BD V. WI Before the Toss: a Little Pre-match Banter

[Sohel]

I gotta hand it to our Tigers. First they make me, a 40 year old cricket traditionalist of sorts, get into ODIs and now T20s.

Life is full of surprises when people made of the same stuff as yourself start playing, improving and eventually competing at the elite level of a sport. As confined within parts of the Commonwealth ghetto cricket is, the billion plus passionate fans within that particular ghetto make it one of the most popular sports in the history of humankind already, and with its 3 hour sprint to the finish packed with more uncertainties and the subsequent pressure than any other form of international cricket, T20s are bound to make the sport even more popular than ever – hence the very first T20 World Championships a short time after its introduction into the annals of cricket culture. The notable participation of the most talent-packed Bangladesh squad to date, and its better-than-ever realistic chances to do better than expected in the tournament, add extra zing to the buzzing electric excitement for 150 million Tiger fans living in and outside Bangladesh, waiting by the supreme grace of Allah, to bring us together in celebration, no matter how far they go.

Step one on that uncertain road to glory: an also very talented and comparatively more experienced side coming from the sort of tradition that can make cricket culture as a whole what it is today. Despite the premature retirement of the incomparable Brian Charles Lara and the marauding Ricardo Powell, West Indies have in their captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, and his supporting cast of batsmen such as Gayle, Samuels, Sammy the newbie, and the multi-faceted Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, a world class batting lineup that can end a T20 match in a matter of overs and go on to win the Championship. Their useful and versatile genuine all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and superb young wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin can also hit a few consistently when required. Capable and T20-hardened bowlers such as Edwards, Powell and Collins, assisted by the likes of Bravo, Rampaul, Samuels, Gayle and Deonarine are expected to keep things just tight enough to bring it home for the Caribbean Kings of T20 cricket. West Indies are the toughest opponents a T20 side can face alongside Australia and South Africa. We’re facing 2 out of that those big 3 right off the bat, and will need the right lineup, the right strategy, the right tactics and the right application to give them a run for their money and enhance our chances to move into this Super 8 and possibly beyond.

I’m not sure if the recent Bangladesh lineup playing in the African continent is necessarily the best combination we can muster. That said, we don’t really have the time to explore other possibilities at this stage, do we now? In my humble opinion, Junaid Siddique and Ziaur Rahman should have been given a chance or two, and Alok Kapali and Aftab Ahmed given an over or two to bowl during the course of this trip. That didn’t happen for typically baffling reasons, so here’s to the hope that the current lineup can match their better performances against a superior team.

Batting wise, Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Nazimuddin must give us the type of start only their combined efforts can make us imagine. Fidel Edwards has quite a bit of pace, can generate excellent movement off the pitch, and his swinging Yorkers are lethal enough not to allow for any shoddy footwork. Daren Powell also has pace, tends to be bang on target from the first delivery, and can frustrate any batsman with his McGrath-like accuracy. Zero margin of error for our openers there.

Then we have the AAA Battery of Aftab (Ahmed), (Mohammad) Ashraful and Alok (Kapali) must do their part, meaning correctly assess the situation and consolidate and accelerate as required, and make sure that at least one of them sticks around until the end of the innings. That shouldn’t be too difficult for any one the three if they manage to keep their traditional demons at bay, and play clever, mostly disciplined but highly playable bowlers such as Collins, Bravo, Samuels and possibly Gayle as sensibly as they have given us rare glimpses of in the past. They must play high percentage shots along the ground, mitigate pressure by rotating the strike with twos, and put away the bad ones. Easier said than done. Now the other batsmen. Frankly I’m not looking to either Shakib Al Hasan or Mushfiqur Rahim to contribute much with the bat in this particular version of cricket, but am eagerly anticipating Mashrafe Bin Murtaza and Farhad Reza to hit the booming sixes they are expected to critically contribute to the team with. Everything else is a bonus at this point.

