Australia blow away Bangladesh by 10 wickets

Australia made light work to see off Bangladesh in their rain affected super eight encounter at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. After restricting Bangladesh to 104-6 in 22 overs, Australia raced to the victory in just 13.5 overs without losing any wicket. Wet outfield caused by overnight rain forced a curtailed match of 22 overs a side.

In-form Aussie opener Matthew Hayden remained unbeaten on 47 runs and his opening partner Adam Gilchrist scored a fluent 59 runs in 44 balls in the 106 run partnership. Bangladesh wasted the only opportunity when young wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim misjudged an outside edge from Gilchrist of the bowling of Tapsh Baisya which went for a boundary.

Glenn McGrath led Australia to 10 wicket victory © Cricinfo

Australia made a terrific reply and raced to 50 in just 6.4 overs, spinners reduced the run flow but failed to cause any damage in the Australian innings and they reached the target with more than 8 overs to spare.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling display from Australia led by Glenn McGrath restricted Bangladesh to a meager 104-6 in the stipulated 50 overs. McGrath took 3 wickets for 16 runs to reduce Bangladesh to 25-3 and Bangladesh never recovered from that position.

Bangladeshi top order batsmen played too many shots too early and that caused their downfall. Dashing opener Tamim Iqbal was first to go when he was deceived by a slower from Nathan Bracken. McGrath immediately removed Shahriar Nafees by a beautiful Yorker and Bangladesh lost the momentum required to post a competitive total.

Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful played some beautiful shots but failed to carry on and went cheaply which effectively blown away the opportunity to crate any upset against Australia.

Habibul Bashar played a patient innings of 24 taking 43 balls which slowed Bangladesh progress remarkably. A 36 ball 25 from Saqibul Hasan and some late hitting from Mashrafe Mortaza lifted Bangladesh score to 104.

Nathan Bracken continued his impressive form in the tournament and picked 2 wickets for 20 runs, Shaun Tait who was the most expensive among Australian bowlers picked 1 wicket for 28 runs.

There were plenty of drama and uncertainty before the start of the match as overnight rain resulted in a wet outfield with a number of patchy areas. After an unscheduled delay of about 5 hours and six bouts of inspection the match was finally started at 14:30 local time (18:30 GMT) and was curtailed to 22 overs a side.

Two big quagmires on the boundary's edge were the main area of concern for umpires in every inspection. Poor ground management and lack of initiatives from WICB caused resulted in longer delay than expected.

First, the ?super sopper? broke down and then the grounds men lacked resources to make the field ready for play. Some ground staff even tried to soak water by jumping on pieces of sponges. The efforts were inadequate to say the least and as the sun was shining and there were good wind, the field was finally left to the nature?s will to dry up.

Fearless Bangladesh ready to face rampant Australia in Antigua

An intrepid Bangladesh begins their world cup super eight campaign against in-form Australia today at Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua. Bangladesh team has shown no intention to succumb to the fear factor of facing raging Australia and are determined to pull off another surprise like they did in Cardiff in 2005.

Current holder Australia is back in its best after drubbing tournament favorites South Africa and West Indies in previous two matches. On the way to the record hattrick world cup crown they are aiming to brush Bangladesh aside while Bangladesh camp has shown a lot of character ahead of the clash and are ready to embrace the champions. Australia has scored over 300 runs in their last six ODI and they 83 run defeat they inflicted on South Africa is the lowest margin of their victory.

Fearless Bangladesh ready to face rampant Australia © Cricinfo

After Australia captain challenged the oppositions to put them in after winning toss, Bangladesh captain Bashar vowed to follow their own game plan to interrupt winning trot of the Aussies. Bashar insisted that Bangladesh will make the life of the world champion's difficult to secure the win.

"We're not finished yet, it is not going to be easy; it will be very tough. But we believe it is not an impossible task. We had a good win against New Zealand, another against India - and we strongly believe that if we play well together on our day we can beat anyone" said Bashar in an interview with Prothom Alo, a Dhaka based daily.

The youthful Bangladesh wants to enjoy their game against the tournament favorites and feeling no pressure ahead of their toughest encounter of the tournament. Mohammad Ashraful, the hero of Cardiff win against Australia promised positive cricket on the field and Mashrafe Mortaza, the center point of Bangladeshi bowling vowed to unsettle the dominant Aussie top order to take the command. These optimisms can only show the part of the morale of Bangladesh team who qualified to the super eight after toppling India.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting rubbished speculations of a Cardiff replay and believes the cricket they are playing will be good enough to outperform Bangladesh. Australia in current form can easily demolish the young Bangladesh side but taking them lightly can turn into a costly affair as Bangladesh has already established them as the "Surprise Packet" of the tournament.

