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As the Bangladesh team consultant, Gary Kirsten’s first order of business will be to help the BCB finalise on a head coach. BCB president Nazmul Hassan said on Monday that Kirsten is looking at the three candidates shortlisted by the board, to determine who would be the perfect fit.Hassan said that Kirsten, who has already started work for the BCB, is expected to arrive in Dhaka next week, depending on whether Royal Challengers Bangalore qualify for the IPL playoffs or not. Kirsten is RCB’s batting coach and they will play their last league game on Saturday.”[Kirsten] is making his observations about what kind of coach Bangladesh needs,” Hassan said. “He is speaking to me, the players and the coaching staff. We will match our list of coaches with his, after which we will finalise everything. It will be easier for us.”We felt that it is best to consult with an expert before deciding on a coach. You will get to know something important by this month. Kirsten wants to know what type of coach we are seeking. He has already started working for us.”Hassan said that the new coach’s first assignment is likely to be the West Indies tour starting next month, as it is all but confirmed that Courtney Walsh will continue as the interim head coach for the three T20s against Afghanistan. “It is impossible to have a head coach before the Afghanistan series,” Hassan said. “But we are hopeful that we will have appointed someone before the West Indies series.”We nearly finalised someone but in the last minute he said that his family wasn’t agreeing with the move. So we cannot say anything until someone is here.”Bangladesh have been without a permanent head coach since Chandika Hathurusingha’s departure in November last year. They have already been refused by Andy Flower, Tom Moody, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Geoff Marsh and Paul Farbrace, and they have interviewed Richard Pybus and Phil Simmons who have already been employed by West Indies and Afghanistan, respectively.

ScorecardLiam Livingstone demolished the Derbyshire Falcons with a brilliant century off 49 balls as Lancashire Lightning bounced back in style with a nine wicket victory in the Vitality T20 Blast at Derby.After Thursday’s defeat to Worcestershire Rapids, the Lightning needed to respond and they delivered by restricting the Falcons to 161 for 4 before Livingstone and Alex Davies surged towards the finishing line on a tide of boundaries.Wayne Madsen made an unbeaten 76 from 49 balls and Calum Macleod 44 on his debut but the Lightning bowled well with Toby Lester taking 1 for 10 in his first T20 appearance as the visitors won with 33 balls to spare.The Falcons struggled from the start, losing a wicket after being put in to the fourth ball of the innings when Ben Slater was run out by a direct hit from Steven Croft at point and Matt Critchley went three overs later when he drove Lester to extra cover.

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Lester showed good control and although MacLeod marked his first appearance for the Falcons by driving Jordan Clark into the seats at the City End, the home side were in need of acceleration at 62 for 2 after 10 overs.Madsen scored four 50’s in last season’s Blast and he twice drove Matt Parkinson down the ground for boundaries before pulling James Faulkner just past a fielder at deep backward square for another four.MacLeod swept Livingstone to the fine leg boundary and the Lightning’s ground fielding was starting to look ragged as the third wicket pair moved through the gears.But when Macleod tried to cut Jordan Clark and was caught behind in the 15th over, the Lightning reeled the Falcons back in with only 27 runs coming from four overs.Madsen broke free by cutting Clark over the wicketkeeper for six and Alex Hughes pulled his first ball from Faulkner for six as 30 came from the last two overs.Livingstone launched the chase by driving Wahib Riaz into the sightscreen and Davies pulled Lockie Ferguson for four before driving Wayne Madsen over long off for six.The Lightning’s skipper cut and pulled Ravi Rampaul for boundaries and the game was running away from the Falcons as Livingstone and Davies plundered 17 from Hardus Viljoen’s first over.Livingstone reached 50 off 28 balls and celebrated by driving and pulling Critchley for consecutive sixes as the Lightning passed 100 in only the ninth over.Davies reached 50 off 35 balls before Livingstone smashed Viljoen for three sixes to complete a superb century and although he was caught at slip in the 15th over after smashing nine fours and seven sixes, the game had long been over as a contest

ScorecardWestern Storm confirmed their place at Kia Super League finals day, despite their match against arch rivals Southern Vipers being rained off in Bristol.Put into bat beneath leaden skies, Vipers advanced to 62 for 2 at the end of the eighth over before bad weather moved in.Following an inspection, umpires Rob White and Chris Watts adjudged the outfield too wet to permit further play and decided they had no alternative but to abandon the game.Both sides take two points, an outcome that means defending champions Storm are guaranteed a place at finals day in Hove on August 27.But a no-result was the last thing 2016 champions Vipers needed and, with two games remaining, they are now in danger of going out in the group stage.