Bowling wise, I have no doubts that the Rasel and Razzak duo will keep things on a short leash, simply because they both have the class to contain any batting lineup in the world in shorter versions of cricket. Chris Gayle’s poor footwork needs to exploited with good length deliveries that do not allow him to open those arms and bang away. Anything short and outside his off-stump is likely to be punished with his unorthodox punch through cover and mid-off, as his quickly brings his back foot across the crease. The less said about half-volleys and full-tosses the batter. Getting him frustrated and trapping him into mis-timing a lofted shot, can be the critical early breakthrough that can present us with the key to containing, frustrating, and having West Indies commit unforced errors. The RaRa tandem is more than capable of luring them into that particular demise. I’d have them bowl the last two overs also, it would be nothing less than criminally moronic not to do so.

As the third seamer, Farhad Reza needs to do to better opposition what his deliveries have done to Uganda, Scotland and Kenya, and our fine young captain can find the bowling consistency to match those stellar 4 overs from the recent loss to Kenya – we’d have only our audacious vice captain Mashrafe Bin Murtaza to worry about, and a very big worry it could turn out to be. The captain must come up with quick and effective alternatives, if his deputy fails to find his existential center and do the right things he is certainly capable of. The captain must have Alok Kapali and Aftab Ahmed ready to stand up and be counted at a moments notice. I’m sure Shakib Al Hasan will continue to get better and do very well, so no worries there. Hear me Allah.

Fielding wise, we are an excellent side, especially after the inclusion of Alok Kapali at point. His AAA Battery buddies Aftab and Ashraful, and other superb fielders like Shakib, Tamim and Farhad are capable of and will save the side valuable runs in the double figures, but those fluctuating and erratic concentration levels continue to present Bangladesh with the mortal danger of dropping catches that must be caught at this level. Catches still win matches, even more so at T20s, and the fielding errors must be kept as close to zero as possible for us to have a chance. The rapidly improving Mushfiqur Rahim must also continue to convert those stumping opportunities as he has been of late, play the bowling angles and torsion with his entire body like an Ice Hockey goalie and avoid those byes, keep chirping away at everything around him while adjusting the slip fielders according to his movements towards the stumps, and hammer in the last critical nail in the West Indian coffin by out performing them on the field.

Strategy, tactics and talent without application are novelty items like impotent laws and academic redundancies mulled over by scholars who live in a different world. So the key once again is application. It is the only key Tigers can fabricate out of their own diligence, discipline and whatever opportunities available on the field. Only the use of this key can give Bangladesh our first victory against a team looking to recover its glorious past, and give Sir Sobers, Sir Richards and Sir Lara reasons to sigh about.

[Tigers_eye]

Very good article as usual. All the strengths and weaknesses are perfectly broken down.

If I can use one of your word to summarize the whole article, that would be "Application". Mine would be "implementation". Same same!!

[Sohel]

Very good article as usual. All the strengths and weaknesses are perfectly broken down. I must say, SA analysis is missing. I think we have a chance to beat them at their place. Even though they would come with all they got. The pressure of losing to the side who embarrased them in the last WC sometimes can be unbearable.

If I can use one of your word to summarize the whole article, that would be "Application". Mine would be "implementation". Same same!!

I'll post an SA "Before the Toss" after the BD V. WI "Post-mortem" Inshallah ...

[zainab]

Thanks for an interesting analysis, but is there any possibility that you can email this to Shaun Williams or any member of the Bangladeshi team?

After their defeat by Kenya, they looked at the match between WI and New Zealand, and hopefully they saw the way the WI bowl, fielded and bat and learn a few tricks.
Dinesh Ramdin as the young wicket keeper is very good, and our young adorable Mushy stll has to improve a lot to reach that standard. Of course ,Dinesh has been longer in the business, so he has more experience than Mushy who no doubt is improving from the World cup standards.

