ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2016

rivals. It was a similar story in Tier 2, won by Barisal Division (for so long the ‘also rans’ of the NCL), whose performances in drawn games and whose accumulation of bonus points gave them a clear lead in the final table. And it was a similar story too in the BCL, in which three zones each won one match and the fourth – South Zone, who had won the league in the two previous seasons – won none at all. Bonus points and first-innings points from several of their drawn games saw the title go to Central Zone. The timing of the two domestic competitions allowed cricketers to play in both. Over the season as a whole, two batsmen reached 1000 runs: Shahriar Nafees (Barisal Division and South Zone) with 1117 runs at 62.05, and Shamsur Rahman (Dhaka Metropolis and Central Zone) with 1086 at 51.71. For the second season running, the leading wicket-taker was slow left-armer Abdur Razzak (Khulna Division and South Zone), with 66 wickets at 33.71. Sanjamul Islam (Rajshahi Division and North Zone), with 59 wickets at 26.52, was the only other bowler to take 50 or more wickets. Between November 2015 and mid-March 2016, cricket in Bangladesh centred on the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 tournament, bringing many big names of this format to the country. It is to be hoped that the success of this event, and the national team’s successes in the 50-over game, will not lead to any reduction in interest in the longer forms, just at a time when – given the opportunity – Bangladesh appear at last to be developing a side which could be genuinely competitive at Test level. (KSW) National Cricket League 2015/16: Final tables Tier 1 P W WLF L LWF D DWF BatBP BowBP Pts 11 10 0 1 3 4 1 Khulna Division 6 0 1 0 0 3 2 10 17 54 2 Dhaka Metropolis 6 1 0 0 0 4 1 6 11 44 3 Dhaka Division 6 1 0 1 0 3 1 6 13 43 4 Rangpur Division 6 0 0 1 1 0 4 6 16 39 Tier 2 P W WLF L LWF D DWF BatBP BowBP Pts 11 10 0 1 3 4 1 Barisal Division 6 1 1 0 0 1 3 13 13 62 2 Rajshahi Division 6 1 1 1 0 2 1 8 15 54 3 Chittagong Division 6 0 0 1 1 2 2 10 13 38 4 Sylhet Division 6 1 0 1 1 3 0 3 13 37 Bangladesh Cricket League 2015/16: Final table P W WLF L LWF D DWF BatBP BowBP Pts 11 10 0 1 3 4 1 Central Zone 6 1 0 0 0 1 4 15 16 61 2 East Zone 6 1 0 0 0 3 2 12 12 52 3 North Zone 6 1 0 2 0 2 1 7 18 46 4 South Zone 6 0 0 1 0 3 2 10 13 40 54 Bangladesh in 2015/16