Bangladesh Cricket

Consistent failures from positions of strength, where does the problem lie?

2010-02-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

It's really baffling to see time and again we are losing matches after matches after gaining some ground and reaching a position of strength. ODIs and Test matches alike, it's the same old story. We will dominate few sessions, few passage of play here and there and eventually throw it all out to succumb to a big defeat.

We are not probably good enough to challenge the opposition on a consistent basis, we probably don't believe in our abilities when we are on top and lack the killer blow.

If we look at our cricket history, it's a tale of lost opportunities. Multan, Fatullah, Chittagong, Darwin... everywhere we failed to cross the line after positions of strength.

I personally think at any point of time we always have a poor team combination and occasional personal brilliance put us on top, but failures from others allow the opposition to come back strong and we can't simply resist that.

Rafiq, Bashar and Nafees put us on top against Australia in Fatullah, the rest failed to give them minimal support and we know the result. Same happened in Chittagong where Shahadat and Shakib put us on top against India and the rest simply didn't bother to turn up. Tamim's brilliance gave us hope in the second Test and the rest decided to play spoilsport.

Again today, we had our moments both during bowling and batting, but at the end thrashed by 146 runs!!!

We are probably not good enough yet to win matches against top eight teams as we still rely on personal brilliance and oppositions failure.

We all understand Ash has to go, but can't find a suitable replacement. Roqibul needs a break but who is there to stand up and take the opportunity? Aftab? Probably not. We desperately need three top order batsmen to take the positions of Ashraful, Roqibul and another opener who will play sensibly. I don't see them coming, do you?

Tri-nation ODI series 2010 preview : Testing time for Bangladesh

2010-01-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh will start the most important year of their cricket history with a tri-series featuring India and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh enjoyed a successful 2009 and bagged overseas Test and ODI series wins against a weakened West Indies and successive ODI series wins against Zimbabwe, their favorite opponent in international cricket. Tigers will now have a great opportunity to see where they stand when they face the more threatening opponents in India or Sri Lanka at the Tri-series ODI tournament starting on 4th January 2010.

Shakib Al Hasan and Naeem Islam celebrating the win against Sri Lanka to take Bangladesh to the 2009 Grameen Bank Tri-Series final

Bangladesh also started their 2009 cricket calendar with a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and went on to the final only to lose out at the hands of batsman Muralitharan after defeating the same opponents at the group stage. The third team was Zimbabwe who stayed on for the first of the three ODI series played between these two teams in 2009. This time Bangladesh must raise their game for a similar result as Zimbabwe has been replaced by India who easily overpowered Sri Lanka in several recently concluded high scoring encounters. For a change, India will stay on after the tri-series for a 2-match Test series, their first one after becoming the top-ranked nation in the longer format of the game.

Bangladesh rattled a hapless Zimbabwe and a weakened West Indies in 2009 under the much praised leadership of Shakib-Al- Hasan. Shakib admirably raised his game after being forced to step-in after the injury of newly appointed skipper Mashrafe Mortaza. Bangladesh initially named Mashrafe captain for the tri-series and the Test series which follows, but had to revert to Shakib-Al-Hasan due to the fitness concern of Mashrafe. This last minute change gives Shakib the opportunity to continue his good work with the team he led for most part of 2009.

Bangladesh recovered well after the sudden ICL shock when some of their leading players deserted the national team for the more lucrative but unsanctioned Indian Cricket League. While the experienced ICL bound players were in the middle of a losing streak, the new breed of players who replaced them transformed the luck of the Tigers and won matches against teams like New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies. The ICL storm has recently died down and Bangladesh players have cut their ties with the league and they are up for selection after serving a six month cooling down period as suggested by ICC. However, there is no surprise that Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons, who faced a very difficult challenge with the new breed, is reluctant to make any major changes and wants to keep faith in his boys who have time and again showed their talent and determination, and have won matches at the top level of cricket.

Bangladesh cricket is going through a rebuilding phase and it is far from a finished product. They do not have the luxury of being able to ignore the ICL recruits and a couple of them, Aftab Ahmed and Shahriar Nafees, is already making a strong case for their inclusion into the playing XI for the up-coming series. The Bangladesh selectors have included them in the 15-man squad which sends a strong positive signal to the resumption of the international careers of other promising ICL mercenaries like Alok Kapali and Mosharraf Rubel.

Shakib Al Hasan led Bangladesh to ODI and Test series victories in 2009, Bangladesh will expect the same in 2010.

Despite making giant strides in the recent Test and ODI series against West Indies, Bangladesh are languishing in top-order batting and also in the pace bowling department. Bangladesh’s success in the tri-series will heavily depend on how these two inconsistent departments perform on any given day. Since their inception into the cricket elite, Bangladesh’s struggle in the top order batting has been ardous. Bangladesh has tested more than 20 opening pairs in the last five years and could not yet settle on a single pair! The latest pair of Tamim Iqbal and Zunaed Siddique came to a premature end after the regular failures of Zunaed Siddique. Zunaed had enjoyed the backing of the coach but lost the support of the selectors. Bangladesh has included the in-form opener Imrul Kayes in place of Zunaed, but he will face stiff competition from Shahriar Nafees who has also returned to the national fold.

Shahriar Nafees looks to be set for a return as an opener and if he can utilize his experience and rectify his past mistakes, he and Tamim Iqbal can forge a solid opening partnership for Bangladesh in both Tests and ODIs. Aftab is one of the hardest hitter of the cricket ball in Bangladesh and he can be an asset during power play overs. But, just like Ashraful, he lacks maturity and often throws his wicket recklessly after a good start. He has expressed his determination to amend his past mistakes and become a permanent fixture of Bangladesh after a 15-month lay-off from international cricket. If Aftab’s words are transformed into action on the field, Bangladesh can expect better days in the upcoming Tri-nation ODI series.

The pace bowling department of the current Bangladesh team lacks direction in the absence of leading pacer Mashrafe Mortaza. Shahadat Hossain has lost his venom and is currently out of favor. In the absence of these two frontline bowlers, the return of Syed Rasel from injury is the only consolation for Bangladesh. He is likely to share the new ball with Nazmul Hossain who has made significant improvements over the past 12 months. As part of an on-going tradition to include a rookie pacer in every other series, Shafiul Islam has earned national call after leading the bowlers tally in the domestic limited overs competition. He will face stern tests against power hitters from India and Sri Lanka. The Bangladesh team management must handle this promising pacer with care and support him for a reasonable period of time.

Bangladesh’s strength lies in their middle order batting and spin bowling department. A middle order consisting Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Naeem Islam is comparable to that of India and Sri Lanka and they have routinely rescued Bangladesh after the almost religiously regular shaky starts by the top order. Bangladesh has arguably the best spin attack of the competition. In addition to the world leading SLA duo of Shakib and Razzak, Bangladesh have variations in tidy off-spinners Mahmudullah and Naeem Islam. Mohammad Ashraful is another useful spin bowler who has repeatedly come to the assistance of his captain to break partnerships. Bangladesh can expect at least 35 overs of uncluttered spin action to tie up the opposition batsmen on helpful Mirpur conditions.

It will be difficult for Bangladesh to reach the final of the tri-series which features two of the most explosive one day teams of modern cricket. Sehwag-Gambhir-Yuvraj of India and Dilshan-Tharanga-Sangakkara of Sri Lanka can tear away the opposition on their day. Bangladesh’s initial target should be to go after Sri Lanka who will field a relatively inexperienced side due to the injury of key players. In that respect, the opening match against Sri Lanka on January 4 may become the most important fixture for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has not played a team ranked above them since January of 2009. The leap from playing Zimbabwe to playing India will be a big one. Bangladesh is expected to compete and make the opponents fight to beat them. If the big boys slip up a little, then the Tigers will pounce on them and can win games. If Bangladesh can build their momentum early-on, Shakib-Al-Hasan led team has the potential to break new grounds in the Tri-nation ODIs which they have regularly done in 2009 albeit against weaker opponents.

Ashraful needs to go

2009-01-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

The same script, the same fate and with every repetition, Bangladesh falls further behind in international cricket. Once again we see the scene of a “bewildered” Mohammad Ashraful looking at his non-striking partner in disbelief and finally trudging back to the pavilion cursing his fate for yet another idiotic dismissal at a crucial moment. His cavalier attitude towards cricket has been a detrimental influence on a youthful Bangladesh side that follow more often than not their skipper in playing reckless cricket. This is how Mohammad Ashraful is leading Bangladesh. And this is why a team with immense potential is consistently failing to compete at the top level.

Ashraful’s lack of insight and understanding of the state of the play is not only affecting his own batting, but also the way Bangladesh approaches a game as a batting unit. A player who has been playing international cricket for 8 years should realize his problem. Yet, Ashraful shows no sign of learning. He simply does not seem to know the art of building an innings. And taking responsibility is not a virtue which is present in his book.

His reliance on luck by playing risky shots in the air and not trying to minimize the “luck factor” is sending a wrong signal to his young teammates. Ashraful’s dicey approach has started to become the trademark style of Bangladesh batsmen. They are not developing the character and determination required to succeed in international cricket. It is time to realize the simple fact that audacious stroke play, over-ambitious and reckless cricket won’t take them anywhere in the near future other than bring even more humiliations for them and their 150 million passionate cricket followers. Reliance on “once in a blue moon” Ashraful is causing more harm than good to the prospect of Bangladesh as a cricket team.

After the departure of Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh awarded captaincy to the talented Mohammad Ashraful in a bid to take Bangladesh cricket forward. It appears that

This recklessness must end © Cricinfo

the notion of honor and responsibility associated with the captaincy has not changed Ashraful; perhaps only the fear for survival might effect a change. Let him earn his place in the team and let him fight to retain it. This might bring a welcome change and he might start performing. This will ultimately help Bangladesh in its fight for survival in Test cricket and getting regular success in other forms of cricket.

In Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh has a coach who believes in long term Tigers uprising at the expense of short term “flash in the pan” successes. In Champaka Ramanayeke, they have a capable bowling coach who has effectively turned a mediocre Bangladesh attack into a competitive one within a very short span of time. However, the good works of the bowlers are getting consistently nullified by incompetent “reckless” batting. What is the weakest link in Bangladesh cricket that is holding the Tigers back in International cricket? On-field captaincy.

Having vision, the ability to motivate others, possessing self-knowledge and leading from the front are the essential characteristics of any leader. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, Mohammad Ashraful’s antics during the last 8 in international cricket show that either he doesn’t understand or is completely unaware about the attributes of a captain. His recent dismissals against Sri Lanka in the second Test and in the opening match of the tri-series against Zimbabwe should be the final nail in his captaincy coffin. Bangladesh needs someone with a more serene and assured approach to inspire a youthful side. It is time Bangladesh cricket administrators understand this reality and take appropriate actions.

Bangladesh already has replacements who can step up to take the responsibility like they have done at age group levels. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim are two such names. Mashrafe Mortaza’s susceptibility to injury virtually rules him out of the running; otherwise he would have been a serious contender for the position. Both Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim came through a proper cricket system in which they represented age group, academy and A teams. Both of them have the experience of captaincy at different levels and led their respective teams with examples. They are young but have proven leadership qualities. Most importantly, they have calm heads on their shoulder and rely more on substance than flashy style.

The recent stance by the ECB to not invite Bangladesh after 2010 will definitely influence the minds of other cricket administrators who might want to follow the suit. Bangladesh has apparently failed to learn the basic tenets of Test cricket even after 8 years of introduction to the top league and aren’t consistent enough even in ODI cricket. Bangladesh’s recent form in international cricket is very much alarming for the overall future of cricket in the country. The current team management has failed to build on the achievements of the previous team management in one day cricket. When every other team is making strides we are walking backwards. And the skipper is leading the retreat with his fanciful game plan.

However, not everything is lost. Bangladesh has showed some encouraging signs in recent home Tests and fought neck and neck against South Africa and New Zealand. They have managed to take the honors in a couple of sessions. But, there is a huge difference between winning a couple of sessions of a Test match and winning the match itself. This is where a true leader can make a difference. On every occasion where Bangladesh had achieved winnable positions in Test cricket, they have been denied by inspired leadership from the opposing captain. This happened in Multan (Inzamam-Ul Haque), Fatullah (Ricky Ponting), Mirpur (Graeme Smith) and Chittagong (Daniel Vettori). Bangladesh needs a leader with the same combination of skill, vision and insight to lead them out of the current morass.

It is not that Bangladesh aren’t trying to improve their game. The question is whether they are taking the right approach to be competitive at top level cricket and whether the right leadership is in place to take a young team forward! When a socially and economically ruined country like Zimbabwe, with its dysfunctional cricket structure, starts beating Bangladesh comfortably, then something is very wrong. Immediate action is required before irreparable damage is done. It is always said that Bangladesh must learn to play cricket within their limitations. To compete at the top, they must buckle down and put a high price on their wickets. We have seen no concrete signs of this happening in recent years. Only a true leader can make this happen. A change in leadership has never been more required than now!

Bangladesh face familiar challenge against Sri Lanka

2008-12-22T04:27:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh face familiar challenge against Sri Lanka

Time is running out for Bangladesh especially in Test cricket. With every Test series defeat, the media whispers are getting louder and louder and piling up further pressure on the underperforming Tigers. Bangladesh did not help their cause either by letting the opposition off the hook whenever they had achieved winnable positions and ultimately notching up another mark on the Test defeat column. The recent stance by the ECB to not invite Bangladesh after 2010 will definitely bring Bangladesh’s Test performance against Sri Lanka under the microscope of other cricket administrators who might want to follow the suit.

Bangladesh showed some signs of encouragement in recent home Tests and fought neck and neck against South Africa and New Zealand. They even took first innings leads against both oppositions. This in of itself is a rarity considering Bangladesh’s poor record in Test cricket. However, there is a huge difference in winning a couple of sessions of a Test match to winning the match itself.

Bangladesh think-tank needs to plan their game properly to compete at the top level

Bangladesh can only blame themselves for this current mess as they have apparently failed to learn the basics of tenets Test cricket even after 8 years of introduction to the top league. Bangladesh must learn to play cricket within their limitations. They must buckle down and put a high price on their wickets to compete at the top. Audacious stroke play, over-ambitious approach and reckless cricket won’t take them anywhere in the near future other than bring even more humiliations for them and their 150 million passionate cricket followers.

Bangladesh’s lack of self-belief and leadership, both on and off the field, are two main reasons why a team with immense potential is consistently failing to compete at the top level. Inconsistent Mohammad Ashraful is failing to lead with example and Bangladesh needs someone with a more serene and assured approach to inspire a youthful side. It is time Bangladesh cricket administrators understand the reality and take appropriate actions. His undeniable talents cannot hide his continuous run of poor shows and inexplicable idiocy at crucial moments of play. Let him earn his place in the team and let him fight to retaining it. It has been seen that the notion of honor and responsibility associated with the captaincy has not changed Ashraful; perhaps only the fear for survival might affect a change. His casual approach towards cricket has been a detrimental influence on a youthful Bangladesh side and whatever happens in the Sri Lanka series; BCB must not get fooled by his antics and must put an end to his captaincy for his own sake.

Sri Lanka is not an unfamiliar opposition for Bangladesh. This will be their second visit to Bangladesh. On the first occasion in 2006, Bangladesh had their moments in both Test matches and won one of the three ODIs. This time a lot more is expected from the hosts after three years of international experience. Sri Lanka is coming after an un-satisfactory series win over Zimbabwe and haven’t had any Test cricket for the last five months. Bangladesh must learn to capitalize on these potential weaknesses and put pressure on them from the first morning of the first Test match.

Batting will again hold the key for Bangladesh and playing Muralitharan will be the main challenge for the top order batsmen. Every top team in international cricket has one or two special bowlers and negotiating them well is often the deciding factor between a win and a loss. Bangladesh has played 10 Test matches against Muralitharan and they should learn by now the way to counter him. If they can exorcise the Murali ghost, they should be able to cope with the rest of Sri Lankan bowling line up that is missing the likes of Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga.

Bangladesh has its own problems in bowling. In 2008, the pace bowling duo Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain looked as threatening as a paper Tiger and as effective as a placebo. Someone from the coaching staff should tell Shahadat Hossain that he must stop pretending to be a fearsome fast bowler and his barrage of short pitched deliveries are not any more effective than his grunts in distracting opposition batsmen. The grunt might cause some annoyance, but his gentle medium half-trackers cost valuable runs for Bangladesh. A less adventurous and level headed approach won’t do any harm to the prospect of Bangladesh in the Test series. Recently, Shakib Al Hasan has stepped up to fill the void left by Mohammad Rafique and established himself as the premier spinner of Bangladesh. ICC suspension on Abdur Razzak has opened the door for Enamul Haque Jnr. and if he can grab the opportunity with some performances, Bangladesh might be able to restrict the out of form Sri Lankan line up within manageable scores.

Bangladesh’s coach Jamie Siddons has pledged a long term Tigers uprising at the expense of short term “flash in the pan” successes. Despite the recent ICL exodus, he managed to retain his core group of players. Now, it is high time for Bangladesh to transform his pledge into solid performances on the field. No more excuses please! Bangladesh desperately needs a win under its belt to justify its inclusion in to the elite league. This two match Test series against Sri Lanka is the first available opportunity for the Tigers to achieve the feat.

Siddons plans uprising of Bangladesh Cricket

2008-09-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

J amie Siddons took charge of Bangladesh with expectations, from fans and pundit alike, at a sky high. Here was a young team that had knocked out of the game’s super powers in the 1st round of the world cup, slain one of the WC semi-finalists in the 2nd round and then followed up with some exhilarating, stroke-play filled performances in the Twenty 20. Taking helm of the side was one of the architects of the Australian juggernaut: their batting coach, himself an accomplished batsman and rated higher than Steve Waugh by a certain Shane Warne. Team full of inconsistent but naturally gifted batsmen being run by a batting guru - what could go wrong?

The results so far have been mixed. No major victories to speak of, a few abject performances, some good totals and a few centuries. The bubble of expectations having been rudely burst, fans and media have been clamoring for answers. Jamie Siddons was kind enough to provide BanglaCricket’s own Mirazur Rahman his take on things.

BanglaCricket(BC): What was your motivation for taking charge of the Bangladesh team?
Jamie Siddons (JS): I took the position as it was an amazing opportunity to coach an international cricket team, and it was a natural progression from my position as assistant coach of Australia, where we had won the World Cup, The Champions Trophy and regained the Ashes. I wanted to bring my knowledge and experience to Bangladesh and take them forward.

BC: In terms of cricketing ability where does Bangladesh stand now?
JS: It is not a question of cricket ability but a question of cricket schooling, where you learn the art of playing cricket. Coaches, competition, and facilities are some of the things that are just not preparing our players for the tough world of international cricket. Our players are as skillful but we are lacking the depth of consistent performers at the highest level of cricket.

Jamie Siddons, speaks during a news conference in Dhaka October 31, 2007

BC: You have said you are trying to change the cricket culture of Bangladesh and also the way the players approach their game. Can you elaborate?
JS: We have no player in our side that you could say are truly successful international cricketers. This was so before I came on board. We love them (current players) and they are our heroes but they do not have results or statistics that their oppositions have. Our batsmen average in the 20s while our opposition batsmen average 45 - 50. Our bowlers average 45; opposition bowlers average 25. This suggested to me that things, and team culture is one of them, needed to change.

Accordingly I have taken a long term approach even if I may not be around as coach to see the results of my work. The players are learning to train and prepare in a more professional and responsible manner, where we are trying to improve so that we can be consistently competitive, not just when all the stars are aligned and we have a “good day”. We have several players in the team at the moment who I believe have the ability to lead from the front and be world class players; players whom we can count on each time we play. This is what I am excited about for Bangladesh Cricket and our supporters!

BC: But isn’t trying to force a change in an individual’s natural style of play fraught with risk?
JS: There is such a misconception about how I want my players to play! I will just say that the batsmen are instructed to think of every ball as an opportunity to hit a 4 or a 6, but if the ball is too good and the risk or percentage for success is not good, then we must do something else. The game is about making runs and I encourage my players to look to score at every opportunity.

Our supporters cannot have a team that entertains from ball one by hitting the ball in the air, and expect them to also score a lot of runs at international level. It won’t happen; we will lose wickets and fail 9 times out of ten. Just as we have done in the past. There needs to be a balance of responsibility and structure to our batting.

We used to be a team that passed 200 in our innings just 1 time in 4 at the crease. We now do this every second time we play. I look for success in lots of ways, winning is a result of a lot of successes in the process.

BC: How is coaching Bangladesh different from coaching Australia or any other international team?
JS: In Australia there is an amazing domestic infrastructure which culminates in the best first class competition in the world. The international players, when not playing for the country, simply go back to their state cricket system and train with their state team mates and coaches, fitness trainers, physios, doctors, and so on. In Bangladesh, our players must stay in Dhaka to train and get any coaching they need. There are just no real facilities for them in the home areas, but the Cricket Board and I have identified this and are planning to improve in this area.

Our players are just so inexperienced in terms of decision making and being ready for international standard. With Australia you are talking tactics and teaching new shots and small aspects of the game, with our team you spend every day just teaching them the basics of the game, things that they should know when they are 15 or 16. This is because our infrastructure and pathway is not good enough at present.

BC: What are the major obstacles that are holding Bangladesh back in international cricket?
JS: International cricket is as competitive as it has ever been at the moment. We have seen India beat Australia in Australia in a One Day series, then Pakistan has won the Tri Series in Bangladesh, this was then followed by Sri Lanka beating us all to win the Asia Cup in Pakistan. So all three of these teams are at the top of their games and are capable of pushing the world number one. We are still a young cricket country and are still to get our facilities and infrastructure to where it needs to be to produce world class success stories. We are aware of our deficiencies in this area and know that it will take time to develop them to the high standard required.

At the moment the players selected have still got many areas that need to be improved in order to perform consistently at the highest level. The pathway at present does not allow them to be ironed out before they are selected. Our players must learn the hard way, in the public eye, on the international stage. I know we have won games at times in the past, but I ask, have we really produced a world class cricketer that we can rely on year in year out?

BC: The standard of domestic cricket is possibly the weakest link in the development cycle of Bangladesh cricket. As one of the most successful first class cricketer of Australia, have you proposed any change in the current system to raise the standard?
JS: There is potential in our domestic structure, but quite simply there are not enough quality facilities, including grounds, for our players to train and improve their cricket. For instance I believe there are just 1 or 2 working bowling machines in all of Bangladesh at the moment. I look at the cricket Academy in Australia and they have 5 bowling machines of their own. So for me it is the facilities and infrastructure that we must deal with first, then the standard may have a chance to improve! I know that improving facilities and creating a great infrastructure for our cricket is a massive and expensive task, but we are on the world stage and hope to be there a long time, so we need to get the foundations for success solidly built, or as happens with buildings, the house will keep falling down! The Cricket Board and myself are working closely to identify some of the areas that must be addressed urgently. We have purchased 3 more bowling machines in Australia on our last tour, which is a great start!

BC: Recently Bangladesh has shown signs of improvement in batting, but bowling has deteriorated significantly. Do you feel the need for a specialist bowling coach like Ramanayeke in your coaching staff?
JS: It is fantastic to have Ramanayeke in our system at the moment and he was a regular at our training before the Australian tour, so we have access to his assistance when we need or want him, his bowling squad regularly attends our training as well.

I have a bowling coach who was in place before I came to Bangladesh, his position like all of us, is reviewed regularly, and if we see no sign of improvement, then I am sure changes will be made.

Jamie Siddons and Mohammad Ashraful during a press conf. on August 21, 2008.

BC: There is a wider perception among cricket fans and media that you are downplaying the successes achieved by your predecessor Dave Whatmore to cover up the recent failures of Bangladesh team. What is your take on this?
JS: I have the utmost respect for Dav, he is a personal friend and we speak from time to time. Success is measured in many ways, and I would love the team to grab a couple of wins here and there as Dav and the boys did in his time. However I am not here to have a team win a game or two. I am trying to develop this squad and the future of Bangladesh cricket to a point where they can compete regularly against the top ranked team. This will take time as the players have so many lessons to learn, and skills to develop. There are no easy wins out there at the moment, all the teams we have played recently are very strong and on the move forward.

I continually talk about success and improvement, we have a young team and when you are developing you must base success on achievement, not on win/loss. I hate the word failure when used to describe our team. They have had so many achievements in the 9 months I have been with them. It is long term that the people of Bangladesh must look and not for the immediate high of a win, though I admit it would be nice at the moment to get you guys of our backs and to increase the confidence of all. We now have more potential world class players than ever before, and the future is as bright as ever.

BC: There was a belief that Bangladesh can compete with any team at their day which appears a distant truth now. Do you think you are a bit too pessimistic about Bangladesh’s chance of winning against the top eight teams which is affecting the team morale?
JS: The problem is people have no idea how I talk to my team on a daily basis, the players are aware that our vision is to always improve. I am not interested in coaching a team that relies on luck or it being their day. I am concerned with improving skills and confidence in each other, so that we believe in ourselves every time we compete. We do believe if we play to the best of our ability then we can win.

The other thing I need to say that the team under Dav were given 18 games against the so called minnow teams prior to the world cup, this allowed them to win a lot of games in the lead up and gain some momentum, they then went on to win 2 very big games, in perfect conditions for our style of cricket. In my time so far we have been scheduled to play number 2 in the world in 2 series, and number 1 in the world recently. We also had a series in the very tough to tour New Zealand. We have had just one 3 match series against a minor team, a team that actually beat us at the World Cup. We completely outplayed them and won the series 3-0. There are no easy matches in international cricket. India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are all extremely strong teams at the moment, and we have been unable to grab a win against them yet.

BC: Are you happy with the progress Bangladesh has made over the last 10 months under your coaching? How can players improve their abilities at Test cricket?
JS: As I have said previously there are so many examples of success within our team lately, the elusiveness of winning is not helping the public see this though. We have scored our highest scores ever against India and Pakistan in the last 3 months, we have had 5 players make their 1st or 2nd ODI centuries. We have a 19 year old in Roqibul who has 3 times passed 80 against top teams and is looking to be an international player of the future.

To improve a cricketer to be successful at highest level of cricket is unbelievably difficult, the skills and temperament must be achieved from their development, not through practice while in the middle of a Test or one day game.

BC: How do you explain Bangladesh’s recent performance in Australia?
JS: I can say that the results were very disappointing, and the lessons learnt were hard ones. The players were simply overwhelmed by the world number one team. They know they are better than they showed us in this series, and are determined to gain some credibility back in the near future. We should have won the third match in Darwin, our bowlers and in particular our fielders were superb in keeping Australia to 198 in their 50 overs.

We were a little unlucky in the beginning of our tour to lose two opening batsmen before the first practice match, and then to lose Roqibul with a broken thumb in the first ODI. We simply don’t have the depth just yet to replace an opener and our best number four batsman. This left us very unbalanced and even more vulnerable than we were at the beginning. No excuses though, the team has underperformed and are embarrassed by their efforts.

BC: In the middle of Australia series you were very critical about Ashraful in public. What were you trying to achieve?
JS: I am always talking to Ash about his performances, both good and bad, we are trying to get him to be more consistent and contribute to the score more often. Ash has made maybe just 4 or 5 half centuries in his last 50 innings and I felt it was worth a try to say that we need more from him as captain and a key position batsman in our line-up. Ash was sitting beside me and I only stated the obvious. You might consider it as an honest attempt to make Ashraful aware of his responsibilities. Time will tell if this tactic will work for Ash and the team.

I believe we have been too focused on Ash and what he is capable of. We have many batsmen who have made centuries for us and who are real match winners in our team. These are the players that will make us a successful team; one man cannot do it alone. I hope Ash can find the game that he needs to play his role for us. Everyone thinks he is one of our best players. He needs to show this by making consistent big scores. When he does I hope he will be just one of six or seven batsmen in our team who contribute to us making big scores on a regular basis.

It has also been said that I tried to remove Ash as captain of the team during our tour. I have never and would never do that to a captain. He has the toughest job in world cricket and his players do not always back him up with consistent performances. I have told him that if he is under too much pressure and he feels his batting is suffering due to captaincy, then he should consider resting from it. A run making Ash is better for his team than to have him as captain and not making runs.

BC: What is your expectation from the up-coming New Zealand series?
JS: I do not base success on win/loss, as this is demoralizing to a developing side, as they would see every loss as a failure, irrespective of whether they have made a century or taken 5 wickets. And our young team whether we like it or not will lose a few games before they start to win consistently. I want to be realistic here; we have to raise our game to beat teams like New Zealand. The series is on our home soil, the condition should favor us. If we can play up to our potential, there is no reason why we can’t compete and produce some good results.

