The left-arm quick’s 4-28 kept Bangladesh to just 129, and the opener then smashed a fifty off just 16 balls

The Report by Mohammad Isam17-Dec-2018Shai Hope walloped the third-fastest T20I fifty to help West Indies overpower Bangladesh by eight wickets in Sylhet. The hosts were undone by Sheldon Cottrell’s awkward short balls to be bowled out for 129 and then a bumper crowd sat in silence as Hope battered six sixes and three fours to end the contest in a hurry.Hope reached his fifty off 16 balls, behind Yuvraj Singh (12 balls) and Colin Munro (14 balls). The innings had plenty of brutality in it – especially when he played the pull shot or the slog sweep – but it wasn’t wanting in finesse as a ramp to the third man boundary showed. Hope shared an opening stand of 51 runs in 3.2 overs with the returning Evin Lewis, and then put on 47 in 4.2 overs with Nicholas Pooran.The visitors raced to 91 for 1, equalling the highest score in the Powerplay alongside Australia, Ireland and Netherlands, who had also got there in Sylhet, four years ago during the World T20 2014.Keemo Paul did justice to his promotion to No 4, hitting an unbeaten 28 off 14 balls with a four and three sixes, one of which carried 96 metres, as West Indies completed victory in 10.5 overs.Bangladesh had chosen to bat first under gloomy skies, and their performance out the home crowd in a similar mood, with only three batsmen reaching double-figures. Cottrell’s career-best 4 for 28, and wickets from Paul, Oshane Thomas, Carlos Brathwaite and Fabian Allen, kept Bangladesh in check and bowled them out in 19 overs.Shakib Al Hasan was the only batsman who showed smarts for Bangladesh. He preferred the offside when looking for his fours, having nailed Thomas for a rasping cut through point and two cover drives. Both his sixes came through mid-on but luck was also on his side. Three boundaries came off his outside edge and one off the inside edge. He made 61 off 43 balls with eight fours and two sixes.Five batsmen got out trying to pull fast and short deliveries, all of them either top-edging for easy catches or hitting it straight to fielders. Tamim Iqbal was the first to fall in this way, mistiming a pull straight to Brathwaite at mid-on. Liton Das did exactly the same off Thomas, before Soumya Sarkar also mistimed a pull to be caught at midwicket, off Cottrell.Bangladesh’s Powerplay was rounded off with Mushfiqur Rahim caught short of his crease as Rovman Powell threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Shakib then had two short partnerships with Mahmudullah and Ariful Haque that kept Bangladesh afloat for a time. But Cottrell had Mahmudullah caught behind, keeping the ball close to the batsman’s body so that his attempted push resulted in an edge. Ariful later swept a catch down to deep square leg.Shakib became Cottrell’s fourth wicket in the 18th over, again trying to pull the ball but only top-edging it to the short square leg region, where Cottrell himeslf sprinted forward and claimed the catch.

How the game played outA bad start quickly turned ugly for Comilla Victorians, who failed to adjust after a wonky Powerplay on the way to being bowled out for the fourth lowest first-innings total in six editions of the Bangladesh Premier League. Rangpur Riders are now responsible for dishing out three of the four worst maulings, and on this occasion it was their captain who meted out the heaviest punishment.Mashrafe Mortaza backed up his decision to field first at the toss by striking thrice in his first three overs to put Comilla under heavy pressure. Rather than hold one of his overs back for the end of the innings, Mashrafe opted to go for the jugular of Comilla’s lineup. It paid off as he claimed his opposite number Steven Smith in the seventh, capping off an unbroken four-over spell with a wicket-maiden to leave Comilla reeling at 18 for 5. Rangpur never let up.Turning points

• Ravi Bopara’s sensational over the shoulder catch sprinting back from point to dismiss Imrul Kayes in the fifth showed Rangpur were on top of their game
• Shahid Afridi kept Comilla’s faint pulse going at the crease but two balls after surviving a chance at long-on spilled over the rope for six, he failed to make the most of a second life and slashed a catch to Chris Gayle at short third man
• Nazmul Islam pulled out his imaginary bow and arrow to shoot out the tail with three wickets, ensuring Mashrafe’s spell wasn’t wasted

