Cricket Tournaments

Two depleted teams face off in tomorrow’s marquee clash. Bangladesh takes on England in the port city of Chittagong, at the time when both of teams are in hot waters. The hosts suffered an embarrassing nine-wicket defeat in the hands of a weakened West Indies team a few days ago. While England, who seemed to have gained some momentum after the win against South Africa last Sunday have been dented with the injuries of Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad.

It remains to be seen who comes out on top; in a battle which could change the course of Group A. Bangladesh have only won 1 out of 3 matches that they have played so far in the World Cup, so this is a must-win game for Bangladesh or else they are virtually knocked out of the competition. England have also won 2 out of 4 matches so far, and a win here would assure them a quarterfinal berth. But if they lose, they have to beat West Indies in their last group match by a huge margin to qualify. So I am sure England would want to wrap it all up tomorrow itself.

If Bangladesh has to win, they have to rely on their bowlers to do major damage. England’s batting looks fragile without Pietersen and even if Morgan comes in for this game, it does not reduce the pressure on skipper Andrew Strauss to score runs at the top of the order. Their bowling might be hit severely with the exit of Broad, yet Bangladesh does not boast of a strong batting line-up and I would not be surprised to see England’s bowlers, especially Graeme Swann have a field day just as they did against the Proteas.

My hunch is that England are still the firm favourites to reach the victory post tomorrow. But, Bangladesh can never be counted out these days, so they can take advantage of England’s vulnerability as this World Cup has shown that anything is possible.

Bangladesh (probable): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shakib al Hasan (Captain), Raqibul Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Abdur Razzak, Naeem Islam, Shaiful Islam, Rubel Hossain.

England (probable): Andrew Strauss (Captain), Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (WK), Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shahzad.

England celebrates their win

The second Test at Manchester promised to provide great entertainment after the outcome of the first Test at Lords. England was expected to win, and they did. However, the victory was very tricky for England as it had to overcome some very solid batting by Bangladesh in both the innings.

Hence, this test was a good chance for England to show that they were the same dangerous side which won the Ashes last summer at home, and would go on to defend it in Australia this year.

Under sunny conditions, Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first on a slow pitch. Strauss and his opening partner, Alastair Cook gave England a good start. Cook was not amongst the runs, after his exploits as captain in Bangladesh in March.

He looked settled, until Strauss got out to a good delivery by the young Shaiful Islam, giving a regulation catch to a waiting Imrul Kayes at third slip. The score was 44/1 when the double-centurion of the last Test, Jonathan Trott came out to bat. However, it wasn’t long until Shaiful came up with another peach of a delivery which angled into Trott and bowled him comprehensively.

Why wasn’t Shaiful picked for the Lords Test? This must have been the question in every Bangladeshi fan’s mind, after the wicket of Trott. Kevin Pietersen, at No.4, joined Cook. Both of them wanted to build a huge partnership, but were prevented from doing so thanks to Cook falling to spinner Abdur Razzak, off his very first ball of the series.

At lunch, England was tottering at 92/3 with wickets belonging to the two changes that Shakib al Hasan had brought into the team for the Test. Could this session have an impact on the course of the match? It didn’t prove to be, as England showed that winning a session doesn’t necessarily mean that a team has the momentum to do well later in a Test match.

Kevin Pietersen was batting like a free bird, especially attacking the left-arm spinners. He scored 64 runs off just 81 balls, until it was Shakib al Hasan who got him out again!

A very rash shot ended Pietersen’s innings and England were in a Catch-22 situation at 153/4 when the 1-Test old Eoin Morgan came out to bat. It was a good opportunity for him to prove his worth as a Test player.

Morgan took the responsibility to attack, while Bell was quietly at the other end scoring runs by taking the ones and twos time and again. At tea, Bell reached his fifty and he looked to score a lot more.

Morgan was dismissed by an erratic Shahadat Hossain, giving him his first wicket of the match. However, that didn’t stop Bell as he had an able partner in Matt Prior. The duo batted right till the end of the first day putting England in a much better position at 275/5 in 83 overs.

One of the highlights of the second day was Ian Bell reaching a well-deserved hundred. Prior also made a half-century, which was crucial for England to build a challenging first-innings total. However, England suffered a setback with the wicket of Bell, leaving England at 399/7 at lunch.

The last three wickets fell quickly as England were bowled out for 416, just after lunch. The Bangladeshi skipper ended once again as his team’s best bowler with figures of 5/121 in 37.3 overs which included four maidens. Shakib al Hasan’s proved that the Old Trafford was a spinner’s paradise.

