All posts by h716a5.icu

Having played 12 Tests and 39 ODIs for Australia, the 36-year old fast bowler decided to quit a few days before the resumption of Sheffield Shield, as New South Wales look to younger quicks

Daniel Brettig05-Feb-2018Doug Bollinger, the rumbustious New South Wales fast bowler, has chosen to retire at the age of 36 as the Blues look towards more youthful pace options for the resumption of the Sheffield Shield later this week.Having first turned out for his state as far back as 2002-03, Bollinger played 12 Tests and 39 ODIs for Australia, with handsome records in each format. With 290 wickets for NSW, he is the one of the state’s most prolific fast bowling wicket-takers. Tall, fast and capable of swinging the ball both ways, Bollinger was also a popular cult figure, remembered for antics such as mistakenly kissing the sponsor’s badge on his shirt rather than the Australian coat of arms after taking a Test wicket in New Zealand in early 2010.That tour was part of a summer in which he took 37 wickets in seven Tests against West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand, and formed a vital part of the Australian attack, notably enjoying repeated success against Chris Gayle. However, his time in the team ended abruptly: he injured his side while performing well in the Chandigarh Test against India later that year, and then bowled poorly in the Adelaide Ashes Test of the 2010-11 summer after entering the match short of full fitness.Bollinger did return to the fold as a back-up for Mitchell Johnson during the 2013-14 summer, and made his last Australian appearance in a Twenty20 against South Africa in November 2014. He has since been a consistent part of the NSW and Sydney Sixers sides, but has now decided to finish up at the same time the state looks to a younger generation.”I was pretty raw and they gave me a really good chance at cricket,” Bollinger said of his first state coaches Steve Rixon and Trevor Bayliss. “My first captain for NSW was Steve Waugh, which was unbelievable. I played under some great captains and players for NSW and Australia including Steve, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting.”To play for 15 or 16 seasons with the SCG as my home ground has been amazing. It’s been a great ride. I met so many wonderful people and achieved the ultimate ambition of playing Test cricket for Australia. Now it’s time for the next stage of my life with my wife Tegan and my children Skye and Liam. I couldn’t have achieved everything I have without them.”Andrew Jones, the NSW chief executive, said Bollinger had enjoyed a remarkable career considering his late entry into the game as a teenager. “Doug was a larger than life presence on and off the field,” Jones said. “Whether it was charging in full throttle for another delivery, celebrating a wicket with unrestrained joy or being the personality of the dressing rooms, he was always imposing himself on the game.”Finishing his career as ninth on the list of NSW first-class wicket takers and playing all three forms of the game for Australia is a remarkable achievement given he did not play cricket until he was 15, joining local club Seven Hills-Toongabbie RSL in Sydney’s west. For someone who simply wanted to play with his mates in the park, Doug’s 290 wickets for NSW make him the state’s third most successful fast bowler of all time behind Geoff Lawson and fellow left armer Mike Whitney. Doug will always be an important part of the NSW Cricket family.”James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said he hoped that Bollinger would stay involved in the game following his retirement as a player. “Doug has had a fantastic career, and we congratulate him on his achievements at international and domestic level,” Sutherland said. “He was a fierce competitor on the field who gave his all every time he represented his country.”He was a skilful bowler who claimed more than 100 international wickets and enjoyed success against the best in the world. Doug has made a tremendous contribution to cricket in Australia across more than 15 years – we thank him for his service, and hope he remains involved in the game following his playing career.”Mickey Edwards, 23, Charlie Stobo, 22, Harry Conway, 25, and Gurinder Sandhu, 24, are the young pacemen in the NSW Shield squad to face Western Australia from Thursday, alongside the experienced Trent Copeland.

Footage has emerged of Lucas Paqueta picking up a yellow card amid the West Ham United player now being under investigation for allegedly betting, leaving his rumoured summer transfer in jeopardy.

What's the latest Lucas Paqueta news?

It's no secret that gambling is an issue within the world of football and that appears to include Premier League footballers, too.

Most notably, Brentford striker Ivan Toney is currently serving an eight-month ban for breaching FA betting rules – admitting to and being found guilty of 232 charges.

Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo was also charged by FA over 375 alleged betting breaches during the summer.

Paqueta of West Ham is the latest player currently being investigated by the FA for allegedly breaching betting rules – although the Brazilian denies placing any bets himself (via Sky Sports News).

