The England & Wales Cricket Board could be forced to put next summer’s disputed West Indies Test back out to tender

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2011The England & Wales Cricket Board could be forced to put next summer’s disputed West Indies Test back out to tender, after they appeared to undermine their own bid process by accepting an offer from Glamorgan that was up to 40% less than the £1million put forward by the MCC.In a situation described by one board spokesman as “very delicate”, the ECB’s apparent desire to bolster the appeal of Test cricket in Wales has hit a number of stumbling blocks, with last month’s Test against Sri Lanka resulting in a reported loss of up to £1.5million.Glamorgan bid a hefty £2.5 million for the Sri Lanka Test, but a combination of poor weather and spectator apathy left their chairman, Paul Russell, talking of a “conceptual difficulty” in marketing the game outside of England.A meagre 922 spectators witnessed England’s remarkable victory on the final afternoon of the match, and the size of the loss has raised concerns that the county would not be able to bear the costs of hosting another five-day Test in 2012.The simple solution would be for Glamorgan and MCC to instigate a straight swap, with Lord’s taking over the West Indies rights for 2012, and Cardiff picking up the visit of New Zealand in the Ashes summer of 2013. However, with MCC themselves nursing a loss of £2.5 million for 2010-11, their own preference would be for the process to be put back out to tender. Given the current economic climate, they could expect to gain the rights for a knock-down price.According to Hampshire’s chairman, Rod Bransgrove, whose own county hosts their first Test match at the Rose Bowl on Thursday, the problem of marketing five-day cricket might not be limited to Glamorgan. He suspected that, in the long term, the ECB’s current preference for seven Tests a summer might have to be reconsidered.”I do think that seven Test matches every summer is a big ask,” Bransgrove told ESPNcricinfo. “Audiences are beginning to show us that’s a difficult quantity to sustain. But I do think that there is ample international cricket to go round the nine grounds that we now have, even if it means that everybody won’t have everything they want every year.”The one surefire crowd-puller remains the Ashes, with Durham already selling tickets for their 2013 contest to ease their cash-flow problems, even though the dates of the series have yet to be announced. However, the arrival of India in the second half of this summer promises to be a windfall for the cash-strapped counties, with ticket sales already topping 700,000.

Three wickets from Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard helped his side begin their Friends Life t20 campaign with victory over the Northamptonshire

03-Jun-2011
ScorecardThree wickets from Leicestershire Foxes captain Matthew Hoggard helped his side begin their Friends Life t20 campaign with victory over the Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Wantage Road.The Steelbacks were restricted to 135 for 5 from their 20 overs, with South Africa international Johan Botha top-scoring in making 36 from 40 balls on his debut and Hoggard taking 3 for 21.The Foxes had little trouble in meeting their target with six deliveries and six wickets to spare, as veteran wicketkeeper Paul Nixon made 44 from 47 balls to help inflict Northamptonshire’s first defeat in any form of cricket this season.Northamptonshire won the toss and chose to bat but they lost Rob White for just a single at the start of the second over when he launched Harry Gurney to Will Jefferson, who was waiting at third man. The Foxes attack restricted the Steelbacks to 22 for 1 in the opening Powerplay and Botha survived a scare on 4 when he was dropped by Jefferson at mid-wicket off Claude Henderson.Chaminda Vaas had his middle stump sent tumbling by Hoggard before Botha then went very cheaply. He chipped Henderson straight to Hoggard, who took a straightforward catch at midwicket. James Middlebrook departed when former England bowler Hoggard’s delivery flicked off his pad and on to his off stump.Alex Wakely followed two balls later when he smashed the same bowler to Jacques du Toit at long leg after blasting 30 from 23 balls. Steelbacks captain Andrew Hall and David Willey survived the rest of the innings on 18 and 10 respectively as the hosts posted a target which looked attainable.Chasing 136, the Foxes had an early setback when they lost Australia international Andrew McDonald for 6 in the third over when he was bowled by Hall. Jefferson was the next to walk when he was caught and bowled by Vaas, but the Foxes had already opened with a faster run-rate than their opponents had managed.Josh Cobb clubbed 26 from just 15 balls before throwing his wicket away by hoisting Lee Daggett high into the air and White was waiting underneath it at mid-off. Nixon and James Taylor (36 not out) added 84 for the fourth wicket as they edged their way towards the target with minimal fuss.With the scores level, Botha bowled Nixon before Du Toit hit a clinching boundary off the same bowler through mid-on from the only ball he faced.

