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Taijul puts Bangladesh in charge as Ireland lead crosses 130
Lorcan Tucker led Ireland’s defiance of Bangladesh in the Dhaka Test, batting out the third day after starting it tottering on 27 for 4. Tucker became the second Irishman to reach a debut Test century, and the sixth wicketkeeper to do so, as his 108 straddled two sizable partnerships to keep them in the hunt. Ireland ended up on 286 for 8, when everyone thought that Test would end early on the third day.
The visitors’ 131-run lead may not look impressive but they have done enough to put questions in Bangladesh’s mind. The home side doesn’t have a great chasing record at the Shere Bangla National Stadium where they haven’t won since 2020. Taijul Islam was the pick of the bowlers again, taking his tally to nine wickets in the match. But Shakib bowling just six overs on the day was a peculiar decision given that he looked fit and fielded all day.
Tucker though matched the Bangladesh spinners in a superb display. His celebration after reaching the hundred found cheers from the tiny crowd who appreciated the young batter’s century. His 111-run seventh wicket stand with Andy McBrine frustrated Bangladesh for 28.3 overs, as Ireland built their innings on the back of partnerships of the third day.
The visitors started the day on 27 for 4 after they lost their first four wickets in the first 6.5 overs. Shakib and Taijul shared those four wickets, and looked menacing. But PJ Moor and Tector negated them for 10.1 overs on the second evening, before continuing in the same vein on the third morning.
Litton dropped Tector on nine in the second over of the day, but that was the only chance that went down. Tector and Moor lasted 25.4 overs for the fifth wicket. They added only 38 runs but it worked as the foundation for the rest of the day.
The pair made sure the early collapse didn’t materialise into anything embarrassing, before blunted the Bangladesh attack at their freshest. Moor fell to the one shot he played away from his body, edging Shoriful Islam at the first hour mark of the day.
Tector then had Tucker for company, and the pair picked up the tempo with some fine shots. Tucker started off with a reverse swept four off Mehidy Hasan Miraz, before Tector cracked a cover drive off Shoriful. Tucker then unveiled two pull shots against Ebadot Hossain, before launching Khaled over midwicket with a flick down the wicket. Tector’s last boundary was a straight drive, before he fell for 56. He struck seven fours and a six in his 159-ball effort.
Their partnership lasted 24 overs, but this time the scoring rate was 3.00 per over, as they added 72 runs. It was the boost that Ireland needed, which was cashed by McBrine and Tucker for the seventh wicket.
Ireland added 106 runs in the middle session, losing only Tucker. McBrine kicked off with a swept four before Tucker’s straight four got them the lead. He hammered Shoriful through square-leg for another memorable shot, before hitting him for another pair of fours in the 70th over.
McBrine wasn’t too far behind, matching Tucker’s straight six for one of his own. Tucker reached his hundred with a cover drive against Taijul, quite apt as he was the constant threat at one end from Bangladesh.
Tucker finally got out when he drove Ebadot waywardly, caught in the covers by Shoriful who let out a huge roar after taking the catch. But even after the end of the big partnership, Ireland weren’t done. McBrine reached his maiden fifty too, adding another valuable 31 runs for the eighth wicket with Mark Adair. Even the way the day ended – McBrine and Graham Hume batting out the remaining 8.3 overs for the unbroken ninth wicket – will encourage the Ireland side to have a go at Bangladesh on the fourth day.
Brief scores:
Ireland 214 and 286 for 8 (Lorcan Tucker 108, Andy McBrine 71*, Harry Tector 56, Taijul Islam 4-86, Shakib Al Hasan 2-26) lead Bangladesh 369 (Mushfiqur Rahim 126, Shakib Al Hasan 87, Mehidy Hassan Mirza 55, Andy McBrine 6-118) by 131 runs (Cricinfo)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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