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Australia against India is a clash between teams with obvious imperfections. The loser goes home while the winner heads to Mohali, to play Pakistan on March 30

The Preview by George Binoy23-Mar-2011Match FactsMarch 24, Ahmedabad
Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)Whether Virender Sehwag will play Australia in Ahmedabad is not yet public knowledge•Associated PressThe Big PictureThis match can be seen through several prisms: champions of the world v pre-tournament favourites, misfiring middle order v misfiring middle order, pace-reliant attack v spin-heavy attack, athletic fielders v incompetent fielders. Australia against India is a clash between teams with obvious imperfections. The loser goes home while the winner heads to Mohali, to play Pakistan on March 30.If any of Ricky Ponting’s men are relatively weak-willed, compared to the Australians of campaigns past, they have had plenty to help them focus in the days leading up to this quarter-final. An Australian paper reported Cricket Australia were going to discuss Ponting’s future as captain. An English paper reported Ponting was going to jump before he was pushed. An Indian paper reported sinister allegations about Australia’s game against Zimbabwe, prompting an angry retraction demand from the ICC. Whether they were planted to drive Australia to distraction is debatable, but none of the stories was substantiated.Off-field dramas aside, Australia’s progress in this World Cup was smooth at first – a comfortable win against Zimbabwe, a smashing one against New Zealand – and then uninspiring, when they laboured against Kenya and Canada. In each of those matches, at least one weakness was evident: a captain struggling for form, a middle order troubled by turn, spinners incapable of striking, and fast bowlers with wonky radars. All of these frailties were exposed by Pakistan, who ended the legendary unbeaten World Cup run on 34 matches. Australia’s successes have been built around the opening partnership of Brad Haddin and Shane Watson, and the energy of Brett Lee. That might not be enough to topple India – but it might, for MS Dhoni’s team is far from the shoo-in semi-finalist it was expected to be.Before the World Cup began India’s batting line-up was thought to possess the armour of God, their bowling was considered less formidable but effective in home conditions, and the fielding was known to be average. As their campaign played out, it became evident that the armour didn’t fit the middle order – there were collapses of 9 for 29 and 7 for 51 – and the bowling, while adequate on helpful surfaces, was mediocre on flat pitches. The fielding has not been average. It has been abysmal. Slow anticipation, slower approaches to the ball, failure to cut off angles, and plain lethargy have allowed opponents to run at will.For a long time during West Indies’ chase, it seemed as though India would make the quarter-finals by beating only the three weakest teams of their group, which would have vindicated this forgiving format designed to prevent the upsets of 2007. But Zaheer Khan saved the day, as India expect him to. Zaheer apart, India have relied on Yuvraj Singh for an extraordinary number of wickets, as well as consistent runs in the middle order. The key, though, is at the top, where Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have provided tremendous starts. But even if they do it again against Brett Lee and Shaun Tait, it may not be enough.Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)
India: WLWWT
Australia LWWWWWatch out for…The batting Powerplay was conceived as an asset for the batting team, an aid in the pursuit of fast runs. In the months leading into the World Cup, it began to be a banana skin, with wickets falling as batsmen resorted to rashness during the fielding restrictions. India have slipped spectacularly on it during the tournament, scoring 9 for 154 off 130 balls. During the batting Powerplay, India lost 1 for 32 against England, 4 for 30 against South Africa and 4 for 28 against West Indies, squandering positions of immense strength. Australia haven’t mastered it either, making only 4 for 121 off 100 balls. Those five tricky overs could make or break a campaign tomorrow.If the stakes weren’t large enough to fire up Ponting, the talk about his captaincy and retirement will have strengthened his determination to end his form slump with a cathartic performance. Ponting has been dismissed by the short ball – a strength turned weakness – in this World Cup and by spin, a more traditional subcontinent susceptibility. His composure has also been strained. Eight years ago to the day, Ponting ended India’s World Cup dream in Johannesburg with a century of frightening brutality. He plans to watch videos of it in the hope that it will help him reproduce something similar in Ahmedabad.Sachin Tendulkar watched that World Cup slip out of India’s grasp as the bowlers conceded 359 in the final. He was then dismissed in the first over of the chase. The Player-of-the-Tournament prize was little consolation. He has the opportunity to write a wonderful script tomorrow – a 100th international century in a victory that will dethrone the World Champions. But cricket, like life, is never perfect.Team newsVirender Sehwag missed the last group game because of an inflamed knee and India are keeping news of his fitness under wraps. He batted on Tuesday and on the eve of the game as well, but Dhoni said they might wait as late as match morning to take a decision on his participation. If Sehwag does not play, India are likely to field the same XI that beat West Indies.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag/Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir/Suresh Raina, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.Australia have had an unchanged team since Michael Hussey replaced his brother in the XI, and they are likely to do the same against India. The weakest links have been middle-order batsman Cameron White and offspinner Jason Krejza and potential replacements could be David Hussey and allrounder John Hastings.”We haven’t finalised our 11 yet. We’ll have a bit more of a think about things this afternoon, make sure all our players have got through training well, with no injuries or illnesses,” Ponting said. “There’s a good chance that any of our guys could come in for this game. Coming off a loss last game wasn’t ideal for us, and we have to have a look at what we think is going to be the best make-up and balance for the game tomorrow.”Australia (probable): 1 Brad Haddin (wk), 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White/David Hussey, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Jason Krejza/John Hastings, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Shaun Tait..Australia played their World Cup opener at Motera, where they started slowly against Zimbabwe before accelerating to a formidable total. Ponting expected tomorrow’s pitch to be similar to that one. “It was pretty much what you’d expect for a subcontinent wicket: a little bit slower, spun a bit more in the second innings of the game maybe than the first,” he said. “We’re going to send our coaches down late tonight to have a look at the ground and see if there’s any dew about. I think it’s supposed to be 41 [degrees] or something [similar], so it will be nice and hot for the boys out there.”Stats and trivia India have lost their last four games in Ahmedabad. They batted first in three of those matches. Brett Lee has 50 ODI wickets against India, the highest by an Australian bowler. Four of his nine five-wicket hauls are against India.India have not won a game against Australia in a global tournament while chasing. Their last win against Australia in a World Cup was in 1987. In 14 ODIs against India in India since 2007, Australia have won eight and lost five.Quotes”People have been talking about the short-pitched ball a lot, and not to forget the best batsmen in the world don’t like facing the short-pitched deliveries. One good thing, it’s not something new to us. It follows us. Wherever we are, the shadows of short-pitched deliveries can be seen. I don’t think it’s a new strategy.”
.”Maybe we’ve just learned to keep our mouths closed a bit more. A lot of that chat hasn’t really happened since [Glenn] McGrath and [Shane] Warne went out of the team. Hopefully, our cricket will do the talking on the field tomorrow.”
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Malcolm Speed, the former ICC chief executive, has added his voice to the call for world cricket to be run by an independent commission instead of the existing board structure

