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English cricket bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II

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The Oval has known many ‘departures’ given it often stages the last Test of an English cricket season, with Australia great Don Bradman and former England captain Alastair Cook taking their leave of the international stage at the ground.

But the south London venue fell silent on Saturday before the start of the third day’s play in the third Test between England and South Africa for a farewell of a very different sort as the ground paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.

The death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch at the age of 96 on Thursday had led the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to abandon Friday’s play.

And with Thursday’s opening day washed out, it meant what should have been a five-day match had now been reduced to a three-day game.

Unlike their counterparts at English football’s Premier League, who have suspended their fixtures this weekend, the ECB decided to resume play Saturday.

“It’s been very sad news for not only the nation but the world with the Queen’s passing,” England captain Ben Stokes told before play resumed.

“She was someone who dedicated her life to the nation, someone that we take incredible inspiration from and we are honoured to be able to walk out on the field in memory of the Queen.”

The all-rounder added: “We know how much the Queen loved this sport, and the show must go on. I’m sure she’ll be looking down on all the sport that’s still going ahead over this weekend and that we’re going out there in her honour. I’m very pleased and proud we can do that.”

As spectators took their seats at the Oval, they would have noticed a few changes, with the usual advertising signs on the perimeter hoardings replaced by black and white messages marking the death of the Queen.

Then, ten minutes before the scheduled start of play at 11:00 am (10:00 GMT), the players and match officials all wearing black armbands as a sign of respect walked onto the outfield through a military guard of honour.

Under grey skies, and with the Union flag flying alone above the pavilion where the England and South Africa flags would usually have been on display as well a near-capacity crowd of 27,500 then observed a minute’s silence.

With the teams and officials still lined up in front of the pavilion, professional singer Laura Wright well known for her performances at sporting events sung the South African national anthem unaccompanied as the crowd listened in silence before politely applauding.

Wright then delivered the first performance of ‘God Save the King’, Britain’s now slightly but significantly altered national anthem, at a major sporting event since the Queen’s death, with the crowd most of whom had never known about anything but ‘God Save the Queen joining in before a ripple of applause went round England’s oldest Test match ground.

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Cricket Star Shakib Al Hasan Enters Footwear Business

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Star cricketer and Member of Parliament Shakib Al Hasan is set to venture into the footwear business with the launch of a new brand, “SAH 75,” in collaboration with Step Footwear, one of the country’s largest non-leather footwear companies.

Under this joint venture, Step Footwear will handle the manufacturing, selling, and marketing of wearable products for the “SAH 75” brand. The products will be available in 95 Step Footwear showrooms nationwide. Shamim Kabir, Managing Director of Step Footwear, confirmed this collaboration.

The formal announcement of the new business venture is scheduled to take place at a hotel in the capital on Sunday.

Sources indicate that Step Footwear will produce certain shoes under the “SAH 75” brand, while additional products will be sourced from both domestic and international markets. These products will be sold through Step’s showrooms.

The product range under the “SAH 75” brand will include shoes, sandals, boots, bats, pads, sportswear, and other wearables.

Step Footwear operates three factories in Narsingdi, where two of them focus on producing trolleys, bags, backpacks, and the third factory specializes in shoemaking equipment. All three factories are currently in full production.

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Major Reshuffling as 22 Companies, Including Khulna Printing, Yeakin Polymers, Enter ‘Z’ Category Deals

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In a recent development, ten companies have undergone a change in their categories, transitioning to the ‘Z’ category in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). The information comes from official sources from DSE.

The companies affected by this reclassification include Alltex Industries, Aramit Cement, Aziz Pipes, Delta Spinning, FAS Finance and Investment Limited, GBB Power Limited, Intech Limited, International Leasing, Keya Cosmetics, Khulna Printing, National Tea, Premier Leasing, Regent Textile, Ring Shine Textile, Safko Spinning, Standard Ceramics, Dacca Dyeing, Union Capital, Uttara Finance and Investment Limited, Yeakin Polymer, and Zahintex Industries Limited.

Effective from today (18th February), trading for these companies in the ‘Z’ category has commenced.

Sources reveal that these companies have been transferred to the ‘Z’ category due to their inability to hold the annual general meeting (AGM) within the stipulated time, remaining closed for more than six months, and having higher liabilities than assets.

Before this update, there were 27 companies in the ‘Z’ category at the DSE. With the addition of 22 more companies, the total number of companies in the ‘Z’ category has now reached 49.

It is noteworthy that companies failing to hold the AGM within the specified time, remaining closed for more than six months, or having higher liabilities than assets are moved to the ‘Z’ category after undergoing the necessary scrutiny and reevaluation.

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Bangladesh Makes History: Clinches First T20I Win on New Zealand Soil

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In a historic moment, Bangladesh secured their maiden T20I victory on New Zealand soil, achieving a memorable five-wicket win in Napier on Wednesday. Spearheaded by Shoriful Islam’s impressive three-wicket performance and Litton Das’s unbeaten 42, the Tigers successfully chased down a challenging target of 135. Despite facing setbacks with regular wicket falls, Litton Das displayed resilience, guiding Bangladesh to victory with eight balls to spare.

The early departure of Rony Talukdar (10) in the second over set the tone, followed by Najmul Hossain Shanto’s confident start (19) that couldn’t materialize, and Soumya Sarkar’s promising innings (22) cut short by a stunning delivery from Ben Sears. Towhid Hridoy (18) and Afif Hossain (1) fell quickly, but Mahedi Hasan (19*) held firm, eventually hitting the winning shot off Adam Milne.

Bangladesh’s bowlers set the stage for success by limiting New Zealand to their lowest T20I total against them – 134 for nine. Mahedi struck early, and Shoriful’s two-wicket burst in the second over put the Black Caps in a precarious position at 2 for 3. Contributions from Mahedi and Mustafizur Rahman, who took two wickets each, further stymied the hosts. Despite efforts from James Neesham (48) and Mitchell Santner (23) to rebuild, the total proved insufficient against Bangladesh’s determined pursuit.

This triumph signifies a significant turnaround for Bangladesh, marking their first-ever white-ball victories in New Zealand. With two consecutive victories on Kiwi soil, Bangladesh has etched a new chapter in their cricketing history.

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