WI will go all out to win this match especially if they do not do well in their first match tomorrow, if they win tomorrow, then they will definitely go for the kill on Thursday because this allows them to advance.
Lets pray and hope. Our boys might be fasting too, so it might hard on them.
Even if our boys dont win, they should give these guys a hard time, and go down fighting, maybe we will be in for surprise.

[kp348]

Nice post Sohel bhai. As you have mentioned, WI is a formidable side particularly in this newest version of the game. They have improved a lot lately in the limited over affairs.

Although 20/20 is virtually all about batsmen, but I think our strength lies in our bowling. What I mean is, we are not capable of posting big totals like 200+, so what our bowlers need to do is contain oppositions total to as low as possible. I am sure Razzak and Rasel will continue their recent good works with the ball. Combination of Ash, Farhad and Sakib is quite encouraging as well (though none of them are tested, against quality batsmen in T20 except that solitary match against pak). Biggest worry is Mash, particularly his bowling at the death. Ash must use him after the field restriction is over (i.e. 7th over onward), and complete his quota well before end, and Razzak should bowl 18th and 20th over of the innings. Bowlers (specially pacers) need to vary their line, length and most importantly pace in every other delivery, so that they don't become predictable enough for the batsmen. Pacers need to devolop different yorker lines (previously they strive for middle stump line one), even bowling 5th stump line yorkers.


Besides that, no margin of error should be allowed fielding wise. We have to take every single chance in every single match and ground fielding must be A Class. Saving every single run is important.

And for the batsmen, I hope we don't see those familiar collapses, and 2/3 from AAA, Nazim and Tamim clicks in every match.

I have full faith in our team, and God willing we will do well in the WC.

[Roni_uk]

I always wondered if any of Bangladeshi crickets or committe board members actually read any of these very useful discussions/blogs. If not can you guys not produce a monthly review/comment/team feedback/suggestion letter to the board? There are so many good views come out of BC and get lost in ether, why can' we convert some of these in reality?

Thanks Sohel bhai for the excellent blog.

Roni

[Sauron]

Great preview! Now that you have stoked our taste, we'd expect one right before the match, another during the 20 mins break, a summary bulletin right after the match and a post-mortem after you have had some time to mull over.

Keep 'em flowing our way.


.

[Miraz]

Good analysis Sohel. In few points I differ with your observation. I hope you won't mind. :)

West Indies have in their captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, and his supporting cast of batsmen such as Gayle, Samuels, Sammy the newbie, and the multi-faceted Shivnaraine Chanderpaul,

Darren Sammy is a pace bowling all-rounder. He hasn't done anything yet at international level to consider him as a batsman.

- I will be more concerned about the batting of Devon Smith and Dwayne Smith along with other big guns (Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan). Dwayne Smith can tear any team apart in his days.

- Considering the tournament is going to be held in September which is way too early in SA cricket season (SA cricket season starts from mid October), I consider Bravo, Gayle, Dwayne Smith as more threat as bowlers compared to Edwards and Powell as the wickets are expected to be slow and low.

Frankly I’m not looking to either Shakib Al Hasan or Mushfiqur Rahim to contribute much with the bat in this particular version of cricket,

- Please don't write off Shakib in this particular format of game. He was one of the most explosive stroke maker of our age group team. Hope you have not forgotten his back to back run-a-ball centuries against England U-19 immediately before his international debut. He is going though a bad patch and he can deliver a handful in this format.

[Tigers_eye]

That Samuel dude is scary. Can we offer him citizenship? How about Abahoni gets him for next season?

[Miraz]

That Samuel dude is scary. Can we offer him citizenship? How about Abahoni gets him for next season?

Unfortunately Samuels like Bangladesh. His average against Bangladesh is almost double compared to his career average. :(

[rubel_18]

Great Article Sohel NR bhai, alway great to read. IMO u and Miraz bhais articles are great to read. Thanx a lot bhaiya

[al Furqaan]

who cares how good our fielders are, mashrafee will single handedly erase all that work and then some.

he is NOT a T20 bowler. i will put my money were my mouth is and say this:

mash is the best opening spell bowler in ODIs, bar none. there may be a bowler as good as him, but there isn't one any better.

but he is quite below even mediocre when it comes to the game's shortest version.