I expect us to have a lot of players achieving great things against New Zealand, and I also believe we will show that we are improving by winning games in this series. Don’t forget though that someone wins and someone loses. We hope to be the ones who achieves more on the day, and come out in front at the end. Winning would be amazing for all of us.

BC: Do you think Bangladesh team is a bit too much youth oriented and lacks the guidance of the experienced players? Do you feel senior players like Habibul Bashar can help the young Bangladesh team to approach their game more sensibly?
JS: Yes, we lack the experienced player, but you cannot have experienced players in your side who are failing all the time, they will not offer guidance when they are not performing themselves. We have no experienced players out of the team at the moment that demands selection because they are performing, or have performed recently in international cricket. If we had an experienced player who was demanding to be picked because of performances then I would be asking the selectors to pick him. I am sure the selectors have their eyes on them and the results they are getting in domestic cricket. We have no youth policy.

Habibul is one of our centrally contracted players. He is not currently in our team but is a helpful and welcome addition at training. He understands better than most just how hard it is to be successful at International level. I would love to have a performing Habibul in our team. However he is not at the top of his game and was omitted some time ago after many opportunities. As I said before, a non-performing senior can’t really influence the game of his team mates. We would not leave a senior player out of our young team if they had the potential to be a match winner or be in our team come the next world cup. Every team plans around the next world cup, and my thoughts are that we should do the same.

Siddons talks to Ashraful during Bangladesh vs. South Africa ODI series, March 14, 2008.

BC: Where do you want to see Bangladesh at the end of your initial two years contract?
JS: We will still be ranked 9th in the world when my 2 years are up as we have been since we started. What I have embarked on is not going to bare much fruit inside 2 years. What I want to see is that we have started to compete and are consistent in the plans and the processes that we need to follow in order to push and beat teams regularly. My intentions have always been to produce some world class performers that can carry the team to new heights on a consistent basis. And the exciting thing is there are 3 or 4 players that may just do that.

BC: How long do you want to associate yourself with Bangladesh cricket?
JS: It is a big challenge to develop Bangladesh as a competitive cricket nation and I have taken that challenge, I am as enthusiastic as ever. Staying up to 2011 world cup will be my first target. World cup will be a showcase event on our home ground where we will be able to show the extent of our development. We have a very good bunch of young players who have the ability to make their mark on world cricket in 3 years time. I do not know whether Bangladesh will keep me for that long, but I am eagerly looking forward to it.

BC: Finally, what will be your message for the Bangladesh cricket fans?
JS: My message to the fans is that your team train as hard if not harder than any team in the world at the moment, they are the youngest team in the world at the moment, and as such need the time to grow and learn how to cope with the situations they face in international games. Celebrate the successes of each achievement such as a century by your players. And imagine what we will be like when all these young players can be consistent with this kind of performance on a regular basis. Your team will be exciting to watch and competitive more often than ever.

Your coach sees beyond tomorrow and wants long term improvement and success from your players just as much as you do. Continue to support your team now in their development, as you will when they emerge in time as a threat to the game’s best. Look around you, it is not easy to be successful, and it takes time to develop your skills, we need time and your support and patience!

Ashraful is promoting cricket among British Bangladeshi kids in London

2008-09-13T05:05:00.001-07:00

Mohammad Ashraful is visiting different primary and secondary schools in Bengali dominated Tower Hamlets borough to promote cricket among expatriot Bangladeshi kids. He volutarily agreed to work as an ambassador of a cricket chariry "Capital Kids Cricket" during his holiday in London . He is counselling parents and encouraging school children to take up cricket as their major sport. He has so far visited 7 state schools in the brorough and met thousands of kids. It is a major boost for the Bangaldeshi community and they thanked Mohammad Ashraful and Capital Kids Cricket for this novel initiative in a program organized at St. Peters College in Whitechapel on Friday.

Capital Kids Cricket promotes cricket among different ethnic groups and have achieved tremendous success among British Pakistani and Indian communities. Ravi Bopara who ia now playing for England is one of their major success stories and a good number of their recruits are playing county cricket. This is the first time Capital Kids have taken an extensive program for the expatriot Bangladeshi kids. They have appointed Shahidul Alam Ratan, former Bangladesh U-19 and Malayasia national coach, as the head coach and also appointed 6 other coaches with different level certificates to run the program.

South Africa in Bangladesh tour preview : A real test for Siddons and Bangladesh

2008-02-16T14:50:00.001-08:00

Bangladesh’s promise to do better in the next series seems to be never ending. Bangladesh tasted some ODI successes in 2007 but Test cricket remained a mystery to the young Tigers. After a credible performance in the home series against Australia in April 2006, Bangladesh were forced to take a break from Test cricket for 13 months by the administrators of the game. Bangladesh never looked the same team after resuming Test cricket in May 2007 with a home series against India. Much have been said by the Bangladesh think tanks including senior players about the potential damage done by the unwanted break to defend the awful performances and now this should put to a rest.

Whatever happened after their resumption of Test cricket, Bangladesh is taking too long to settle in the longer version of the game and time has come to put all the excuses behind and perform like an international outfit.

After two poor series against India and Sri Lanka when Bangladesh finally found a coach in Siddons, a change in performance was expected by most of the Bangladesh fans. Bangladesh’s typical roller coaster performance in the New Zealand series, which was his first series with the Tigers, failed to impress the critics for due reasons and the bandwagon against the Test status of Bangladesh is still rife. It can be argued that Siddons didn’t get enough time to make an impact before the New Zealand series which is probably valid, but no such argument can be put forward about the upcoming home series against South Africa.

This time Bangladesh have the home advantage, the freedom to make a suitable wicket for them and Siddons had enough time to gauge his boys, and work on their potential strengths and weaknesses. Siddons also claimed that he has found the core players for a future Bangladesh team; as always everything looks promising except the performance. The “talented” labelled Bangladeshi cricketers should realise the importance of consistent performance over once in a blue moon display of “super talents”. It must start from somewhere and after eight years into the Test cricket, it’s better not to prolong the not-so-pleasing wait of the well wishers and cricket followers.

South Africa is touring Bangladesh with a full strength team and they will be eager to add another series to their bag before travelling to India. Although their series preparation was badly hampered by the “Quota” row, but the quality of the South African cricket should be enough to overcome such hindrances. Bangladesh need to play exceptionally well to make the uneasiness of the Saffers regarding the issue visible.

The series bears a special significance to Bangladesh as it will be the last hurrah for the veteran SLA Mohammad Rafique who was one of the rare Test standard cricketers of Bangladesh. The religious fashion of Bangladesh’s batting failure never offered enough runs to play with, still Rafique produced some exceptional rear guard on numerous occasions with his simple yet venomous spin which are rare fond memories for the Bangladesh fans. He deserves a respectable farewell from his colleagues and there can be nothing better than a good batting total to give Rafique a last chance to exploit the spin weakness of the Saffers.

It’s always difficult to write about Bangladesh batting as they always find innovative ways to get out and rare glimpses of performances are always followed by frustration. The slow and low dusty wickets of Bangladesh should suit Bangladeshi style of batting and they have reasonably good batting line-up to post some challenging totals against the pace dominating South African attack. Ntini, Steyn, Morkel all are devastating fast bowlers in friendly conditions but Bangladesh pitches will offer little assistance to their style of bowling. Bangladesh can take heart from the absence of Paul Harris, who recently enjoyed success against Pakistan, and Shaun Pollock who always enjoyed success in the sub-continent.

South Africans were once dubbed as the “Bunnies of Spinners”; they have come a long way and recently enjoyed success in the spinner friendly conditions, but still have weaknesses against the quality left arm spins. Bangladesh’s recent triumph against the Saffers in 2007 ODI world cup, which is their solitary success in all forms of the game against the Proteas, in Guyana was scripted by the SLA trio who strangulated them in the middle. Mohammad Rafique and Enamul Haque Jr. duo are able to generate similar asphyxiating feeling in suitable conditions and they will be Bangladesh’s main weapon against the formidable South African batting line-up. If the new ball duo Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain can create some early breakthrough, spinners will be able to utilize the conditions and dominate the play. But first of all the batsmen must score some runs to create a sense of competitiveness.

Bangladesh has greater chance to taste success in the ODI series which will follow the Test series, but it’s the Test performance which will come under microscope of the cricket pundits and a good Test series will definitely bolster Bangladesh’s chances to register some ODI wins.

Recently every Bangladesh series starts with some promise and ends with some frustration. Bangladesh seems to end up with more questions to answer after some inexplicable displays on the field. Will South Africa series be the beginning of the end of this unpleasant cycle?

Bangladesh review of the 2007 cricketing year

2008-02-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

The year 2007 has been a tumultuous year for Bangladesh, with the first half bringing hope and the second half dashing them. Miraz looks back.

January 2007

Bangladesh name provisional 30 man provisional squad for World Cup Cricket 2007
Khaled Mashud fined for his "automatic choice" comment to the media
Khaled Mashud is omitted from the Zimbabwe bound ODI squad

February 2007

Bangladesh seal a 3-1 one-day international series win over Zimbabwe as they warm up for the World Cup with an impressive contribution from Aftab Ahmed.
Bangladesh secure victory against Canada and Bermuda in the ICC Tri-Series held in the Caribbean

March 2007

Bangladesh seal a shock 2 wicket win over New Zealand in their first warm-up match leading to World Cup at the 3Ws stadium in Barbados.
Bangladesh international all-rounder Manjural Islam Rana is killed in a car accident, along with team-mate Sajjadul Hasan Setu.
Bangladesh made history by defeating pre-tournament favorite India by 5 wickets in their World Cup opener at the Queens Park Oval, Trinidad.
Bangladesh storm into the Super Eights stage of the World Cup by defeating Bermuda by 7 wickets
Bangladesh got all out for a meager 113 in reply to a mammoth 318-4 posted by Sri Lanka as the latter wins by 198 runs..
After restricting Bangladesh to 104-6 in 22 overs, Australia raced to victory in just 13.5 overs without losing any wicket in a rain affected match.

April 2007

Tigers pulled off a sensational victory in the World Cup against South Africa

New Zealand crush Bangladesh by 9 wickets in the second Super Eights match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua
BCB criticizes Whatmore for his interest in the India job in the middle of World Cup campaign and convenes emergency meeting.
Bangladesh crush South Africa by 67 runs in the super eights match in Guyana, Mohammad Ashraful scripted the historic victory
England labour to defeat gritty Bangladesh, England overcame another nervy batting display to defeat Bangladesh by four wickets in their World Cup Super Eights match in Bridgetown, Barbados.
BanglaCricket.com declares cash prizes for Tigers
Ireland dashes Bangladesh's slim World Cup semifinal hopes after an excellent all-round display handed the debutants a 74-run victory in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Bangladesh end schizophrenic World Cup 2007 campaign with a 99 run loss to the West Indies.
After coaching Bangladesh for 4 years and leading them to World Cup Super Eights, Dav Whatmore stepped down as Bangladesh's coach citing personal reasons.
Bangladesh announce ODI Squad for India series and Mohamad Ashraful is appointed as vice-captain in place of Shahriar Nafees.

May 2007

Dhoni guides India to victory in the first ODI. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik with unbeaten half centuries steered India to a five-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the first one-day international in Dhaka
Gambhir ton guides India to ODI series victory. A fine century from opener Gautam Gambhir steered India to a 46 run win over Bangladesh in the second ODI of the three-match GrameenPhone ODI series at Mirpur Sher E Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka
Rain reigns in Chittagong: third ODI abandoned. Rain caused by the depression in the east central Bay prevented any play in the final match of the one-day series between Bangladesh and India in Chittagong.
Bangladesh announce the Test squad for the two-match GrameenPhone series against India. Khaled Mashud retained in the Test squad.
Bangladesh hand Test cap to Shakib Al Hasan
Cautious Bangladesh settle for a draw in the first Test against India in Chittagong.
India lead rout and complete emphatic win in the Dhaka Test. India won the second and final Test of two match GrameenPhone Test series by an emphatic margin of an innings and 239 runs inside three days.
Habibul Bashar steps down as Bangladesh one-day captain. He is replaced in both forms of the game by Mohammad Ashraful.

June 2007

The new look Bangladesh: Captain Ashraful and Deputy Mashrafee

Mohammad Ashraful appointed as Bangladesh captain, Mashrafe Mortaza deputy. After a long period of speculations, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced that Mohammad Ashraful will take charge of the Bangladesh side in both Tests and One Day Internationals (ODI).
Bangladesh announce Test squad for Sri Lanka tour. Mushfiqur Rahim and Abdur Razzak recalled while Habibul Bashar retained his place as a batsman.
Four Bangladesh players (Razzak, Ashraful, Mashrafe & Tamim) represent the Asia XI in the only Twenty20 match of the Afro Asia Cup 2007
Mohammad Rafique picks 4-65 in the 3rd ODI as Asia XI whitewashed Africa XI in the three-match Afro Asia Cup.
Bangladesh slip to crushing defeat in the First Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Bangladesh lost by an innings and 234 run in the first Test of the three-match Laqshya series at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.

July 2007

Sri Lanka clinches the Test series by winning the 2nd Test. Sri Lanka won by an innings and 90 runs at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium to seal the series 2-0 with one Test to play.
Murali milestone sinks Bangladesh. Muttiah Muralitharan became just the second bowler in history to reach 700 Test wickets as Sri Lanka rounded off a clean sweep of Bangladesh at Kandy, they defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 193 runs
Bangladesh recall Shahriar Nafees for the ODI series. Habibul Bashar is dropped from the ODI squad for the first time in 4 years.
Bangladesh beat Nepal to win ACC womens tournament. Bangladesh overpowered Nepal by eight wickets to win the inaugural ACC Women's Tournament in Johor Bahru, Malyasia.
Bangladesh prevail in tense finish against Sri Lanka Invitation XI. Aftab Ahmed guided Bangladesh to the solitary victory with a match-winning 92 in a three-wicket win against a Sri Lankan XI in Colombo.
Fernando powers Sri Lanka to victory in the first ODI. Dilhara Fernando put in a superb spell (4-24) of bowling as Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by 70 runs in the first ODI of the three match Laqshya series.
Jayasuriya stars in Sri Lanka win in the second ODI. Sri Lanka trounced Bangladesh by 5 wickets inside 32 overs in the second ODI, Jayasuriya scored 24 runs and bagged 4 wickets for 31 runs.
Sri Lanka completes whitewash in the ODI series. A 82 ball 72 from Jehan Mubarak helped Sri Lanka complete a 3-0 clean sweep in the one-day series against Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government dissolves the Bangladesh Cricket Board and appoints a 12-man interim committee under Major-General Sina Ibn Jamali, the chief of general staff of the army.

August 2007

Shaun Williams remain in charge of Bangladesh for the Twenty 20 World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) appointed Shaun Williams, BCB game development manager, as interim Bangladesh coach for the Twenty 20 World Cup held in South Africa.
Bangladeshi cricketers experience an "Australian style boot camp" in the north-eastern Sylhet division under a special military unit as part of their warm up campaign for the Twenty20 World Cup.
Bangladesh name three uncapped players in the Twenty20 Squad. Junaed Siddique Imroz, Nazim Uddin and Ziaur Rahman were called up while seniors missed out.
Tigers reach Kenya to participate in the Twenty20 Quadrangular Tournament as part of their warm up campaign for the inaugural Twenty 20 World Cup in South Africa

September 2007

Bangladesh celebrate their victory against West Indies, Bangladesh v West Indies, Group A, ICC World Twenty20, Johannesburg

Bangladesh canter to 5-wicket win against Kenya. Bangladesh comfortably won their first match against Kenya by 5 wickets in the Twenty 20 Quadrangular tournament at Nairobi Gymkhana Ground in Kenya.
Pakistan edge past Bangladesh in Twenty 20 thriller. Bangladesh lost their second match of the Twenty20 Quadrangular against Pakistan by 30 runs in a high scoring thrilling contest at the Nairobi Gymkhana Ground.
Below par Bangladesh overcome spirited Uganda. Bangladesh managed to defeat a spirited Uganda by 21 runs despite a lion hearted performance from Joel Olweni in the fifth match of the Twenty 20 Quadrangular tournament at Nairobi.
Bangladesh make light work to see off Scotland. Bangladesh outclassed Scotland to wrap up a comfortable 6 wicket victory in the first warm up match for the Twenty 20 World Cup at Supersport Park in centurion.
Kenya secure win against hapless Bangladesh in Twenty20 warm up. A disciplined Kenya secured their first win against Bangladesh in the second round of the warm up match at Willowmoore park in Benoni.
Explosive Bangladesh storm into the second round of the Twenty20 World Cup. An astounding display of power hitting by Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful and dashing Aftab Ahmed secured a comprehensive 6 wicket win over West Indies with 2 overs to spare at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
Feisty Tigers gunned down by South Africa. Afeisty Bangladesh succumbed to a seven wicket defeat against host South Africa in the second and final group stage match of the Twenty 20 World Cup at Newlands in Cape Town.
Hapless Tigers mauled in Cape Town by Australia, a timorous Bangladesh were completely outplayed by the world champion Australia in the super eight match of the Twenty 20 World Cup at Newlands in Cape Town.
Sri Lanka trounce Bangladesh by 64 runs. Sri Lanka outplayed Tigers in the all important super 8 clash of the Twenty20 World Cup by 64 runs at The Wanderers in Johannesburg.
Pakistan edge past Bangladesh despite Junaed heroics. Junaed Siddique struck a dazzling half-century on debut for Bangladesh, but Pakistan still comfortably secured a four-wicket victory at Newlands in Cape Town.
Ashraful calls for full-time coach. Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh's captain, called for the appointment of a full-time coach ahead of his side's tour to New Zealand at the end of the year.
Harmer withdraws candidature. John Harmer turned down a potential opportunity to become Bangladesh coach.

October 2007

Ali Asghar Lobi, the former president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), gets a 13 years jail sentence after being found guilty of corruption by a Dhaka court.
Bangladesh women team gets cash rewards. Each member of the victorious Bangladesh women's squad awarded 50,000 taka (US$ 735) by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for winning the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) women's tournament in July.
BCB rules out Miller. Colin Miller was ruled out of the running to be the new Bangladesh coach by Bangladesh Cricket Board
A coach finally!!Bangladesh appoints Jamie Siddons as national coach. Siddons becomes the third Australian after Trevor Chappel and Dave Whatmore to coach Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is placed in group A along with India and Zimbabwe in the 2009 ICC World Twenty 20 Championship. The grouping was done based on the performances of the inaugural Twentgy 20 Championship where Bangladesh progressed to the second round.

November 2007

The Indian board confirmed a tri-series in Bangladesh in May 2008 also involving Pakistan
New Zealand offers a Twenty 20 Charity match to raise funds for the Sidr affected people
BCB extends tenures of Mohammad Ashraful as Captain and Mashrafe Mortaza as vice-captain until December 2008.
Bangladesh announces ODI squad for New Zealand series. Zunaed Siddique earned a call, but opener Shahriar Nafees and offspinner Mahmudullah were dropped from the team that were run over by Sri Lanka in July.

December 2007

Bangladesh's players' association, the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), gains the full membership of the Federation of International Cricketers' Association ( FICA).
Bangladesh reaches New Zealand for the first full series after gaining the Test status; Ashraful vows improvement.
Bangladesh lose the tour opener warm-up. Northern Districts defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in a one-day match in the visitors' tour opener.
Sajidul replaces injured Rasel for the Kiwi tour. Syed Rasel was ruled out of the Kiwi tour due to a collarbone injury and young Barisal pacer Sajidul Islam was named as his replacement.
Bangladesh send Razin Saleh to New Zealand as cover for injured Tushar Imran.
Bangladesh lose by 7 wickets despite Tamim heroics. Auckland breezed past Bangladesh's total of 242 with 7 wickets in hand and 4 overs to spare as a 122 ball 104 from young opener Tamim Iqbal failed to inspire rest of the Bangladeshi batting.
Bangladesh win Twenty20 match to register first victory in New Zealand. Bangladesh won its first match in New Zealand soil when they beat a New Zealand XI by four wickets in a charity Twenty20 game at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
Tigers blow strong start as New Zealand cruise to victory. Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful scored an entertaining 57 ball 70 to earn the man of the match of award, but could not prevent his side's loss against the Kiwis in the first ODI.
Impressive New Zealand take National Bank series. A strong batting performance from the Kiwi top order batsmen coupled with an ordinary display from the Tigers ensured an emphatic series win for New Zealand with one match in hand at Napier.
Bangladesh humiliated in Queenstown. Bangladesh ends 2007 with a disgraceful loss against the Kiwis in the 3rd and final ODI of the National Bank series at Queenstown. After dismantling the Bangladesh batting cheaply, New Zealand toyed with Bangladesh attack and stormed to the victory target of 93 in just 6 overs.

It takes time to change : An interview with Naimur Rahman Durjoy

2007-12-23T07:05:00.000-08:00

N aimur Rahman Durjoy is one of those rare cricketers who have led their country in a maiden Test. Durjoy captained Bangladesh in its inaugural Test match and led from the front, bagging 6 wickets with his offspin. Despite his bright debut at the highest level of international cricket, Durjoy could only manage 6 more Test wickets his 8 match career; one which was never the same after his bowling underwent ICC mandated remedial action. Durjoy's brief Test tenure lasted just over one year. Along with his Test career, Durjoy was also a regular in the Bangladeshi ODI setup during the pre-test era, playing 29 ODIs with modest success, over a 7 year span (ending in 2002). After continuing to perform well in domestic cricket, he retired from cricket in 2004 to focus on his business interests. In August 2007, Durjoy was made a member of the National Selection Panel that also consists of Akram Khan and is led by Rafiqul Alam.

BanglaCricket: You were the captain of Bangladesh in their debut Test in November 2000. Now seven years later, again in November 2007, you are part of the Test set up, this time picking the national squad as a selector. What made you interested in taking up this role?

Naimur Rahman: It was a great honor to lead the country in the debut Test; nothing is comparable to that feeling. When I started as a player we all dreamt about playing Test cricket one day. It (maiden Test) was a great occasion for Bangladesh cricket, the beginning of a new era and I was lucky that I was picked to lead the team. My Test career was rather short due to a number of reasons but I am happy to be back again as a selector. Cricket is my passion and the offer to associate myself with Bangladesh cricket was too good to turn down.

BanglaCricket: Do you think Bangladesh cricket has made satisfactory progress over the last 7 years?

Naimur Rahman during Zimbabwe v Bangladesh, 2nd Test Match, Harare Sports Club, 26-30 April 2001

Naimur Rahman: We started playing Test cricket without even knowing its full ramification or demands. There was no first class league, no experience (for our players) in the longer version game and no infrastructure to support Test match cricket. The scenario is completely different now; we have developed a pretty strong cricket culture in Bangladesh in this short period of time. We might have failed to achieve significant success in Test cricket but we have managed to strengthen our almost non-existent base. Now we will be able to progress (more) smoothly. It (early days of Test status) was a difficult time for Bangladesh cricket, but as a whole I am not disappointed. At the same time, we have made significant leaps in One Day cricket. Our boys are quite capable of beating any team in the world on a good day. This is a huge difference compared to 2000 when we played international cricket just to be a part of the cricket atmosphere.

BanglaCricket: Why we have failed to transform our success in One Day cricket to Test cricket? The same core group of players is playing both formats but on many occasions we seem incapable of even putting up a semblance of a fight.

Naimur Rahman: Our failure in Test cricket is unfortunate but not unexpected. Look at the foundation for our recent ODI successes. We have had a long culture of competitive one day cricket in Bangladesh. The Dhaka Premier League, which has been our leading, club-based, 50 over competition, has featured players like Wasim Akram, Neil Fairbrother and Arjuna Ranatunga. The atmosphere at the Premier League matches was always very competitive, the financial packages were satisfactory and all these factors helped players to develop the temperament for one day cricket.

Now if we look at the National Cricket League which is our only first class competition, you will find a completely different scenario. In the recent past players were reluctant in participating in the NCL due to poor facilities and the board had to force them by making it mandatory for national team hopefuls. Nevertheless, the poor wickets, afore-mentioned poor facilities, and poor financial package all resulted in rather poor cricket.

The gap between the standard of our domestic cricket and international cricket is still unacceptable and until recently the atmosphere of competitive cricket was completely absent from our first class structure. One cannot expect to develop the temperament of Test cricket without playing serious and competitive 1st class cricket!!

The good news is that some good steps were undertaken over the last 2 years and the current BCB has taken the initiative to make NCL more competitive, increasing the financial rewards for the players. The situation is still at developing stage, but I can assure you that we are heading towards right direction, and we will be able to reap the benefits of these steps within 2-3 years.

BanglaCricket: You have just alluded to the fact that the standard of our domestic cricket is not satisfactory and we have heard this often in the past. Every year we hear that "things will get better". Why it is taking so long to develop the standard?

Durjoy in full flight

Naimur Rahman: We lack proper cricket facilities at first class venues except Dhaka. We are still treating cricket as a seasonal, urban-centric sport: indoor facilities, gyms and training academies are almost nonexistent outside Dhaka. The policy makers should understand that the players' interest should come first. Players need proper facilities, not makeshift ones to raise their game. They also need financial security and a competitive environment. We need sporting wickets where both batsman and bowler will get equal opportunities to perform. It takes time to change a culture, to put in the infrastructure, etc. We are still in the transition stage and it will take some more time to develop the standard.

BanglaCricket: You are taking on the responsibility of a selector after a successful stint by the Faruk Ahmed led national selection panel; one during which they have firmly established the role of "professional national selector" in Bangladesh cricket. Do you feel any extra pressure as one of their successor?

Naimur Rahman: The last panel did a pretty good job and we (the current panel) want to carry on from where they have left. Selection is a continuous process and we aim to do even better. I have a feeling that they (previous panel) may have had a tad too much experimentation in the national team, which in some cases has backfired. The current panel wants to learn from their mistakes and we want to form a more stable national team.

BanglaCricket: So ... are you planning for any major changes in selection policy?

Naimur Rahman: Not really. I don’t think there is scope for major changes in the selection policy. In some cases our previous selection committee tried to groom some players at the international level but some of them could not cope with the pressure and eventually we lost their service. I want to make the players ready for the national team before handing them the national cap. We want to get maximum output and longer service from national players and don’t want to expose young players (to the rigors of the top-flight level) too early. It takes time to make a player and losing them early is a huge loss for our cricket. Selection is not an individual decision, we have a panel of three and I am only a member there. I will try to espouse my personal vision as it fits in the framework for the greater interest of Bangladesh cricket.

BanglaCricket: Bangladesh is a very young team and the few regular senior players we have, the Habibul Bashars, Mohammad Rafiques or Khaled Masuds are all on the brink of retirement. Do you think we still need them for guiding the young players?

Naimur Rahman: We need a blend of experience and youth, especially in Test cricket. As long as the seniors are physically fit and performing, they will be always considered for selection. Players like Habibul Bashar and Khaled Masud are still required in the Bangladesh team; we should not forget their past contributions on account of their failures in one or two series. At the same time we have to groom their successors as no one can play for an indefinite period. We have good back-ups for Rafique in Enamul Junior and Md. Razzak, Mushfiqur Rahim is slow gaining experience to replace Khaled Masud.

In ODIs and T20 cricket we (the selection panel) have already identified a core group of younger players and we should stick to them for the next couple of years unless someone from outside that group demonstrates extraordinary performances.

BanglaCricket: Bangladesh’s next away series is with New Zealand, typically a very tough tour for sub-continent teams. What will be your vision in selecting the New Zealand bound squad?

Naimur Rahman: We don’t want to make too many changes in the current squad. There might be some changes which are required and we will only try to focus on those places. We want to rely on experienced and performing players for this difficult tour. There are some young players performing consistently in the domestic league, but we don’t to throw them into the big test in New Zealand conditions as this might dent their confidence. We have to understand there is a huge value to experience in Test cricket, especially in difficult conditions.

BanglaCricket: What do you expect from Bangladesh against the Black Caps?

Naimur Rahman: As I have said previously, it will be a tough tour for Bangladesh. We can only select the players; it is they who have to perform on the field to get a positive result. The seniors must take responsibility on a tour like this so that the young players can play their natural game and don’t feel too much pressure. It’s difficult to guess the outcome but I am staying positive.

BanglaCricket: As you mentioned young players, I wanted to know about your views on Imrul Kayes, Zunaed Siddique and Nazimuddin who are performing well in the NCL.

Naimur Rahman: We have a good number of young players who are performing well in the domestic cricket. Nazimuddin is one of the more technically sound players in the pipeline, but he is still young and learning. He has performed quite well with the A team in different conditions, but I want to give him some more time before considering him for Test cricket.

