NAGPUR, India — Bangladesh bowling duo Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmed have been reported for suspect bowling actions during their team's World Twenty20 match against the Netherlands Wednesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.
Off-spinner Sunny bowled two overs and fast bowler Ahmed four during the game in Dharamsala, India, with neither taking a wicket. Bangladesh won the game by eight runs.
"The ICC is working with the Bangladesh cricket team management to confirm times for the independent testing of both bowlers at the ICC-accredited testing center in Chennai," the governing body said in a media release Thursday.
Both players can continue playing until the results of the tests are known.
Ireland still hopeful of progressing
Captain William Porterfield has refused to write off Ireland's chances of qualifying for the World Twenty20 Super 10 stage in India after Wednesday's shock loss to Oman left it needing to win both its remaining Group A games.
Ireland was unable to defend 154 for five as Oman marked its debut in a major International Cricket Council (ICC) event by sealing victory with two balls to spare after needing 14 runs off the last over.
"It's very disappointing and hard to take but to a large extent, it's still in our own hands," Porterfield told British media.
Ireland faces full-member nation Bangladesh in Dharamsala Friday before it takes on the Netherlands at the same venue two days later. Only the group winners will progress to the Super 10 stage.
Australia, SA confident
Australia clinched the series with a six-wicket win in the third and final Twenty20 international against South Africa at Newlands Wednesday, but both teams believe they have reason to be confident ahead of the World Twenty20 in India next week.
Australian captain Steve Smith said the series win, built on strong batting performances in the last two matches, were an ideal boost for his side.
South African captain Faf du Plessis said he was disappointed to lose the series but believed his team had played good cricket in all three matches.
"We need to look at where we made mistakes," said Du Plessis after Australia chased down a target of 179 with four balls to spare.
"Credit to Australia, they chased down what we thought was a good score. They kept playing aggressively and kept scoring boundaries. How you win games like that is to get one or two wickets and squeeze the opposition but we couldn't do that."
But Du Plessis said South Africa could do well in India.
"This team has got really good results in the Subcontinent, so we'll be really confident. But we've got a lot of work still to do before the first game. Our basics at crucial times let us down."
Smith did not attend the press conference after the match but praised his players at the post-match presentation and said they would be confident going into the tournament in India.
Opening batsman Usman Khawaja said at the press conference: "Losing that first game and coming back to win the next two games was a pretty good thing with the World Cup coming up."
Khawaja said although Australia had a "big batting lineup", it was important for individual players to take responsibility.
"We don't want to rely on everyone else. You want the guys at the top to score the majority of the runs but if that doesn't happen you know you have some really good guys to come."
Khawaja cautioned that conditions in India were different but said: "We've got a lot of players who have a lot of experience over there. It's about doing what we do well and executing it."
