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GOAL rounds up all of the completed Bundesliga transfers for the 2023-24 season

Football transfer windows are exciting periods during the sporting calendar every year, with fans drooling at the prospect of a new signing arriving at their club and making an impact. The summer transfer window is an opportunity for clubs to restart and build something new or add to their winning juggernaut.

The Bundesliga is a hotbed of talent and each season witnesses plenty of transfers, with high-potential youngsters arriving and seasoned pros heading off the new pastures.

Reigning champions Bayern Munich are expected to strengthen their side with quality additions while the likes of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have players with star quality attract interest from everywhere.

GOAL rounds up all of the completed Bundesliga transfers this season so far.

Last updated:

Transfer INs and OUTs for all Bundesliga clubs

Club

2022-23 position

Bayern Munich

1st

Borussia Dortmund

2nd

RB Leipzig

3rd

Freiburg

4th

Union Berlin

5th

Wolfsburg

6th

Bayer Leverkusen

7th

Mainz 05

8th

Eintracht Frankfurt

9th

Borussia Monchengladbach

10th

Koln

11th

Werder Bremen

12th

Hoffenheim

13th

VFL Bochum

14th

Augsburg

15th

Stuttgart

16th

Darmstadt 98

2. Bundesliga winner

Heidenheim

2. Bundesliga runner-up

AdvertisementGhana Sports OnlineAugsburg transfersNew signings

Player

Nationality

Previous club

Fee

Mergim BerishaGermanyFenerbahce€4.00mTim BreithauptGermanyKarlsruhr€2.50mPhillip TietzGermanyDarmstadt 98€2.20mMasaya OkugawaJapanArm. BielefeldFree transferSven MichelGermanyUnion Berlin€950k

Finn Dahmen

Germany

Mainz 05

Free

Patrick Pfeiffer

Germany

SV Darmstadt 98

Free

Frederik Winther DenmarkBrondbyEnd of loanTim CivejaAlbania/GermanyIngolstandtEnd of loanRaphael FrambergerGermanySandhausenEnd of loanMaurice MaloneGermany/USAWolfsbergerEnd of loanHenri KoudossouGermanyLustenauEnd of loanRicardo PepiUSA/MexicoGroningenEnd of loanFelix GotzeGermanyEssenEnd of loanLasse GuntherGermanyRegensburgEnd of loanJozo StanicCroatia/GermanyVarazdinEnd of loanDepartures

Player

Nationality

New club

Fee

Daniel Caliguiri

Germany

Without club

End of contract

Ricardo PepiMexico/USAPSV Eindhoven€11.00m

Rafal Giekewicz

Poland

Without club

End of contract

Tobias Strobl

Germany

Retired

–

Felix GotzeGermanyRW Essen €100kKelvin YeboahItaly/GhanaGenoaEnd of loanBenjamin LeneisGermanyFSV ZwickauFree transferTim CivejaAlbania/ Germany SaarbruckenUndisclosedLasse GuntherGermanyWehen WiesbadenLoan transferHenri KoudossouGermanyADO Den HaagLoan transferDaniel KleinGermanySV SandhuesenLoan transferAndre HahnGermanyWithout Club-Julian BaumgartlingerAustriaWithout club RetiredMergim BerishaGermanyFenerbahceEnd of loanGetty ImagesBayer Leverkusen transfersNew signings

Player

Nationality

Previous club

Fee

Granit Xhaka

Switzerland

Arsenal

€25.00m

Arthur

Brazil

America Mineiro

€7.00m

Alex Grimaldo

Spain

Benfica

Free

Gustavo Puerta

Colombia

Nuremberg

End of loan

Sadik FofanaGermany/TogoNurembergEnd of loanVictor BonifaceNigeriaUnion SG€20.00mJonas HofmannGermanyBorussia Monchengladbach€10.00mPaulinhoBrazilAtletico MGEnd of loanLennart GrillGermanyUnion BerlinEnd of loanDepartures

Player

Nationality

New club

Fee

Moussa Diaby France/ MaliAston Villa€55.00mMitchel BakkerNetherlandsAtalanta BC€10.00m

