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England pick Brook instead of Roy for World Cup title defence

Published

1 week ago

September 18, 2023

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England pick Brook instead of Roy for World Cup title defence

England named batter Harry Brook at the expense of Jason Roy on Sunday in the squad for their 50-over World Cup title defence.

Brook, who was left out of England’s provisional World Cup squad, made the cut despite a string of failures in the recent series against New Zealand.

But he was impressive in the Indian Premier League and the Hundred so skipper Jos Buttler has kept faith with the 24-year-old, saying last month the door was not closed for Brook.

Dawid Malan, who plundered 277 runs in three ODIs against New Zealand to be named player of the series, also made the squad and is a firm favourite to open the batting for England.

With Roy sidelined due to a back injury, Malan opened the batting against New Zealand and the 36-year-old became the joint-fastest Englishman to get to 1,000 ODI runs, reaching the mark in 21 innings to match Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott.

“We have selected a squad we are confident can go to India and win the World Cup,” England men’s national selector Luke Wright said in a statement.

“We are blessed with an incredibly strong group of white-ball players which was underlined by the performances in the series win against a very good New Zealand team.

“The strength of the group has meant that we have had to make some tough decisions on world-class players, with Jason Roy missing out and Harry Brook coming into the squad.”

Roy, who was an integral part of the England side which won the 2019 World Cup, gave up his incremental contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in May to play more franchise cricket.

England all-rounder and test captain Ben Stokes also returns having reversed his decision to retire from ODIs.

Stokes, who starred in England’s victorious 2019 campaign on home soil, warmed up for the World Cup by smashing 235 runs in three innings against New Zealand.

It included a knock of 182 off 124 deliveries — England’s highest individual ODI score ever — in the third match earlier this week.

Bowlers Adil Rashid and Mark Wood were injury doubts but both were named in the squad.

England begin their World Cup defence with the first match of the tournament when they take on New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Oct. 5 in a rematch of the 2019 final.

England squad:

Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes

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Bangladesh name Najmul captain for third New Zealand ODI

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2023

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Bangladesh name Najmul captain for third New Zealand ODI

Bangladesh named batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto captain for the third one-day international against New Zealand and brought several senior players back.

Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam join Najmul for the must-win contest at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.

New Zealand are leading the three-match series 1-0 thanks to their 86-run win in the second match on Saturday, the side’s first win against Bangladesh in the country in nearly 15 years.

The first match was washed out by rain.

The Kiwis last beat Bangladesh in their own backyard in October 2008.

They then lost the next two series in 2010 and 2013, respectively, by 4-0 and 3-0.

Over that period, New Zealand’s only ODI victory in Bangladesh came against South Africa in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final.

Bangladesh rested Liton Das, Tamim Iqbal, Khaled Ahmed, Soumya Sarkar, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tanzim Hasan, who all played in the second match against New Zealand.

Regular captain Shakib Al Hasan did not play any part of the series. In the absence of Shakib and Liton, Najmul is now set to become the 16th ODI captain for Bangladesh.

The series is the last for both teams ahead of the upcoming World Cup in India, which opens on October 5.

Squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Anamul Haque, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Rishad Hossain.

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Sports

Naseem Shah likely to undergo shoulder surgery

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2023

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Naseem Shah likely to undergo shoulder surgery

Pakistan’s pace icon Naseem Shah, who was injured in the match against India in the Asia Cup, is likely to undergo shoulder surgery.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Shah had been asked for the shoulder surgery following his medical examination and consultation with experts. It is expected that recovery of fast bowler will take four months.

Also Read: Naseem Shah bowls Indian girl over with ‘charming look’

Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Team chief selector Inzamamul Haq had also mentioned the health of Shah while he was announcing the squad for the ICC World Cup.

Also Read: Naseem Shah does it again as Pakistan win last-over thriller against Afghanistan

Naseem Shah, who is not part of the World Cup 2023 squad expressed his dismay through his Tweet.

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Shah mentioned that “With a heavy heart, I’m sharing that I will not be part of this amazing team that will be representing our beloved country. While I’m disappointed, I believe everything is in Allah’s hands. InshahAllah will be on the field very soon.”

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Sports

Leather, willow and sunflowers: China gets to grip with cricket

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2023

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Leather, willow and sunflowers: China gets to grip with cricket

There’s a reverential hush from the respectful crowd as Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal opens the bowling to Bangladesh’s Shathi Rani in the Asian Games women’s bronze medal match in Hangzhou.

The sound of leather on willow echoes around the purpose-built cricket ground, which until recently was full of sunflowers.

The atmosphere is more village green than the fever pitch of, say, Pakistan’s Gaddafi Stadium, but the few hundred spectators are fully engaged — even if many admit to never seeing the game before.

Almost entirely Chinese, the crowd “oohs and aahs” and clap when a wicket falls, cheer every boundary and then look bewildered when a loud lbw appeal pierces the serenity of the Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT) Cricket Field.

“I didn’t ever see cricket before so I was interested to know more about this sport,” said spectator Huang Dapeng, who runs his own business in Hangzhou. “I’m starting to understand it a little, but I am really enjoying it anyway.” A few have some knowledge of the game and seem captivated.

“I travelled to Sri Lanka before and a friend invited me to watch cricket, so I became interested,” said Liang Xiaoqian, a travel agent. “When I heard it was in the Asian Games I wanted to learn more about this game,” she added, ahead of Monday afternoon’s final between India and Sri Lanka.

“I am enjoying watching. I will be supporting Sri Lanka in the gold medal match.” Others are there just because it is the Asian Games and they want to watch sport, any sport. “It’s the only Asian Games tickets we could get,” said a smiling Jeff Wang, an engineer who was sitting in the stand with his father Wang Hang.

“It’s my first time to watch cricket. It’s unknown to me before, I don’t really know what is going on. “But I did hear this game is very famous in South Asia.”

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