Breakfast Cereal: The Marketing of Sugar

It’s not often you see an advertisement for Shredded Wheat, All Bran, or low-sugar organic cereals. What you do see, in a very repetitive and aggressive way, are ads for high-sugar, low-fiber content cereals. You know, Trix (Trix are for kids!), Lucky Charms (they’re magically delicious), Corn Pops, and Cap’n Crunch (one of my childhood favorites).
Those Saturday morning cartoons may entertain the kids and even delight a few adults but they also offer up unhealthy choices in the form of commercials. A new study, conducted by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, shows that cereals marketed to our children have 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber, and 60 percent more sodium, not to mention the additional unnecessary calories that they add to the breakfast bowl.
The study, released over the weekend, provided a wealth of information on both the content and marketing of cereals in this country. Using a nutrient profile system and reviewing marketing data for the popular cereal brands, researchers found that the average preschooler sees 642 cereal ads per year on television. Eleven of the thirteen cereals advertised most to children on television are also marketed heavily on the internet, with not one of them qualifying for inclusion in the USDA WIC Program.
The Top 10 advertised cereals to children with the poorest nutrition content were: Reese’s Puffs, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cap’n Crunch, Trix, Froot Loops, Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs, and Cookie Crisp.
Of course the food companies are fighting back. General Mills spokeswoman Heidi Geller says kids who eat cereal more frequently, including pre-sweetened cereals, "tend to weigh less than kids who eat cereal less frequently — and they are better nourished." Given that General Mills has the highest number of brands marketed directly to children (8) and the highest amount of money spent on marketing those cereals ($107 million per year), it’s not surprising that they are trying to spin this in a positive light.
Look for cereals that have 10 grams or less of sugar per serving and look at the serving size, which varies.  Cereal bowls, when filled, tend to be twice what the average serving size is (3/4 to 1 cup), meaning that your child is getting twice the amount of sugar than you intended. And many go back for seconds, compounding the issue.
GoodGuides http://www.goodguide.com/ provides the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home. It has a good cereal ranking system, and also allows you to filter by the following topics:
Environmentally Friendly

• Organic
• Low In Sugar
• Low In Sodium
• Low In Cholesterol
• Low In Saturated Fat

The Top 12 ranked cereals on GoodGuides are:

1. Nature's Path Puffed Millet, Organic
2. Barbara's Bakery, Cereal Shredded Wheat
3. Vita Spelt Flakes
4. Food For Life Ezekiel Cereal, Original, Organic
5. Arrowhead Mills Puffed Wheat
6. Grape-nuts, Flakes Cereal
7. Post Spoon Size Shredded Wheat Cereal
8. Honey Bunches Of Oats, Cinnamon Clusters Cereal
9. Cheerios, MultiGrain
10. Wheaties
11. Total
12. Chex Corn      source    health news

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Intricacies rule Virat Kohli's world of run-making

The 27-year-old's keen eye for finer details of batting showed how far he's come as a player and perhaps, a glimpse of how far more he's destined to go. © Getty

On a harrowing night for batsmen at the Eden Gardens, Virat Kohli finished as the difference between the two sides as India extended their dominance over Pakistan in World Cups. That he's an excellent chaser of targets is well-documented but behind his consistency, lies his knack for attention to finer details of his nuance of the game that makes him so dangerous.
Over the last few years, Kohli has turned into a true modern-day champion, with bucket-loads of runs to show for and an ability to realign his mindset midway through an innings in order to come up trumps against almost every bowler he's faced.
Rewind to a couple of weeks ago. India were tottering at eight for 3 in the third over, the top-order made to look abject by Mohammad Amir's pace and swing on a green-top wicket. The 22-year-old, whose stunning return to the international scheme of things felt like he was never away, turned the screws. By Kohli's own admission, the 49 he scored in this chase was one of his better knocks. It wasn't just Kohli's acumen to take on the challenge and pose a counter to it, but also to be able to think on his feet and blunt the threat posed by Amir.
The left-arm pacer coupled his express pace with his ability to swing the ball into the right-handers and caused all sorts of trouble for the Indian batsmen. Rohit Sharma lasted two deliveries, Ajinkya Rahane wasn't sure of whether to go forward or hold back and Suresh Raina, a left-hander, was comprehensively bamboozled. Kohli walked out, faced a couple of deliveries and quickly opened up his stance to be able to deal better with the ball that swung into him. Kohli's move forced Amir to alter his plans, and therein lay the Indian batsman's genius.
Amir's excellent flow meant he still posed problems but Kohli did enough, despite getting a couple of outside edges, to arrest India's slide. In the 16 balls he faced off Amir, Kohli scored just 10, but in the process, also saw off a little over half of the four-over spell of Pakistan's most impactful bowler of that night in a small chase.

