All posts by h716a5.icu

Here's where you can watch FC Dallas vs Portland Timbers in MLS on TV or stream live.

Dallas will host Portland Timbers at Toyota Stadium on Saturday in the sixth matchday of the current MLS season. The home team is in fifth place in the Western Conference standings going into the game, while the visitors are in ninth.

▶ Watch every MLS match, including the playoffs, here

With seven points from their first five games, Dallas has had a respectable start to 2023 as they aim to improve on last season's third-place finish and playoff loss.

Dallas is now ranked fifth in the early-season standings. The Texas team lost their previous match 2-1 at Los Angeles FC, with Denis Bouanga scoring the game-winning goal six minutes from time after Nkosi Tafari had restored the California team's advantage following Timothy Tillman's opener in the third minute.

Dallas must overcome their loss if they wish to close the eight-point deficit to league leaders St. Louis City as a win over the Timbers would allow them to move up to fourth place and overtake Minnesota United.

After beginning 2023 with a 1-0 home victory over Sporting Kansas City, Portland Timbers has had a disappointing season thus far in Giovanni Savarese's sixth season as manager.

After that victory, Atlanta United suffered three straight defeats to Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Atlanta United, the latter of which resulted in a 5-1 drubbing in Georgia. A victory in Texas this weekend may move Portland above Houston Dynamo, only one point below the top seven, and provide them with the momentum they need to match or improve on their eighth-place finish from 2022.

GOAL brings you everything you need to know about where to watch the game on TV and stream live online.

FC Dallas vs Portland Timbers date & kick-off timeGame:FC Dallas vs Portland TimbersDate:April 1, 2023Kick-off time:8:30 pm ET Venue:DSG ParkAdvertisementWhere to watch FC Dallas vs Portland Timbers on TV & live stream online

Fans in the United States & across the world can watch MLS with Apple TV MLS Season Pass.

Country TV channel Live stream

USN/AApple TV

Check out GOAL's soccer on U.S. TV guideTeam news & squadsFC Dallas team news and squad

FC Dallas has Tarik Scott unavailable after he underwent ACL surgery. Ema Twumasi is suspended for the game.

FC Dallas possible XI: Paes; Jesus, Tafari, Ibeagha, Farfan; Quignon, Cerrillo, Velasco; Obrian, Ferreira, Arriola

Position Players

GoalkeepersPaes, MaurerDefendersFarfan, Geovane, Twusami, Martinez, Ibegaha, KorcaMidfieldersPomykal, Lleget, Cerrillo, Quignon, NtsabelengForwardsFerreira, Velasco, Arriola, Jimenez, ObriaPortland Timbers team news and squad

For Portland Timbers, Evander, David Ayala, Yimmi Chara and Felipe Mora will miss out through injury. Aljaz Ivacic may be included in the squad if the internal issues between the coaching staff and the keeper are solved.

Portland Timbers possible XI: Bingham; Bonilla, Zuparic, McGraw, Bravo; Chara, Williamson, Moreno; Loria, Fogaca, Gutierrez

Position Players

GoalkeepersIvacic, BinghamDefendersBravo, Mosquera, Bonila, Zuparic, McGraw, Mabiala, Miller, RasmussenMidfieldersY. Chara, Moreno, Asparilla, Blanco, Paredes, D. Chara, WilliamsonForwardsNiezgoda, IkobaENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Useful links

Live soccer on U.S. TV

Stream MLS matches on Apple TV

The Danes showed outstanding levels of commitment, drive and resolve as they came close to reaching the final of the competition

The winners of Euro 2020 will be either Italy or England, with the two nations contending Sunday's final at Wembley – however, for most neutrals, the true champions of the tournament are Denmark.

The Danish side had to overcome horrendous circumstances after talismanic midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during their opening game with Finland, which sent shockwaves across the world of football.

Kasper Hjulmand's team showed remarkable team spirit to come together and recover both mentally and in football terms as they made it all the way to the semi-final of the competition. Goal looks back at their incredible journey…

Getty1A proud nation

Denmark's Euros journey ended with tired legs on the Wembley pitch, but they can depart with their heads held high.

Having started the competition with near-tragedy, they came close to unimaginable glory and thrilled fans and neutrals alike along the way.

While the celebrations in Copenhagen were eventually cut short, Danish fans will have plenty to remember from their incredible Euro 2020.