Australians are a bit concerned about the batting form of Michael Hussey and he may get a promotion in batting order in today's match. Bangladesh is most likely field the same team that played against India.

Australia (probable) Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, Shane Watson, Brad Hogg, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait.

Bangladesh (probable) Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Saqibul Hasan, Aftab Ahmed, Habibul Bashar (captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Abdul Razzak, Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafee Mortaza, Syed Rasel.

Umpires - Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Billy Bowden (New Zealand).

Ponting Wary of Improved Bangladesh

Australian captain Ricky Ponting showed his awareness about the potential challenge from a youthful and improved Bangladesh in their super eight clash at Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua on March 31.

Ponting admitted that Bangladesh has made a dramatic progress in their cricketing ability over the last couple of years and they can pose significant threat to major oppositions.

"Bangladesh has progressed quite dramatically, they could have almost won the first Test match over there (last year )", Ponting said recalling the memories of famous Fatullah test in Bangladesh.

According to Ponting the young Bangladesh side can only progress upwards from their current position and they are in the right direction under Dav Whatmore.

Fans cheering Bangladesh win against Australia in Cardiff. © Cricinfo

"You just have to look at some of the younger guys in their side now, and see how they played against India early on, they're definitely a nation on the way up, and they've got good, exciting young players. Dav Whatmore is doing a fantastic job with them," added Ponting while talking to AAP ahead of Bangladesh tie.

He particularly picked dashing opener Tamim Iqbal as one of the most aggressive player of Bangladesh side and Australians are analyzing his strengths and weaknesses to get him cheaply.

"The young left hander (Tamim Iqbal) who got 51 early on in the tournament looked particularly aggressive and we've got some footage."

Australians have a lot of knowledge about the young Tigers as two of their coaching staff worked with Bangladesh U-19 squad with current bunch of players. Australians are using their experience to find out tactics to tame the Tigers.

"(Centre of Excellence senior coach) Richard McInnes and (Australia strength and conditioning coach) Justin Cordy worked with a lot of the Bangladeshis when they were over there so we have a bit of information on them."

Bangladesh will be banking on the memories of toppling Australia in Cardiff in 2005 and after qualifying from group of death they are keen to progress further.

There are no injury worries in Bangladesh side and they have declared 12 men squad for the Aussie clash and included young exciting fast bowler Shahadat Hossain for the first time in the tournament.

Ponting Wary of Improved Bangladesh

Australian captain Ricky Ponting showed his awareness about the potential challenge from a youthful and improved Bangladesh in their super eight clash at Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua on March 31.

Ponting admitted that Bangladesh has made a dramatic progress in their cricketing ability over the last couple of years and they can pose significant threat to major oppositions.

"Bangladesh has progressed quite dramatically, they could have almost won the first Test match over there (last year )", Ponting said recalling the memories of famous Fatullah test in Bangladesh.

According to Ponting the young Bangladesh side can only progress upwards from their current position and they are in the right direction under Dav Whatmore.

Fans cheering Bangladesh win against Australia in Cardiff. © Cricinfo

"You just have to look at some of the younger guys in their side now, and see how they played against India early on, they're definitely a nation on the way up, and they've got good, exciting young players. Dav Whatmore is doing a fantastic job with them," added Ponting while talking to AAP ahead of Bangladesh tie.

He particularly picked dashing opener Tamim Iqbal as one of the most aggressive player of Bangladesh side and Australians are analyzing his strengths and weaknesses to get him cheaply.

"The young left hander (Tamim Iqbal) who got 51 early on in the tournament looked particularly aggressive and we've got some footage."

Australians have a lot of knowledge about the young Tigers as two of their coaching staff worked with Bangladesh U-19 squad with current bunch of players. Australians are using their experience to find out tactics to tame the Tigers.

"(Centre of Excellence senior coach) Richard McInnes and (Australia strength and conditioning coach) Justin Cordy worked with a lot of the Bangladeshis when they were over there so we have a bit of information on them."

Bangladesh will be banking on the memories of toppling Australia in Cardiff in 2005 and after qualifying from group of death they are keen to progress further.

There are no injury worries in Bangladesh side and they have declared 12 men squad for the Aussie clash and included young exciting fast bowler Shahadat Hossain for the first time in the tournament.

"Bangladesh ready for super eight challenge" - Bashar

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar trashed negative talks about Bangladesh's qualification in the world cup super eight and want to prove their worth with some victories.

Bashar was upbeat ahead of the first super eight encounter against current champion Australia.

"Making the Super 8s is a significant step for improvement of Bangladesh cricket, we've played well to be here," said Bashar while talking to AP. "It's an exciting time for Bangladesh, we want to continue our good performance and are seeking to post some victories," Bashar added. "We're not here to make up the numbers."