Brydon Coverdale15-Apr-2011Malcolm Speed, the former chief executive of the ICC, has added his voice to the call for world cricket to be run by an independent commission instead of the existing board structure. However, while he believes a governance model without vested interests would be good for the ICC, Speed does not anticipate such a move being made.”I think an independent commission would be great, but I don’t expect it to happen,” Speed told ESPNcricinfo. “For it to happen, the member countries would have to vote for it, and I don’t think they’re going to give up their seat at the table.”During my time there, there was a proposal that the board be restructured so that there be two boards, one as a smaller executive board and then the bigger board that included all the countries. That was fine until we started talking about who might be on it and who might not be on it, and it just disappeared off the agenda.”One of the problems caused by a structure in which member nations are guaranteed representation at board level is that the system can become too politicised. Speed said one of the major challenges for the ICC in future would be to ensure that India used its power at board level and its financial clout for the good of the game.”I think the two big challenges are balancing the three forms of the game and accommodating India’s position as the financial superpower of the game,” Speed said. “It will be difficult. It will require goodwill on the part of the Indian administrators and the leaders from the other countries. From time to time, I think there will be disagreement which will require the leaders of the other countries to stand up to India from time to time.”But Speed said the idea that the ICC was often split along lines of geography or race was not correct. “That’s sometimes overdone. From time to time countries would come together when they had a common view, but it wasn’t as if there was a constant pairing of Asian countries and African countries all with the same view.”Sometimes, for instance, Pakistan would take quite a different view from India on key issues. The sense of there being an Asian bloc that votes together on all issues certainly wasn’t the case in my time.”Speed, who has recently released his book of memoirs, , said he remains philosophical about his being removed as chief executive after his refusal to back the board’s position on Zimbabwe. Speed was sent on “gardening leave” for the final two months of his tenure after a board meeting in Bangalore, in April 2008, made it clear that he had lost the support of the majority of the ICC directors.In the book, Speed recounts the events that led to his departure from the ICC, which came after the board considered a KPMG audit of Zimbabwe Cricket’s finances. Speed writes that the audit found Zimbabwe Cricket’s financial records had been falsified for the 2005 financial year, but the board ignored a recommendation from its own audit committee to have the matter referred to the ICC’s ethics officer.”I asked for my disagreement to be minuted … I felt ill. The whole issue had been swept under the carpet,” Speed wrote of the meeting, which took place in Dubai in March 2008. He added that some members of the board, including the then vice-president David Morgan and New Zealand’s Sir John Anderson, had also agreed that the issue be referred to the ethics officer.However, the board decided against that course of action, and Speed declined to attend the press conference that followed the meeting, where he and the ICC president Ray Mali had been scheduled to speak to the media. A month later, Morgan and Speed negotiated the terms of Speed’s departure from the ICC.”I’m philosophical. I think I was philosophical at the time. It’s an occupational hazard,” Speed said this week. “It wasn’t surprising. I thought once I’d refused to go to the press conference there was a risk I’d be asked to leave. It didn’t surprise me, although I was surprised that it happened the way it did.”In his book, Speed describes several clashes he had with Mali, especially over Zimbabwe, and he said their relationship had “fractured completely” in November 2007. Speed writes that at the Bangalore meeting six months later – a meeting he did not attend – it became clear that Mali and other board members wanted him out.Three years on from his departure, Speed said he was “very pleased” to observe from the outside the success of the 2011 World Cup, and that the game appeared to be “in an extremely healthy position”.

