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Sahara Matribhumi, the Bangladesh subsidiary of Sahara group, has made an offer of approximately $9.4 million for a period of four years for the sponsorship of the Bangladesh cricket team

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2012Sahara Matribhumi, the Bangladesh subsidiary of Sahara group, has made an offer of approximately $9.4 million for the sponsorship of the Bangladesh team for a four-year period. The bid was substantially higher than the $ 3.4 million offered by the previous sponsors, Grameenphone, and $4 million offered by Robi, another telecom company.BCB president Mustafa Kamal said that while no decision has been made yet on which offer to accept, Sahara’s bid of approximately $2.3 million a year, if finalised, would be beneficial for Bangladesh cricket.”The national team sponsorship, which is the main component of the tenders that we had invited, has been offered 2.3 million dollars per year by Sahara,” Kamal said. “We expect the revenue to be around Tk 110 crore during this four-year period. It was unimaginable a few years ago but more than the money, I think it will be a turning point if we can have Sahara with us.”All the tenders are for a four-year period. I hope that we can finalise the deals in the next few days. We haven’t made a decision on the tenders; I’m just letting you know what is the highest we’ve got.”Apart from the national team sponsorship, Sahara was the only company to bid for the sponsorship rights of the National Cricket Academy at a price of $130,000 per year.Last week, Sahara group chairman Subrata Roy had said in Dhaka that his company was interested in investing in Bangladesh cricket. Speaking at an event, he said that it ‘may be possible’ for Sahara to sponsor the Bangladesh team. “The Sahara logo is seen on the jerseys of Indian cricket team,” he said then. “Though I am not announcing it right now, but I can say it may be possible to see the same logo on the jersey of Bangladesh cricket team.”

Kolkata Knight Riders had their Champions League debut all but booked when they began the last over with 21 to defend

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga22-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
James Franklin followed up his two wickets with a match-winning 45•Associated Press

Kolkata Knight Riders had their Champions League debut all but booked when they began the last over with 21 to defend. Three edged boundaries off L Balaji and two missed yorkers later, James Franklin and Ambati Rayudu had seen Mumbai Indians to a highly unlikely win, breaking their three-match losing streak. The win set up a repeat clash between the two teams in the eliminator, an equivalent of a quarter-final.In all the chaos of the last over, which stunned the full house at Eden Gardens, Chennai Super Kings emerged the biggest gainers. Had Kolkata won the game, which they should have despite all those edges, Chennai would have finished third, and would have had to win two games in order to make the final. Now they need win only one of the two.Mumbai gained too: they needed to finish the chase off in 5.1 overs to make it to the top two, but by beating Kolkata they could have ensured a psychological advantage in their eliminator. For the best part of their 19 overs of batting, Mumbai scarcely looked like a team that could do so. Iqbal Abdulla removed T Suman in the second over, the pinch-hitter Harbhajan Singh managed 30 off 29, and Rajat Bhatia’s leg-rollers broke the batting order’s back with thee wickets in three overs.At 96 for 4 in the 13th over, it seemed too much was left for Kieron Pollard and Franklin. Pollard lived up to that expectation, but Franklin kept the fight up mostly with well-placed couples. A six and a four in between meant Mumbai were not completely out of it even when Balaji ripped Pollard’s leg stump out with 40 required off 15.If this was robbery in broad floodlights, Kolkata weren’t the most vigilant victims either. As much as the edged boundaries in the last over, Kolkata will also look back at little moments towards the end that proved to be decisive. Balaji bowled a wide with one ball left in the 18th over, and Ambati Rayudu lofted the compensation delivery over extra cover for a six. It wouldn’t be Rayudu’s last six of the night.The last ball of the 19th over hit Rayudu in the pad and rolled towards the keeper. The batsmen had all but stolen a leg-bye when wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami went for a direct hit, and conceded an overthrow. That kept Franklin – 28 off 18 now – on strike for the last over. L Balaji went for a wide yorker first ball, and a thick edge off the low full toss went between the keeper and the short third man. A slower bouncer followed, and the tope edge cleared the keeper again. Thirteen off four now looked so much more gettable.Balaji went back to the wide-yorker plan, and Franklin smacked the next low full toss past extra cover for four. Under pressure and in the face of some ill luck, Balaji was just not landing them right. The next ball was a low, wide full toss again, and another thick edge beat third man to make it five of two. The next low full toss found extra cover, and brought Kolkata some relief. However, just then Balaji chose to bowl the worst delivery of the over – a high full toss on the pads – and Rayudu helped himself to his second, and decisive, six.The stunned Eden gardens crowd could scarcely believe what they were seeing after they had cheered their team all night to what looked like a comfortable win. Most of it was thanks to Jacques Kallis who batted solidly at first and rapaciously towards the end. Along the way he was helped by breezy 30s from Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan, but it was Kallis who provided the innings the final impetus with 19 off the last five balls he faced. It was fitting then that the man who minimised the damage with the wickets of Kallis and Yusuf was none other than Franklin.