The longest day was over all too quickly for Hampshire as their relegation fears in the County Championship increased with a crushing nine-wicket defeat by Worcestershire at New Road

21-Jun-2011
Scorecard
The longest day was over all too quickly for Hampshire as their relegation fears in the County Championship increased with a crushing nine-wicket defeat by Worcestershire at New Road.The resurgent home team needed only two balls to take the remaining wicket as Hampshire’s second innings closed for 269 and captain Daryl Mitchell then made a half-century in clearing off a target of 106 in 24.5 overs.Unless there is a marked improvement in the second half of the season – and so far Hampshire are the only side without a win – it looks likely that England’s newest Test venue will be hosting Division Two cricket next year. The Rose Bowl was built with visions of staging international events and the county team winning titles, but this defeat – their fourth in seven games – has left Hampshire stranded at the bottom of Division One.In contrast, Worcestershire’s achievement in registering back-to-back victories in the top flight for the first time has transformed the prospects of a side who began the summer with six consecutive defeats.They are now out of the relegation positions, 36 points clear of Hampshire and also ahead of Yorkshire, and beginning to believe they can stay up for the first time, having gone down straightaway in three previous spells in Division One.Their cricket in this game was mostly strong and purposeful. Vikram Solanki ensured a big first-innings total with an eye-catching century and the bowlers did their job in dismissing Hampshire for fewer than 300 in both innings.Front-line seamer Alan Richardson got more out of the pitch than anyone, taking 9 for 114 in the match, and Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan claimed seven wickets in a one-off return to Championship action.Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal has now arrived to fill the overseas slot for the second half of the season and Worcestershire will be hoping he is as successful as Shakib was in the late charge to promotion last year.Richardson was denied an opportunity to take 10 wickets in a game for second time in a 16-year career when Imran Tahir top-edged a simple catch back to Shakib. This left Worcestershire virtually all day in which to complete the formalities but in practice the game was over before lunch as they took only 96 minutes to complete their 24-point maximum.The openers put on 62 before Matt Pardoe (19) was out in the 16th over, clipping a ball from Tahir to Jimmy Adams at short leg, and Mitchell carried on to reach 50 for the second time in the match. He was unbeaten with 57 after steering James Tomlinson to third man for the winning boundary, his eighth in all.

Benny Howell blasted an explosive half-century as the Hampshire Royals demolished the Northamptonshire Steelbacks by 174 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B match at Wantage Road

26-Jul-2011
ScorecardBenny Howell blasted an explosive half-century as the Hampshire Royals demolished the Northamptonshire Steelbacks by 174 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B match at Wantage Road.Howell smashed an unbeaten 84 runs off just 54 balls, including six fours and three sixes as the Royals piled on 307 for six from their 40 overs. Liam Dawson weighed in with 70, while David Lucas took five for 48 – his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket.The Steelbacks were woeful in response as they collapsed to 133 all out with Ben Howgego absent hurt as Chris Wood took three for 34 and only captain Andrew Hall’s 44 not out provided any resistance. The Royals won the toss and chose to bat and they started confidently before losing James Vince for 38 off 23 balls when he chipped Lucas straight to David Willey at extra cover.Lucas then accounted for Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams for 23 when he was caught by Willey at deep extra cover before he trapped Michael Carberry leg before wicket for a single. Former Zimbabwe international Sean Ervine bludgeoned 38 off 34 deliveries before launching James Middlebrook to Willey at long-off.Dawson reached 50 off 48 balls by smashing James Middlebrook for six over midwicket before he perished by top-edging Lucas to Evans at short third man.Dimitri Mascarenhas smashed 26 off just 16 balls before giving Lucas his five-for by launching him to substitute Rob Keogh at long-on. Howell then completed his half-century off 44 balls as the hosts conceded their highest total in a 40-over match.Chasing a mammoth 308, the Steelbacks lost Mal Loye in just the third ball of their reply when he was pinned lbw by David Griffiths before Rob White (six) swept Mascarenhas to Dawson at deep square leg.The hosts’ wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien walked on 22 as he mistimed his scoop shot off Wood and was easily caught by Ervine at backward point. Rob Newton (22) was next to fall when he chipped Wood to Vince at midwicket, before the same bowler bowled Middlebrook for a six-ball duck.Chaminda Vaas (one) continued the Steelbacks’ miserable procession when he was caught by Ervine at slip off Mascarenhas. Ervine was brought on in the 17th over and he forced both Willey (one) and Lucas (four) to edge to Royals wicketkeeper Michael Bates.With Howgego not fit enough to bat, the final nail in the coffin was hammered down when Luke Evans (18) launched Imran Tahir to Wood at long-on, sealing the hosts’ second-heaviest defeat in one-day cricket.