On a viciously-turning track, Virat Kohli's batting proved to be the difference between the two teams © Getty

An innate quality in the best of batsmen is to acknowledge their fallibility and head back to the drawing board to iron them out before the next opportunity arises. The constant urge to erase what looks like a blemish on an otherwise spotless canvas eggs them on, as evidenced by Kohli's reactions.
On an equally potent spin-track in Nagpur, Kohli had perished while trying to drive Ish Sodhi, the New Zealand leg spinner, away from his body. On revisiting his dismissal and the forward stride, Kohli seemed to have figured that staying on and playing late against the threat of Shahid Afridi's leg spin on Saturday would benefit him.
What started as a keen contest was swiftly bossed over by Kohli and his batting re-adjustments allowed him to play a lot more on the back foot and take his time to keep the vastly-turning ball away. On a wicket such as this, batsmen would escape the wrath of a coach even if they fell trying to slog their way out of trouble, but Kohli, as Shoaib Malik reckoned in the post-match press conference, backed his skill even in such adverse conditions and anchored the chase to perfection.
"Even when I am defending the ball, I want to have a big stride forward and show the bowler, 'I've defended it because you bowled a good ball. But if you bowl a bad one, I am here to hit you for a boundary," he had said back in July 2014. A year-and-a-half later, Afridi learnt it the hard way that not much has changed in the way Kohli played his cricket.
That the Pakistan talisman had to work with a negligible margin of error on a favourable track added to Kohli's brilliance. Kohli also reaped the rewards of showing extreme patience and resolve against short of a length deliveries, forcing Afridi to try the fuller approach. Once the deliveries were full, Kohli was able to reach the pitch of the ball and even dish out a couple of picture-perfect cover drives to ease the pressure of the chase, and leave Afridi out of options.
Against Shoaib Malik, the right-arm off-spinner, Kohli chose to step out of his comfort zone and use the sweep shot to nullify the impact of the turn. The move, as risky as it was, yielded instant results as he managed to throw Malik off his rhythm.
"People who've seen me closely, know that I don't play the sweep unless it turns square. But when the need of the hour is to play a sweep, you've got to be good at this level to play it, and if you can't, then people are going to target you there and you keep going down as a batsman. If you need to be ahead of the bowlers, you've got to play every shot in the book," he said in a post-match chat on Star Sports, reflecting his sublime game-reading skills and his ever-improving flexibility.
As his essay progressed, there was a growing feeling of whether Kohli was indeed batting on a different track. His tally of 29 from 20 balls off the two spinners combined, highlighted the vast difference between the batting efforts of the two sides on a wicket that hardly changed through the day.
"You know that famous example of half glass of water, whether it's half full or half empty, how do you see it? I feel his biggest plus point is he takes everything as a challenge," Dhoni summed up Kohli's current frame of mind on a night when the 27-year-old showed how far he's come as a batsman and perhaps, a glimpse of how much further he's bound to go.  source   cricbuzz

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Malik laments batting inferiority; Dhoni keeps it real after 11-0

Shoaib Malik felt Virat Kohli was the difference between the two sides © Getty

As India's unprecedented record over Pakistan in big events continued on Saturday (March 19) in the World Twenty20, Shoaib Malik reckoned it was his team's inability to bat better on a raging turner at the Eden Gardens that denied them the opportunity to break an elusive duck.
"I think there are a few areas where we need to improve, specially our batting. Even though it was a tough pitch to bat on, I believe we could've posted a better target. Credit to Indian team for the way they played on difficult pitch," Malik said, in the post-match press conference.
On a wicket that offered generous amount of grip and turn, Pakistan's top-order was found wanting. Having won both their previous fixtures at the Eden Gardens in the last five days in relatively easier conditions, Pakistan were perhaps, thrown off-guard by the erratic behaviour of the track. After Ashwin sowed some early seeds of doubt in the minds of the batsmen, Pakistan continued to struggle against spinners, managed just 28 runs off the five overs of powerplay and ended up with only 118 in 18 overs, a target too little for Virat Kohli and the rest of the Indian line-up.
"I feel we were not really expecting this kind of pitch. We felt we would get a wicket similar to the one used in the game against Bangladesh. Obviously weather is not in your control. We couldn't win the toss too, but that's not in your hands. There is one area to improve and that is our batting.
"Our total wasn't enough to defend against such a great batting line-up. Credit to Virat Kohli for his innings. He was the only difference between the two teams," Malik opined.

