Ashraful smashes 69
Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful flicks to the mid-wicket boundary during his enterprising knock of 69 against the Netherlands in their Twenty20 practice game at the St Lawrence ground in Canterbury yesterday. Captain Mohammad Ashraful and Mahmudullah Riyad smashed half-centuries as Bangladesh amassed an impressive 206-6 in their Twenty20 warm-up match against the Netherlands at St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury yesterday.
According to TigerCricket.Com, Ashraful blasted 69 while Riyad hit 54 before Rokibul Hasan remained unbeaten on 27 with Shamsur Rahman who couldn't open his account. Mushfiqur Rahim also came back into some form with 24.
There was some concern over Ashraful's form after he only played a single IPL match for Mumbai Indians. But the little dynamo returned to form with this half-century after scoring just 13 in the first warm-up game against New Zealand on May 26.
Earlier, Dutch captain Jeroen Smits won the toss and decided to field first and it almost paid off.
Left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal was out for two in the second over when he flicked straight to the fielder at mid-wicket off paceman Ruud Nijman. then Left-arm spinner Pieter Seeler removed Zunaed Siddique (17) and Shakib Al Hasan (4) in the eighth over.
There were three changes in the Bangladesh side from Tuesday's first warm-up against New Zealand. Rokibul Hasan comes in for Mohammad Mithun, fast bowler Rubel Hossain replaces Syed Rasel while Nayeem Islam, who is nursing a sore shoulder, makes way for Shamsur Rahman. Netherlands have left out their IPL star Dirk Nannes who has flu.
According to the BCB website, there is a slight cloud cover in Kent's home ground. A good number of expatriate Bangladeshis also made their to watch the game.
BRIEF SCORES
BANGLADESH: 206-6 in 20 overs (Ashraful 69, Mahmud Ullah 54, Roqibul 27 not out, Mushfique 24, Junaed 17, Shakib 4, Tamim 2)
Barcelona players lift their coach Josep Guardiola (top) up after winning the Champions League final against Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on Wednesday.Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola hailed his team's achievement this season in winning the treble as the greatest of all but he stopped short of calling his team themselves the best after their 2-0 Champions League final victory over holders Manchester United here on Wednesday.
Barca added European club football's premier trophy to their domestic league and cup double, a feat United themselves had already achieved in 1999, with goals from Samuel Eto'o on 10 minutes and Lionel Messi 20 minutes from time.
But the Catalans' coach, who also won the European Cup as a player with Barca in 1992, said the manner of his team's triumph in scoring more than 150 goals this season made their campaign stand out.
"I'm leaving tomorrow, right away, I can't do anything else," joked the 38-year-old, who became the youngest ever Champions League winning coach in his first season as a boss.
"We're very, very happy, we're delirious and I'd like to congratulate the whole club.
"We're not the best team in history but we have played the best season in history. To win three titles and how we did it.
"We had many problems (tonight) and there was so much pressure but Samuel's goal was great and then Messi went back into midfield because we wanted to be superior in possession and with also Thierry Henry in midfield; we had some problems but I'm very happy."
Guardiola revealed that he had learned from Barca's defeat to United in last season's semifinal and switched around his attacking triumvirate accordingly.
Back then they were stifled over the two legs and failed to score a goal but this time Guardiola brought Messi in off the right flank into the middle and switched Cameroon striker Eto'o out wide.
"At the beginning of the game we had a few problems, we didn't expect United to pressure us so high up the pitch," he revealed.
"We had problems in our build-up play and we have to recognise that they had a big chance with (Cristiano) Ronaldo's free-kick (on two minutes).
"But after (Andres) Iniesta passed for Eto'o to score we tried to keep the ball more and bring it inside more.
"Last year we saw that Leo (Messi) had difficulties with (United left-back Patrice) Evra so we put him inside with Xavi and Iniesta and we had one more player in the middle.
"We had chances and they did too but in the end we had control of the ball. For us it's a disaster if we don't have the ball so we have to have it and keep it and move it well.
"They tried to keep the ball with (Nemanja) Vidic, (Rio) Ferdinand and (Michael) Carrick, who's a very good player.
"They tried to keep it and also tried to counter with Ronaldo and (Wayne) Rooney but we controlled the game very well.
"We told our defence that it was important when we were attacking for them to pay close attention to Ronaldo and Rooney and (Carlos) Tevez and (Dimitar) Berbatov in the second half and they did this."
Second-seeded Swiss Roger Federer pumps his fist after his hard-fought win against Jose Acasuso of Argentina in their French Open second round encounter at Roland Garros in Paris yesterday.Roger Federer and Venus William made great French Open escapes on Thursday while 13th-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli merely made an exhausting list of excuses for her second round defeat.
