Bangladesh

[Nottsboy118]

After the series loss to the West Indies we make four changes to our ODI squad, Taskin Ahmed, Robiul Haque, Ariful Haque and Nazmul Hossain all come in, Nasir Hossain, Abu Jayed, Nazmul Islam and Mashrafe Mortaza all drop out. The squad is therefore as follows:

Mahmudullah, M (c); Ahmed, T; Al Hasan, S; Ali, M (wk) Das, L (wk); Hasan, A; Hasan, M; Haque, A; Haque, R; Hossain, M; Hossain, N; Hossain, R; Iqbal, T; Rahim, M (vc); Sarkar, S

Taskin Ahmed and Ariful Haque gets come in after strong domestic showings, Nazmul Hossain and Robiul Haque come in for similar reasoning plus they’re obvious potential with both under the age of 21. Those dropping out all drop out for poor showings on the international stage apart from Nasir Hossain who has suffered an injury.

- The XI for the first game was: Iqbal, Sarkar, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Das (wk), Ali, Hasan, Ahmed, Hossain, Rahman

Mithun Ali gets a rare chance in the XI, coming in for the injured Nasir Hossain. And Taskin is giving a great chance to impress as he comes straight into the team replacing Abul Hasan.

We lost the toss and are put in to bat. We bat okay with five scores between 34 and 60 as we reach 265-7 in the 50 overs, if one of those five had gone big we would have been on for over the 300 mark and the odds would have been very much in our favour.

The wickets were shared around as we bowled Zimbabwe out for just 185 to gain a commanding win in the first game of the series. Special mention to Taskin Ahmed who was handed the new ball and ripped through the top order to gain 3-44 from his 8 completed overs, the challenger for Ahmed is obviously to produce that level on a regular basis and nail down his spot in the XI.

- After the convincing win in the first game we go with the same XI for the second: Iqbal, Sarkar, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Das (wk), Ali, Hasan, Ahmed, Hossain, Rahman

Again we lose the toss and are made to bat again, and this time we go a bit better than last time as Iqbal’s 110 powers us to 281-8 in the 50 overs.

And we edge home as Zimbabwe come up short as they are bowled out for 271 in 47.2 overs. Rubel Hossain (3-57) and Taskin Ahmed (2-55) are the star men as they are making up for lost time this season after forcing themselves into the XI. That wraps up the series and gives us our first dead rubber of the year in any format.

- And for that dead rubber we opt to make a few changes to give rests and opportunities for those dropping out and those coming in respectively. We line-up as so: Iqbal, Hossain, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Ali (wk), Haque, Hasan, Haque, Ahmed, Hossain

So Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mehedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman drop out and Nazmul Hossain, Ariful Haque (with Mithun Ali taking the gloves), Robiul Haque and Abul Hasan come in. Nazmul Hossain and Robiul Haque are the most interesting of those coming in; Nazmul has impressed in the longer format for us and gets his chance to open, which I think will be his long term position, in the shorter format, and Robiul looks a very impressive young off-spinner, although we have one of those already, and someone I want to give plenty of opportunities over the coming years. Abul has obviously played a fair bit over the season and is a player I like but not one who currently commands a spot in the first choice XI and finally Ariful is a player who at the start of the year I wanted to give game time too in the shorter format but I just haven’t been able to so as of yet, he gets a earned start.

We finally win a toss and put Zimbabwe in. A good bowling performance sees us take 10 wickets for the third time this series as Zimbabwe post 193. Shakib Al Hasan took 4-49 and was ably supported by Robiul Haque on debut (1-29) who put in an incredibly economical 10 overs as the spinners stoo out.

We made it look a bit less comfortable than it appeared for the majority of the chase as we won by 5 wickets. I highlighted the two youngsters on the announcement of the squad and then on selection for this game and they both delivered, after Haque’s great bowling display Nazmul Hossain top scored with a great 89 to see us home.