Dhoni was all praise for his team's show of strong character to bounce back after the defeat to New Zealand © Getty

While Pakistan were left to rue their inability to adjust to erratic conditions, the Indian camp enjoyed yet another victory over their arch-rivals. Even as this win adds to India's big-tournament invincibility against Pakistan, Dhoni called for a reality check.
"If you are proud of the fact that we've won 11-0 against them, we also need to know that reality is that we will lose someday. Whether that's today, 10 years later, 20 years later or 50 years later. It can't be that we will always keep winning.
"It's something to be proud of, but we have to put in as much efforts each time. If there is pressure on them for a 11-0 record, then there is pressure on us for 11-0 too," he said.
The Indian skipper preferred to look at the bigger picture of their first two points of the tournament and lauded his players for the show of strong character.
"Credit goes to players and support staff. We all know performances like those (against New Zealand) you don't want to do. To have a very bad game or very bad series and come back strong shows the kind of character that the boys have.
"And I feel it is very important to back them and have confidence in them that they will bounce back and come back strong," Dhoni said.    source  cricbuzz

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Australia look to extend dominance over deflated Bangladesh

Australia opened their World T20 2016 campaign with an 8-run defeat against New Zealand © Getty

Similar yet so very different - the underlying theme of the Group 2 clash between Bangladesh and Australia, to be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday (March 21). Similar because both teams come into the fixture at the back of defeats. Another reverse would severely debilitate the losing team's chances of making out of an intricately poised group. Different because while Australia have acknowledged the predicament caused by the New Zealand defeat, Bangladesh's strategy has been thrown off following suspensions to their lead pacer Taskin Ahmed and the left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny.
On the eve of the match, even as a relatively subdued Bangladesh went about their drills at the 'B' ground of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Stadium, Australia chose to stay put in their hotel room, presumably to conserve energy ahead of what promises to be a hectic couple of weeks. The conditions in Bengaluru are not alien to their players - short boundaries, true pitch, lots of runs. There are, however, question marks, over the T20 pedigree of this side. Steven Smith has adopted a 'flexibility' mantra for his side. This has led to a batting order reshuffle and unclear role definitions for the playing eleven, clearly disturbing the balance of the side.
If a bulk of the Australian players have Indian Premier League (IPL) experience to moot, Bangladesh's players have an 'A' tour of India late last year, one that featured several of the senior team members, to thank for their apparent familiarity with the conditions. Mashrafe Mortaza's men couldn't have asked for a better time to play an Australian side still grappling with the idea of T20 combinations, but off-field developments threaten to leave them under-cooked for a crucial clash.
When: Australia vs Bangladesh, March 21, Group 2 - 19:00 IST
Where: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
What to expect: A stark contrast to what Australia encountered in Dharamsala - Lower altitude, easy-paced wicket and certainly no hailstorms.
Team News:
Australia
Aaron Finch was Australia's T20 captain barely two months ago. Steven Smith took over in order to ensure continuity after the former picked up a hamstring injury. As luck would have it, when the Super 10 phase of the World T20 got underway this past week, he was the one giving up his spot as the selectors sought to fit Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja in the top-order. A return to the top of the order for the former captain would be mooted as would the inclusion of Josh Hazlewood in place of the second spinner, Ashton Agar, who infamously conceded 18 in his opening over against a marauding Martin Guptill.
Bangladesh
"Even if Mustafizur Rahman is 20% fit, he will have to play. We have no options," opined a sombre-looking Mortaza on the eve of the match. With two of his best bowlers suspended, Bangladesh's biggest challenge would be to stitch together a bowling unit that can serve the rigors of bowling on a surface that comes with a reputation for being rather unkind to the bowlers. Mustafizur will return for the first time since sustaining a side strain in the Asia Cup encounter against Sri Lanka, and Nasir Hossain, who scored a 100 and a bagged five-fer in of the one-dayers during the A tour could take up Sunny's spot.
What they said:
Steven Smith: It's a tough group, there are some very good sides in our group. Obviously we didn't start as well as we would have liked the other night against New Zealand. It's in the past now. We know what we need to do now - we need to win every game we play if we want to win the World Cup.
Mashrafe Mortaza: He (Chandrika Hathurasinghe) knows a lot about the Australian players during his time with New South Wales. Obviously, we will be seeking a lot of tips from him. The plans are there but the main thing is to execute them. We know that Australia can destroy any team.
Did you know?
- Australia have won all their three games, all coming in World T20s, against Bangladesh in T20Is
- Australia have lost six of their last seven matches in World T20. Their only win came against Bangladesh in 2014.
- Australia are yet to win a T20I in India. They have lost to India in 2007 & 2013 and to New Zealand at Dharamsala on Friday
- The average score batting first in the last five completed T20 matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium is 199
- 8, 7, 4, 2, 1, 13 - Shane Watson's last six scores in World T20. In the four matches prior to it he scored 51, 41*, 72 & 70 and won four consecutive Man of the Match awards.
Squads:
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, Andrew Tye, Shane Watson, Adam Zampa
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Tamin Iqbal, Saqlain Sajib, Shuvagoto Hom  source    cricbuzz