Star of the dayNo looking past Mashrafe. After his recent success on the political campaign trail, he turned in his T20 career-best, claiming a who’s who of domestic and foreign stars: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Evin Lewis and Smith. Tamim fell on a flat drive to mid-on while the other three perished miscuing skied drives, indicative of a slightly stop-start pitch.The big missRangpur’s only major misfire on the day was a comical one as Sohag Gazi demanded Mashrafe burn their only review in the fourth over for a supposed lbw appeal on a quicker ball that hurried Lewis off the back foot. Replays showed Lewis smashing the ball straight out of the middle of the bat to cover.Where the teams standRangpur join Dhaka Dynamites at the top of the table on four points, although they have played one more match than Dhaka. Comilla sit even with Chittagong Vikings in third place with two points, though Vikings have a game in hand.

Tim Paine hinted that Australia wouldn’t hold back on the bouncer with his view that it was underused against India, but with their top six shuffled again, Sri Lanka may be in with a chance

Andrew McGlashan23-Jan-2019

No one has been able to breach the Gabba fortress since West Indies in 1988, and Sri Lanka’s winless record in Australia does not suggest they can be the team. The visiting captain Dinesh Chandimal, however, hopes for a “miracle” as he chases his dream of securing a Test victory in the country.Sri Lanka have lost 11 of their 13 Tests in Australia but the vibe around the team is that they will never have a better chance of breaking their duck against a vulnerable home side who have again shuffled their top six.”It will definitely be a challenge for us,” Chandimal said. “If we can take this challenge as a batter or bowler, if you can give your best shot…we can do some miracle here. That’s what we want to do as a team.”If Sri Lanka are to make history, they will have combat a pitch which has proved too much for most touring sides over the last 30 years. There was a good tinge of green the day before the match, and allied with the day-night factor, there could be some testing periods for batsmen, although the previous floodlit Test at the Gabba, against Pakistan in 2016, included totals of over 400 for each side.”I hope it’s nice and fast, the usual sort of Gabba wicket,” Tim Paine said. “Hopefully there’s plenty of bounce and it’s good to watch.”There was also a strong hint from Paine that Australia wouldn’t hold back on the short stuff, with his view that it was underused in the series against India. Australia’s bowling tactics often came under scrutiny, especially in the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, with them unable to gain a single lbw for the quicks in the four matches but Paine believed that smart use of the bouncer could also bring the stumps into play.”Clearly we need to be hitting the stumps a little bit more than we were and it’s been spoken about, but I also didn’t think we used our bouncer as much as we would like,” he said. “When you are using your bouncer a couple of times an over and then when you pitch up it’s a bit more effective. We know the majority of the time we want to be hitting the top of the stumps a bit more, but there’s also a way to set that up.While Chandimal expected his batsmen to have their techniques challenged by the Australia quick bowlers, he was confident he had the firepower to respond in kind. “When you look at the pitch you can see a lot of grass on the wicket, but we have got really good fast bowlers who can bowl over 140.”He also wanted his batsman to take a leaf out of Cheteshwar Pujara’s book and force Australia’s pacemen back for multiple spells. Whatever balance of side Australia select, they won’t have more than three pace-bowling options, although Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were rested from the India ODIs with this series in mind.”Pujara made a difference, especially these days the weather is really hot here. They brought the Australian bowlers back for more spells. That’s what I think Pujara did, and after that it helped the other batters enjoy their batting in the middle. That’s one area I think we learned in the India-Australia series.”Chandimal drew on the memories of his Test debut against South Africa in 2011, when Sri Lanka secured their first victory in the country, in Durban. He scored two half-centuries in the match to play a key part in a 208-run win.”That was a really good memory. I made my Test debut against SA and we won that game and that was the first time we won a game in SA in their soil,” he said. “One of my dreams as a captain and player is to win a Test match here. But that’s not an easy thing coming here. You have to do a lot of hard work…that has to come from all 11 players for all five days. That’s what we are looking at as a team. It is a really good opportunity to make history and we just want to do that as a team.”

Manchester United Under-18 side were crowed Premier League North champions as they beat Manchester City to the title.