With an exciting and talented squad of players, and the remarkable Kasper Hjulmand at the helm, there's likely to be plenty to look forward to in the future as well.

AdvertisementGetty2Schmeichel's Wembley heroics

England responded, and eventually won the game after extra time – but credit must be given to goalkeeper Schmeichel, who for long periods looked as if he might deny the Three Lions all on his own.

The son of Euro 92 winner Peter, Schmeichel denied Raheem Sterling superbly in a one-on-one situation in the first half, acrobatically kept out a Harry Maguire header in the second, and saved Harry Kane's penalty in added time – only for the England captain to net the rebound.

The Leicester City keeper had starred at Wembley in last season's FA Cup final, and he was just as good on Wednesday night.

Getty3Damsgaard's wow moment

One of the strangest ironies of the Euros is that had Eriksen not been ruled out of the tournament, Sampdoria winger Mikkel Damsgaard would have been unlikely to have seen as much game time.

The youngest member of the Danish squad – he turned 21 four days before the semi – stunned the Wembley crowd in the first half as he fired an exceptional dipping free-kick past Jordan Pickford.

It was the first goal England conceded at the Euros, and it could hardly have been a better one. An incredible moment for a player who has a bright future ahead of him.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty4Maehle comes of age

Joakim Maehle was only a player well-known to Denmark fans and Serie A afficionados before the tournament – but his magnificent performances at the Euros have made him one to watch for all football fans.

Having scored in the last 16, the Atalanta wing-back produced a moment of genius against Czech Republic in the quarter-final, with his stunning cross with the outside of his right foot setting up Dolberg to slot home.

Denmark had to hold off a resurgent Czech side in the second half, but won 2-1 to book a semi-final showdown with England at Wembley.

Goal readers voted for their favourite players of African origin in the Premier League this week.

Ahead of the 2018 Best of Africa Awards, an evening to honour and celebrate the philanthropic endeavours and achievements of African football players, Goal fans voted through our Instagram account for their own Best of Africa XI – a team made up entirely of Premier League players of African origin.

Due to the lack of African goalkeepers in the Premier League, fans were tasked with choosing between the best African keepers set to appear at this year’s FIFA World Cup to fill the spot between the posts.

It has been a great year for Africans in the Premier League, with Mohamed Salah scoring 31 Premier League goals and putting Liverpool on the cusp of a Champions League final. 

Team-mate Sadio Mane has built on last season's successes, while Wilfried Zaha has become Crystal Palace's key man in their surge towards Premier League survival as almost 300,000 votes were received.

GettyGK | Essam El-Hadary | Al-TaawounAdvertisementGettyRB | Victor Moses | ChelseaGetty ImagesCB | Vincent Kompany | Manchester CityENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyCB | Eric Bailly | Manchester United

A blistering spell of pace bowling from Haseeb Amjad decimated Nepal’s batting order for the second match running to set up a much needed five-wicket win for Hong Kong in Stormont

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Belfast15-Jul-2015
Scorecard4:06

‘Our seamers stuck to their plans’ – Burke

A blistering spell of pace bowling from Haseeb Amjad decimated Nepal’s batting order for the second match running to set up a much needed five-wicket win for Hong Kong in Stormont. Haseeb reduced Nepal to 12 for 3 in the fourth over, including the key wickets of Gyanendra Malla and captain Paras Khadka. He finished with 4 for 16 – a Man of the Match effort – as Nepal struggled to 109.After seeing the way Ireland had razed Nepal for 53 after putting them in to bat, Hong Kong captain Tanwir Afzal chose likewise at the toss, and before long Nepal were under heavy pressure.Haseeb broke through nine balls into the match, bowling Subash Khakurel, who was playing his first match of the tournament in place of Anil Mandal. Haseeb pitched short of a length on a wicket-to-wicket line and induced an edge behind from Malla for a second-ball duck. Two overs later, he trapped Khadka with a delivery that hit the Nepal captain high on the pads and South African umpire Johan Cloete took a long time before giving the decision.The pace battery continued to harass Nepal’s struggling batting unit: Irfan Ahmed got Sagar Pun to edge behind at the start of the seventh over to make it 17 for 4 and Basant Regmi gave wicketkeeper Jamie Atkinson his third dismissal. Regmi was Aizaz Khan’s lone wicket in a miserly spell of 1 for 7; Nepal were 31 for 5 in the 10th.Rajesh Pulami and Sharad Vesawkar provided some respite for their struggling side with a 41-run stand but both men were caught on the boundary trying to give Nepal a total they could defend. Amjad came back for the final over to nab Sompal Kami before a run-out off the final ball wrapped up the Nepal innings.Defending 109, Kami removed the dangerous Irfan with the first ball of the second over, and should have had Nizakat Khan for zero two balls later, but a drive to mid-off rocketed through the hands of Jitendra Mukhiya at head height and went all the way to the boundary. Nizakat would go on to top score for Hong Kong with 25.It was the first of at least four clear chances that Nepal missed in an uncharacteristically sloppy fielding effort, with the lone bright spot being a spectacular diving catch at deep backward square leg by Pradeep Airee to remove Mark Chapman for 9. That was the third of four wickets for Regmi, who produced a valiant spell of left-arm spin to match Hong Kong’s Amjad with 4 for 16.Hong Kong needed 11 with two overs to go but a pair of twos by Aizaz was followed by an elegant drive over extra cover off Shakti Gauchan to put them within one stroke of victory, which they achieved with a single off the first ball of the 19th. Aizaz walked off unbeaten on 14 off seven balls while Babar Hayat ended 17 not out.

