Dragonfly

Image by Rezwan

Overcrowded passenger ferry capsized in the Padma River in Munshiganj, Bangladesh

The Formalin Scare in Bangladesh

The World Cup Goal-E Project

This street in Bangladesh has a colorful world cup celebration

New Chum Hill Ruins

Remnants of Kiandra gold mine at New Chum Hill, #nsw #australia

Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts

February 20, 2015

Afghanistan Makes History in Cricket World Cup, Despite Debut Loss to Bangladesh

Friday, February 20, 2015  , , , ,  No comments
Image from the Bangladesh Afghanistan Match from Manuka, Oval. Image By Rezwan
Image from the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match from Manuka, Oval. Image By Rezwan
February 18 was a historic day for Afghanistan, as its national cricket team took on Bangladesh at Manuka Oval Stadium in Canberra, Australia, for the country's first ever game in a Cricket World Cup.

Even though Bangladesh showed off its experience and talent, beating Afghanistan by 105 runs in a quite one-sided game, it was clear the country had come a long way. Afghanistan learned the game from neighbouring Pakistan, where countless Afghans fled following the 1979 Soviet invasion of their homeland, and cricket is now the most popular game there.

Bangladesh is also comparatively new to the World Cup. It played its first World Cup game in 1999.

Ahead of the game Afghanistan was pumped up from its victory over Bangladesh at the last Asia Cup in 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. However, the conditions in Australia were much different. The pitch at Manuka Oval offered more by way of pace and bounce than that Asia Cup surface.

Huge Crowd queueing up for the Bangladesh Afghanistan match on Feb 18, 2015. Image by Rezwan
Huge crowd queueing up for the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match on Feb. 18, 2015. Image by Rezwan
Despite the loss, Afghanistan thrilled its supporters as its bowlers kept up the pressure on Bangladeshi batsmen in the first 25 overs with a low run rate and took four wickets. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim combined for a 114-run 5th wicket partnership and Bangladesh posted a total of 267. Afghanistan was not up to par in reply as it was reduced to three wickets with only three runs in the first three overs. The team never quite recovered and was all out for 162 runs in 42.5 overs.

Canberra is home to a small population of Bangladeshis maybe 7,000 to 8,000 strong. However, many Bangladeshis from Sydney and Melbourne came to the Australian capital to watch the game. The official match crowd was 10,972, out of which Bangladeshis were more than 9,000, transforming the stadium into a little Bangladesh.

Here are some pictures from the crowd:

Bangladeshi supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Bangladeshi supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Afghan Supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Afghan Supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Bangladeshi supporters wore the green and red team jerseys which bore the colors of the Bangladeshi flag. Image by Rezwan
Bangladeshi supporters wore the green-and-red team jerseys, the same colors as the Bangladeshi flag. Image by Rezwan
Afghani supporters were also colourful. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Afghani supporters were also colourful. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Twitter hashtags #cwc15 and #BanvsAfg were trending on that day as many were talking about the game.
A tweet by the US Embassy in Kabul declaring victory for Afghanistan before the end of the game generated a lot of buzz. It was retweeted more than 300 times and favourited more than 100 times:
The embassy acknowledged their "premature posting" in another tweet, but maintained their excitement about Afghanistan's participation at the World Cup.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.
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November 28, 2014

Mourning Cricket Fans Honor Australia's Phillip Hughes With #PutOutYourBats

Friday, November 28, 2014  , ,  No comments
Players and officials of Bangladesh-Zimbabwe and the spectators stand up to pay one minute silent for Australian batsman Phillip Huges before the 4th ODI at Sher-e-Bangla Natioanl Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Dhaka. Image by Reaz Sumon. Copyright Demotix. (28/11/2014)
Players and officials of Bangladesh-Zimbabwe and the spectators stand up for one minute silence for Australian batsman Phillip Huges before the fourth One Day International match at Sher-e-Bangla Natioanl Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Dhaka. Image by Reaz Sumon. Copyright Demotix. (28/11/2014)
A simple tribute from a cricket fan to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died November 27, has gone viral in Australian and around the world.

Australian star cricketer Phillip Hughes died as a result of injuries he sustained when he was struck by a bouncer on Tuesday during a domestic league game at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Hughes was wearing a helmet, but the ball made contact with an unprotected area, damaging his vertebral artery which caused bleeding in the brain. He died two days later at a Sydney hospital from his injuries, three days shy of his 26th birthday.

In a gesture of respect, IT worker Paul Taylor put his old cricket bat outside the front door of his home in Sydney with a cricket cap slung on the handle and tweeted the picture to his followers with the hashtag #putoutyourbats. The idea soon caught on among mourning fans in Australia and beyond.
Hughes was born in Macksville, a small town on the north coast of New South Wales, and was so talented that he had his grade A debut at the age of 12. To mark his passing, matches were cancelled in Australia and in other countries. Cricketers across the world have tweeted to commemorate him:
Check out ESPN for more tributes to the cricket star.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.
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August 08, 2010

The Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride

Sunday, August 08, 2010  , ,  No comments

Let me introduce to you a great project from Australia. From the website of the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride [GARR]:
Spanning ten weeks and five states and territories, the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride will launch some 400 Aussie rickshaw wallahs on a 2000-kilometer quest to raise awareness about global poverty.

The message is simple: alleviating global poverty is achievable through people powered change. It happens when people like you, people who care, decide to take action.

Central to the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride is the humble rickshaw – our people-powered vehicle for change.
On why GARR chose the cycle Rickshaws in Bangladesh:
During the GARR our Aussie rickshaw wallahs will be pedaling cycle rickshaws made in Bangladesh. These three-wheel machines are typical of the estimated half a million rickshaws that choke the streets of Dhaka.

Bangladeshi rickshaws are the most colourful in all Asia and have been called ‘mobile works of art’. A quarter of the cost of a rickshaw may go into its artwork.
Read more here.


Image courtesy GARR Facebook page.

The mission of the ride:
The ride will visit towns and cities, speaking in halls, universities, parks, schools, churches, (or anywhere that will take us really) about poverty alleviation and how Australians can help.
The inspiration:
The idea began with a man named Jeff whose passions include cycling and helping the poor of Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world. In an inspired moment, Jeff combined the two to make the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride. Jeff believed that a mammoth rickshaw marathon, could help Australians become aware of global poverty.


Pat and Di Jeffs have fond memories of a recent trip to Bangladesh, during which they were inspired to take part in the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride to help alleviate global poverty. Image courtesy World Countries - Australia

You can see the actions of the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride in this Facebook album and get informed by following their Twitter account.

Please join the Facebook page of GARR to keep yourself informed and contact the organizers if you want to get involved.
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April 28, 2007

Today I am a Sri Lankan

Saturday, April 28, 2007  , , ,  No comments
After seven weeks and fifty matches the Cricket World Cup 2007 is ending today. Australia and Sri Lanka will meet their second final clash (first in 1996 which Sri Lanka had own).

Today I will be supporting Sri Lanka, one of the powerful cricketing nations in South Asia. I will be watching the game via internet.

Related links:

* Cricket World Cup 2007 TV, Radio and Internet Broadcasts: Live and highlights.

* Cricket Blogs and portals from South Asia.

* Cricket World Cup 2007, Live Links
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