Ash featured heavily in Murali tribute article ...

[RazabQ]

Our own Matin miah is quoted extensively on a CI tribute article on batting against the Kandy man and his guiles. Most of the stuff the long-suffering BD fans will have culled from various DS, CI and Prothom Alo articles but still it makes for a nice reading.

http://content-www.cricinfo.com/columns/content/current/story/305187.html

[cricket_king]

Well he is one of the best players of Murali and has been for a while now. Not much of a surprise to find his name there. He gave some good advice towards the end though :)

[zainab]

Well Ash played Murali very well for his maiden Test century. It took a lot of guile and concentration for a young lad of 17 yrs to play this crafty bowler an d hitting him repeatedly. Not an easy task to look at Murali's fingers to determine the kind of ball he is bowling and then to play the shot. I looked at this test match with England and poor Bopara was making his test debut, had to struggle to score 8 runs. I wondered what a 17 yr old experienced at that time, but i watched little Ash, and he had no fear or tension, he played each ball according to it's merit. He had Murali at one end and Vass at the other end. If Ash had continued through the years like this, he would have been a greater batsman that he is now, but somehow mentally he could not cope and has failed repeatedly. In my opinion, at least in my lifetime I dont think another bowler will break Murali's record, and no other player will break Ash's record of being the youngest player to make a maiden test century, so 2 subcontinent countries (Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) can feel proud of themselves.

[Tigers_eye]

Good read. Repeatation though.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Old stuff, but a good compilation nevertheless. Once again, it is such instances that tell me that the national team is in good hands - he may be inconsistent with his batting, but he does think about his game and has a very good understanding of it.

[Rabz]

Good read.
Thanks for the link.

[israr]

Our Ash is special. He is going redefine cricket and by the time he retires, he'll break several world records. My belief in this lad differs from all other players, and I don't know why or how.

[zainab]

Our Ash is special. He is going redefine cricket and by the time he retires, he'll break several world records. My belief in this lad differs from all other players, and I don't know why or how.

I agree with you all the way. i dont know how many records he will ever break, or if he will ever, but in my eyes, he is special and even when he fails, he is still special, he has a certain quality and aura which makes him stand out from all the other players(it is called charisma)
I am not Bangladeshi, but IMO, he has put BD cricket in the limelight. When he bats, the commentators just love him,they all want to see more of his magic with the bat, especially his famous shot. Allah bless this young man.

[Murad]

Well he will rock the cricket world if he stops playing those stupid shots. He always gets out by himself. Only few bowlers got his wicket by good bowling. He goes for 6 but doesn't time the ball well and it only reaches the fielder outside the circle.

Hope the new coach correct this problem. I'm sure oneday he will rock the cricket world.

[BanCricFan]

I am not Bangladeshi, but IMO, he has put BD cricket in the limelight. When he bats, the commentators just love him,they all want to see more of his magic with the bat, especially his famous shot. Allah bless this young man.

Are you a Lankan, sis? Hope Ash makes us all happy and proud. The lad has all the qualities to become a true greats of the game. He is beginning to show the signs of matuarity, insha-allah, we can hope better stuff from him from now on. :)

[Antora]

Good read! thanks for the link!

[kalpurush]

Razab bhai...thanks for the link.:-D

[zainab]

Are you a Lankan, sis? Hope Ash makes us all happy and proud. The lad has all the qualities to become a true greats of the game. He is beginning to show the signs of matuarity, insha-allah, we can hope better stuff from him from now on. :)

No bhai! I am not a Sri Lankan, but have lived in Colombo a few years. i am Guyanese
muslim. the people of Guyana fell in love with Ash after his spell bounding performance. So many people said that it was money well spent to see his magic with the bat. His batting was the highlight and when they went to the Queenstown mosque for prayers, so many people wanted to touch him and to speak to him. He was very gracious to everyone, and he is the one who made Guyana take notice of Bangladesh, that up to now many Guyanese still speak about the team and also they are great supporters.

[Anher]

No bhai! I am not a Sri Lankan, but have lived in Colombo a few years. i am Guyanese
muslim. the people of Guyana fell in love with Ash after his spell bounding performance. So many people said that it was money well spent to see his magic with the bat. His batting was the highlight and when they went to the Queenstown mosque for prayers, so many people wanted to touch him and to speak to him. He was very gracious to everyone, and he is the one who made Guyana take notice of Bangladesh, that up to now many Guyanese still speak about the team and also they are great supporters.