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Fletcher, Badree help West Indies hold on to top spot in Group 1

Fletcher remained unbeaten on 84. © Getty

It was a near full house at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (March 20) as the enthusiastic Bengaluru crowd eagerly awaited for the 'local boy' Chris Gayle. They were left disappointed as the left-handed batsman did not come out to open the innings, having sustained a left hamstring injury while fielding. However, there was no shortage of action as Andre Fletcher's well-paced innings (84 not out off 64) complemented Samuel Badree's fine showing with the ball (3 for 12) to help West Indies register their second win in as many games in the ICC World T20, 2016.
Asked to bat first, Sri Lanka could only manage 122 for the loss of nine wickets. Angelo Mathews's side made West Indies stretch a bit but Darren Sammy's team managed to get over the line with seven wickets in hand and 10 deliveries to spare to be perched firmly atop the Group 1 table.
Fletcher, who was brought in for Jerome Taylor, began in Hulk-mode, an inside-edge helping him get off the mark with a four off Angelo Mathews, before smashing the Sri Lankan captain over the sight screen. Rangana Herath received similar treatment from the stand-in opener, even as chants of "we want Gayle, we want Gayle..." echoed around the stadium.
Meanwhile, Johnson Charles had a lucky break as Chamara Kapugedera dropped a simple catch running in from deep mid-wicket to deny a wicket to Jeffrey Vandersay, the leg-break bowler who replaced Shehan Jayasuriya for this game. The miss, however, did not prove to be too costly as Charles was bowled in the final over of powerplay by the leg-spinner, who made it a wicket-maiden to help Sri Lanka pull things back.
Marlon Samuels did not have a productive outing, an ill-advised trot down the track on a turning wicket bringing about his downfall, as Sri Lanka exerted more pressure on West Indies with a few more tight overs, with Herath completing his quota by the end of the 10th over. Three overs later, Fletcher registered his fifth Twenty20 International fifty before Denesh Ramdin was bowled by Siriwardana. What followed was some drama as Gayle looked set to walk out to the middle, only to be stopped by the fourth umpire, Ian Gould, because his time off the field during the first innings, meant that he had to wait longer for his turn to bat.
Fletcher, unperturbed by all the events, smacked Siriwardana for two consecutive sixes while Andre Russell, the one who actually came at the fall of Ramdin's wicket, scored a four to get off the mark. There was further drama when Fletcher got an outside edge off Dushmantha Chameera and the third umpire's assistance was sought. Replays revealed that Dinesh Chandimal had taken the ball on the bounce, giving Fletcher an extended stay while Gayle, who was looking to come out, had to turn back again. Russell, who was put down by Kulasekara, finished it off in style with a six off Thisara Perera in the 19th over.
Earlier, with a six and a four off consecutive deliveries in the opening over off Russell, Tillakaratne Dilshan continued from where he left off in the previous match and looked set to do a lot of damage again. However, he was unfortunate to be adjudged leg-before off Carlos Brathwaite - replays revealing that the ball was clearly missing the stumps. Chandimal got off to a promising start after Dwayne Bravo's wayward throw gave him a lucky break in the opening over. Even as West Indies were juggling their bowlers, introducing as many as four in the first four overs in their attempt to unsettle the Sri Lankan batsmen, Chandimal was indecisive with his running between the wickets. That cost him dear as he took off for a non-existent single, only to be sent back by Lahiru Thirimanne, and a sharp throw from Johnson Charles made the job easy for keeper Ramdin.
Russell, meanwhile, was not having a great time with the ball, conceding a boundary apiece to Thirimanne and Kapugedera, as Sri Lanka maintained a run-rate of over eight at the end of the Powerplay. Badree, on the other hand, had bowled a couple of tight overs, and he reaped the reward in his third over when Thirimanne sliced one to Andre Fletcher at point. Sammy decided to bowl Badree out and the move paid rich dividends as the leg-spinner sent back Kapugedera and Siriwardana in the space of four deliveries - stumped and an edge to first slip being the mode of dismissals - to finish with excellent figures, which automatically had a bearing on Sri Lanka's scoring rate.
Operating Bravo and Sulieman Benn in tandem, West Indies sneaked in a few frugal overs while Mathews and Perera went about the rebuilding process. The Sri Lankan batsmen were unable to find a boundary for 43 deliveries before Perera thumped one straight back over the non-striker's head when Russell was re-introduced into the attack. Another straight drive off a Benn full-toss yielded Perera his second four and it was about time Sri Lanka got a move on - despite the two boundaries, the run-rate was below six at the end of the 15th over. Benn, who also completed his spell, did not pick up any wicket, but had ensured that the batsmen were kept on a tight leash as he conceded only 13.
Mathews, who was struggling in this outing, departed in a bizarre manner, giving Bravo his first wicket. The Lankan captain, who was well out of the crease, misjudged a full-toss when he went down on one knee, to top-edge the ball to the keeper. The third umpire was pressed into action to check for the height, before Mathews headed back. Sri Lanka, who had managed only 94 runs with three overs remaining in the innings, needed Perera to turn on the defibrillator to give some life to the innings. He managed to do that in the 18th over, which yielded 16 runs. However, Sri Lanka lost more wickets - Russell dismissing Kulasekara, Herath getting run out before Perera got out to Bravo - as Sri Lanka just about managed to cross 120, a total that proved to be insufficient.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 122-9 in 20 overs (Thisara Perera 40, Angelo Mathews 20; Samuel Badree 3-12, Dwayne Bravo 2-20) lost to West Indies 127-3 in 18.2 overs (Andre Fletcher 84*, Andre Russell 20*; Milinda Siriwardana 2-33, Jeffrey Vandersay 1-11) by seven wickets.  source  cricbuzz

