Cricket: Asia Cup to go ahead in Dhaka; Afghan team added

January 4, 2014

Asia_CupColombo, Jan 4: Asia's cricket chiefs on Saturday said violence-plagued Bangladesh would remain the venue for next month's Asia Cup and added Afghanistan as the fifth team in the regional one-day tournament.

Some observers had expected officials to move the tournament out of Bangladesh following an outbreak of violent protests and strikes in the capital Dhaka ahead of elections Sunday.

"The tournament will go ahead as scheduled in Bangladesh from February 25," Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief executive Ashraful Huq told AFP after an executive board meeting in Colombo.

"Everything is in place for the tournament, no one raised any issue about safety," Huq said, adding the Bangladesh Cricket Board had made a detailed security presentation at the meeting.

An ACC release said 11 matches will be played in the tournament with the final on March 8.

Election-related violence in Bangladesh has claimed more than 140 lives since late October, with opposition parties boycotting the polls and organising a series of blockades across the country.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had said on Thursday it was seeking its government's advice about sending a team for the Asia Cup due to the continuing political unrest in Bangladesh.

But Huq said Pakistan did not raise any security concerns at the meeting. "Pakistan have said yes, they have not said no," he said.

However, a Pakistan board source told AFP on Saturday that it will seek further clarification on the Asia Cup during a meeting of the International Cricket Council on January 9.

Afghanistan will join Asia's four Test nations - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - in the 50-over tournament, Huq added.

The fast-improving Afghanistan team, which has qualified for their maiden appearance in the 50-over World Cup, have also made it to their third successive World Twenty20.

"This is a big step forward for Afghanistan," Huq said. "Their participation in the Asia Cup will encourage them for the bigger tests ahead."

Bangladesh is also due to host the World Twenty20 tournament from March 16 to April 6.

The three venues chosen for the World Twenty20 - capital Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet - have all experienced violence over the past month.

An ICC spokesman told AFP last month that the world body was "actively monitoring" the situation in Bangladesh.

The danger posed to teams was underlined last month when a small bomb exploded outside the hotel of the West Indies Under-19 team in the port city of Chittagong, prompting them to cut short their tour.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka said it will go ahead with its month-long bilateral tour of Bangladesh from January 27 that features two Tests, two Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals.

"We pay great attention to player safety and security. We have been assured of that," Cricket Sri Lanka's secretary Nishantha Ranatunga told AFP.

"If we want cricket to continue in this region, we need to play in these (Asian) countries."

Sri Lanka's cricketers had been attacked by militants during a tour of Pakistan in March, 2009 while they were on their way to resume a Test match in Lahore.

"We have faced these (security) problems, Pakistan has faced these problems and now Bangladesh is facing them," Ranatunga said. "We must unite to face these challenges.

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Agencies
January 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Opening batsman Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the third-fastest batsman to register 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He achieved the feat in the ongoing third ODI against Australia here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Only Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have achieved the feat faster than Rohit.

Sharma brought up the milestone in the first over of the Indian innings as he clipped Mitchell Starc away for a single.

With this, the right-handed batsman has become just the sixth Indian to achieve the milestone.

Apart from Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar have more than 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, 20 batsmen have more than 9,000 ODI runs to their name.

In the match between India and Australia, the former won the toss and elected to bat first.

Steve Smith played a knock of 131 runs to propel Australia to 286/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

 

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Hamilton, Jan 30: Caught unaware about the Super Over scenario, Rohit Sharma took five minutes to “find” his abdomen guard after the third T20 International against New Zealand had ended in a tie on Wednesday.

The India vice-captain said the team had almost given up with New Zealand going great guns at one point.

“Everything was packed. All my stuff was inside my bag. I had to get it out. It literally took me five minutes to find my abdomen guard because I didn’t know where it was,” Rohit said.

“I mean we never thought it would go to the Super Over, the way they were batting at one point. It looked like they could easily win the game,” he added.

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