Do you speak Bangla? if do where did you learn? Your above writing is very inspiring for Bangladesh team, players and fans.

[incredible]

17 bochor boyshe Ashraful er chokh onek bhalo chilo ...durer jinis bhalo dekhto...

[Anher]

17 bochor boyshe Ashraful er chokh onek bhalo chilo ...durer jinis bhalo dekhto...

Good point :)

[zainab]

Do you speak Bangla? if do where did you learn? Your above writing is very inspiring for Bangladesh team, players and fans.


I wish I could, but NO! I cannot, I understand a bit, because of my Hindi and Urdu, but Bengali is a softer language. My great grandmother was Bengali.
I grew up in an English speaking British colonial country where cricket was king, also the Windians were also the greats at one time, then because India was our mother country, we grew to love the Indian cricket team also.Whilst living in Sri Lanka, I supported Sri Lanka until I started to support Bangladesh and it is only because of Ash.
Now I know who the players are and like all of them, I admire their youth and grit in taking on the big boys, and I only hope and pray that under coach Siddons, they improve, especially our Ash. Anyhow, win or lose, they will always have my support and prayers.

[israr]

Wow! Thanks a lot Zainab for sharing those with us!

[BanCricFan]

No bhai! I am not a Sri Lankan, but have lived in Colombo a few years. i am Guyanese
muslim. the people of Guyana fell in love with Ash after his spell bounding performance. So many people said that it was money well spent to see his magic with the bat. His batting was the highlight and when they went to the Queenstown mosque for prayers, so many people wanted to touch him and to speak to him. He was very gracious to everyone, and he is the one who made Guyana take notice of Bangladesh, that up to now many Guyanese still speak about the team and also they are great supporters.

Always good to know that we have a sis in Guyana! It would be quite handy if anyone of us decides to drop in (!) for the famous Guyanese curry and hospitality. :D

I'll put you on the spot...who will you take -Ash or Chanderpaul?

[Anher]

I wish I could, but NO! I cannot, I understand a bit, because of my Hindi and Urdu, but Bengali is a softer language. My great grandmother was Bengali.
I grew up in an English speaking British colonial country where cricket was king, also the Windians were also the greats at one time, then because India was our mother country, we grew to love the Indian cricket team also.Whilst living in Sri Lanka, I supported Sri Lanka until I started to support Bangladesh and it is only because of Ash.
Now I know who the players are and like all of them, I admire their youth and grit in taking on the big boys, and I only hope and pray that under coach Siddons, they improve, especially our Ash. Anyhow, win or lose, they will always have my support and prayers.

You sound great and sweet. You just won thousand fan's heart in BC. Enjoy your stay.

[al Furqaan]

No bhai! I am not a Sri Lankan, but have lived in Colombo a few years. i am Guyanese
muslim. the people of Guyana fell in love with Ash after his spell bounding performance. So many people said that it was money well spent to see his magic with the bat. His batting was the highlight and when they went to the Queenstown mosque for prayers, so many people wanted to touch him and to speak to him. He was very gracious to everyone, and he is the one who made Guyana take notice of Bangladesh, that up to now many Guyanese still speak about the team and also they are great supporters.

ash was at the queenstown mosque for prayers? or was he invited there?

[zainab]

ash was at the queenstown mosque for prayers? or was he invited there?


The whole team went for prayers. This is the leading mosque in Georgetown built by my grandfather, my brothers attend this mosque, no one has to be invited to a mosque for prayers. I was in Guyana to see this match, my family home is near to the Pegasus Hotel near the sea wall where the team stayed, and so many people used to wait in th lobby to see the cricketers and speak with them.
My brother told me of the reception of the team at the mosque, and how afterwards everyone wanted to see Ash and speak to him. The fact that they were all muslims also played a part, Guyana has a huge Indian population comprising of Hindus and Muslims. Nearly everyone supported Bangladesh at this match and the fact that they were so entertained by Ash was the highlight and when they won, that was icing on the cake, because the team they supported, won and what can be a better feeling than that.
After prayers, a leading restaurant invited them for dinner.

I would invite Ash anyday over Chanderpaul, because he is special.
By the way, I have met Ash and quite a few members of the BD team at the Taj Samudra in Colombo last July, so I am lucky.

[zainab]

You sound great and sweet. You just won thousand fan's heart in BC. Enjoy your stay.


Thank you so much for this lovely compliment. I have learnt quite a lot about the Bangladesh players from the fans here and i have joined in, though I must say that my knowledge is quite limited, but I do enjoy this forum, and it is from the information by the fans here that I have learnt so much.