Daley Sinkgraven

Netherlands

Without club

End of contract

Sadik FofanaGermany/ TogoNurembergLoan transfer

Karim Bellarabi

Germany

Without club

End of contract

Ayman Azhil

Germany

Without club

End of contract

Andrey Lunev

Russia

Without club

End of contract

Paulinho

Brazil

Atletico Mineiro

Free

Lennart Grill

Germany

Union Berlin

Undisclosed

Callum Hudson-Odoi

England

Chelsea

End of loan

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Bayern Munich transfersNew signings

Player

Nationality

Previous club

Fee

Min-jae Kim

South Korea

Napoli

€50.00m

Konrad Laimer

Austria

RB Leipzig

Free

Alexander Nubel

Germany

Monaco

End of loan

Malik Tilman

USA

Rangers

End of loan

Gabriel Vidovic

Croatia

Vitesse

End of loan

Marcel Sabitzer

Austria

Manchester United

End of loan

Raphael Guerreiro

Portugal

Borussia Dortmund

Free

Bright Arrey-Mbi

Germany/ England

Hannover 96

End of loan

Departures

Player

Nationality

New club

Fee

Lucas Hernandez

France/ Spain

PSG

€45m

Marcel Sabitzer

Austria

Borussia Dortmund

€19m

Alex Nubel

Germany

Stuttgart

Loan (€1m)

Joao Cancelo

Portugal

Manchester City

End of loan

Bright Arrey-Mbi

Germany

Hannover 96

Free

Daley Blind

Netherlands

Without Club

–

Wally Edwards, the chair of the ICC’s executive committee, is leaning heavily on what he believes to be a new spirit of good faith at the board table to resolve the current West Indies debacle

Daniel Brettig30-Oct-2014Wally Edwards, the chair of the ICC’s executive committee, is leaning heavily on what he believes to be a new spirit of good faith at the board table to resolve the current West Indies debacle, citing the recent clamp placed on illegal bowling actions as proof of a more practical and less politicised governing body.The West Indies player walkout from the middle of their recent tour of India is the first major test for the ICC after the “big three” reforms ushered in by Edwards, India’s N Srinivasan and England’s Giles Clarke. The BCCI’s announcement that it intends not only to commence legal action against West Indies but also suspend all future bilateral arrangements has placed the Caribbean region on cricket’s financial precipice.Edwards acknowledges that the “meritocracy” principles driving much of this year’s governance reforms – which just happened to place India, England and Australia at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in terms of revenue from ICC events – have placed additional pressure on other nations to get their houses in order or risk relegation from cricket’s top tier. But he is adamant that the board is far more capable of dealing with issues now that all its members are committed to dialogue and problem solving.”I think there’s a genuine desire at the ICC next week to get things back on track,” Edwards said following Cricket Australia’s AGM, which emphasised the strong financial health of one of the game’s most prosperous nations. “In the past you’d talk about these things but you could never resolve anything in previous administrations at the ICC because there were factions all round the table and it was very difficult to have good quality debates then make a decision.”But we have now got a fully functioning board and it’s well led. Mr Srinivasan’s doing a great job in leadership, he’s not only leading the board, he’s leading the administration, and I think we’re in a good place now to move world cricket forward the way it should. We’ll go to Dubai next week to hear what the issues are, and I think we’re in good shape to try and solve it.”While Edwards acknowledged that the BCCI was “extremely disappointed, as we would be, if a team just leaves when all arrangements are in place”, he said he could not foresee West Indies being bankrupted by the withdrawal of subcontinental support via the television revenue to be gained from India tours of the Caribbean. He said the salvaging of West Indies’ next scheduled tour – to South Africa – would be the first priority at the next ICC board meeting.”I don’t believe they will be lost, I can’t imagine that,” Edwards said. “They’ve had disputes before, they’ve had ongoing rumblings there for quite a while, and I feel confident they will get resolved. I don’t ever see a system where the world will all put a player pool together and everyone gets the same amount, that’s not possible. I don’t think ICC will be delving into those sorts of issues.”Recent changes to the ICC’s protocols around illegal bowling actions, which heralded a new round of tests and bans for transgressors including Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, have been an example of the new ICC structure offering worthwhile outcomes for the game. Most pointedly, it has allowed umpires and match referees to think they can operate without fear of political ramifications for simply enforcing the laws.”We’ve made those points very, very strongly – you can’t go down this path and then pull back and leave umpires holding the baby,” Edwards said. “[But] you can understand that unless you’ve got absolute, total support from the top down, it’s not going to happen, and that’s what we’re getting now. So I’m seeing it as a good sign.”I’m not saying every issue’s going to be resolved with everyone on the one page, but this issue has been, and I think the way some of the countries have accepted the situation has been very positive as well. They haven’t been grizzling and grumping, they’ve got along with putting someone else in the team and getting on with it.”The purge of illegal bowling actions had its genesis in the ICC’s cricket committee, where the likes of the former Australia captain Mark Taylor argued forcefully for reform, before the chief executives’ committee and executive board approved a tighter testing model put together by ICC management. Edwards is now crossing his fingers that the same orderly manner of co-operation can be applied to the troubled West Indies.”There’s a desire for cricket to be getting better,” he said. “The theme running through all our discussions over the last two years at the ICC is that we want cricket to be better worldwide. It’s our responsibility, and we want to see cricket improve.”We want to see countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Scotland, Ireland get better at cricket, and that will drive interest worldwide. The pressure’s on, and that’s how it needs to be. World cricket will get better if countries get better at cricket, that’s the focus.”