Of course, this comes at just about the worst time possible, as the player was thought to be closing in on an £80m deal to join Manchester City, but that move is now in danger of breaking down.

Is Paquets joining Man City?

The midfielder is 25 years old and has spent one season in England after joining West Ham from Lyon last season in a club-record £51m deal.

And while it looked like his career was about to go to the next step, it could now be in danger – although a move to City could still happen.

Indeed, speaking on the Sky Sports News Transfer Show, journalist Dharmesh Sheth explained: "The deal is on hold, but it's not off – and it could be resurrected if this issue is cleared up and cleared up quickly.

"We heard from David Moyes, who said they have rejected a bid from Manchester City. West Ham value him at £85m or possibly even more.

"There is a release clause in his contract which kicks off next summer, which means West Ham can charge whatever they want. He has four years left on his contract with the option of an extra year.

He added: "We are told that Paqueta is focused completely on playing for West Ham and he's been training as normal today ahead of playing Chelsea on Sunday."

This latest development has certainly thrown a spanner in the works for Man City's transfer plans, and it will be interesting to see how they proceed in the coming days and weeks.

On the betting charges, footage has now emerged from his display last for the Hammers against Bournemouth last weekend as he picked up a needless yellow card in the dying embers of the game.

According to Globo (via Daily Mail), back in March, betting accounts linked to those close to the Brazilian were opened with Betway (West Ham's front-of-shirt sponsor) – with the 'maximum' amount allowed then deposited into those accounts.

Bets were then placed on Paqueta to be booked in West Ham's 1-1 home draw with Aston Villa in the Premier League that month. The player was indeed booked, as you can see in the footage below.

For the time being, Paqueta has denied placing bets himself and will now seek advice from his legal team as the FA's investigation gets underway. In fact, according to the Daily Mail, those discussions are likely to have already started.

In the dying moments of the fourth day, Sri Lanka lost a wicket to a fast bowler minutes before it was deemed too dark for the quicks to operate and two in an over to a spinner before it became the last over of the day

Sidharth Monga in Delhi05-Dec-2017As Sri Lanka faced the uphill task of batting out close to four sessions for a draw against India, they also became victims of a practice in Test cricket that has drawn the ire of many an observer. The natural light at Feroz Shah Kotla had been dodgy all day, with floodlights coming on even before the start of play. But in the dying minutes of the day, they lost a wicket to a fast bowler minutes before it was deemed too dark for the quicks to operate and two in an over to a spinner before it became the last over of the day.The umpires go by their light metres, and take the players off once the reading drops to a level that had become the precedent earlier in the match. However, it has often been observed – and not limited to this Test – that a wicket often brings action from the umpires.”At the moment I am just wondering if it is a coincidence that we lose a wicket to seam bowler and then all of a sudden the light is too bad for seam bowling, and then we lose two wickets to a spinner and then all of a sudden we come off,” Sri Lanka coach Nic Pothas said. “It is a bit of a coincidence, I would have thought.”Asked to elaborate on that comment, Pothas said: “It can be pretty frustrating. We are in India, playing against a very very good cricket team. Momentum is a big thing in sport. Luck plays a big part in sport. Sometimes you just want a little bit of a rub of the green.”As I said I am sure the light metre is absolutely spot on. I have no doubt about it. For me it is too much of a coincidence that we lose a wicket to seam and suddenly it is too dark for seamers, and then we lose two wickets to spinners and suddenly it is too dark and we are off? Can it deteriorate so quick? I am not an expert. I don’t know.”Then, after a pause, he said: “It obviously can.”Pothas, though, said he was happy to leave the decision making to the umpires. Asked if he had discussed this matter with the officials, he said: “No there is nothing to discuss. The officials make a decision. There is a light metre there, they have a number. There is nothing to discuss. I back their decision.”

