A team of cricketers from Bangladesh conceded 92 runs in just four balls to purposely lose a match and cause the fans to protest in their league over biased umpiring.
Lalmatia Club was dismissed in Dhaka Second Division League’s 50-over match for just 88 off 14 overs before their opponents Axiom Cricketers reached 92-0 off only four balls.
The opening bowler from Lalmatia, Sujon Mahmud, sent down 13 wide and three no-balls in the first over, and they all raced to the boundary, costing his side an additional 80 runs. Mustafizur Rahman, as the Axiom opener, struck three fours in four legitimate boundaries to take home his team in just 0.4 overs to complete a 10-win win at City Club ground in the capital.
Secretary of the Lalmatia Club Adnan Rahman said his player deliberately bowled the wides and no-balls as a result of protest for poor umpiring. The secretary claimed the umpires did not even require the team captain to see the coin after the toss.
Another club official reported to AFP that during the entire season, umpires were biased towards Lalmatia, as at least one of its prominent players is connected to the main opposition group.
The match angered the Cricket Board of Bangladesh, which organizes club cricket in Dhaka. The BCB president is a ruling party lawmaker and is close to Prime Minister Sheik Hasina.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has not taken his actions lightly and has imposed a 10-year ban on the bowler. Mahmud was found guilty of discrediting the game. At the same time, the Lalmatia Club was barred from contest indefinitely, with their coach, captain, and manager, who were punished with five-year Dhaka Second Division League bans. The BCB has suspended the umpires overseeing each of the tainted matches for six months.