Sean Abbott helped give New South Wales hope of victory on the third day in Hobart, where they finished the day on 0 for 43 chasing 255 to beat Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2013
ScorecardMark Cosgrove was the dominant batsman for Tasmania (file photo)•Getty ImagesSean Abbott helped give New South Wales hope of victory on the third day in Hobart, where they finished the day on 0 for 43 chasing 255 to beat Tasmania. Abbott picked up 4 for 36 as the Tigers, with the notable exception of Mark Cosgrove, struggled to post a big second-innings score and finished all out for 164.Cosgrove was the only Tasmania batsman to pass 20, and he struck 12 boundaries in his 81 from 106 balls before he was caught behind off the bowling of Abbott. Doug Bollinger, Gurinder Sandhu and Steve O’Keefe each collected two wickets as Cosgrove’s colleagues failed to follow his lead, after the Blues had earlier added 64 to their overnight total.New South Wales began the day on 5 for 200 but the overnight half-centurions, Trent Copeland (58) and Kurtis Patterson (54) added little in the morning. Abbott chipped in with 33, including three fours and two sixes, as New South Wales reached 264 in their first innings. At stumps, they were 212 runs from their target, with Ryan Carters on 26 and Nic Maddinson on 17.

A round-up of the fifth round of Ranji Trophy’s Group B matches on December 1, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2012
ScorecardIgnored for the ongoing Test series against England, S Badrinath made his 29th first-class century as Tamil Nadu ended on 235 for 3 against Vidarbha in Nagpur. Arun Karthik and Abhinav Mukund got starts but were dismissed by Shrikant Wagh. Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik then put on 133 for the third wicket to build the innings. Dinesh Karthik made 49 off 147 deliveries before he was caught behind but India Under-19 allrounder Baba Aparajith ensured Tamil Nadu finished only three down. Badrinath faced 190 balls for his unbeaten 101 and hit 14 fours and a six.
ScorecardAnkit Rajpoot, 18, playing only his second first-class game, took four wickets to help Uttar Pradesh dismiss Baroda for 254 on a Green Park pitch with lots of grass on it. Suresh Raina asked Baroda to bat and the visitors lost their openers with just nine on the board. When Rajpoot had Rakesh Solanki edging to the slip cordon, Baroda were struggling at 83 for 4. Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Devdhar added 104 to steady the innings but Rajpoot broke the stand by having the Baroda captain caught behind for 85. Devdhar under-edged a googly from Piyush Chawla to the wicketkeeper and the innings soon ended on 254. The UP openers batted out six overs without any damage.
ScorecardOdisha’s fairytale run continued when they had Maharashtra seven down for 264 in Sambalpur. Medium-pacer Basant Mohanty hardly gave anything away, and had figures of 22-13-35-2. Five other Odisha bowlers picked up a wicket each. Wasted starts were the story of the day for Maharashtra, with two batsmen, Harshad Khadiwale and Chirag Khurana, going in their forties, and Ankit Bawne falling for 51. Kedar Jadhav, who had made 327 against UP earlier, motored to 33 off 33 before being dismissed. Maharashtra were 139 for 5 when Jadhav fell but Bawne and Khurana helped stage a recovery.
ScorecardFast bowler Parvinder Awana took three wickets as Delhi reduced neighbours Haryana to 219 for 6 in Lahli, near Rohtak. The Lahli pitch has acquired a reputation for being a batsman’s nightmare but the surface for this game was bare without any grass. Rahul Dewan and Nitin Saini (45) put on 69 for the first wicket before Awana struck. Sunny Singh and Abhimanyu Khod did cause much damage. Awana did, with the second new ball, taking out Sachin Rana and Amit Mishra leg-before. No. 5 batsman Rahul Dalal remained unbeaten on 42.