• Man Utd U18 lift Premier League North trophy
• Beat Wolves U18 on Tuesday
• Club pay tribute to the United Colts

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The United Colts beat Wolves 2-1 on Wednesday courtesy of a brace from Gabriele Biancheri to win the Premier League North title. They are now 16 points above rivals and second-placed Manchester City with just two games to go in the season.

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  The Cityzens dominated the U18 league in the past few seasons, having won the title four times in a row before the Red Devils clinched the trophy this year. After the title win, the club's director of academy Nick Cox paid a special tribute to the youngsters and their manager Adam Lawrence and his coaching staff.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  Speaking on the club's momentous achievement, Cox said, "I am extremely proud of what Adam Lawrence, the staff and the players have been able to achieve this season. The players have been stretched, with exposure to numerous competitions and age-group games, whilst also supporting the first-team squad. They have consistently risen to each challenge that we have intentionally designed for them and accomplished something really special together.

  "Individual player development is always our primary aim but competing to win under pressure is vital. Both of those objectives have been achieved with players enjoying the challenging yet supportive environment and harnessing a winning mentality to experience team success."

• WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Lawrence's side will now aim to win the U18 Premier League Cup title as they take on the Cityzens in the final on April 23.

Real Madrid have seen a request to play their Champions League home fixture against Manchester City under a closed roof granted.

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Madrid to play under closed roofUEFA grant permissionFace Man City in Champions LeagueWHAT HAPPENED?

According to , Madrid asked UEFA for permission to conduct the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final under a closed roof at Santiago Bernabeu. The club have introduced a retractable roof in their newly renovated home ground and believe closing it will allow for a better atmosphere in the all-important clash against the reigning European champions.

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UEFA have now made a final call on the matter after a pre-match technical meeting that saw designated match referee Francois Letexier consulted. As reports, Real have been granted permission to seal the stadium again, four weeks after playing under a closed roof in the second leg of their last-16 tie against RB Leipzig.

DID YOU KNOW?

City have travelled to Madrid for the vital fixture without two of their first-team defenders Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake. The duo have been omitted from the 21-man matchday squad due to injuries.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

After hosting Pep Guardiola's side at home, Carlo Ancelotti's men will be back in action in La Liga on Saturday as they face Mallorca, where a victory would see them close in on the title.

John Terry claims Rio Ferdinand blanked him on a Dubai beach after the ex-Chelsea captain was accused of racially abusing his brother Anton.

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• Terry and Ferdinand were England team-mates
• Accused of racially abusing Rio's brother Anton
• Ex-Chelsea man says Ferdinand still blanks him

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former centre-back allegedly racially abused Anton Ferdinand during a game between Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea at Loftus Road in 2011. Terry was charged over the incident but was cleared in court, however, he received a four-game ban and fined £220,000 by the Football Association as a result. And the 43-year-old says the 13-year spat shows no sign of abating.

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  WHAT JOHN TERRY SAID

  He said on William Hill's Up Front With Simon Jordan: "Since then I've tried to speak to Rio, who doesn't want to talk to me at all. I've seen him on the beach in Dubai and he refused to speak to me. I think it could have been addressed and dealt with a lot better if I'm honest."

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  Terry also revealed in the interview he tried to speak to Anton about the incident 13 years ago.

  He added: "I tried to make contact with Anton that evening after the game and I basically got shut down instantly from all of them. I knew Anton, we were mates, we knew each other and always got on well. Obviously, I got on well with Rio. We could have done something that was more powerful than what came about in the end. And that's probably my disappointment because it's [racism] is in the game. Clearly in the stadiums and all of that now that we need to get out for sure. We could have done something very powerful as a group of players, not only us but everybody else I think at the time."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Terry, who retired from football in 2018 before taking up assistant coaching roles at Aston Villa and Leicester City, is currently an academy coach at Chelsea but is looking to become a first-team manager at some point.

