Bangladesh officials to conduct inspection before touring Pakistan

While Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan recorded his second Test century, an unbeaten 108, officials of his cricket association were announcing plans to tour Pakistan ahead of their tour of the country in 2012 to conduct a security inspection.

Bangladeshi officials plan to conduct a security inspection of Pakistan next month, ahead of a proposed tour of the country later in 2012, according to Mustafa Kamal, head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Kamal and fellow board members met with their Pakistani counterparts on Saturday in Dhaka. Afterwards, Kamal said that the BCB had agreed to form a security committee to visit Pakistan and “review their security measures so as to ensure proper security arrangements are in place prior to arrival of Bangladesh team in Pakistan”.

He added: “My board further agreed that Bangladesh cricket team will visit Pakistan in April 2012 as per ICC’s Future Tours Programme.

“I hope this way, slowly and gradually, international cricket will come back to Pakistan.”

No teams have toured Pakistan since March 2009, when militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

Eight Pakistanis died and six members of the Sri Lanka team were wounded.

Elsewhere, on the pitch in Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan and Shahriar Nafees shared a record 180-run stand to take Bangladesh to a respectable 234-5 against visitors Pakistan before bad light ended the first day of the second Test on Saturday.

The pair surpassed Bangladesh's previous highest fifth-wicket stand of 144, set by Mehrab Hossain Jr and Mushfiqur Rahim against New Zealand in 2008, to steer the team away from early trouble after a strong opening spell from Pakistan's Aizaz Cheema.

The stand was also Bangladesh's highest against Pakistan, besting the 167 of Javed Omar and Habibul Bashar in 2003.

Shakib was unbeaten on 108, for his second test century while Nafees fell to an awkward bouncer off Umar Gul on 97.

The wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal took a simple catch after the ball hit Nafees on the glove, ending his solid, 177-ball innings that featured 12 boundaries.

"Whoever I've met after the last Test, whether it was family members, ex-cricketers, management, journalists, etc, they said that I looked very hurried," Nafees said.

"I didn't want to do it today. I was also determined that I won't get out badly. I could be out, but I didn't want to raise the question of why you got out like this?"

The seamer Cheema had taken advantage of the bowler-friendly conditions to claim three wickets and reduce Bangladesh to 43-4 after play had been delayed an hour because of dense fog.

The 32-year-old medium-pacer claimed had opener Nazimuddin (0) out leg before wicket with only his sixth delivery.

Gul then removed the under-performing Tamim Iqbal (14) and Cheema returned to bowl out Mahmudullah for a first-ball duck. Nasir Hossain (7) went in the 14th over when he edged a simple catch to Akmal.

"After they lost four quick wickets, Shakib and Shahriar started to look for singles and leave the ball. At that point it became difficult to bowl against them," Cheema said.