[mij]

who cares how good our fielders are, mashrafee will single handedly erase all that work and then some.

he is NOT a T20 bowler. i will put my money were my mouth is and say this:

mash is the best opening spell bowler in ODIs, bar none. there may be a bowler as good as him, but there isn't one any better.

but he is quite below even mediocre when it comes to the game's shortest version.

yes he should not play, may be as a bats man not as bowler.

[Tigers_eye]

...but he is quite below even mediocre when it comes to the game's shortest version.
But the replacement in BD team is 10 times worse than him. Be it Shahadat, Taposh, Talha or any other player. So he plays the shorter version of the game and represent BD for now. Good luck to him and the rest of the guys. Make us proud!!

[zainab]

I always wondered if any of Bangladeshi crickets or committe board members actually read any of these very useful discussions/blogs. If not can you guys not produce a monthly review/comment/team feedback/suggestion letter to the board? There are so many good views come out of BC and get lost in ether, why can' we convert some of these in reality?

Thanks Sohel bhai for the excellent blog.

Roni


Good suggestion!
I second this. there is an email on the tiger cricker website. If it is read anyhow is anyone's guess.

[KnightBD]

I always wondered if any of Bangladeshi crickets or committe board members actually read any of these very useful discussions/blogs. If not can you guys not produce a monthly review/comment/team feedback/suggestion letter to the board? There are so many good views come out of BC and get lost in ether, why can' we convert some of these in reality?

Thanks Sohel bhai for the excellent blog.

Roni

I also wonder if anybody related to BD team reads these threads who can deliver gist or good sugestions. If anybody does, my sugestion would be to ask Ash to concentrate on batting rather than bowling as he is doing now a days. We know we can bowl a bit, but he don't have to prove that every match. He is in the team as a batsman and his average for recent twenty20 is less than 7 for last four games. Other bowlers in the team should be given to bowl even if they give couple of extra runs, as he should have average over 20 in this format of the game.

[uvaskaves]

Great analysis. Exceptional writing. I have a couple of questions though:

1) If we win the toss, should we bat or bowl first?
I would bowl first since our strength seems to lie in our bowling and fielding (when we don't drop catches).

2) Would you bench Mortaza and bring in another batter (Junaid Siddique) or bowler (I don't know what options we have here)?
I would seriously consider this since Mortaza has had 5 matches to correct his mistakes, but his numbers have shown little or no improvement. But in the end, I would stick with Mortaza for the first match and pray that he has learned something from these matches in the past week, and proves his worth when it matters the most.

3) And finally, does anyone know how tiebreakers are determined in this tournament? For example: If WI beats SA, and BD beats WI, but BD loses to SA, all three teams would be 1-1.

[cricketboy]

Great article bhai. Lots of passion involved. ;)

[Trigger_Tiger]

Enjoyed the article, a good read indeed :)!!!!!

[Anher]

Thanking you sohel bhai for another piece of hard work. It belongs to front page article.

[cricket_king]

Brilliant article once more. Though I must say I think mushfique can hit the ball a long way. I'd say he just takes a while before getting set, and obviously we need him to be set a lot earlier in this form of the game. Nonetheless.....don't write him off....

[cricket_king]

Great analysis. Exceptional writing. I have a couple of questions though:

1) If we win the toss, should we bat or bowl first?
I would bowl first since our strength seems to lie in our bowling and fielding (when we don't drop catches).

2) Would you bench Mortaza and bring in another batter (Junaid Siddique) or bowler (I don't know what options we have here)?
I would seriously consider this since Mortaza has had 5 matches to correct his mistakes, but his numbers have shown little or no improvement. But in the end, I would stick with Mortaza for the first match and pray that he has learned something from these matches in the past week, and proves his worth when it matters the most.