Playing out the final day was more of a formality for South Africa as the second Test ended in a high-scoring draw, confirming what many would have feared five days ago on taking a look at a road of a pitch at Warner Park

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran22-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outGraeme Smith was positive during his innings of 46•Associated Press

Playing out the final day was more of a formality for South Africa as the second Test ended in a high-scoring draw, confirming what many would have feared five days ago on taking a look at a road of a pitch at Warner Park. The surface hadn’t deteriorated enough over four days to give the bowlers any sort of advantage, so it would have been ridiculous to expect at least ten wickets going down to constitute a result.South Africa had all ten wickets in hand this morning when they took guard, and predictably went through the motions, with the aim of getting extra batting practice ahead of the final Test. It was, in other words, more of a televised nets session, with both teams resigned to the conclusion that no result was possible. The pitch was a poor advertisement for Test cricket, and the last two days in particular were completely overshadowed by other world sporting events viewers would have turned to – one in London and the other in South Africa.Despite the result, or the lack of it, West Indies had more to gain. Their batting was a shambles in Trinidad and perhaps a flat wicket here in St Kitts was the best thing for them to get their confidence back. In overhauling South Africa’s 543, they gained a moral victory, though the manner in which they got there was a topic of debate. The sudden shift of tactics from urgency to obduracy was questionable, but at least they ensured they wouldn’t lose. In their defense though, run-scoring on the fourth day wasn’t the easiest, with the left-arm spinner persisting with an over the wicket line to the right-handers.South Africa lost just three wickets till the final hour after tea, when the captains expectedly decided to call it off. But the extended morning session – to make up for lost time due to rain yesterday – wasn’t boring or lacking in action. Shane Shillingford got the ball to turn and bounce, there was a dropped catch, couple of confident appeals and a referral which was turned down. The batsmen weren’t too cautious either and weren’t afraid to reach out to the ball, even if the strokes weren’t convincing.Graeme Smith looked solid during his 46. He was positive against the spinners as well, rocking back to cut if it was slightly short. In one over, he chipped down the track to Shillingford and lofted it crisply over long-on and then leant forward to crunch one past covers. But Shillingford hit back by getting one to turn from middle and induced a thick edge from Smith, trying to cut.Smith’s opening partner, Alviro Petersen, was watchful and looked in control. He had a slip, silly point and silly mid-off but successfully negotiated the spinners, even reverse sweeping them. Hashim Amla, however, didn’t look so assured. There was a puff of dust when Shillingford landed it on the rough outside off and Amla was circumspect against the turn and bounce.Amla ought to have been dismissed on 21 when Bravo fluffed a sitter at slip, off Sulieman Benn. He managed five convincing boundaries against the spinners on both sides of the wicket, but perished to the impressive Shillingford, tucking it to backward short leg. Dwayne Bravo then ended the session in style by flattening Petersen’s off stump with a yorker.No wickets fell in the post-lunch session as the Test meandered towards a predictable draw. Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers went through the motions and built a steady partnership which extended to 104.Kallis began the second session in style with a couple of straight-driven boundaries off Shillingford. The offspinner, who took two wickets in the opening session, changed his line of attack to round the wicket to the right-handers as a very defensive option. The South Africans gave no chances, save for a run-out attempt at de Villiers – Roach’s throw from square leg missed the stumps at the bowler’s end. Kallis was solid as ever against the seamers, driving Bravo off the front foot and also pulling him for a powerful six. He reached his fifty with a clip to the on side just before the tea break.South Africa declared an hour after the tea break and the relief was palpable at the early finish to the game. The best the players can hope for is a sporting track at the Kensington Oval for the deciding Test.

