Bangladesh: Babes of the Tournament (14 July 1999)

14 July 1999

Bangladesh: Babes of the Tournament

Yousuf R Rahman

Many have already written and spoken much about the team's performance, mostly on the positive aspects. The rising sun is being worshipped by all but unless our boys are informed about their defects and they admit them, they will not become better players which they need to be from this time on.

Statistically, our boys have performed admirably well.

No country in its first outing in the World Cup has won two matches. Sri Lanka in 1975 won none, Zimbabwe in 1983 surprised Australia and Kenya won one against the W. Indies in 1996. I am not considering the Test playing nations prior to 1975. In comparison, we won two beating one of the favourites Pakistan along the way.

Bangladesh's lowest score in the tournament (116 against New Zealand) was better than England (103 against S. Africa), Sri Lanka (110 against S. Africa), Scotland (67 against West Indies).

We stretched the West Indies to 47.3 overs before they got the winning run.

Had our seamers bowled a more controlled second spell, an aspect that they so pathetically lack, we might have created some problems for the Caribbeans.

Minhazul Abedin averaged in the 70s, not bad for a first timer and Mehrab Hossian reached a second milestone in his young career by scoring the first 50 for Bangladesh in World Cup cricket on May 21 against West Indies.

Everyone talks about the team being the minnows of the tournament and that they have played beyond all expectations. I tend to disagree.

Although Bangladesh played within its limitations and the boys played well enough to hold their heads high, I feel that our best strength, batting, was not used properly and judiciously. From what I saw, most of our frontline batsmen do not the have technical skill to play genuine fast bowling. None of them play behind the ball since they lack the initial movement of going back and across. By doing so, you not only narrow the swing of the ball but also get an extra few feet time to play the ball.

Nowhere in the world is this so necessary than England where the ball swings quite a bit. Had our boys applied this, we would have got 200 plus runs in every match. I was told by some of the boys that Greenidge has constantly spoken to them about this but none of them could adapt to this technique due to the flat wickets in Bangladesh where the ball kept low.

An ideal player to follow would be Mark Waugh of Australia. If you want to talk about classical batting he is the player to watch not flashers or slashers like Jayasuriya or Shahid Afridi. Even though "pinch hitters" do change the course of matches at times, it is always important to follow the orthodox mode and build an innings.

Too many of our players shape to play on the on side far too often and leave the gate open and most of them are committed on the front foot. Runs are mostly scored on the back foot in modern day cricket. Any player good on the back foot is bound to get runs. These days, fast bowlers do not pitch the ball up to the bat too often. Most deliveries are just short of the good length, to which the batsman has to play with his weight on the back foot. Nannu (Minhazul) is one player who plays on the back foot well.

He is the one who picks up ones and twos and he got two fifties in England. His knock against Scotland was a gem of an innings. Played under tremendous pressure, it was a "class act". If there is one innings that Bangladesh cricket is to savour for years to come, I would rate Nannu's unbeaten 68 on May 24 in Edinburgh.

Because our players shape to play on the on side, their front foot is invariably on the middle stump that results in playing away from the line to deliveries pitched on the off stump or outside the off stump. The quality of a batsman is judged on his merit to judge the ball on or outside the off stump. As soon as he can master this, he will make it more and more difficult for bowlers to get him.

Against Australia, on a sunny and warm day, on a wicket full of runs, our boys gave away their wickets. None of them got out playing defensively. In other words, the bowlers did not earn the wickets. They were given away. In spite of early order debacles, we still managed to score 175 odd runs.

Against Scotland, from 25 for 5, we scored 182. It only goes to show that if our batting was properly planned and the boys applied themselves, 220-240 was not an impossible target to reach.

The boys need to think about their batting - each and every stroke they have played in the previous innings, specially the one they played that got them out has to be reflected upon, mistakes identified and corrected in the next innings.

The match against Pakistan was extraordinary. Given the next 7 games, Pakistan will probably win them all. If one looks at the game and cuts it

up into segments, one will easily realise that the Pakistanis were never in the game. From the very start, our boys were in the driving seat.

It was the best opening start in the World Cup against the hostile Pak attack. Initially shaky but in the end, very effectively we totalled 223. It is not that the Pakistan attack comprising of Shoaib Akhter, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram bowled too badly. On the contrary, had our openers been accomplished players (sometimes, it pays not to be the best), many a delivery from the "Rawalpindi Express", Waqar and Wasim would have got the outside edge and many a fine player would have got out. But as the saying goes, "fortune shines on the brave" and our opening duo played with their hearts. Mr. Extras for Pakistan also did not help to their cause.

Moreover, I failed to understand why Wasim Akram continued to bowl without a gully throughout the opening spell thus leaving a gap that was utilised very well. Pakistan's folly was Bangladesh's joy.

But in spite of all, both our openers Shahriar and Mehrab fought fire with fire and came out unscathed as they set up the opening partnership that laid the foundation for the total. At times they even took the attack to the bowlers. Akram picked up the flow and played an extremely valuable knock that consolidated the middle order.

Pakistan never thought in their wildest dream that the "babes" of the tournament would rout them. I thought the critical wicket to fall was that of Saeed Anwar when he was run out. Had he stuck, the match would have been an easy one for Pakistan. After his loss, Pakistan was never in the game even though some say that Moin Khan's wicket may have been the vital one.

At that point, it was not a very easy wicket to bat on. With the ball holding a bit it was not the best type of wicket for stroke players, moreover, our bowling was accurate and our fielding "par excellence".

Simply put, our boys did their basics right on the field and gained by the recklessness of the Pakistanis. Martin Crowe, former Test Player from New Zealand had stated that the only thing that could destroy Pakistan's bid for the World Cup is their arrogance. He could not have stated more accurately.

Our bowling needs to be improved. What is lacking in speed must be accomplished by accuracy. We seriously lack quick bowlers who can bowl good second spells. Hasibul (Shanto) simply does not have a second spell. He tries to bowl fast and, therefore, is unable to bowl a proper line and length. As a result, he is invariably expensive in the second spell. The spinners are average with perhaps, Rafiq a bit ahead of the others. Our bowlers lack penetration and this will come as we play better opposition in the days ahead. The fast bowlers need to beef themselves up so that they can be stronger. They should seriously get into some serious weight training and endurance programs. Just take a look at the legs and shoulders of Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Ian Mcgrath and Co. All their power comes from their legs and shoulders.

The fielding was better than expected as they all fielded with puppy like eagerness. The matches we won were an outcome of some high class fielding. Superb catching combined with some brilliant run outs helped our team to notch the victories. The run out Bulbul got against Pakistan was absolutely fascinating.

All is all, It was a triumph of hope and ambition over an unfamiliar level of excellence as well as unfamiliar conditions.

Source :: The Daily Star