So after a poor test performance against Zimbabwe, we cruised to a 3-0 win in the shorter stuff. But these series’ were always hopefully just going to be preparation for the New Zealand tour and so they proved as we take maximum points available ahead of the challenging tour ahead.

[Nottsboy118]

Our biggest test of the year, by a considerable distance, lay ahead of us: three tests followed by three ODIs all in the foreign conditions of New Zealand. The squad picked was as followed:

Mahmudullah, M (c); Ahmed, T; Al Hasan, S; Das, L (wk); Hasan, M; Hasan, N (wk); Hossain, M; Hossain, N; Hossain, R; Islam, T; Islam, K; Iqbal, T; Jayed, A; Kayes, I; Mazid, A; Rahim, M (vc); Rahman, M; Roy, S

It is all pretty standard with the majority of players having already turned out in white clothing for us this year or have been on a respective tour. Taskin Ahmed forces his way into the touring part after good domestic showings and a strong return to the international scene in the limited overs aspect of the Zimbabwe tour. We are clear second favourites and really all I’m looking for is the ability to compete and push New Zealand close in these foreign conditions. The biggest concern being our fast bowler contingent, none of the bowlers to have featured for us this season average below 30 and without the comfort of knowing the spinners are likely to pick up the majority of the wickets I worry for their chances of causing much damage.

- We head into the first match with the following XI: Iqbal, Hossain, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Das (wk), Hossain, Hasan, Hossain, Roy, Rahman
Mazid’s brief but poor introduction to test cricket is ended with Nazmul Hossain pushed up to open in challenging conditions against a very good seam attack, this is a huge challenge for the youngster but one I think will be very good for his development and also one that he has the talent to overcome. The other area worth discussion is the seam bowling stock, we opt with Rubel Hossain, Subashis Roy and Mustafizur Hossain for this first game, this represents a nice mix of (relative) experience, angle, speed but whether that would count for anything in the test was undecided.

We won the toss and batted first making a very patient 405 all out with Rahim making a wonderful 177 with solid supporting acts from Mahmudullah and Mehedi Hasan. The score was okay but perhaps a touch below par considering it was made off the back of only two of our ‘recognised’ batsmen making any noticeable impact, luckily for us one of those ‘impacts’ was pretty significant.

My worst fears were then realised as the three seamers all looked different variations of un-threatening as 7 of the New Zealand wickets to fall fell to either Shakib or Hasan. Nevertheless we restricted New Zealand to 420 and if we produced a decent batting performance we could cement the draw and potentially push for a victory.

A solid innings we got as we reached 329-8 declared after some slogging towards the end but the total was setup initially by a tremendous 269 run opening stand between Tamin Iqbal (151) and Nazmul Hossain (138). This all left New Zealand with 315 to win in about 2 and a half sessions or so and us needing 10 wickets, the chances are in would peter out into a draw but the extra chance for the pace bowlers to get some overs under their belt would be important for the remainder of the series.

Well this didn’t go to plan at all… 315-5 in 66.4 overs. Ridiculous really, on a tricky fifth day pitch our bowling deficiencies were shown up glaringly. Annoying as we could have batted a loss out of the occasion (although I thought I already had) but ultimately if the bowlers are that ineffectual it is maybe better to discover the harsh realities because this was unacceptable.

- Onto the second test there was a solitary change as Roy dropped out to be replaced by Taskin Ahmed, leaving: Iqbal, Hossain, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Das (wk), Hossain, Hasan, Hossain, Ahmed, Rahman

We again won the toss and batted first, however on this occasion the big three (Boult, Southee and Wagner) saw to us as we were bowled out for just 245 with Mossadek Hossain top scoring and making the score somewhat respectable with 68.

New Zealand reached 378 which was probably about par or maybe just over but was made to look significantly better due to our underwhelming total. Either way despite our bowlers best efforts this was beginning to look like a test out of our reach.

And this was proved to be true as we were skittled out for the second time in the test below 250 as we reached just 176.

