Bangladesh recall Mashrafe for New Zealand ODIs

 AFP

Bangladesh have recalled pace bowler Mashrafe Mortaza to their 15-man squad for the first two of three one-day internationals against New Zealand, a team official said Thursday.
Mashrafe, who has not played a Test since an ill-fated West Indies tour in 2009, is a regular member of the one-day side although he missed the last two series in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe due to an ankle injury.
"Mashrafe is a senior campaigner and his presence always encourages the side," said selector Habibul Bashar. "He is experienced as well, something which is crucial for our young team."
Batsmen Anamul Haque, Naeem Islam and Shamsur Rahman and paceman Shafiul Islam join Mashrafe in the side as Bangladesh made changes to the one-day squad that toured Zimbabwe in March-April.
Anamul, 20, missed the Zimbabwe tour -- which Bangladesh lost 2-1 -- because of college exams, while Naeem, Shamsur and Shafiul were not selected.
Jahirul Islam and Sajedul Islam were among players from the Zimbabwe tour who were not included in this squad, while Mohammad Ashraful remains suspended for his part in a match-fixing scandal.
The first two ODIs will be held at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on October 29 and 31.
Bangladesh and New Zealand will play the final ODI on November 3 in Fatullah, before a one-off Twenty20 match at Sher-e-Bangla on November 6.
Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Mahmudullah, Anamul Haque, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Hoque, Naeem Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shafiul Islam, Ziaur Rahman and Shamsur Rahman.

Bangladesh v NZ, 2nd Test, Mirpur, 3rd day

Anderson's maiden ton hands NZ advantage
New Zealand 419 for 8 (Anderson 116, Williamson 62, Watling 59*, Shakib 5-97) lead Bangladesh 282 by 137 runs

Corey Anderson scored his maiden Test century with a calculated dominance of the Bangladesh attack. His 116 led the way for New Zealand as they ended the third day of the second Test on 419 for 8 with a lead of 137.

Shakib Al Hasan's five-wicket haul was the only solace for Bangladesh, who also had to endure a late, 84-run ninth-wicket partnership between BJ Watling and Ish Sodhi. On a pitch that is offering more turn every day, the stand further dented the confidence of the Bangladesh bowlers. Watling was unbeaten on 59 and Sodhi on 53, the legspinner's maiden Test fifty.

Bangladesh had a good start to the day, picking one of the two wickets they had sought desperately on the second day. New Zealand had added 20 runs in 3.3 overs before Ross Taylor edged Shakib to first slip for 53 off 79 balls.

Williamson was the other wicket that the hosts wanted but they didn't get the batsman for another couple of hours. While they focused on dismissing New Zealand's No. 3, Bangladesh were blind-sided by Anderson, who had made his debut in the first Test in Chittagong.

Anderson made a quiet start, scoring just one run off his first 12 deliveries, but broke free with a four through long-on off Sohag Gazi. He swiftly hit a few more fours before swinging a six off Shakib and brought up his fifty off 72 balls. At lunch, New Zealand were 51 runs behind, but Anderson had moved to 75 and Williamson was on 56.

The pair ensured New Zealand also maintained a good run-rate of 3.72. The first session saw New Zealand score 124 runs for the loss of one wicket and, with the threat of rain and a spinning track, it marked a shift in the momentum of the game.

Thirty-odd minutes after the break, Anderson reached his hundred with a glide through midwicket off Gazi. It was an assertive innings - Bangladesh couldn't get Anderson playing and missing for too long, and eventually the batsman would hit out with a four. Predictably, he played spin more than pace but dominated Shakib, Gazi and Abdur Razzak. Against Rubel Hossain, who tested him on a few occasions from around the wicket, Anderson struck five boundaries.

At the other end, Williamson steadily brought up his third successive fifty in the series with a four down the ground off Al-Amin Hossain. Williamson had a reprieve on 58 when Mushfiqur dropped a chance off Gazi, but fortunately for Bangladesh, it didn't cost them too much as the batsman was out for 62.

Razzak broke the 140-run stand as Williamson miscued and holed out to Tamim Iqbal at deep mid-wicket. Seven overs later, Al-Amin had Anderson caught in the covers for his first Test wicket. Anderson scored 116 off 173 balls with 13 fours and a couple of sixes.

Shakib completed his tenth five-wicket haul when he had Doug Bracewell caught behind in the 101st over of the New Zealand innings. Then came the late-order resistance from Sodhi and Watling, who made sure they held on to the advantage created by the middle-order.

It wasn't an attractive stand, but the pair nudged and smothered the spin and the frustration of the crowd grew with every lightly tapped boundary from Watling. Sodhi showed his batting potential, not reluctant to manufacture shots when the field was up.