Lahore Whites and Lahore Blues triumphed over Faisalabad and FATA respectively as Saeed Ajmal bowed out in Rawalpindi

Danyal Rasool29-Nov-2017Lahore Whites beat Faisalabad by 10 runs to qualify for the National T20 Cup final. In an emotion-filled afternoon that turned out to be the last of Saeed Ajmal’s cricketing career, Lahore posted 142 in their allotted 20 overs. At the time, it seemed to be slightly under par, especially given the platform Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal provided, their opening partnership contributing 69 runs in seven overs.But Faisalabad pulled them back, and for one final time, 40-year old Ajmal was the pick of the bowlers. Varying his pace and line expertly, he kept the batsmen on their toes, reining in the scoring rate, conceding a miserly 13 runs in his four overs, and picking up one wicket.Faisalabad were on top of the asking rate for the first half of the chase, but continued to lose wickets with regularity. Once the dangerous Sohaib Maqsood was dismissed for 39, Lahore were into the lower middle order, which was somewhat thin on star batting quality. From thereon, the Whites began to tighten the screws as the asking rate began to climb. Wahab Riaz was especially impressive, finding both pace and accuracy as he finished with figures of 4-0-15-2. Faisalabad grew desperate, and were ultimately all out with ten runs still to get.In the other game, a stunning century from Ahmed Shehzad ensured an all-Lahore final, the Lahore Blues beating FATA by 10 runs. In a runfest, Lahore Blues registered the highest score of the tournament – 221. They lost just the one wicket – that of Imam-ul-Haq, but not before he had added 62 runs in a 145-run opening stand with Ahmed Shehzad. After that, Mohammad Hafeez smashed a 19-ball half century as he and Shehzad – who finished unbeaten for 104, propelled their side to 221.FATA started explosively, with Mukhtar Ahmed in devastating hitting form as he and Awais Zia brought up the 50-partnership in the fourth over. The hundred was up before nine overs were out, but the loss of Mukhtar deprived FATA of the big hitting ability that they needed to chase such a mammoth total. Several batsmen gave it a good go and ensured FATA were in the contest right up to the end. Khushdil Shah played a superb knock that raised hopes of a sensational heist, but when he holed out to long on for 56, the total seemed to be just outside FATA’s reach. They kept hammering away in spirited fashion, but in the end paid for their poor bowling performance as they bowed out at the semi-final stage.

An update has emerged on West Bromwich Albion and their plans to strengthen the playing squad before the end of the summer transfer window.

What's the latest West Brom transfer news?

According to Football Insider, the Baggies are one of three clubs eyeing up a swoop to sign Millwall central defender Jake Cooper before next month's deadline.

The report claims that Carlos Corberan's side are joined by Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers and fellow Championship outfit Leeds United in holding an interest in the 6 foot 6 titan.

It states that the English centre-back is now within the final year of his contract at the Den and that the Gers have already made contact over a possible deal to secure his services.

How good is Jake Cooper?

The 28-year-old colossus is a proven Championship performer who could come in as an upgrade on Semi Ajayi for Corberan if they are able to beat off interest from the Whites and Rangers in order to secure his signature.

Their respective performances over the past two full league seasons suggest that Cooper would provide the Spanish head coach with a better option at the heart of the defence.

The Lions star averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94 and won 60% of his duels last term, which came after he averaged a rating of 7.13 and won 64% of his battles across 42 outings during the 2021/22 campaign.

Ajayi, meanwhile, failed to average a Sofascore rating higher than 6.84 or enjoy a duel success rate of higher than 63% over the last two Championship seasons.

These statistics suggest that the Millwall titan, whose 7.13 rating would have placed him top of the Baggies squad for defenders, would perform at a higher level on a consistent basis.

He could cut out opposition attacks more frequently than Ajayi as the former Reading colossus made 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game, which was more than any current Baggies centre-back managed, in comparison to the Nigeria international's 2.1.

Cooper would also provide West Brom with more quality in the air. He ranked among the top 5% of his positional peers for aerial duels won per 90 (5.07) across the Championship last season, whereas Ajayi ranked in the 51st percentile with 3.14 won per 90.

This suggests that the English ace could improve the team's defending from set-pieces and crosses into the box, whilst also being able to carry an attacking threat as he was directly involved in six goals last term – four more than the current Baggies enforcer.

West Brom scored the third-most goals (18) from set-pieces in the division last season and the signing of the £10k-per-week giant could push them closer to topping the charts due to his ability to make things happen with his aerial prowess.

The left-footed stopper, who was once lauded as "invaluable" by his current manager Gary Rowett, would also come in as a player who can hit the ground running as he knows the Championship and it takes to deliver consistently impressive performances at this level.

He has racked up a staggering 304 second-tier appearances in his career to date and his aforementioned statistics prove that the Millwall battler has quality as well as experience.