England bowler to lead side in county curtain-raiser in Dubai on March 24

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2019

Stuart Broad has been named as MCC’s captain for the annual Champion County Match, which will take place against Surrey in Dubai next month.Broad, who is currently in St Lucia with England’s Test team but is no longer a part of the one-day set-up, will use the match as part of his long-term preparations for a delayed first-class leg of England’s home summer.With the build-up to the World Cup dominating the early part of the season, Broad’s next international action is likely to come in the one-off Test against Ireland at Lord’s on July 24, ahead of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, starting on August 1.John Stephenson, MCC’s assistant secretary, said: “We are thrilled that Stuart has agreed to captain the side for the Champion County match against Surrey. He is not only a player of the very highest class, but his experience of over 100 Test matches will be invaluable to the younger players in the squad, and I am sure that they will be eager to learn from one of England’s greatest ever bowlers.”Surrey were undoubtedly the best side in last season’s County Championship and have an extremely strong squad, so it will be a tough challenge for Stuart and his side but one I am sure they will relish.”The rest of the MCC squad will be named in due course, with the four-day game scheduled to begin on March 24.Broad, 32, is one of only two Englishmen to have taken over 400 Test wickets, and has a special place in MCC’s history, as one of only a handful of players to have earned a place on three dressing-room honours boards, with inclusions on the Honours Board five-wicket and ten-wicket hauls in Test matches, as well as his 169 with the bat against Pakistan in 2010.He has had previous captaincy experience, having led England on 27 occasions in T20Is between 2011 and 2014, including the World T20 in Bangladesh in 2014, and a further three ODIs on the tour of the Caribbean in 2014.Last year’s Champion County match took place in Barbados, where MCC beat the 2017 County Champions Essex by an innings and 34 runs, thanks to centuries from Sam Hain and Dom Bess, who also claimed six wickets.

The captain himself failed to deliver in Australia and could only pick out Sri Lanka’s slip catching as the single positive from two heavy defeats

Melinda Farrell in Canberra04-Feb-2019Dinesh Chandimal, the Sri Lanka captain, has urged his players to work harder during the next leg of their three-country tour in South Africa. He could only name a single positive – slip fielding – in their performances against Australia after losing the second Test by 366 runs.The two Test defeats in Australia follow a 1-0 loss to New Zealand in a two-Test series and defeats in all four limited-overs matches on that tour. While Sri Lanka have been plagued by an injury list that includes Angelo Mathews and four of their first choice fast bowlers, Chandimal admitted to concerns about the form of the batsmen.Sri Lanka must now regroup for their stint in South Africa, which comprises two Tests, five ODIs and three T20s.”We were outplayed as a team in all three departments,” said Chandimal. “Credit goes to Australia, they have played some outstanding cricket throughout the series. They deserved to win like this.”We just need to work harder than what we are doing. It’s always tough playing in Australia against a good bowling attack but we all know before we come here it’s always challenging. As a batting unit we have to step up. That’s the one area we have concern. I’m sure the boys will come good in South Africa.”The only positive is the slip catching for our fast bowlers and that’s one positive we can take from this series. I don’t want to talk about the negatives and sure the boys we can learn from it and come good in South Africa.”Chandimal has had a challenging tour personally with scores of 5, 0, 15 and 4. But he remains optimistic that hard work will pay off in South Africa, despite being disappointed by his own form in Australia.”Really disappointed,” said Chandimal. “But I work hard in the nets and I work hard on my game and I work hard on my game plans but I couldn’t get what we want. It is tough and I always putting my heart and soul when the practices come. I’m sure it will come in South Africa.”This is our transition period and now as a team and players we have to step up. In our young group [only] some of the players have played more than 30 Test matches so they are still young and in the international arena are really experienced. Now this is the time to face your game and play for your team. We couldn’t get the best combination because of the injuries.”While Sri Lanka have had to deal with a swag of injuries, including two of their batsmen – Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne – retiring hurt after being struck by bouncers in Canberra, there have also been off-field rumblings in the form of a public spat between ODI allrounder, Thisera Perera and the wife of ODI captain Lasith Malinga. In addition the coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, was dumped as an on-tour selector before the second Test. Chandimal backed the team management’s handling of the situations.”They put their heart and soul and they give good advice,” he said. “You can’t control what happens back home and just control what you can control. That’s one area we are focusing on as a team.”