With not many to chase New Zealand reached 46 for no loss to take a commanding victory and to seal the series after two matches.

- The first game offered promise then second offered nothing, so the third would offer if nothing else change. Iqbal, Hossain, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Kayes. Hasan (wk), Hasan, Hossain, Ahmed, Jayed was our line-up as Das, Hossain and Rahman were left out, replaced by Kayes, Nurul Hasan and Jayed. Das and Hossain have shown promise all year but have struggled this tour and are left out for the last test of the season, there is a clear path back to the XI though and a fair chance they will be starting come next year. Mustafizur is a more curious case, our standout limited overs bowler this year but he has struggled to make a similar impact in the longer form, the question of whether he’s cut-out for tests is one I’m considering with the option of saving him for coloured clothing matches one possibility.

We won our third toss in a row and again batted. We struggled losing early wickets however a century for Kayes on his return to the side and first game of the year hoisted up to 334 all out.

However once the New Zealand innings started I was instantly worried as the tour had been showing signs of having its wheels come off, and they did as New Zealand romped to 609-9 declared, the declaration being sweet mercy for our bowlers. Tasking Ahmed took 4-109 but really there was precious little to show and the areas of weaknesses identified before the tour had been exposed badly here.

After the disappointment of the second test I could at least take heart in the battle shown by the team this time round as we scored 340 in response. Mahmudullah (98) and Rahim (95) both fell short of deserved centuries as we gained some pride.

However New Zealand with a small target didn’t hang around hitting 66 in just 13.5 overs as Taskin Ahmed took the solitary wicket.

So overall a bit of a thrashing. There were moments in the first game, and we shouldn’t have lost that one, but the next two games showed the disparity between the two sides especially in these conditions. On the test side of things this season has gone, in purely results terms, very well so this was a bit of a bump back to ground. However there was an ODI series to play to gain some pride back and we fully intended to do just that.

[Nottsboy118]

On to the three ODIs which will be our last games this season, so hopefully we can round things off with a series win. We make a single change to our last ODI squad as Mortaza comes in for the impressive Robiul Haque. Haque was great on debut but we felt with the conditions likely to favour the seamers an extra option in that department was the way to go. Thus the Squad was:

Mahmudullah, M (c); Ahmed, T; Al Hasan, S; Ali, M (wk) Das, L (wk); Haque, A; Hasan, A; Hasan, M; Hossain, N; Hossain, R; Iqbal, T; Mortaza, M; Rahim, M (vc); Rahman, M; Sarkar, S

- We make multiple changes compared to our last game, as that was a dead rubber, but just one changecompared to the XI that played the game before that one as Nazmul Hossain comes in for Mithun Ali. Leaving: Iqbal, Sarkar, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Das (wk), Hossain, Hasan, Ahmed, Hossain, Rahman

We lost the toss and were put into bat. We got off to an average start with Boult and Southee bowling well before Shakib Al Hasan came to the crease and hit a brilliant 118 to take us up to 262-6 in the 50 overs, a slightly below par total but it gave the bowlers something to work with

And work with it they did as Hossain and Ahmed bowled a beautiful new ball spell to put us as firm favourites, Al Hasan backed them up well however we were lax towards the end of the innings and inexplicably left the door ajar which Nicholls and the tail-enders barged through to win by 1 wicket.

- We made a single change to the XI as Ariful Haque came in for Nazmul Hossain, we were the better team in the previous match for long periods and we definitely could beat this NewZealand team in the shorter format. The team selected was thus: Iqbal, Sarkar, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Das (wk), Haque, Hasan, Ahmed, Hossain, Rahman

We won the toss this time and sent New Zealand in. Again Ahmed and Hossain were straight on the money and again they were well backed up but this time we closed out the innings well and had New Zealand all out in the last over for just 235.

We chased with ease, Iqbal, Rahim and Al Hasan hitting 50s as we cruised home. The momentum was definitely with us as we sensed a series win was within our reach.