George Bailey, the Australia captain, has praised his bowlers for their work at the death in keeping West Indies to 150 in the first Twenty20 in St Lucia

Brydon Coverdale28-Mar-2012George Bailey, the Australia captain, has praised his bowlers for their work at the death in keeping West Indies to 150 in the first Twenty20 in St Lucia. Australia comfortably overhauled the target with eight wickets and nearly two overs to spare, and it was a fine performance considering Kieron Pollard scored a 20-ball half-century that was the fastest ever by a West Indian in a T20 international.West Indies scored only 16 runs from their last three overs as Shane Watson and Brett Lee found just the right length to keep Pollard and his colleagues quiet. That was a pleasant change for the Australians, who in the past few couple of months have often struggled to contain teams in the later stages of innings, especially in ODIs.”It was pretty polished,” Bailey said of the all-round effort. “[The bowling was pleasing] particularly given how we finished a couple of games in the one-dayers. For the guys to have responded to that, learnt what they have, come up with plans and then execute them, I think that’s really pleasing and we’ll take a lot of confidence out of that.”It was nothing too radical. We talked about a few different plans and a few different lines and a few different options. The only thing I really wanted to do today was to give myself options at the back end, in case they were going really, really hard. Then we weren’t locked in to bowling particular bowlers. Having so many bowlers in the team that was the beauty of the options I had.”Bailey said Australia’s all-round performance was close to their best of the tour so far, and it was the second win for Bailey from three matches since taking over as captain. The loss of David Warner in the first over of the innings created a few nerves in the Australian dressing room, but the way Watson and Michael Hussey batted, the target never looked big enough.”You’re never sure. The key is always going to be early partnerships for us and early wickets for them,” Bailey said. “Losing one in the first over always puts you on edge a little bit. But I think the class of Shane and Huss, they just suit each other perfectly. Watto clears the pickets and Huss just pierces the gaps so beautifully.”Watson was named Man of the Match for his 69 and 1 for 16 from four overs, and he made a clear difference to the balance of the side having missed Bailey’s first two games as captain through injury. Bailey said quality allrounders were a godsend for any T20 captain.”It’s gold to have any allrounder in your team and [especially] to have one of the quality of Watto, who can hold his own in the team as a batter or a bowler,” he said. “He’s so, so important to our team and it was nice for him to free himself today. His last two overs were particularly good at the death and then the clinical way he batted and the strength of clearing that fence.”

Mohsin Khan will continue as interim coach of Pakistan for the series against England next month, Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has said

Umar Farooq19-Dec-2011Mohsin Khan will continue as interim coach of Pakistan for the series against England next month, Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman has said. The decision to continue with Mohsin, who is also the head of selectors, has been made because the PCB is yet to identify and hire a full-time coach.”The current coaching team will continue to work for the England series as well,” Ashraf said. “We have yet to take a decision on the appointment of the new coaching staff. It is not my call to name a coach as I have appointed an expert team of former Test cricketers to decide. I have told them to find the best candidate.”The England series will be Mohsin’s third assignment as national coach. He was first appointed interim coach after Waqar Younis stepped down citing medical reasons in August.The PCB had been expected to name their new coach following the Bangladesh series. Ashraf did not provide a reason for the delay. The search committee was formed in late August to find Waqar’s successor and though it arrived at a shortlist of five candidates a month later, no full-time coach has yet been appointed. The committee was constituted by the previous PCB chairman Ijaz Butt but the process was delayed as Butt completed his three-year tenure and was replaced by Ashraf in October.England will play three Tests, four one-day internationals and three Twenty20s on their two-month tour of the UAE.

