Dhurr
March 3, 2006, 05:34 PM
Since our very first test, our batting - despite its potential - has come up short time and again. The one attribute you can almost always point to is the lack of consistency in our batting.
Every now and then, some one will go through a good patch, a la Hannan Sarkar during the Australia tour. Habibul Bashar, the captain of the Bangladesh team, used to be the only consistent batsman in the test side. You could depend on him to score at least a half-century in every 2nd or 3rd innings. Bashar has twenty-one 50s and three 100s in 77 test innings; despite his recent lean patch, that's still a fifty-plus score in roughly every three innings.
As of late, Md. Ashraful has been enjoying a great run. Now, the question is, has he really matured and are we going to see a more consistent Ashraful from here on, or is he just going through a good patch like Hannan did in Australia?
I, and I'm sure all Bangladesh cricket fans, hope that it is the former rather than the latter. However, a one-man army is likely to fail more often than not, and so, we need at least one more batsman who is consistent enough to complement Ashraful's efforts.
Unfortunately for us, Habibul Bashar is on the decline; he has given plenty to Bangladesh cricket, but as he's getting older, we cannot expect him to continue to have the same kind of success he had during his earlier test years. Khaled Mashud, another aging star, provided invaluable support in the last test against Sri Lanka. Although he scored only 6 runs in the first innings, he provided invaluable support in a 64-run partnership with Md. Ashraful spanning 108 deliveries. In the second innings, although he scored only 15 runs, he featured in the only 50-run partnership of the Bangladeshi innings. Despite having a long string of these fine performances, Mashud is a lower-middle order batsman who was never the prolific run scorer an Ashraful or a Bashar can be, and is also on the waning end of a long career.
So, what is the outlook for the Bangladeshi team in terms of their batting performance? I would say it is still very bright. Ashraful, in my opinion, has come of age. He is confident, more mature and has adopted a better approach to the game. Bashar and Mashud will still be in the game for a few more years and thus, continue to set examples for the rookies. Aftab and Nafees Iqbal have the potential to be solid contributors to the team, and after the recent successes of the under-19 team, you can only be optimistic about the future of Bangladesh cricket. So, all we need right now is one of the youngsters to learn from Bashar, Mashud and Ashraful, and be more consistent. A pair of Aftab (or Iqbal or whoever) and Ashraful, with the support of Mashud and Bashar, can be just what Bangladesh needs to win its first test against one of the stronger opponents in the test arena.
Every now and then, some one will go through a good patch, a la Hannan Sarkar during the Australia tour. Habibul Bashar, the captain of the Bangladesh team, used to be the only consistent batsman in the test side. You could depend on him to score at least a half-century in every 2nd or 3rd innings. Bashar has twenty-one 50s and three 100s in 77 test innings; despite his recent lean patch, that's still a fifty-plus score in roughly every three innings.
As of late, Md. Ashraful has been enjoying a great run. Now, the question is, has he really matured and are we going to see a more consistent Ashraful from here on, or is he just going through a good patch like Hannan did in Australia?
I, and I'm sure all Bangladesh cricket fans, hope that it is the former rather than the latter. However, a one-man army is likely to fail more often than not, and so, we need at least one more batsman who is consistent enough to complement Ashraful's efforts.
Unfortunately for us, Habibul Bashar is on the decline; he has given plenty to Bangladesh cricket, but as he's getting older, we cannot expect him to continue to have the same kind of success he had during his earlier test years. Khaled Mashud, another aging star, provided invaluable support in the last test against Sri Lanka. Although he scored only 6 runs in the first innings, he provided invaluable support in a 64-run partnership with Md. Ashraful spanning 108 deliveries. In the second innings, although he scored only 15 runs, he featured in the only 50-run partnership of the Bangladeshi innings. Despite having a long string of these fine performances, Mashud is a lower-middle order batsman who was never the prolific run scorer an Ashraful or a Bashar can be, and is also on the waning end of a long career.
So, what is the outlook for the Bangladeshi team in terms of their batting performance? I would say it is still very bright. Ashraful, in my opinion, has come of age. He is confident, more mature and has adopted a better approach to the game. Bashar and Mashud will still be in the game for a few more years and thus, continue to set examples for the rookies. Aftab and Nafees Iqbal have the potential to be solid contributors to the team, and after the recent successes of the under-19 team, you can only be optimistic about the future of Bangladesh cricket. So, all we need right now is one of the youngsters to learn from Bashar, Mashud and Ashraful, and be more consistent. A pair of Aftab (or Iqbal or whoever) and Ashraful, with the support of Mashud and Bashar, can be just what Bangladesh needs to win its first test against one of the stronger opponents in the test arena.