Simmons ton and Samuels put on a show for Windies; Ashraf to lead PCB

Lendl Simmons struck his maiden one-day international (ODI) century Thursday as the West Indies beat Bangladesh by 40 runs in Dhaka to take 1-0 lead in their three-match series.

Simmons, playing in his 30th ODI, hit 122 as the tourists piled up a challenging 298 for four. The target proved too much for Bangladesh who were restricted to 258 for seven.

The 26-year-old Simmons received good support from Marlon Samuels, who made 71 as the pair shared a 150-run stand.

Simmons and Adrian Barath, his opening partner, added 67 runs before a hamstring injury forced Barath to retire hurt for 21, making him the first victim of a new rule which bans a runner for an injured batsman.

Simmons and Samuels made Bangladesh wait until the 42nd over before they had their first breakthroughs when Rubel Hossain, the paceman, dismissed both in the space of four balls.

Bangladesh never threatened to chase down their imposing target despite Naeem Islam, the makeshift opener, scoring 52 and Shakib Al Hasan, the former captain, delivering some late blows to hit 67 not out.

Samuels capped a fine all-round performance with two wickets for the West Indies, who were without Darren Sammy, their regular captain, due to a stomach upset.

Sammy is expected to return to the side Saturday for the second ODI at the same venue.

PAKISTAN NAME ASHRAF AS CHAIR

Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan, has appointed banker Zaka Ashraf as the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The president's spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said Thursday that Ashraf will continue as chairman of PCB "until further orders".