Simon Taufel has referred Phil Hughes’ lbw dismissal in the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia to the ICC as a serious question mark against the accuracy of Hawk-Eye, the ball tracking technology

Daniel Brettig in Galle02-Sep-2011Simon Taufel, the senior international umpire, has referred Phil Hughes’ second innings lbw dismissal in the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia to the ICC as a serious question mark against the accuracy of Hawk-Eye, the ball tracking technology. Taufel and the officiating umpires Richard Kettleborough, Aleem Dar and Tony Hill have have also sent the relevant footage of the incident to the ICC’s cricket operations department.Hughes was given out lbw on the second evening when he attempted to sweep Tillakaratne Dilshan. Replays indicated that the delivery had spun appreciably from around middle stump towards off, but the Hawk-Eye predicted path had the ball going straight on with the angle from round the wicket to to strike leg stump.Though he reviewed the decision, Hughes was sent on his way by umpire Kettleborough after consultation with third umpire Hill who is obliged to grant significant weight to the original decision made on the field when he decides whether to reprieve or dismiss a batsman.In Galle to conduct a third umpire accreditation seminar, Taufel has observed the first two days of the Test in part to assess the impact of technology’s inconsistent use and accuracy, having umpired in England’s home series against India under vastly different playing conditions and technological aids.Taufel told ESPNcricinfo that more needed to be done to prove the veracity of devices such as Hawk-Eye, HotSpot and Virtual Eye via independent testing that sits outside the views of broadcasters and suppliers.”Why can’t we tap into technology if the match official is missing a piece of information, and is it right that the match official has to make a decision before technology can be used?” Taufel said. “That’s a fundamental question I think we’re still working through. Under the current system we’re encouraged to make decisions and if a player feels they disagree with that then they’ve got the right to review. But if they get that wrong twice, then we can’t use technology anymore in that innings for that particular team.”They’re the parameters we’re working with and that’s the value we want to promote within the sport – do we just want to get the obvious mistake fixed up or do we want to get as many decisions right as possible? What are the technology tools we have to achieve that, and then how accurate are those tools? Have we really investigated that from an independent perspective, and have we got a categorical answer with that? Is it reliable on the day, rather than just relying on the provider of that technology to say ‘it is x-amount accurate and the result is right’ and we just take that on face value?”The third umpire’s job in particular has become increasingly difficult as each series brings a different set of parameters for reviewing decisions, and the technological means by which they may be reviewed. Taufel said players had also become confused on the field by the transient nature of rules relating to referrals and technology.”From the training perspective we did with the third umpire accreditation module it is very difficult, because there is no consistency of inputs,” Taufel said. “How do I train and develop a third umpire when I don’t know what technology tools are going to be available on the day?”From an umpiring perspective, as a third umpire, it is incredibly challenging here [in Sri Lanka] because the frame rates used by Ten Sports per second will be different to the ones used by Sky in Britain. There’s ultra-motion available in the UK, there’s none of that here. We have Hotspot in the UK, we don’t have Hotspot here. The camera rates used by Hawk-Eye here would be different to the camera rates used there.”Therein lies the challenge of consistency – how can you possibly expect consistent outputs if you’ve got inconsistent inputs? We’ve also noticed the players are somewhat confused as to what they can challenge and what they can’t. In the UK they couldn’t challenge lbws, they could only challenge caught decisions. Here we’ve gone back to a different system where you can challenge both.”Surely that’s got to be difficult for the players and the match officials to keep adjusting from series to series. Our message as umpires was rather strong at the ICC cricket committee meeting where we said, we either want to use everything or nothing at all, let’s try to make it consistently easier for everybody. That’s what we want to work towards.”