Zunaed and Imrul have just started playing cricket. They should go through the Academy and A team before getting the national cap for Tests and ODI. Zunaed is a good find for us in the Twenty20 cricket. Both will get their opportunities in due time.

BanglaCricket: Tushar Imran and Alok Kapali: both of them were successful A team players but failed to translate their success at international level despite countless opportunities. Any thoughts on them?

Naimur Rahman: Every player is different and does not enjoy the same level of success at different levels. Alok was given a good number of opportunities but Tushar was unlucky in many cases. They will remain in our minds as long as they are working hard and performing in the domestic cricket. Nobody is discarded permanently, there is always a chance to comeback. This applies not only for Tushar or Alok but also for all other players who were discarded at different times for different reasons.

BanglaCricket: We have seen in the past that some players like Al Shahriar, Ehsanul Haque were continuously ignored despite scoring heavily in the domestic league. Do you want to open the door even for them?

Naimur Rahman: Why not? If they can remain fit and perform consistently, they will always be in the frame of things.

BanglaCricket: In the past politics within the board has sometimes been blamed for some selection decisions. Do you think current selection committee can remain free from political influences?

Naimur Rahman: There is no place for politics in our cricket infrastructure or processes. What happened in the past should remain in the past. No one knows better than me about the ill effect of politics on a player’s career. I personally want to make selection process fair and free from any outside influences.

BanglaCricket: Do you think selectors’ role should not just be restricted to declaring squads? Should they also influence the selection of the playing XI?

Naimur Rahman: It depends on situation. We don’t want to influence the decisions of the team management in any tour, but in the home series we might give some input on the playing XI. I don’t think there is a universal policy on this.

BanglaCricket: Bangladesh bowling is often branded as one dimensional , after your departure from international scene we have not unearthed a single quality off-spinner or leg-spinner. Your thoughts on this issue?

Naimur Rahman: The success of Rafique as a bowler might be the reason behind the good number of SLA prospects the team enjoys. Having said that, we desperately need a good off or leg break bowler who can serve Bangladesh cricket for a long time; especially in Test cricket. Once we find someone, youngsters will be inspired with his success and will take off-spin or leg-spin more seriously. We are working on this issue but finding a quality spinner is a lengthy process, it will not happen overnight.

BanglaCricket: Recently Mohammad Ashraful was appointed as the Bangladesh captain. You have played with him. How do you rate him as a captain?

Naimur Rahman: Ashraful knows his cricket very well. He has just started as a Captain and is still learning the art of captaincy. I am hopeful about his future as Bangladesh captain and he is quite capable of leading his team from the front with exceptional performances.

BanglaCricket: Any comments on the 4 year tenure of Dav Whatmore?

Naimur Rahman: I am satisfied with the progress made in the ODI cricket under Dav Whatmore. He transformed a losing side into a winning outfit and instilled confidence, but I am not happy with our performance in the Test cricket. There was too much experimentation and thus too many changes in the squads. He doesn't seem to have worked with individual players in terms of establishing them in the longer version of the game. In my opinion more work should have been done in Test cricket for a sustainable development of Bangladesh cricket.

BanglaCricket: After a lengthy delay, BCB has finally appointed Jamie Siddons as Bangladesh coach. Can you give us your perspective?

Naimur Rahman: I think the BCB has made a very good choice here. He was a very good batsman and has an excellent coaching pedigree. I am looking forward to work with him.

BanglaCricket: Do you want to see Siddons and Ashraful within the selection committee as a member?

Naimur Rahman: It’s a policy decision and BCB should decide on it. I would definitely like to consult with them before selecting the squad.

BanglaCricket: One final question. Where do you want to see Bangladesh cricket at the end of your 3 years tenure as a selector?

Naimur Rahman: Do you mean in ranking? I don’t want to correlate development with ranking. Nowadays almost every team takes Bangladesh seriously in ODI matches. I want to see Bangladesh earning the same level of respect in Test matches. We also have a vision for 2011 World Cup Cricket in which we are a co-host. We want do better than our performance in the last world cup to make it a memorable event for Bangladesh. To achieve our target, we want to build a strong A team culture along with Academy and age group teams. There should be a smooth transition from age group teams, where we are performing quite well, to the national team so that a player becomes ready for international cricket.

BanglaCricket: Thank you very much for your valuable time and thoughts about Bangladesh cricket.

Naimur Rahman:Thank you for providing this forum to connect with our fans.

Marathon coach hunt by BCB, inefficency or lack of prfessionalism?

2007-08-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh cricket is passing through difficult times, not only on the field but also off the field. In fact off the field incidents are making on the field display even more difficult. Bangladesh is without a coach for last 3 months and that might extend to another 6-7 months. This is awful from the cricket administration of a full member nation.

Dav Whatmore made it public during Bangladesh's world cup campaign that he would leave Bangladesh for new challenge. The decision was conveyed to the board in March 2007, that means Bangladesh Cricket Board failed to find a successor of Dav Whatmore in over 6 months time. All four Asian team lost their coach after the world cup and Bangladesh is the only team still remain vacant despite knowing it first. This is unacceptable to say the least.

Bangladesh requested Dav Whatmore to stay in charge for the India tour which was held in May 2007, a decision which came under heavy criticism for due reasons. They turned to BCB game development manager Shaun Williams for the crucial Sri Lanka tour and the results only show the need of a proper coach, not a makeshift one. Finally BCB announced a short list of three candidates with reasonable reputations. Jamie Siddons from Commonwealth Bank academy, former Australia women team coach John Harmer and Zimbabwe legend Dave Houghton.

In mean time army backed caretaker government dissolved previous board and revamped board with people of their choice in a bid to fight against alleged corruption. The new look BCB headed by an army general failed to realize the immediate need of a cricket coach, and instead of accelerating the coach hunt they effectively stopped the ongoing process.

BCB, not willing to learn from their previous mistake, have again appointed Shaun Williams as interim manager for Twenty20 world cup. Now alarmingly they are not expecting to appoint a permanent coach even before the vital New Zealand tour scheduled in December.

When Bangladesh needed a face lift after their poor display against India and Sri Lanka, this decision came as a severe blow to their cricketing prospect against the Kiwis. This single decision can further mar the struggling reputation of Bangladesh as a Test team. If BCB fail to realize the importance, more worrying days are waiting for Bangladesh cricket.

Bangladesh make changes to avoid whitewash in the ODI series

2007-07-24T08:24:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh think tank has opted for couple of changes in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in a desperate bid to avoid whitewash. Sri Lanka have already gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match Laqshya series by defeating Bangladesh comfortably in the first two ODIs.

Mahmudullah Riyad, can a new face help saving blushes? © Cricinfo

To bring solidity to the top order batting, Bangladesh have picked veteran opener Javed Omar in place of struggling Shahriar Nafees and Tushar Imran, who made a duck and 9 in last two matches, is also dropped in favour of uncapped off-spinning all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad.

Bangladesh have shown some improved performances in the bowling and fielding departments in the ODI series, but top order batting has let them down throughout the tour.

Bangladesh pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza failed to recover from his sprained right ankle and is ruled out of the third ODI. The match will be played tomorrow (Wednesday) at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Squads

Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Javed Omer Belim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Aftab Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, Farhad Reza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain Rajib, Syed Rasel.

Sri Lanka (From) : Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Chamara Silva, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Upul Chandana

Bangladesh look to youth in the first ODI against Sri Lanka

2007-07-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh team management have announced a youthful playing XI for the first one day match against Sri Lanka leaving out veteran opener Javed Omar and lanky pace bowler Shahadat Hossain. The match will start tomorrow (Friday) at 4:30 GMT at P Sara stadium in Colombo.

The average age of the Bangladesh squad is only 22 in which left arm spinner Abdur Razzak is the oldest at the age of 25. The fearless attitude of Bangladesh youth brigade earned significant respect after defeating

Bangladesh look to youth in the first ODI ©Cricinfo

India and South Africa in the last world cup, and team management will be hoping a similar performance to salvage the pride after a poor Test series.

Bangladesh were completely outplayed by Sri Lanka in the Test series and lost the series 3-0. Bangladesh is desperately looking for some credible performances from the young guns to turn the table around in the ODI series.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful wants to build on the ODI success achieved over the last 12-13 months and is confident to put up a much better performance on the field compared to the Test series.

"We have played a lot of one-day matches over the last 12-13 months and have a good success rate. I am confident that we will put up a much improved performance in the ODI series. We want to win at least one match”, said Ashraful.

"We want a good start whether it is in batting or bowling. I think if that happens then that will set us up nicely for the rest of the match as the players would feel a lot more confident", he added.

Squad

Bangladesh: Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Tushar Imran, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Shakib al Hassan, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim, Farhad Reza, Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak

Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Chamara Silva, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Upul Chandana

Where do we stand now? Part -2

2007-07-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

Quote:

Bangladesh started their campaign in international cricket through a 22 run victory in a low scoring match against Fiji in 1979 ICC Trophy. After playing 41 ICC trophy matches with mixed success (26 win, 14 loss, 1 no result) and equal number of ODIs with even lesser success (3 win - Pakistan, Kenya, Scotland and 38 loss), Bangladesh was awarded test status in June, 2000. Bangladesh played first ever test match in November 2000 against India at Bangabandhu National Stadium. After gaining test status they played 44 test matches with a solitary win against Zimbabwe and lost as many as 39 matches. We enjoyed some reasonable successes in ODI and managed 25 wins out of 102 outings.
Awarding test status to Bangladesh is one of the most heavily criticized decisions of ICC and Bangladesh still remains under the microscope of cricket pundits as a test nation. After obtaining the elite status Bangladesh suffered hiccups with religious regularity raising constant concern about the future of Bangladesh cricket.

Quote:

The picture looks gloomier in the longer version of the game. Apart from Shahriar Nafees and Habibul Bashar in batting and Mohammad Rafiq and Mashrafe Mortaza in bowling, we really don't have players to challenge quality opposition, let alone winning. Habibul Bashar scored about one fifth of all the runs Bangladesh scored in test cricket while Mohammad Rafique took more than one third of all the wickets Bangladesh took in test matches he played. These simple stats only illustrate the poor show by the rest of the players.

Quote:

In batting, Bangladesh must find suitable alternatives to veteran Javed Omar, Alok Kapali and Tushar Imarn. Neither of them returned enough to keep the faith on and their inclusions make the fragile test batting even more brittle. Mohammad Ashraful must improve his consistency to keep his place in the side. Aftab Ahmed so far failed to take the responsibility of test batting. And the rookies Sakib Al Hasan and Farhad Reza lack technique and experience to seal a deal. Rajin Saleh looks gritty at times but again lacks both consistency and technique which saw Bangladesh paid dearly in some matches. Like ODI team, Bangladesh must find a decent wicketkeeper batsman.

As mentioned previously, bowling is a major concern in our test side. Apart from Mohammad Rafiq no single bowler has the bite in their bowling to win test matches. Enamul Huq Jr. is a very good bowler but still lacks wicket taking ability against quality oppositions, more so on foreign grounds. Mashrafee Mortaza's success in ODI never really translated in tests mainly due to his fitness problem. There is some real hope in Shahadat Hossain who showed the aggressiveness required to be a successful test bowler. The situation looks even ominous unless someone comes up in style and takes the candle from aging Rafiq on time.

The overall situation might look depressing but it is the painful reality. In this situation the ray of light is the young generations who started playing competitive cricket knowing that one day they will feature Bangladesh in tests. These young players have dominated their counterparts in age group level and they believe they can continue dominating them in the world arena. They are declaring their emergence in the domestic circuit as well. It is really encouraging that we have emerging players in almost every discipline. Bangladesh Cricket Board has already taken initiatives to improve domestic infrastructure and formed long cherished Cricket Academy for potential young players. Now, it’s very important to guide and nurture them properly before throwing them in the deep. They are the ray of light, the future of Bangladesh cricket.

Read full

This is what I wrote in February 2007 and was published in my column "Ray of Light" at BanglaCricket. After todays loss I was revisiting the column and really disappointed to find that situation hasn't improved at all.

Some thing changed like captaincy and coach, but the overall performance of the team have probably dipped alarmingly low.

Bashar forgot to score runs, Rafiq has lost his touch, Masharfe is looking simply ineffective. There goes all the hope. Rajin is tirelessly proving his inability and SN is losing his temperament. Aftab has lost his place in the Test team.

The only change is probably Ashraful who secured his place and became captain. Another development can be Mushfiqur Rahim, a more capable wicketkeeper batsman.

The most frightening part is the last paragraph where I mentioned that the young generation will see us through Test cricket. and will do the rescue act. It looks they are not ready yet to play Test cricket. It's early to comment but both Sakib Al Hasan and Mehrab Jr. looks shaky as a Test player. Razzak is not at all penetrating in Tests like ODI, and Enamul Jr. is appeari8ng as a completely different bowler compared to what we saw in 2005.

Now who is around the corner to rescue? I don't see many assured faces. I hope the series against Sri Lanka is really a one off one, transition period after Dav Whatmore, new captaincy and tough opposition, all contributed for the downfall.

I would like to believe that situation will only improve from here, but to be honest, it's looking more ominous than ever before.

Where do we stand now?

Bangladesh aim to restore pride in the dead rubber

2007-07-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh, mauled by the Lankan Lions in the first two Test, are desperately looking for some rescue act by top order batsman to restore some pride in the thirst and final Test match of the Laqshya series due to start tomorrow in Kandy Asgiriya Stadium.

Bangladesh have flown in A team captain Tushar Imran to stabilise the fragile middle order who had an excellent Sri Lanka tour

Tushar Imran is flown in to perform rescue act © Cricinfo

with Bangladesh A team in early this year. Mehrab Hossain Jr. who made his debut in the second Test lost his place to make way for Tushar.

Bangladesh is approaching the match with three pacers and left arm paceman Syed Rasel finally received the nod of the team management ahead of out-of-sort Mohammad Sharif who played in the first two Tests without any success.

Traditionally the wicket of Kandy is pacer friendly and offers movement in early hours. Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful is expecting to win first toss as Captain to exploit the condition. Bangladesh lost the toss on previous occasions and were blown away in their first innings in both Tests played in Colombo.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka are aiming the whitewash to keep the momentum going. Sri Lanka have brought in all-rounder Farveez Maharoof in place of Chaminda Vaas who was released after the second Test for his county duty with Middlesex.

Upul Tharanga, who suffered a hairline fracture on the left foot during a practice session, is set to start in the third Test and Sujeewa De Silva might get the chance to impress as Sri Lankan management wants to explore the reserves in the dead rubber match.

Teams:

Bangladesh from: Javed Omar, Nafees Ahmed, Rajin Saleh, Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Tushar Imran, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Syed Rasel, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Rafique, Shahadat Hossain.

Sri Lanka from: Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Malinda Warnapura, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sujeewa de Silva.

The untold story of Mohammad Ashraful, the flag bearer of Bangladesh Cricket

2007-06-19T03:15:00.001-07:00

On a winter day of 1993 at the Sidhdheswary cricket training ground, one of the breeding grounds of many national cricketers, a couple of net practices were going on. Former Bangladesh skipper Khaled Mahmud Sujon and Imran Hamid Partho were doing serious net practice for Amarjyoti, a club that used to play in the second division cricket league. Mohammad Rafique, ace spinner of Bangladesh, had played for Amarjyoti in the previous season and was also there to share the net practice. Cricket in Bangladesh in those days were easily outclassed by football and Bangladesh were only playing ICC Trophy without any apparent success.

A young boy of about 9-10 was a regular feature at the net practices. He always arrived in time dressed in cricket whites; a bit oversized on his lean body. He was happy to work as a net boy, nothing more. Day after day, month after month he continued to be a regular feature of the practice session of Amarjyoti club. The club completed one season in the second division league, net practice stopped and the boy was not seen anywhere near the Sidhdheswary ground for the rest of the year.

Next year, the net session started and everyone was surprised to see the boy, back again to perform his duty with religious regularity. Almost nothing changed; the same face, the same whites and the same dedication. One day Khaled Mahmud, captain of Amarjyoti club, asked him, “Do you want to be a cricketer”? Yes, the answer was very prompt from him. “I can bowl a bit, leg spin bowling. If you allow me, I can show you some,” said the boy who looked no more than 9-10 years old. Surprisingly enough, Mahmud listened to the boy's appeal.

Imperial Ashraful

The first batsman in the net was Imran Hamid Partho, a dashing left handed opener who later played for Bangladesh A and Abahani. At that time he was a leading performer for Amarjyouti and was particularly merciless against spinners. With all the concentration in the world, the young boy delivered his first ever ball in the competitive world of cricket. The ball, which could have disappeared from the small field, deceived Imran with turn and bounce and Imran missed it completely. In utter disbelief everyone witnessed the incident, Imran was shaking his head. The same thing happened in the next ball and the boy continued to cause all sorts of trouble for Imran. Batsmen came to the net one after another, and the magic continued. After the net session, they boy with a smiling face said, “See, I can bowl leg spin a bit”. He was very happy to become a part of the net session that he had witnessed for years with a dream to participate.

Suddenly the club officials became very interested in the boy and wanted to make sure that he turns up the very next morning. The next day was a busy day for him; the club officials took him to the BCB office of the Bangabandhu National Stadium to get him registered with the club. After searching all available sportswear shops, they somehow managed to find him proper cricket whites, which after a good amount of tailoring, fitted the lean body of the boy.

In the next seven days he bowled as many balls as he wished, and all the players knew they had a match winner in their team. He got the first opportunity to bat in the net after 8 days; it was the day before the first match. More surprise was waiting for everyone in the field; this time the balls were disappearing everywhere with some sweet sound from the willow of the boy. He was playing every type of shots present in the coaching manual with unbelievable ease. Khaled Mahmud, the captain of Amarjyoti, exclaimed in surprise, “You really bat well, exceptional”. “I am basically a bowler who can bat a bit”, was the modest answer from the boy.

Match day. Everyone in the field was very astonished to see the name a very young boy in the playing XI of Amarjyoti. After first 10 overs, Mahmud turned to the young prodigy. The umpire asked the name of the bowler. "Ashraful….Mohammad Ashraful," was the answer. The leg spinner Ashraful won the match for Amarjyoti.

A talent was born and history was being made. Ashraful got the return of all his dedication and sincerity. A net boy, who passed days after days collecting ball from the net without any return, became the most valuable player of the team at the age of 10.

At that time, former spinner and Mohammedan player, Wahidul Gani was a leading mentor of young cricketers. Mahmud took Ashraful to Wahidul Gani to show the talent he had discovered. On the very first day Gani realized the arrival of a star in his training camp. Ashraful became a very special student of Wahidul Gani, and the mentor used all his expertise to shape up the future of Bangladesh cricket.

Ashraful stayed with Amarjyoti for only one season. In the very next season he moved to Victoria Sporting Club who were playing in the first division cricket league. Time started to pass very quickly for Ashraful. He was called for Bangladesh age group teams starting from U-13 to U-21’s. A leg spin bowler soon turned into the mainstay of batting in every team he played. In 16th January 2000, he made his debut for U-19 world cup at the age of 15 years and made his first class debut for Dhaka Division in 22nd November 2000.

Within one year, he played for Bangladesh U-19’s in ICC U-19 world cup, Bangladesh U-17’s in ICC U-17 Asia Cup, Dhaka Metropolis in National Cricket League and Bangladesh Cricket Board XI against Australian Academy. After showing his brilliance everywhere, Ashraful finally made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in April 2001 at the age of 16 years. In September 2001, he made his historic Test debut against Sri Lanka in the Asian Test Championship and hammered a brilliant century to become the youngest player to make a Test century.

Now I will take you to May 1, 2003. Bangladesh were playing the 2nd Test against South Africa in Dhaka. After reducing South Africa to 63-4, Bangladesh failed to keep up the pressure . Rudolph and Boucher were repairing the South African innings and formed a 107 run partnership to lift South Africa to 170-4. Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud turned to Mohammad Ashraful and he repaid the faith immediately. He lured Rudolph out of the crease and wicketkeeper Mohammad Selim did the rest. It was like the action replay of something that happened 8 years ago when Amarjyoti captain Khaled Mahmud turned to the unknown 10 year old boy to spin some magic. The characters were the same but the arena was vastly different. Ashraful completed the first cycle of his cricketing career, from a 2nd division club net of Siddheswary ground to the Test match gournds of Bangabandhu National Stadium.

In his roller coaster international career, Ashraful produced some magic with the bat but failed live up to the expectations on numerous occasions. In spite of all of his failures, he was always regarded as the best batsman of Bangladesh cricket, someone who can turn the table around for Bangladesh. Whenever bad days came, he turned to his mentor Wahidul Gani. Gani eagerly waited to see his student and the pair worked hard to see off the hard times. Ashraful's sincerity and dedication always brought him back from the brink of failure.

On June 2, 2007, the Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed Mohammad Ashraful as Bangladesh captain. On the very first day of his glory, he returned to the Sidhdheswary ground, the birth place of the cricketer Ashraful. The lean young boy, who waited for months with sincerity and dedication to get his first chance in the nets, went back to the same field as the flag bearer of Bangladesh cricket.

"Bangladesh will do better in Sri Lanka" - Ashraful

2007-06-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh's newly appointed captain Mohammad Ashraful believes Bangladesh will start performing in the test arena from starting with the upcoming Sri Lanka series. According to Ashraful, Bangladesh will perform much better compared to their last outing in Sri Lanka in 2005, which was dubbed as the worst test series played by Bangladesh.

After returning to the test arena after a 13 months break, Bangladesh managed to draw one test and lost the other in the recently concluded two match test series against India.

Bangladesh enter into Ashraful era through Sri Lanka tour © Cricinfo

Ashraful, in his first assignment as a captain, wants to work hard to extend each test match to five days with some good batting display.

"My personal team target is to play throughout the five days in all the three tests. We have emphasized on our batting in the practice sessions. All of us have batted for a long time in the nets and the centre wicket. We have been playing good cricket in the ODIs for the last 12-13 months. That is why there is more confidence is the team," said a confident looking Ashraful during the final press briefing before leaving for Colombo.

Despite suffering heavy defeats against the islanders on all previous occasions, the Bangladesh captain is confident of putting up a good fight against Sri Lanka in the away series.

Most teams have struggled there in recent times. We toured Sri Lanka four times but could not play well. But this time I see more self-confidence in every player. Also we have plenty of international experience. That gives me reasons to feel optimistic about this series," said Ashraful.

Ashraful was critical about the form of the top order batsmen in recent times, but remains hopeful that they will learn from their mistakes.

"We did not play well against India in the tests. But after that we practiced a lot in the nets. Our batsmen have a problem with ball selection. We have been working on this for the last seven days. We hope that we will not repeat the same mistakes in the upcoming series."

He was also keen to utilise the three-day warm up match before the test series to acclimatize to Sri Lankan conditions.

"We have a three-day match prior to the test series. We will try to gain more confidence by putting up a good show in that match. We will probably go into that game with the best squad we have."

Most of the Bangladesh?s current crop of players came through age-group cricket and Ashraful, the youngest test captain of Bangladesh, is optimistic that the team spirit of the young Tigers will help each other to lift their game.

"There are a number of players in our team who have been playing together from the under-13, 17, 19 levels. We have also played with the senior players for the last five-six years in the national team. So there is a very good understanding between us. I think it is a plus point for our team".

Bangladesh leave for Sri Lanka on June 17, and the three match test series will kick off on June 25 with first test to be played in Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

Bangladesh cricket at the crossroads : change of vision required to lift the bar

2007-05-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh cricket has entered into the most crucial period after gaining the Test status. A team which progressed significantly over the last few years under the guidance of Dav Whatmore, need some new directions and fresh thoughts to make it to the next level of cricket. With the completion of the current series, Dav Whatmore has already left Bangladesh cricket. He paired with Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh skipper, to lead the renaissance of Bangladesh Cricket. Bashar has already stepped down from ODI captaincy and may find the same fate with Test captaincy. The two person, who were at the centre of Bangladesh cricket over the last four years, are leaving the stage almost simultaneously, and Bangladesh cricket must select right persons to fill their shoes.

The extent of achievements of Whatmore and Bashar can be debatable, but undoubtedly during their tenure, Bangladesh made giant strides in right directions, especially in the shorter version of the game. To translate the successes of the shorter version into the longer version, Bangladesh need a change of guard, not only in the management but also in the thought process.

Now, it's hight time to take some crucial decisions which will determine the fate of Bangladesh cricket over the next few years.

Firstly, coach selection. When Dav Whatmore took the charge of Bangladesh cricket in 2003, he was unambiguously the perfect person to fit the shoe. Bangladesh cricket was hit at the rock bottom, and we needed someone like Dav's stature to lift the image of Bangladesh cricket. He was the ideal person, who could stand firm against fierce criticisms from the world media and instill positive mentality within our cricketers and motivate them despite countless failures. He has done his job; Bangladesh team is now known for its fearless attitudes and has built a positive image. Now it's time to appoint a technical coach. A professional coach, who will work with the techniques of our boys and will be hard working. Not necessarily he has to be high profile coach, but he must be able to stand firm in difficult times and convert Bangladesh to a technically correct team.

Secondly, change in captaincy. When Bashar took over captaincy from Khaled Mahmud, it was one of the most hailed decisions of Bangladesh cricket. He was only consistent performer of Bangladesh team, and performance earned him captaincy. He was never a captaincy material and made numerous tactical errors in both forms of the game. He took "safety first" approach regardless of prevailing situation, the unpredictability and inconsistency of youngsters contributed a lot in his defensive approach.

Bashar and Dav, with support from the selectors, managed to inject some young blood into the team, and these new generation of players have a completely different set of mentality. To be honest, Bashar led the rejuvenation of Bangladesh cricket, but it was the crop of these youngsters attitude coupled with their performances. Ironically, Bashar failed to adapt himself with the new situation and lost his touch completely. He finally decided to quit ODI captaincy, and it's also the time to leave the test captaincy. Intellectually he has nothing left to offer for Bangladesh cricket. He carried the burden of Bangladesh test batting single handedly over the last few years, he should take some time to assess his Test batting and make honest decision for the best interest of Bangladesh cricket.

BCB must appoint a new captain for both forms of the game. A new pair, coach and captain, with bold and positive visions can only take Bangladesh cricket to the next level. It can be either Ashraful or Mashrafe, both positive player and proven performer. It's the high time to make the decision.

Thirdly, the composition of the team. Time has come to take some strong decisions about some of players. We are carrying them for years without reasonable explanations. Javed Omar, Khaled Mashud has nothing left to offer for Bangladesh team in both forms of the game, same applies to Habibul Bashar in ODIs. We should thank them for their contributions for Bangladesh cricket and move on. Only performance should be the criteria for selection, whether it’s Test or ODI. We have heard enough about experience, only experience cannot buy any success, it must be accompanied by performance. Everyone must understand, it's the young blood who changed the Bangladesh team in ODIs, and only they can change Bangladesh in Tests. We need players like Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed and Mushfiqur Rahim in the Test team, who can take oppositions to the wire with their aggressive intents. Test cricket has evolved a lot along with ODIs. Now, teams play for win, aggressive players like Adam Gilchrist, Kevin Pietersen, Mahendara Dhoni are ruling Test cricket. Timid approach can only hold us back, time has come to open the eyes and change the thought process.

Lastly, change in the domestic structure. BCB have taken couple encouraging decision to develop domestic cricket and establishment of National Cricket Academy is one of them. A fully functional academy can only groom the youngsters for the future Bangladesh team. Now, in addition to basic skills training, National Academy should be able to cover the following aspects of modern cricket to cope with the evolving cricketing culture, both on and off the pitch.

- Sports Psychology and Visualization
- Addressing issues such as self and group dynamics and self management
- Critical thinking and Problem solving
- Media Relations and how to deal with the press
- Players' contracts, Sponsors and sponsorship

Apart from the academy activities, a major overhaul is needed in the wicket types. Keeping the natural sub-continental wickets in some first class venues, BCB must prepare some sporting wickets which will offer pace and bounce. Only then players will be exposed to different level of challenges and will be able to acclimatize to different conditions. Financial security of the first class cricketers is another important issue which BCB must deal professionally. First class players should be able to earn their livelihood through playing cricket, so that they can fully concentrate on the development of the game which in turn will enhance the quality of the domestic cricket.

Finally, If we want to progress as a cricketing nation and solve our Test woes, we must take correct decisions about these issues. Bangladesh Cricket Board want to follow Australian model to raise the standard pf the game. I hope they will truly follow the system and will take decisions which will lift the bar and Bangladesh will come out of the dark old days of Test misery.