Victoria bowling coach Mick Lewis is on his last warning from the Bushrangers after being fined $2,266 for ball tampering during the Sheffield Shield final

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide28-Mar-2016Victoria’s bowling coach Mick Lewis is on his last behavioural warning from the Bushrangers after being fined $2,266 for tampering with the ball on day three of the Sheffield Shield final against South Australia at Glenelg Oval.In the 10th over of SA’s second innings Mark Cosgrove struck a boundary, and a Cricket Australia video camera captured Lewis kicked the match ball into the gutter beyond the boundary rope before he scraped the ball across the concrete when retrieving it.When the ball was returned to the field after another boundary in the 12th over, it was inspected by the umpires, Paul Wilson and Mick Martell. They decided that the ball’s condition had been changed illegally and added five runs to South Australia’s second innings score. A substitute ball was then called for. After play Lewis admitted to his offence and the match referee Steve Bernard imposed the fine without needing to hold a code of conduct hearing.”Ball tampering is a very serious offence and simply won’t be tolerated at any level of the game,” CA head of cricket operations Sean Cary said. “Match Referee Steve Bernard addressed the matter as soon as it was brought to his attention, spoke at length to Mick Lewis about it and has handed down the subsequent penalty.”We acknowledge that he has apologised to the South Australian team and the match officials and hope the matter deters others from doing anything like this in the future.”Lewis, who had a mixed disciplinary record during his time as a pace bowler for Victoria and occasionally Australia, was also spoken to by the CV chief executive Tony Dodemaide and the chairman Russell Thomas. Dodemaide said Lewis would be in serious trouble if he transgressed again.”Cricket Victoria does not condone any action to gain an unfair advantage in any form, we’re committed to playing fair cricket in the spirit of the game,” Dodemaide said. “Myself and Cricket Victoria chairman Russell Thomas immediately spoke to Mick and he has apologised unreservedly and understands that this reflects unfairly on the Bushrangers and all of Victorian cricket.”Mick pleaded guilty to Cricket Australia’s code of behaviour breach and has also accepted a severe reprimand, imposed upon him as a Cricket Victoria employee, and assured us that actions such as this will not happen again. Mick also went personally to South Australian coach Jamie Siddons and apologised after the day’s play.”Victorian coach David Saker was extremely disappointed in Mick’s actions and also that he cost the side five runs in what could be a very close match. We believe that Mick will learn a valuable lesson from this and understands this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.”Both sides have been penalised for ball tampering in recent years. In 2010, Aaron Finch was fined and the Bushrangers penalised for an instance of tampering against South Australia at Adelaide Oval. The umpires found markings on the ball at the end of the second day’s play and initially reported the entire Victoria team before it was concluded that Finch had been responsible.In 2014, the then Redbacks captain Johan Botha was suspended for one match after he pleaded guilty to “repeated inappropriate conduct relating to the condition of the match ball” during a drawn match with New South Wales, also in Adelaide.

