#OTD in 2014: Mahela Jayawardene featured in his last Test fixture
Russell Domingo en route to Bangladesh ahead of Asia Cup 2022
SL vs AUS | I think they will do the job: Karunaratne backs Sri Lankan spinners ahead of Test series
'If he can keep his fitness levels up, he can go a long way'- Herath on Shakib Al Hasan
In the latest interaction, Herath opined about Hasan, who is already 35. He reckoned that the all-rounder is experienced, but his fitness levels will determine the longevity of his career.
SL vs BAN | Five bowlers will help Bangladesh pick 20 wickets, says spin coach Rangana Herath
As per expectation, Bangladesh fielded Shakib-Al-Hasan, who was declared match fit last evening, bowled 19 overs for 27 runs, picking up the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva in the process.
Spin coach Rangana Herath to skip Bangladesh's tour of West Indies
The 44-year-old will be staying with his family, given the political instability in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh are slated to play two Tests, three ODIs, and 3 T20Is against the Men in Maroon.
New Zealand Health Ministry stops Bangladesh from outdoor practice
The Bangladesh cricket team has been not allowed to take take part in any outdoor practice sessions until December 21 in New Zealand, where they are currently lodged to play the two-match Test series starting January 01 2022. This decision was taken by the New Zealand Health Ministry in the wake of Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival in the Kiwi nation. Along with him, eight other members of the squad which includes players and support staff have been placed in isolation after they were identified as close contacts with a person flying with them from Malaysia to New Zealand who also tested positive. Bangladesh team manager Nafees Iqbal informed that the team was allowed to have one outdoor session on December 16, but post that they were once again asked to not hold any other practice session till further notice. "We were permitted to practice yesterday (December 16) but today we were forced to cancel our practice as per orders from New Zealand Government. We have done three Covid tests so far and there is still one to go and we will get released if everyone gets negative results in the next test on the ninth day of the quarantine,” Nafees was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. Talking about Herath’s present status, Nafees said, "Herath is fine now and he is recovering gradually. Our team is keeping in contact with him on a regular basis and hopefully, we will get him soon with us.” The visiting team was supposed to play one two-day intra-squad game from December 22 and then another two day game with New Zealand A from December 28 before finally playing the first Test starting January 01 in Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath tests positive for Covid-19
Bangladesh suffered a huge blow after spin bowling coach Rangana Herath tested positive for COVID-19 in New Zealand. The Bangladesh Cricket Board officials have said that nine members of the Test contingent which comprises players and support staff were in close contact with a COVID-positive patient in the flight and have been put under extended quarantine. The patient was flying with them from Malaysia to New Zealand. ''Herath is corona positive and will be doing extended quarantine till he is cleared,'' BCB cricket operations chairman, Akram Khan, said on Wednesday (December 15). "Look there was a corona positive in the plane and a couple of members of our squad along with Herath were in close contact with him. They are asked to do quarantine while Herath was found positive from them,'' he said. ''Other members of the squad have already been freed to practice from today though they could not do so due to rain after completing their mandatory quarantine period. The rest (who are asked to quarantine) will join them after obtaining a corona negative result following their quarantine period they were asked to complete.” Bangladesh are touring New Zealand for a two-match Test series scheduled to begin on January 1, 2022 in Mount Maunganui. The second clash is slated to commence on January 9, 2022 in Christchurch.