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been named Punjab’s captain for the upcoming Ranji season

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2012Replacements for North Zone Duleep trophy squad

Virender Sehwag (ankle injury) – ID Singh (J&K)

Yuvraj Singh (not cleared for four-day cricket by NCA) – Bipul Sharma (Punjab)

Virat Kohli (asked for rest) – Uday Kaul

Gautam Gambhir (Champions League) – Rahul Dewan (Haryana)

Harbhajan Singh (Champions League) – Gurvinder Singh (Himachal Pradesh)

Rajat Bhatia (Champions League) – Sunny Singh (Haryana)

Amit Mishra, who had originally been deemed unfit, has now been cleared, and will travel with the squad as the 16th member.

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been named Punjab’s captain for the upcoming Ranji season. He has been out of the Indian Test side for more than a year, but returned to the Twenty20 squad for the World T20 last month.Harbhajan flew back home after sustaining an injury during the tour of England last year. He led Mumbai Indians to the Champions League trophy, proof of his ability to perform in T20, but picked up a shin injury around the time he was omitted from India’s squad for Australia.That injury also curtailed his Ranji season to three matches, when as Punjab captain he only took two wickets for 204 runs. He also led Punjab in the one-day Vijay Hazare tournament and the Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.This year, he signed a county contract with Essex, where he played steadily if not spectacularly (13 first-class wickets at 33).His presence in the side will be a boost to Punjab, who are without a head coach after Vikram Rathour vacated the post to become a national selector.Punjab Ranji squad: Harbhajan singh (capt), Mandeep Singh (vice-capt), Karan Goel, Jeevanjot Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Uday Kaul, Mayank Sidhana, Amitoze Singh, Rahul Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Manpreet Gony, Sandeep Sharma, Gurkirat Mann, Bipul Sharma and Rajwinder Singh

Northern Districts were able to hold on for a nine-run victory over Otago to seal their first victory of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Aaron Redmond tried in vain to get Otago close to the target•Getty ImagesA pair of fifties from the two Daniels – Flynn and Harris – ensured Northern Districts had enough runs to keep Otago at bay, as they opened their HRV Cup campaign with a nine-run victory in Dunedin. Northern Districts batted first, with the openers Brad Wilson and Flynn putting on 49.After Wilson was removed for 27, Flynn was joined by Harris, and the pair had a 69-run partnership. Flynn finally fell for 57 off 48 balls, which included three sixes and fours. Scott Styris chipped in with 14, but the rest of the lower order failed to add anything significant. Harris finished on 68 when he was run out by Neil Broom off the penultimate ball of the innings. Northern Districts reached 183 for 6.Otago, playing their first HRV Cup match since winning the tournament last year, got off to a belter as Broom and Jesse Ryder put on 65. Both openers fell by the 10th over, as Otago looked to build a strong platform to mount a chase of a competitive score. Aaron Redmond, coming in at No. 3, played an integral innings of 50 not out off 31 balls, as he and Ryan ten Doeschate combined for 76 runs for the third wicket.When ten Doeschate departed with the score on 147 for 3, Otago still required 37 runs off the final nine balls. Some inspired hitting from Redmond was not enough to close the gap, and Otago fell short by just nine runs.The match between Canterbury and Otago in Dunedin on November 8 was abandoned without a ball bowled on account of heavy rain on the morning of the match.