3) And finally, does anyone know how tiebreakers are determined in this tournament? For example: If WI beats SA, and BD beats WI, but BD loses to SA, all three teams would be 1-1.

Benching mortaza would seriously demoralize the team. He's the vice captain and many consider him the heart of the Bangladesh cricket team. This move would not only make our bowling side ten-times weaker, it would also put a serious dent on our late-order hitting.

[Sohel]

Great analysis. Exceptional writing. I have a couple of questions though:

1) If we win the toss, should we bat or bowl first?
I would bowl first since our strength seems to lie in our bowling and fielding (when we don't drop catches).

2) Would you bench Mortaza and bring in another batter (Junaid Siddique) or bowler (I don't know what options we have here)?
I would seriously consider this since Mortaza has had 5 matches to correct his mistakes, but his numbers have shown little or no improvement. But in the end, I would stick with Mortaza for the first match and pray that he has learned something from these matches in the past week, and proves his worth when it matters the most.

3) And finally, does anyone know how tiebreakers are determined in this tournament? For example: If WI beats SA, and BD beats WI, but BD loses to SA, all three teams would be 1-1.

1. I'll go against the incomparable wisdom of this guy ...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Wg_grace.jpg

... and bowl first for a couple of reasons: I) South African pitches tend to offer extra movement and bounce in the morning and it's an early match, and II) Bangladesh has a better record chasing down targets against the big boys of international cricket.

These two don't need the extra help. If we can restrict West Indies at 175 or less with our tight bowling and fielding, our batsmen shouldn't have too much difficulty dealing with West Indian bowlers after surviving Fidel Edwards and Daren Powell. Rotating the strike preferably with 2s, hitting at least one boundary per over, and going for high percentage 6s when the opportunity presents itself should bring us victory.

I'd rather have them face our bowlers in the morning than have our inconsistent batsman face Edwards and Powell's wrath.

2. Mashrafe Bin Murtaza is the heart and soul of the team and must not be benched. Instead, he should take a page from Syed Rasel's spread-sheet and trade some of that pace for accuracy. If he's bang on target in the course of his first 2 overs, he should finish his quota of 4. If not, the captain needs replace him right away with the other options at his disposal, including Alok and Aftab. He should not bowl the last few overs.

3. I'm just guessing here, but I reckon team run rate is the first category for a tie-break, followed by head-to-head. I'm just guessing here.

Thanks for the kind words BTW ... :)

[Antora]

nice article :D enjoyed the article...a nice read!!!

btw ur 40?..wait...maybe instead of calling u sohel bhaiya....i think i should call u uncle!!!

[Sohel]

nice article :D enjoyed the article...a nice read!!!

btw ur 40?..wait...maybe instead of calling u sohel bhaiya....i think i should call u uncle!!!

I have cousins and nephews younger than you whose names start with the letter "A". Cousin Ayan is 2YO, and nephew Amiri is less than a month old. Then there's niece Assata (1YO) and cousins Anzarine (6YO) and Afraaz (2YO) ... I don't mind either way ... calling you bhatiji or bhagni can be cool I guess ... only 6 away from test status ... :)

Thanks for the kind words.

[PoorFan]

Sohel, I am desperately waiting for a winning match report from you this week. Hear me Allah.:flag:

[Sohel]

Sohel, I am desperately waiting for a winning match report from you this week. Hear me Allah.:flag:

I'm looking forward to that also ... :)

Writing winning match reports thanks to weaker oppostion such as Uganda and Kenya, just didn't cut the mustard.

[Baundule]

We will easily beat WI and SA inshaAllah.

[djuice]

Twenty 20 cricket is the worst thing that have happened to history of cricket. Why not go and play baseball instead of this CRAPPIEST form of cricket which brings shame to the REAL cricket.