Warne has been in the news over the past week for off-field altercations rather than on-field wizardry

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran19-May-2011Match factsFriday, May 20, MumbaiStart time 2000 (1430 GMT)Shane Warne’s final hurrah coming up•AFPBig PictureFour years ago, Shane Warne’s glittering international career came to an end after he helped Australia whip England 5-0 to regain the Ashes, and he contentedly signed off noting that his team owned every major trophy on offer. The finale of his IPL career has been diametrically opposite, with his inconsistent side, Rajasthan Royals, eliminated early and Warne himself has been in the news over the past week for off-field altercations rather than on-field wizardry.There have been glimpses of the old bewitching loop and cricketing nous but that hasn’t been enough to inspire his team to reach the play-offs. Rajasthan have little at stake in Friday’s match against Mumbai Indians and the highlight for cricket aficionados will be the last chance to see the celebrated Warne v Tendulkar rivalry.Mumbai have been off the boil in the past couple of matches and have lost their seemingly nailed-on spot at the top of the table, slipping down to third. There is still an outside chance that Mumbai may not make the play-offs, a possibility they will look to eliminate on Friday.Form guide (most recent first)Mumbai Indians LLWWW (fourth in points table)
Rajasthan Royals LLLLW (seventh in points table)Team talkThe bowling hasn’t been much of a worry for Mumbai, and it is the batting packed with headliners that has struggled over the past week. It’s likely they will re-jig the order instead of making too many personnel changes.With Rajasthan out of the tournament, it is hard to predict what strategy they will follow. In their previous game, they made an unprecedented six changes, leaving out usual starters Ross Taylor and Johan Botha.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team Selector.In the spotlightAndrew Symonds has had a poor IPL so far, and one of the reasons he remains in the XI is the lack of proven overseas alternatives in the Mumbai squad. His combination of talent and temperament is exactly the spark Mumbai need to right their recent failures.Prime numbersShane Warne has the unwanted record of most ducks in the IPL – sevenSachin Tendulkar has nearly a 1000 IPL runs more than any other Mumbai batsman, batting for Mumbai – a majority of Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds’ IPL runs have come for Deccan ChargersThe chatter”We didn’t play well. We didn’t bat well. We played way below our potential. We are quite aware of that. It’s quite an important game for us and we need to win it.”

