BD ‘A’ fight back after Huraira’s 218

A put up a fighting display with the bat against Pakistan Shaheens as their scorecard read 203-4 in 62 overs, trailing Pakistan Shaheens by 264 runs, when the stumps were drawn on day two of first four-day match at the DXC Arena in Darwin.

Shadman Islam (88, 167b, 15x4s) and Aich Mollah (70, 113b, 11x4s) resisted with a 153-run third-wicket partnership after Pakistan Shaheens had reduced Bangladesh A to 23-2 in 12.1 overs. Mohammad Ali dismissed Parvez Hossain Emon for a paltry three while Khurram Shahzad got rid of Amite Hasan for eight.

Shadman and Mollah batted for around 38 overs before the latter was run-out by Sahibzada Farhan. Two overs later Shahnawaz Dahani dismissed Shadman caught by Umar Amin. Ariful Islam retired hurt as he left the ground at the end of 59th over.

Shahadat Hossain (15 not out, 32b, 2x4s) and Hasan Murad, yet to open his account, will resume the batting for Bangladesh A on day three. For Shaheens, Khurram, Ali and Dahani picked up one wicket each while Mubasir and Mehran remained wicketless.

Earlier, Pakistan added 92 runs in 17.1 overs to their overnight score of 375-2 before declaring the innings at 467-3 after facing 96.1 overs. Mohammad Huraira (218, 247b, 26x4s, 1x6) added 57 more runs to his unbeaten overnight total of 161 while also bringing up the second double ton of his first-class career.

Hasan struck to remove Huraira in the 94th over, ending 204-run third-wicket partnership, as Omair Bin Yousuf (6 not out, 13b, 1x4) joined Kamran Ghulam (100 not out, 161b, 13x4s) in the middle. The declaration call came right after Kamran brought up his 17th first-class century.

Ripon Mondal, who picked up two wickets, and Hasan, who plucked one, were the only successful bowlers for Bangladesh A among the six players who bowled.

Bangladesh A trail by 268 runs

Pakistan Shaheens 467-3 dec, 96.1 overs (Mohammad Huraira 218, Kamran Ghulam 100 not out, Sahibzada Farhan 66, Umar Amin 54; Ripon Mondol 2-84, Hasan Murad 1-130)

Bangladesh A 203-4, 62 overs (Shadman Islam 88, Aich Mollah 70, Shahadat Hossain 15 not out; Muhammad Ali 1-34, Khurram Shahzad 1-44, Shahnawaz Dahani 1-50)

Ex-Pak player says veterans’ meeting with PCB chief futile

Former Test cricketer Atiq-uz-Zaman has expressed frustration over the recent meeting of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi with several former cricketers.

The high-level discussion saw participation from over fifteen former Test and international cricketers, including notable names such as Salman Butt, Ijaz Ahmed, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Basit Ali, Intikhab Alam, Asim Kamal, Mohammad Sami, Shafiq Papa, Yasir Hameed, Saleem Altaf, Haroon Rasheed, Yasir Shah, Sikandar Bakht, Wajahatullah Wasti, and Azhar Khan.

In a recent interview on a local sports platform, Atiq voiced his discontent with the selection process for the meeting.

"The PCB has brought in people who were always chatting in the media against them. I didn't receive a single call. You know, I played Test cricket for Pakistan as well. I am qualified and currently working from England, yet I didn't get a call. I don't know the criteria for selecting the players they brought in. I have seen a lot of legends there, but I believe this is a different era of cricket; you have to have a modern approach. If you want to bring in players from the 70s, 80s, or 90s, there should be certain criteria," Atiq said.

The former cricketer did not hold back his criticism regarding the PCB's decision to bring together a selected group of former cricketers for a meeting.

He questioned the board's criteria for selecting the attendees, suggesting that the move needed to be better conceived and needed more transparency.

"There will always be conflicts, and it was a bad idea to bring all of them together. I don't understand how you categorized all 22 players. There must be 220 former players who played for Pakistan, so why did you bring in 22? What were their qualifications and their experience working as administrators? You called Tanvir Ahmed; why did you call him? Why didn't I get a phone call? I think it was a ridiculous idea," he concluded.