Cricinfo previews the Champions League match between Mumbai Indians and Trinidad&Tobago in Bangalore

The Preview by Sidharth Monga25-Sep-2011

Match facts

Mumbai Indians v Trinidad & Tobago, September 26
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)It must have been love: when Pollard and T&T first charmed the world•Global Cricket Ventures-BCCI

Big Picture

Two years ago a regional team from the Caribbean Islands entertained and captured the imagination of – at least – the Indian crowds. They played merry cricket, and their celebrations included national flags, something no other team in the Champions League had. They were almost the home team, and one man in particular, marauding runs, diving to pull off incredible catches and saves, became the darling of the crowds.Two years on, that man Kieron Pollard is the ultimate freelance cricketer. He plays Twenty20 cricket in India, Australia and England, sometimes even when West Indies are playing international cricket. When the said team, Trinidad & Tobago, were winning the Caribbean T20 this year – qualification for the Champions League qualifiers a by-product of that – Pollard was playing the Big Bash in Australia.Pollard and T&T raise the classical money-league questions. Was Pollard because of T&T or T&T because of Pollard? How much does Pollard owe T&T, his first team? Has he outgrown T&T? The two parties have followed the classical money-league solution too. They have both moved on seamlessly. Pollard plies his trade all around the world, and makes more money that he can imagine making with T&T. There is the general practical acceptance – at least on the surface – that making money through playing cricket is no sin.T&T too have got used to life without Pollard. They have put together another steady team playing merry and effective cricket, they have won the Caribbean T20 again, they were the best team in the Champions League qualifiers, and who should they face in their first match in the main draw? Pollard’s IPL side that is philosophically the exact opposite of T&T. Mumbai Indians have bought the finest players money could buy and auction would allow, they have bought the finest coaches the facilities, they have looked after their talent well, and when they were faced with a deluge of injuries they managed to even get the playing conditions twisted to accommodate five foreign players.

Watch out for …

Ravi Rampaul made it a habit to strike early during the past international season at home. The definition of “early” changes with Twenty20, but he has been doing it in the qualifiers, and will be crucial again, especially in Bangalore, a track not tailor-made for T&T’s slower bowlers.Lasith Malinga won Mumbai a game off his bat on Saturday; he bowled a few trademark yorkers too, but he will surely want to make bigger impact with the ball than 4-0-29-1, and T20 cricket knows he can.

Team news

T&T preferred the same XI in the qualifying leg, but given the better pace of the Bangalore pitch and the small boundaries they might want to add to the only specialist fast bowler, Rampaul.Mumbai don’t have too many choices with team selection, and are likely to retain their winning combination. The one concern for them is their South African opening batsman, Davy Jacobs, who is a doubtful starter after being stretchered off the field

Stats and trivia

• T&T have won nine of their last 10 completed T20 games.
• Malinga scored a third of his career runs, 37 out of 113, in his match-winning effort against Chennai Super Kings.

Quotes

“We are looking forward to meeting the Mumbai Indians with Kieron Pollard on board, and also the Chennai Super Kings with Dwayne Bravo on board, and we will be coming hard at them. We are hoping to pull off a victory over both teams, and the boys are looking forward to playing against players who were part of our set-up. I think getting victory over those guys in this tournament will be feathers in our caps.”

“I think this win will set the tone for us to go forward. We have won this game and this will definitely boost our confidence. We would like to stay very humble in the remaining matches, and do what we can do at our best.”

Thilan Samaraweera, the Sri Lankan middle-order batsman, has been left out of the 16-man squad for the three-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE in October and November