Murray Goodwin made the highest score of the season so far as Yorkshire’s bowlers were made to toil again

30-May-2011
ScorecardMurray Goodwin made the highest score of the season so far as Yorkshire’s bowlers were made to toil again on the second day of the County Championship Division One game at Hove.Goodwin compiled an undefeated 274 before Sussex declared 30 minutes before tea on 548 for 4. Yorkshire reached 21 without loss in reply when bad light brought a premature close with only 4.2 overs possible after tea.It was the eighth time in his 11 years with the county that the 38-year-old Goodwin has lodged a double hundred and, apart from one waft which flew through the slips on the first day when he was on 49, he hardly played a false shot.After reaching his double hundred he thrashed his next 74 runs off just 56 balls with leg-spinner Adil Rashid, whose figures of nought for 187 were the worst of his career and the third-worst ever by a Yorkshire bowler, coming in for particularly savage treatment as Goodwin twice struck him for three successive boundaries.When the declaration came Goodwin had made the third-highest individual score against Yorkshire, while there have only been six bigger scores by Sussex batsmen in their history – with Goodwin responsible for two of them. He faced 397 balls and hit 37 fours.At the start of the day Goodwin extended his stand with Luke Wells to 304, Sussex’s second-highest for the third wicket, before the 20-year-old Wells was run out in sight of his own double hundred.Wells came back for a second after Goodwin flicked the ball to long leg but his partner was not interested and Wells turned too late to beat Steven Patterson’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Wells batted for seven-and-a-half hours for his career-best 174 and faced 338 balls, hitting 26 fours and a six.Yorkshire’s only other success on a chastening day for their attack was also a run-out, when Oliver Hannon-Dalby spotted that skipper Mike Yardy had strayed out of his ground after defending back up the pitch and side-footed the ball against the stumps in his follow-through. But Goodwin and Andrew Hodd thrashed another 100 for the fifth wicket in 17 overs before leaving Yorkshire needing 399 just to avoid the follow-on.Yorkshire openers Joe Root and Joe Sayers negotiated 11.2 overs either side of tea in fading light but the follow-on target of 399 is still some way off.

Keaton Jennings has been retained as captain for South Africa Under-19’s tour of England in July 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2011Keaton Jennings has been retained as captain for South Africa Under-19’s tour of England in July 2011. Jennings is part of a 15-man squad that will play seven youth ODIs, starting at Edgbaston on July 16 and travelling on to Northampton, Arundel Castle in West Sussex, Taunton and Canterbury.The touring group also includes Quinton de Kock, who was Man of the Series award during Zimbabwe Under-19’s tour of South Africa in January this year, Malcolm Nofal, who has displayed plenty of all-round potential for the Gauteng Strikers, and several players with first-class experience. Ray Jennings, Keaton’s father and the former coach of the national side, will be head coach on the tour, while Shaheed Alexander and Geoffrey Toyana are his assistants.The tour will form an important part of the team’s preparation for the Under-19 World Cup, which will take place in Australia next year. Eleven players in this squad are eligible to play.”This tour is a very important component of the CSA [Cricket South Africa] Pipeline process,” said CSA Schools Cricket manager Niels Momberg. “This group were all identified some years ago and put through various levels of coaching and playing levels.”SA Under-19 squad Keaton Jennings (capt), Gihahn Cloete, Quinton de Kock (wk), Corne Dry, Rabian Engelbrecht, Malcolm Nofal, Lesiba Ngoepe, Duanne Olivier, Shaylin Pillay, James Price, Diego Rosier, Calvin Savage, Prenelan Subrayen, Regardt Verster, Lizaad Williams.

Persistent rain ensured not a single ball was bowled in the Friends Life t20 clash between Northamptonshire Steelbacks and the Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Wantage Road

08-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Persistent rain ensured not a single ball was bowled in the Friends Life t20 clash between Northamptonshire Steelbacks and the Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Wantage Road.It had been raining steadily in Northampton since the afternoon and umpires Nigel Cowley and Steve Garratt officially called off proceedings at 7pm – 10 minutes after play had been due to start.The Steelbacks, who are bottom of the North Group, travel to Derbyshire tomorrow and have one more chance to finally get a home win when they face the Lancashire Lightning on Tuesday.The Outlaws already have a home quarter-final in the bag having only lost once in this year’s competition and they face the Lightning at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Sri Lanka A face a huge final-day run chase after being set 463 by Leicestershire although started briskly to reach 71 for 1

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2011
ScorecardSri Lanka A face a huge final-day run chase after being set 463 by Leicestershire although started briskly to reach 71 for 1 despite losing a wicket to the first ball of their second innings.Leicestershire built their lead at a steady pace with useful contributions throughout the order. Greg Smith hit 67 and took his second-wicket stand with James Taylor to 102 before Sri Lanka staged a mini fightback.Four wickets fell for 37, including two to offspinner Sachithra Senanayake, but Leicestershire’s advantage was always substantial. It was further extended by Wayne White (57) and Tom New (62) as they added 129 in 28 overs to take the game away from the visitors.Sri Lanka didn’t get the solid start they needed to the chase as Malinda Warnapura was caught behind first ball off Nadeem Malik but Lahiru Thirimanne, who was part of the recent Test side that toured England, and Bhanuka Rajapaksascore freely during a truncated final session.

