The 21st edition of - walton the National Cricket X A HQL League (NCL), the —country's oldest first-class competition, will kick off across the country today with an emphasis placed on more competitive cricket.

In the Tier-1 matches defending champions Rajshahi Division will take on Dhaka Division in Fatullah while Rangpur will square off against Khulna in Khulna. In Rajshahi, Tier-2 teams Barishal will lock horns with Sylhet and Dhaka Metro will take on Chattogram Division in Mirpur.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had initially raised the fitness standards for this edition by increasing the minimum requirement in the beep test from nine in the previous

season to 11. The selectors did then relax the fitness requirements for some experienced campaigners, who were unable to meet the standards, just for this season.

The board also made changes to the point system this season, with points awarded for consecutive wins. The bonus points will also see some changes, with teams earning 0.01 points for every run they score above 250 in the first 100 overs of the first innings. The bowling team will be awarded 0.5 points at the fall of the fifth, seventh and ninth wickets in the first 100 overs of the first innings.

This season's NCL is also considered as preparation for Bangladesh's tour of India next month as the board made it compulsory for national players to take part in the NCL, most of whom

have not been regular participants in the competition in past years.

Meanwhile this years' NCL will also see former Bangladesh batsman Aftab Ahmed embark on his maiden stint as head coach of Chattogram Division. The former hard-hitting Bangladesh batsman had already established himself as coach of Legends of Rupganj in the last edition of the Dhaka Premier League, in which his side finished second.

"When played, my intention was to play with an attacking mindset and now as a coach, I don't want to see my team at the bottom. My attacking mindset will remain as coach too and regardless of the result I will try to give my best," Aftab told reporters yesterday. The points breakdown can be found in the online version of this article.