Bangladesh's bowling, indifferent throughout the day, hardly had venom at the stage. Gazi remained wicketless and had himself to blame for spilling a return chance from Sodhi. Razzak was expensive on the second evening, and mostly ineffective on the third day. Rubel and Al-Amin tried hard, but the New Zealand batsmen played them well. Shakib remained the best bowler on show, although he too strayed towards the end.

Bangladesh now have the hard task of staying in contention in the game. Apart from dismissing New Zealand quickly, they must come up with a proper second-innings response to put the visitors out of the game. For that, they can learn from the Williamson-Anderson stand that has given New Zealand an advantage.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. He tweets here...

Pak Vs SA Second test day - 1 (stumps)

Tahir's maiden five-for makes it SA's day

Imran Tahir announced his comeback to Test cricket with a maiden five-wicket haul that embarrassed Pakistan as they were bowled out for 99 on the first day of the second Test in Dubai. Graeme Smith then steered his team into the lead towards the end of the day with an unbeaten half-century and with seven wickets in hand, South Africa have already taken charge of the Test.

The day belonged to Tahir, whose last Test figures in Adelaide had read 40-1-260-0. He picked up three wickets in the last ten minutes of the first session and then added two more early in the second as Pakistan collapsed to 99 - their third-lowest score against South Africa - in just 36.4 overs.

Two of those wickets, including that of Misbah-ul-Haq, came in the last over before lunch after Dale Steyn had removed Younis Khan in the penultimate one, meaning Pakistan had all but frittered away the advantage of batting first on a pitch that is expected to aid the spinners later in the Test.

Tahir was introduced as early as the 12th over of the innings, but bowled too full in his first few overs. Azhar Ali and Shan Masood, who were making gradual progress, were both happy to push him straight down the ground for comfortable singles. But one such full delivery caught the inside edge of Masood's bat and hit the stumps after hitting his back leg.

The second wicket was the big one though as Tahir bowled a flighted googly to which Misbah played outside the line and was hit right in front of the middle. Misbah reviewed the decision, but there wasn't much of a case for him. The third one was off a quicker delivery that Adnan Akmal chose to play on the back foot, but it skidded past the inside edge on to the stumps to leave Pakistan in tatters. Pakistan were reduced from 52 for 2 to 60 for 6 in a matter of minutes as Tahir found the right length on the pitch.

Pakistan hopes for some resistance in the second session disappeared as soon as Saeed Ajmal was run out by a direct hit. Then, Tahir picked up two more wickets in an over - Asad Shafiq went for a slog and missed a straighter one while Mohammad Irfan missed a googly. Babar played a few shots but despite a 23-run stand for the last wicket, he didn't stand in the way for Pakistan's second sub-100 score in Dubai. Steyn, who had set the tone of the day with a perfect outswinger to dismiss Khurram Manzoor in his first over after being deemed fit in the morning, cleaned up Junaid Khan to collect his third wicket of the innings with a reverse-swinging full delivery.

South Africa, as Smith had said at the toss, wanted to make first use of the pitch and their bowlers made sure they were in to bat midway in the second session.

Pakistan took to the field desperately seeking wickets, and they used both their reviews within five overs - once when Irfan hit Graeme Smith on the pads and the next time when the slip cordon was convinced Alviro Petersen had gloved one to the keeper - but both were turned down. Pakistan eventually struck through Zulfiqar Babar, who beat Petersen with an arm-ball and trapped him in front in his first over. Petersen belatedly asked for a review, but that call became the sixth review on the day to be turned down.

Run-making had remained difficult throughout the day with two quality bowling attacks in operation and a slow outfield, but Smith and Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla's replacement in the XI, added 54 runs for the second wicket, helping the team inch towards Pakistan's total. The home team were slightly set back in their attack as Babar split his webbing and had to leave the field for almost an hour. Ajmal, though, was deriving enough turn from the pitch to trouble the batsmen regularly. He was rewarded with the wickets of Elgar and Jacques Kallis in the last hour.

Smith went past his 38th Test half-century, but with four days and a lot of spin bowling to be negotiated, South Africa need to ward off any complacency by keeping an eye on the scorecard of the previous Test at this venue.

Devashish Fuloria is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Washout after Australia make 295

India v Australia, 4th ODI, Ranchi

Match abandoned Australia 295 for 8 (Bailey 98, Maxwell 92, Shami 3-42) v India 27 for 0

nseasonal rain in Ranchi washed out the fourth ODI after 4.1 overs of India's chase, ensuring the series moved 2-1 in favour of Australia to Cuttack, which was experiencing more inclement weather. There had been a brief shower soon after the match began, but it dissipated to allow Australia to complete their innings. The second instalment was heavier and prolonged, and though it relented with enough time to squeeze in a 20-over chase, the umpires ruled the outfield had been rendered too soggy to allow any play.