The ECB has moved to quell mounting speculation around possible innovations for The Hundred by issuing a statement to say that “no final decisions have been made” about the new competition planned for 2020.Following a string of reports last week suggesting that the idea for a ten-ball final over had been ditched, Tuesday saw two national newspapers carry stories about the number of players in a team: the proposed 12, while the suggested it could go up to 15. The concept was likened to that of the Super Sub used briefly in international cricket during the 2000s.With trial games for the 100-ball format scheduled for September, there has been increasing debate about the ECB’s plans – which could also encompass bringing 10-over cricket to the UK. In response, the ECB issued a statement to say discussions were ongoing.”No final decisions have been made on the playing conditions for the new competition, which will start in the summer of 2020. To develop the competition, there are a number of ongoing discussions, including within a high-performance group who are planning a series of pilot matches in September.

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“Conversations with players, host venues and stakeholders across the game are vital to the development and inevitably lead to speculation on a range of matters. Ultimately, it is the board of the ECB which makes the final decisions on the format and playing conditions for the new competition and that is expected later this year.”The high-performance group, chaired by former England women’s captain Clare Connor, is expected to put its recommendations to the board in November.Meanwhile, Mark Wood, the England fast bowler, added to the sense of uncertainty around the new competition when talking on BBC Radio 5 Live. Saying he had discussed it with Dwayne Bravo, West Indies’ much-travelled T20 veteran, Wood questioned whether international stars would be interested in playing an untested format.”I’m not sure these big players would be necessarily open to it straight away anyway,” Wood said. “I spoke to Bravo, who I played with at the IPL, and he wasn’t interested in the 100-ball at all.”So if the big players already in the IPL, they can see that game’s working – the 100-ball thing, they’re unsure, who’s to say they’re going to come straight away? They might be apprehensive and then we can’t attract the big players.”

Sherman Lewis, the right-arm fast bowler from Windward Islands, has been called up to West Indies’ Test squad for their tour of India in October. Lewis replaces Alzarri Joseph, who has been ruled out as he continues to recover from a stress fracture of the back suffered late last year.Lewis made his first-class debut for Windward Islands in March last year, and made a mark with 30 scalps at 21.66 in the Regional Four Day Tournament. Lewis also toured England with the West Indies A team for matches against India A and England Lions earlier this year. In the first unofficial Test against India at the Kent County Cricket Ground, he took four-wicket hauls in each innings as both teams traded the advantage before West Indies held off India for a draw.The decision to keep Joseph out was made after two fitness assessments, after which the Cricket West Indies medical panel made its recommendation. Joseph’s progress will be monitored at the High Performance Centre at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. He did return to limited-overs cricket in the preceding home series against Bangladesh, and was picked in the squad for the second Test of that series but did not play. He did get in four CPL games, though, after that.West Indies face India in two Tests, the first of which begins on October 4 in Rajkot. They will then play five ODIs, before the tour concludes with three T20 internationals. Members of the squad have already begun preparation for the tour with training sessions at the ICC Academy in Dubai.