In 2006, Muttiah Muralitharan took 10 wickets in the match to lead Sri Lanka to a win against England. In 2008, Daniel Vettori picked five wickets in the first innings, although England went on to win. So it was a good sign for spinners to have a good game altogether.

Tamim Iqbal in my book, is definitely a prime candidate for winning the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year award this year. And his 108 runs off just 114 balls is justification of my belief. A strike rate of 94.73 only goes to show the mess that he got England into, and what a Sehwag-like impact he can make.

He is proving to be an asset for Bangladesh and his growing maturity was shown even as wickets fell at the other end, with Swann doing good business with the old ball.

The next highest score was 36, by his opening partner Imrul Kayes! Bangladesh were cruising at 126/0, until it was time to watch the Swann show. Quick wickets of Junaid Siddique and Jahurul Islam alongwith Anderson picking Tamim Iqbal reduced Bangladesh to a treacherous 169/4, when Shakib joined Mohammad Ashraful at the crease.

Bangladesh’s two best batsmen also struggled as Shakib fell to Swann’s brilliant flighted delivery outside the off-stump, giving Swann his fourth wicket of the match. Ashraful became the young Ajmal Shahzad’s first Test victim, leaving Bangladesh at 200/6.

From here on, there is nothing much for Bangladeshi fans to even watch, let alone rejoice. Swann ended the Bangladeshi innings in style, with a five-wicket haul as Bangladesh was all out for 216 at the end of the second days play.

It was proved that Swann is extremely effective on a turning track as he went wicketless on a much grassier Lords surface. So Swann would have to improve a lot as Australia isn’t too far away. He needs to recreate the magic that he had displayed in South Africa, if England has to do well to retain the Ashes and rise in the ICC Test rankings.

However, the match was not over by any means even as the end was hasty. Bangladesh was trailing by 203 runs in the first innings, very similar to the situation they were in at Lords.

Strauss had no hesitation in asking Bangladesh to bat again. It was a good chance for Bangladesh to bat better as they would be rejuvenated enough after a demoralizing second day.

However, England’s bowlers were much fresher than Bangladesh’s batsmen because cloudy skies dominated the start of the third day’s play. England took full advantage of the poor weather conditions as they showed that they are very much the dangerous home team that they traditionally have been.

Bangladesh’s second innings was dominated by the English pace duo of James Anderson and Steven Finn. Tamim Iqbal, who had so far scored 266 runs in 3 innings in the series so far, fell of the second ball of the innings to a short-pitched ball from Anderson. Anderson was at his best, as he picked Iqbal both the times in the match.

It didn’t take long for Kayes, Siddique and Jahurul Islam to fall as Bangladesh were left reeling at 21/4 in 8 overs only. Ashraful tried to put up a fight but was dismissed on 14, giving Anderson his third wicket of the innings. The other formalities were completed by the rest of the crop, especially Finn who picked up another five-wicket haul in the series.

Mahmudullah delayed the inevitable by scoring a sedate 38, but these individual performances haven’t allowed Bangladesh to play as a team. And the result was a loss to Bangladesh by an innings and 80 runs. It just took one session for Bangladesh to be bowled out on Day 3.

Shakib al Hasan had every right to be disappointed with the batting, which failed miserably in swinging conditions. The team could be consoled with Tamim Iqbal’s performances which won him the man of the series award. Andrew Strauss was a happier man and rated this victory a lot higher than that at Lords, for obvious reasons.

England have also benefited with Steven Finn sharing the man-of-the-series award with Iqbal for picking 15 wickets in the series. It is good to see Finn coming off age and he could be the next Harmison for England, with the build that he has. However there are still concerns for the team. They need to enhance their game in such a way that they are unbeatable.

Under cloudy skies, England are unbeatable but in sunny conditions, the same cannot be said. Australia would have hard, bouncy pitches and sunny conditions.

The bowling, in particular has to be worked upon as if Bangladesh can win sessions easily, why can’t teams like Australia do so? And if the immediate future is concerned, why can’t a new-look Pakistan team look to win a Test series in England for the first time since 1992?

If everybody thought that England would dominate right throughout the game, like they did in the first two days, it was time to think again. Bangladesh are not the same side like they were five years ago.

Their perseverance and hard work paid off as they could challenge England’s supremacy at home. It was a good sign for Bangladesh and thus test cricket. The last three days was a fitting reply to those critics who felt that minnows like Bangladesh do not deserve to maintain their status as a Test-playing nation.

The third day’s play began with a lot of hope for Bangladesh. At the overnight score of 179/2, Shakib al Hasan’s men would have looked to score above 350 for sure and make England bat again.