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Mashrafe Mortaza despondent over Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny suspensions

Mortaza shared his surprise at the assessment process used to adjudicate against Taskin. © Getty

A sombre atmosphere descended on the Bangladesh camp on Saturday (March 19) evening as the International Cricket Council slapped bowling suspensions on two of the team's in-form bowlers - Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny - throwing Mashrafe Mortaza's World Twenty20 plans into disarray. That the team was shaken up by the developments was evident in their low-key net session at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) 'B' Ground in Bengaluru on the eve of their crucial Group 2 fixture against Australia.
The usually chirpy Bangladeshi bunch congregated briefly before the session for a team talk before breaking out to respective drills. Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Sabbir Rahman led the batting unit in the outdoor nets while Mortaza, the skipper, attempted to infuse the session with some enthusiasm. The Bangladeshi captain, however, made no attempts to mask the disappointments of the unexpected turn of events when he fronted the media at the end of a rather uneventful practice session.
"If two of the boys at home are in some sort of trouble, you can't focus on your work. You will be dispirited. It's like that with us now. If you look at us, you can tell. But we will still try to get on to the ground with the same spirit as before," Mortaza said on Sunday (March 20).
Taskin and left-arm spinner Sunny were reported for suspect actions following Bangladesh's eight-run win over Netherlands in a qualifying match in Dharamsala on March 9. According to ICC's protocols, they underwent an independent assessment in Chennai, and were allowed to continue bowling in international games until the result of the tests, made public yesterday, found them guilty of flouting the bowling action regulations, thereby leading to immediate suspensions.
The loss of the in-form Taskin, particularly in the continued injury absence of Mustafizur Rahman, was a bitter pill to swallow for Mortaza. The 20-year-old pacer was impressive in Bangladesh's defeat of Pakistan and Sri Lanka enroute their run to the final of the Asia Cup - his three wickets coming at a measly economy of 5.75. Even in their World T20 Super 10 opener at the Eden Gardens, one in which Pakistan scored over 200 on a flat track, Taskin returned admirable figures of 2 for 32. The timing of the suspension, right in the middle of a campaign, has left Bangladesh with little to no time to reassess their strategies.
"He is someone who has given us very good starts in our last few matches. Whenever we have won, Taskin has had a big role to play. He has been outstanding all over the world," Mortaza said. "His economy is less than six. It is a big blow. Sunny, too, has been bowling well in the qualifiers and in the last match as well. It (suspension) is shocking for us, and we will now have to rethink our strategies.
"We believe Taskin's bowling action is alright and are very upset with the decision. The timing is bad for us, because it's difficult to deal with this in the middle of the World Cup. If the replacements (Shuvagata Hom and Saqlain Sajib) had been with us even two days back, we could have done something. But they got off the flight this morning and came straight to practice."
Mortaza also shared his surprise at the assessment process used to adjudicate against Taskin. Mustafizur Rahman Khan, a supreme court lawyer in Bangladesh, create a furore on social media late last night over alleged inconsistencies in the action tests. According to the lawyer - the report against Taskin after the Netherlands game stated concerns over his action while bowling the bouncer. The independent test supposedly required Taskin to bowl nine bouncers, three of which were deemed illegal leading to suspension. However, the Bangladeshi captain revealed that Taskin hadn't bowled any bouncers during the said match.
"Taskin was reported after a match. The tests were done accordingly. We have gone through the footage - not a single delivery in that match was illegal. How can he be suspended then? There were some issues during the testing. Not with his full-length deliveries but with his bouncers. But we have seen that he didn't bowl any bouncers in that game. Do you still suspend him?" Mortaza quizzed.