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A blistering display of power hitting from Marcus Stoinis helped Western Australia to a commanding win over Tasmania and ensured the Warriors remained undefeated heading in the JLT Cup finals. Stoinis had not scored when WA lost their fourth wicket, captain Ashton Turner, with 123 runs still needed from 25.1 overs. He took four deliveries to get off the mark and scored just 10 runs from his first 16 deliveries.But just as he did against Victoria last week, he unleashed a ball-striking masterclass that very few current Australian players can produce in the second half of limited-overs matches at present. He struck seven fours and as many sixes from his next 33 balls to finish on an unbeaten 93 from just 49 deliveries to ice the game with 9.3 overs to spare.He was superbly supported by Jhye Richardson (29*) in an unbeaten stand of 124 from just 88 balls. As good as Stoinis and Richardson were, the platform laid by in-form duo Josh Philippe and D’Arcy Short certainly aided the chase. Philippe continued his rare touch, making 50 from 33 deliveries with seven fours and three sixes in an exhilarating 11 overs against the new balls. Short backed up his record-breaking 257 at the same venue last Friday with 63 at better than a run a ball. Although he was fortunate to make that many as the Tigers gave him multiple reprieves in the field.Earlier, Tasmania set an underwhelming total, failing to capitalise on a rollicking opening stand. Ben McDermott (76) and Matthew Wade (33) made enterprising starts but would feel they left a lot of runs on the table as Jason Behrendorff forced mistakes from both of them.Legspinner Usman Qadir continued to bamboozle opponents taking 2 for 40 from 10 overs, on what has been a spin bowler’s graveyard, to grind the Tigers to a halt. George Bailey made a terrific 79 and was well supported by Tom Rogers and Clive Rose (32 each) to edge the total towards 300. But in the end, it was nowhere good enough to trouble Stoinis and the undefeated Warriors.However, their staggering 10-point advantage at the top of the table and incredible net run rate counts for only a semi-final berth at an away venue, as all six teams will still play finals under the new JLT Cup format.

With West Indies’ top order failing in both T20Is, it was down to captain Carlos Brathwaite to do some explaining at the post-match presentation after the 2nd match in Lucknow. He rued not having any designated opener in the side, and said that the makeshift approach taken by the management – with regards to their opening pair – has forced West Indies to always have a rocky start with the bat in the series.In the first game in Kolkata, West Indies’ opening pair of Denesh Ramdin and Shai Hope – neither batsmen are regular T20I openers – lasted all of 15 deliveries, scoring only 16 runs between them, while in Lucknow, a new opening pair of Hope and Shimron Hetmyer fared only marginally better with a combined tally of 21 runs in 22 deliveries. With Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis opting out of the series due to personal reasons, Brathwaite said that the team was simply trying to make do with the resources that are available to them.”We didn’t come to the tour with an out-and-out opener, so we are still trying to find our best opening combination,” Brathwaite said. “There were a few theories in the first game and also this game, on how we wanted our batting order, for different reasons. Ultimately neither worked, because we failed to get a good start. But we’re working with the players we have on tour, and it’s difficult to choose the best batting pair, but we’re trying. Up until a theory works out, it will look bad and give the pundits something to say.”On a disappointing bowling effort from the pacers, Brathwaite raised his own hand without hesitation after conceding 56 runs in a wicketless four-over spell. Brathwaite’s spell, together with the four overs from left-arm spinner Kharry Pierre (0 for 49) allowed India to add over hundred runs in eight overs, and the West Indies captain felt that chasing a score close to 200 was always difficult.Brathwaite, however, did heap praise on the other newcomer, left-arm spinner Fabian Allen, as he conceded only 8.25 per over despite a difficult surface on offer for the spinners. But despite the ordinary bowling performance, the West Indies captain believed that eventually, it was the batting that let the team down in spite of a better show by them against the potent left-arm wristspin of Kuldeep Yadav.”Last game we bowled and fielded very well, but today I don’t think we fielded as well as we wanted to. I myself was disappointed with my bowling effort,” he said. “We let the team down with the ball, and chasing 195 was always going to be an uphill task, but there were a few positives.”The way Fabian Allen bowled in the middle, and he kept the openers under wraps and eventually got Shikhar out. It is hard to look at the negatives sometimes, just need to take the small positives and go away with them.””India batted well, but even at the halfway stage of their innings, we thought we were a wicket or two away to restrict them to 170-180. That being said, we didn’t bat as we wanted to. Our batting continues to let us down. But again, small positives, Kuldeep went for a bit today. We didn’t give a dismal performance, there were one or two positives. So while we often highlight the negatives, it’s sometimes good to take away the positives. We’ve got a young group, so important for them to understand where they went wrong but also appreciate the things they did right. Hopefully we can come away with them and get a win in the final game.”Stuart Law, the West Indies coach, shared the same sentiment as Brathwaite at the post-match conference. “We have got some fantastic T20 players. But, now it’s just about playing for pride,” he said. “It’s time for them to dig deep and play for pride, and give it everything in the last game. If we play anywhere near to our potential, we can beat any team on the day. We need to improve a lot to get to that stage.””The team does have a lot of potential, and ‘potential’ is a horrible word because talk is cheap and actions speak louder. But it’s the experienced guys who need to stick their hands up and do the bulk of the work. They’re supposed to usher the youngsters in, but they’re not quite doing that. It’s a young team, though, and they’re learning on the job. Regardless of being the current T20 champions, we don’t have the same team here and learning on the job against India in India can be mighty tough.”Law also defended Kieron Pollard’s inclusion in the side despite two ordinary performances so far. He made 20 in two innings so far, and his solitary over in the Kolkata T20I – that went for 12 – arguably shifted the momentum of the game back into India’s hands at a time when they were reeling at 57 for four. But Law said that Pollard brings much more to the table, and not just on the cricket field.”Pollard brings a lot, both on and off the field,” Law said. “With the youngsters in the squad, it’s someone like Pollard who motivates them in the dressing room.”He’s a senior member of the squad, and we all know what he’s capable of when he gets going. But yeah, Pollard isn’t in the side only because of what he brings inside the ground. He’s one of the biggest motivators of the youngsters, and he’s just a game away from reminding us why he’s such a T20 force. Look, Pollard himself would not be pleased with his show on the tour so far, and he’ll be itching to finish the series in a blazing manner.”For West Indies, it’s all about playing for themselves now. They travel to Chennai earlier than the hosts as the India players embark on a two-day Diwali break. But with the series already decided, there’s an opportunity for them to field left-handed hard-hitter Sherfane Rutherford and the left-arm quick Obed McCoy in the final T20I to see what those two bring to the table. It’s been a disappointing tour thus far, and they’ll like to finish on a positive note, but for now, they have a couple of days off to enjoy the festive season.