- We enter the decider with the same team: Iqbal, Sarkar, Mahmudullah (c), Rahim, Al Hasan, Das (wk), Haque, Hasan, Ahmed, Hossain, Rahman

See the previous match entry. Dangerous from the openers, economical from the spinners and Mustafizur was just Mustafizur with 4-38. New Zealand were all out for 227. The seamers took 9 of those wickets and were just so very dangerous, something we need to figure out how to transfer to the test match arena.

Again see the previous entry. It was a low chase but against a quality attack we made it look so so easy, Iqbal (73) and Sarkar (101) broke the Bangladeshi ODI opening partnership record posting 180 as we eased home to 229-3 with no problems.

A fantastic 2-1 series win to end the year is very pleasing indeed, especially considering it really should have been 3-0 but for a lack of ruthlessness. There are plenty of positives and negatives for this team in all three formats but all in all it’s been a solid year with plenty to work on as we move forward.

[Nottsboy118]

Bangladesh 2018/19 Year-end Review:
The results:

• Series 1:

T20I – Afghanistan 1 – 2 Bangladesh

• Series 2:

Test Match – West Indies 1 – 1 Bangladesh
ODI – West Indies 1 – 2 Bangladesh
T20I West Indies 1 – 2 Bangladesh

• Series 3:

Test Match – Bangladesh 1 – 0 West Indies
ODI – Bangladesh 1 – 2 West Indies
T20I Bangladesh 1 – 0 West Indies

• Series 4:

Test Match – Bangladesh 2 – 1 Zimbabwe
ODI – Bangladesh 3 – 0 Zimbabwe

• Series 5:

Test Match – New Zealand 3 – 0 Bangladesh
ODI – New Zealand 1 – 2 Bangladesh

All of which means we have moved from: 9, 7, 9 to 8, 6, 7 in the Test match, ODI and T20I rankings respectively. With our ranking points having moved from 9, 17, 9 to 12, 19, 14.
I think we can put that down to a very successful season. We broke the following records to top things off:

• New Test 7^th Wicket stand
• New ODI 1^st Wicket Stand
• New T20I 3^rd and 6^th Wicket Stands

A few stats:

Batting –

Top three run scorers:

Test Match – Al Hasan 1018, Iqbal 705, Rahim 702
ODI – Iqbal 552, Rahim 507, Sarkar 464
T20I – Rahim 277, Iqbal 252, Sarkar 202

Top three averages:

Test Match – Kayes 56.50, Al Hasan 53.58, Hossain, N 48.30
ODI – Rahim 50.70, Al Hasan 48.63, Sarkar 46.40
T20I – Rahim 69.25, Iqbal 50.40, Sarkar 33.67

Hundreds:

Test Match: 3 (Al Hasan), 2 (Iqbal), 1(Kayes, Hossain, Hossain, Rahim, Das)
ODI: 2 (Sarkar), 1 (Rahim, Al Hasan, Iqbal, Mahmudullah)
T20I: -

Bowling –

Top three wickets:

Test Match – Al Hasan 47, Hasan 37, Islam 30
ODI – Al Hasan 21, Rahman 20, Hossain 18
T20I – Rahman 9, Al Hasan 8, Islam 6

Top three averages:

Test Match – Islam 31.80, Al Hasan35.34, Ahmed 37.33
ODI – Ahmed 18.57, Rahman 21.80, Hossain 22.44 (Sarkar not included – bowled less than 1 over)
T20I – Mahmudullah 9.00, Hossain 14.67, Islam 20.33

5-fors:

Test Match: 4 (Al Hasan), 3 (Islam)
ODI: -
T20I: 1 (Rahman)

There is one main area I need to improve; Test Match seam bowling. This means we either need to coax better performances from our current options or source some better options. There are obviously other areas which need fine tuning but the pre-mentioned is the most obvious flaw we currently have. So onwards we go as we approach our second season.