When whims dominate over common sense

2007-05-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

When whims dominate over common sense, no team can expect to escape humiliation, especially when its Test cricket. No wonder, Bangladesh are paying the price of being whimsical, in short term – a shambolic defeat on Test return, in long term – more depressing developments are on the way. It takes quite some time to build any image, and takes no time to tarnish it. Bangladesh took a very wrong time to ruin its hard earned image in a series which was branded as grudge series, especially after the happenings of March 17 in Trinidad and Tobago.

Fierce and relentless criticism is a part and parcel of Bangladesh Test history. After some significant developments over the last few years, it appeared Bangladesh have finally managed to leap forward, and those dark old days will remain as the birth pain of Bangladesh cricket. The coach and captain, who led the renaissance of Bangladesh cricket, made a horrendous mistake to remind everyone the dark old days of Bangladesh Test cricket, ironically in the last Test of Whatmore as Bangladesh coach. Nothing could be more shameful for him to see the largest dip in performance graph during his tenure, and he played a crucial role to create this painful mess.

Everyone expected Bangladesh will put up a good show after drawing the Chittagong Test, and Whatmore’s farewell Test added some more light into it. Habibul Bashar, who rued his luck with tosses in the past, managed to win the toss and through that gained the right to use the wonderful batting surface ahead of their opponents. Bangladesh were already depleted due to absence of Shahadat Hossain, one of the hero of Chittagong Test, another premier bowler Mashrafe Mortaza was struggling with fitness, and Mohammad Sharif made a Test comeback after 5 years injury break. Bashar probably had the ideal stage to take the easiest decision on earth after winnings the toss, bat first, give the bowlers some time to recover and use the fresh legs to dismantle India after posting a good total on a placid surface.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, the decision which looked obvious didn’t turn out to be reality, for inexplicable reason, Whatmore and Bashar decided to play the worst gamble of Test cricket history. They invited a batting line-up to use the surface first in which the first five batsmen share about 500 Test caps and 30,000 Test runs between them. What went through their mind in the very moment will be never known, misreading the wicket is a lame excuse, a captain of 43 Tests and a coach with 13 years experience in the sub-continent should be able to assess the wicket condition.

India took the unexpected gift with both hands, and piled a mammoth total to take the game away from Bangladesh. To be honest, Indians have only played according to the merit of the situation, its Bangladesh, who threw the game away at the very beginning and Indians were lucky to be at the receiving end.

In the process of posting an imposing total of 610-3d, Indians made records after records to rub the salt to the wound generously exposed to them by Bangladesh. After 160 overs of testing time under hot and humid conditions, India finally decided to give some relief to the Bangladeshi bowlers. They could have easily broken many other batting records, but they decided to toy the batsmen, after dismantling the bowling attack.

And the inevitable happened, Bangladeshi batsmen came in the middle with a mountain to climb, after the exhausting two days in the field; they were battered mercilessly by the Indian new ball bowlers. Bangladesh, initially reduced to 7-4, finished the day on 58-5, and the captain, who brought so much misery to the team with the decision, have contributed only 4 with the bat. Bangladeshi players have finally got some rest in the pavilion, but definitely not they way they would have liked.

India take command in Dhaka Test

2007-05-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

India took full advantage of an inexplicable decision by Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar to put them in on a batting paradise, and ended day one on 326 without loss of any wicket in the second and final Test in Dhaka today (Friday).

Indian openers took the gift by Bangladesh captain with both hands and punished the depleted Bangladesh attack under exhausting conditions on a placid surface. After seeing the early hours with caution, Indian openers Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik dominated the rest part of the day with stroke full innings and shared a record breaking 175 run opening partnership to put India in the driving seat.

India take command after toss blunder ? Cricinfo

Wasim Jaffer, fresh from a Test pair, hammered an elegant 138 off 229 deliveries with 17 boundaries before becoming the second victim of grueling condition. His opening partner Dinesh Karthik was first to go after making 82 off 153 deliveries as hot and humid Mirpur conditions emerged as the most potent opponent to the Indian batsmen.

After the return of the openers to the pavilion, the Indian skipper Rahul Dravid joined the run feast and remained unbeaten on 88 to guide India to a commanding position at stumps.

However, fans' and journalists remained baffled at the end of the day as the mysterious decision of Bangladesh skipper was beyond any cricketing explanations. It is interesting to note that in all previous occasions when Bangladesh won the toss at home, they decided to bat first.

After offering India to use the batting paradise first, Bashar's unimaginative and defensive field setting further dented Bangladesh's hope of remaining alive in the game. The captain positioned himself in the third man and opened the field to let singles flow; Indian batsmen gracefully milked the hapless Bangladeshi bowling taking full toll of the mistakes.

Bangladesh also failed to capitalize on their opportunities, and dropped vital catches in the early on in the Indian innings. Karthik was dropped at 10 by Shakib Al Hasan at second slip when he edged a Syed Rasel delivery, and Mohammad Rafique failed to grab a simple return catch from Wasim Jaffer in his first over after lunch. Umpiring mistakes continued to haunt Bangladesh, and Daryl Harper failed to give Dinesh Karthik out who edged a Mohammad Sharif delivery to wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud.

Earlier, Bangladesh started the game with a depleted bowling attack as lanky paceman Shahadat Hossain missed out due to high fever and Mohammad Sharif, who last played Test in 2002, entered the fray. Bangladesh also picked Syed Rasel in place of Enamul Huq Jr to strengthen the pace bowling attack.

However, neither Sharif nor Rasel managed to pose any threat to Indian line-up with their military medium pace, and the bowling attack remained wicket less after 90 overs of play. Among Bangladeshi bowlers only Mashrafe Mortaza showed some character despite suffering ankle injury in his 10th over, but failed to do any damage to Indian party.

2nd Test preview : Batting remains concern for Bangladesh in Whatmore's farewell Test

2007-05-24T11:06:00.001-07:00

After drawing the rain affected first Test in Chittagong with some creditable performances, Bangladesh is heading towards the series deciding final Test at Dhaka with the desire to record their first Test victory against a quality opposition. To achieve this goal, Bangladesh must find a way to get to the bottom of their batting problems, which they have been facing since their inception as a Test team. The match will start at 9:30 AM local time at the Mirpur Shere Bangla Stadium on Friday.

Bangladesh are keen to offer a farewell gift to Dav Whatmore © Cricinfo

This will be Dav Whatmore's last Test in charge, and Bangladesh will be keen to offer him a farewell gift with a credible performance on the field. Nothing would be more befitting than a Test win for Whatmore, who worked for four long years to make Bangladesh a competitive side.

Bangladesh can take some positives from the Chittagong Test, but to be truthful, the weakness of Bangladesh as a Test team was badly exposed within the time rain allowed play. Some extra-ordinary performances from the pace duo, Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain saved the blushes and prevented humiliation. But, the batting woes that are hunting Bangladesh in Tests are still far from being over.

The generous Bangladeshi batsmen did no harm to their reputation by gifting away wickets against a rather mediocre and inexperienced Indian bowling attack. After rallying parade to the pavilion with some clueless shots, they waited for some miracle to happen. Two fast bowlers, who did their premium duty responsibly, came forward as the savoir of the team. They believed in themselves, effectively mixed aggression with caution and rescued Bangladesh. They showed way to the batsmen, but unfortunately our batsmen are not willing to learn from their mistakes.

However, this is not the end of the story, when opportunity was there to go for a win; batsmen again failed to take up the challenge and decided to shut the shop, even before attempting to win. Obviously, bowlers who batted and bowled with lot of hearts, were not in the scene to lead the chase, and they witnessed how their fellow Tigers settled for a tame draw.

A draw on return to the Test cricket after a break of 13 months is definitely praiseworthy, and Bangladesh deserves some pat in the back for their efforts. However, the way of achieving the draw does not indicate the progress which we were eagerly waiting to see.

Now, Bangladesh must solve their batting mystery to do well in the second Test, which is expected to run for 5 days without much interruption from nature. Batsmen have to take the responsibility for their action; they have to put value to their wickets. They must understand that Test cricket is not a charity show, and presenting wickets to the oppositions is not considered as a noble piece of work.

On paper, India is definite favourite to win the Test and they will come hard all guns blazing to secure the series. But favourites not necessarily win matches, first Test in Chittagong have revealed several weaknesses of current Indian outfit, and Bangladesh must capitalize on that. At the same time, we must change our approach towards the game. Playing for a draw will never evade defeat in Test cricket, playing for a win can only ensure a positive result, whether it?s win or a fighting draw.

Chittagong Test has made it clear that Team India is largely dependent on their experienced pros. They are carrying all the burdens of expectations and are the key performers by miles, which further reveal the mediocrity of the younger generations of Team India. In batting, Dravid, Sachin and Sourav are big names and India?s success will be completely dependent on their success. If Bangladesh can restrict their domination on the middle, the rest of the batting order will crumble and lack of quality all-rounder in the late order will not help India?s cause.

On the other hand, Indian bowling is lacking bites especially in the absence of Kumble, and the 9th wicket rearguard by Mashrafe and Shahadat in the Chittagong Test has badly exposed the truth. However, question remains whether our top-order batting can utilize the weakness before signing their suicide notes?

The weather is looking good, and better drainage system of Mirpur Stadium will probably ensure play for the best part of the Test. India is having their premier bowler Anil Kumble back for the Test. After the morale boosting draw in Chittagong, Bangladesh is expected to fight in Dhaka and a balanced performance from all departments of the team can only keep Bangladesh on the hunt for their first ever Test series victory against a quality opposition.

Defiant Mortaza rescues Bangladesh in Chittagong

2007-05-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

A brilliant all-round performance by Mashrafe Mortaza saved the blushes of Bangladesh as they averted the follow-on on the fourth day of the first Test at Chittagong Divisional Stadium on Monday.

After taking 4 wickets with ball which is his premium duty, Mashrafe struck a brilliant 79 off 91 balls to lift Bangladesh from a tottering 122/7. Mashrafe found his new ball partner Shahadat Hossain as perfect company in his rescue act, and they shared an invaluable 77 run partnership in the 9th wicket to keep India at bay. Shahadat scored a career best 31 off 55 balls with 5 boundaries.

Defiant Mortaza rescues Bangladesh in Chittagong © Cricinfo

It was Mortaza, who started the fight back as Bangladesh top order batsmen hurried to the pavilion with rash shots and poor judgments. He forced Indian think-tank to change the game plan as he was equally aggressive against both spinners and pace bowlers. He started with a huge hit over mid-wicket for maximum and continued his breathtaking display of shots to guide Bangladesh towards safety. In his career best 79 which is also his maiden half century in test cricket, Mortaza hammered seven boundaries and three huge sixes.

Earlier, India decided to bat on as play resumed after a frustrating wash-out on the third day. India failed to capitalize on the decision, as Bangladesh picked two quick wickets which forced India to declare at 387/8, adding only 3 runs with their overnight score.

Anil Kumble was ill and didn?t turn up to bat, and Zaheer Khan perished in the third ball he faced nicking Shahadat Hossain to wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud without disturbing the scoreboard. Dhoni followed immediately, as he tried force on a delivery off Mashrafe Mortaza that pitched just outside the off stump and Javed Omar took a simple catch at point.

Bangladesh made a stuttering start as they lost two quick wickets early on in their innings. Javed Omar was first to go, as he was adjudged LBW to a delivery that clearly pitched outside the leg stump. RP Singh was the lucky bowler to get the nod from umpire Billy Doctrove.

Captain Habibul Bashar added further misery to his batting form, and played a reckless shot to get himself out for a duck in the third ball he faced. Sachin Tendulkar took a nice reflex catch in the first slip as Bashar edged an away delivery off Zaheer Khan without moving his feet. After the dismissal of Bashar, Bangladesh tried to repair the damage and Shahriar Nafees shared a 27 run partnership with Rajin Saleh with ease. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, when things were looking good, Shahriar Nafees lost his cool and edged one straight delivery of Zaheer Khan to Tendulkar at first slip. Nafees, who scored 32 with two boundaries, was again guilty of playing away from the body.

The misery continued after lunch, newly appointed Bangladesh vice-captain, Mohammad Ashraful played a nothing shot, as he glided a delivery to gully to the safe hands of Dinesh Karthik., leaving Bangladesh tottering at 58-4. Debutant Shakib Al Hasan paired with Rajin Saleh and started to repair the innings with some positive but cautious stroke play. The pair shared a useful 56 run partnership before Indian bowlers picked them up. Shakib was first to go, a rising delivery from VRV Singh clipped the inside edge of his bat on to the stumps and Bangladesh middle order collapsed in a space of 7 overs. Saleh followed him almost immediately after making a polished 41, when he tried to cut a Ramesh Powar delivery against the spin, only finding Sourav Ganguly at point.

Bangladesh collapsed to 122/7 from 114/4, and follow on looked inevitable, as Khaled Mashud was unlucky to be given LBW to a delivery that would have missed leg stump, and also took a faint edge before hitting the pad. At that point India were on top, and expected to wrap Bangladesh innings within 150, Mashrafe Mortaza started his fight back.

At first, he shared a 27 run partnership with Mohammad Rafique to guide Bangladesh to close to the follow-on target, and then he formed the best partnership of the day with his new ball partner Shahadat Hossain. The pair played positive cricket shots all over the park and Indian attack looked ordinary for that part of the match. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid rotated his attack but failed to break the partnership.

Shahadat started slowly but started to cut loose as Bangladesh were approaching to the follow-on mark. A googly from Sachin Tendulkar returned him to the pavilion, but only after Bangladesh averted the follow-on. Mashrafe continued his stroke play after losing the partner and was finally denied by an over pitched delivery from RP Singh that kept low. Bangladesh were finally all-out for 238 conceding a 149 run deficit in the first innings.

The spirited performance of the Bangladeshi pacers with bat continued with ball, and Shahadat Hossain picked two quick wickets to reduce India to 6/2. Wasim Jaffer got a pair in the match as his mistimed pull shot found Habibul Bashar at mid-off and an acrobatic catch by Rajin Saleh returned Dravid to the pavilion.

Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik prevented any further damage and India finished day 4 on 44 for 2, taking an overall lead of 193 runs. If weather permits a full days of play on fifth and final day, an exciting finish might be on the cards in Chittagong tomorrow.

Bowlers keep Bangladesh alive in Chittagong Test

2007-05-19T07:48:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh bowlers fought hard to keep Bangladesh alive in the first Test of the GrameenPhone series against India on day two which was marred by rain and wet outfield.

India lost 3 wickets in the days play and added 89 runs to their overnight score of 295/3, as wet outfield, caused by overnight shower and early morning drizzle, allowed only 20 overs play on the second day at Chittagong Divisional Stadium on Saturday.

Bowlers keep Bangladesh alive in Chittagong Test © Cricinfo

However, the day will be remembered for two brilliant centuries from two legends of Indian cricket, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. It was the first Test century for Ganguly in two years time and he continues his impressive comeback to the Indian Test squad. He smashed 304 runs in seven innings at an average of 52.33, since his return to Test cricket in December 2006.

Surprisingly enough, both the experienced pros, Tendulkar and Ganguly, perished in similar fashion, just after reaching the century mark.

Ganguly was first to go after sharing a record 189 run 4th wicket partnership with Tendulkar. He received an awkward bouncer from Shahadat Hossain to complete his 13th Test century and was dismissed in the very next over without adding any more runs. Ganguly was hurried to a short of length ball from Mashrafe Mortaza, and the miscued pull could only reach the hands of Mohammad Rafique at mid off.

Tendulkar followed the footsteps of Ganguly, and played with extreme caution to reach his record 36th Test century. A rare lapse of concentration from the little genius saw the ball ballooned in the air when he tried to cut loose after reaching the century. The shot was identical to that of Ganguly, this time the bowler was Shahadat Hossain.

Ganguly smashed thirteen boundaries and 2 sixes in his 165 ball 100 while Sachin Tendulkar in his gritty hundred struck only six boundaries and laboured 51 singles.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar turned to the spinners as light was fading quickly and veteran Mohammad Rafique cleaned up debutant Ramesh Powar cheaply to celebrate his first wicket in the Test.

A brisk 36 off 35 balls from Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept the scoreboard ticking, but Bangladesh is right back in the match as India finished day two on 384/6 with only bowlers left to extend the first innings total.

Mashrafe Mortaza was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers and grabbed 3 wickets for 95 runs on an unfriendly surface while his new ball partner Shahdat Hossain bagged 2 wickets for 75 runs. Mohmmad Rafique was the only spinner to take a wicket on a pitch that was expected to suit slow bowlers.

Earlier, wet outfield took the centre stage, as grounds men worked hard to make the field ready to play for most part of the day. The sun was out but overnight rain created some patchy areas in the outfield of the newly built stadium. After three bouts of inspections, umpires finally decided to start the play at 4:30 PM local time allowing only 20 overs cricket on the second day.

According to revised playing condition, play will start 30 minutes earlier for the remaining three days to compensate the lost time.

Bangladesh face stiff challenge on test return

2007-05-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh is playing their first test match after 13 months of unofficial break in Chittagong on Friday, the same venue where they played their last test against Australia in April 2006.

During this period, Bangladesh made significant progress in ODIs winning 21 out of 35 matches, which includes world cup win against India and South Africa. Bangladesh is keen to use the confidence achieved from the successes of shorter version to prosper in the more traditional form of the game.

After obtaining the elite status in 2000, Bangladesh suffered hiccups with religious regularity raising constant concern about the future of their test status. Out of the 44 test matches played, Bangladesh only managed to win against a weakened Zimbabwe and lost as many as 39 matches.

Bangladesh came agonizingly close to test glory against Pakistan in Multan, but were denied by some controversial decisions. They also managed to take mighty Australians to the wire in the last series they played; a monumental innings by Adam Gilchrist again denied a well deserved victory. Bangladesh will try to forget the major part of their test history as they suffered countless defeats and often with massive margins barring a drawn test at St. Lucia against West Indies.

The youth brigade of Bangladesh, who are the trademark of rejuvenated Bangladesh are yet to make their mark in the test arena, and selectors have kept their faith on the experienced campaigners in the up-coming two match test series against India. Only Sakib Al Hasan, who impressed with consistent all-round performance, is set to make his test debut in Chittagong.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who scored 2.838 runs in 42 tests, is cautiously optimistic about Bangladesh’s prospect in the test series.

"It's only been one-day cricket for us over the past year. We have not played Test matches in that period and it will be tough to adjust quickly. But we will do our best," said Bashar.

Bangladesh’s outgoing coach Dav Whatmore, who led the transformation of Bangladesh in ODI cricket, is confident to put up a good show despite a break of 13 months.

“We played some good cricket over the last 13 months, winning a good number ODIs helped to build confidence but players must apply themselves to adjust to test cricket,” said Whatmore.

However, he admitted Bangladesh is yet to master the art of test cricket and it will take some more hard work to succeed in the top level.

“The players are still not versatile enough because they bat well in the first innings, but not in the second which is much tougher. They still haven't acquired this skill completely, but it will happen with the help of the four-day games in domestic cricket,” Whatmore added.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid is banking on the experience of the Indian side and is optimistic to win the series convincingly.

“We have played a lot of Test cricket and there is a lot of experience. So we expect to do well against them in both matches. Hopefully we can get some good weather and some good wickets and we can do really well”, said Dravid.

India are bolstered by the return of experienced Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Venkatsai Laxman and Anil Kumble, who did not feature in the one-day series.

Bangladesh’s vice captain Mohammad Ashraful who missed the last ODI due to fever is expected to play, but concern remains over the fitness of wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud who suffered a finger injury in a domestic match, and Tushar Imran who is suffering from viral fever.

The weather is looking good and rain is not expected to play a major role in the first test match which starts tomorrow.

Teams:

Bangladesh - Habibul Bashar ( Captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees, Saqibul Hasan, Rajin Saleh, Tushar Imran, Khaled Mashud, Mohammed Rafique, Enamul Haque jnr., Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, and Mehrab Hossain jnr.

India - Rahul Dravid (Captain), Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, R. P. Singh, Zaheer Khan, V.R.V. Singh, Munaf Patel, Anil Kumble, Ramesh Powar and Rajesh Pawar

Bangladesh ready to live up to expectation

2007-05-09T12:58:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh are facing India in the first of the three match GrameenPhone ODI series at Mirpur Sher E Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Dhaka tomorrow (Thursday, May 10th).

This is the first time the two teams are facing each other after the historic World Cup encounter at Queens Park Oval in Trinidad, where Bangladesh toppled India by 5 wickets to send India home from the first round of the World Cup.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar said they are ready to live up to the high expectations of fans in the ODI series.

"We know the expectation is high after the successful World Cup campaign and we are also ready to meet that expectation," said Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar at a pre-match conference at the SBNS Wednesday.

Bangladesh ready to live up to expectation © Reuters

Bangladesh is playing at home and Bashar believes this will help Bangladesh to raise their game.

"We have the belief that we can beat any team if we play to our potential. India are a good side and we can't afford to take them lightly just because we beat them in the World Cup. But playing at home is always an advantage," said Bashar.

India are also keen to avenge their World Cup defeat and want to concentrate only on playing good cricket. The Indian team is under scrutiny after their World Cup exit and their build-up to the series suffered many problems. Recent revelations about the divisions within the team by an Indian TV channel is the latest blow to the Indian morale.

However, Indian captain Rahul Dravid wants to put everything related to the World Cup behind and start afresh for the ODI series.

"We want to put the disappointment of the World Cup behind us and move on. We look forward to getting on the park to play some good cricket".

Dravid praised Bangladesh for their recent development but promised a professional display to outshine Bangladesh.

"Bangladesh are obviously a very improved team and they showed that at the World Cup. They are very competitive, but we will be equal to the challenge," said Dravid in the pre-match press conference.

Both India and Bangladesh have been hit by injury blows. India?s promising youngster Manoj Tiwary is already out of the ODI series after suffering a shoulder injury, while Bangladesh?s leading paceman Mashrafe Mortaza remains a doubt for tomorrow?s match.

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Rafique, Farhad Reza.

India (from): Rahul Dravid (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Mahendra Dhoni, Dinesh Karthick, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar.

Umpires : Ashoka De Silva (Sri Lanka), Nadir Shah (Bangladesh)

An exclusive interview with Khaled Mahmud, ex Bangladesh Captain and currently team operations manager, Bangladesh Cricket Academy.

2007-05-07T11:19:00.001-07:00

Khaled Mahmud Sujon has served Bangladesh Cricket in different capacities. In his 8 years of International Cricket he represented Bangladesh in 77 ODIs and 12 test matches. He was the 3^rd test captain of Bangladesh and lead Bangladesh in 9 test matches and 15 ODIs. He was better known as a “fighter” for his “never say die” attitude. Mahmud masterminded Bangladesh’s famous win over Pakistan in World Cup 1999, for which he received “Man of the Match” award. He retired from International cricket in February 2006 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka.

After his retirement from International cricket, he briefly worked as the Manager of Bangladesh National Cricket Team. Currently he is working as the Team Operations Manager of Bangladesh Cricket Academy in a bid to groom young players for future Bangladesh team. In his interview with BanglaCricket editor Khondaker Mirazur Rahman, he expressed his vision about Bangladesh Cricket Academy, Bangladesh Cricket and India’s tour of Bangladesh 2007. Khaled Mahmud gave the interview from Khulna where the Academy team was playing their first four-day match with Sri Lanka Academy.

BanglaCricket : You are working as the team operations manager of Bangladesh Cricket Academy, give us some insight about the Academy and its future plan.

Khaled Mahmud : Thanks. Bangladesh Cricket Academy is the new project of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) with technical assistance from Cricket Australia to raise the standard of cricket in Bangladesh. It has started its operation from 2006 and from the very beginning I have associated myself with the Academy.

The Academy is trying to provide a platform for promising and talented young players to groom them properly for International level. We always had a good U-19 team but after representing the age groups, players had no platform to continue their good work to make them ready for international arena. Now in the academy we have recruited promising former U-19 players and we are grooming them as a unit with sufficient match practices and international tours. We are also working with talented but national discards to get their form back and correct their techniques.

BanglaCricket : We know Academy is in its preliminary stage, does it have any structure yet?

Khaled Mahmud : Yes, it has. As 2006 was our first year, it was a learning year for us. In the first year we tried to development the infra-structure of the academy. The Academy is based at Mirpur Sher E Bangla National Stadium, and currently we have four dedicated coaches for the Academy who are working with the players to develop their game. They are,

Alister de Winter – Head Coach

Minhajul Abedin Nannu – Batting Coach

Wahidul Gani – Spin bowling coach and

Sarwar Imarn – Pace bowling coach.

Apart from these, we usually invite specialist coaches from abroad for short term training sessions. Last year Tasmania Tigers coach Tim Coyle conducted a training camp on wicket keeping. We have plans to invite great players of International cricket to inspire the young stars and conduct short term sessions.

BanglaCricket : Bangladesh Cricket Academy toured Pakistan in 2006 and recently we have seen both Pakistan and Sri Lanka Academy here for a tri-series. What is your plan with the Academy for 2007?

Khaled Mahmud : After the end of current series against Sri Lanka, we will be arranging conditioning camps for the academy team players. We are planning to work with the techniques during the off-season and in 2007-08 we will have around 200 days of different training activities. We are also planning to hold our camps in different cities of Bangladesh to accustom the players with different conditions. We will have two or three away series during this period.

BanglaCricket : Very promising developments indeed. Do you have any plan to send Academy team to play a domestic league in Australia or South Africa?

Khaled Mahmud : We are seriously working on it. The problem is both Australia and South Africa domestic leagues co-insides with parts of our domestic league. We are planning to send the Academy team to participate one full season of cricket in either Australia or South Africa, even if they miss one domestic season in Bangladesh.

BanglaCricket : The experience to play fast and bouncy wicket will definitely help them in future.

Khaled Mahmud : Exactly, we always struggle to play in fast and bouncy conditions as we never get those types of wickets at home. We are also planning make some different wicket types in our “Home of Cricket” at Mirpur to add some variety in the experience of the Academy players.

BanglaCricket : Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has signed a deal with Cricket Australia and we are sending players to Australian Academy to develop their game. Have you selected players for this season?

Khaled Mahmud : We have selected Sohrawardy Shuvo and Raquibul Islam for Australian Academy in Brisbane. Jahurul Islam and Dollar Mahmud will go to Darwin to play cricket in the Darwin League.

BanglaCricket : You were known as a “fighter” during your international career, are you trying to instill the mentality within our Academy team players?

Khaled Mahmud : I was never ready to accept defeat until the last ball is bowled. I regularly sit with the Academy boys and share my memories with them. I am trying my best to develop “never say die” mentality within them, but as a manager it is not always easy to talk cricket with them.

BanglaCricket : What is you future plan? Do you want to work as a coach in the long run?

Khaled Mahmud : I want to associate myself with cricket for the rest of my life. I am enjoying my current responsibility to work with the future players of Bangladesh. Yes, I am thinking to take coaching as my career in the later phase of my life. I have already completed “Level – 2” coaching in 2006 and I am planning to complete “Level -3” within next 2-3 years. After achieving required qualifications, I will start my coaching career. I will always prefer any position with Cricket Academy as this is the best place to serve Bangladesh Cricket.

BanglaCricket : Bangladesh national team is dominated by young players, do you want to mention the name of any Academy player who might feature in the national team in the near future?

Khaled Mahmud : I don’t want to name anyone specific but most of our academy players have bright future ahead. Some of them have already appeared for the national team and will get their place back with time. They are ready to fill the gap as some of our senior players will retire within couple of years. Among the current bunch of players who haven’t featured for national team, Zunaed Siddique, Raquibul Islam, Nazimuddin and Saghir Hossain are playing extremely well. They are making their presence felt and they need consistent performance to get national call.

BanglaCricket : Recently Raquibul Islam is enjoying some limelight, he scored triple century in the first class cricket. Pakistan Academy coach Aaquib Javed was very impressed with him. Can you tell us something about him?

Khaled Mahmud : Raquibul is performing exceptionally well in recent times. He was not initially selected for the Academy, we included him later after seeing his domestic performance. He is a bright prospect for Bangladesh.

BanglaCricket : Many thanks Mahmud Bhai for your vision and thoughts about Bangladesh Academy. Now I will ask you few questions about up-coming India series.

Khaled Mahmud : I am also very happy to talk with you about the Academy. You can ask me questions about the India series.

BanglaCricket : What is your opinion about the prospect of Bangladesh team in the ODI series especially after World Cup win over the same opposition?

Khaled Mahmud : Bangladesh’s world cup win over India was no fluke, we performed better in every department in that day. If we can repeat our performance, I believe we have the ability to win the ODI series.

BanglaCricket : World Cup exit at the hand of Bangladesh has created storms in India, they are coming well prepared this time to escape any upset.