At the end of the 49th over of West Indies’ innings, Mashrafe Mortaza walked towards the bowling crease, teasing keen observers into believing he might hand over his cap to the umpire to bowl the last over – perhaps his last over for Bangladesh at home.Speculation about the Bangladesh-West Indies ODI series being Mashrafe’s last at home has been rife, and here’s why. Mashrafe, who has decided to step into politics, had said that he hoped to finish his career with the 2019 World Cup after Bangladesh’s participation was confirmed last year. If the 2019 World Cup is expected to be his swansong, then this is the last ODI series Bangladesh play at home before that.ALSO READ: Mashrafe to contest parliamentary electionGiven his age and fitness – and impending political career – Mashrafe is unlikely to stretch his career beyond the World Cup. Even if he does, given as of now Bangladesh have little lined up at home post the showpiece event – series against Sri Lanka in December 2019 and against Ireland in June 2020 – he has scant opportunity for even a farewell ODI at home. So, did he, at any point on Friday, feel that this would be his last home game?”Since 2011, I have always felt this way before a game, that what if I get another knee injury, then this will be my last game,” Mashrafe said. “I used to get knee injuries from nowhere in my early days. To be honest, I have never deeply thought about [this being my last game]. I want to be more prepared to face the challenges ahead.”He would reveal no more, instead telling us to wait and watch. “What I want to do after the World Cup, I will decide after the last match in the World Cup. I will come home and tell you if I am no longer playing, and if I want to review my situation, I will still let you know. So don’t be puzzled. Just relax.”Mashrafe had announced his T20I retirement during the toss of the first T20I against Sri Lanka last year, when the presenter asked him if the rumours were true. He had informed the team’s senior players first, and then the rest of the team. However, it came as a surprise for a few BCB officials who were present at the R Premadasa Stadium.He was asked about his ODI plans after the second game of this series in Mirpur, too. “If I don’t feel like playing any longer, I will leave the game,” he had said then. “I am a person who runs on my gut feeling, which makes it hard for me to answer your question.”