[al Furqaan]

The whole team went for prayers. This is the leading mosque in Georgetown built by my grandfather, my brothers attend this mosque, no one has to be invited to a mosque for prayers. I was in Guyana to see this match, my family home is near to the Pegasus Hotel near the sea wall where the team stayed, and so many people used to wait in th lobby to see the cricketers and speak with them.
My brother told me of the reception of the team at the mosque, and how afterwards everyone wanted to see Ash and speak to him. The fact that they were all muslims also played a part, Guyana has a huge Indian population comprising of Hindus and Muslims. Nearly everyone supported Bangladesh at this match and the fact that they were so entertained by Ash was the highlight and when they won, that was icing on the cake, because the team they supported, won and what can be a better feeling than that.
After prayers, a leading restaurant invited them for dinner.

I would invite Ash anyday over Chanderpaul, because he is special.
By the way, I have met Ash and quite a few members of the BD team at the Taj Samudra in Colombo last July, so I am lucky.

wow, i didn't know the whole BD team went for prayers...pretty soon we'll be talked about like the pakis, hehe...

so i guess tapash was put in a rather compromising position...

[RazabQ]

I don't think so Al. That's the beauty of being Bangladeshi. I have never had any issue saying "namaskhar" to a murubbi of the Hindu faith and I've seen friends from that faith also say "salaam" to my parents. From what I have seen of our players, they are cut from the same cloth. If everyone went to the mosque, Tapash prolly said "cool, I guess I don't have to share my prasad with anyone!" and headed to the temple :)

[zainab]

I really dont know if Tapash Bhaisya went for prayers, I was not at the mosque, but there are Hindus who occasionally visit our mosques and they follow the rules, similarly, many Muslims visit Hindu temples. In Guyana, Hindus greet muslims by saying Assalam wa lai Kum, Muslims greet Hindus by saying Namaste, we intermingle a great deal, after all, we have the same ancestry, share a few common customs also.
When we have a Muslim function and dawat, we invite our Hindu friends and neighbours, and it is amazing to see them put their hands together during the opening and closing duas. We are also invited for their functions. For Diwali, Holi and Eid, Muslims and Hindus come together for these celebrations. Also everyone look forward to Christmas and we join our Christian friends and neighbours.
The only rule is that non muslims do not take part in the Zanazah prayers.
I hope that I have enlightened my Bangla friends here about our culture in Guyana.

[Tehsin]

That reminds me of BD in Trinidad. our boys won ountless Trini hearts with their cricket and more importantly, with their attitude. Very easy going bunch and never hessitant to stop and chat a bit, even if the fans are not Bangladeshis. Just go back and look at some of the pictures I posted earlier from a foreign fan, our boys were playing cricket with tourists at the beach.

As for Ash, he is probably our biggest cricketing superstar and he makes folks take notice of his talent whenever he is ON. However, like most people says, he gives his wicket away a whole lot more then we'd like him to. If he can contain himself, we will see the records matching his true talent. :)


No bhai! I am not a Sri Lankan, but have lived in Colombo a few years. i am Guyanese
muslim. the people of Guyana fell in love with Ash after his spell bounding performance. So many people said that it was money well spent to see his magic with the bat. His batting was the highlight and when they went to the Queenstown mosque for prayers, so many people wanted to touch him and to speak to him. He was very gracious to everyone, and he is the one who made Guyana take notice of Bangladesh, that up to now many Guyanese still speak about the team and also they are great supporters.

[al Furqaan]

I really dont know if Tapash Bhaisya went for prayers, I was not at the mosque, but there are Hindus who occasionally visit our mosques and they follow the rules, similarly, many Muslims visit Hindu temples. In Guyana, Hindus greet muslims by saying Assalam wa lai Kum, Muslims greet Hindus by saying Namaste, we intermingle a great deal, after all, we have the same ancestry, share a few common customs also.
When we have a Muslim function and dawat, we invite our Hindu friends and neighbours, and it is amazing to see them put their hands together during the opening and closing duas. We are also invited for their functions. For Diwali, Holi and Eid, Muslims and Hindus come together for these celebrations. Also everyone look forward to Christmas and we join our Christian friends and neighbours.
The only rule is that non muslims do not take part in the Zanazah prayers.
I hope that I have enlightened my Bangla friends here about our culture in Guyana.

thats kinda cool...definitely not like that where i live (Music City, USA).

most of my friends would be surprised (i was too kind of) to find out there is an entire Bangladeshi community here seperate from ours. they are mostly hindu, but there is at least one christian family i know of (maybe more).

we never see them at dawats or our eid or shadheenota deebosh stuff...however there is one hindu family thats always there...for some reason he prefers to hang out with us. he's really nice, during prayer time, he actually goes and gets jainamaaz's out for the aunties and calls everyone as soon as its time to pray without actually praying himself. but there is a huge community of non-muslim bangladeshis and west bengalis that generally associate amongst themselves.

not sure how it is in other US cities.