Khaled Mahmud : First of all, Bangladesh’s win should not be considered as upset anymore. It does not matter how much preparation you take beforehand, it’s the performance on the field that counts. India is a very good team and despite some changes, they are still a very good team. Having said that, we have the ability to beat them again if our batsmen can play sensibly. Our bowlers have always delivered but we need consistency from batsmen to win regularly over tough oppositions.

BanglaCricket : I admit Bangladesh has progressed, but still the team is very unpredictable. We won against India and South Africa but lost to Ireland. Do you have any explanation for that?

Khaled Mahmud : I will again say, our bowlers are consistent but our batsmen are not performing according to the situations. The problem is the difference between our good performances and the bad performance is very large. We have to reduce the gap to become a successful team in the world stage. If we can do that, we will win regularly and may lose some match but that’s a part of the game.

BanglaCricket : One last question to you. Have you heard about BanglaCricket or ever visited the site?

Khaled Mahmud : I have heard about the site but never visited it. From now on, I will definitely have a look at the site.

BanglaCricket : We are really grateful for your valuable time. Many thanks to you for this valuable time within your busy schedule.

Khaled Mahmud : Thank You.

ODI series Preview, India in Bangladesh 2007: Bangladesh aim to continue domination over confused India

2007-05-06T03:44:00.001-07:00

Two teams that met in the world cup in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on 17th March 2007, are facing each other again, for a 3 match ODI series. After the fanciful prospect of Bangladesh win has turned into reality and resulted in chaotic development in the commercial capital of cricket, the world cricket is enjoying a completely different build-up for the series. Amid uncertainty of supremacy in shorter version of the game, Bangladesh is expecting to win an ODI series against India for the first time in their cricket history.

While the win over India in world cup paved the way for more cricketing success for Bangladesh, the loss has hit India with more muddles they ever faced in their rich cricketing history. World Cup exit at the hand of Bangladesh, a team they denied to host for years for commercial reasons, has brought rings of changes in Indian cricket, and have opened the Pandora box, which they are struggling to restore in its previous state.

Coach axed, senior players rebuked, endorsements scrapped, payment denied, key players getting injured, and denial to sign contracts, these are the headlines hitting the Indian newspapers ahead of a very crucial Bangladesh tour. After the premature world cup exit, things are going from bad to worse in Indian cricket. Amid these muddles, Indian players are facing intense heat from the fans, endorsements and cricket board to perform, and restore the pride of Indian cricket.

On the contrary, after a very successful world cup mission, Bangladesh is enjoying their best moments of cricketing history. Players getting reception, world cup reward money, positive media attention, fans never ending affection and the warmth of home condition before facing India again. Bangladesh outfit is representing themselves as a happy family, who are ready to say good bye to Dav Whatmore, their father figure coach, after a successful stint of four years.

Bangladesh fans, who always express gratitude to every little success of the Tigers, watched the glorious moments of Bangladesh cricket on the television. Now, a refreshing looking young Bangladesh is aiming to topple India, yet another time, in front of their fans at home. While Bangladesh discovered confidence from the world cup, Indian confidence and pride is shattered badly and recent developments are making them increasingly confused over their future strategies. Bangladesh is keen to exploit every single opportunity to continue the domination, which they ruthlessly executed at Queens Park Oval in Trinidad.

Bangladesh kept their faith on the world cup squad, and made no changes for the India series except Rajin Saleh, who has not featured in any of the world cup matches. The spirit is high in the team, and skipper Habibul Bashar is upbeat to win the ODI series.

"There is always pressure in a home series and now the expectation is high after our victory against India. India will definitely be desperate to erase the bitter memory but I am confident of beating them again. I think it is difficult but not impossible to win the one-day series against India," said Bashar after returning from the Caribbean. The whole team echoed his voice and they are keen to retain the hard earned respect, knowing a series win over India can only augment their achievement.

Indian selectors tried hard to deliver a new look Indian team. In a bid to look for the future, the board wanted young players after the shambolic defeat at the hand of Bangladeshi youth brigade averaging 18 years. Despite the call, the scenario remained the same as selectors could only manage to offer two places for the young talents in the 14 member squad. Manoj Tiwary and Piyush Chawla earned their places in the squad, and there is a slim hope that one of them will get a nod in the playing XI. Ironically, none of the future talents managed to find their names in the test squad.

Dropping out of form Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Ajit Agarkar from the ODI, and selecting Dinesh Mongia, Romesh Powar and Sreesanth in their place could hardly camouflage the fact that, India still believes in their old and tested cricketers, and not yet ready to groom young stars for the future.

None of the Indian batsmen except Yuvraj Singh is enjoying good form and the rest have to rely on net practices to gain their form back as there is no tour match scheduled before the ODI series. Inclusion of Sreesanth and RP Singh will boost India’s bowling attack, but lack of quality spinner in spin friendly Bangladesh condition is a significant weakness.

After starting the preparation camp in Kolkata, where conditions are somewhat similar to Bangladesh, India faced more dramatic developments, which dented their plans for Bangladesh series. Both Sachin and Dravid managed to get themselves injured, and players refused to sign the contract over pay disputes, things are not looking ideal for “Team India” who face an acid test in the up-coming ODI series. Newly appointed coach-cum-manager Ravi Shastri is trying hard to restore the order and discipline, which is the key requirement for the Indian team, who are facing constant criticism and aiming to bounce back

Bangladesh have progressed significantly as an ODI outfit over the last couple of years, and after the world cup success, they have earned valuable confidence to compete at the top level. Having said that, lack of consistency still remains as a major concern for the young Bangladesh team. Bangladesh have consistently managed to mix the best with the worst, and some superb performances are more than often marred by below par displays. They must find the right balance to continue the success, they achieved in the world cup. While bowling department has performed and elevated them to world standard, batting has let the team down in numerous occasions.

Bangladeshi top order must find their lost rhythm in favorable home condition to outshine India. The aggressive and positive intent of Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful is the key to Bangladesh’s success in ODI, but failure to control the rush of blood is another key concern. Out of form Shahriar Nafees, who lost his vice-captaincy to Mohammad Ashraful and skipper Habibul Bashar, who is playing his last home series in ODI, need to sort out their batting woe to stabilize the explosive but fragile batting order.

The spin trio of Bangladesh is the heart of the bowling attack and the smothering influence of Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak and Sakib Al Hasan, on opposition batsmen, has lifted Bangladesh even in most difficult conditions to bowl. They are expected to fire on all cylinders in favorable home condition and their domination can effectively tie up even the spin experienced Indian batting line up.

The new ball bowlers, Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel, provide the effective balance in the attack, and both of them are genuine wicket takers. While Mashrafe surprises opposition with his pace and swing, Rasel deceives batsmen with lack of pace and accuracy. Considering current form, Bangladesh will be heading to the ODI series, with a much better and balanced bowling attack compared to rival India.

Bangladesh have already established their supremacy in fielding, which is the third frontier of the game, over their sub-continent rivals, India and Pakistan. The aging Indian cricket team will find it difficult to deal with the youthful and agile Tigers, and this can make a real difference in a keenly contested series.

Bangladesh is trying to cope with the busy schedule of International cricket, as they got only a week rest after a grueling three months long Caribbean mission. A success over apparently struggling India, who received sufficient rest due to their first round exit from the world cup, can bring some refreshing moments for the Tigers.

With confidence running high, Bangladesh are aiming to continue their domination over their neighbor, who until recently considered them as a walkover. The youth brigade is ready to offer more sleepless night to the declining cricket super-power, in a bid to establish them as a new powerhouse of world cricket.

Heroes returning home after successful world cup mission

2007-04-25T15:30:00.001-07:00

Tigers are returning home after a successful world cup campaign, they will reach Bangladesh tomorrow (26th April) in the early morning. BanglaCricket is welcoming the Tigers to their den and expressing gratitude for raising the image of the country.

Bangladesh team have already left London via flight number BA 145 which is expected to land at Zia International Airport at 06:10 AM. Tigers who brought immense pride for the country are expected to be received by BCB officials, former captains, journalists, and thousand of fans.

Heroes returning home © Cricinfo

In the world cup Bangladesh managed to achieve their target to reach the super eights by toppling India at the group stage. Tigers continued their giant-killing act by defeating top ranked South Africa in the super eights encounter and eventually revived the world cup. Bangladesh also managed to defeat New Zealand in the warm-up match and registered win over Bermuda in their last group match.

Despite some poor performances, this is the biggest achievement by Bangladesh team in their cricket history. Bangladesh finished 7th in the 14 nation tournament.

After a gruelling three months long Caribbean tour in which they won the ICC tri-series and reached the top stage of the world cup, Tigers will be back on the field within a very short time. The home series against India will be starting from 10th May.

Review of Bangladesh World Cup 2007 mission in numbers

2007-04-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a mini review of Bangladesh world cup mission in numbers.

5 : The winning margin in wickets against India at group stage match in Trinidad

216 : Runs scored by Mohammad Ashraful and the new record for most runs made by a Bangladeshi batsman in world cup.

28 : Number of wickets taken by the spin trio of Bangladesh

5.16 : Average of Shahriar Nafees in world cup. He managed to score 29 runs in 6 innings.

3.85 : Bowling economy of Syed Rasel. He took 8 wickets at an average of 29.85

67 : The winning margin in runs against South Africa at super eights match in Guayana

318 : Highest run scored against Bangladeshi bowling line up. Sri Lanka piled 318-4 in the group stage match.

13 : Number of wickets taken by Abdur Razzak and is the new record for most wickets by a Bangladeshi bowler in world cup.

84.76 : Strike rate of Aftab Ahmed. He scored 128 runs with an average of 14.22

25 : Number of boundaries hit by Tamim Iqbal, only Ashraful hit more boundaries (27) than him.

39.00 : Strike rate of Javed Omar Belim in this world cup. He scored 55 runs in his 3 innings.

112 : Lowest total by Bangladesh in world cup 2007 (against Sri Lanka)

3 : Number of 6's hit by 3 Bangladeshi batsman (Sakib, Aftab, Mashrafee)

87 : Highest individual score by any Bangladeshi batsman in world cup. Ashraful scored match winning 87 against South Africa

4-38 : Best bowling by any Bangladeshi bowler in world cup. Mashrafe Mortaza took 4-38 against crucial group match against India.

56* : Highest score in world cup debut by any Bangladeshi batsman. Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten on 56 to guide Bangladesh home against India.

9 : Number of matches Bangladesh played in world cup 2007

156.25 : Strike rate of Mashrafe Mortaza in his little cameo (25 off 16 balls) against South Africa

46 : Number of opposition wickets taken by Bangladeshi bowlers.

251 : Highest total made by Bangladesh in any world cup matches (against South Africa)

84 : Highest partnership made by Bangladeshi batsmen in this world cup. Sakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful shared a 4th wicket 84 run stand against South Africa

6 : Number of catches taken by Aftab Ahmed and Tamim Iqbal

86 : Most runs conceded by a Bangladeshi bowler in his 10 over spell in this world cup. Abdur Razzak bagged 1 wickets for 86 runs against Sri Lanka

2.20 : Ecoonomy rate of Mohammad Rafique against South Africa. It is a new record of best economy rate in a 10 over spell by any Bangladeshi bowler in a world cup match.

__________________

"Self-belief is the main difference" - Whatmore

2007-04-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore who is set to resign after the forthcoming India series said Bangladesh has made giant strides in international cricket over the last few years and the confident and talented young players will continue to progress.

According to Dav, "self-belief" is the main difference between the current team and the previous Bangladesh.

"The Bangladeshi side of three years ago wouldn't have been able to overhaul the target of 192 (against India) or could not defend 251 (against South Africa). They have learnt to win and approach the game with a positive frame of mind" he said referring to the historic wins against India and South Africa.

Self-belief is the main difference - Whatmore © Getty Images

Whatmore in his first interview after taking the charge of Bangladesh said "We have to try and change that defeatist attitude. Individual improvement and collective improvement are the areas in which I am going to work on".

And he did exactly what he said and during his 4 years tenure has effectively turned a losing side into a winning outfit. He effectively instilled a new optimism and discipline to a team that had not won a single match for four years. The comprehensive transformation from the 'defeatist attitude' towards 'victorious approach' is the most significant achievement for Bangladesh cricket in years.

"It gives me a tremendous satisfaction to see a group of players who have come a long way since I joined in 2003. The team has changed and it will continue to change. It will always evolve. That's how I look at it" said Whatmore in his reaction to AFP.

"A lot of these boys are willing to work a lot harder out in the middle during difficult periods. I believe these young players will take Bangladesh to a long way".

Dav Whatmore took the helm of Bangladesh Cricket in June 2003 and will stay in charge until the end of May 2007. Upcoming home series against India will be his last series with Bangladesh.

Whatmore has led Bangladesh to 33 wins in 86 one-day internationals and also coached the side to a first ever test victory, against three draws and 21 defeats.

Dav Whatmore resigns as Bangladesh coach

2007-04-20T10:10:00.001-07:00

After coaching Bangladesh for 4 years and leading them to World Cup Super Eights, Dav Whatmore has stepped down as Bangladesh's coach citing personal reasons.

He has decided not to renew his contract with BCB which expires at the end of April. However, he has agreed to remain in charge of Tigers until the end of May to cover the India series. This will allow Bangladesh Cricket Board to find his successor before the away series to Sri Lanka which starts in July.

Dav Whatmore quits as Bangladesh coach © Cricinfo

Whatmore took the charge of Bangladesh after Tigers infamous debacle in World Cup 2003 and in his 4 years (he extended his initial 2 years contract in June 2005 for another 2 years) he has transformed them into one of the most exciting side of world cricket.

Whatmore has led Bangladesh to 33 wins in 86 one-day internationals and also coached the side to a first ever test victory, against three draws and 21 defeats.

Bangladesh Cricket Board in a media release expressed gratitude to Dav Whatmore for raising the standard of performance of the National Team in International cricket.

BCB also formed a six-member committee to find the successor of Dav Whatmore

Bangladesh have a point to prove against West Indies

2007-04-20T10:09:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh is facing host West Indies in their final super eights match of the world cup at Kensington Oval in Barbados today. After losing to Ireland on last Sunday at the same venue, Bangladesh is desperately looking for a win to bow out of the world cup on a high.

Bangladesh managed a roller coaster ride in the tournament and enjoyed some glorious moments after defeating India in group stages and South Africa in the super eights. The unpredictability of the Tigers were evident in rest of the matches and loss to Ireland raised question marks about their consistency in the top fights.

Bangladesh have a point to prove against West Indies © Cricinfo

Bangladesh is now fighting to avoid the bottom place in the super 8's table and skipper Habibul Bashar showed his frustration over the situation but vowed to finish the world cup with a better performance.

"We created our chances to reach semi-final by beating South Africa but here we are now fighting to avoid finishing in the last two". "We must give it our best shot to end on a high note, we must realize that we deserve a better place than last" said Bashar.

Host West Indies will try to lift the morale of the Caribbean supporters in their last two world cup matches. West Indies is already out of the semi-final race and the team management including Lara is facing harsh criticisms for the poor show from former West Indian greats.

Skipper Brian Lara who is retiring from one-day cricket at the end of the tournament, urged his team-mates to perform for the fans in their last two matches but he is not taking Bangladesh for granted. Team manager Clive Lloyd shared similar vision with Lara.

"They are a formidable side and have done well in this World Cup and they have beaten quite a few good sides in Tests so they are on their way up," said Lloyd.

"We don't take any team lightly, it's just that we haven't played quite as well as we could, our results have shown that," Lloyd added in an interview with AFP.

.Bangladesh has left out vice captain Shahriar Nafees out of the playing XI and left-arm seamer Syed Rasel, who missed the Ireland match due to last minute injury is retiring to the side.

Bangladesh is yet to win any match against West Indies in their last 12 encounters.

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Denesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Daren Powell, Kieron Pollard.

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqib Al Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.

Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZ) and Rudi Koertzen (SA).

Bangladesh face their first upset of world cup

2007-04-17T05:56:00.001-07:00

Ireland dashed Bangladesh's slim World Cup semifinal hopes after an excellent all-round display handed the debutants a 74-run victory in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday.

With this upset win Ireland earned the 12th place in the ICC ODI ranking. The result also gave Ireland their first Super Eights win, leaving both teams on two points each and fighting to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table with one match to play.

Having earmarked the contest against Bangladesh as the one Super Eights match they could win, Ireland ensured their surprise progress to the second round at the expense of Pakistan had not been in vain.

Opening batsman William Porterfield top-scored with a chancy 85 to guide Ireland to their highest Cup total of 243 for seven after choosing to bat.

Bangladesh slumped to the bottom of the standings after they were bowled out for 169, with their top order batsmen falling to reckless shots.

Ireland's amateur players took a lap of honour and their fans danced in the stands after claiming the battle of the two giant-killers.

Bangladesh can take almost nothing from the match as they were sloppy in all departments of the game. Bangladesh must regroup before facing host West Indies on next Thursday at the same venue.

England labour to defeat gritty Bangladesh

2007-04-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

England overcame another nervy batting display to defeat Bangladesh by four wickets in their World Cup Super Eights match in Bridgetown, Barbados on Wednesday to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

England pacemen led by man-of-the-match Sajid Mahmood skittled out Bangladesh for 143 in the 38th over on a bouncy Kensington Oval pitch.

However, Bangladesh bowlers piled on the pressure as the new pitch slowed down before England reached 147 for six in the 45th over.

Bangladesh left-arm seamer Syed Rasel and left-arm spinners Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafique grabbed two wickets each to rattle England. Rasel had makeshift opener Ian Bell (0) caught at point and trapped Andrew Strauss leg before for 23.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak then removed skipper Michael Vaughan for a chancy 30 before taking the prize scalp of Kevin Pietersen for 10 runs. Vaughan, dropped on five by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim after nicking Rasel, top-edged a sweep to Habibul Bashar at short fine leg.

Veteran Mohmmad Rafiq brought Bangladesh back into the match after removing dangerman Flintoff and Ravi Boapara in the same over but at the end the total proved too low to restrict England

Confident Bangladesh aim to restore consistency

2007-04-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh want to continue their good work on the field and is not looking any further than tomorrow's all important clash against England. Bangladesh is also aiming to reduce the margin of errors in a bid to achieve their first ever win against three times runners up England at Kensington Oval in Barbados today.

Bangladesh is keen to re-establish the consistency in performance they achieved over the last 12 months leading to World Cup Cricket. Although over the period, Bangladesh consistently won against the lesser oppositions like Zimbabwe and Kenya, after recent domination over India and South Africa, Bangladesh want to repeat similar consistency against the big guns.

Confident Bangladesh aim to restore consistency © Cricinfo

Bangladesh Captain Habibul Bashar is also setting consistent performance as the first target and wants to use the momentum gained after South Africa win to topple England in a bid to win a semi-final berth.

"Definitely we need to play consistent as well. We don't want to play one good game and then play three bad games. But the South Africa win has increased the confidence and morale in the team" said Bashar in his column in Bangla daily "Prothom Alo".

On paper, England is a much better outfit compared to Bangladesh but failed to perform as a team in the current world cup. Bangladesh have played better than the England and surprisingly the collective ODI experience of the squad is well ahead of England. In this world cup, Bangladesh have already won two important games against India and South Africa, England is yet to win a match against any test playing nations.

England is not enjoying their best time in ODI cricket for about a year and half. Apart from the heroics in the Commonwealth Bank Series, England's performance is well below par. England have last played Bangladesh in 2005 Natwest trophy at home and most members of the Bangladesh youth brigade is quite unknown to them.

The youthful Bangladesh side, who has won more ODIs than England over the last 12 months and after their complete domination against South Africa in Guyana, are bubbling in confidence and want to surprise England in the similar manner like India and South Africa, co-incidentally who also had no idea about most players of current Bangladesh side.

Both teams are on 2 points each after three Super Eights matches and to keep the tournament alive both side has no alternative to win all the remaining matches. After facing the likes of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Bangladesh is ready to take oppositions who are deemed weaker in the remaining three matches. Bangladesh is yet to win a match against England and is keen to turn the table around with self-belief, aggression and enthusiasm injected into the team after toppling top ranked South Africa.

Bangladesh enjoyed familiar condition in Guyana and traditionally Barbados wickets are livelier. Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore believes change in wicket type will not make any difference in the performance of the Tigers. He was also happy to see the lack of green on the surface.

"We've had a little look. The color is nice to look at, not too much grass on it. But there is grass underneath the surface and I think that will hold it together. It's the first time they are going to play a one-day international here so we are not entirely sure how it's going to behave but I think it's going to be okay" said Whatmore in an interview with Tigercricket.

Bangladesh has delayed naming the squad for tomorrows clash and will be waiting to see the nature of the wicket in the morning before declaring the playing XI. It is highly anticipated that Vice Captain Shahriar Nafees who was dropped for poor form, will return for Bangladesh.

England (from): M Vaughan (captain), I Bell, A Strauss, K Pietersen, P Collingwood, A Flintoff, R Bopara, P Nixon (wkt), S Mahmood, M Panesar, J Anderson, E Joyce, L Plunkett, J Dalrymple, S Broad.

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (captain), Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Mohammad Ashraful, Saqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt) Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Shahriar Nafees, Farhad Reza, Rajin Saleh, Shahadat Hossain.

Umpires: S Taufel (Australia), S Bucknor (West Indies)

Slow left arm army; suffocation Bangladesh style

2007-04-10T04:52:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh is strangulating teams in the middle, strangling them with a unique army that world cricket has never seen and against all odds they are reigning in a style which no one anticipated before. The smothering influence of Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak and Sakib Al Hasan is disgruntling batsmen one after another leading to their untimely demise. The guile of the web weaved by the SLA army finds helpless batsmen groping for air in the crucial middle overs. The spin trio has given Bangladesh the strength to scoff at rankings and clinically outshine oppositions under difficult conditions.

They shared 12 wickets between them in 59.4 overs giving away only 213 runs in Bangladesh's recent triumphs over India and South Africa. And this statistics only reveals a part of the influence they are imposing in every game. They have a much more astounding domination and enforce ruthless execution of their incomparable combat plan.

Slow left arm bowling is one of the most difficult arts of bowling and world cricket haven’t seen many bowlers over the years. When the art is dying in other parts of cricketing world, Bangladesh is becoming the breeding ground of world beating SLA bowlers.

Playing 3 bowlers with same bowling style might look fanciful and a dim witted decision but that’s not the case when anyone thinks about the slow left army from Bangladesh. They might share the same bowling style but each of them is unique in their way of hunting. Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak and Sakib Al Hasan, the three men army have their uncanny abilities to confine the batsman with their line, loop, length and variety to impose an asphyxiating feeling. Most batsmen cannot tolerate the suffocation and eventually decease when try to break the shackle.

Wicket type, bowling first or second, quality of opposition nothing can dent the venoms of their snarling darts and they are always keen to take the fight to the opposition. Enter Mohammad Rafique, he will tie up the batsmen with his accurate rhythmical bowling, flatter trajectories and unbelievably effective armers to fool the batsmen. He uses all his experience to read the mind of the batsman and forces him to make errors. Rafique, a keen learner at the age of 37 is getting better and greener with every single match. He has set outstanding examples and high standards for the young stars around the world with his hard work and dedication.

Enter Abdur Razzak, the most versatile of the three, he will fox the batsman with his variation in flight, change of pace and ever tidy line. He possesses the lethal arm ball to flummox even the best batsman of the world like the one he used to remove Sachin Tendulkar against India. Razzak is making his presence felt within two years of arrival in international scenario and is undoubtedly one of the best ODI bowlers with his resourceful armory and breathtaking clobbers.

Enter Sakib Al Hasan, he will mix his youthful verve with unprecedented maturity to bamboozle the batsman regardless of experience. He uses his crease so beautifully to throw the venom, even the best spinner of the world will be delighted to have that ability.

It’s such a unique blend of experience, courage and youthful vim that cannot be matched by any other bowling combinations of current cricket. They complement each other and impose a synergistic effect on their collective performance to bring out the best for Bangladesh.

World have seen great fast bowlers hunting in pairs like Wasim-Waqar and Walsh-Ambrose combination, they have also seen attacking bowlers like Muralitharan and Warne. Now, for the first time they are witnessing the hunting of a spin army who strangulate the opposition and offers no mercy. This is a unique addition to cricket world and is the pivotal factor behind the emergence of Bangladesh as “giant killer” of cricket world.

Bangladesh crush South Africa by 67 runs

2007-04-07T18:30:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh silenced their critics in style and crushed world number one South Africa at Providence Stadium in Guyana. Bangladesh came into the match after suffering two crushing defeats in their last two games and had to justify their elevation to the Super Eights in today's match. And they did it in style by defeating top ranked South Africa by 67 runs.

The good work of Bangladeshi batsmen was equally supported by the bowlers as they emerged as the better team in every discipline with some electrifying fielding. Captain Habibul Bashar used his bowlers with excellent effect and kept the pressure on South Africans right from the beginning with very good field placements. Scoring runs seemed to be one of the most difficult jobs in the world as batsmen could not find gaps in either side of the wicket.

Chasing a victory target of 252 in 50 overs, South Africa lost their way at the very beginning by some tight bowling from Bangladeshi opening bowlers and when captain Graeme Smith fell to Syed Rasel, Soth Africa?s demise started immediately. Syed Rasel bowled with lots of variation and took the pace off to deceive Smith.

Kallis tried to steady the innings with de Villiers and lifted South Africa to 63-1 but Syed Rasel struck again and broke the partnership by removing Kallis with a gem of delivery. Bangladeshi slow left arm bowlers kept the things tight and got the reward when Ashwell prince ran himself out feeling the pressure.
Mohammad Ashraful led the Bangladesh's revival with a fine 87.

Mohammad Ashraful led Bangladesh's revival with a brilliant 87 © Cricinfo

Experienced campaigner Mark Boucher tried to break the shackle but fell to Saqibul Hasan immediately after hitting a powerful six. Bangladesh eventually took the control of the game when Justin Kemp returned a simple catch to Saqib in the very next delivery. The world number one team were reduced to 87-6 by world number 9 team and South Africa never recovered from that position and eventually bundled out for 184 in 48.4 overs conceding a 67 run defeat.

Some late strike from Herschelle Gibbs who played as no.7 batsman due to calf muscle injury could only reduce the margin of defeat.

Bangladesh used only five front line bowlers to bundle south Africa and all bowlers except Mashrafe Mortaza joined the party. Abdur Razzak was the pick of the bowlers and took 3 wickets for 25 runs. Saqibul Hasan and Syed Rasel grabbed two wickets each for 49 runs and 41 runs respectively. Experienced Mohammad Rafique was the most economic bowler and conceded only 22 runs from his 10 over and took 1 wicket. Bangladesh?s slow left arm army proved too much for the Proteas as they shared 6 wickets between them in 29.4 overs giving away only 96 runs.

Earlier, Bangladesh posted challenging 251/8 in 50 overs riding on a blazing 87 run off 83 balls by young batting prodigy Mohammad Ashraful. Ashraful hammered 12 boundaries in his masterful innings and that laid the foundation for the memorable victory.

South Africa Captain Graeme Smith won the toss and sent Bangladesh to bat under overcast conditions. The pitch was expected to offer some early assistance due to continuous rain over the last couple of days.

Bangladesh started cautiously and after a sedate opening partnership of 42 between Javed Omar (17 off 41 balls) and young Tamim Iqbal (38 off 59 balls), Bangladesh were in a spot of bother after losing captain Habibul Bashar (5) and Saqibul Hasan (9) cheaply. Mohammad Ashraful shared a crucial 87 run partnership with Aftab Ahmed in the 5th wicket to steady Bangladesh.

Aftab scored 35 runs off 43 deliveries with 2 boundaries and 2 huge sixes. After his departure a Bangladesh maintained the acceleration with a fluent 54 run partnership between Mohammad Ashraful and Mashrafe Mortaza who scored a quick fire 25 runs off just 16 deliveries with 3 boundaries and 1 six.

Andre Nel was the pick of the South African attack and took 5 wickets for 45 runs. Ntini and Kallis picked 1 wicket each but went for runs. Shaun Pollock bowled well with no luck.

Bangladesh aim to restore pride

2007-04-07T18:29:00.001-07:00

After getting thrashed by Australia and New Zealand in first tow matches of the super eights, Bangladesh is facing top ranked South Africa at Providence Stadium in Guyana today. Pressure has mounted on Bangladesh to justify their inclusion in the super eights stage after two consecutive below par performances.

After reaching super eights by toppling India, Bangladesh thought that they will win few more matches in the super 8 stage but things are not going as planned. They have managed only 104 and 174 against Australia and New Zealand to concede humiliating 10 and 9 wickets defeat.

