Rains washes out third day’s play

CHRISTCHURCH — The third day of the second cricket Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh was abandoned because of rain Sunday without a ball being bowled, leaving the match closely balanced with two extended days remaining. After bringing an early end to play on the second day, rain continued throughout the night and into the afternoon in Christchurch. The pitch, surrounds and bowlers’ run-ups have remained covered throughout the day while the outfield became waterlogged from the constant rain. The umpires made the decision to abandon the day’s play at 4 p.m. and play will start 30 minutes early on the fourth day Monday when the weather is expected to improve. New Zealand was due to resume its first innings at 260-7 in reply to Bangladesh’s 289. Henry Nicholls is 56 not out — the third player to post a half century in the New Zealand innings — and fast bowler Tim Southee is unbeaten on 4. New Zealand’s innings has been built around Ross Taylor’s 77 — his 27th half century which carried him past 6,000 test runs - and Tom Latham’s 68 — his sixth fifty in his last seven tests. If no play is possible Sunday, as many as 196 overs remain to be bowled on the last two days leaving ample time for both teams to achieve a result. New Zealand leads the two-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test in Wellington by seven wickets. Bangladesh player arrested over photos of girlfriend In Dhaka, Bangladesh police Sunday arrested national cricketer Arafat Sunny for allegedly breaching strict internet laws after his girlfriend accused him of uploading sensitive photos on social media. Police raided the home of the 30-year-old slow left-arm bowler in the Dhaka suburb of Aminbazar after his longtime girlfriend filed a complaint two weeks ago, said local police chief Jamaluddin Mir. “She said Sunny opened up a fake Facebook account of hers and posted their personal photos, which she found offensive and defamatory,” he told AFP. “We have arrested him and sent him to the court, seeking to take him into custody for five days for questioning.” If found guilty Sunny could face up to 14 years in jail or a fine of 10 million taka ($126,340) under the controversial law, which local right groups say is being used to crack down on dissent. There was no immediate comment from the cricketer. “It seems to be a personal matter. We don’t want to comment now, however, we are observing (the situation),” Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury told AFP. The spinner has played 16 one-day internationals, taking 24 wickets, and 10 Twenty20 internationals in which he picked up 12 wickets. He was suspended from international matches during the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 for an illegal bowling action. Since then he has been playing domestic first-class cricket for Dhaka Metropolis. Sunny is the third national team cricketer to have been arrested in recent years, after pacemen Rubel Hossain and Shahadat Hossain. — Agencies