Nearly five months after being beaten 2-0 in a pace-dominated series in the West Indies, Bangladesh served up revenge on a spinning platter to the same opponents with an innings-and-184-run win in the Dhaka Test to complete a 2-0 series win. The victory was their first innings win in Test cricket. Mehidy Hasan Miraz underscored the supremacy of spinners with his match figures of 12 for 117, surpassing his own record for the best bowling figures for Bangladesh.Mehidy took nine wickets on the third day, the most by a Bangladesh bowler on a single day, and all 40 West Indies wickets fell to the Bangladesh spinners, a first for a bowling side in a two-Test series.Mehidy completed his second five-for in the game by dismissing Jomel Warrican caught and bowled for a duck, which was West Indies’ ninth, before Taijul Islam took the wicket of Shermon Lewis to complete the win, after the No. 11 had added 42 runs for the tenth wicket with Kemar Roach.Amid innings totals of 111 and 213, Shimron Hetmyer was the only West Indies batsman to stand out, striking nine sixes and a four in his 93 off 92 balls. His tally of sixes was the most by a batsman in Tests against Bangladesh, surpassing Kumar Sangakkara’s eight sixes in Chittagong in 2014.The rest of the line-up couldn’t withstand the pressure created by the Bangladesh spinners. Kraigg Brathwaite’s wretched tour of the subcontinent concluded when Shakib had him lbw for one before the lunch break. In four Tests in India and Bangladesh, Brathwaite totaled only 48 runs, averaging 6. Kieran Powell’s response to spin remained poor too: in the second innings, he charged at Mehidy, only to miss and was stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim, who had dropped him in the bowler’s previous over.Taijul Islam, who had bowled only one over in the first innings, then got into the game. Trapping Sunil Ambris with his second delivery. In his next over, he had Roston Chase caught at cover by Mominul Haque, leaving West Indies at 29 for 4.Hetmyer, who had struck one six before lunch, began the second session with a pull off Mehidy over midwicket before launching Taijul for two successive sixes over long-on in the 19th over. Hetmyer was dropped on 40 by Mushfiqur, but he went after Shakib, hitting three sixes in the 36th over, even as West Indies lost Shai Hope and Shane Dowrich.Hetmyer entered the nineties with his ninth six but off the very next ball, he drove a catch straight to Mohammad Mithun at long-off, giving Mehidy his 11th wicket. Roach at No. 9, struck seven fours in his unbeaten 37 off 49 balls but his innings only delayed the inevitable defeat.West Indies’ first innings had lasted just 51 minutes on the third morning, after resuming from 75 for 5. Mehidy took four of those five wickets, starting with a caught-and-bowled that sent Hetmyer back for 39, after the batsman in Mehidy’s first over of the day.Hetmyer and Dowrich added 57 for the sixth wicket in the first innings, and after Hetmyer fell, Mehidy had Devendra Bishoo brilliantly caught by Shadman Islam at silly mid-off, when the batsman struck the ball firmly into his lap. Kemar Roach was Mehidy’s sixth, caught at deep mid-on after Shakib had dropped his caught-and-bowled chance in the previous over. Dowrich was out lbw to Mehidy for 37 off 75 balls before Shakib wrapped up the West Indies first innings by dismissing Shermon Lewis for his third wicket. West Indies’ first innings included the unique feat of the top five all being bowled by spinners, a first in Test cricket, as they slipped to 29 for 5 in 12 overs on the second evening.