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2011Dinesh Chandimal has been recalled to Sri Lanka’s Test squad for the series against Pakistan in the UAE and is one of four wicketkeeper-batsmen in the 16-man party. Middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera, 34, and spinner Ajantha Mendis are the major omissions from the squad that lost 1-0 to Australia at home, while legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna was also left out.”Thilan will not come into the reckoning in our long term plans,” Duleep Mendis, the chairman of selectors, said. “We intend giving youngsters an opportunity while the seniors are around. He might be considered on a short-term basis.”Apart from Chandimal, who was part of the Test squad in England this summer but did not debut, fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep and another wicketkeeper-batsman Kaushal Silva were the two other uncapped players called into the side. Chandimal has played 12 ODIs and seven Twenty20s, though, and is presently representing Ruhuna in the Champions League Twenty20 in India. Neither Pradeep nor Silva has any international caps.Samaraweera scored only 86 runs at an average of 21.50 in the first two home Tests against Australia and was dropped for the third match at the SSC. Sri Lanka adjusted to his absence by batting the captain Tillakaratne Dilshan in the middle order while Lahiru Thirimanne opened with Tharanga Paranavitana. Dilshan is likely to continue batting in the middle order.Mendis did not play any of the Tests against Australia because of a back injury he sustained during the preceding ODI series and he remained unavailable for selection. Prasanna made his debut in the second Test in Pallekele and took 0 for 80 in the match.The squad contained five fast bowlers in Chanaka Welegedara, Suranga Lakmal, Dammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga and Pradeep and only two specialist spinners – Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv. Angelo Mathews was selected as a batsman because he was not yet fit to bowl.”Angelo has gone to Australia for treatment for his left knee and we will not risk bowling him in the series,” Mendis said.Sri Lanka play three Tests against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah starting on October 18.Squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews (vc), Tharanga Paranavitana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Rangana Herath, Suraj Randiv, Chanaka Welegedara, Suranga Lakmal, Shaminda Eranga, Dammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep, Kaushal Silva (wk).

The lawyer of Mohammad Asif grilled the prosecution’s chief witness – former journalist Mazhar Mahmood

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court12-Oct-2011The lawyer of Mohammad Asif grilled the prosecution’s chief witness – former journalist Mazhar Mahmood – as to whether he knew of any phone-hacking during his undercover investigation in the alleged spot-fixing trial on Wednesday. And he also became the latest to try to discredit agent Mazhar Majeed.It was the most fraught session so far in the six days of the trial, in which Salman Butt and Asif face charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.Alexander Milne QC, the barrister of Pakistan fast bowler Asif, quizzed Mahmood on how he came to begin his covert sting investigation. Mahmood replied that he had received information from a source (whose identity he kept secret), who he had known for a long time. He added there was an agreement that there would be payment to the source on publication of his information.Given the developments in this year’s closure of the , due to illegal phone-hacking methods used to acquire exclusive stories for the newspaper, Milne pressed Mahmood on whether he had any knowledge of hacking and whether the origin of his initial information come from hacked text messages.”Is this not hacked material?” Milne asked. “Downloading texts from a telephone without the knowledge of the person who owns that telephone is illegal.”Milne added: “I’m asking you if there is anybody at the who has hacked evidence that might be of relevance to this case and which would be disclosable?”Mahmood, speaking from behind a screen for the third consecutive day in the witness box and becoming slightly defensive because of the questioning, said: “I had no idea about any phone hacking…prior to doing anything with the information I received, I spoke to the lawyer at the newspaper.”Milne also suggested to Mahmood that he met with Asif after the controversy was published, while posing as a lawyer by the name of Imran Sheikh. Milne also suggested to Mahmood that he was spotted in Lahore between December and January earlier this year by Asif, despite telling the court he had not visited Pakistan in that time. Mahmood vehemently denied both suggestions and agreed to submit his passport to the court for checks.”Not only is he (Asif) a match-fixer, but he is a liar,” was one of Mahmood’s angry responses. “He’s been banged to rights as far as I’m concerned and I have no desire to meet him.”Milne opened his address by first asking Mahmood about his experiences with Majeed, the agent at the centre of the trial, and referred to a number of bizarre claims and boasts by Majeed, which was a similar line of questioning taken by the legal team of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt.In his line of questioning, Milne was implying that Mahmood should have realised Majeed was a fantasist. Milne suggested to Mahmood that “he made as much effort to impress you as you were to impress him, with all the names that were dropped”.Milne added: “He claimed to know everyone at Sky Sports, as well as Roger Federer and Brad Pitt…he had an Aston Martin, a fleet of cars and a big house. He was always ‘bigging’ himself up and told you his house cost £1.8 million.”Mahmood was asked by Milne whether he believed all of his boasts, to which Mahmood answered: “It was of no interest to us. I was only interested in the criminality of the people involved.”The case continues.

