Cricket: Five-star Best helps West Indies rout Bangladesh

DHAKA: Paceman Tino Best grabbed his maiden five-wicket haul to help the West Indies beat Bangladesh by 77 runs in the first Test in an exciting fifth day finish at Shere Bangla stadium on Saturday.

The 31-year-old paceman took three wickets in the post lunch session and added another in the final session, finishing with 5-24 to rout Bangladesh for a paltry 167 after they were set a 245-run target.

Best dismissed Shahriar Nafees (23), Shakib Al Hasan (two) and Mushfiqur Rahim (16) in quick succession and then had Bangladesh's top scorer Mohammad Mahmudullah (29) to give his team a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

The second and final Test will be played in Khulna from November 21.

Bangladesh, seeking their second win at home and fourth overall in Test cricket, lost openers Tamim Iqbal (five) and Junaid Siddique (20) in a disappointing start.

Siddiqui became Best's first victim in the innings before lunch.

But worse was to come for the Tigers as Best caught Nafees miscuing a pull off his own bowling and in his next over had Bangladesh's best batsman Shakib Al Hasan caught behind.

Rahim looked good initially but Best returned for a second spell to trap the Bangladeshi skipper in front of the wicket to derail Bangladesh to 85-5.

Sixteen runs later, Veerasammy Permaul had Naeem Islam lbw after the first innings century maker had made only 26. Permaul also dismissed Nasir Hossain for 21 and Sohag Gazi (19) to finish with 3-32 on his debut.

It was another disappointing batting display by the home team which ended in their 64th defeat in 74 Tests since gaining Test status in 2000 -- a matter of great criticism in the cricketing world.

West Indian captain Darren Sammy heaped praise on his bowlers.

"Bangladesh played really well, but credit must go to our bowlers and batsmen. It turned out to be a very good wicket after 1000 runs in the first two innings, but there was something in the final stages of the match," said Sammy.

"The team has a whole new belief and we are trying to get more consistent in Tests. We are looking to improve with every game."

Sammy's Bangladesh counterpart, meanwhile, bemoaned a lack of partnerships in his team's second innings.

"In this Test, we competed well. Test cricket is the biggest challenge and we don't play that many, but we really did well in the first innings, but lack of partnerships in the second let us down," said Rahim.

"We are 1-0 down but we have lots of positives from this Test and hopefully we can come back hard."

Earlier, Bangladesh were put on course for a win by off-spinner Gazi whose 6-74 are the best figures by a home bowler on debut.

Gazi had Sammy in the third over of the day after the tourists resumed at 244-6 to raise home hopes.

He then took two wickets in one over to record his maiden five wicket haul in his debut Test, cleaning up Ravi Rampaul (five) and Best (nought) off successive deliveries.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who hit 203 not out, came out to bat at number eleven because of illness and although he averted a hat-trick he was trapped leg-before for just one.

Gazi became only the third Bangladeshi bowler behind Naimur Rahman and Elias Sunny to grab five or more wickets in his debut Test, but his 6-74 is the best among the trio.

- AFP/de

Read More..

Tendulkar, cricketing fraternity pay tributes to Bal Thackeray

NEW DELHI: The cricketing fraternity today condoled the sad demise of Bal Thackeray with fellow Maharashtrian Sachin Tendulkar leading the pack, saying the Shiv Sena patriarch will "always be remembered and missed".

Tendulkar said Thackeray's demise is a "terrible loss" for Maharashtra and he would have personally liked to pay his last respects to the Shiv Sena supremo had he not been playing in the first cricket Test against England in Ahmedabad.

"Really sad to hear about Balasaheb's demise. His contribution to Maharashtra was immense. It's a terrible loss and he will always be remembered and missed," Tendulkar said in a message on his facebook page.

"Unfortunately I am in Ahmedabad as I would have liked to pay my last respects personally. My condolences to his family. May God rest his soul in peace," he added.

The 86-year-old cartoonist-turned politician, Thackeray, known for his strong views and speaking his mind, breathed his last at 3.30pm at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra after after having been critically ill for the past few days.

Tendulkar was joined by team-mate Harbhajan Singh in paying tributes to Thackeray.

"Rip to great bala saheb thackeray ji.you wil be missed.very sad to hear the news. condolence to the family. respect," the off-spinner wrote on his twitter page.

Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma also paid his respects to Thackeray on his twitter page.

"Roaring tiger of Mumbai-Maharashtra is no more..rip balasaheb thackeray," he wrote.

IPL chairman and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Rajeev Shukla also offered his condolences on twitter.

"I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the Thakre Family on the passing away of Shri Bal Thakre. May his soul rest in eternal peace," said Shukla, who is also the vice-president of BCCI.

Read More..

Lonesome George Not the Last of His Kind, After All?

The tide may be turning for the rare subspecies of giant tortoise thought to have gone extinct when its last known member, the beloved Lonesome George, died in June.

A new study by Yale University researchers reveals that DNA from George's ancestors lives on—and that more of his kind may still be alive in a remote area of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands.

This isn't the first time Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni has been revived: The massive reptiles were last seen in 1906 and considered extinct until the 1972 discovery of Lonesome George, then around 60 years old, on Pinta Island. The population had been wiped out by human settlers, who overharvested the tortoises for meat and introduced goats and pigs that destroyed the tortoises' habitat and much of the island's vegetation.

Now, in an area known as Volcano Wolf—on the secluded northern tip of Isabela, another Galápagos island—the researchers have identified 17 hybrid descendants of C.n. abingdoni within a population of 1,667 tortoises.