Unicorns left it until the final game of the competition to pick up their first Clydesdale Bank 40 win of the season, beating a dismal Glamorgan side by eight runs at Wormsley

29-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Unicorns left it until the final game of the competition to pick up their first Clydesdale Bank 40 win of the season, beating a dismal Glamorgan side by eight runs at Wormsley. The result alone did not tell the full story, though, with just three Glamorgan batsman making double figures as they came up short in the chase of a modest 192. Captain Alviro Petersen scored 93, more than half of their eventual 184, with Stewart Walters (60) and Aneurin Norman (15) his only support.James Ord’s 53 had been the highlight of Unicorns’ unspectacular total, and they would not have expected to take the two points at the interval. Chris Cooke ran out Unicorns’ Matt Thornely for 21 early on, and when James Campbell was stumped off the bowling of Michael O’Shea they were reduced to 51 for 2.A 44-run partnership between Ord and Jayden Levitt ended when the latter was trapped by Nick James, with Bradley Wadlan and Keith Parsons quickly following him back to the pavilion. Ord and Josh Knappett then put together a respectable 55 for the sixth wicket, but when Ord fell to Graeme Wagg, it was the catalyst for a collapse that wrapped up the innings.Gareth Rees went to the sixth ball of Glamorgan’s reply, nicking behind off Glen Querl who would end up with 3 for 33. Petersen could only stand and watch as Will Bragg became the paceman’s second victim, and it was only when Walters joined him at the crease that something started to happen.The pair put on 145 for the third wicket, with Walters impressing with an 84-ball innings until he found Querl’s hands off the bowling of Thornely. The wickets began to tumble again, with James going for four, Cooke getting cleaned up by Luke Beaven for a duck and Wagg being pinned in front of his stumps by the same bowler.O’Shea and Mark Wallace were then run out as Glamorgan pressed the panic button and, when Norman went to Querl after a quick swing of his bat, the game was almost up. The Glamorgan performance was summed up by the loss of Alex Jones for another run out, with Petersen still unscathed, carrying his bat for 112 balls, ending unbeaten with six fours and two sixes.

David Willey took a match haul of 10 wickets as Northamptonshire thrashed Gloucestershire by nine wickets

14-Sep-2011
Scorecard
David Willey took a match haul of 10 wickets as Northamptonshire thrashed Gloucestershire by nine wickets on the third day of their County Championship Division Two match at Wantage Road.Promotion-chasers Northamptonshire bowled Gloucestershire out for 185 in the morning with Willey claiming two more victims to take figures of 5 for 46 and a magnificent 10 for 75 for the match.The hosts were set a paltry target of 26 and, despite losing Rob Newton, they reached it within four overs to record their first home win since May. But even the emphatic result will probably not be enough to secure them promotion Surrey beating Derbyshire and Middlesex on well placed against Leicestershire.Gloucestershire started the day on 84 for 5 in their second innings, following on after being bowled out for 183 yesterday, with captain Alex Gidman resuming on 6 and Hamish Marshall beginning his innings.Alex Gidman was to move on to 27 before Willey broke through in the ninth over of the day when he forced him to edge to his Northamptonshire counterpart Andrew Hall at first slip. A four through backward point off James Middlebrook by Ian Cockbain ensured that the hosts would have to bat again but former New Zealand international Marshall was to perish on 42.Striding down the pitch after a Middlebrook delivery, he was sharply stumped by Niall O’Brien. Chaminda Vaas then accounted for Cockbain, who made a brisk 23, in the next over when he was edged to Hall at first slip.Willey then secured his maiden 10-wicket match haul and his fifth dismissal of the innings when he trapped Will Gidman lbw for five as soon as he was brought back on in the 51st over. With the next ball, Gloucestershire’s innings was brought to an end and with it the final one for Jon Lewis after 16 years with the club before his move to Surrey next season.Lewis had clubbed eight off two balls but he was on the receiving end of a brilliant piece of fielding by Newton at point, who threw a direct hit at the stumps.Chasing 26, Northamptonshire were to lose Newton cheaply for four in the second over when he smashed Ian Saxelby straight to Marshall at backward point. But victory was secured two overs later when Kyle Coetzer, eight not out, struck four behind square leg off Saxelby with O’Brien unbeaten on 14.