League Two club Wrexham have managed to pick up a point in a 5-5 draw with Swindon Town thanks to two last-gasp goals.

What happened in Wrexham 5-5 Swindon?

The Welsh outfit, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, never seem too far from the sort of drama that would often be found in a Hollywood script.

But that's just football for you, and the beautiful game has delivered yet another exciting moment for fans of the Red Dragons to enjoy this weekend at the Racecourse Ground.

Indeed, now playing in League Two having secured promotion back into the EFL last season, Wrexham had just one win in their first three games and would have been hoping for all three points on Saturday afternoon.

However, late on in the game, they were 5-3 down – with Jake Young (twice), Charlie Austin and Dan Kemp (twice) having scored for Swindon, and Jake Bickerstaff, Elliot Lee, and James Jones for Wrexham – and so most would have accepted defeat was on the cards.

Not to buy into that sort of doom-and-gloom attitude, however, the home team found a glimmer of hope when Jones pulled one back in the 92nd minute.

Incredibly, Lee was then able to level the game when a freekick taken from the edge of the box was parried out to him, resulting in a bit of a goalmouth scramble.

The 28-year-old midfielder made no mistake as he prodded the ball in, meaning Wrexham were able to recover and secure a point in what ended up being a 10-goal thriller against the Robins.

Popular podcaster Dan Cook from the HLTCO podcast summed up the chaos that has been surrounding the club since their promotion up into League Two, tweeting: "Wrexham were 5-3 down on 90 minutes at home to Swindon today, they came back to draw 5-5 with goals on 92 and 96.

"After just 4 games in League Two, they’ve scored 13 and conceded 13. Box Office viewing."

You can see the moment the last equaliser was scored in the footage below, with fans in the stadium going wild – much like the commentators as well.

Are Wrexham English or Welsh?

Although Wrexham play in the English Football League, they are indeed Welsh, with the county borough located in northeastern Wales along the English border.

The arrival of Reynolds and McElhenney – and the Welcome to Wrexham documentary – has helped the club grow earn global power and triple in value along the way.

Their reputation is so big now, that before the current campaign even started, they were backed by a supercomputer to pull off back-to-back promotions, and were tipped to win League Two outright.

Well, it's still early days, but Wrexham haven't had the smoothest of starts to life in the EFL. Indeed, after this stunning 5-5 draw, they now have one win, one defeat, and two draws from their opening four matches.

Regardless, Reynolds was evidently impressed, as he took to Twitter to say: "So much heart. #NeverLeaveAWrexhamMatchEarly"

Manager Phil Parkinson, however, was less impressed after the 5-5 draw, telling the press: "The lads were never ever giving in. If you put on a Wrexham shirt that's a requirement. But equally, we've got to be honest with ourselves. We need to do better."

Losses during the Test series contributed to the formation of a “losing dressing room” says allrounder

Mohammad Isam30-Oct-2017The negativity among the Bangladesh players spread like a “virus” as they got thrashed one game at a time on their South Africa tour, according to Shakib Al Hasan, . The four weeks of woeful cricket finished with the 83-run defeat in the second T20 in Potchefstroom.Shakib said that once they were handed the drubbings in the two Tests, the morale within the group started to go down, and it culminated in poorer performances in the ODIs, Bangladesh’s favoured format, and T20s. None of Bangladesh’s batsmen made more than 300 runs across formats on this tour, while their highest wicket-taker, Rubel Hossain, took just seven wickets.Shakib observed that those in the dressing-room started to speak about personal things when things didn’t go their way, which inevitably contributed to low moods and an atmosphere of defeat.”I think a big reason [for the performance] was that we didn’t do well in Tests, and when the ODIs came around that mood lingered into that format,” Shakib said. “Similarly, when we did not do well in the ODIs, it lingered into the T20s. It’s like a virus. If we did well in Tests, then we could have done even better in ODIs, and even better thereafter in the T20s.”That’s how these things work; it is so critical that if you are in the dressing room. You can tell from the atmosphere. The mentality is different in a winning dressing room; everyone talks about winning. In a losing dressing room, people talk about personal things, and unwittingly negative things come in. Atmosphere is important. More than one or two people performing, it is important that the team performs.”Bangladesh’s batsmen, especially Mushfiqur Rahim, had his moments including the century in the first ODI, which was the first by a Bangladeshi against South Africa. Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah and Liton Das had one good innings each, while Soumya Sarkar concluded a poor series with two scores of 40-plus. They never put up substantial, match-changing partnerships which the South Africans did in abundance.The bowlers however had a terrible time. Collectively, the bowlers conceded the fourth-highest average in a Test series. For the first time, they went on to concede 1,000-plus runs in an ODI series. They were also on the receiving end of the fastest T20 international hundred. Shakib said that the most worrying thing was the lack of fight they posed to South Africa.”The records will show that no team has performed well in away series in the last three or four years. But we were not able to compete in this series, which is frustrating. We played well in the last 2-3 years which is why we expected to fight here. But unfortunately we were not able to get out from the losing streak,” he said.Shakib, however, warned against massive changes in the Bangladesh setup for their next assignment, which will be next year against Sri Lanka at home. He said that they have to make a combined effort to put things right.”People will have personal opinions but I won’t say that we have to start thinking about sea changes after just one series. It is a little normal that results like this will happen on overseas tours. Maybe it was expected that we would lose, but we did not expect to play the cricket we did to lose the way we did.”We all know what our ability is, and none of us could perform up to that. So in that regard I am sure that everyone – starting with the BCB, the coaching staff and us players – will work hard to overcome it, which is important if we want to move forward,” he said.