However, events didn’t turn out to favour Bangladesh. It was due to some fine bowling by rookie pacer Steven Finn. Finn was criticized a day before, for not bowling to his strengths against a relatively weak Bangladeshi batting line-up.

However, he helped England fight back in the match by picking key wickets of the well-set Imrul Kayes, the dangerous Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful and the in-form wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim.

Day 3 was a rain-hit day and if it wasn’t raining, the duration of play was low due to bad light. Though, it aided England’s bowlers who traditionally rely on swing and seam movement.

Even James Anderson, England’s spearhead fast bowler, wasn’t at his best the day before. But along with Finn, he exploited the conditions on the third day by picking four wickets, which included the important wicket of Shakib al Hasan, the Bangladeshi skipper.

At the end of Day 3, Bangladesh had yet again collapsed, like in the past in Test matches. They were left reeling at 237/7 from a score of 179/2. England proved that they were returning to their best, after a not so convincing bowling performance a day before.

Day 4 promised to be exciting. Bangladesh was wrapped up for 282 in the first session of the day. England had a huge first-innings lead of 223 runs. This made Andrew Strauss impose the follow-on, allowing Bangladesh to bat again. In the second innings, Bangladesh played much better than expected. Tamim Iqbal’s century was the highlight of the day.

It was one of the most memorable knocks Lord’s would have ever seen. And that too by a young Bangladeshi opening batsman. He carried on from his 55 in the first innings to score a 100-ball 103, which included as many as 15 fours and 2 sixes.

Sounds like a one-day knock, isn’t it? But that was the beauty of the innings. Just as how Dilip Vengsarkar played a breathtaking knock in 1986 at the same ground, Tamim Iqbal too defied the English bowlers and was severe on Tim Bresnan, in particular.

That hundred not only put his name on the honours board at Lords, but also assured Bangladesh that they won’t lose by an innings and England would have to chase, which would be tricky given that the weather was unpredictable and the pitch was also going to slow down.

His opening partner, Imrul Kayes also had a good outing the second time around, as he scored his first Test fifty. Both put up a threatening and defying 185-run partnership for the first wicket in just 38.2 overs. However, England struck back at the stroke of tea on Day 4, sending back both the openers to the pavilion, in quick succession.

Junaid Siddique, batting at No.3, made it 2 in 2, by scoring another fifty. The young Jahurul Islam gave good support to Siddique as they put a 100-run partnership for the third wicket. And this is where the turnaround for England actually began.
After some solid resistance by Bangladesh’s batsman, it was time for England to strike. Siddique was stranded at the non-strikers end as wickets of Islam, Ashraful and night watchman Shahadat Hossain fell.

Mohammad Ashraful was in good touch until Anderson bowled a short delivery to which Ashraful played on, and Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper took a regulation catch behind the stumps. Day 4 ended with Bangladesh at 328/5 in the second innings, following on as Siddique was unbeaten on 66 and captain Shakib al Hasan was not out on 2.

It was the same story on the final day of the Test match. The young Bangladeshi team was bound to be nervous and under pressure as they were fighting to draw the match. And England took full advantage of their mental state.

Andrew Strauss plotted dismissals very well and it produced immediate results. Shakib al Hasan and Junaid Siddique fell quickly, earlier in the day, courtesy some good bowling by Finn once again.

This left two new batsmen at the crease, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, at drinks with the score reading 356/7. Bangladesh would have been hoping for the rains to come again. But the weather gods supported the hosts.

At lunch, Bangladesh was bowled out for 382, a very low score to make from being at a strong position of 328/5, overnight. It left Steven Finn as a strong contender for the man-of-the-match with a five-wicket haul in the second innings, besides his four wickets in the first innings.

England needed a mere 160 runs to win. And they chased it in style, thanks to captain Strauss’ 82, which was his second fifty of the game. Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen finished off the chase with Trott contributing again with 36 not out, and Pietersen hurried off the finish with two boundaries, ending with 10 not out.

Finn indeed was the man-of-the-match, although some would feel that Trott deserved it as he scored 262 runs in the entire match. It was an under-par performance from both the sides, something which both the captains would agree with. England weren’t looking the dominant Test team that they are at home, and Bangladesh need to be mentally stronger to challenge teams like England.

With the Ashes around the corner, Strauss and coach Andy Flower will have to work on the bowling as Australian conditions would be harsh for England’s ‘swing’ bowlers. And if they continue to play like this, it could be curtains not just for the Ashes in winter, but the remaining English summer when Pakistan come later.

