Wednesday, March 12, 2008
PCB invites Bangladesh after Australia postpones tour
Islamabad, Pakistan: The Pakistan Cricket Board has invited Bangladesh to play a home limited-overs series next month after Australia announced Tuesday it will postpone its scheduled tour for security reasons.
"The dates of the ODI series will be finalized within the next few days because Bangladesh is the only test-playing country which has no international commitments next month," PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said.
Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O'Connor's announcement of Australia's decision to postpone its tour came just hours after two bombs killed at least 15 people and injured many more in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore.
The tour, which had been scheduled to start March 29, had been in jeopardy due to security concerns expressed by Australian players and officials amid a wave of violence that swirled around the Feb. 18 elections in Pakistan.
"This was a difficult decision based on independent review of the circumstances prevailing in Pakistan at the moment," O'Connor said. "We wish no loss to Pakistan Cricket Board and look forward to undertaking this tour in the near future."
The chairs of the Australian and Pakistani cricket boards will meet at International Cricket Council headquarters in Dubai next weekend to further discuss possible dates for the postponed tour.
Source: ICC
"The dates of the ODI series will be finalized within the next few days because Bangladesh is the only test-playing country which has no international commitments next month," PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said.
Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O'Connor's announcement of Australia's decision to postpone its tour came just hours after two bombs killed at least 15 people and injured many more in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore.
The tour, which had been scheduled to start March 29, had been in jeopardy due to security concerns expressed by Australian players and officials amid a wave of violence that swirled around the Feb. 18 elections in Pakistan.
"This was a difficult decision based on independent review of the circumstances prevailing in Pakistan at the moment," O'Connor said. "We wish no loss to Pakistan Cricket Board and look forward to undertaking this tour in the near future."
The chairs of the Australian and Pakistani cricket boards will meet at International Cricket Council headquarters in Dubai next weekend to further discuss possible dates for the postponed tour.
Source: ICC
Labels: Cricket
Monday, March 10, 2008
B-League 2008
Playe Registration: 15 March-14 April 2008
First Match: 17 April 2008
Fixtures: formulated but not yet published. wil be published after draw.
First Match: 17 April 2008
Fixtures: formulated but not yet published. wil be published after draw.
Labels: b-league
NOKIA became Bangladesh National Football Team sponsor
Multinational Mobile phone manufacturer company NOKIA became the Exclusive Sponsor of Bangladesh National Football Team for the first time in Bangladesh Football History.
It agreed to the offers of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to support the national team for the two coming international tournaments, the AFC Challenge Cup and the SAFF Championship. "We are happy to have Nokia with us. But we won't give you the financial details for the sake of football," said BFF president SA Sultan at a press conference at the BFF House yesterday.
The future relationship between Nokia and the BFF, however, will depend on how good mileage it gets from its involvement with football in Bangladesh. If things go the right way, Nokia will get involved in development programmes into the grassroots, especially at school level. "The world loves football and the Bangladeshis are no exception. And we at Nokia take pride in having our logo and name being carried by the team while they represent not only the country but the love of game," said Prem Chand, managing director of Nokia Emerging Asia. He also added that "I have seen young boys play football in the villages and also the craze during the World Cup football. Nokia wants to utilise this passion for football."
The national team will get financial support and use the Nokia logo on their gear although they would not be allowed to show the sponsor's name on their jersey during matches.
Yestersday in the press conference BFF President Mr S A Sultan, BFF vice president Mr Abdur Rahim, Mr Sirajul Islam Bachchu, VP-BFF & GS-SAFF, BFF acting general secretary Mr Manzoor Hossain, NOKIA Emerging Asia Ltd managing director Mr Prem Chand, Nokia marketing Manager Mr M Nowfel Anower & BFF communication manager Ahmed Sayed Al Fatah was present.
Bangladesh will take part in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers from May 5-10 in Kyrgyzstan where they face Laos, Afghanistan and the hosts.
In the 5th SAFF Football Championship, 2003 winners and 2005 runners-ups Bangladesh are pitted against hosts Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bhutan in the group stages to be played in Colombo. The SAFF Championship 2008 will be hosted jointly by Sri Lanka and Maldives from June 3-14.
It agreed to the offers of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to support the national team for the two coming international tournaments, the AFC Challenge Cup and the SAFF Championship. "We are happy to have Nokia with us. But we won't give you the financial details for the sake of football," said BFF president SA Sultan at a press conference at the BFF House yesterday.
The future relationship between Nokia and the BFF, however, will depend on how good mileage it gets from its involvement with football in Bangladesh. If things go the right way, Nokia will get involved in development programmes into the grassroots, especially at school level. "The world loves football and the Bangladeshis are no exception. And we at Nokia take pride in having our logo and name being carried by the team while they represent not only the country but the love of game," said Prem Chand, managing director of Nokia Emerging Asia. He also added that "I have seen young boys play football in the villages and also the craze during the World Cup football. Nokia wants to utilise this passion for football."
The national team will get financial support and use the Nokia logo on their gear although they would not be allowed to show the sponsor's name on their jersey during matches.
Yestersday in the press conference BFF President Mr S A Sultan, BFF vice president Mr Abdur Rahim, Mr Sirajul Islam Bachchu, VP-BFF & GS-SAFF, BFF acting general secretary Mr Manzoor Hossain, NOKIA Emerging Asia Ltd managing director Mr Prem Chand, Nokia marketing Manager Mr M Nowfel Anower & BFF communication manager Ahmed Sayed Al Fatah was present.