Calum Haggett hit his maiden first-class half-century to help Kent to a first-innings lead over Gloucestershire on the second day of the Championship match at Bristol

ECB/PA19-May-2015Kent 223 for 9 (Coles 66, Haggett 54) lead Gloucestershire 193 by 30 runs
ScorecardCalum Haggett hit 54 to help Kent recover from 98 for 7 (file photo)•Getty ImagesCalum Haggett hit his maiden first-class half-century to help Kent to a first-innings lead over Gloucestershire on the second day of the Championship match at Bristol.The visitors looked in big trouble when slumping to 98 for 7 in reply to 193. But Haggett and Matt Coles then added 119 in 31 overs either side of tea to change the course of the game. By the time a third interruption by rain ended play with a possible 20 overs remaining, Kent were 223 for 9 and leading by a precious 30 in a match dominated by the seam bowlers.Liam Norwell claimed 3 for 38 from 20 overs to take his tally of first-class wickets for the season to 31 and was well supported by David Payne, who ended the day with figures of 3 for 36 from 14 overs.Both struck during a morning session that featured two rain breaks. Payne made the first breakthrough by having Joe Denly caught behind for 4 and Norwell followed up by removing Brendan Nash, caught in the slips by Chris Dent for 12, and Daniel Bell-Drummond, whose 26 proved the best contribution by any batsman in Kent’s top six.It was 71 for 4 at lunch, with Fabian Cowdrey having been pinned lbw by Kieran Noema-Barnett for 6, and the wickets continued to tumble at the start of the afternoon session.The fourth ball after lunch saw Darren Stevens bowled off an inside edge by Craig Miles and it was 80 for 6 when skipper Sam Northeast was bowled by Norwell for 24. Sam Billings survived a confident appeal for a catch at the wicket off Payne when on 13 and looked to be in good form until frustration at being tied down appeared to get the better of him. He was caught behind for 16 advancing down the pitch to the same bowler.That was as good as it got for Gloucestershire as left-handers Coles and Haggett played with increasing confidence and skill, making batting look easy for the first time.Coles was the more aggressive and after tea had been taken at 183 for 7 he reached an attractive half-century off 65 balls, with four fours and a six. Taunton-born Haggett, who began his career down the M5 at Somerset, was more watchful in overtaking his previous best first-class score of 44, also made against Gloucestershire at Canterbury in 2013.After Coles has been caught and bowled trying to pull the occasional left-arm spin of Dent, Haggett moved to 50 off 149 balls, with four fours. His valuable knock finally ended when he pushed at a wide ball from Payne and edged through to Gareth Roderick. Soon afterwards the skies darkened and a heavy downpour ended play for the day.

Zimbabwe Cricket has confirmed incoming tours from India and New Zealand this winter, though the team’s proposed trip to Pakistan next month is “still to be confirmed” amid security concerns

Firdose Moonda24-Apr-2015Zimbabwe Cricket has confirmed incoming tours from India and New Zealand this winter, though the team’s proposed trip to Pakistan next month is “still to be confirmed” amid security concerns.Zimbabwe have been invited to play five ODIs in Pakistan and become the first Test team to tour the country since 2009, but ESPNcricinfo has learned that some Zimbabwe players are hesitant to make the trip.With a sparse international calendar, ZC is hopeful of scheduling as much cricket as possible. The board is in talks with Ireland, and has also accepted an offer to play in the Africa T20 Cup in South Africa, against provincial teams Namibia and Kenya in September, but before that, they are trying to convince their own team to travel to Pakistan. ZC mooted the possibility of hosting Pakistan later in the year as a way to create a mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.”We are in discussions with Pakistan for a potential reciprocal tour possibly in August or September,” Alistair Campbell, the managing director of ZC, said, without going into the details of next month’s trip. Instead, he jumped to July to “confirm that India and New Zealand are coming as part of the FTP bilaterally signed by the respective boards.”The BCCI has confirmed India will travel to Zimbabwe for three ODIs, which Campbell said would take place in the first half of July. Although short, the visit by India is significant because it will provide a debt-steeped ZC with much-needed finances to tide themselves over. The last time India toured Zimbabwe was in 2013 and it allowed ZC to pay overdue player salaries.New Zealand are scheduled to visit Zimbabwe for two weeks between July 28 and August 10, before they head to South Africa. The short time-frame means it is likely that tour will also only include limited-overs cricket and no Tests, which Zimbabwe may have to wait until November to play.Campbell revealed Zimbabwe are also in talks to go to Bangladesh “possibly in November and December”, roughly the same time they toured the country last year. At the end of 2014, Zimbabwe were blanked in all formats in Bangladesh, prompting changes which saw Dav Whatmore appointed coach and Campbell return to the fold. Going back there would enable Zimbabwe to measure their progress.By then, Zimbabwe will be able to call on strike bowler Tendai Chatara, who has been ruled out of action for six months after suffering a fracture in his left leg while playing soccer. Chatara was Zimbabwe’s leading wicket-taker at the World Cup and has shown promise in the longer format too, but he may miss out on much of their mid-year cricket.Zimbabwe will also be without Brendan Taylor, who effectively retired from international cricket at the World Cup to pursue a Kolpak career. But there is some good news for Zimbabwe, too. Legspinner Graeme Cremer, who quit cricket for golf last year, has returned to training, and opening batsman Tino Mawoyo is also back in the fold after spending last season battling injury.