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has said his team’s batsmen have to be positive against spin if they are to get close to India’s first-innings score of 631 for 7 at Eden Gardens

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2011Richie Richardson, the West Indies manager, has said his team’s batsmen have to be positive against spin if they are to get close to India’s first-innings score of 631 for 7 at Eden Gardens. West Indies lost 16 wickets to India’s spinners R Ashwin and Prayan Ojha during their loss in Delhi and the way they handle them could be the key to avoiding another defeat.”We have to bat positively; if you are batting on a turning wicket and if you just stay in there the bowlers are going to get on top of you,” Richardson said after the second day of play in Kolkata. “You have to show intent and not just wait for bad balls as there aren’t going to be too many bad balls from India. You have got to take it to them. That is not to say you play rash shots; it’s just that you have to keep looking for ways to score runs.”West Indies lost two wickets in the 12 overs they had to negotiate at the end of the second day but Richardson remained confident his side could match India’s batting effort. He said his bowlers had not really bowled that badly and it was just the conditions that made it hard to take wickets, so there was no reason his batsmen should not post a big total.”We’ve just got to bat the way India batted. It’s a very good batting wicket. I noticed that the first day I came here. It’s not going to be easy and India’s bowlers are going to push us but I believe we have the ammunition to go out and bat for the next two days. Usually, when you think about such a big total you are going to go ‘Wow, that’s going to be difficult.’ But then you assess the situation and tell yourself we can do it too. If two guys get stuck in there and score centuries then you can bat yourselves to a very good position.”I wouldn’t say our bowling was not up to the mark. The India batsmen made full use of a very good batting track. It was always tough for our bowlers. They have bowled really well for the entire year; we haven’t let ourselves down.”Fourteen overs of play were lost due to poor light on the second day at Eden Gardens. Though the early finish might have come as a relief for West Indies who were tottering at 34 for 2, Richardson said he was in favour of using floodlights for Test cricket when needed.”I believe in using technology when it is going to assist you. When you have lights, you can use them. People want to see cricket and as a player you want to be out there as long as possible. If they have lights the only thing likely to make you come off is rain.”

A round-up of the second round of phase two matches in the National Cricket League

Mohammad Isam21-Dec-2011The match between Khulna and Sylhet ended in a draw in Chittagong and both teams remained in contention for the final.During the game, Enamul Haque jnr became the first Bangladesh bowler to take 300 first-class wickets when he picked up Khulna’s last second-innings wicket on the fourth morning. Al-Amin Hossain drove straight to Shaker Ahmed at mid-off to give Enamul the milestone. The next best is Mohammad Sharif with 272 wickets and Mohammad Rafique who has 237. Enamul finished the match with 7 for 171.After opting to bat, Khulna made 301 for 9 before declaring their first innings. Mithun Ali hammered 109 off 106 balls while the captain Tushar Imran struck a half-century. Sylhet replied poorly, declaring with a 50-run deficit on 251 for 9. Mithun scored a second ton in the game to become the fourth Bangladesh batsman to score two hundreds in a first-class game (after Minhazul Abedin, Javed Omar and Shahin Hossain). His innings, this time off 160 balls, led Khulna to 274, setting Sylhet a target of 322.Dollar Mahmud reduced Sylhet to 0 for 2 and then 30 for 4 before Rajin Saleh scored a half-century to lead his team to a draw.Centuries from Junaid Siddique and Jahurul Islam helped Rajshahi secure a nine-wicket victory against Dhaka Metropolis at the Sylhet Stadium.Saqlain Sajib took 5 for 59, while Mukhtar Ali claimed 4 for 47, to dismiss Dhaka Metropolis for 201 in their first innings. Junaid and Jahurul then made 161 and 167 as the defending champions Rajshahi declared on 404 for 5, with a 203-run lead.Mehrab Hossain jnr scored a century in Dhaka Metropolis’ second innings, but there was little support for him apart from Mohammad Ashraful’s 69. Farhad Reza and Mukhtar Ali took four wickets each to dismiss the Dhaka side for 274, leaving Rajshahi’s batsmen with a target of 72. They chased it down in 10.3 overs.