"We believe Taskin's bowling action is alright and are very upset with the decision," said Mortaza. © Getty

Bangladesh Cricket Board could choose to take appropriate measures to challenge the findings and the suspension but the team will have to make do without their star pacer in what is essentially a do-or-die encounter against Australia, considering the competitiveness of the group. Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, still recovering from a side strain sustained during the Asia Cup game against Sri Lanka, will now be thrown into action faster than the team's physios would have hoped. As Mortaza conceded, they didn't really have any other option.
"Mustafizur is getting better. Coming off that injury is not easy. But even if he is 20 percent fit, he has to play, as we don't have any options. He could play a supporting role to the main bowler against Australia," Mortaza said. "The two replacements who have flown in are very much capable. But the point is that someone who is in form in international cricket, and someone who is coming into international cricket - these are two different things. We can't put the new guys under pressure. We just hope they can contribute as well as they can. I'm sure Hom and Sajib will surely do their best."
Mortaza hoped that the latest setback in Taskin's injury-ravaged fledgling international career was only a minor blip and that his protege would return to action soon but the experienced campaigner allowed himself a philosophical moment as he sought to describe the vibe in the team ahead of the Australia fixture.
"I have seen a lot in life, so it's probably easier for me to accept this," he said. "But right now, we are talking about one of the most promising young fast bowlers of our country, someone who we think will serve us for the next ten years... At the moment it is very difficult to understand them and tell them that everything will be alright. As a group, the coaching staff and players, are helping them cope. All that we can wish and pray is they come out stronger and fight it out and come back and play for Bangladesh.
"The best we can do is make a statement on the field. I want us to perform well tomorrow. But the question remains... whether we are happy with what's happened and what we are feeling. And there is a system. We can't work outside the system. Our minds are in one place but we will have to go and play elsewhere," he summed up.source    cricbuzz

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Delhi likely to lose World T20 semifinal match

DDCA was in troubled waters over a number of issues, but got a go-ahead to host matches just before the tournament. © Getty

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is in the news again for all the wrong reasons, and it's likely that the semifinal clash of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 will be moved out of the Feroz Shah Kotla to some other venue.
The DDCA cannot sell tickets for the RP Mehra Block, which can accommodate close to 1800 spectators. "We were given time till Sunday evening to get clarity over RP Mehra block," said Ravinder Manchanda, the DDCA treasurer, on Sunday (March 20). "Since the case is in court, we have not got any clarity over the same.
"ICC wants to use that area for branding and also for seating purposes, since semifinal is a big game. We have not received an official word from BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) or ICC yet, but our deadline ended this evening."
The semifinal will be played on March 30. DDCA was in troubled waters over a number of issues, but got a go-ahead to host matches just before the tournament.  source  cricbuzz

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