Second seed Federer claimed a 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2 win over Argentina's Jose Acasuso who wasted four set points in the first set and another in the third where he led 5-1 and twice served for a two sets to one lead.
Acasuso, who has only progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam once in 28 attempts, cut a weary figure by the end, worn down as much by his own physical shortcomings as Federer's pinpoint hitting.
Federer, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal here for the past three years and still missing a French Open from his 13-title Grand Slam collection, now faces either French 32nd seed Paul-Henri Mathieu or Pablo Andujar of Spain for a place in the last 16.
Williams, the American third seed, who was runner-up to sister Serena in 2002, but had exited at the third round in the last two years, saved a match point in her 6-7, 6-2, 7-5 win over the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova.
The Wimbledon champion had been trailing by a set when the players had been called off court late Wednesday, but she quickly levelled the tie on the resumption.
Safarova then failed to convert a match point on her own serve when 5-4 ahead in the decider and Williams made her pay by breaking the Czech before going on to set-up a third round clash with Hungary's Agnes Szavay.
"She was just firing for every shot and making them, but the delay gave me time to think about things differently," said Williams.
"It was close but these kind of matches are really rewarding and I think I deserved to win it in the end."
Former Wimbledon finalist Bartoli was a second round casualty losing 6-3, 7-5 to experienced Italian Tathiana Garbin.
Bartoli blamed her defeat on a host of problems, from illness to the chilly conditions to the noise made by a small, feisty contingent of Italian fans.
"I was a little tired and a little sick, I had a sore throat and my nose is running," said the Frenchwoman.
"It was very cold and the court was heavy. The ball was stuck on the strings and it was very slow."
Bartoli was unimpressed by the attitude of Garbin's supporters.
"It's her clan. When I made unforced errors, her team would shout. It's not sporting. They're Italians. This is what it's like."
Serbian fifth seed Jelena Jankovic, a semi-finalist in the last two years and who lunched with Serbian President Boris Tadic on Wednesday, feasted on the meek resistance of Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova with an easy 6-1, 6-2 win.
Jankovic will next face Slovakian-born Jarmila Groth, who now plays for Australia.
The 24-year-old Jankovic, who won the Marbella claycourt event in the run-up to Roland Garros, believes weight loss is helping to rejuvenate her game which took her to the world number one spot last year.
"I'm back to my normal weight. Maybe I had seven kilos more than I have now, which is a lot for me. When you put that kind of weight on it's tough to move around," she said.
Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 runner-up, also eased through to the last 32 beating Galina Voskoboeva 6-0, 6-2, while Danish 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki breezed past American veteran Jill Craybas 6-1, 6-4.
In the men's event, Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, Russian 10th seed Nikolay Davydenko, twice a semifinalist, and Spanish 16th seed Tommy Robredo all went through.
Later Thursday, fourth seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic was facing Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky while sixth seed Andy Roddick of the United States was also due on court to face Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic.
Women's second seed Serena Williams, the 2002 champion was tackling Spain's 35-year-old Virginia Ruano Pascual who won their only meeting 11 years ago at Wimbledon.
Zia shares 2nd place:
Grand Master Ziaur Rahman beat International Master Yang Kaiqi of China to share the second position along with six other players yesterday in the second Subic Open International Chess tournament at the Subic Freeport, Olongapo City, Philippines.
Zia has earned 4.5 points in six rounds so far.
GM Niaz Murshed defeated IM Dimakiling Oliver of Philippines to earn four points and move into third position also after six rounds.
In other sixth round matches Zia drew with Parimarjan Negi of India and Niaz beat IM Nolte Rolando of Philippines.
Korean coach for swimmers:
Korean coach Park T Paigun arrived in the city yesterday to train the Bangladeshi swimmers ahead of next year's South Asian Games to be held in Dhaka.
The 32-year-old grade one coach of a Korean Club, Paigun will start his assignment with the local swimmers tomorrow.
The South Korean government will bear the entire expenses of the coach, including his salary, initially for a year. They will provide 50,000 dollars as is salary and another 50,000 dollars for infrastructural development work of Bangladesh Swimming Federation, through Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA).
The BOA will offer local hospitality to the coach during his stay in Bangladesh.
Twenty-seven swimmers have been attending a residential training camp at the Mirpur Swimming Complex since February 1 this year to prepare for the next South Asian Games in Dhaka.
Talismanic England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has tipped India to retain the ICC World Twenty20 Championship next month, saying that the Indian Premier League experience will come in handy for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men in their title defence.
