Last round of NCL matches postponed

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has postponed the last round of the National Cricket League (NCL), the country's first-class competition, to accommodate the Dhaka Premier League, the 50-over tournament.

The third round of NCL games in the second phase were supposed to begin on December 24 but, on the eve of the two matches, the BCB postponed them. The board's tournament committee chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain said there were two reasons for the decision.

"The CCDM [Cricket Commmittee of Dhaka Metropolis] requested us to suspend the league temporarily as they have a plan to finish the first round of the Premier League by February 2 next year," he said. "A couple of the divisional sides also suggested to suspend the league as it will be difficult for them to play the NCL final straight after the Premier League limited-over matches."

CCDM, which runs the Dhaka leagues, also wanted to give the clubs some time for preparation as the Premier Division Cricket League is scheduled from December 28. The national cricketers' availability for the two possible first-class matches after the BPL is also uncertain because they could be in a camp for the Asia Cup in March.