Bangladesh ready to face super eight challenge - Bashar © Cricinfo

Bangladesh captain also showed optimism about Bangladesh's chances in the super eight and is keen to silence the critics with performances on the field.

"There were people who doubted our ability and this is our chance to prove things," Bashar said.

According to Bashar, Bangladesh will be under less pressure in the super eight stage as they will have opportunities to learn from their mistakes to bounce back.

"The preliminary round was more of a knock out competition, we'd been out of the tournament had we lost both to India and Sri Lanka, but now we'll have six matches."

Bangladesh has reached Antigua where they will play their first two super eight matches against Australia and New Zealand. Bangladesh captain was happy to start super eight campaign in Antigua as they are already familiar with the island conditions. Bangladesh launched their world cup campaign playing a tri-series featuring Bermuda and Canada in Antigua.

"We're glad to be back in Antigua, where we won that tri-series," he said. "We like this venue, the boys are upbeat about the upcoming challenge."

Chandana Spins Sri Lanka A To Victory

Sri Lanka A completed the clean sweep in the 2 match test series against Bangladesh A by winnings the 2nd Match by 101 runs at Colts Cricket Ground in Colombo today (Wednesday).

Bangladesh A succumbed to the Sri Lanka A slow bowlers as they shared all 10 wickets of the second innings and were all out for 239 runs in 84 overs.

It was Upul Chandana who put Sri Lanka in command after Bangladesh A started the final day confidently chasing a victory target of 341. Once part-timer Jehan Mubarak broke the 60 run opening partnership, Chandana ripped through the Bangladesh top order with 3 quick wickets and reduced them to 76-4 and Bangladesh never recovered from that position.

In the middle of the Bangladesh innings Nadif Chowdhury (75) and Mohammad Sharif (35) formed an 83 run partnership in a bid to save the match but Chandana struck again to remove Sharif to end any Bangladesh hope.

Jehan Mubarak and Rangana Herath shared the last four wickets as the Bangladesh tail could not provide sufficient resistance and lost last 3 wickets for 9 runs.

Upul Chandana was the pick of the Sri Lanka A attack and took 4 wickets for 67 runs, Rangana Herath and Jehan Mubark took 3 wickets each for 38 and 53 runs respectively.

The two teams will play a 3 match one day series which starts at the same venue on March 31, the last two limited-over games will take places at the P Sara Stadium also in the Sri Lankan capital on April 2 and 4.

Final Scores

Sri Lanka A: 395 (Michael Vandort 114, Jehan Mubarak 55, Kaushal Silva 75 ; Enamul Haque 6-106, Mohammad Sharif 2-36) and 184-6 dec (Jehan Mubarak 51, Kanchana Gunawardene 51; Mosharraf Hossain 5-69)

Bangladesh A: 239 (Mehrab Hossain 51, Tushar Imran 38, Mahmudullah 37*; Rangana Herath 5-45, Sujeewa Silva 2-44) and 239 (Nadif Chowdhury 75, Mohammad Sharif 35; Upul Chandana 4-67, Rangana Herath 3-38, Jehan Mubarak 3-53)

Mosharraf Revives Bangladesh A In Colombo

After the magic of Enamul Haque Jr., another slow left arm bowler Mosharraf Hossain took 5 wickets in the Sri Lanka A second innings to revive Bangladesh A in the second test match at Colts Cricket ground in Colombo.

Bangladesh A need 325 runs on the final day of the test to square the series. Bangladesh A captain Tushar Imran showed optimism to finish the uphill task and end the series on a high.

Earlier, Bangladesh could only add 38 more runs to their overnight score of 201-7 and conceded a massive 156 run deficit. Sri Lankan test cap Rangana Herath grabbed 5 wickets for 45 runs.

Sri Lanka A declared their second innings on 184-6 setting 341 as the victory target for Bangladesh. Kanchana Gunawardene and Jehan Mubarak scored 51 runs each amid wicket feast of Mosharraf. He effectively slowed Sri Lanka A charge and bagged 5 wickets for 69 runs.

Bangladesh A opener Jahurul Islam (7) and Mehrab Hossain (6) negotiated the 7 oevrs left in the day. Bangladesh finished the day on 16-0 and still require 325 runs to win the test and level the series.

Sri Lanka A: 395 (Michael Vandort 114, Jehan Mubarak 55, Kaushal Silva 75 ; Enamul Haque 6-106, Mohammad Sharif 2-36) and 184-6 dec (Jehan Mubarak 51, Kanchana Gunawardene 51; Mosharraf Hossain 5-69)

Bangladesh A: 239 (Mehrab Hossain 51, Tushar Imran 38, Mahmudullah 37*; Rangana Herath 5-45, Sujeewa Silva 2-44) and 16-0 (Jahurul Islam 7* and Mehrab Hossain 6*)