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has "validated the profile" of Gent striker Gift Orban with Spurs now "in contact" to sign him.

Who else will Spurs sign?

Spurs have completed a plethora of transfer deals for Postecoglou as chairman Daniel Levy attempts to back his new head coach.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, youngster Ashley Phillips, defender Micky van de Ven, playmaker James Maddison, winger Manor Solomon and striker Alejo Veliz have all now officially joined the north London club, but there may well be more soon.

Postecoglou, speaking to the press last night after Tottenham's entertaining friendly against Barcelona in Catalonia, claimed there may well be another defensive addition if the club can sort more outgoings.

"We've to see what happens with outgoings," explained the Spurs boss.

"But the potential is there to bring in one more centre back after van de Ven"

Read the latest Tottenham transfer news HERE…

The north Londoners may also sign a new midfielder, as Spurs regular Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is still attracting serious interest from La Liga giants Atletico Madrid.

Amid all of the noise surrounding Harry Kane's future, as Bayern prepare to mount yet another attempt to prise him away from Spurs, the club have been looking at possible forward options as well.

Orban, who finished the 22/23 season in electric form, is one attacker who's been linked with a move to Tottenham and journalist Sacha Tavolieri has an interesting update.

The reporter believes Spurs are now in contact over a deal for the Nigeria international, with Postecoglou giving the green-light after he "validated the profile" of Orban.

Tottenham have held verbal discussions with Gent for the player, where they have apparently disclosed their intent to go as high as €30 million (£26m), including bonuses.

"Tottenham in contact with KAA Gent for Gift Orban!," wrote Tavolieri on X.

"Spurs could go as high as €30M (including bonuses) according to the latest oral discussions undertaken with their Belgian counterparts.

The profile of the Nigerian striker has been validated by Ange Postecoglou. The green light to send the written offer is obviously linked to the Harry Kane affair. The English are anticipating the market by paying €30m in 2023 than have to offer the double once Orban has exploded in an intermediate league… Wait&See."

How good is Gift Orban?

The wonderkid is a player of real quality, as displayed by his numbers for Gent last term, with Orban scoring 20 goals in 22 appearances across all competitions.

Orban has also been praised by members of the press as one of Nigeria's latest dazzling talents, as journalist Ryan Taylor points out.

Gift Orban, Victor Boniface & Tolu Arokodare. Remember these names," wrote Taylor.

"Making waves in Belgium & on European stage. Throw in Victor Osimhen & Terem Moffi – future looks very bright for Nigeria. Quickly approaching a golden generation for the Super Eagles."

Meanwhile, Sport 1 reporter Patrick Berger has branded Gent's star as one of Nigeria's "very interesting" crop of new players to have emerged in the last 12 months. Orban could be a promising capture for Spurs, especially given his sky high ceiling, for just £26m.

Leeds United “like” Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis as they consider a move to bring him to the Championship, according to reliable journalist Beren Cross.

Who is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?

Harwood-Bellis is primarily a centre-back who graduated from the academy at the Etihad Stadium to get promoted to the first team fold back in 2021, but having only ever made eight senior appearances under Pep Guardiola, he’s spent the majority of his career out on loan trying to gain as much experience as possible.