Before the damp end, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell had revived Australia from 32 for 3 with a massive fifth-wicket stand following Mohammed Shami's  opening burst. However, their dismissals in the batting Powerplay robbed the visitors of a 300 plus total for the first time in the series, albeit narrowly. Bailey and Maxwell added 153 in 22.4 overs but after both fell in their nineties to Vinay Kumar, Australia's lower order was able to add only 57 in the last ten overs. Shami's sharp first spell had challenged Australia for the first time in the series with the new ball. The attack, however, lacked the same intensity afterwards. India also put down five catches, and only a couple of them were tough takes. Bailey was put down first ball off Shami by Virat Kohli at third slip, and on 35 by R Ashwin off Vinay, both takeable chances.

Maxwell was dropped on 44 by Yuvraj Singh off Jaydev Unadkat, a rather difficult diving opportunity at point, before MS Dhoni reprieved him on 69 behind the stumps off Suresh Raina.

Bailey went on to make his third half-century of the series and India were fortunate to see his back two short of a century, when he top-edged a Vinay long hop. Maxwell kicked on from the cameos he has been getting to inflict punishment on India with a 77-ball 92 before falling lbw.

Bailey and Maxwell hardly allowed the spinners to settle, and were also presented with regular long hops. India weren't able to exert pressure at all on the duo, who turned the strike over consistently. Vinay delivered an entire opening over of gentle looseners, and Bailey drove and pulled him for three boundaries. Maxwell was given plenty of leg-side offerings to indulge in his quick-arm powerful swing. He countered Ashwin's line from round the wicket, powering him for successive reverse-swept boundaries, the first of which went for six.

After India sent the duo back, Dhoni didn't give the ball to any of his seamers, opting for spin for nine of the last ten overs before he brought back Shami for the last one. Australia 's lower order, tied down by Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, promptly took 12 off it, despite atleast three deliveries finding the blockhole.

Bowling at a testing length at pace and generating movement under some cloud cover, Shami had delivered an opening spell of 6-1-21-3. The lowest opening stand for Australia had been 68 so far this series. Shami sent back the openers by the sixth over, and also claimed Shane Watson. India's decision to play a fresh new-ball pair in place of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had paid off. They even managed to avoid leaking runs at the death, but Bailey and Maxwell caused considerable damage in the middle. Mitchell Johnson sent down a couple of menacing overs filled with bouncers to let India know they were set for a testing evening. Shikhar Dhawan countered by charging and hitting Clint McKay for a couple of fours. And then the rain arrived.

Dhoni said after the abandonment that India would have been happy with a 20-over chase with all wickets intact, which would have meant a target around 150. The rain, however, wasn't ready to allow an ODI to be decided by a T20 innings.

Abhishek Purohit is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Younis shocked after one-day axe

He was left out of the Pakistan 16-man squad that plays five ODIs against South Africa.

AFP

Experienced Pakistan batsman Younis Khan on Monday described his expulsion from the one-day side as "shocking" but vowed to

end his limited overs career on a high.

The 35-year-old was last week left out of Pakistan's 16-man squad for the five matches which follow the two-Test series

against South Africa.

Pakistan won the first Test by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi while the second Test starts in Dubai from Wednesday.

A veteran of 253 one-day, Younis has not scored a limited overs century since November 2008 and managed just 116 runs in the

five-match series in South Africa earlier this year.

He was also not part of Pakistan's one-day team which won the series 2-1 in Zimbabwe last month.

But the senior batsman said he was surprised and shocked.

"I am surprised I am not in the one-day team, it's a shocking news for me. After the last series, it was surprising for me,

but for me life goes on, for me this is never easy," Younis said ahead of the second Test.

Asked if the 2015 World Cup (50 overs) was still on his mind, Younis replied: "Look, I have said this before, its not 2015

or 2016, if you have the fitness you keep playing.

"I think when Imran (Khan) left he must be 40-42," said Younis of former Pakistan captain, who retired after guiding

Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992.

"I would say that for Misbah, look people say that you are 34 or 35, but it's up to fitness and being positive on your body.

I still feel good, I feel that I am fitter now than I was when I was 23 or 24 years of age.

"Your fitness comes with time and age, I think I have no plans for 2015 but my plan is that when I feel that my body is not

allowing me to play then I am the most honest person I will leave but not after being dropped, I will be going on a good

note."

Younis retired from the shortest version of the game after guiding Pakistan to World Tweny20 win in England in 2009.

"The way I retired from the T20, I mention it repeatedly. People feel that I don't want to play (one-day) and have told that

to the cricket board, but there is no such thing, when I will leave I will leave with a bang."