Genetic testing identified three males, nine females, and five juveniles (under the age of 20) with DNA from C.n. abingdoni. The presence of juveniles suggests that purebred specimens may exist on the island too, the researchers said.

"Even the parents of some of the older individuals may still be alive today, given that tortoises live for so long and that we detected high levels of ancestry in a few of these hybrids," Yale evolutionary biologist Danielle Edwards said.

(See pictures of Galápagos animals.)

Galápagos Castaways

How did Lonesome George's relatives end up some 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Pinta Island? Edwards said ocean currents, which would have carried the tortoises to other areas, had nothing to do with it. Instead, she thinks humans likely transported the animals.

Crews on 19th-century whaling and naval vessels hunted accessible islands like Pinta for oil and meat, carrying live tortoises back to their ships.

Tortoises can survive up to 12 months without food or water because of their slow metabolisms, making the creatures a useful source of meat to stave off scurvy on long sea voyages. But during naval conflicts, the giant tortoises—which weighed between 200 and 600 pounds (90 and 270 kilograms) each—were often thrown overboard to lighten the ship's load.

That could also explain why one of the Volcano Wolf tortoises contains DNA from the tortoise species Chelonoidis elephantopus, which is native to another island, as a previous study revealed. That species is also extinct in its native habitat, Floreana Island.

(Related: "No Lovin' for Lonesome George.")

Life After Extinction?

Giant tortoises are essential to the Galápagos Island ecosystem, Edwards said. They scatter soil and seeds, and their eating habits help maintain the population balance of woody vegetation and cacti. Now, scientists have another chance to save C.n. abingdoni and C. elephantopus.

With a grant from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, which also helped fund the current study, the researchers plan to return to Volcano Wolf's rugged countryside to collect hybrid tortoises—and purebreds, if the team can find them—and begin a captive-breeding program. (National Geographic News is part of the Society.)

If all goes well, both C.n. abingdoni and C. elephantopus may someday be restored to their wild homes in the Galápagos. (Learn more about the effort to revive the Floreana Galápagos tortoises.)

"The word 'extinction' signifies the point of no return," senior research scientist Adalgisa Caccone wrote in the team's grant proposal. "Yet new technology can sometimes provide hope in challenging the irrevocable nature of this concept."

More: "Galápagos Expedition Journal: Face to Face With Giant Tortoises" >>

The new Lonesome George study was published by the journal Biological Conservation.

Read More..

Israel Targets Hamas Headquarters

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Israel's Air Force reduced the headquarters of the militant group Hamas to rubble. It was one of several Hamas buildings and homes targeted, part of Israel's continuing effort to destroy the group's command and control structure as speculation mounts over an Israeli ground invasion.

The Israel Defense Forces released aerial drone video of the attack on the government building, the seat of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Hanniyeh. Israeli warplanes have also struck the main police station, the interior ministry and the homes of top Hamas leaders.

As of Saturday morning, almost 900 "terror sites" had been targeted by Israel, including weapons caches and rocket launching sites. Around 600 rockets have been fired into Israel by Hamas and other militant groups, around a third of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, according to the Israeli military.

The loud thud of Israeli missiles hitting Gaza and the buzz of drones overhead were consistent on Saturday, as Israeli tanks and troops massed on the border in preparation of a ground invasion. Israeli media also reported that 20,000 reservists have been called up.

PHOTOS: Airstrikes and Rocket Attacks Continue

"We are preparing for any possibility, a ground invasion is a possibility although it hasn't been decided at this point," said IDF spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Liebovich. "We are ready to continue this operation "Pillar of Defense "until the peace and quiet and normality will return."

Israel Showdown: Tel Aviv Braces for More Rocket Attacks Watch Video

On Friday, Jerusalem was targeted for the first time in this escalation by militants in Gaza. A rocket landed around ten miles south near the West Bank Israeli settlements of Gush Etzion. And for the second day, sirens sounded in Tel Aviv as a rocket landed off the coast.

Three Israelis were killed Thursday by a rocket attack in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi. As of Saturday morning 39 Palestinians had been killed, among them more than half were civilians, according to Gaza health officials.

"Up until now we can say the situation is stable," Dr. Ayman al-Sahbani, the head of the emergency unit at Gaza's main al-Shifa hospital, said on Friday. "If it continues, we can't [cope]. Of course we can't. We hope to stop the [Israeli] aggression."

Israel's Iron Dome Proves Effective

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil visited the strip for three hours Friday morning, raising hope a ceasefire would be brokered. Qandil and the Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, are both from the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot. They have the delicate task of trying to coordinate between Hamas, Israel and the United States.

"What I am witnessing in Gaza is a disaster and I can't keep quiet," Qandil said, "The Israeli aggression must stop."
Israel says this operation, dubbed "Pillar of Defense," is the result of the rockets that regularly fly into southern Israel from Gaza. This operation started when Israel assassinated the top commander of Hamas' military wing, Ahmed Jabari.

"As long as Israel keeps killing us, we will keep defending ourselves by any means possible," the spokesman of Islamic Jihad, Daoud Shahab said in an interview. "If Israel stops its aggression, we are ready to stop firing the rockets."

In Washington, the Obama administration reiterated its view that Israel has the right to defend itself.

"It's a matter of the international community and particularly regional states with influence to do what they can to make clear to Hamas that this is not benefiting the cause of the Palestinian people, and it's certainly not benefiting the cause of regional stability," said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland.

Read More..