Sam Billings fifty in vain as Kent lose fourth game on the trot

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2024 Sussex 201 for 7 (Ward 61, Lamb 40, Parkinson 3-31) beat Kent 170 for 7 (Billings 51, Bell-Drummond 37, Evison 34*, Lamb 3-37) by 31 runsSussex Sharks made it five wins out of seven in the Vitality Blast when they defeated Kent’s Spitfires by 31 runs at The 1st Central County Ground in Hove. But for Kent this was a fourth defeat in as many games.Kent’s challenge, to score 202, was always a daunting one, the more so after Zak Crawley was bowled by Ollie Robinson for 4 in the opening over – the England opener’s sixth consecutive failure to reach double figures. Robinson was also unlucky not to have Marcus O’Riordan lbw in the same over.But when O’Riordan was out in the second over, edging Nathan McAndrew to first slip, everything appeared to depend on Daniel Bell-Drummond and skipper Sam Billings, because there was a lack of experience in Kent’s late middle-order.Bell-Drummond and Billings looked the part as they added 93 for the third wicket. And when James Coles went for 19 in one over, and also dropped Bell-Drummond, a steepling catch, it looked a possible turning point. But Sussex captain Tymal Mills responded by bringing himself on at the other end and immediately bowled the Kent batter.That moved Billings firmly centre stage. But in the next over he sent a lofted drive to Robinson at wide long-off and the match looked over, despite a spirited knock from Joey Evison and a quick 18 from former Sussex player Harry Finch. Danny Lamb completed an impressive all-round match with figures of 3 for 37.Earlier Kent, who chose to field, made a good start when they conceded just three runs off the opening two overs. But the next four overs went for 19, 13, 16 and 17 as Sussex reached 68 without loss from the powerplay.In those six overs Daniel Hughes faced just nine deliveries. But Harrison Ward, showing form and confidence after his 68 at Chelmsford on Friday, made up for at the other end. He reached his fifty from just 24 balls, with some long hitting, both straight and to the short boundary on the left-hander’s leg side.Kent broke through in the seventh over when Hughes, who had swung Matt Parkinson for two sixes, was well caught by Bell-Drummond at long-leg as he attempted a third. Ward followed in the next over, caught by Finch on the deep midwicket boundary. He had made 61 off 28 deliveries, with six fours and five sixes.The Kent fightback continued when Beyers Swanepoel bowled John Simpson for three in the ninth and in the next over Tom Alsop was lbw to Parkinson for just 2, a very tight decision. When Coles gave Parkinson his third wicket, also lbw, for 21, Sussex had lost five wickets for just 36 runs.But some late hitting by Lamb, who managed 40 from 32 balls, saw Sussex past 200. Kent, for the most part, bowled well in discouraging conditions. But Swanepoel (1 for 53) and Grant Stewart (0 for 51) were disappointing.

Former NZ allrounder Corey Anderson and England international Liam Plunkett picked up by San Francisco Unicorns

Peter Della Penna20-Mar-2023A former India Under-19 World Cup champion from 2012 went first overall in the 2023 Major League Cricket domestic player draft held at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on Sunday night, but not the one some people might have expected.Harmeet Singh, the 30-year-old left-arm spinning allrounder formerly of Rajasthan Royals who last played first-class cricket in India for Tripura in 2020 but has since migrated to the USA, was the first overall selection by Seattle Orcas. Harmeet has made a name for himself on the cricket scene in the city after captaining Seattle Thunderbolts to the Minor League Cricket T20 championship last August.Harmeet was one of six players taken in the first round, all priced in a fixed $75,000 draft slot for the round. He was followed by a team-mate of his on the Thunderbolts, former South Africa Under-19 wicketkeeper Andries Gous taken by Washington (D.C.) Freedom.Related

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Former USA captain Steven Taylor went third overall to Mumbai Indians New York. It was a sign of things to come as MI New York wound up taking six USA national squad players, far and away the most of any franchise. J Arunkumar, who served as USA men’s head coach from April 2020 until December 2022, now serves as an assistant coach for Mumbai Indians and had been on hand in Houston throughout the week leading up to the draft to continue scouting local talent.Former New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson, who married an American and migrated to her home state of Texas in 2020, was taken fourth overall by San Francisco Unicorns. Los Angeles Knight Riders took USA fast bowling superstar Ali Khan with the fifth overall pick in the first round, maintaining continuity with a player who has been a squad member with Kolkata Knight Riders, Trinbago Knight Riders and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. Rusty Theron, who previously represented South Africa prior to moving to the USA whom he subsequently debuted for in 2019, went with the final pick in the first round to Team Texas, the franchise affiliated with Chennai Super Kings.Unmukt Chand, who gained fame in India for captaining India to the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, was LA Knight Riders’ second pick in a round valued at $65,000. In the third round ($50,000), Knight Riders also snapped up USA wicketkeeper Jaskaran Malhotra, who became the fourth player to hit six sixes in an international match in 2021 in an ODI against Papua New Guinea, as well as former Canada captain Nitish Kumar in round four ($40,000).One of the other most notable headline names in the league joined Anderson at the Unicorns in round two. Liam Plunkett, whose final match for England was the 2019 World Cup Final at Lord’s where he took three wickets in the epic super over win over New Zealand, was the ninth overall selection. After wrapping up his English domestic career with Welsh Fire in The Hundred competition in 2021, Plunkett moved to suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his American wife’s hometown.Unmukt Chand was LA Knight Riders’ second pick•Unmukt Chand/Twitter

