Dhaka Premier League: BCB initiates investigation for potential Bubble breach

Rory Burns delighted to score century in front of family after 'quite a good day'

England opener Rory Burns had a good day at the office against New Zealand at Lord’s on Saturday after he struck his third Test ton during the first innings. Burns’ 132 played a crucial role in helping the home side come out of a tricky situation as they were once reduced to 140/6 in reply to New Zealand’s 378. The hosts eventually finished off the first innings at 275, trailing the Blackcaps by 103 runs. The left-handed batsman talked about his performance after the day’s play and also praised the New Zealand bowling attack. “I think they bowled really well today, they dried it up quite a lot of the time, so it was a bit of a grind. To get to where we got to in the end made it quite a good day,” he said. The opener notched up the century in front of his family and mentioning about the same, Burns expressed his delight and said it’s pretty special to achieve the feat. “My wife and Cora were here today, and it’s pretty special to get a hundred in front of them,” Burns added. “Getting dropped is not a nice thing but doing well on the next opportunity you’re given is. I got some good balls in India but you try to stay level. Today, you nick one, get dropped and you end up getting a hundred. It’s the flipside of the game, a double-edged sword at times,” he further said. New Zealand later began the proceedings for the second innings and they were 62/2 before the stumps were called on Day 4, leading England by 165 runs. Ollie Robinson, who made his debut for England in this match picked up both the wickets. The two sides are up against each other in a two-match Test series with the second encounter scheduled to take place in Birmingham from June 10.

ENG vs NZ | 1st Test Day 4: Rory Burns saves the day for hosts after Tim Southee's crafty fifer

A fighting hundred from opener Rory Burns and valuable partnerships from the lower-order batsmen saved England from slipping away in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s. For once, it appeared as if the Blackcaps duo of Tim Southee, who picked up his second five-wicket haul at Lord’s and Kyle Jamieson, who was shutting all his critics up with each dismissal will blow the hosts away in the fourth morning of the Test match, but Burns found a way around him and an able partner in Ollie Robinson to lead England’s riposte. The partnerships chipped away at the lead which once appeared to be insurmountable for the hosts but the visitors’ bowling attack that was sharp and threatening for the large part of the day along with the whole team faltered in the last phase of England’s first innings. New Zealand needed to avoid a collapse to ensure they would not go to Birmingham 0-1 down in the series and the opening pair of Devon Conway and Tom Latham started on a promising note once again. However, Ollie Robinson was far too accurate for them and ultimately sent the double centurion from the first innings Conway back to the pavilion to keep England in the hunt. Williamson has been such superb form for New Zealand in the last so many years but he failed on both occasion in this Test and his overseas numbers are becoming tough to digest for a player of his calibre. He too was undone by Robinson who looked set to make the most of the opportunity in the debut Test with a suspension hanging imminently over his head due to an act of past. England, as a bowling unit were superb in the precision with the line and length but could not breach Latham’s presence and the left-hander ensured that the Blackcaps will enter the fifth and final day of the Test with their noses in front of the hosts in the first Test. However, for the hosts, there was no bigger hero than Rory Burns, who resurrected both his Test career and England’s chances in the Test just from the brink. He was watchful was calculative in his strokeplay on the second day of the Test and the scrip never changed in the face of extremely disciplined bowling from Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson. Burns saw his skipper Joe Root walking back to the pavilion on the very first ball of the day that left him helpless around off stump but he was all at ease while facing the whole repertoire of an in-form Tim Southee who left no angles in the bowling crease underutilised. The English middle order crumbled with Ollie Pope not being able to extend his innings beyond some delightful boundaries and the new number six and seven —Dan Lawrence and James Bracey not being up to the task. Southee set Pope up with balls away from the off stump and dragging him away from the line of the stump and then hurling one back towards the middle stumps and catching him in front of the wicket on DRS. He induced a horrific drive off Lawrence who played a similar shot to one played by Zak Crawley on the second day to bring James Bracey to the centre while Southee was in mid of a dream spell. He could not deliver and did start his Test career in one of the most inauspicious manners. After Bracey’s departure, Burns stitched a valuable partnership with Robinson and led England’s fight against the visitors however his innings was not chanceless. He wandered out of the crease against Mitchell Santner but only to BJ Watling to miss the ball while attempting to stump him and Tim Southee-Ross Taylor combo dropping a catch they could have plugged in while sleeping off Neil Wagner. He reached his milestone in more than 200 deliveries and his contribution brought England some relief which was evident on the face of a passionate Chris Silverwood who may have enjoyed Burns’ hundred equally as the batsman. The match is likely to be heading towards a draw but a session of mad batting or bowling can change things quickly and both New Zealand and England will be wary of that aspect leading up to an all-important fifth day.

Fans want me to play in PSL 2021: Rashid Khan

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has decided to opt for PSL and put his contract with County side Sussex on hold. The right-arm bowler has stated that he has opted to be a part of the PSL for his fans. "Unfortunately, I only played two games in PSL 6 and had to go away for national duty. Now I had the option to stay back in England and here I must appreciate Sussex for their help and understanding as I had to decide between missing five games with the county or playing a whole tournament like PSL which seemed like a better option, especially as the fans wanted me to play in the PSL," said Rashid. The right-arm bowler further added that the PSL is a good opportunity for the Afghanistan players to compete with some of the best cricketers in the world and improve themselves. "All the players who have come from Afghanistan and are playing the PSL, this is a great opportunity for them to come and play alongside top players and to improve their own cricket,” he said. Talking about the pressure, the spinner was of the opinion that he is more focused on the process of getting better. ‘‘I don’t put too much pressure on myself by thinking about the expectations,” he said. ‘‘I want to concentrate on the process. If the process is right, the results will come automatically,’’ Rashid added. The PSL 2021 which was suspended in March due to Covid-19 cases within the franchise teams will now resume in Abu Dhabi on June 9. Earlier, the tournament had to resume in Karachi from June 1 with all the matches slated to take place at the same venue including the final but the franchises requested the PCB to move it out of Pakistan due to the Covid-19 condition in the country.

Quality fast bowlers are its gem: Faf du Plessis compares PSL and IPL

South Africa international Faf du Plessis, who has plied his trade in both Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League fees that in terms of talent, PSL has a great quality of fast bowlers while IPL offers greater variety in spin bowling. “The standard of PSL is really good and the thing that has impressed me the most about this tournament is the fast bowlers,” du Plessis said in an interview with Cricket Pakistan. “Coming from South Africa where you face a lot once, I was surprised to see the number of guys that could tick 140 plus in PSL,” he added. Talking about the IPL’s speciality, the 36-year-old Chennai Super Kings player said, “While India has a huge variety of spin to offer, the real gem of the PSL is its pace bowlers.” The former South Africa captain has travelled a lot for the franchise leagues and is now in UAE to play the PSL. In this Covid ridden world, du Plessis feels that more time is being spent quarantining than in nets. Du Plessis, who has so far played 246 T20s and scored more than 6000 runs, further explained what led to the bubble breach in IPL this year, which led to its suspension. “Travelling part of the IPL was where Covid-19 entered the bubble,” he said.