The England youth international has carried out four respective spells with Blackburn Rovers, Anderlecht, Stoke City and most recently last season he was at Burnley, and as a result of his contract with his parent club expiring in less than a year, his future is looking extremely uncertain.

Read The Latest Leeds Transfer News HERE…

According to 90min, West Ham, Fulham, Brentford and Newcastle are all interested in a swoop for the 21-year-old whilst the Clarets want to take him back on a permanent basis, and even though the report states that the talented prospect wants to succeed at City, he knows that he’ll have to complete a move elsewhere should he want to receive regular game time moving forward.

Are Leeds signing Taylor Harwood-Bellis?

Taking to Twitter, Cross revealed that Leeds have now identified Harwood-Bellis as an ideal summer target alongside Liverpool’s Nathaniel Phillips, who is also being closely assessed. He wrote:

“Centre-back seems where Leeds are focusing energy next in the window. Phillips and Harwood-Bellis among names they like. Elsewhere, we've been here before with injured strikers. Radrizzani never got on top of it. 49ers have a month to put it right.”

How good is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?

Leeds are extremely short in the centre-back department having sanctioned the temporary exits of Robin Koch and Maximilian Wober ,so the club are in desperate need of reinforcements in the heart of the defence, and having been dubbed a “warrior” by journalist Josh Bunting, Harwood-Bellis would be a fantastic recruit should he sign on the dotted line.

The Stockport-born talent, whose price tag is £15m, last season averaged 3.1 clearances and 2.8 aerial wins per match in his 32 second-tier appearances for Burnley, via WhoScored, so isn’t afraid to put his body on the line and is a strong physical presence off the ground, but he’s also capable of getting involved with the action in the final third.

The 6 foot 2 colossus has racked up 15 goal contributions (ten goals and five assists) in 176 appearances since the start of his career and ranks in the 96th percentile for progressive passes, highlighting his desire to push his team as high up the pitch as possible when playing out from the back.

Furthermore, Harwood-Bellis already knows what it takes to seriously compete and be successful in the Championship having been a part of Vincent Kompany's squad who achieved promotion back to the Premier League last season so he is the perfect profile of player for 49ers chiefs to be targeting, though whether an offer will be submitted yet remains a mystery.

Lyon’s five-for threatened to derail Bangladesh, but they were rescued by a 105-run sixth-wicket stand from half-centurions Mushfiqur and Sabbir

The Report by Daniel Brettig04-Sep-2017Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:01

Isam: Mushfiqur showed the value of his experience

Nathan Lyon set a world record, Matthew Wade produced two of his best moments behind the stumps for Australia and Pat Cummins toiled manfully to carry the burden of being his side’s lone paceman. However, Bangladesh’s captain Mushfiqur Rahim provided the spinal contribution of the innings to keep the hosts afloat on an enervating day one in Chittagong.Needing a win to avoid handing Bangladesh only their fourth Test series victory, Australia’s selection of just one fast bowler in Pat Cummins left them relying heavily on their spinners on a surface that so far has offered precious little turn or variable bounce.Bangladesh’s top four: lbw b Lyon

1- Nathan Lyon became the first bowler to dismiss each of the first four batsmen lbw in a Test innings. There have been 17 instances previously in which bowlers have dismissed the first three batsmen LBW. The last bowler to do this was Harbhajan Singh against South Africa in Cape Town.
3- Consecutive Matches in which Lyon has taken a five-for. Lyon took a five-wicket haul against India in Dharamsala and has taken two in the first two Tests against Bangladesh. Glenn McGrath was the last bowler from Australia to achieve a similar feat in 2001 when he took four consecutive five-wicket hauls.
1938 – Previous instance of Australia opening with a spinner in the first innings of a Test match. Similar to Lyon, Bill O’Reilly bowled the second over against England in Nottingham.
2006- Last instance of Australia playing three specialist spinners in a Test. Incidentally that was also against Bangladesh in Chittagong. Shane Warne, Stuart Macgill and Dan Cullen were the three spinners.
3 – Test Matches in which the first five top-order batsmen were left handed. Previously, West Indies had five against Sri Lanka in Pallekelle in 2010.