Sarfaraz Ahmed is unhappy that his on-field remarks to Andile Phehlukwayo were turned into “a bigger deal than it was”. Addressing the press for the first time since returning to Pakistan after the ICC imposed a four-match ban on him, Sarfaraz claimed that Phehlukwayo had not considered his remarks racist, and was more offended at what he initially perceived as a comment about his mother.”When I went to say sorry to Andile for using the word [, meaning ‘black’], he was more offended by my reference to his mother, saying I had used inappropriate language about her,” Sarfaraz said in Karachi. “In the media, the word ‘black’ was highlighted to suggest that I had said a racist thing, but I explained the context to him.”I’m sitting here as Pakistan captain – and for that matter any player playing for Pakistan – thanks to the prayers of their mothers. So I explained I used the world black, which I apologise for, but I insisted I had not said anything offensive about his mother.ALSO READ: ‘Bureaucracy over common sense’ Mani lashes out at Sarfaraz’s ban“Then we gave him an example from our Islamic tradition, and their team manager [Mohammed] Moosajee [also a Muslim] agreed with what I was saying. So the whole controversy was created by the word, and if people had looked at the context, there was nothing in it. It was just that word, and as you know in our society, it sometimes gets inadvertently used. So yes, I made a mistake, and that was that.”I just want to make it clear that a huge issue was created out of one word. I never wanted to say something racist to him or taunt him in that way.”The incident in question took place during the 37th over of South Africa’s chase in the second ODI in Durban. Sarfaraz was clearly heard on the stump mic telling Phehlukwayo in Urdu: “?”Literally translated, that means: “Hey, black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”Phehlukwayo had indeed enjoyed some good fortune after having arrived at the crease with South Africa in the mire at 80 for 5. He went on to remain unbeaten on 69, helping South Africa win the game and taking home the Man-of-the-Match award. Sarfaraz issued an apology on Twitter soon after, addressing no one in particular but “to any person who may have taken offence from my expression of frustration”.The ICC then launched an investigation into the remark, even as Sarfaraz met Phehlukwayo in person, posting a photograph of the pair shaking hands and thanking the South African for “graciously accepting” his apology.ALSO READ: How to apologise: a primer for cricketersHe was, however, banned for the last two ODIs of the series, which South Africa went on to win 3-2, and the first two matches of the subsequent T20I series.Shoaib Malik has since been installed as the stand-in captain, and with increasing speculation about Pakistan’s captain at the World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board has had to clarify that it would be appointing captains on a “series-by-series basis” – perhaps not the ringing endorsement the captain of two years expected.Sarfaraz, however, said there was no rift between him and Malik, and the players were happy with whoever the captain was.”There is no truth to the claim people who play under Shoaib bhai don’t want to play under me. All the boys are very good and support each other. I don’t think there’s anything about that,” he said.”I’m hopeful and expectant of a comeback. I came back because I had a four-match ban, and there was just one more match after that. So travelling with the team all that while and not playing, what with me having been away from home for five months, was very hectic. If I had come back with the team and got just three days here before going for the PSL [Pakistan Super League], that would have been very hectic. So getting the rest instead was much better.”Asked for his reaction on the PCB expressing disappointment at his ban and saying that it would pursue the matter with the ICC “with the objective to bring reforms to the code”, Sarfaraz chose not to be drawn into the discussion. “The PCB knows what stance to best take. I had made a mistake and so I admitted to it,” he said.

Lamar Jackson has made no secret of his interest in soccer, and the 2023 NFL MVP has now been showcasing his skills during a visit to Munich.

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Ravens quarterback is a soccer fanNFL heading back to Germany in 2024Jackson has got his shooting boots onWHAT HAPPENED?

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback recently posted on social media that he “could’ve been Lionel Messi” had he pursued a different form of football, with a mocked-up image seeing him transformed into a USMNT star.

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Jackson has now been trying to prove that he is as capable with his feet as he is with his hands. The American football superstar has been in Europe putting on a flag clinic in Germany – with it revealed that the NFL International Series will be heading to Munich in 2024.

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Jackson has teamed up with Bayern Munich, when paying a visit to their training complex, and has rubbed shoulders with Canada international Alphonso Davies. He has also got his shooting boots on, with a couple of well-struck efforts fired into the back of an unguarded net.