[RazabQ]

This is fast becoming an FC thread - but in the Bay Area we really don't give a hoot to your religion when it comes to dawats and adda's :) Might be because it's all highly-educated Bangladeshis in the bay area (i.e. came for grad-school and then stayed types)

[akabir77]

I really dont know if Tapash Bhaisya went for prayers, I was not at the mosque, but there are Hindus who occasionally visit our mosques and they follow the rules, similarly, many Muslims visit Hindu temples. In Guyana, Hindus greet muslims by saying Assalam wa lai Kum, Muslims greet Hindus by saying Namaste, we intermingle a great deal, after all, we have the same ancestry, share a few common customs also.
When we have a Muslim function and dawat, we invite our Hindu friends and neighbours, and it is amazing to see them put their hands together during the opening and closing duas. We are also invited for their functions. For Diwali, Holi and Eid, Muslims and Hindus come together for these celebrations. Also everyone look forward to Christmas and we join our Christian friends and neighbours.
The only rule is that non muslims do not take part in the Zanazah prayers.
I hope that I have enlightened my Bangla friends here about our culture in Guyana.

BTW Zainab We call Ashrafull by the Name "EID" which comes twice a year just like his big scores... (in case you didn't knew that by this time...)

[zainab]

BTW Zainab We call Ashrafull by the Name "EID" which comes twice a year just like his big scores... (in case you didn't knew that by this time...)

I am aware of this. Poor fellow!~ I heard that in the Test matches an d ODIs for 2007, only one batsman from Bangladesh made a century and 87 runs, and who else? but our
Ashraful. somehow, his name always pops up, and regardless, how much he is criticised by Banglacricket, he holds most of the records for Bangladesh.
He did well in 2005, failed in 2006, did fairly well in 2007, now we have 2008 to look forward to. Anyhow, my belief is that Coach Siddons will sort him out a bit and within 6 months, Ash will be 50% better in his consistency, there is no problem with his style.

[abherath]

Zainab, your posts are really great. I'm Sri Lankan but I like the way you support Bangladesh. You are probably as popular as Ash on this site by now...

Good to know that you've been in Sri Lanka too and wish you'd visit my country again.

[Rabz]

Hey Abherath... welcome back mate...
good to see you around again....

[al Furqaan]

I am aware of this. Poor fellow!~ I heard that in the Test matches an d ODIs for 2007, only one batsman from Bangladesh made a century and 87 runs, and who else? but our
Ashraful. somehow, his name always pops up, and regardless, how much he is criticised by Banglacricket, he holds most of the records for Bangladesh.
He did well in 2005, failed in 2006, did fairly well in 2007, now we have 2008 to look forward to. Anyhow, my belief is that Coach Siddons will sort him out a bit and within 6 months, Ash will be 50% better in his consistency, there is no problem with his style.

sohel bhai (who is absent due to cyclone relief work) and i are perhaps the 2 biggest ash supporters here. of course when ash is on song, everyone loves the boyish arrogance which flows from his bat (even the opposition fans). but most people criticize ash harshly because he is the only one in our side who is expected to perform in a way which would make even the legends of the game envious. and mind you, he has done that. i watched his 158* against India back in 2004 live (it was my first experience watching bangladesh - what a way to start, eh) and it was simply FLAWLESS. the strokes were executed with perfection, he was not once beaten by pace or turn, not once edged a delivery, but he middled everything, and never offered a chance during his 194 ball innings.

for the same reason you will find that aftab is also criticized, because he can be the best sidekick to a batting genius. contrast this to shahriar nafees. no one is ridiculing him, because we know that while he is the best opener we've had in either form of the game, he is not near the talent level of aftab or ash.