Bangladesh will take part in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers from May 5-10 in Kyrgyzstan where they face Laos, Afghanistan and the hosts.
In the 5th SAFF Football Championship, 2003 winners and 2005 runners-ups Bangladesh are pitted against hosts Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bhutan in the group stages to be played in Colombo. The SAFF Championship 2008 will be hosted jointly by Sri Lanka and Maldives from June 3-14.
SAFF Cup Draw
The draw for the fifth edition of the South Asian Football Federation Championships (SAFF Cup) was held at the Paradise Island Resort in Maldives and defending champions India are placed in Group A.
Ranked 145, India are in a relatively tougher group with Maldives (155), Pakistan (164) and Nepal (188) as compared to Group B which comprises of Sri Lanka (170), Bangladesh (171), Bhutan (199) and Afghanistan (188).
The tournament will be hosted jointly by Maldives and Sri Lanka. On paper, India look favorites to retain the trophy though Bangladesh and Maldives cannot be ruled out.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals which shall be held in Male and Colombo.
The finals will be played in Colombo on 14th June.
For fixtures see www.rubaisport.com/football/1540/2008.php
Singapore, Socceroos set friendly
SINGAPORE – Singapore and Australia will warm-up for the next round of FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifiers with a friendly match scheduled to take place in Singapore on March 22.
The two sides last met in the Lion city back in June 2007 as Australia prepared for their AFC Asian Cup debut with a 3-0 win over Raddy Avramovic’s side.
Hosts Singapore are using the match at the Jalan Besar Stadium to fine tune ahead of their second Group 4 match, which is against Lebanon at the same venue four days later, and Australia are taking on the three-time ASEAN champions to prepare for their Group 1 clash with China.
The Socceroos will be looking to build on their 3-0 opening round win over 2011 AFC Asian Cup hosts Qatar while Singapore are hoping to bounce back form their 2-0 loss to four-time World Cup qualifiers Saudi Arabia.
Source: AFC
The two sides last met in the Lion city back in June 2007 as Australia prepared for their AFC Asian Cup debut with a 3-0 win over Raddy Avramovic’s side.
Hosts Singapore are using the match at the Jalan Besar Stadium to fine tune ahead of their second Group 4 match, which is against Lebanon at the same venue four days later, and Australia are taking on the three-time ASEAN champions to prepare for their Group 1 clash with China.
The Socceroos will be looking to build on their 3-0 opening round win over 2011 AFC Asian Cup hosts Qatar while Singapore are hoping to bounce back form their 2-0 loss to four-time World Cup qualifiers Saudi Arabia.
Source: AFC
Labels: football
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Chance for South Africa to dethrone Australia at the top of LG ICC ODI Championship Table
South Africa has the opportunity to dethrone Australia and secure the top spot in the LG ICC ODI Championship Table at the 1 April cut-off if it sweeps the three-match series against Bangladesh starting in Chittagong on Sunday.
Australia and South Africa are currently both sitting on 127 ratings points but Graeme Smith’s side is behind Ricky Ponting’s side by just 0.529 of a point when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
If the Proteas wins the series 3-0, they will stay on 127 ratings points but will finish ahead of Australia by 0.191 at the cut-off. This date is significant because the sides that lead the Test and ODI ladders on 1 April, pocket US$175,000 each for its achievements, while the sides that lie second collect US$75,000 each.
Last year, South Africa snatched the title just before the 1 April cut-off date, relegating Australia to second, and no doubt Smith and his men will be using the possibility of repeating that feat as a motivational tool for the series.
If Bangladesh manages to win just one game, Australia will retain its top position opening up a two-point gap with South Africa dropping to 125 ratings points.
In the longer version of the game, Australia is sure of collecting the cheque for US$175,000 and of retaining the mace by finishing on top of the LG ICC Test Championship Table at the cut-off date.
Australia leads the field by 30 clear ratings points.
As far as the runner-up to Australia is concerned, India is currently placed second and can only slip to third place if England makes a clean sweep of its three-Test series.
Although Sri Lanka will have completed its first Test against the West Indies (starting in Guyana from 22 March) and India will have played its first Test against South Africa (starting in Chennai from 26 March) before the cut-off date, the LG ICC Test Championship table is only updated after the conclusion of a series.
Australia and South Africa are currently both sitting on 127 ratings points but Graeme Smith’s side is behind Ricky Ponting’s side by just 0.529 of a point when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
If the Proteas wins the series 3-0, they will stay on 127 ratings points but will finish ahead of Australia by 0.191 at the cut-off. This date is significant because the sides that lead the Test and ODI ladders on 1 April, pocket US$175,000 each for its achievements, while the sides that lie second collect US$75,000 each.
Last year, South Africa snatched the title just before the 1 April cut-off date, relegating Australia to second, and no doubt Smith and his men will be using the possibility of repeating that feat as a motivational tool for the series.
If Bangladesh manages to win just one game, Australia will retain its top position opening up a two-point gap with South Africa dropping to 125 ratings points.
In the longer version of the game, Australia is sure of collecting the cheque for US$175,000 and of retaining the mace by finishing on top of the LG ICC Test Championship Table at the cut-off date.
Australia leads the field by 30 clear ratings points.
As far as the runner-up to Australia is concerned, India is currently placed second and can only slip to third place if England makes a clean sweep of its three-Test series.
Although Sri Lanka will have completed its first Test against the West Indies (starting in Guyana from 22 March) and India will have played its first Test against South Africa (starting in Chennai from 26 March) before the cut-off date, the LG ICC Test Championship table is only updated after the conclusion of a series.
Labels: Cricket
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