Preview of the second Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Harare

The Preview by Mohammad Isam24-Apr-2013Match factsApril 25-29, Harare
Start time 1000 (0800 GMT)Brendan Taylor was an unstoppable run machine in the first Test•Associated PressBig PictureZimbabwe may not experience a change in their position (read Test rankings) in world cricket, but give them a series win against Bangladesh and they would walk away happily. They are 1-0 ahead in this particular contest, and have their rivals in the exact position they’d have wanted just over a week ago: questioning their ability against swing and seam, and with little time and opportunity to lift a crushed morale.Brendan Taylor’s personal build-up to this series has turned heads. Players who have trained with him have noticed a significant rise in intensity, and it resulted in a performance not many on both sides can forget. Also hard to forget would be the threat posed by Kyle Jarvis. The young pace bowler has been a much more skilled quick than the Jarvis Bangladesh faced in 2011. The contributions of Malcolm Waller, Graeme Cremer and Shingi Masakadza could easily be forgotten but they have done no harm to their chances of a future in the national team.While Taylor will remain steadfast in his batting approach, he would like a few more from seniors like Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura. Also, it would be fair to give another chance to Timycen Maruma and Richmond Mutumbami though they couldn’t match the performance of Keegan Meth, their fellow debutant in the first Test.The 335-run defeat in the first Test couldn’t have come at a worse time for Bangladesh, coming in a season in which they have made significant progress. It is hard to forget their showing in their last two series. They were in prime position to beat West Indies in a Test match in November, eventually beat them in a five-match ODI series in December and three months later went on to draw a Test in Sri Lanka and win an ODI there. Those were all justifiable claims for progress but when Bangladesh lose to Zimbabwe, things tend to go haywire.How they respond in their selection for the second Test, and in their attitude towards Taylor and the swinging deliveries of Jarvis, Meth and Shingi, could define whether they get back on track or are derailed altogether. Bangladesh’s fielding too needs a lift, and that could be an easier path to regain their shot confidence in the second Test.Form guideBangladesh: LLDLL (most recent results first)
Zimbabwe: WLLLLPlayers to watchMalcolm Waller was Zimbabwe’s second-best batsman in the first Test behind his captain. It was his busy 55 in the first innings that helped to get his side out of a rut. Waller is not a limited player but tends to limit his strokeplay according to the need of the hour. This should be more than encouraging for a batting line-up still not comfortable in its own skin.In normal circumstances, Shakib Al Hasan would waltz past two low scores but this is a different setting altogether. The team lost by a huge margin, he didn’t score nor pick up a wicket, and he has just returned from a lengthy injury lay-off. Not only does he have to shake off the cobwebs, but also help the team win a Test match. Whether the occasion will get to him or not remains to be seen.Team newsThere’s hardly a reason to change the Zimbabwe team for the second Test. Kyle Jarvis had been battling a tight quadriceps muscle, forcing him to avoid bowling in the nets on Monday and Tuesday. But he bowled on Wednesday and is fine to play.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Timycen Maruma, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Kyle Jarvis, 10 Keegan Meth, 11 Shingi Masakadza.Not picking three seamers in the first Test was a blunder so, with Rubel Hossain ruled out due to a shoulder injury, they could go into this game with Sajidul Islam and Ziaur Rahman after Shafiul Islam’s recovery from a side strain was deemed insufficient by the physio. The under-fire Mahmudullah could be replaced by Mominul Haque and if Tamim Iqbal returns, Shahriar Nafees would have to sit out.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Jahurul Islam, 2 Tamim Iqbal/Shahriar Nafees, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Mahmudullah/Mominul Haque, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Ziaur Rahman/Shafiul Islam, 10 Sajidul Islam, 11 Robiul Islam.Pitch and conditionsThe ground staff has had four days to prepare the pitch and it has rained on two of those so far. Taylor hoped it will be similar to the pitch they played on in the first Test but did say it might be a bit slower and will take a bit more turn. The weather is expected to be clear over the five days but cooler than it was during the first Test.Stats and trivia For the second time in its history, the Harare Sports Club will be hosting a second Test match in the space of eight days. The previous occasion was in 1999 when Zimbabwe played Sri Lanka With his 273 runs in the first Test, Brendan Taylor has gone past Bashar as the highest run-getter in Bangladesh-Zimbabwe Tests. In the same vein, Enamul Haque jr is now the highest wicket-taker in these contests, going past Heath Streak’s 20 wickets A Taylor-like performance will allow Mohammad Ashraful to become the second Bangladesh player to reach the 3,000-run mark in Test cricket, after Habibul Bashar. He is 271 runs short of the milestoneQuotes”We just have to focus on day one. We don’t want to look too far ahead. We know Bangladesh have players that can turn a game on its head in a session or two so we just back our skills, have a clear mindset and look after our bodies.””Zimbabwe are a tough opponent, we always knew that. Although we lost the game we are not defeated. I promise everyone back home in Bangladesh that the players will be doing everything they can to fix it.”

