Bangladesh Cricket League
Countries | ![]() |
---|---|
Administrator | Bangladesh Cricket Board |
Format | First-class cricket |
First edition | 2012-13 |
Tournament format | Round-robin |
Number of teams | 4 |
Current champion | South Zone |
The Bangladesh Cricket League is an annual first-class cricket tournament that began in Bangladesh in the 2012-13 season.
History
The Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) was inaugurated in the 2012-13 season as a four-team first-class tournament comprising the best-performing players from the eight-team National Cricket League (NCL). The aim was to raise the level of the nation's top first-class competition and so prepare players better for Test cricket.[1]
The BCL consists of four zonal teams, each made up of players from teams representing two adjacent regions in the NCL. The teams are as follows:
- Central Zone: players from Dhaka Division and Dhaka Metropolis
- South Zone: players from Khulna Division and Barisal Division
- East Zone: players from Sylhet Division and Chittagong Division
- North Zone: players from Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division
Each team is owned and officially named as a franchise: Walton Central Zone, Prime Bank South Zone, Islami Bank East Zone, and BCB North Zone. The owners have remained unchanged since the beginning. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been unable to find a buyer for the North Zone franchise.[2]
The matches are played on a limited number of nominally neutral grounds, without home and away matches.
Winners
- 2012-13 – Central Zone
- 2013-14 – South Zone
- 2014-15 – South Zone
- 2015-16 – Central Zone
Seasons
2012-13
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Zone | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
North Zone | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
South Zone | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
East Zone | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
In the final, Central Zone beat North Zone by 31 runs. Sanjamul Islam (North Zone) took 8 for 73 in the second innings of the final, which remain the best bowling figures in the tournament.[3]
Matches took place between December 2012 and February 2013, at Mirpur (in Central Zone) and Bogra (in North Zone).[4] The highest scorer was Marshall Ayub (Central Zone) (465 runs, average 77.50) and the leading wicket-takers were Sohag Gazi (South Zone) (19 wickets, average 24.47) and Mosharraf Hossain (Central Zone) (19 wickets, average 25.31). Marshall Ayub was named player of the tournament; he scored 289 against East Zone, which remains the highest score in the tournament.[5]
2013-14
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Zone | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 54 |
South Zone | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 |
Central Zone | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 34 |
East Zone | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
In the final South Zone beat North Zone by 213 runs.[6]
Matches took place in January and May 2014, the round-robin matches at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan cricket grounds 2, 3 and 4 in Savar, and the final at Mirpur (all in Central Zone).[7] The highest scorer was Imrul Kayes (South Zone) (511 runs, average 73.00) and the leading wicket-taker was Taijul Islam (North Zone) (37 wickets, average 17.24). Taijul Islam was named player of the tournament.
2014-15
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Zone | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 46 |
East Zone | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 40 |
Central Zone | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33 |
North Zone | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
There was no final. Matches took place in April and May 2015, at Fatullah and Mirpur (both in Central Zone) and Chittagong (in East Zone).[8] The highest scorer was Alok Kapali (East Zone) (408 runs, average 102.00) and the leading wicket-taker was Abdur Razzak (South Zone) (18 wickets, average 19.00).
In April 2015, the BCL staged a One-Day League, which was won by East Zone.
2015-16
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Zone | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 64 |
East Zone | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 53 |
North Zone | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 49 |
South Zone | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 41 |
There was no final. Instead of a single round-robin, as in previous years, a double round-robin was held from mid-January to mid-March 2016. Matches were played at Rajshahi and Bogra (both in North Zone), Cox's Bazar (East Zone), and Mirpur and Fatullah (both in Central Zone).[9] The highest scorer was Marshall Ayub (Central Zone), with 562 runs at 56.20, while Abdur Razzak (South Zone) took the most wickets, 38 at 32.15.
References
- ^ "Bangladesh gets new four-day competition". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh Cricket League to begin on January 12". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Central Zone v North Zone 2012-13". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh Cricket League 2012-13". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Central Zone v East Zone 2012-13". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "North Zone v South Zone 2013-14". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh Cricket League 2013-14". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh Cricket League 2014-15". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh Cricket League 2015-16". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 March 2016.