Bangladesh’s bitter defeat to the UAE, an associate nation, has opened up a Pandora’s box on what will befall the national team and which cricketers can carry the baton in the near future.

Matthew Forde equalled the record for the fastest half-century in the history of one-day internationals before rain intervened at Clontarf on Friday and forced the abandonment of Ireland’s second 50-overs match against the West Indies.

Rishad Hossain took three wickets while Shakib Al Hasan went wicketless as Lahore Qalandars romped to the final of the Pakistan Super League with a 95-run win against Islamabad United in the second qualifier on Friday.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said substitutes who replace injured players in the first innings of a test match should be able to bat and bowl for the remainder of the contest instead of being restricted to fielding duties.

The second four-day Test between Bangladesh ‘A’ and their New Zealand counterparts headed towards draw as the visitors reached 277 for four at stumps of a rain-marred third day at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.

Rain spoiled the excitement of the final day’s play of the opening four-day match between Bangladesh and South Africa emerging teams as it ended in a draw at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium in Chattogram on Friday.

Harry Brook struck a typically rapid 58 as England piled up 565-6 before captain Ben Stokes declared on the second day of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge on Friday.

Mathews, who made his Test debut at the same venue against Pakistan in 2009, has been a cornerstone of Sri Lankan cricket for over 15 years, excelling as both an all-rounder and a leader.

The 37-year-old star will retire from the longest format after Sri Lanka’s first Test against Bangladesh in June.

Zak Crawley said he was glad to "repay the faith" of team management after ending a run of low scores with one of three England hundreds on the opening day of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe.

Former captains Habibul Bashar, Minhajul Abedin Nannu, and Khaled Mashud Pilot didn't mince words: this isn't just a passing stumble. It's a full-blown crisis in Bangladesh cricket.

Marsh smashed 117 off 64 balls studded with 10 fours and eight sixes to help Lucknow post a formidable 235-2 off 20 overs.

Shakib, who was the only Bangladeshi among the trio of Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain to make the playing XI, bowled just one over but delivered a tidy spell, conceding only four runs and claiming a crucial wicket of James Vince.

At stumps on the first day at Trent Bridge, an utterly dominant England were 498 for three after number three Pope top-scored with 169 not out at better than a run-a-ball.

How quickly circumstances change in Bangladesh cricket can be surmised by how Mehedi Hasan Miraz was included in the squad for the tour of Pakistan following Soumya Sarkar’s injury troubles. Miraz was just recently excluded from the squad for the UAE T20I series because his profile did not quite match T20’s requirements.

Soumya had been experiencing right-sided lower back pain over the past week. 

Rishad has made an immediate impact in his debut PSL season, bringing both energy and control to the Qalandars' bowling attack.

The hosts, who had named five uncapped players before the series, showed grit and maturity far beyond their experience, culminating in a thrilling chase of 162 in the final T20I on Wednesday night.

Following a recent ICC rankings update, England surged two places to second, leapfrogging both South Africa and India.

Paul Stirling became the first Irish batsman to reach 10,000 international runs and Andy Balbirnie made a century during a dominant 124-run win over the West Indies in the opening one-day international in Dublin on Wednesday.