Mushfiqur’s effort laid to waste a compelling all-round effort from Marlon Samuels that did its best to overcome his team-mates’ inability to master the conditions

The Report by Nitin Sundar11-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe former captain bowled well, and the new captain batted nervelessly to set up Bangladesh’s win•Associated PressMushfiqur Rahim began his captaincy tenure with a nerveless, unbeaten 41 off 26 balls, as Bangladesh completed their first win against West Indies at home. With four required to win off the last two balls, Mushfiqur lashed Ravi Rampaul for a huge six over deep midwicket to provide the closing twist in a game that swung dramatically in front of packed stands.Mushfiqur’s effort laid to waste a compelling all-round show from Marlon Samuels that did its best to overcome his team-mates’ inability to master the conditions. Samuels battled through a typically stifling spell from Bangladesh’s spinners to score a half-century and give his bowlers something to defend. His seaming team-mates then let him down to allow Bangladesh’s top order easy runs, but Samuels hit back with the wickets of the two most experienced home batsmen – Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful – in an economical spell. Samuels, however, bowled out in the 13th over and West Indies somehow contrived to let Bangladesh’s bottom half get 62 off the last seven overs.There were striking similarities in the way the two innings panned out. Like their Bangladeshi counterparts earlier in the day, the West Indies fast bowlers were too short with the new ball. Like the West Indies openers, Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal capitalised with a flurry of early boundaries that set them up for the middle overs. Both line-ups lost steam rapidly in the middle overs before staging recoveries.Kayes looked in fine touch, punching and cutting when provided with width, but Anthony Martin got him to hole out in the eighth over to give West Indies an opening. Samuels struck with the next ball, sneaking an armer through Shakib’s defences to dismiss him for a first-ball duck. Alok Kapali then gifted debutant Carlos Brathwaite his first wicket with a mindless slog to leave Bangladesh at 53 for 4 at the halfway mark. With the resolute Mahmudullah out with fever, the Bangladesh middle order faced a dodgy chase.For a brief while, Ashraful showed signs of steering Bangladesh home, but perished off the last ball of Samuels’ spell. Mushfiqur kept Bangladesh afloat by hitting Martin for a six in the 15th over, but Naeem Islam succumbed to Darren Sammy’s slower ball to give West Indies the edge once again. It boiled down to 20 off the last two overs, and Brathwaite was handed the 19th over – bowling sides’ banana peel in the recently concluded Champions League.Brathwaite’s lack of pace and insistence on sticking to length deliveries meant he had to maintain exemplary lines. He missed his mark twice, and Bangladesh found boundaries on both occasions. Nasir Hossain swung a straight ball to midwicket, and Mushfiqur dabbed a wide one through third man as Bangladesh looted 14 off the over. Rampaul managed to dismiss Hossain and keep things tight for four balls of the final over, before Mushfiqur signed off in style.Earlier, Shakib and Abdur Razzak asphyxiated West Indies with a typically restrictive spell of left-arm spin, but Samuels seemed to be batting on a different pitch. Samuels walked out at No. 3 and began the international leg of the tour with two sixes off his first three balls against the habitually short Rubel Hossain. The first was a sumptuous swivel-pull over backward square leg, and the second an astounding pick-up shot that carried over backward point. Lendl Simmons found some fluency of his own, sweeping Shakib for four before planting Razzak beyond the midwicket boundary, but his exit exposed the deficiencies of the flat-footed middle order.Andre Russell edged Shakib into the covers and Dwayne Bravo missed an armer from Razzak that skidded on, before Darren Sammy tried to loft a ball that was too full and holed out to long-off. Danza Hyatt, meanwhile, missed a lap shot to be trapped in front, as West Indies went into tailspin, but Samuels kept counter-punching.He settled in after the turbo-charged start, gauging the conditions with a series of nudges and pushes off the spinners, even as his team-mates floundered. Having moved easily to 23 off 18 balls, Samuels opened up again with a cover drive off Naeem Islam in the 12th over, before guiding Shakib through point, both for fours. Samuels continued to upset Naeem’s lines, walking outside off and lashing him with the spin for his third six, before repeating the dose when Shakib dropped short. By the time he was out in the final over, Samuels had lifted West Indies to a respectable score, but it wasn’t enough against the rampant Mushfiqur.