In fact, Australia’s selection seemed geared better towards that previous surface than this one, including a third spin bowler in Steve O’Keefe, who bowled to the sort of level that might be reasonably expected of a bowler who this time last week was watching on his couch in Sydney, seemingly at peace with the conclusion that his Test career was at an end. At the same time, Usman Khawaja was left to wonder how much better he might have fared on a pitch that allowed rather more liberties for batsmen.All this made the captain Steven Smith grateful that Lyon bowled with impressive accuracy and persistence to claim the first four wickets of the match through lbw verdicts, a first in Test match history. The last two of which arrived either side of lunch ended promising starts by Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque. Bangladesh took a conservative approach in line with their selection of no fewer than eight batsmen in the Chittagong XI, and it took the arrival of Sabbir Rahman to join Mushfiqur for a more nimble tack to be taken by the batsmen.Sabbir played some of the day’s most fluent strokes in a stand ultimately worth 105 and ended only when Wade accomplished an outstanding legside stumping when the batsman overbalanced after attempting a pull shot. Wade celebrated with all the glee of a wicketkeeper who knew he had influenced proceedings, but also the relief of a man who was in serious consideration to be dropped for a part-timer in Peter Handscomb.Australia must avoid defeat in order to avoid dropping to sixth on the ICC Test rankings, their lowest spot since the system was introduced in 2003. Knowing this, the selectors dropped Khawaja and replaced him with the allrounder Hilton Cartwright, whose ability to bowl seamers allowed for the recall of O’Keefe, the injury replacement for Josh Hazlewood. The hosts included an extra batsman in Mominul at the expensive of the seam bower Shafiul Islam, meaning both sides chosen only one frontline paceman each.Cummins took the new ball but the second over was bowled by Lyon, who quickly found the ball did not deviate off the surface anywhere near as dramatically as it had done last week. That meant adjustment for both bowler and batsmen, and Lyon was able to adapt most quickly by whirring in towards the stumps.He claimed Tamim with a delivery that the opener misjudged, though not before he had been missed by Maxwell from a prancing Cummins delivery. Lyon’s breakthrough spared Maxwell too much worry, and a further incision was made when Imrul Kayes tried to sweep and was given out via DRS – replays showing that a double noise had been a case of the ball striking both pads.Soumya and Mominul were largely untroubled for more than an hour, but the former played down the wrong line to another straight delivery and was struck on the back pad. The batsmen deliberated long and hard before electing not to review, thereby allowing Bangladesh to preserve their two referrals for the afternoon.Soon after resumption, Mominul was pinned on the back foot by another delivery that skidded on, meaning Lyon became the first bowler in Test history to claim the first four batsmen in an innings all lbw. It was a fitting record given his disciplined lines and lengths, with subtle pace and spin variations to keep the batsmen guessing – in the process passing Jason Gillespie (269 wickets) on Australia’s all-time list of Test match wicket-takers.Shakib was involved in a few niggling exchanges with the Australians, not least when he and Mushfiqur briefly considered a single after a rebound off the striker from a return throw by a fired-up Cummins. The visitors will feel justified in attempting to distract the world’s No. 1 allrounder after Shakib got a thin edge when fiddling at an Agar delivery outside the off stump, leaving Wade to take a very good catch, staying low with the chance and keeping his footing.Mushfiqur and Sabbir were thus left with an unpromising platform, but responded with more positive intent to move the scoreboard along, not least in the last over of the second session when the young allrounder Cartwright was hammered for nine runs in his only over of the day up until then. More unthreatening overs in the evening session demonstrated that he was only able to offer Cummins the most rudimentary seam-up support.O’Keefe meanwhile struggled to find the sort of rhythm that helped reap him 12 wickets against India in Pune earlier in the year. His return took place while he is still suspended from playing in New South Wales’ next assignment, the domestic limited overs tournament, after offensive behaviour towards a female Australian cricketer at the end of season awards night in April.Mushfiqur’s patience contrasted neatly with Sabbir’s more assertive ways, which seemed set fair to take Bangladesh through to stumps when Cummins looked notably stiff and fatigued in delivering the second new ball. But that was the cue for Lyon to spear one down the leg side and allow Wade to have Sabbir stumped by a matter of millimetres and milliseconds.Nasir Hossain accompanied his captain to the close, leaving open the possibility of greater runs for Bangladesh on the second morning – every one of which will make it harder for Australia to force victory.