SYLHET, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh hopes that Nahid Rana can unsettle Zimbabwe batters with his raw pace in the two-match series opening test beginning Sunday.
The 22-year-old Nahid has established himself as the lethal pacer Bangladesh has long craved by regularly bowling 140 kph (90 mph).
“When he bowls and Zimbabwe’s batters face him, their body language will show just how different Nahid really is,” Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said ahead of the first test. “They will get how fast he is and how extraordinary he is.”
Nahid played a huge role in Bangladesh’s historical series sweep against Pakistan and a victory over West Indies on Caribbean soil for the first time since 2009 last year.
Shanto said they consistently encourage Nahid, who has taken 20 wickets in six tests, to bowl as fast as he can.
“I’ve known him since his academy days. The message to him has always been simple: bowl over 140 kilometers per hour,” he added. “If he plays tomorrow, I hope he’ll hit that mark.”
Bangladesh is clear favorite, having won eight and lost seven in 18 meeting between the two sides.
“What I think is that we play to win every match. None of us have any desire to play selfish cricket here,” Shanto said.
“We will try something new and it will start from tomorrow. The kind of mentality and preparation that is required for that, the cricketers are taking it.”
Zimbabwe’s experienced batter Sean Williams, however, played down concerns over Nahid’s pace.
“Many bowlers bowl fast these days. It’s not like he’s the only one in the world," Williams said. "We’ve got bowling machines that deliver faster than most bowlers.”
But captain Craig Ervin said they'll prepare to face Nahid.
“Footage always goes around, so we have had a look at (Nahid Rana). You don’t, however, know until you face him in the middle. We have to prepare our mindset for him."
Zimbabwe has not won a test anywhere since March 2021. It lost its last test, a one-off against Ireland in February, by 63 runs in Bulawayo.
In its last five visits in Bangladesh, it won just two in 10, with the last victory coming in 2018 in Sylhet, the venue of the first test.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
FILE - Bangladesh's Nahid Rana smiles during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)
Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.
Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.
A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.
His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.
“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”
Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.
Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.
Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.
Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.
“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”
A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.
Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.
Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”
“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.
The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.
A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.
Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.
“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”
AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)
FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)