Flintoff, who has been ruled out of the June 5-21 event in England after undergoing a knee surgery early this month, told PTI from Lancashire that Australia, South Africa and England would pose a strong challenge to India.
"Indians just played in a world-class competition in IPL and naturally they are the favourites (to win the T20 World Cup). Australia, South Africa and England would be strong challengers. England can spring a few surprises," he said.
Flintoff defended his decision to play in the IPL in South Africa where he ended up tearing a cartilage on his right knee, which ultimately led to him being ruled out of the World Twenty20 event.
"My injury was not from just one event or tournament, it was over a period of time and I think ECB should not be blamed for allowing me to play in the IPL," he said.
Action from the Citycell School Football Championship match between Govindaganj Bohumukhi High School and Netrokona Dutta High School at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.Four goals by Romnobel helped Govindaganj Bahumukhi High School to crush Netrokona Dutta High School 8-0 in the Citycell National School Football Championship at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The teenager's goals came in the 11th, 17th, 57th and 59th minutes.
Shakil scored in the 14th, Atiqur in the 47th, Rizvi in the 50th and Taufiq rounded it off in the 72nd minute for the winners.
In another match, Younus Ali High School edged RSKH Institution Mohammadia by a goal to nil at the same venue.
At the Brothers Union ground, Town Secondary School beat Koyra Madinabad Secondary School 3-0 thanks to a brace from Ali and one by Siraj. Later in the day, Shuti VM Pilot High School defeated Moslehuddin Secondary School 2-1 at the same ground.
Raja Suryakumar Institute struck two past Zia Shar Karkhana High School and Government Nasirabad School beat Shingra Dum Dum Pilot School and College 1-0 at the Abahani Club ground.
In today's matches, Koyagola Hat High School play Victoria High School, RSKH Institution Mohammadia meet Town Secondary School and Laxmi Narayan Cotton Mill play Shingra Dum Dum Pilot School and College at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Younus Ali High School face Koyra Madinabad Secondary School and Government Nasirabad School meet Netrokona Dutta High School at the Brothers Union ground.Danone Nations Cup from June:
The preliminary stage of Danone Nations Cup Bangladesh will kick off from the last week of June in four separate venues of the country.
Thirty-nine teams from different District Football Associations along with a Bangladesh Football Association (BFF) development squad will participate in the preliminary stage.
The age-limit of the participating players has been kept between 10-12 years.
All the teams will be given participation fees in addition to other benefits.
The final round will be played in Dhaka with eight teams from July 10.
The champion team will feature in the final round of the Danone Nations Cup in Sao Paulo in Brazil from October 8. Forty countries including the hosts are slated to take part in this year's cup meet in the southeastern city of Brazil.
Matches in Bangladesh will be played in two halves of 15 minutes with a five-minute break.
The Danone Nations Cup is an international football competition organised every year since 2000, on the initiative of Groupe Danone, a French food products company based in Paris.
Bangladesh A pile 336-9
Bangladesh A were given a superb first day by their batsmen in their four-day encounter against Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra yesterday.
Newcomer Imran Ahmed and captain Mehrab Hossain batted solidly before Dollar Mahmud tore into the visitors as the second-string side reached 336-9 at stumps on Day One. Enamul Haque remained unbeaten on six with Talha Jubair.
Mehrab and Dollar added 101 runs for the seventh wicket after Bangladesh A fell to 198 for six. Mehrab, like Imran had with his 90, held the innings together with 81. The left-hander smashed a dozen boundaries in his 179-ball knock on a grassy surface that was good for batting.
But it was Dollar's blazing 79 off 54 balls that had the tourists chasing the leather. The right-hander smashed eight fours and four sixes in his blazing innings.
But it was Imran, the right-hander from Mymensingh and returning to a national setup after eleven long years, who set the scene for a big score with a patient knock that came off 163 balls. He struck fourteen boundaries and a six. He added 46 with Nafis (30) for the second wicket before adding 62 with Hannan Sarkar (39).
But with ten runs to reach a hundred, Imran edged one to wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani off Samad Fallah in the 57th over.
Samad was the only Maharashtra bowler to make an impact. The medium-pacer took five for 101 runs from his 24 overs. Kiran Adhav had two wickets including the dangerous Dollar while Aditya Dole had one.
BRIEF SCORES
BANGLADESH A: First innings 336-9 in 89.5 overs (Kayes 4, Nafis 30, Imran 90, Hannan 39, Rajin 1, Mehrab 81, Sahagir 2, Dollar 79, Sajid 0, Enamul 6 not out; Samad 5-101, Aditya 1-68, Kiran 2-73)
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