Bangladesh will head into the World Cup without having a played a single ODI in the last two months. Their low-key preparations have helped them guard against injuries but has it deprived them of experience in different conditions?

Mohammad Isam23-Jan-2015Bangladesh will go into their first game of the 2015 World Cup without having played a single ODI in the last two months, one of only two teams to do so. Instead, they have chosen to prepare for the tournament in the domestic one-day competition and a nine-day training camp at home, and will have another training camp in Brisbane from January 26.Bangladesh depart for Brisbane on January 24 and their two-week training camp focuses on acclimatisation and includes two practice matches. They will head into the official part of the World Cup build-up to play their two warm-up games in Sydney against Pakistan and Ireland on February 9 and 11. It’s a build-up that, according to coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, will leave the team fresher than the other sides, albeit with a slight disadvantage.How Bangladesh prepared for previous World Cups

1999 World Cup: Played 5 ODIs in March 1999; Took part in one month preparatory camp in England, April 1999; Played first World Cup match on May 17, 1999

2003 World Cup: First full tour of South Africa in October 2002; No international cricket from December 16, 2002; Short camp in Namibia in January 2003; Played first World Cup match on February 11, 2003

2007 World Cup: Played ODI series in Zimbabwe in February 2007; Associate tri-series in West Indies in February 2007; Played first match on March 17, 2007

2011 World Cup: Played against Zimbabwe in December 2010; Dhaka Premier League from December to January 2011; Played first game on February 19, 2011