[Antora]

Twenty 20 cricket is the worst thing that have happened to history of cricket. Why not go and play baseball instead of this CRAPPIEST form of cricket which brings shame to the REAL cricket.

this is exactly wat my dad said 2 seconds ago:hairpull:

[Antora]

I have cousins and nephews younger than you whose names start with the letter "A". Cousin Ayan is 2YO, and nephew Amiri is less than a month old. Then there's niece Assata (1YO) and cousins Anzarine (6YO) and Afraaz (2YO) ... I don't mind either way ... calling you bhatiji or bhagni can be cool I guess ... only 6 away from test status ... :)

Thanks for the kind words.

ok then..sohel uncle :D

[djuice]

this is exactly wat my dad said 2 seconds ago:hairpull:

Chacha key amar salam diyo.

[Sohel]

ok then..sohel uncle :D

Just 3 more posts bhagni ... I'm getting ready to say woot! woot!! woot!!!

[Puck]

there i was expecting banter and you profile analysis ;)

[Roni_uk]

Twenty 20 cricket is the worst thing that have happened to history of cricket. Why not go and play baseball instead of this CRAPPIEST form of cricket which brings shame to the REAL cricket.

I dont know why people think that, 20/20 is another form of cricket like where different skills than ODI should be utilised. Thanks to whoever invented it.

I was watching beach cricket tournament the other day between Aus & Eng in Australia, played in the sand - that just lowered all standards of cricket. I just hope they dont make a world cup out of that in future. Indoor cricket (8 over a side) is another crappy form. But I would love the idea of a test world cup - can you imagine few months of continuous test cricket?.. I would love it.

[Dhrubo]

Twenty 20 cricket is the worst thing that have happened to history of cricket. Why not go and play baseball instead of this CRAPPIEST form of cricket which brings shame to the REAL cricket.
hmm you lov cricket right? then why are you hating this form of cricket,if you really love cricket then you must love each and every form of it,because each form of cricket is a pillar of cricket ,i love every form of the game even tests,and what is the reason behind your hatred for this form of game?why do you think that its crap?why please answer me.

[zainab]

this is exactly wat my dad said 2 seconds ago:hairpull:


Exactly what my uncle said recently. It is crappy ccricket, no time for stroke play, destroys the real form of cricket. It is just a slugger's game, and the bat wins.

[Spitfire_x86]

Twenty 20 cricket is the worst thing that have happened to history of cricket. Why not go and play baseball instead of this CRAPPIEST form of cricket which brings shame to the REAL cricket.
I'm not a fan of 20-20, but I guess we have to tolerate it as a international/professional version of street cricket.

[Nafi]

But I would love the idea of a test world cup - can you imagine few months of continuous test cricket?.. I would love it.

IMO it would be stupid and a waste of time

[Padosan]

on the thread topic ..
I think BD will suffer in batting rather than bowling. The likes of Razzak and rasel will slow things down for sure. We have seen the BD batting falling down like a deck of cards many times. But hey, this is T20 you never know.


On the offtopic discussion

IMO this just adds another dimension cricket. Hey atleast we have another form of cricket where we can try and topple the awesome aussies :). I think every team here starts from 0, every team has a equal chance now. There were skeptics when 50 over ODI's started at first, saying test match is the only way to go. But change is the only thing permanent, if this form of cricket is more marketable and brings in more viewers, i am all for it.

cheers !

[SS]

Gayle will make our life hell...

[Sauron]

SA & WI are both very one-dimensional teams in terms of bowling styles. On top of that, WI fielding is pretty bad. I am really hoping that Razzak can play on both matches. Between Razzak, Sakib and Ash, we may be able to quash the runs quite a bit. If they get going the way they got going today, Allah help us.

[GuruTM]

An as usual post by s_nr. The skillful use of the english language and usual very long post. These are usually big in terms of web space. The 'message' of the above post can be delivered in no more than 3 sentences. S-nr would do a big favor to bc community if he posts a summary of his posts after every long posts he makes. Btw, my intension was never to discourage s-nr from posting very long posts. For people like me needs posts with reasonable 'message' comparable to its volume.