In both matches Bangladesh batted first and virtually lost the game before the end of their innings. Bangladesh have a formidable bowling line up but batsmen failed to rise to the occasions and now Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar is urging top order batsmen to perform better.
Bangladesh aim to restore pride.

Bangladesh aim to restore pride © AFP

Guyana, the venue for todays match could provide an ideal opportunity for them to put up a much-improved performance. The hot and humid nature of Guyana weather is quite similar with sub-continents and pitches have traditionally been slow and low, similar to the ones in the sub-continent. Bangladesh need to post some decent total to give a chance to their slow left arm spinners to exploit the conditions. Proteas batting line up has records of having problems against quality spinners.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith is not taking Bangladesh lightly but has already expressed his desire to avoid Australia in semi final. South Africa needs to win all their remaining matches against the likes of Bangladesh, West Indies and New Zealand to make that happen.

Both Bangladesh captain Bashar and coach Dav Whatmore promised a better display and asked the Tigers to learn from their mistakes in previous two games.

"We just have to pick up our game and we still have four matches left. We will go out thinking we can win those games. The goal is not to repeat the mistakes of the last two matches," said Bashar who also suffered criticism in Bangladesh for his poor show on the field.

"I have faith in my players. They have showed in the past that they can beat any team on their day," added Bashar.

Bashar also insisted that Bangladesh team is not getting distracted due to coach Dav Whatmore's interest in India job.

"He has been working very hard with us and has given no indication that he's not enjoying himself," said Bashar.

"I don't want to talk too much about his thoughts. It's purely for him to decide. But our performance shows what kind of hard work he has put in."
Bangladesh have included Shahadat Hossain in the 12 man squad in place of Tapash Baisya who suffered ankle injury in previous match. Andre Nel may return for South Africa to reinforce the pace attack.

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Javed Omar.

South Africa (from): G Smith (captain), J Kallis, L Bosman, M Boucher, AB de Villiers, H Gibbs, A Hall, J Kemp, C Langeveldt, A Nel, M Ntini, R Peterson, S Pollock, A Prince, R Telemachus.

Umpires : M Benson (England), B Doctrove (WI)

Bangladesh fans pledge support to Bashar, condemn effigy burning

2007-04-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

After the news of effigy burning of Captain Habibul Bashar hit the world media headlines, majority cricket fans of Bangladesh are pledging support to Bashar, who is the most successful captain of Bangladesh cricket history. Bashar captained Bangladesh in 28 matches out of their 35 ODI wins. Fans also condemned the act and termed it unacceptable in terms of Bangladeshi spirit.

"We support Bashar, we are grateful to him for leading Bangladesh to the highest glory of Bangladesh cricket. This is now time to stand beside the team after two losses. We are ashamed of this stupid act by a tiny faction who did it for media attention", said an animated Khorshed Islam, who runs a small business in capital Dhaka and follows Bangladesh cricket since 1997 ICC trophy.

Most of the fans are also detaching themselves from such act and wants punishments to those people who in their words "tarnished the image of Bangladesh fans".

In a recent survey conducted by BanglaCricket.com fans online discussion forum, an overwhelming majority condemned acts like "effigy burning" and pledged their support to Bashar and Bangladesh team in their super eights campaign.
Bangladesh fans pledge support to Habibul Bashar.

Bangladesh fans pledge support to Habibul Bashar © Cricinfo

Kazi Sabrina Afrin a microbiology student of Dhaka University was very critical about the act and opined that it was not done by any cricket fans.

"This is not the way Bangladesh fans react. Our team is now doing much better; we have gone through phases where Bangladesh failed to win matches in years. Fans were always beside the team. This is the act of some attention hungry people. They do not represent Bangladesh fans".

Bangladesh?s military backed government also showed its anguish over the incident and the incident is likely to be investigated. Bangladesh is now under emergency period and any procession or public gathering is prohibited by law.

Bangladesh?s win over India and super eight progress was greeted with widespread jubilation throughout the country and fans are expecting some better show from the team in the super eights stage.

"We are a bit disappointed with Bangladesh?s performance in the first two games of the super eights stage. It was difficult to win over Australia or New Zealand but we could have done better. I believe Bangladesh will certainly perform better in remaining matches and will end the world cup on a high", said Mahmood Rejwan, one of the owners of Bangladesh fan site BanglaCricket.com and most Bangladesh fans will probably agree with him.

Former national players expressed their discontent and termed the incident as "senseless act". They asked the fans to show their full support to Bangladesh team.

Bangladesh fans are anxiously following the recent developments about Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore and his desire to coach India team. Most fans want Whatmore to stay with Bangladesh team until next world cup in which Bangladesh is a co-host.

Bangladesh still has four matches left in the super eights stage and faces South Africa on Saturday at Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Bangladesh need a face lift in remaining super eight matches

2007-04-04T05:39:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh is facing media limelight again but this time for wrong reasons. Bangladesh hit the media headlines after reaching super eights toppling “cricket powerhouse” India, everyone was praising the youth brigade of Bangladesh team for their fearless attitude.

Bangladesh’s entry into the super eight also raised criticism about the format of the game and Bangladesh had lot to prove in their toughest encounters of cricket history. After suffering crushing defeats in their first two matches, questions again started to surface about the credential of Bangladesh team to participate in the super eights.

Bangladesh’s arrival in the super eight stage could not be any tougher as they face Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, countries ranked 2,3 & 1 in the current ICC one day team ranking. The start was made more dramatic by the torrential rain which is dominating the much of the proceedings of the world cup. First, they lost the toss and sent to bat to face world’s best bowling attack under overcast conditions. Bangladesh with the experience of only one Twenty20 experience failed to execute any game plan and the youth brigade succumbed to the Aussie might. 104 runs in a 22 over match was never enough and Australia cruised to victory by 10 wickets.

Next comes the match against New Zealand, a team which Bangladesh defeated in the warm up leading to the world cup. Bangladesh again .lost the toss and sent to bat, this time top order took an overcautious approach remembering their failure against Australia. A sedating opening partnership created the pressure in the middle order and Kiwi professionalism did the rest to seal the deal. Bangladesh got hammered again, this time by 9 wickets.

Bangladesh is enjoying no luck with tosses which is playing a vital role in this world cup. Unlike previous tournaments, teams winnings tosses are sending the opposition in to utilize the early moisture of Caribbean wicket. Steady interruption due to rain is making the decision making even easier. Bangladesh likes to chase as they have won matches against India and New Zealand (warm-up match) through chasing total and with young inexperienced side, it is always difficult to post a challenging score than chasing a certain total. Bangladesh’s bowling combination can be quite a handful to restrict opposition which they proved against India. Admitting that, Bangladesh must understand, a good team always performs regardless of situation and always poses threat to opposition, which Bangladesh lacked in first two matches.

Like Bangladesh’s test status now critics have started asking questions about Bangladesh’s super eight status, the difference is first one was awarded by ICC and the second one is earned by the Tigers. Bangladesh’s next mission is against official world number 1 team South Africa. Considering current form, Bangladesh should get ready for another thumping defeat. If that happens, the noise that started to surface will be definitely converted into some bigger headlines.

Bangladesh has got only one way to prove critics wrong and that’s consistency in performance which they did in the group stage matches barring the match against Sri Lanka. Captain Habibul Bashar is admitting the problem “"Either we are playing too many shots or we are getting bogged down. We have to do something in-between”, now finding that right balance is the key to sustain and succeed at top level of cricket.

Bangladesh must regroup and face remaining four matches with a proper game plan which can executable; they must rediscover their form which they showed against India. If Bangladesh learns from their mistakes of the first 3 games, they can effectively pose serious threats in the last 3 games against England, West Indies and Ireland which are deemed weaker than their first 3 opponents.

Bangladesh repeatedly showed their discontent to call them “minnow” and desperately want to shrug it off. Now, to get rid of the tag permanently they need some sort of facelift in the remaining four matches. They need to be more competitive if not winning the matches. Otherwise, their appearance in the super eight will remain questionable and will be considered as yet another upset in cricket history.

Khondaker Mirazur Rahman is the editor of www.banglacricket.com and Bangladesh editor of www.cricketworld.com

Cautious New Zealand face wounded Tigers in Antigua

2007-04-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

After getting thrashed by champion Australia in their super eight opener, Bangladesh is facing another trans Tasmanian giant New Zealand at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua today. The job of the Tigers are not getting any easier as New Zealand is the only team in the competition, except Australia with a 100% winning record.

Bangladesh brought Kiwis back to the earth after they tormented Australia in the Chappel Hadlee series prior to the world cup and that very recent memory is forcing the Kiwis to keep their feet on the ground ahead of the super eight clash.

New Zealand skipper Stephen Flemming was cautiously optimistic to ease past Bangladesh but paid respect to the potential challenge the Tigers might pose.

"They turned us over in the warm-up game and if conditions are right, they can be quite a handful," he said.

Bangladesh must rediscover their form to challenge in-form Kiwis. © Cricinfo

"The danger is complacency, under-estimating what they can do. They bowl a different length, they provide different challenges, challenges you don't get facing your own bowlers in the nets - so that's where the adjustment comes from," he added.

Apart from the in-form fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh's key weapon is their slow left arm army led by Mohammad Rafique. The spin trio has got the variation and discipline to keep things tight in the crucial middle overs to check the run flow. Bangladesh will be certainly hoping for a full 50 over match for the best utilization of their strengths.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar is determined to bounce back after the humiliating defeat in the curtailed opening match and promised a better show.

"We have beaten New Zealand in a warm-up game and we had a good win against India. The match against Australia was a tough one and 22 over match made the situation even more difficult. We made few early mistakes and the boys are keen to rectify those against the Kiwis" said Bashar.

"We strongly believe that if we play together, we can beat anyone" Bashar added. It shows that the huge defeat against Aussies has failed to dent the fearlessness of the young Tigers and they want to continue their hunt in the second round of the world cup.

"We had a team talk after the (Australia) match and I heard from all the boys they think, they are not finished yet. They want to do something against New Zealand to keep their tournament alive."

If Bangladesh's youth brigade can translate their optimism in the field, they have got the potential to topple the Kiwis yet another time.

Syed Rasel is likely to regain his place in Bangladesh side after Tapsh Baisya suffered a foot injury against Australia. For New Zealand, Mark Gillespie might get the nod to play his first match of the competition.

Squads

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (capt), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baisya, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.

New Zealand (from): Stephen Fleming (capt), Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum (wk), James Franklin, Daniel Vettori, Michael Mason, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel.

Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Rudi Koertzen (South Africa)

Australia blow away Bangladesh by 10 wickets

2007-03-31T14:43:00.001-07:00

Australia made light work to see off Bangladesh in their rain affected super eight encounter at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. After restricting Bangladesh to 104-6 in 22 overs, Australia raced to the victory in just 13.5 overs without losing any wicket. Wet outfield caused by overnight rain forced a curtailed match of 22 overs a side.

In-form Aussie opener Matthew Hayden remained unbeaten on 47 runs and his opening partner Adam Gilchrist scored a fluent 59 runs in 44 balls in the 106 run partnership. Bangladesh wasted the only opportunity when young wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim misjudged an outside edge from Gilchrist of the bowling of Tapsh Baisya which went for a boundary.

Glenn McGrath led Australia to 10 wicket victory © Cricinfo

Australia made a terrific reply and raced to 50 in just 6.4 overs, spinners reduced the run flow but failed to cause any damage in the Australian innings and they reached the target with more than 8 overs to spare.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling display from Australia led by Glenn McGrath restricted Bangladesh to a meager 104-6 in the stipulated 50 overs. McGrath took 3 wickets for 16 runs to reduce Bangladesh to 25-3 and Bangladesh never recovered from that position.

Bangladeshi top order batsmen played too many shots too early and that caused their downfall. Dashing opener Tamim Iqbal was first to go when he was deceived by a slower from Nathan Bracken. McGrath immediately removed Shahriar Nafees by a beautiful Yorker and Bangladesh lost the momentum required to post a competitive total.

Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful played some beautiful shots but failed to carry on and went cheaply which effectively blown away the opportunity to crate any upset against Australia.

Habibul Bashar played a patient innings of 24 taking 43 balls which slowed Bangladesh progress remarkably. A 36 ball 25 from Saqibul Hasan and some late hitting from Mashrafe Mortaza lifted Bangladesh score to 104.

Nathan Bracken continued his impressive form in the tournament and picked 2 wickets for 20 runs, Shaun Tait who was the most expensive among Australian bowlers picked 1 wicket for 28 runs.

There were plenty of drama and uncertainty before the start of the match as overnight rain resulted in a wet outfield with a number of patchy areas. After an unscheduled delay of about 5 hours and six bouts of inspection the match was finally started at 14:30 local time (18:30 GMT) and was curtailed to 22 overs a side.

Two big quagmires on the boundary's edge were the main area of concern for umpires in every inspection. Poor ground management and lack of initiatives from WICB caused resulted in longer delay than expected.

First, the ?super sopper? broke down and then the grounds men lacked resources to make the field ready for play. Some ground staff even tried to soak water by jumping on pieces of sponges. The efforts were inadequate to say the least and as the sun was shining and there were good wind, the field was finally left to the nature?s will to dry up.

Fearless Bangladesh ready to face rampant Australia in Antigua

2007-03-31T05:08:00.000-07:00

An intrepid Bangladesh begins their world cup super eight campaign against in-form Australia today at Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua. Bangladesh team has shown no intention to succumb to the fear factor of facing raging Australia and are determined to pull off another surprise like they did in Cardiff in 2005.

Current holder Australia is back in its best after drubbing tournament favorites South Africa and West Indies in previous two matches. On the way to the record hattrick world cup crown they are aiming to brush Bangladesh aside while Bangladesh camp has shown a lot of character ahead of the clash and are ready to embrace the champions. Australia has scored over 300 runs in their last six ODI and they 83 run defeat they inflicted on South Africa is the lowest margin of their victory.

Fearless Bangladesh ready to face rampant Australia © Cricinfo

After Australia captain challenged the oppositions to put them in after winning toss, Bangladesh captain Bashar vowed to follow their own game plan to interrupt winning trot of the Aussies. Bashar insisted that Bangladesh will make the life of the world champion's difficult to secure the win.

"We're not finished yet, it is not going to be easy; it will be very tough. But we believe it is not an impossible task. We had a good win against New Zealand, another against India - and we strongly believe that if we play well together on our day we can beat anyone" said Bashar in an interview with Prothom Alo, a Dhaka based daily.

The youthful Bangladesh wants to enjoy their game against the tournament favorites and feeling no pressure ahead of their toughest encounter of the tournament. Mohammad Ashraful, the hero of Cardiff win against Australia promised positive cricket on the field and Mashrafe Mortaza, the center point of Bangladeshi bowling vowed to unsettle the dominant Aussie top order to take the command. These optimisms can only show the part of the morale of Bangladesh team who qualified to the super eight after toppling India.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting rubbished speculations of a Cardiff replay and believes the cricket they are playing will be good enough to outperform Bangladesh. Australia in current form can easily demolish the young Bangladesh side but taking them lightly can turn into a costly affair as Bangladesh has already established them as the "Surprise Packet" of the tournament.

Australians are a bit concerned about the batting form of Michael Hussey and he may get a promotion in batting order in today's match. Bangladesh is most likely field the same team that played against India.

Australia (probable) Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, Shane Watson, Brad Hogg, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait.

Bangladesh (probable) Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Saqibul Hasan, Aftab Ahmed, Habibul Bashar (captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Abdul Razzak, Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafee Mortaza, Syed Rasel.

Umpires - Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Billy Bowden (New Zealand).

Ponting Wary of Improved Bangladesh

2007-03-30T06:36:00.001-07:00

Australian captain Ricky Ponting showed his awareness about the potential challenge from a youthful and improved Bangladesh in their super eight clash at Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua on March 31.

Ponting admitted that Bangladesh has made a dramatic progress in their cricketing ability over the last couple of years and they can pose significant threat to major oppositions.

"Bangladesh has progressed quite dramatically, they could have almost won the first Test match over there (last year )", Ponting said recalling the memories of famous Fatullah test in Bangladesh.

According to Ponting the young Bangladesh side can only progress upwards from their current position and they are in the right direction under Dav Whatmore.

Fans cheering Bangladesh win against Australia in Cardiff. © Cricinfo

"You just have to look at some of the younger guys in their side now, and see how they played against India early on, they're definitely a nation on the way up, and they've got good, exciting young players. Dav Whatmore is doing a fantastic job with them," added Ponting while talking to AAP ahead of Bangladesh tie.

He particularly picked dashing opener Tamim Iqbal as one of the most aggressive player of Bangladesh side and Australians are analyzing his strengths and weaknesses to get him cheaply.

"The young left hander (Tamim Iqbal) who got 51 early on in the tournament looked particularly aggressive and we've got some footage."

Australians have a lot of knowledge about the young Tigers as two of their coaching staff worked with Bangladesh U-19 squad with current bunch of players. Australians are using their experience to find out tactics to tame the Tigers.

"(Centre of Excellence senior coach) Richard McInnes and (Australia strength and conditioning coach) Justin Cordy worked with a lot of the Bangladeshis when they were over there so we have a bit of information on them."

Bangladesh will be banking on the memories of toppling Australia in Cardiff in 2005 and after qualifying from group of death they are keen to progress further.

There are no injury worries in Bangladesh side and they have declared 12 men squad for the Aussie clash and included young exciting fast bowler Shahadat Hossain for the first time in the tournament.

Bangladesh fans want Whatmore to Stay until 2011 World Cup

2007-03-28T10:06:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh is celebrating their historic success in the World Cup 2007. After defeating India in their World Cup opener, people all over Bangladesh celebrated the Tigers success in jubilant mood. Their celebration reached a peak when Bangladesh defeated Bermuda in the final group match to reach the second stage for the first time in their cricketing history.

Dav Whatmore took the helm of Bangladesh Cricket after their infamous debacle in world cup 2003. In his 4 year tenure with Bangladesh, he completely transformed a losing lowly Bangladesh side into a much competitive cricketing nation. Bangladesh registered 32 of out their 35 ODI wins under Dav Whatmore.

Like the world media, most of the fans acknowledge that Whatmore is the man behind the resurgence of Bangladesh cricket and want him as Bangladesh coach until the 2011 world cup in which Bangladesh is a co-host. Whatmore's current contract with Bangladesh expires in June.

Bangladesh fans want Whatmore to stay until 2011 © Cricinfo

In a recent survey conducted by BanglaCricket.com fans online discussion forum, more than 70% of participants want Whatmore to stay until next world cup while about 20% want him for at least another 2 years. This is a clear indication of the current frame of mind of Bangladesh fans.

"Whatmore is doing a good job with the team so far and he has changed the atmosphere of the dressing room. He has earned respect and love among Bangladeshi fans," said Shahriyar Rahman, who lives in Canada and is a passionate follower of Bangladesh cricket.

His voice was echoed by Borhan Zabed, a company executive in Bangladesh: "Dav has got the vision to take Bangladesh a long way. He is in the middle of moulding Bangladesh into a world beating side. We need his service for another 3-4 years to reach the level of top teams".

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is also taking initiatives to keep him after the world cup. "He is doing a fantastic job with Bangladesh. He is in contract with us until June this year and we are in the process to review it. Hopefully he will stay with Bangladesh Cricket," said a top (anonymous) BCB official while talking to a national Daily Shamokal.

Fans are concerned about recent interest from Indian media about Dav Whatmore as India coach. Whatmore was linked to Indian hot seat before Gregg Chappel took the charge and Whatmore eventually renewed his contract with Bangladesh in 2005.

"India is desperately looking for a coach to replace Chappel. Whatmore is definitely in their short list. I want BCB to act faster and make arrangements so that Whatmore stays with Bangladesh Cricket", said Raihan Mahmud, a Dhaka University student while celebrating the Bangladesh success with thousands of students. Everyone in the crowd supported him and chanted slogans for Dav Whatmore.

After reaching super eight stage of world cup, Ahmed Bashir a moderator of BanglaCricket, summed up the current emotion of Bangladesh fans, "I want him to stay as long as it takes him to Take BD among the top-4 teams in the world!!"

In the current scenario, Whatmore is definitely under media spotlight but he is concentrating on the rest of the world cup mission of the Tigers. He is not getting overjoyed by his boys super eight progress and believes Tigers can produce more surprises in the second round.

World cup success is nothing new to Whatmore, in his previous world cup mission; he guided Sri Lanka to world cup glory. Bangladesh fans believe he can lead Bangladesh to the same glory in 2011 world cup and desperately want Whatmore to stay with Bangladesh.

'Bangladesh Has The Right Combination' – Dav Whatmore

2007-03-28T03:03:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore believes his Tigers can surprise the stronger teams in the Super Eights and has a bright future ahead. He expressed his satisfaction with the overall progress of the team leading to the World Cup and was in jubilant mood after the Tiger's World Cup success. Bangladesh will be starting their second round campaign against Whatmore’s home country Australia in Antigua.

Before the start of the World Cup, Whatmore termed his team as the “Surprise Packet” of the tournament and after defeating India and progressing to second round; Bangladesh is looking forward to creating more surprises.

"It's a terrific combination, young boys are enjoying their game and are keen to produce more surprises in the super eight”, said Whatmore pointing out the exuberance and fearless nature of his youth brigade in an interview with AFP. “We've got a couple of more experienced players, but the vast majority of them are under 25, which is absolutely perfect for an emerging team like us”, Whatmore added.

Whatmore was particularly happy that his boys are getting the opportunity to prove their worth against the top teams of the world. "They now have an absolutely wonderful opportunity to play against seven of the world's best sides and they will grow enormously because of that experience. I understand that we are still ranked number nine in the world and have a long way to go before we are consistently challenging the big boys”.

"But we've got the resources and talent to really progress and we will be going to the Super Eights to really enjoy ourselves. And from a personal point of view it's great to be in a position where your team is playing well and your methods are being validated," said Whatmore who was the mentor of Sri Lankan resurgence at the 1996 world cup.

Whatmore also showed his satisfaction with the approach of the Bangladesh team in the crucial match against Bermuda which they won by 7 wickets despite some early wobbling.

"I thought the last game against Bermuda was an extremely difficult one and the boys did brilliantly to keep their focus," said Whatmore. "I know we were only chasing a small total [96], but the ball was doing all sorts of things out there in the first ten overs, and it took a very brave batting performance from the middle order to get us through”, he added.

"They've never really been in that situation before, with so much on the line and with so much to lose. This is very significant for us. It's something we always believed we could do if we played to the best of our ability and had a little bit of luck”.

Within the Super Eights, Bangladesh was the first team to arrive in the Caribbean to play a tri-series involving Bermuda and Canada at Antigua. Whatmore believes this early arrival helped Bangladesh to understand the Caribbean condition and was crucial for their group stage success.

Super eight preview : Bangladesh aiming to surprise elites

2007-03-27T02:52:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh finally managed to live up with their expectation and started an astounding world cup campaign to reach the super eight. After qualifying from “Group of Death” featuring India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is now looking forward to make big strides and establish themselves within cricket elites.

It was a wonderful display of all-round cricket from Bangladesh under the guidance of coaching prodigy Dav Whatmore. Bangladesh utilized every little opportunity they got in the Caribbean to build a perfect momentum before the start of the World Cup. If defeating New Zealand in pre world cup warm up matches was a noise in the world media, defeating India in their world cup opener created a tsunami in.

Bangladesh is appearing as a completely different outfit to most of the cricket pundits who were not following the steady progress of the young Tigers over last couple of years. Indians were caught in surprise by the professional display from the Tigers and had no clue to resist the onslaught. Bangladesh had a bad game against Sri Lanka who is enjoying their premium form in the tournament. Apart from that, Tigers were beaming in confidence in every moment they were on the field. They held their nerve in the crucial rain affected final group match against Bermuda to seal the second round berth.

Now, after reaching super eight stage, Bangladesh must continue the momentum going in their way. Bangladesh achieved the super eight spot with sheer performance and now its time to utilize that platform to launch the much anticipated world beating campaign.

Apart from experience, Bangladesh has hardly any limitation as an ideal ODI outfit. They have a unique opening combination in which young Tamim has got the courage and ability to tear any bowling apart and despite group stage failure, Shahriar Nafees is a fine player to steady the innings. Sakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful is enjoying fine form and complementing each other in the middle order. An explosive Aftab Ahmed at no. 3 and experienced campaigner Habibul Bashar can be a headache to any opposition captain.

If anyone is not impressed by the batting strength of Bangladesh, bowling department will make an impact in everybody’s mind. Mashrafe Mortaza with his disciplined but aggressive bowling can rip in through the top order and young Syed Rasel with controlled seam movement can stop the run-flow even during the power play. Next comes the prime strength of Bangladesh team which many top teams will dream to have. A very tidy slow left arm army led by evergreen Mohmmad Rafiq can effectively dry out the run flow in the middle overs, a unique formula to succeed in ODI. They all effectively complement each other and have their own unique style to tame the batsman.

And finally, the fielding of the Tigers have taken giant strides to reach world standard. They are setting examples for other teams with brilliant catches and equally impressive ground word. It’s completely a team stitched together with seamless spirits and self belief. On the field, young Tigers have father figure Rafique and ever smiling Captain Bashar to lead them and off the field Dav Whatmore is there to instill self belief to bring out the best.

Hardly any other team in the super eight has such fearlessness and spirit as a team. Now, if anyone thinks that it is not enough to tackle the elites, just ask the Indians, they realized it dearly than anyone else.

The hard work of Dav Whatmore which was supported by a very professional cricket board and a visionary selection panel is paying dividends at the very right time.

Bangladesh will be playing six matches in the super eight stage against oppositions who have not played Bangladesh for a while. This is an huge advantage for Bangladesh to pull off few surprises. Bangladesh managed to defeat New Zealand in warm up and India in the group stage as they were not aware about the level of threat Bangladesh can pose. They have never played against most these young boys who are ready to enjoy their game and take the opposition to the wire. Except West Indies, none of the Bangladesh’s opponents in super eight have played Bangladesh in last 2 years and Bangladesh have progressed in leaps and bound over this period. Bangladesh is ready to take advantage of this surprise shock to make super eight stage even more successful than group stage.

In naked eye, Bangladesh’s prospect in the super 8 might look bleak and upsetting teams like Australia and South Africa might appear fanciful but current Bangladesh is eager to prove critics wrong. They have already done it once in the world cup and ready to propagate it in the second stage. The young Tigers have already showed their discontent about branding them minnow and they are keen to put a final nail in the coffin of the tag they were carrying for a long time.

Bangladesh has very realistic chance to pluck 3 wins out of their 6 group 8 matches. At current form they easily match with out of form England and inconsistent West Indies while a significant gap exists between Ireland and Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has strongly made their point in the group stage and came as a survivor from group of death eliminating India. Despite their impressive run world media is not yet ready to accept them in the bigger stage. Bangladesh is aiming to answer the queries on the field and is determined to startle the elites, yet another time

Bangladesh storm into "Super Eights"

2007-03-25T16:12:00.001-07:00

angladesh cricket team stormed into the super 8 of ICC Cricket World Cup by defeating Bermuda by 7 wickets at Queens Park Oval in Trinidad. With this win Bangladesh joins Sri Lanka to Super 8 and eliminates pre-tournament favorite India from the World Cup.

Bangladesh Cricket has reached a new height today as they reached the second round of World Cup for the first time in history. This is the biggest ever success for Bangladesh Cricket.

This historic win came as the Independence Day gift for 150 million Bangladeshis.

Chasing a revised target of 96 for victory in 21 overs, Bangladesh did not start well as opening bowler Saleem Mukaddem ripped through the Bangladesh top order and reduced Bangladesh to 37 for 3. He bowled with good line and got tremendous assistance from the wicket. Runs were hard to come and some indiscipline bowling from the other end kept the score board ticking.

Bangladesh batsmen kept their nerve and an unbeaten 59 run fourth wicket partnership between Mohammad Ashraful and Sakib Al Hasan guided Bangladesh to victory in 17.3 overs. Mohammad Ashraful top scored with 29 runs in 32 balls and Sakib Al Hasan was equally prolific in his 35 ball 26.

The match was not that easy for Tigers as the scoreboard is suggesting. After quick loss of 3 wickets Bangladesh were under immense pressure as ball was moving around and Bangladeshi batsmen were struggling to score runs. The arrival of Mohammad Ashraful changed the scenario as he efficiently found the gap and formed the useful partnership with Sakib Al Hasan. The pair finally guided Bangladesh home with 3.3 overs to spare. Mohammad Ashraful was adjudged Man of the Match for his assured 26 run.

Saleem Mukaddem of Bermuda took all the 3 wickets fell and finished with an impressive figure of 3 for 19 in 5 overs.