[al Furqaan]

This is fast becoming an FC thread - but in the Bay Area we really don't give a hoot to your religion when it comes to dawats and adda's :) Might be because it's all highly-educated Bangladeshis in the bay area (i.e. came for grad-school and then stayed types)

haha...razab bhai calling our nashville community uneducated.

actually, we do have a further split in the bangladeshi community. first split is due to religious reasons and is rarely bridged. the second split is within the muslim bangladeshi community between the educated and the not-so educated. this gap is actually bridged with regularity in some cases.

most of the bangladeshis in our community here are physicians (mostly psychiatrists), but there are a good number of engineers and PhDs (mostly young post-docs or researchers at Vanderbilt but a few university faculty as well).

[israr]

sohel bhai (who is absent due to cyclone relief work) and i are perhaps the 2 biggest ash supporters here.

Al Furqaan bhai, how can you forget me in that list:(?

[zainab]

Zainab, your posts are really great. I'm Sri Lankan but I like the way you support Bangladesh. You are probably as popular as Ash on this site by now...

Good to know that you've been in Sri Lanka too and wish you'd visit my country again.

Thank you. I support Sri Lanka too, know Sangakkara personally. I support BD against SRI Lanka, but when Sri Lanka is playing another team, I support them. Was so sad to see them get so beaten up by the aussies, but happy to see that they beat England in the first test.

By the way, I lived in Colombo in 2000 and 2001, have visited this beautiful country all over excepting the North. I was in Colombo recently, usually stay at the Taj Samudra.I have been to Sri Lanka many times especially after the Tsunami, did a lot of work for an orphange in Galle.
It was in 2001, that I became more interested in BD cricket because I was at the SSC when Ashraful made his maiden century after playing Murali as a pro, only 17 yrs old, I was amazed at the audacity of him. He won my heart then.
You must be proud of Murali and also Sangakkara, they are both at the top of the ICC test rankings. I only pray that Ash can have the same mental approach and determination like Sangakkara, then maybe by the time he reaches Sangha's age, he can be a good batsman.

[zainab]

sohel bhai (who is absent due to cyclone relief work) and i are perhaps the 2 biggest ash supporters here. of course when ash is on song, everyone loves the boyish arrogance which flows from his bat (even the opposition fans). but most people criticize ash harshly because he is the only one in our side who is expected to perform in a way which would make even the legends of the game envious. and mind you, he has done that. i watched his 158* against India back in 2004 live (it was my first experience watching bangladesh - what a way to start, eh) and it was simply FLAWLESS. the strokes were executed with perfection, he was not once beaten by pace or turn, not once edged a delivery, but he middled everything, and never offered a chance during his 194 ball innings.

for the same reason you will find that aftab is also criticized, because he can be the best sidekick to a batting genius. contrast this to shahriar nafees. no one is ridiculing him, because we know that while he is the best opener we've had in either form of the game, he is not near the talent level of aftab or ash.


In my heart,I dont think anyone can match him. I also witnessed his maiden Test century in 2001 at the SSC in Colombo,_{17yrs old} saw him in Cardiff and witnessed his elegant batting in Guyana. It saddens me to see him fail when he has so much talent. I know he is aware of it, especially he is so scared of failing when a whole nation depends on him. What a burden on young shoulders!
I am mad with Aftab too, because here is a guy with natural talent, but also plays stupidly like Ash.

[Nocturnal]

Thank you. I support Sri Lanka too, know Sangakkara personally. I support BD against SRI Lanka, but when Sri Lanka is playing another team, I support them. Was so sad to see them get so beaten up by the aussies, but happy to see that they beat England in the first test.

By the way, I lived in Colombo in 1970 and 1971, have visited this beautiful country all over excepting the North. I was in Colombo recently, usually stay at the Taj Samudra.I have been to Sri Lanka many times especially after the Tsunami, did a lot of work for an orphange in Galle.
It was in 1971 that I became more interested in BD cricket because I was at the SSC when Ashraful made his maiden century after playing Murali as a pro, only 17 yrs old, I was amazed at the audacity of him. He won my heart then.
You must be proud of Murali and also Sangakkara, they are both at the top of the ICC test rankings. I only pray that Ash can have the same mental approach and determination like Sangakkara, then maybe by the time he reaches Sangha's age, he can be a good batsman.

that must be typo. you mean 2001.

[zainab]

Yes, it is a typo error, you guys are spot on. It is the year 2000 and 2001.

[al Furqaan]

Al Furqaan bhai, how can you forget me in that list:(?

sorry bhai, bhul hoise...maaf koren bhai.

i knew someone else was down there i just couldn't remember who.

good luck, may allah bless your souls and those of your families.