A significant presence of former Pakistan players now residing around the USA were taken in the draft. Hammad Azam was the first of six ex-senior Pakistan internationals now in the USA who were drafted, taken by MI New York. He was followed one pick later in the second round by Mukhtar Ahmed to Washington Freedom. Ehsan Adil joined Hammad at MI New York in round four while round five ($35,000) saw Saad Ali go to the Freedom and Sami Aslam taken by Team Texas. Nauman Anwar was the last one to go in round six ($25,000) to Seattle Orcas. Aside from those six, three other players with first-class cricket experience in Pakistan were also drafted: Shayan Jahangir to MI New York and Saif Badar to LA Knight Riders in round seven ($15,000) and Zia Shahzad to Team Texas in round eight ($10,000).Eleven other current or recent USA national team squad members were chosen, including a trio in round four – Nosthush Kenjige (MI New York), Saurabh Netravalkar (Freedom) and Cameron Gannon (Seattle Orcas) – as well as current USA men’s captain Monank Patel (MI New York) and his vice-captain Aaron Jones (Seattle Orcas) in round five.But perhaps the biggest winner of the night was 20-year-old left-arm spinning allrounder Ali Sheikh, who went to LA Knight Riders in round six. The former USA Under-19 squad member has yet to make his senior team debut, despite being in the T20I squad for USA’s 1-1 T20I series draw against Ireland in December 2021.Liam Plunkett, who last played for England during the 2019 World Cup final, was signed by Unicorns in round two of the Draft•Getty Images

But Sheikh saw his stock rise dramatically during a T20 Quadrangular series staged by MLC last week in Houston played among the pool of draft prospects in which he claimed two Player-of-the-Match awards for a pair of phenomenal death displays on both sides of the ball. On the first occasion, he took three wickets in the 20th over before top-scoring with 49 two days later, which included two fours and two sixes in the 20th over.Among other players who were picked having previously played senior international cricket for Test nations were the Sri Lankan pair of Shehan Jaysuriya (R2, Seattle Orcas) and Angelo Perera (R8, Seattle Orcas) as well as former South Africa spinner Dane Piedt (R6, Freedom).Seattle Orcas – Harmeet Singh, Shehan Jayasuriya, Shubham Ranjane, Cameron Gannon, Aaron Jones, Nauman Anwar, Phani Simhadri, Angelo Perera, Matthew Tromp (U23).Washington (D.C.) Freedom – Andries Gous, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Saurabh Netravalkar, Saad Ali, Dane Piedt, Sujith Gowda, Justin Dill, Akhilesh Bodugum (U23).MI New York – Steven Taylor, Hammad Azam, Ehsan Adil, Nosthush Kenjige, Monank Patel, Sarbjeet Ladda, Shayan Jahangir, Kyle Phillip, Saideep Ganesh (U23).SF Unicorns – Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Tajinder Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Carmi Le Roux, Brody Couch, David White, Smit Patel, Sanjay Krishnamurthi (U23).LA Knight Riders – Ali Khan, Unmukt Chand, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Corne Dry, Ali Sheikh (U23), Saif Badar, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Bhaskar Yadram (U23)Team Texas – Rusty Theron, Calvin Savage, Lahiru Milantha, Milind Kumar, Sami Aslam, Cameron Stevenson, Cody Chetty, Zia Shahzad, Sai Mukkamalla (U23)

Tom Prest and Yash Dhull reveal details of inspiring conversations with their seniors ahead of the big match

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2022Messages from the players’ senior counterparts have lifted the mood of both camps ahead of Saturday’s Under-19 World Cup final. Virat Kohli interacted with India’s players, while a host of big names – “Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, quite a few,” according to England captain Tom Prest – did their best to gee up England’s Under-19s.”They were saying how impressed they have been with us and proud of what we have done getting to our first Under-19 final in 24 years,” Prest said in his pre-final press conference. “It’s amazing to know they have been watching and following from whatever they have been doing.”Related

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Prest said England’s Under-19s have looked to emulate the senior team’s style of play in white-ball cricket right through this World Cup.”Yeah, we’ve tried to play that attacking brand of cricket that Eoin Morgan instilled in that squad,” he said. “Whether that is with the bat, ball or field, we always try to take the positive option. That was one of the messages they were saying in their video they sent this morning – to not back down from the big occasion in the final and still play with that positive intent.”The former England offspinner Graeme Swann, who was part of the side that won the Under-19 World Cup in 1998, is a member of the commentary team now. He also had some words of advice for the England players.”[Swann spoke about] How big momentum is in these tournaments and to not get complacent,” Prest said. “He said in our game against Canada, we won it convincingly but our last ten overs looked a bit slack because we knew we had already won the game. Hearing that from him that it didn’t look great from the outside gave us a kick in the right direction that we can’t get complacent regardless of the stage or situation of the game.”