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are ranked 9th and 10th in ODI cricket currently. Undoubtedly, they have been occupied the position of minnows since the last decade or so. It is a Himalayan task for both these teams to get to even the Top 8 of those rankings. And if Test cricket is taken into consideration, the less said, the better. Bangladesh is languishing at the bottom, whereas Zimbabwe is not eligible for Teststatus at the moment.

However, there is a ray of light in this darkness. Even today’s well-established teams like India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand took time to become what they are today. In the first ten years of international cricket, these teams didn’t make their presence felt at all. So the fact that Bangladesh, who is ten years old in international cricket, is a growing child and soon will become an adolescent, who will make an impact soon on the game.

It is understood that in a competitive market, a new firm will take time to settle and compete with firms which are large, having a huge market share. This is practical economics. However, Zimbabwe has been in international cricket since 1983. It is a shame for the nation not to advance year after year.

The country has been affected severely by their President Robert Mugabe. The external environment hasn’t helped groom the players to play for the national team. The situation is so pathetic that the country lost their Test status in 2005 and has to play most of their ODIs against Bangladesh!

Though, all is not lost. Bangladesh has a bright future ahead of them, looking at the better quality of cricket they have produced in the last one year or so. Although they have won just 9 of 66 Tests that they have played so far, yet they are growing well as a team with a positive, fine-quality player like Shakib al Hasan as their captain.

And also Jamie Siddons is their coach. In Tests, they have a good opening pair in young Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes. Altogether, their batting in Test cricket looks impressive. Their captain is an all-rounder too. Bangladesh’s batting was one of the reasons of them winning the Tests in the West Indies last year. Though they lost all Tests at home last winter, they did win a few sessions comprehensively.

This was huge, considering the opponents were India and England. The most memorable being when Bangladesh bowled India out for a paltry 243 in the first Test at Chittagong, after Virender Sehwag said in a press conference that Bangladesh was an ‘ordinary’ team, which couldn’t pick 20 wickets in a Test match. And how wrong he was!

Also, in the second Test, Bangladesh was facing a huge first-innings deficit. But Tamim Iqbal showed his talent, by hammering 150 in the second innings on a crumbling pitch. The way he dominated Zaheer Khan and co was outstanding. The series against India prompted England’s stand-in captain Alastair Cook to say that Bangladesh are no more the underdogs.

Fortunately, even in the shorter formats of the game, the team is no longer dependent on Mohammad Ashraful, their most experienced player. This is a good sign for a united team. This team could go all the way and create more upsets against top teams just like they did against India at home in 2004, a much famous win against Australia in 2005 followed and a win against an in-form Sri Lanka in 2006.

However, the team has been impressive in world events too. They beat Pakistan in one of the most famous upsets in international cricket in the 1999 World Cup in England. India was once again beaten in the first round 2007 World Cup, effectively knocking them out of the tournament. And in the same tournament, Bangladesh also beat South Africa in the Super 8s stage. In the same year, there was the T-20 World Cup in South Africa also.

West Indies was beaten by Bangladesh comprehensively by 6 wickets, which allowed them to enter the Super 8s again. So if Bangladesh look to make a team which goes steady at least for the next two years, they could give the big guns a run for their money, as the team’s current average age is a mere 22!

Zimbabwe doesn’t have to face the pressures of Test cricket, although they might return to the format in one year’s time. So they can focus on rebuilding themselves in the ODI and T-20 formats. Like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe too has had some good outings. But it hasn’t been good going for the country against the top teams, though.

However, it seems that the country is going in the right direction, and wanting to emulate the achievements of the team of the 90s which had famous players like Heath Streak, the Flower brothers, Guy Whittall, Henry Olonga, Alastair Campbell and Douglas Hondo.

The racial quota system seems to be forgotten these days and as a result, players who had retired earlier have come back into the current team. For example, Andy Blignaut, Tatenda Taibu and Ray Price are a few talented players who have returned to play for their country.

And with a good amount of experienced players such as Prosper Utseya, Hamilton Masakadza, the captain Elton Chigumbura and wicket-keeper Brendan Taylor, the team looks set to bloom under the guidance of national coach Alan Butcher. Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach and Zimbabwe captain, is also taking huge interest in the activities of the High Performance Centre at Harare, which will allow aspiring players get some advice on the tricks of the trade.

This team can start its recovery through the T-20 format. They beat Australia in 2007 in the first round of the T-20 World Cup. They also beat them in the warm-up match of the 2009 T-20 World Cup, alongside defending champions Pakistan. And can their future get much better with Harbhajan Singh, donating branded cricket kits to the current team, courtesy Reebok?? Well, that remains to be seen in the immediate future.