With long term prospects in mind, BCB hands Rangana Herath, Ashwell Prince short term coaching stints
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and former South Africa Test batsman Ashwell Pince as short term bowling and batting consultants. While Herath will remain with the team till T20 World Cup, Prince’s assignment is right now limited to the team’s Zimbabwe tour. The two of them will assist head coach Russell Domingo. "We discussed Ashwell Prince's appointment with coach Russell Domingo who rates him highly," Akram Khan, BCB cricket operations head was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "He will be with us during the Zimbabwe tour, after which we will decide. Herath will be with us till the World Cup T20. If things go well, we will think about them as long-term options,” he added. While Prince has been coaching South Africa’s domestic side Cape Cobras since 2016 and has been associated with the Proreas’ A side in the capacity of the interim head coach and batting consultant, for Herath this is a first tie opportunity at coaching. The 44-year-old Prince played 66 Tess, 52 ODIs and a solitary T20I for South Africa while appearing in more than 288 First-Class games across his home nation and England. Herath, 43, retired in 2018, before scalping 433 Test wickets, most for a left-arm spinner in the history of the game. Prince will be the third South African in Bangladesh's coaching staff along with Domingo and fielding coach Ryan Cook. West Indies' Otis Gibson is the Tigers' fast bowling coach. Prince and Herath will be travelling to Zimbabwe with the team next week. On the tour, the team will play one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is, starting with the Test at Harare from July 7 onwards.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Test series: 5 big factors that will decide the series
Last time Sri Lanka toured South Africa, the world witnessed one of the most unexpected outcomes from a Test series. First, Kusal Perera played an all-time classic innings to achieve a most unexpected victory for his team in the first Test and then, a clinical performance in the second gave the Lankans their first-ever Test series win in South Africa. Now, as the Sri Lankans return, the Proteas are still trying to recover from the devastation caused to them in the year 2019 and, in the first half of 2020 also. Following the upset loss to Lanka at home, the South Africans performed poorly in the World Cup, got whitewashed in India and were thoroughly beaten at home by England. South Africa are in desperate need of a good win to get themselves back on track. Sri Lanka are a good team to start this attempt as resurrection. But the Proteas would know better than anybody not to take the islanders lightly. This will also be the first series for Quinton de Kock as Test captain. He is up against a team that, in the last few years, has never looked like a dangerous side. But somehow, the Sri Lankans were able to turn the tables in the last series. Before that two-match contest in South Africa, the Lankans had hosted South Africa and had pulverised them on spin-friendly pitches. So, South Africa would be looking for revenge and finally, putting an end to the winning streak that Sri Lanka have against them. Let's look at the five biggest factors on which the outcome of the series would hinge. South Africa's Batting When the Proteas lost at home against Sri Lanka, the biggest culprit was their very poor batting. Against a very ordinary looking bowling attack, the home side failed to put up big scores. The batting woes continued for them in the tour of India and also the series at home against England. So, the South African batting would again be in focus. For becoming a top side again, they would have to raise their performances with the bat. Quinton de Kock has been the most consistent performer for his team. But he hasn't got much support from others. du Plessis hasn't done well for an extended period of time in this format. Dean Elgar has played good innnings but has been inconsistent. Only Rassie van der Dussen has shown himself to be up to the challenge in the last couple of years. Against Sri Lanka, South Africa's hunt for batting strength will continue. Whether they find the answers or not may decide the fate of the series. Struggles Against Spin When South Africa were the no. 1 Test team in the world, they had Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, and AB de Villiers in their batting line-up. These three were exceptionally good players of spin bowling also, apart from their other great traits. Now, with all three of them gone, the ability to play spin has become an even bigger weakness for the Proteas side. In 2018, they were dismantled by the Sri Lankan spinners on turning pitches, which the Proteas camp felt were unfair. However, this criticism seeemd meaningless when in 2019, they lost to the same team at home, and again conceded a fair amount of wickets to spinners. Against India, they again looked inept when playing the turning ball and allowed even Dom Bess and Joe Root to pick up wickets in South African conditions earlier this year. While Sri Lanka don't have any world-beating spinnners at the moment, there are big question marks against Proteas batsmen's skills playing tweakers. Whether they get over their weakness or not will also be an important factor in this series. Will Embuldeniya Shine Again? Sri Lanka have a very weak bowling attack, at least on paper. But in their last few series, it's been Lasith Embuldeniya who has been making an impact. He has been a regular wicket-taker. Now, Sri Lanka have been seeking a successor to Rangana Herath since his retirement. Will Embuldeniya be the one? Others such as Dilruwan Perera haven't risen to the occassion. If Embuldeniya is to be a long-term prospect for Sri Lanka, he has to show his mettle again. This series will give us a good idea of his abilities. Pressure on Ngidi South Africa are going into this series without their leading paceman Kagiso Rabada. This means it would be Lungi Ngidi who would be the leader of the attack. He made his debut in January 2018. This would be a big Test for the pacer. He has been impressive in his career but can he shoulder the responsibility of leading the bowling charge for his team? That's a big question that would form a sub-plot of this series. Faf on Trial Faf du Plessis is the most high-profile batsman in the South African team. However, his form has diminished in recent times. He has quit captaincy and even took a break in international cricket. He is now back in the team but if he has another bad series, the former captain may consider quitting Test cricket altogether. His friend and former teammate AB de Villiers quit international cricket all of a sudden and has decided to ply his trade in T20 leagues. If he doesn't succeed again, du Plessis may follow the same route.