192 for 6 (Du Plessis 78, Hendricks 74, Shinwari 3-31) bear Pakistan 186 for 9 (Malik 49, Shamsi 2-33)Where Pakistan play with a stand-in captain and the bizarre arrangement of the PCB announcing captains will be appointed on a “series-by-series” basis, their South African counterpart – captain of all formats and all foreseeable series to come – demonstrated the benefits of having a rock in that position. Faf du Plessis thwacked 78 off 45 in a partnership with Reeza Hendricks that added a colossal 131 at almost eleven per over through the middle overs, helping South Africa post a ground record 192 in the first innings at Newlands. Hendricks played his own part in full measure, adding 74 off 41. Job done, Du Plessis came out to the press conference and announced that he would rest for the remaining two games of the series.For a Pakistan side that had put South Africa in after winning the toss, this was just a few too many. There was no partnership to even remotely be considered a challenger to that Hendricks-du Plessis onslaught. All South Africa’s bowlers needed to do was keep it straightforward, and watch Pakistan crumble under the pressure of a ballooning asking rate. They were more than up for it, and rewarded with a six-run victory, pulling ahead in the three-match T20I series.This might just be the start of the year, but you could be sure the partnership between Hendricks and his captain will rank among the elite by the time 2019 is out. Du Plessis has come in enjoying steely runs in the Test series and solid ones in the ODIs, and here he showed he could do sizzling runs too. From the moment he spanked Shadab Khan – the unfortunate whipping boy among a number of contenders in the Pakistan line-up today – through the offside for four, the gloves were fully off. Eighty-nine runs were scored in the seven overs beginning with that one, Hendricks just as much a participant in the carnage.15,13,12,14,15. Those were the respective fates of the bowlers tasked with sending down overs 11-15, Shadab, Hussain Talat, Usman Shinwari and Faheem Ashraf all unable to stem the flow of runs. The quicker bowlers were a shade predictable in their approach, both in terms of the pace and length they delivered at, allowing two settled batsman to take full advantage with almost consummate ease. Reeza Hendricks eyed Shinwari for the most severe punishment, a six over midwicket from around the wicket to Pakistan’s fastest bowler indicative of the confidence flowing through his veins following a brilliant ODI series.South Africa were so far ahead of par by the 15 over mark – 157 for 1 – they could afford a poor last five and still post a challenging total. Pakistan came back brilliantly with a Shinwari over that removed both du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen, conceding just one run. Ashraf nailed his yorkers in the dying overs as the runs began to dry up, and where the top order had once eyed 220, the lower order could only manage 192.Pakistan began poorly, Fakhar Zaman edging to slip off just the third ball. The sort of innings they have come to take for granted from the ever-dependable Babar Azam did arrive, and for a period, he and 22-year old Hussain Talat built up a launchpad partnership. The trouble was Talat wasn’t nearly as capable of keeping up with the required rate as Babar, and with the asking rate rising, someone had to take responsibility. 81 was added in 57 balls by the two, meaning around the halfway mark, Pakistan were just three short of South Africa’s equivalent tally.It was there that South Africa’s innings had really taken off, but the same overs in the Pakistan innings saw their challenge fade. Talat went looking for successive big hits, but it was the run out of Babar that twisted the knife into Pakistan. David Miller, who found himself all over the field in the final ten overs, directed a brilliant hit at one stump to catch Babar out. It would be one of a staggering six dismissals he effected, with four catches to complement two run-outs. From there on, Pakistan’s chase took on a manic, even unsophisticated air.Make no mistake, they were in it till the final few balls, but with the class of Babar removed, it was Malik at one end and rudimentary slogs at the other. The hosts were far more effective with the ball in the middle overs; Andile Phehlukwayo was the pick. The pace was varied effectively and the batsmen were routinely out-thought as slogs and misses became the norm, mistimed hits carrying to the deep fielders the expected outcome. Ashraf struck a six and got out, ditto Hasan Ali, and with skipper Malik the anchor from the other end, a bizarre game Pakistan were supposedly out of went to the final over.Here, Chris Morris, coming back into the side after an extended lay-off, showed the utility of his skillset. The yorkers were immaculate off the first two deliveries, forcing Malik to feel the pressure and hole out with three deliveries to spare. Shadab took it deeper still to make it ten off two, but in a game where South Africa always appeared to be just one step ahead, Morris made sure they came away with a six-run win to reflect that fact.