Richard Hadlee has questioned Ross Taylor’s response to his sacking as New Zealand captain and believes he should have played on after the fall-out

Andrew McGlashan05-Feb-2013Sir Richard Hadlee has questioned Ross Taylor’s response to his sacking as New Zealand captain and believes he should have played on after the fall-out rather than take time away from the game.Taylor, who was relieved of the captaincy after the Sri Lanka tour despite drawing the Test series 1-1, opted out of the following trip to South Africa saying he needed a break from the international game. He will return to the New Zealand side for the Twenty20 series against England which starts on Saturday and is also in the one-day squad. Barring any dramatic change in events, he will resume his Test career next month.In Taylor’s absence, New Zealand were crushed in the Tests against South Africa, including being bowled out for 45 in Cape Town, and also lost the Twenty20 series, although they fought back impressively to take the one-day contest.Hadlee, while sympathising with the poor handling of the situation, would have preferred to see Taylor move on quickly from losing the leadership and return to the ranks immediately.”I find it very interesting how Taylor reacted. In some ways I’m a little disappointed that Taylor decided to exile himself for a period of time,” Hadlee told ESPNcricinfo. “If you fall off the horse you get back on it, and I can’t imagine an All Black rugby player who was captain then was replaced not make himself available to play again as soon as possible.”Clearly Taylor had been affected in some way and needed to get his mind right. It was his call, but I’m not sure it was good thing because when he gets back into the side it’s going to be quite an uneasy period for him, and other team-mates, knowing that he walked away.”Hadlee, though, added his voice to those unimpressed by the handling of the whole situation, which saw Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, tell Taylor before the Test series in Sri Lanka he wanted a change of captain but, it later emerged, only in the limited-overs formats. Taylor has recently met with Hesson for the first time since losing his position and is ready to move on, though he admitted that the relationship will take time to develop.”There were clearly mixed messages, which have been well documented,” Hadlee said. “Taylor had clearly been hurt and offended, perhaps not so much by the decision but how it came about because it was done before the first Test. That decision should have been made in the review after the tour.”Hadlee would have been comfortable if New Zealand had gone down the split-captaincy route now used by England, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. But, despite the circumstances of the change, he sees Brendon McCullum as someone with the right qualities to lead New Zealand and does not think he should be judged too harshly on the Test performances.”At the moment Brendon McCullum is doing all forms and clearly struggling in the Test team, but I think that is more to do with resources available rather than issues with him personally,” he said. “He has shown his true colours, especially as a leader, in the one-day format so that is pretty encouraging.”Of greater concern for McCullum, according to Hadlee, is that he works out what sort of batsman he wants to be in the longer format. After being elevated to opener, partly due to the lack of other options as much as his suitability for the position, he has largely shelved his natural attacking game to try and set a more cautious tone for his team-mates but that may not be making best use of his ability.”The big problem Brendon is facing at the moment is how he, himself, plays the game as a batsman. Does he open or drop down the order? Does he play aggressively, take high risks, which if he fails can set a bad example or take a more circumspect role that goes against his instincts? He’s caught in between with how he should play but that is what the selectors have left the left him with.”Although McCullum will have Taylor back to boost his batting order against England, another of New Zealand’s most destructive players remains unavailable. Jesse Ryder, who has not played for New Zealand since being dropped for disciplinary reasons during the one-day series against South Africa last year, will not resume his international career in the near future despite a prolific domestic season.Ryder will continue with the plan drawn up in the wake of his latest problems with authority last year and play a full season for Wellington before taking up his IPL deal with Delhi Daredevils. Hadlee, who had a close association with Ryder when he was chairman of selectors, hopes to see him back in the set-up but says that no more controversies can be tolerated.”When Jesse is ready to come back that will be great for our game, but the most important thing he needs to do is obey a set of rules and protocols,” Hadlee said. “If you are going to break them it doesn’t set a very good example, if Jesse can get away with things. We can’t have any more controversy. If he’s willing and able to do that he’ll be a great asset to our game.”Sir Richard Hadlee was promoting Sky Sports’ year of live cricket, which includes England v New Zealand, back to back Ashes, ICC Champions Trophy and live county matches