[djuice]

An as usual post by s_nr. The skillful use of the english language and usual very long post. These are usually big in terms of web space. The 'message' of the above post can be delivered in no more than 3 sentences. S-nr would do a big favor to bc community if he posts a summary of his posts after every long posts he makes. Btw, my intension was never to discourage s-nr from posting very long posts. For people like me needs posts with reasonable 'message' comparable to its volume.
I was trying to read the sNR post.
It seemed a bit too long for me. Therefore can you please post the message in 3 sentences so that I can get what was meant in the meesage.
Thank you and good luck.

[kp348]

An as usual post by s_nr. The skillful use of the english language and usual very long post. These are usually big in terms of web space. The 'message' of the above post can be delivered in no more than 3 sentences. S-nr would do a big favor to bc community if he posts a summary of his posts after every long posts he makes. Btw, my intension was never to discourage s-nr from posting very long posts. For people like me needs posts with reasonable 'message' comparable to its volume.

Still you can't deliver your 'messsage' in '3 sentences'.:-p

[Sohel]

SA & WI are both very one-dimensional teams in terms of bowling styles. On top of that, WI fielding is pretty bad. I am really hoping that Razzak can play on both matches. Between Razzak, Sakib and Ash, we may be able to quash the runs quite a bit. If they get going the way they got going today, Allah help us.

Spot on.

After watching them give it away to South Africa with 27 extras, 4 dropped catches, poor captaincy, and at least half a dozen unforced fielding errors, Bangladesh can hope for more of the same and sense some opportunities for their now more crucial match against West Indies.

Getting Gayle out early remains the key to our success on the field. We should also keep in mind that after Marlon Samuels, Shiv Chanderpaul in the hitting mode, Sarwan and Dwayne Smith failed to deliver what they were supposed to with the bat, they'll be eager to make amends in this must-win situation they've managed to put themselves in. The dark horse Sammy will probably get a chance to play this match against us, and we need to be very aware of his heavy hitting also.

That said, the pressure is clearly on them.

We need to stay calm, vigilant, keep it tidy on the field - meaning keep their run rate on a short leash, lure them into making mistakes, and take full advantage of those mistakes without mistakes of our own - and see what sort of actual opportunities are at hand when we get in to bat. If both our openers provide us with a good start, and if the rest of the batsmen rotate the strike with 1s and 2s, opportunities for high percentage 4s and 6s will present themselves from every Caribbean bowler except perhaps Edwards, Powell and Collins if he plays. Bravo, Smith, Samuels and Gayle can get our batsmen out, only if our batsmen allow it themselves because of momentary and costly lapses in concentration and poor decision-making at the wrong time.

We have yet to beat West Indies and that elusive win is long overdue. It is certain that the 13th of September will be the unlucky day for one of the teams. The lucky team, if Bangladesh, will move into the next round. If West Indies manages to deal with the pressure I'm hoping that they'll succumb to, we will have to deal with the pressure of beating South Africa in their own backyard, a tough but by no means impossible task we should try to avoid.

[Puck]

losing to kenya before the tournament started should serve as a reality check. talent isn't the means to an end under all circumstances. the top five test playing nations have a fantastic array of talent at their disposal. however, teams such as new zealand and south africa tends to put up stiff resistance by playing as a unit. after hadlee, crowe (martin) and cairns, new zealand hadn't produced a truly great player. it could be argued that even cairns wasn't really a consistent performer as a result of injuries. south africa might have possessed the cricketing infrastructure but decades of doledrum had made them relative newcomers to the game. aside donald and kallis in the last fifteen years, they haven't had been blessed with the greatest of talent either. however, both these nations continue to produce effective workmanlike cricketers. playing as a single unit makes them competitive against all opposition. pakistan and india are prime examples of underachievement. despite possessing talent in abundance, the former is perhaps the weakest of nations in this 20/20 competition.