“[The build-up] has an advantage as well as bit of disadvantage too,” Hathurusingha said. “Ideally we should play a bit of cricket in Australia and New Zealand, but that’s not the case. The advantage is that I think we are a bit fresher than the teams that played a long series.”Bangladesh have been playing regularly since their home series against New Zealand in October-November 2013. Following a two-month break after New Zealand’s visit, they played against Sri Lanka in a home series, the Asia Cup and the World T20 from January to March last year. India came in June, Bangladesh went to West Indies in August, and Zimbabwe were in Bangladesh from October to December.Player fatigue has been a major concern behind the lack of cricket between December 2014 and the start of the World Cup, but it is also true that in the past few years, top Bangladesh players have complained about lack of cricket before bilateral series.The fact remains that after their last ODI on December 1, the Bangladesh players took part in the Dhaka Premier Division League before starting the training camp in Mirpur on January 12. Shakib Al Hasan, through his four-match Big Bash League stint for Melbourne Renegades, is the only player to have a taste of Australian conditions ahead of the World Cup. Six of Bangladesh’s World Cup squad members have played in Australia and/or New Zealand, while the rest have never even played in a World Cup.Exactly a year ago, former head coach Shane Jurgensen had submitted to the BCB a plan for a two-week preparatory camp in Brisbane, preferably in September 2014. He had planned to catch the Sheffield Shield teams’ pre-season so that Bangladesh could have played some matches against them, soon after the side had returned from the West Indies and just before the Zimbabwe series. The idea was to give the batsmen and bowlers up to six months before the World Cup to work on chinks in their technique which they would have recognised during the camp. Eventually, it was thought that the camp could give selectors a clearer idea about players with the ability and technique to handle the bouncier wickets. The BCB, however, shot down Jurgensen’s plan. One of the reasons given by the board was that he had spoken to the media about it before the board’s approval.The board also declined an offer from Zimbabwe Cricket to play three ODIs in Harare in January, while also saying no to some ODIs in Dubai against the World Cup-participating Associate Nations. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the team management didn’t want the Zimbabwe tour while a section of the board directors weren’t interested in playing lesser ranked teams in January.As a result, from January 12 when Bangladesh started their home training camp to February 3, eleven of the World Cup’s participating teams would take part in 24 ODIs. Sri Lanka and New Zealand are scheduled to play six matches each; South Africa and West Indies will play out their 5-match ODI series, India; England and Australia will take part in the tri-series. Ireland, Scotland and Afghanistan are also playing in a tri-series, and even Pakistan are scheduled to play two ODIs. The only teams to miss out are Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and UAE.But two senior players defended Bangladesh’s World Cup preparation. Mushfiqur Rahim, who has missed just two T20s in the last four years, said that playing a lot of international cricket could have been detrimental to the players, with mental and physical exhaustion setting in at a crucial time.”It could be seen differently. Playing two or three months before a big tournament like the World Cup is a bit of a tough job. Maybe some players got injured. So in that regard, it is a different process. We are getting well prepared with these training sessions.”What if four or five of us didn’t get runs while playing matches at this stage, and there wouldn’t have been a chance to train,” he said. “In that regard, I am quite happy. We will train for two weeks in Brisbane and play two practice matches. Two weeks is a long time, we have to make use of it.”Mahmudullah said that playing in the Dhaka Premier Division in the interim was enough for the players. He played eight matches for Prime Bank Cricket Club, helping them to a maiden title.”I don’t think it would be a problem,” Mahmudullah said. “The last international matches we played was against Zimbabwe, after which we were busy with the Dhaka Premier League.”I don’t think it would have an impact. We are spending a lot of time training here. We are going there quite early too, and play two practice matches as well as the two official practice matches. It will be good preparation.”During the nine days in Dhaka, the Bangladesh players trained on the centre pitches at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. The pitches were reportedly prepared to replicate those in Australia and New Zealand, and the curator left a lot of grass. In addition, granite slabs were used as batting surfaces when the batsmen took on the bowling machines.”Top-order batsmen are practising in the morning, the lower-order in the evening. We are trying to bat according to the situation,” Mahmudullah said. “We are also batting on the granite slab, against the bowling machine. The pitches have been given a bit of grass. We are trying to recreate the condition we will face in the World Cup here at home.”It seems the condition there is going to be tough. There will be steep bounce in the first 10-15 overs with the two new balls, but I don’t think we should think much about it. If we play positively and aggressively, be mentally prepared to play good cricket, we can do it.”Towards the end of the camp, the Bangladesh players were set match scenarios where the batsmen had to score a certain amount of runs and bowlers and fielders told to stop them. The boundary rope in Mirpur was extended to its limit to replicate the larger Australian outfields.”We were asked to score 20 runs in four overs without losing a wicket, then 40 runs in four overs,” Mushfiqur said. “We had to make 30 runs in the Powerplay overs and if we lost a wicket, we had to score more runs.”On most occasions the batsmen came out on top while the bowlers had their impact towards the latter stages of the session. I think overall it went well. We are working on fielding and running between the wicket. The boundaries were stretched for today’s session so that we get a feel of Australian grounds.”Apart from the training simulations and replications, Bangladesh players have been regularly watching matches in the Australian summer on TV.The team could have prepared for the campaign the way they have previously because they will be playing in two countries where they have never won an international game. Bangladesh played 25 ODIs between July 2006 and February 2007, winning 19 of them. Though the matches were played against Zimbabwe, Kenya, Scotland, Bermuda and Ireland, Bangladesh needed to play constant cricket to stay in touch with international cricket and build up a winning habit. The build-up paid rich dividends.Bangladesh will look to bank on their relative freshness compared to their other Pool A opponents, but there is a chance that they could be rusty and take time to get in tune with the pace of international cricket. To do that at the start of a World Cup is perhaps asking for too much.

Nottinghamshire have signed Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batsman Brendan Taylor as batting cover for this season, subject to ECB approval

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2015Nottinghamshire have signed Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batsman Brendan Taylor as batting cover for this season, subject to ECB approval. Taylor’s availability will be confirmed following the World Cup.Taylor’s signing will provide Nottinghamshire batting cover because they will be without experienced opening batsman Michael Lumb for at least the first month of the 2015 season following his surgery on an arm tendon. Jake Libby, who became the first person in 68 years to make a century on debut for Nottinghamshire at the end of last season, has also been under the knife, requiring cruciate ligament reconstruction and could miss half the season.The club could also be without James Taylor for the start of the season if he is selected on England’s tour to the West Indies. Alex Hales is also likely to be on international duty for the one-day internationals against New Zealand, which begin on June 9 and are played over three rounds of County Championship matches.”We have decided to strengthen our batting order with Brendan, a proven player who will be an excellent addition to the side,” Newell said. “Ahead of the upcoming season, we have found ourselves with two batsmen injured and face the potential loss of players to international commitments.”