Earlier, rain dominated the proceedings of the crucial group B tie between Bangladesh and Bermuda at Queens Park Oval. Bangladesh restricted Bermuda to 94 for 9 in the rescheduled 21 over match and requires 95 runs in 21 overs to reach super 8.

It was more than drama in Trinidad today as players were on and off the field at natures will and finally rain allowed the match to resume after 4 unscheduled rain breaks. The start of the match was delayed by one and half hour due to morning shower.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar won the toss and decided to field first. Bangladesh got the desired result in the 5th ball of the match when paceman Mashrafe Mortaza removed Outerbridge for 0. After the first rain break, both Bangladesh opening bowler took one wicket each to put Bangladesh in firm command of the match.

After another painstaking rain delay of another 1 hour, play resumed and the match was initially curtailed to 30 overs a side. Rain again interrupted play at 15.1 overs when Bermuda was 45 for 4. Play remained stopped for another 2 and half hour and the match restarted as a 21 overs affair.

Bermuda had only 5.5 overs play left after the resumption of play. Wickets fell regularly but Bermuda have utilized the opportunity with some brief but effective hitting from DA Minors and Lionel Cann to lift themselves to 94/9 utilizing full 21 overs. Cann took only 6 balls to make 16 with 2 fours and one six.

A poor over from part-timer Aftab Ahmed which costed 17 runs boosted Bermuda innings

Abdur Razzak was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowler. He took 3 wickets for 20 runs in his 4 overs. Saqibul Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza took 2 wickets each for 8 and 12 runs respectively.

"Bangladesh is taking nothing for granted" - Bashar

2007-03-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh camp is much relieved after Sri Lanka trounced India by 69 runs to revive Tigers world cup dream. Now they face a relatively straightforward task of beating Bermuda in their last group match to reach the main stage of the gala event.

Bangladesh Captain Habibul Bashar showed cautious optimism about his side's progress to the super 8 but is not taking super 8 berth for granted while talking to TigerCricket, official site of Bangladesh Cricket Board.

"Bangladesh came to the world cup with the target of reaching super 8. We had our game plan which worked against India. Now after India's loss to Sri Lanka we have a genuine chance of reaching our target", said Bashar.

He also showed his relief due to the outcome of India-Sri Lanka match. "I have to say we are a little relieved because if India had won, then there would not have been any realistic chance of us progressing."

Bangladesh camp closely followed the proceedings of yesterdays match during their training session. After the scheduled session, they went to the Queens Park Oval to watch the action live. Bangladesh team including Coach Dav Whatmore appeared much reassured during the live broadcast after watching India's tame surrender to Sri Lanka

Both India and Sri Lanka created world cup records to brush aside Bermuda in their group B encounters and Bangladesh also outplayed them in recently concluded ICC tri series. But Bashar admitted that this time his side will be under pressure to face Bermuda.

"I'd be lying if I said that there is no pressure on us. Off course there will be pressure because a win would get us into the Super Eight of the World Cup. That is why I will sit with the players today to discuss our mental preparation for the match. For us the Bermuda match will be more of a mental test than a skill related one."

"On the other hand, Bermuda has nothing to lose and they will try to finish the world cup with a high", Bashar added.

Bangladesh Captain is relying on the exuberance of his youth brigade to outshine Bermuda. He is also pleased with the attitude of the young tigers despite suffering massive defeat in their last match against Sri Lanka.

"What pleases me though is the fact that the boys badly want to play in the Super Eight. After losing to Sri Lanka, they were really tensed. After India's loss to Sri Lanka, they are keen to make super 8 a reality."

Bashar urged a spirited performance from his young guns in the next game against Bermuda. "We still have a job to do. We are not thinking about the Super Eight yet. We need a committed and spirited performance against Bermuda and that is our main focus. We are taking one game at a time," Bashar added.

Bangladesh camp is a bit concerned about the fitness of left arm spinner Abdur Razzak who developed a minor groin problem during Sri Lanka clash.

Bangladesh will play Bermuda in the last match of the group stage on 25 March at Queens Park oval

Ruthless Lions revive Tigers world cup dream

2007-03-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

ri Lanka showed another clinical display on the field to see off media favorite India and stormed into the super 8 of the ICC cricket world cup. Sri Lanka crushed India's super 8 dreams by defeating them by 69 runs.

Sri Lanka's convincing win over India revived Bangladesh's super 8 dream and they just need to win the match against Bermuda to reach the second round of the world cup. Considering the form of the two teams it should not take much effort from Bangladesh to defeat Bermuda.

This loss will be come hard to billions of Indian fans as before the tournament they were highly tipped as one of the favorites to lift the cup. India's demise started from the first match of the tournament when a below par performance resulted in an unexpected 5 wicket loss to Bangladesh. India?s departure will also mean huge loss to the sponsors and television companies as India is the main revenue earning ground for cricket.

Sri Lanka was completely dominant in todays match and never allowed India to play their normal game. They batted well, fielding was extra ordinary and Indians had no answer to their controlled bu aggressive bowling attack.

Chasing a victory target of 255 to win, India started well but once they lost Uthappa, India started to derail. Chaminda Vaas took an outstanding catch of his own bowling to dismiss Uthappa. India lost wickets regularly and was never on the track since then. former Captains Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar failed to rise to the occasion fell cheaply for 7 and 0 respectively. In the middle Sehwag and captain Rahul dravid tried to resist the Sri Lankan dominance but Sehwag eventually fell to a brilliant Murali doosra. When Murali trapped Dhoni for a golden duck, 255 looked completely out of reach for India.

Indian Captain Rahul Dravid tried his best to steady to the innings but found no one to give him company. At the end he desperately tried to keep the tempo with the ever increasing run rate and took 17 runs from Malinga's eighth over. He had to play his shots to have any chance in the match and that eventually caused his down fall. After getting a life courtesy of Arnold, he fell in the next delivery when he tried to clear the in field. Muttiah Muralitharan took a superb catch covering a lot of ground.

After Dravid's departure Harbhajan Singh made an desperate attempt with a 20 ball 17 but that could only reduce the margin of the defeat. Finally India got bundled out for 180 in 42.1 overs.

Muralitharan was pick of Sri Lankan bowling attack and bowled brilliantly to take 3 wickets for 36 runs. Another veteran Chaminda Vaas removed both the Indian openers and finished with 2 for 39. Malinga, Fernando and Jayasuriya took one wicket each in a aggressive bowling display from Sri Lanka.

Earlier, Indian captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and decided to field first. In a seaming wicket Indian bowlers bowled with aggression and accuracy and restricted Sri Lanka's run flow. Jayasuriya fell cheaply in the deep of Zaheer Khan?s bowling but Tharanga kept his cool and rotated strikes nicely to keep the scoreboard ticking. He formed useful partnerships with Sangakkara to reach his 50. After his departure two brilliant innings from Tilakaratne Dilshan and young Chamara Sillva steadied Sri Lankan innings in the middle. Some late hitting from Chaminda Vaas took Sri Lanka's total to a commanding 254. Zaheer Khan was the most successful Indian bowler ended with a figure of 2 for 49. Agarkar, Patel, ganguly and Tendulkar chipped in with 1 wicket each.

Inspired Bangladesh ready to face Sri Lanka

2007-03-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

A confident Bangladesh will face tournament-favorite Sri Lanka in a crucial group B tie at Queens Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago today. The match is scheduled to start from 9:30 AM local time (13:30 GMT).

After defeating another pre-tournament favorite India in their cup opener, Bangladesh is looking for their youth brigade to deliver again to overcome experienced Sri Lankan resistance.

Bangladesh will be looking for a win in a bid to seal the second round berth while Sri Lanka is poised to continue their winning streak. Both team enjoyed success in their opening match and are in suitable position compared to group mate India who are in a spot of bother after conceding defeat in the opening match.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardane paid respect to the emerging Tigers and promised a disciplined display on the field to outshine Bangladesh.

"They had a great win against India, but we play our games differently," he said.

"We do want to give a lot of respect whatever the opposition we play," he said. "(But) we knew if we play to our potential ... the brand of cricket that we play, it will be in our favor."

Bangladesh Captain Habibul Bashar is also expecting a tougher resistance from Sri Lanaka and termed them as a very professional side.

"Sri Lanka plays as team in the middle. They have got experienced player and is a much disciplined team compared to India. We know our task will be harder this time but we are ready to face the challenge" said Bashar.

Current Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore who guided Sri Lanka to cup glory in 1996 believes his young boys have the potential to overcome Sri Lankan challenge. He is also keen to seal the second round berth before the final match against Bermuda.

"The young boys have made a lot of difference. They are willing to work a lot harder out in the middle during the difficult periods," he said.

He is also hopeful that the Tigers will continue the good work and keep the momentum going, "We've to show that we can't be taken lightly and if we win against Sri Lanka, we are through," added Whatmore.

Although there were reports of some heavy rain yesterday, weather forecast shows no further rain today. Winning toss might prove vital as the wicket is expected to have juice in the early hours of play.

Squads

Sri Lanka (from): DPMD Jayawardene (captain) RP Arnold, MS Atapattu, CM Bandara, TM Dilshan, CRD Fernando, ST Jayasuriya, KMDN Kulasekara, MF Maharoof, SL Malinga, M Muralitharan, KC Sangakkara (wicketkeeper), LPC Silva, WU Tharanga, WPUJC Vaas

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket keeper), Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baisya, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.

Tigers aiming to tame Lions

2007-03-20T08:09:00.001-07:00

After stunning the world cricket by a professional performance against India in the world cup opening match, Tigers are now preparing themselves to repeat similar performance to outshine Sri Lanka.

The confidence is running high in the Bangladesh camp and they are eager to continue the momentum they achieved after arriving in the Caribbean. Since their arrival, Bangladesh have won all the matches they played which includes two memorable wins against title contenders New Zealand and India.

Tigers first match against India was a testing ground for them who weren't playing top teams for about a year. After showing their might against the star-studded India, Bangladeshi think tank is optimistic to outperform Sri Lanka and take the revenge of their World Cup 2003 loss against the Islanders.

Bangladesh came to the Caribbean with the aim to achieve a second round berth and after defeating India, the possibility of progressing to the second round is very bright. Now a win against Sri Lanka can seal the deal and make the India - Sri Lanka tie on March 23 as the do or die clash.

Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore is keen to ensure the second round berth before the final match against Bermuda, as net run rate can be a crucial factor if Tigers fail to beat Sri Lanka.

After a full day rest on Sunday, Tigers returned to their training on Monday and relished every bit of their success during the training session. The boys looked sharp on the field and they enjoyed their practice in the centre wicket of the Queens Park Oval.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar showed his optimism but was aware of the situation before facing the Sri Lankan Lions.

"We are concentrating on one game at a time. We had certain advantages against India as they have not played us for a while but that's not the case against Sri Lanka. We played Sri Lanka in the last year at home and also in the Champions trophy", said Bashar.

"We are playing good cricket, every member of the team is contributing and are in a positive frame of mind. We want to win the match to ensure our second round place. We have defeated them before and are optimistic to repeat the performance", added a smiling Bashar.

Bangladesh team is basking in media lime light after outplaying India in their tournament opener. Coach Dav Whatmore believes this will create a positive impact in the performance of the Tigers on the field.

"The boys are enjoying their success, they have earned the attention they are receiving from the media. After defeating India, they are no longer afraid of any names. It is important to keep that belief and continue the winning momentum," said Whatmore.

Meanwhile, more Bangladeshi fans are arriving in Trinidad every day to follow Tigers dream world cup mission. The first destination for the die-hard supporters is Trinidad Hilton where the Tigers are staying.

Bangladesh team has no reported injury problem and is expected to play the same team that won their first match against India.

Aftermath of historic win: Tigers are keeping feet on the ground.

2007-03-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh camp was in jubilant mood after the historic win against India in their world cup opener at Queens Park Oval, but they refused to get carried away with the win. The tigers are aiming to take one match at a time to fulfill their world cup target which is a second round berth.

After Mushfiqur Rahim hit the winning run in the famous victory, the Tigers enjoyed every minute of the triumphant victory. Everyone was on their toes jumping, singing and shouting. Sources close to Tigers reveal that, they were confident of this win long before the match started in Trinidad. This only shows the confidence level of Bangladesh after defeating former world champions.

The wonder boy Mushfiqur Rahim said "I hope, this is the last time media uses the word 'minnow' for Bangladesh" the post match presentation, The tone of the dressing room was nothing different.

According to captain Habibul Bashar, Tigers early arrival in the Caribbean and in particular the tri-seris at Antigua gave them a much needed edge over India.

"We have adjusted to the wickets here and know exactly what to expect. We were the first team to arrive in the Caribbean and the warm-ups in Antigua and Barbados have certainly helped," said Bashar.

The confidence of Bangladesh team was echoed by vice-captain Shahriar Nafees who is one of the key figures of Tigers recent success.

"The pressure is on them but we don?t really care. In fact most of the boys do not even bother about reputation of the opponents. This is not something enforced; it has come from within,"

"The boys were walking tall, enjoying tall and training tall", he added.

The memory of Manjural Islam Rana was all over the place in the victory celebration of the Tigers.

Man of the match Mashrafe Mortaza recalled the memory of friend Late Manjural Islam and said "This one's for (Manjural) Rana" and "(Manjural) Rana's death have shattered us but we were keen to win the match for Rana". "He was my best friend. I dedicate today's man of the match award to (Manjural) Rana,"

"(Manjural) Rana would have been so proud. I'm sure he's watching us from above," said Bashar who admitted that he had difficulty sleeping the night before the match as Rana's face kept appearing in his thoughts.

The young Tamim Iqbal who was a revelation against India was in top mood after his heroics.

"I just forgot that I had been hit. I don't think I could have continued for long if I had let that thought get to me. It was a good ball and that's about it," said Tamim.

When asked about his on-field bust up with Munaf Patel, Tamim promptly replied "He (Munaf Patel) said something and I told him some things too,"

The Tigers enjoyed a rest day on Sunday and only went for a light swimming session. Tigers will face Sri Lanka in their next match on March 21.

"It is a great victory for Bangladesh cricket" - Bashar

2007-03-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh Captain Habibul Bashar termed yesterday's historic win against India as a great victory for Bangladesh Cricket. He was understandably very happy with the way the Tigers brought down India with a superior display in all departments of the game.

"It is a memorable day. The boys have done a very good job today. It was difficult to know what to do so it was a good toss to lose. I think we would have had a bowl first anyway because we always thought it would do something in the first overs", Bashar said in the post match presentation.

Bangladesh restricted star-studded Indian batting line up to a modest 191 with a much disciplined one day bowling which was equally supported by agile fielding by the young Tigers. He had all sorts of praise for his bowlers -

"I was very happy with how we bowled. Because we only have two seamers we knew we had to get a breakthrough with the new ball and they did that. Mushrafe (Mortaza) did a great job, as did Syed Rasel. After that the spinners came to the party and did a terrific job as well".

Three young Tigers with an average age of 18 led the Bangladesh reply in batting and Bashar acknowledged their invaluable contribution which ensured Bangladesh win.

"When you are playing a team like India you always have to work hard for it. So in all I was delighted with how we batted. Tamim Iqbal got us off to a great start and after that Mushfiqur Rahim and Saqib al Hasan took it up and made sure we won the match", said Bashar who could not hide his enjoyment with this emphatic win.

However Bashar was not overjoyed by the situation, he was very clear about the ultimate goal of Bangladesh team which is a second round berth.

"This is a World Cup victory and it is great for us. It gives us a real chance of qualifying for the Super Eight stage. I think it is a great victory for Bangladesh."

Bashar eventually dedicated the win to Manjural Islam Rana who was killed in a tragic road accident on March 16.

Bangladesh declares emergence crushing Indian hopes by 5 wickets

2007-03-17T18:02:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh made history today by defeating pre-tournament favorite India by 5 wickets in their world cup opener in Queens Park Oval, Trinidad.

Bangladesh bowled out India's star studded batting line up to a modest 191 on a good batting pitch which at the end proved inadequate to restrict Bangladesh, the emerging powerhouse of cricket world. Bangladesh romped to the victory by 5 wickets with 9 balls to spare.

Bangladesh made the perfect start to overcome Indian challenge when left-handed rookie opener Tamim Iqbal, three days short of his 18th birthday, smashed a 53 ball 51 with 7 boundaries and 2 sixes. He showed brilliant maturity with aggressiveness and balls started to disappear all over the park.

After his departure fellow left hander Sakib Al Hasan (53 of 86 balls) took the charge and formed a match deciding 84 run partnership with wicket keeper Batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (56* of 107 balls). Indian bowling had almost no answer to their calm and assuring batting. Mushfiqur Rahim was promoted to the batting order after early departure of opener Shahriar Nafees and he steered the Tigesr home through scoring the winning run.

With this win, Bangladesh made a significant progress to reach the second round of world cup while India faces a stern challenge to qualify. They must win the remaining two matches against group mate Sri Lanka and Bermuda to remain alive in the tournament.

Bangladesh made Indian batting and bowling ordinary and outperformed India in every discipline of the game.

None of Indian bowlers except Munaf Patel posed any threat to Bangladeshi young batting line up. Munaf removed danger man Tamim and Aftab Ahmed. Patel finished the game with a figure of 39-2. Lately Sehwag chipped in with couple of wickets but it was too late for the Indians.

Bangladesh dedicated this win to fellow Tiger, Manjural Islam Rana who was killed in a tragic road accident on 16 March.

Earlier, Bangladesh restricted India to 191 in their opening match of world cup in Trinidad. Indian long and experienced batting line up had almost no answer to an aggressive and disciplined bowling display from Bangladesh.

Only former captain Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh showed some resistance and scored 66 and 47 respectively to add some respectability to the total. India was all out in 49.3 over. Indian Captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and decided to bat first. Bangladesh took no time to prove the decision wrong when their opening bowler Mashrafee Mortaza removed out of form Sehwag in his second over and in form Robin Uthappa to reduce India to 21-2 in 6.4 overs. Experienced Sachin Tendulkar tried to repair the Indian innings with former Captain Sourav Ganguly. But scoring runs looked one of the most difficult job in the world.

Bangladesh kept the pressure on India with tight bowling and equally inspiring fielding. When Razzak in his first over removed Sachin, Indian hope of making big score looked a far cry. Captain Rahul Dravid tried to steady the Indian innings with a 32 run partnership but eventually fell to Mohammad Rafiq who trapped him LBW in his very first over. In-form Yuvraj joined with Ganguly, they played with caution and posted a vital 85 run partnership in the middle. Once Razzak removed Yuvraj, Indian innings disintegrated immediately. Ganguly was next to follow and then Rafiq and Razzak caused the havoc in the Indian innings as they lost 5 wickets scoring only 2 runs. At one point India was struggling at 159/9 but a 32 run partnership in the last wicket frustrated Bangladesh and add some valuable runs to Indian total.

For Bangladesh, Mashrafee Mortaza was the pick of bowlers with a figure of 4 for 38, Slow left arm spinner duo, Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafiq shared the rest 6 wickets with figures of 3-38 and 3-36 respectively.

Bangladesh plays their next match on 21 March against Sri Lanka while India will take on Bermuda on 19 March.

Dravid wary of Bangladesh

2007-03-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Indian captain Rahul Dravid is well aware about the potential challenge from their group mate Bangladesh against whom India would be opening its cricket World Cup campaign at Trinidad and Tobago.
"We respect Bangladesh. We saw what they did against New Zealand. We've got to be at our best to escape any upset," Dravid said at a press conference on Tuesday after a training session at the Sir Frank Worrell Ground in the University of West Indies.

Bangladesh completed a triumphant World Cup warm-up campaign and is confident ahead of World Cup cricket in the Caribbean. After gaining an unlikely victory over the rampant Kiwis, the Tigers are highly satisfied with their overall preparation.

Dravid also recalled the defeat against Bangladesh in December 2004. After defeating World Champions Australia in the Nat West Trophy in June 2005 in England, Bangladesh also defeated Sri Lanka in February 2006.

Dravid is expecting professional performances from his team mates to overcome Bangladesh challenge. ?I would like to approach India's World Cup opener as the final itself,? he added.

Bangladesh ?India group B tie on March 17 at the Queens Park Oval has attracted huge interests from the spectators and is already sold out.

"Batting Is The Key Against India" - Aminul

2007-03-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh's first world cup captain Aminul Islam believes Bangladesh can outperform India and they must take the advantage of relatively weaker Indian bowling.

"Our batting will be the key against India. They must take advantage of a slightly weaker Indian bowling attack. If we can upset either India or Sri Lanka, we can progress to the second round," observed Aminul Islam while talking to the journalists. Aminul is currently in the Caribbean to watch Tigers in action.

Aminul was also critical about India's poor show outside the sub-continent. He added "India will be playing outside their comfort zone. Their away record is not as great as their home record."

While he was in optimistic tune, he also found some weaknesses of Bangladesh team which their sub-continent rivals might exploit.

"The team has specialist players but lacks all-rounders, an essential feature of one-day cricket and it appears more like a Test outfit," opined Aminul. "Our bowling also lacks variation as both the spinners are left-arm spinners," he added.

Aminul also feels the team lacks an experienced pinch hitter. "Bangladesh lacks someone who can score a quick-fire 30 or 40 in the end to force the scoring rate, like Lance Klusener did for South Africa in the 1999 World Cup. However we don't have one. This might prove crucial while chasing high scores."

Bashar Issues Warning To Opponents

2007-03-13T03:29:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar showed his calmly confidence about Bangladesh's world cup prospect in the ICC media conference. He believes that his side would be more than a match for their group mates from the sub-continent, India and Sri Lanka, when they play the group matches on 17th and 21 respectively.

"In one-day cricket, anything can happen. So we want to take our chances. Let's see what happens," observed Bashar. After beating New Zealand in the warm up match, Bangladesh have put India and Sri Lanka on a high alert. Indian Captain Rahul Darvid echoed Bangladeshi Captain and vowed to play their best to overcome potential challenge from Bangladesh.

Bashar was well aware that both India and Sri Lanka, placed alongside them in Group B, are playing fine cricket and would be difficult to beat. But, he is anticipating that his young side will do everything to propel themselves to the second round.

"They are playing very good cricket, but we have played them often enough to know of their strengths and weaknesses. There is no discernible weakness though but we are quietly confident," he added.

Bashar was keen to point out the factors which are working to his team?s advantage at the moment. "We have some decent spinners and as everyone feels the wickets here are going to be a help to them, I think we have an advantage in that area. We then have quite a few batsmen who have experience and promise and who are determined to do well," said Bashar. He believes the batting line up of Bangladesh with Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Sakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful can produce surprises in the world cup.

Confident Bangladesh Raring To Go

2007-03-11T05:35:00.001-07:00

After a triumphant World Cup warm-up campaign, Bangladesh team is boozing into confidence ahead of World Cup cricket in the Caribbean. Bangladesh is looking forward to start the world cup in style when they meet India on 17^th Match at Trinidad.

After gaining an unlikely victory over the rampant Kiwis, the Tigers are highly satisfied with their overall preparation. The team Management believes Bangladesh is hitting the peak of their form in very right time. Now, if they can cope with similar situations in the main stage, they can claim their entrance ticket in the elite league and shred off the minnow tag.

After taking Bangladesh coaching job in June 2003, Dav Whatmore always insisted in turning the Tigers’s fate around. While talking to the media at Barbados, Whatmore maintained the same stance.

"It's important for Bangladesh to win as many (matches) as we can. Against a good opposition like New Zealand, the win was terrific for us," Whatmore told the journalists waiting to hear from the mentor of Sri Lnakan renaissance in 2003 World Cup.

"We're ranked ninth ... and most judges around the world would expect the opposition to beat Bangladesh every time there is fixture.”

"(But) we're improving all the time and I just feel it's becoming more of a reality that Bangladesh might cause an upset or two." Whatmore added.

While Whatmore used the word Upset, his captain Bashar was more confident in his approach. "Before we came here for the World Cup nobody gave us a chance. That's fine for people to say, but we are looking at getting to the second round”.

"The morale of the team is very high. Everybody is in a positive frame of mind and that gives me a lot of confidence. "This time we are a team in a real sense. We have a reliable batting side and a good bowling side as well," captain Habibul Bashar added.

It is the belief that Whatmore succeeded to instill in the mindset of the young Tigers and it’s paying the dividend in the very right time.

Bangladesh is placed in the Group B along with two World Champions India and Sri Lanka and amateur Bermuda. Bangladesh enjoyed one day success against both world champions in their last home series which further bolstered their confidence. They are also enjoying a psychological edge over group rival Sri Lanka who suffered defeat in the hand of the Black Caps in the warm up match.

Bangladesh enjoyed a consistent build up in momentum over the last two years and earned crucial victories against World Champions India, Sri Lanka and finally Australia. They also enjoyed a 64.24 percent success rate in one day internationals in 2006, only Australia managed a better record (71.42).

Whatmore also believes the inroads made by the current crop of Bangladesh players will go a long way towards creating a world beating team in the near future. "They've got potential to do that. They've got 150 million people in the country and all the kids there want to play cricket for Bangladesh," said Whatmore.

"Just like India and Sri Lanka we've got the base there from which to draw from ... the future is bright."

Bangladesh has successfully uprooted their defeatist attitude and created a winning habit over the last one year. With Whatmore and his Captains in optimistic tune, Cricket pundits are also expecting an upset or two from the cricket fanatic country.

Bashar Happy With World Cup Preparation

2007-03-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh completed a near perfect preparation for their world cup challenge. The Tigers are aiming a second round berth ahead of either Sri Lanka or India. After winning the ICC tri-series involving Bermuda and Canada at Antigua at a canter, Bangladesh made the full utilization of the two warm up matches. In the first warm up match against New Zealand, they silenced their critics by an amazing two wicket win. Bangladesh showed impressive Kiwis. Bangladesh comfortably outplayed Scotland in the second and final warm up match by 7 wickets.

With everything going on according to plan, Bangladesh Captain, Habibul Bashar expressed his satisfaction about the overall preparation of his team ahead of the gala event. He repeated his optimism to reach second round while talking to the media after the second warm up match against Scotland.

“I have to say I am very satisfied with our preparation. We bowled and fielded well in both warm up matches and the batting has been impressive throughout. We did lose two early wickets in the second match but once again the middle-order never allowed any pressure to set in” said Bashar who is undoubtedly the most succesful captain of Bangladesh cricket history.

He further added “Everyone is in touch and that gives me a lot of confidence. The World Cup matches will be a different ball game but if we can continue doing what we are doing at the moment then we can be a pretty tough opposition for any team”.

According to Bashar, the victory against New Zealand was a morale booster for the team as it was their first match against a top quality team after the ICC champions trophy. "Before we came here for the World Cup nobody gave us a chance. That's fine for people to say, but we are looking at getting to the second round. With Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza playing so well, this is a great boost for the World Cup. Their contributions were brilliant. We will do one thing, that is play positive cricket," said confident looking Bashar.

Bangladesh is now anxiously waiting to know the injury status of Aftab Ahmed, one of their batting mainstream. He suffered an apparent muscle injury in the waist while batting in the second warm up match and had to leave the field on streture.

Bangladesh A in England : Tushar Imran Leads the Fightback to Draw the Second A Team Test

2007-03-04T05:55:00.000-08:00

Captain Tushar Imrans patient knock of 126* ensured a draw for Bangladesh A in the second unofficial test match at Bogra. Rain washed out the play of the first day. Earlier, England A utilized the damp condition and bundled out Bangladesh A for paltry 152 runs. England A seized the opportunity and posted 251/8 at the end of day 3. Nick Compton continued his fine form and scored a classy 92 run to lead the charge.

England A declared overnight with a lead of 99 runs. At the beginning of Day 4, Graham Onions took to early wickets to put England A in firm command of the match. Captain Tushar Imran and one down batsman Nasiruudin Faruque rescued Bangladesh A with a valuable 127 run partnership. After losing Faruque for 31 runs, Tushar Imran continued to demoralize English attack despite regular wicket fall from the other end. His endurane finally gave the timely reward and the match ended in a draw.

England A won the first test by wickets and win the series 1-0.

Brief Score

Bangladesh A 152/10; Sagir Hossain 47, Enamul Jr. 24 ; Stuart Broad 4/72, Tim Bresnan 2/24 & 218/6 Over -84 ; Nasiruddin Faruque 31, Tushar Imran 126*; Tim Bresnan 2/36, Graham Onions 2/53

England A 251/8 (dec) Over -81 ; Nick Compton 92, Matthew Prior 37, Steve Davies 39; Mosharaf Hossain 2/59, Enamul Jr. 2/65

Wolrd Cup Cricket 2007 : Bangladesh is aiming the launch of a world cricketing force

2007-03-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

The memories of World Cup cricket brings some mixed impressions to the mind of Bangladeshi cricket fans. Before gaining full member status Bangladesh fought strenuously to feature in the world stages and only succeeded in 1999 after winning ICC trophy 1997 by defeating Kenya.

