West Indies’ Marquino Mindley tests Covid-19 positive in red ball training camp

WTC Final: Commentators averse to travelling to England

As the World Test Championship Final is approaching, the International Cricket Council has its task cut out to find commentators for the showpiece event. However, the two teams involved in the match, New Zealand and India might not be able to get commentators from their own nation for the prestigious occasion, as they are not willing to undergo 10 days of quarantine for five days of commentating. “Quite a few commentators from India and New Zealand have said no to ICC and Sunset+Vine, the company that produces global cricket events, as on-ground commentary duties in the World Test Championship final would mean a 10-day quarantine for a five-day stint at best,” Cricbuzz reported. Two Indian and one New Zealander though have confirmed their presence even as ICC awaits confirmation from the most dramatic voice from the 2019 World Cup Final. “Sunil Gavaskar and Dinesh Karthik are understood to be the only two Indians on the panel that will also feature New Zealand's Simon Doull. There is no confirmation if Ian Smith, whose commentary was one of the highlights of the 2019 World Cup, will join too,” the report said. To overcome the lack of commentators, the ICC is expected to rope in England’s Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain as neutral voices for the game. The WTC final would begin on June 18 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

BAN vs SL 1st ODI- Exceptional all-round showing help hosts take 1-0 lead

Hosts Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the 3 match ODI series against Sri Lanka after winning the series opener by 33 runs. The match went on despite a covid scare early on and in the end it was a brilliant all-round performance from the hosts. The target of 258 proved to be way too much in the end for the visitors as they were bowled out for 224 in the 49th over. The visitors started off briskly courtesy some exceptional shots from the blade of Danushka Gunathilaka. A good start was neutralised by Mehidy Hasan when he prized out Gunathilaka. The visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals which never really allowed them to press on the accelerator. With Sri Lanka down and out sliding down the barrel, it was Wanindu Hasaranga who gave the visitors an array of hope with a brilliant knock. The all-rounder looked in superb touch and shared some important stands down the batting order. Hasaranga smashed his way to a 60 balls 74 which was studded with 3 fours and 5 sixes. However, he never got ample support from the other end which meant that Sri Lanka was always playing catch. Eventually, they were skittled out for 224 in the penultimate over to hand Bangladesh a convincing 33 runs victory in the end. Off-spinner Mehidy had a ball with the ball returning with figures of 4/30 in his allotted 10 overs. Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman carried on the good work in the IPL and ended with three crucial wickets. Earlier in the day, it was Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal who won the toss and opted to bat. Bangladesh were pegged early as Liton Das in the 2nd over of the match by a good delivery from Dushmantha Chameera. Shakib Al Hasan who was batting at No 3 for the first time since a dream run in the 2019 World Cup struggled his way to a 34 balls 15 which included a couple of fours. It was the partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim which got Bangladesh back into the game. Tamim Iqbal looked in sublime touch and despite the sluggish track, both the batsmen looked in complete command of proceedings. Tamim was dismissed soon after completing a well-deserved half-century. It was Dhananjaya de Silva who helped the Lanks storm their way back into the game with wickets of Tamim and Mohammad Mithun in consecutive deliveries. Rahim who looked a class apart continued the good work and help Bangladesh steady the ship with a sensible partnership with Mahmudullah. Rahim executed the big shots to perfection and went onto register yet another half-century. A partnership of 109 runs laid the foundation for a grandstand finish. Rahim was eventually dismissed on 84 of 87 deliveries by Lakshan Sandakan. Mahmudullah also looked in great touch completing a well-deserved half-century. Eventually, it was Afif Hussain who provided a much-needed impetus towards the last few overs. The southpaw breezed his way to 27 of just 22 deliveries which eventually propelled Bangladesh to a score of 257 in their allotted 50 overs. The score proved to be enough in the end as the hosts took a 1-0 lead. Brief Scores Bangladesh 257/6 in 50 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 84, Mahmudullah 54, Tamim Iqbal 52, Dhananjaya de Silva 3/45) Sri Lanka 224 all-out in 48.1 overs (Wanindu Hasaranga 74, Mehidy Hasan 4/30, Mustafizur Rahman 3/34) Bangladesh won by 33 runs

Bilateral series between Ban & SL to go ahead as scheduled: BCB president

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan has said that the bilateral tie with Sri Lanka will go ahead as per schedule despite the Covid-19 scare and further added that there is nothing to panic about. "It can happen at times (someone getting positive) but there is a protocol in place... what we need to do and how many times we need to do the test to make sure that he is negative," Nazmul said at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday (May 23). "We are following the protocol and we feel nothing serious happened that we need to panic.” Three members of theSri Lankan contingent, Chaminda Vaas, Isuru Udana and Shiran Fernando had tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. While Vaas and Udana returned with negative tests on Sunday, Fernando was found to be positive for the virus for the second time and was put into isolation. "But definitely we will increase our vigilance. He (Fernando) recovered from Covid very recently, the PCR may have detected the dead RNA from the virus, many individuals have it on them up to 28 days," Nazmul said. The home side went 1-0 up later in the day in the three-match series after beating Sri Lanka by 33 runs in Dhaka. Chasing a stiff total of 258, the visitors were bundled out for 224. Wanindu Hsaranga top-scored with 74 while no other batsmen really got into the groove. For Bangladesh, it was Mehidy Hasan who returned with a four-wicket haul while Mustafizu Rahman picked up three wickets. Earlier, the hosts rode on some piece of batting from Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah to manage 257/6 in 50 overs. All the three batsmen notched up a half-century each. The remaining two ODIs will be played on Tuesday and Friday respectively at the same venue.

Mustafizur Rahman makes fine return after limping off the ground

Bangladesh suffered a huge blow during the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Dhaka after left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman had to leave the field during the 39th over. Mustafizur fell down during his followthrough on the sixth delivery of the over that eventually went for a wide. With the visuals, it looked as it was his calf that was troubling and the fast bowler was taken off the field. He later came back on the field and picked up a crucial wicket of Isuru Udana who was dismissed for 21 off 23. Earlier, in the day, after batting first, Bangladesh compiled a total of 257/6 in 50 overs. The hosts lost opener Liton Das early in the innings but Tamim Iqbal and Shakib steadied the ship for the side to put up a partnership of 38 runs for the second wicket. Shakib though departed for 15 while Tamim continued with his form and notched up a half-century. But a couple of wickets on the trot pushed the home side on the backfoot. Bangladesh were 99/4 when Mushfiqur Rahim was joined by Mahmudullah and the two batsmen then stitched a stand of 109 runs for the fifth wicket. Mahmudullah scored 54 while Rahim notched up 84 during the course. Dhananjaya de Silva was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka as he scalped a three-for and eventually returned with figures of 3/45 in 10 overs. The remaining two matches of the three-match series will take place on Tuesday and Friday respectively at the same venue. The ODI series between the two teams was under dark clouds after three members of the Sri Lankan contingent and Bangladesh team’s bus driver had tested positive for Covid-19. The three members included Shiran Fernando, Chaminda Vaas and Isuru Udana. Vaas and Udana had returned with positive tests on Saturday and then with negative tests on Sunday while Fernando returned with positive results on both the instances and has been put into isolation.