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier Division matches played on January 2, 2015

Mohammad Isam02-Jan-2015Prime Bank Cricket Club put themselves in a strong position to win their maiden Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League title with a 20-run win over Mohammedan Sporting Club in the competition’s penultimate round of Super League matches. They are now on 24 points, two points ahead of Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club while Abahani remain on 20 points.This means that in the last round on Sunday, a win over Abahani will make Prime Bank champions. But if they lose and Prime Doleshwar beat Mohammedan Sporting Club, the title will be decided over net run-rate. The head-to-head record, the first criteria for deciding between teams with equal points, is equal for Prime Bank and Prime Doleshwar who beat each other once in the first phase and Super League.Prime Bank won the battle of the all-round performances with Mohammedan as Farhad Reza’s performance outdid Mashrafe Mortaza’s.Farhad struck 76 off 56 balls with eight fours and four sixes after Prime Bank slipped to 144 for 7 in the 38th over. He added 46 for the eighth wicket with Taijul Islam and 40 for the ninth wicket with Taskin Ahmed to help the side score a below-par 230, a score that had seemed improbable after Mashrafe’s four-wicket haul.Mohammedan’s chase was stuttering at 91 for 6 in the 22nd over when Mashrafe joined Ariful Haque at the crease. The pair added 110 for the seventh wicket with Mashrafe making 62 off 76 balls with five fours and four sixes.Prime Bank were back in the game after that wicket and it was Farhad’s double-wicket over, which included the wicket of Ariful who made 60 off 70 balls, that gave Prime Bank the crucial win. Mohammedan lost their last four wickets for just nine runs in the space of 18 balls.There was more drama at the Shere Bangla National Stadium where Kalabagan Cricket Academy ended Abahani’s title hopes with a one-wicket victory.Nasir Hossain’s first century of the season got Abahani close to a big score in the slog overs, but they ended up on a modest 247 for 9 in 50 overs. They were comfortably placed at 202 for 3 in the 43rd over but lost their last six wickets for 42 runs. The collapse was Sabbir Rahman’s doing, as he bowled legspin after more than a year and finished with 6 for 43 from 10 overs, his best List-A bowling performance.Abahani were never out of the game, and took wickets at regular intervals as KCA struggled to put a partnership together. Abahani could have thought of two points when they took the sixth wicket in the 38th over with the score at 156, but Mahmudul Hasan and Irfan Sukkur batted valiantly in fading light.The pair used the sweep shot and the inside-out over cover to get boundaries as they added 64 for the seventh wicket and swung the game KCA’s way. Abahani fielded laboriously throughout the stand, giving away needless singles and doubles.With 28 runs to win, Mahmudul fell trying to sweep Mosaddek Hossain, caught at short fine-leg after making 82 off 107 balls with seven boundaries. Irfan, however, held firm as he farmed the strike with the tail-enders. He struck his only six of the innings when KCA needed 13 off nine balls, and though Mehrab Hossain was run-out attempting a second off the next ball, the six had deflated Abahani.At the start of the last over, Irfan struck Mosaddek over cover once again, and after playing out three more dot balls, slammed him straight for the winning run.The Abahani supporters were irate and some of their anger was directed towards the decision to give Mosaddek, who had bowled just five overs this season, the vital last over.The story was completely different in Fatullah where Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club crushed Legends of Rupganj by eight wickets.Batting first, Rupganj made 221 for 9 in 50 overs with Abul Hasan’s 51 the top score of the innings. Delwar Hossain, Asif Ahmed and Elias Sunny took two wickets each.But the match belonged to Mehedi Maruf who struck his second century of the league. He made 118 off 119 deliveries with 14 fours and three sixes. He first shared a 61-run opening stand with Rony Talukdar, before adding 135 runs for the second wicket with Mominul Haque, who made his first fifty in the Dhaka Premier League.The two points kept Prime Doleshwar in the hunt but they now need to win their next game handsomely and hope Prime Bank lose their match in Mirpur.