Bangladesh’s arrival in the World Cup cricket created more noise than expected. After narrowly defeating Scotland at Edinburgh, Bangladesh emerged as the better team in the famous clash against Pakistan at Northampton although the result has subsequently been masked in mystery.

Bangladesh hit their lowest in International Cricket at World Cup 2003. A hapless Bangladesh suffered hammering defeats against all oppositions including amateur Canada.

Bangladesh opted for Dav Whatmore, the mentor of Sri Lankan renaissance after the world cup to turn the fate around. Dav succeeded largely to make Bangladesh a more competitive side and earned crucial victories against World Champions India, Sri Lanka and finally Australia. Bangladesh received an unofficial breathing space of 10 months in 2006 when they only featured against minnow countries except ICC Champions trophy. It seemed to work for Bangladesh as they have won 17 out of 20 matches they have played against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Scotland.

Now, another world cup cricket is knocking at the door. Bangladesh is placed in group B along with Sri Lanka, India and Bermuda in the Caribbean edition of World Cup. Bangladesh has already reached the Caribbean and building up the momentum before playing the gala event. They started their campaign well after winning the tri-series involving Canada and their group mate Bermuda.

Most cricket pundits are taking it as quite obvious that Bangladesh will take the same fate like two previous outings where they failed to propel themselves beyond initial stages. On the other hand, Bangladesh is going to this world cup with a completely different frame of mind. For the first time, they are expecting to lift themselves to the next round. Their maverick coach Dav Whatmore and captain Habibul Bashar have already made their intention public.

Now, to progress into the second round ahead of either Sri Lanka or India might look fanciful but not impossible. Bangladesh is becoming a good ODI outfit and has good record behind them over the last one year. The only problem is the difference of level of cricket they played over this period and World Cup. Bangladesh achieved the confidence from their successes against relatively weaker oppositions. Now for world cup success; they have to use that confidence to change the gear in their pursuit of winning a second round berth. They have potential and players to realize their astounding dream. The big question remains whether they will be able to change the level of cricket and translate potential into performance?

But in Shahriar Nafees, they have uncovered an opener who is more than capable of the anchor role with controlled aggression required to allow the likes of Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed to extravagance the batting display. They are taking a gamble with boom boom Afridi style opener Tamim Iqbal who can turn the match around in his days and can be destructive in small Caribbean grounds. Captain Habibul Bashar and young all-rounder Sakib Al Hasan are hitting the form in right time. Inclusion of former U19 captain Mushfiqur Rahim as wicket keeper gave the side much needed balance in batting.

Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain are providing a little of the new-ball pace and aggression they lacked for years. The slow left arm army of Bangladesh are keen to exploit the slow surfaces expected in the West Indies. Mohammad Rafiq and Abdur Razzak are two world class spin bowlers and Sakib Al Hasan is becoming increasingly confident in his bowling. The lack of variation is a real worry against spin maestro nations like India or Sri Lanka, still they have got the much needed disciplines of one day bowlers.

Having said these, it is highly probable that Bangladesh will make early exit from the world cup but taking them lightly will turn the world cup dream of one of the title contenders into nightmare. Photo : Tigers have to do everything right on the field for WC success.

The truth about Bangladesh cricket is undeniably that their paramount is becoming more visible after each and every series. A young side with average age of 22 and so much potential can only get better. A country with 150 million population and crazy fan base for cricket will be a powerhouse of world cricket in time. Bangladesh is rescheduling their emergence time every year and will be required to do so until they frame a standard domestic infrastructure. Until then, patience is the key with perseverance and discipline. Whatmore, or one of his successors, will need ample more of that endurance before the incentives become evident. Before reaching that mark, they have to do everything right on the field and expect others to make mistakes to extract some gold on the way.

Bangladesh is aiming to fight hard to realize their dream. Whatever happens to their world cup endeavor, they want to send one clear message about the emergence of a new powerhouse of cricket and use the world cup as the launching pad of a world beating force.

Bangladesh Cricket: Where Do We Stand Now?

2007-03-03T03:38:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh started their campaign in international cricket with a 22 run victory in a low scoring match against Fiji in 1979 ICC Trophy. After playing 41 ICC trophy matches with mixed success (26 wins, 14 losses, 1 no result) and an equal number of ODIs with even less success (3 wins - Pakistan, Kenya, Scotland and 38 losses), Bangladesh was awarded test status in June, 2000.

Bangladesh played first ever test match in November 2000 against India at Bangabandhu National Stadium. After gaining test status they played 44 test matches with a solitary win against Zimbabwe and lost as many as 39 matches. We enjoyed some reasonable successes in ODI and managed 25 wins out of 102 outings.

Awarding test status to Bangladesh is one of the most heavily criticized decisions of ICC and Bangladesh still remains under the microscope of cricket pundits as a test nation.

After obtaining the elite status Bangladesh suffered hiccups with religious regularity raising constant concern about the future of Bangladesh cricket.

After the infamous debacle in 2003 world cup, Bangladesh cricket went for a major overhaul. Dav Whatmore, the mentor of Sri Lanka's resurgence in world cricket was handed the coaching job to lift the sinking Bangladesh cricket. He took charge in June 2003 and since then Bangladesh started to make slow but steady progress in both forms of the game. The improvement is more noticeable in the shorter version of the game (25 wins in 72 matches) compared to the test matches (1 win, 3 draws in 25 matches).

Dav appeared to find success in injecting some confidence in the struggling team.
Bangladesh's cricketing success in 2006 is considered as an indication of definite improvement in the right direction. After taking world champions Australia to the wire at Fatullah test in April, Bangladesh ended 2006 with 18 wins on their side out of 28 ODI appearances. While current achievement is encouraging, the end of Bangladesh’s misery against the top teams remains largely to be seen.

The Bangladesh team is still fragile and can suffer regular defeats against quality oppositions. The success against quality oppositions in ODI's is not really consistent. Apart from the wins against Zimbabwe and one win each against Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Australia, we lost all other matches and in many cases without putting up a tough fight. In test matches, the results are even worse. Except for the Fatullah and Multan tests, we continued our failure in taking initiatives and struggle predictively.

According to Dav, the mentor of the team, Bangladesh has a bright future in international cricket and he has already found the core nucleus of the team. It might be true for the ODI but for tests it is still a far cry.

Bangladesh as an ODI team has quite a few quality players in Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Mohmmad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Rafique and Mashrafe Mortaza. Captain Habibul Bashar largely failed to translate his test form into ODI arena. Sakib Al Hasan and Shahadat Hossain are two promising talents who have been slowly but surely establishing themselves into international cricket.

While the bowling strength of the ODI team shows palpable improvements, a brittle middle order continues to expose the batting limitations. A capable opener alongside Shahriar Nafees at the top with some improvements in the middle together with a competent wicketkeeper batsman can push the limits of any ODI team.

The picture looks gloomier in the longer version of the game. Apart from Shahriar Nafees and Habibul Bashar in batting and Mohammad Rafiq and Mashrafe Mortaza in bowling, we really don't have players to challenge quality opposition, let alone winning. Habibul Bashar scored about one third of all the runs Bangladesh scored in test cricket while Mohammad Rafique took more than one third of all the wickets Bangladesh took in test matches he played.

These simple stats only illustrate the poor show by the rest of the players. Bangladesh showed some encouraging performance in the four tests they played in 2006 but always crumbled under pressure. We almost won a test match against mighty Australia though Mohammad Rafiq's determined fight saw futile end due to the familiar lack of support.

In batting, Bangladesh must find suitable alternatives to veteran Javed Omar, Alok Kapali and Tushar Imran. Neither of them returned enough to keep the faith on and their inclusions make the fragile test batting even more brittle. Mohammad Ashraful must improve his consistency to keep his place in the side.

Aftab Ahmed has so far failed to take the responsibility of test batting. And the rookies Sakib Al Hasan and Farhad Reza lack technique and experience to seal a deal. Rajin Saleh looks gritty at times but again lacks both consistency and technique which cost Bangladesh dearly in some matches. Like the ODI team, Bangladesh must find a decent wicketkeeper batsman.

As mentioned previously, bowling is a major concern in our test side. Apart from Mohammad Rafiq no single bowler has the bite to their bowling to win test matches. Enamul Huq Jr. is a very good bowler but still lacks wicket taking ability against quality oppositions, more so on foreign grounds. Mashrafe Mortaza's success in ODI never really translated in tests mainly due to his fitness problem. There is some real hope in Shahadat Hossain who showed the aggressiveness required to be a successful test bowler. The situation looks even ominous unless someone comes up in style and takes the candle from aging Rafiq on time.

The overall situation might look depressing but it is the painful reality. In this situation the ray of light is the young generations who started playing competitive cricket knowing that one day they will feature for Bangladesh in tests. These young players have dominated their counterparts in age group level and they believe they can continue dominating them in the world arena.

They are declaring their emergence in the domestic circuit as well. It is really encouraging that we have emerging players in almost every discipline. Bangladesh Cricket Board has already taken initiatives to improve domestic infrastructure and formed the Cricket Academy for potential young players. Now, it’s very important to guide and nurture them properly before throwing them in the deep. They are the ray of light, the future of Bangladesh cricket.

Bangladesh impresses with remarkable fightback to battle past Canada

2007-02-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

Canada brought back the memories of World Cup 2003 to most part of the game in a very well fought encounter at Antigua Recreation Ground in the third and final ODI of ICC tri-series. Chasing a victory target of 279 in 50 overs, Canada went as far as 265/7 in stipulated 50 overs. They fell short of 13 runs at the end in a match which could have been won by any team. Bangladesh made an exceptional comeback to deny Canada a very well deserved win. At the end, the experienced Bangladesh side saved the blushes by some intelligent bowling from their slow left arm bowlers.

Canada defied all odds during the run chase and an impressive 177 run 2nd wicket partnership between GEF Barnett and IS Billcliff put them in a very commanding position. This pair had no problem whatsoever in milking the runs. Sakib Al Hasan produced the most vital breakthrough of the match by removing GEF Barnett. His departure sparked a mini collapse and Canada lost the momentum as both IS Bilcliff and Captain JM Davison departed in quick succession. Despite the wicket fall Canada maintained the run chase and it was anybody's game. Ashif Mulla quick fired 44 of 36 deliveries to set up an exciting finish. Finally, Bangladesh being more experienced of the two side kept their head cool and won the match in a tense finish by 13 runs. Canada faltered at the end and despite having wickets in hand failed to reap from its earlier build up to record an upset victory.

Earlier, Canada won the toss and Bangladeh to bat. The decision paid immediate dividend when veteran Andy Cummins plucked two quick wickets to reduce Bangladesh to an embarrassing 4/2. Both Aftab and Shahriar Nafees edged the very first delivery they faced. They were reduced to 30/3 after Tamim Iqbal got run out. Captain Habibul Bashar paired up with in form batsman Sakib Al Hasan and took the score to 162 in 37 overs. Bashar fell after a well composed 57. Mohammad Ashraful joined Sakib Al Hasan and this pair scored run freely to post 278/5 in 50 overs. On the way, Sakib earned his maiden ODI ton, Ashraful reached a quick fire half century from just 38 balls. He got out for 60 runs in the last ball of the match. Sakib remained not out for a very well played 134*. In this process, he superseded Shahriar Nafees's 123 to post the highest individual ODI score for Bangladesh.

It was a great recovery from a tattering start. Sakib showed why he is considered as one of the brightest prospect of Bangladesh cricket. Captain Habibul Bashar again showed the value of experience in putting up a valuable 4th wicket partnership with sakib. Finally Ashraful scored some good runs which helped Bangladesh to post a very commanding total which at the end proved just sufficient to edge past Canada.

Todays match was a great display of one day cricket and both teams had their time in the middle. From a Canadian point of view it set an ideal platform for some good performances in the upcoming world cup and it send some clear message to other members of group C in which Canada is placed with England, New Zealand and Kenya. From Bangladesh's perspective it was a great display of character to upturn the fate of the game despite trailing in most part of the proceedings.

Bangladesh has lot to gain from todays win. Someone might dubb the hard fought win as the below par performance against a minnow nation but in a real sense it game Bangladesh an ideal practice for the world cup where they are targeting second round berth. Canada in recent past enjoyed some good moments in batting and scored consistently over 250 in their last few ODI's. They had a memorable run chase of 309 against Ireland in recently concluded World Cricket League in which they succeeded loosing only 4 wickets. This clearly indicates their strength and depth of batting. They again proved their might today. On the other hand, Bangladesh in both batting and bowling came back strongly from the brink of failure. This was a really impressive show from a regularly improving side.

Bangladesh took the ICC tri series as part of the world cup preparation and I have to admit that it could not have gone any better. After showing the batting and bowling might against the hapless Bermuda, Bangladesh showed the maturity of an international side in todays win. They were taken to the wire by the Canadians but at the Bangladesh had the last laugh due to some superior understanding of the situation. Another positive out of todays win is the exposure of the weak points of Bangladesh which they have the opportunity to rectify in the two warm up matches before the gala event. At the end, I must congratulate Bangladesh team for their fighting spirit which kept the head of the fans high ahead of crucial world cup ties.

Bangladesh posts 278/5 in 50 overs against Canada

2007-02-28T05:32:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh recovered well from a very unexpected start in the match against Canada. They lost two quick wickets in the second over. Both Aftab and Shahriar Nafees edged the very first delivery they faced. They were reduced to 30/3 after Tamim Iqbal got run out. Captain Habibul Bashar paired up with in form batsman Sakib Al Hasan and took the score to 162 in 37 overs.

Bashar fell after a well composed 57. Mohammad Ashraful joined Sakib Al Hasan and this pair scored run freely to post 278/5 in 50 overs. On the way, sakib earned his maiden ODI ton, Ashraful reached a quick fire half century from just 38 balls. He got out for 60 runs in the last ball of the match. Sakib remained not out for a very well played 134*. In this process, he superseded Shahriar Nafees's 123 to post the highest individual ODI score for Bangladesh.

It was a great recovery from a tattering start. Sakib showed why he is considered as one of the brightest prospect of Bangladesh cricket. Captain Habibul Bashar again showed the value of experience in putting up a valuable 4th wicket partnership with sakib. Finally Ashraful scored some good runs which helped Bangladesh to post a very commanding total.

After a good top order batting display in the first match against Bermuda, Bangladesh showed today the real depth of batting line up.

Canada is replying quite well. After 13 overs 63/1

Bangladesh Started the World Cup Warm Up With a Bang

2007-02-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh crushed Bermuda in the opening match of the ICC tri series at Antigua Recreation ground as part of their world cup preparation.

I have to admit that Bangladesh made their best possible start to build the momentum ahead of the World Cup. Bowlers needed time to settle in, they got that time. Batsmen needed to show the difference in class and they did that quite well. Fielders were up to the task.

After restricting Bermuda to a modest 205/8 in 50 overs, Bangladesh reached the target in just 37.3 overs. Shahriar Nafees remained not out with 104 runs in 112 balls, Sakib Al Hasan supported him well with a patient 42 runs. Aftab Ahmed produced a blistering display of 42 runs in 27 balls.

Bangladesh's only weak point in the match was the below par bowling. Apart from Rafiq, Rasel and Razzak other failed miserably to dominate the weak Bermuda batting line up. First choice opening bowlers Mashrafee Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain were absent due to minor injury. They should be fit before final clash on 28th February against Canada.

Tri Series and World Cup Warm Up Matches : Bangladesh Must Build the Momentum

2007-02-25T13:03:00.001-08:00

Bangladesh is heading to Caribbeans on 20th February to participate in a tri-series involving Bangladesh and two associates Bermuda and Canada. This is considered as an acclimatising tour for Bangladesh, who will be playing Caribbean after almost three long years. The tri series will be held at Antigua recreation ground and Bangladesh will play Bermuda on 25 February and will take on Canada on 28th. After the tri series Bangladesh will play against New Zealand on 5th March 2007 and Scotland on 8th March as part of the World Cup Warm up matches before featuring the Gala event starting from 13th March 2007. Both the matches will be played at Barbados.

Bangladesh played some good cricket over the last one year and surpassed their trivial rivals Zimbabwe and Kenya comfortably. Bangladesh Cricket is on the verge of entering the big league where they will pose continuous threats to every other country and is expected to win a match in their day against any opposition. Now, this transformation requires some excellence in every aspect of their game including the mindset. Coach Dav Whatmore injected some confidence into the squad and the mindset is slowly but gradually changing. It is the high time in the Caribbean to exhibit the change of mindset to the cricket world and make the transformation happen.

ICC tri series involving Bermuda and Canada is the first opportunity to do that. Bangladesh has to make some records straight as they have mixed memories against these opposition. Undoubtedly, Canada inflicted the worst wound in the cricketing history of Bangladesh by defeating them in the last world cup at South Africa. Surprisingly, that's not the only time when they defeated Bangladesh, in the ICC trophy Bangladesh tasted one defeat against the same opposition and managed only one win in three encounters. Bangladesh played Bermuda twice in the ICC trophy level and manged to win one match while lost the other. Looking at the statistics, it is clear that there is no reason to take these oppositions lightly. Having said that, Bangladesh must establish their utmost superiority over these countries to make any impact in the world cup cricket 2007.

Bangladesh holds much better record against the leading minnow nations Zimbabwe and Kenya but the annoying fact is they never played these oppositions with a ruthless fashion which other top teams do. Bangladesh will be playing the tri-series in Antigua which is considered as the batting paradise of the Caribbeans. Canada and Bermuda has a less than decent bowling attack. All guns of Bangladesh team must utilize the opportunity in the best possible manner and show their might in the ruthless fashion by amassing huge total in both the matches. Same goes for the bowlers and they must distinguish themselves from ordinary attacks. Winning is important but a modest win against these oppositions will not add anything to Bangladesh's credit. Two thumping win will create some noise in the world cricket arena and draw some attention which Bangladesh badly needs in the upcoming world cup.

After the tri-series, Bangladesh will travel to lovely Barbados which has one of the most lively wickets of the Caribbeans. Bangladesh will find more similarity in wicket nature of Barbados and Trinidad compared to Antigua and Trinidad. At the same time, there will be some similarity in the strength of the oppositions. First warm up match against New Zealand is the most crucial affair for Bangladesh apart from the crucial world cup ties against India and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh failed miserably in all matches they played against New Zealand and never managed to cross even 200 in any of the seven matches played. After two and half years, it is the time to display some cricketing skill against the Kiwis and sneak a win to continue the momentum going. Even if, they fail to win, the match should be close enough to exhibit the change of gear, Bangladesh cricket made over the last one year. The cricket world will monitor this match closely as this will test Bangladesh's cricketing ability more than 10 matches against Zimbabwe or Kenya. The last practice match against Scotland must be another routine affair where Tigers will show their killing spree.

Bangladesh failed to take the most ideal preparation for the world cup due to lack of matches against quality oppositions. Keeping that in mind, we must admit, Bangladesh managed to achieve the most from what was offered to them by the ICC. For the first time in their cricketing history, Bangladesh will be playing World Cup Cricket with the aim to reach the next round which their juniors achieved for the first time in last U-19 world cup. They have four one day matches to play, they must utilize these matches to build the momentum and reach the peak in right time. If they can do that, cricket world will experience a different Bangladesh who are ready to make a history.

England A in Bangladesh 2006-07

2007-02-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

England is currently visiting Bangladesh to play two 4 day test matches (first class) with Bangladesh A and three list A matches.

Here's the tour Itinerary,

Feb 14 - England A arrive in Dhaka
Feb 17-19 - Warm-up match v Bangladesh National Academy, Mirpur
Feb 22-25 v Bangladesh A, Mirpur
Mar 1-4 v Bangladesh A, SCS, Bogra
Mar 7 v Bangladesh A, SCS, Bogra
Mar 9 v Bangladesh A, Mirpur
Mar 11 v Bangladesh A, Mirpur

They are playing their only practice match against the Bangladesh National Cricket Academy team. Here's the teams -

BCB Academy:
Jahurul Islam
Junaid Siddique
Nasiruddin Faruque
Marshall Ayub
Nadif Chowdhury (Cpt)
Mahmudullah Riyad
Saghir Hossain (WK)
Suhrawadi Shuvo
Mosharraf Hossain
Dolar Mahmud
Ziaur Rahman
Mohammad Shahzada

England A-team:
Nick Compton
Will Jefferson
Michael Yardy (Cpt)
Michael Carrberry
Steve Davies (WK)
Alex Loudon
Matt Prior (WK)
Tim Bresnan
Stuart Broad
Adil Rashid
Graham Onions
Tom Smith

A drawn match with most of the credit going to the tourists.

Second innings poor shows marred the bravery of the first innings of our boys.

England A Vs BCB National Academy
England A327/4 (dec) & 226/3 (dec) Over -68; Carberry 100*, Davis 67; Mosharraf 2/80
BCB National Academy326/10 & 56/5 Over -Marshall 23*; Jahirul 10, Nasiruddin 10, Junaed 4, Nadif 4, Sagir 0*; Onions 3/30, Smith 1/3, Broad 1/15
Match Drawn

I am very pleased with the way our boys responded to the challenge. They have managed a draw against one of the topmost A teams of current cricket.

After Khaled Mashud's refusal to play for A team, Sagir is making a good fight for the place. Nice competition going on between Sagir and Dhiman.

Bangladesh Squad for World Cup Cricket 2007

2007-02-25T12:59:00.000-08:00

National selectors have named the 15 man squad for upcoming World Cup Cricket.

Here's our boys, The Tigers

Bangladesh Squad

1. Habibul Bashar (captain)
2. Shahriar Nafees (vice-captain)
3. Abdur Razzak
4. Aftab Ahmed
5. Javed Omar
6. Mashrafe Mortaza
7. Mohammad Ashraful
8. Mohammad Rafique
9. Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper)
10. Rajin Saleh
11. Saqibul Hasan
12. Shahadat Hossain
13. Syed Rasel
14. Tamim Iqbal
15. Tapash Baisya

Bangladesh in Zimbabwe 2007 : Tour Summary

2007-02-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh just finished the tour with the first ever away series win against any test playing nation. After comfortably winning first match by 45 runs, Zimbabwe dominated the second ODI and leveled the series 1-1 with an impressive 8 wicket victory. Bangladesh managed to win the 3rd and 4th ODI with tense finish by 15 runs and 1 wickets respectively.

Now, here's my summary

Positives

1. First ever away series win against any test playing nation
2. Bangladesh found the long cherished capable Wicket Keeper batsman in Mushfiqur Rahim.
3. Captaincy of Habibul Bashar
4. Consistency of Sakib Al Hasan
5. Consistency of Razzak and Mashrafee as a bowler.

Negatives
1. Failure of to prove maturity as a cricket team, chocking under pressure (in last ODI).
2. Inconsistent and brittle batting order.
3. Failure of Mohammad Ashraful in middle order.
4. Apparent failure of opening pair, in particular Mehrab Jr.
5. Another poor show by Tushar (he always fails to grab opportunity)
6. Poor show by Shahadat ahead of World Cup.
7. Tapash's consistency in giving away runs.
8. Injury of Mohammad Rafique
9. Failure of Md Sharif in both form and fitness.

New riddles

1. Is Tamim suitable for opening slot?
2. Has Ashraful lost his touch and should lose his place in the side
3. is there any justification to keep Tushar in the side
4. Who should be the 3rd pacer of the side.
5. What should be the batting order.
6. Why Shahadat is struggling in suitable wickets.

Grade

Bangladesh as a team gets B

Shahriar Nafees : B
Mehrab Jr. : D
Tamim Iqbal : C
Aftab Ahmed : B
Habibul Bashar : B+
Sakib Al Hasan : B+
Mohammad Ashraful : D
Mushfiqur Rahim : A
Mohammad Rafiq : B+
Abdur Razzak : B+
Mashrafee Mortaza : A-
Shahadat Hossain : D
Tapash Baisya : C
Mohammad Sharif : F
Tushar Imran : F

Women Cricket in Bangladesh : Start of a New Era

2007-02-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh cricket has made another significant step in right direction by launching first ever National Women Cricket Championship. This is the first time in Bangladesh cricket history when women cricketers will play in any form of domestic cricket. While most of the women cricket team of other test playing nations are regularly playing test and one day series, Bangladesh do not have a national women cricket team. In previous years limited efforts were taken to build a national team but an international side has never represented Bangladesh before mainly because of a lack of interest from players and organizers.

Veteran cricket coach Altaf Hosaain is making a hard and solitary effort to promote women cricket in Bangladesh for the last few years. Bangladesh was invited in November 2005 to take part in the second Women’s Asia Cup and around 20 girl cricketers were selected for a camp under the supervision of coach Altaf Hossain. After a few weeks camp Bangladesh finally turned down the invitation fearing the team would not be competitive enough.

In cricket history, the first ever women cricket match was held in 1811 between two county side at London. Women's Test cricket has been played since December 1934. The International Women's Cricket Council was formed in 1958 to coordinate women's cricket which was officially integrated with International Cricket Council in 2005 after the eighth Women’s World Cup in South Africa which was won by Australia. . The following women cricket teams have been awarded test status by International Cricket Council -

Australia, England, India, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies

It's interesting to not that Ireland and Netherlands are women test playing nation while they are yet to gain test status in the men version.

Women One Day internationals are played since 1973 and first ever Women’s Cricket World Cup was held in 1973 in England in which they emerged as champion. In addition to the above mentioned teams, three other teams have been awarded one day status. They are

Denmark, Japan and Scotland

Only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are tow test playing nations who do not play test or one day cricket in the women version of the game. Recently Zimbabwe's women won the Women's World Cup Qualifiers – Africa region, to reach ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifying Tournament 2007 (WCWCQT) in Pakistan.

Bangladesh Cricket Board is expecting to form a national cricket team out of the top 30 performers of the maiden championship. Ten teams are participating in the opening tourney in two groups. Teams are -

Group A -- Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Ansar, Narayanganj. Group B -- Bhola, Rajshahi, Jahangirnagar University, Bogra, Rangamati.

Nothing much is known yet about the possible strengths and weakness of the teams. It is expected that Dhaka will be one of the title contender due to more accessibility to women cricket.

Amid huge enthusiasm the opening ceremony of the tournament was held at Mirpur Sher E Bangla National Stadium and the semifinals and final are scheduled on 3rd and 5th February respectively.

Now, the first step is already taken and it's very important to take the subsequent steps with proper planning. Environments must be created so that girls from every section of the society feel interest for the game and regular domestic cricket is played in every division if not in every districts. Bangladesh Krira Shikhka Protisthan (BKSP) should start a new discipline on women cricket to nurture young talents and make them quality cricketers. All public and private universities should start Inter-University Women Cricket Championship to promote women cricket in Bangladesh. As Bangladesh is not receiving any ICC grant to promote women cricket, BCB should create its own funding and encourage sponsors to come forward. Cricket is a passion for Bangladesh and it is expected that women cricket will be livelier due to inherent glamour involved in women version of any game.

Fundamental religious groups might try to hinder the prospect of women cricket in Bangladesh but that should be treated strongly as Pakistan, religiously more conservative country are playing women test cricket and has domestic tournaments.

We are keeping our finger crossed; we hail the initiatives of Bangladesh Cricket Board and expect Bangladesh Women Cricket team will make their mark in the international arena within shortest possible time.

Bangladesh Cricket : My Passion

2007-02-25T12:52:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh is an emerging powerhouse of International cricket. After gaining test status in 2000, Bangladesh is progressing in every series they are playing. In 2006, they have won 18 out of 28 matches they played. In april 2006, Bangladesh almost made a history by taking 158 run first innings lead against mighty Australia in Fatullah test. Australia managed to win the match by 3 wickets.

I am a keen follower of Bangladesh cricket. Bangladesh is entering 2007 with a lot of promise and they have their performances to speak for them. For the first time in its cricketing history, it is the performance of the Bangladesh cricket team which is doing the talking for them and not the fans, administrators or the journalists. This is a definite leap in right direction for Bangladesh Cricket. Bangladesh is currently ranked 9th in ODI cricket and still 10th in Test cricket. Now, Bangladesh needs to plan her future carefully and follow this plan. Bangladesh has all the potential and performers to be ranked 7th-8th in ODI cricket and 8th-9th in Test cricket by the end of 2007.

In this blog, I will follow Bangladesh cricket. I will try to cover both the domestic and international cricket. I regularly write articles in different cricket forums. Those articles will be also posted here.