bangladesh is at least ten years away from even starting to compete at the same level as the major teams, however, that does not mean there isn't anything to learn from tournaments like this. the exposure to a better brand of cricketers, being away from the fanatical home supporters and all the political unrest would present a fresh opportunity to learn and surprise opponents.

bangladesh isn't going to win matches because of superb batting. they are incapable of putting up 200 plus totals in every match. however, they are indeed capable of clever containment bowling, competent fielding and then a workmanlike performance with the bat. teams like west indies and pakistan should be seen as fair game. the likes of gayle and afridi might have built up a reputation as a brutal attackers, but they are bound to have a bad day now and then. however, afridi for the moment is not a concern as the likes of chanderpaul and smith have to be contained first.

realistically, bangladesh would come out of this tournament as the 8th best team in 20/20 cricket rather than the vaunted 2nd spot they occupy at present. if the team could get any higher than 8th, i would accept that as a blessing, if such things exist.

[mbssr]

We need nazim to score century

[Puck]

well, he better get into romna park and start playing with the kids then. a century would come easily ;)

[Sohel]

The pressure just went up a few notches for West Indies after Zimbabwe beat OZ and gave us the right kind of boost ...

No unforced batting, bowling or fielding errors and we're there.

If we bat first, I expect West Indian bowlers and fielders to fall apart once Nazimuddin, Tamim and the AAA Battery shove the attack right down their throats from start to finish, and then watch their batsmen panic and return to the pavillion one by one.

If we field first, I expect their batsmen to panic and return to the pavillion one by one, and then watch our batsmen play sensibly, easily reach the target and win by 5 wickets.

Hear me Allah.

[Tigers_eye]

minimizing the mistakes (no extra conceded in 20 overs, specially the spinners), grabbing the opportunities by the horns (take regulation catches). Let the wide ball go and not try to hit it. You will get the extra ball anyways. Ash baba, do not bowl more than 2 overs. Let the professionals do their job. stick to your strategies.

[al Furqaan]

i feel better losing to kenya now.

the thing is our bowling minus razzak and rasel is downright pathetic. zimbabwe limited OZ to 6 an over. scotland kept pak well under the 191 we conceded.

this does not bode well. mashrafee should have been sent back for rajib. he ain't got T20 bowling in him.

[zainab]

Superb bowling and fielding won the match for Zimbabwe. also when play resumed, thir coach told them to hit the ball on the ground and to hit the ball to the boundary when they can, not hit up in the air for the big runs.

they used their head ,did not panic, was calm,ditto- match won.
If Bangladesh can play like this, then they have a chance. I sincerely hoped that they have looked at this exciting match and took some lessons.
Zimbabwe did not demonstrate ay recklessness unlike our guys. I think they gelled as a team in the match they lost aginst Kenya. I hope they play like this again.

[GuruTM]

Still you can't deliver your 'messsage' in '3 sentences'.:-p

Cause that is the pactically shortest possible post can be made of the above post. For you to get my point would need me to write a book. Its not about how much you write. Its about delivering the 'message' comparable to the size of your 'talk'.

[Anher]

i feel better losing to kenya now.

the thing is our bowling minus razzak and rasel is downright pathetic. zimbabwe limited OZ to 6 an over. scotland kept pak well under the 191 we conceded.

this does not bode well. mashrafee should have been sent back for rajib. he ain't got T20 bowling in him.

I will be waiting until today's match to clarify your claim against masrafee.
Here it is what will happen tomorrow.

Masfrafee will be on fire.:waiting:

[Miraz]

I hate to be correct in this case.

- I will be more concerned about the batting of Devon Smith and Dwayne Smith along with other big guns (Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan). Dwayne Smith can tear any team apart in his days.

:mad:

[Mahir]

Gayle will make our life hell...

Alhamdulillah SS bro. :big_hug: