Bangladesh opt for three spinners

[Miraz]

Bangladesh in West Indies, 2009
Bangladesh opt for three spinners
17 July 2009
Bangladesh have the chance to secure their first ever away series win in nine years as a Test-playing nation when they face West Indies for the second and final Test of the Digicel series.
Vice captain Shakib Al Hasan will lead Bangladesh in the second Test against the West Indies starting in St. George’s, Grenada today (Friday) after captain Masrafe Bin Mortaza was ruled out with a knee injury. Left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr. replaces Mortaza in the team.
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[nadim 98]

thank you miraz bhai...


Let's see how Enamul jr does.

[Purbasha T]

Right, I would've wanted to see Robin in the team. But we can't drop Rubel and dropping Shahadat wouldn't be wise either as otherwise, pace attack will be on two novices' hands. So okay I guess...waiting to see Enam do it like he did against Zim and Aus back in 04-06.

[Eshen]

That's a positive move!

I was pretty irritated by Utpul Shuvro generated rumor that Mehrab may replace Mash!

[Sohel]

GREAT news! ... :joy: :joy: :joy:

Thank you Miraz for this wonderful birthday present ... :)

[Sohel]

That's a positive move!

I was pretty irritated by Utpul Shuvro generated rumor that Mehrab may replace Mash!

US is a tool and a *****bag! Bring Pobitro Kundu back, I say. Get Dizzy to cover the tours before he does ... :)

[Orpheus]

:)

Happy birthday boro bhai.

a series win awaits you....so gift ekhono baki ache :D

[Sohel]

Happy birthday boro bhai.

a series win awaits you....so gift ekhono baki ache :D

Thanks Orphy ... :)

I'm more sure than ever now about that gift to come ... :D

[nizzle]

i spoke to enamul after the last match he seems very confident!

[BANFAN]

If that's a pacer friendly pitch, we might feel the shortage of one pacer.

[bd-omi]

US is a tool and a *****bag! Bring Pobitro Kundu back, I say. Get Dizzy to cover the tours before he does ... :)

I couldn't disagree more with you. US is a fabulous sports journalist and I'm a big fan of his writing. Team management can always change decisions from time to time and the inclusion of Enamul Jnr. must be one of those cases.:)
Personally i think Mehrab would have been a better option than Enamul...... :hairpull:

[Sohel]

I'm not a fan of US. He's a decent writer of Bangla melodrama for sure, but "sports journalist"? Nah, unless you consider disturbing adulation and [বাংলা]চামচামী[/বাংলা] of certain players and officials, intellectual dishonesty, and plagiarizing the Internet in order to appear knowledgeable "journalistic". He can be a decent short story or a soap opera writer for BanglaBhishon and the likes, or better yet, a speechwriter for powerful Bangladeshi politicians who reward [বাংলা]চাটুকারিতা এবং তৈলমর্দন[/বাংলা] ... :)

[bd-omi]

No doubt why nearly every product stays in the market.....:-p
Different people possess different tastes and we are no different. I'll still rate US one of the best in business for BD. Though i'll also hail Pobitro Kundo, Tarek Mahmud and to some extent Debabrata Mukherji........ :-)

[Murad]

GREAT news! ... :joy: :joy: :joy:

Thank you Miraz for this wonderful birthday present ... :)

It is indeed a great news. I hope Enam delivers. I wanted to see him play atleast one test in this series.

Happy Birthday, Sohel bhai. :)

[BanCricFan]

Commonsense prevailed, finally. Hope Enam takes this opportunity with both hands. He has been out of match practise though :(

Win the Toss, bat first. Put 350 plus on the board. Simple.

[mahbubH]

good decision... it will reduce some bowling load of shack. hope enamul will perform decently so that you can be considered for the future selection. we need a spinner buddy for shack...

[Sohel]

Thanks Murad ... :)

BCF, your post exemplifies what I love about your cricket posts. Unbridled optimism with solid suggestions before each and every one our matches. Everything from U-19 all the up to the senior level. With you 100% ... :up:

[Sohel]

Though i'll also hail Pobitro Kundo, Tarek Mahmud and to some extent Debabrata Mukherji........ :-)

PK is writing regularly for a West Bengali journal nowadays. Really miss his hilarious yet aptly critical pen ... :)

[abz..+]

thanx for the info, its a good choose by management, lets see what enamul can do

[Ashfaq]

PK's bangla was too difficult to suit a sport reporter.

[view360]

is it a good idea to play without any third seamer ?

[BanCricFan]

BCF, your post exemplifies what I love about your cricket posts. Unbridled optimism with solid suggestions before each and every one our matches. Everything from U-19 all the up to the senior level. With you 100% ... :up:

Ei rokom selective ba conditional bhalobashar ki kuno maulik ortho asche? ;)

Gratulerer med dagen, Sohel da! GOD bless you in all that you do!

[abu2abu]

I suppose if they're sure the pitch is going to turn, then this selection is fair enough. It's certainly better than picking Mehrab as a spinning all-rounder.

However, rarely, if ever, is a test won through spin alone...

[nahaz]

is it a good idea to play without any third seamer ?

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again...u can't play with two pacers. They bowl max of 6 overs each to start off with , then what? U can't bowl them for more than 24 overs altogether in the day, so 66 overs of spin? Isn't that very limited? What happens if one bowls badly, say Shahadat starts spraying the ball? What choice do u have other than to bowl the spinners immediately? Isn't your attack very predictable then? The batsmen can take 2-3 singles off every over with boundaires in between. Before you know it, WIndies will declare at 550-7 in first innings, and we would struggle making them bat again.

Spin is good for us when its a major weapon, but it can't be the one-trick pony for us, or any test side! I always would consider a 4th pacer, and never less than 3. Even if its a crappy all-rounder like Farhad Reza, its still better than no first-change /backup pacer when one or both opening pacers fail to make an impact!

[BanCricFan]

Nahaz, we DID win the last match with two pacers!!

India played a lot of Test matches only with two pacers. Mind you they didnt have much pace option and thier spinners were top-notch.

[Rifat]

i think this a great XI...in fact PERFECT!

it is a good idea that Mehrab was included in this tour, this guy is young: give him three years he will be handy in all corners...

Nazmul not included is perfectly fine...it is not a good idea to put someone on the spot right after he flew from home, may come in handy in ODI's...

not including Enam jr. in this test would prove to be meaningless for him since he is not likely to get a call up in ODI's...

:up: selectors and BCB:)

[Rifat]

selectors not to blame when players can not deliver... selectors select based on form and potential, sometimes inexperience shows more than talent...

[abu2abu]

Nahaz, we DID win the last match with two pacers!!

India played a lot of Test matches only with two pacers. Mind you they didnt have much pace option and thier spinners were top-notch.

Yes, but as you say the Indian spinners were almost certainly better than ours and even in their darkest days Indian’s lone paceman (Srinath) was miles ahead of any pacer BD has yet produced.

I think nahaz’s concerns are sound. The key is to have all your bases covered so that we have enough options to deal with what is thrown at us – a balanced side would be ideal.

In the last test we did indeed operate with only two pacers, but Mash contributed in the first innings with the bat, can the Rubel/Shahadat/Enamul combination do the same?

However the pitch plays at St George’s it’s unlikely to be identical to Arnos Vale. Also this Windies side was thrown together with little preparation ahead of the 1st test, this time the Windies will be better prepared and with experience of batting against our spinners they could well post a significant score.

I hope to God BD win, but I don’t think it’s assured by any means. I too would have been happier with an extra pacer to turn to. Even Aftab’s military medium would have been a useful backup in the event that the spinners are ineffective.

[Ajfar]

nice i'm looking forward to see him deliver

[nannu]

i support his choice..

[cricket_dorshok]

I'm not a fan of US. He's a decent writer of Bangla melodrama for sure, but "sports journalist"? Nah, unless you consider disturbing adulation and [বাংলা]চামচামী[/বাংলা] of certain players and officials, intellectual dishonesty, and plagiarizing the Internet in order to appear knowledgeable "journalistic". He can be a decent short story or a soap opera writer for BanglaBhishon and the likes, or better yet, a speechwriter for powerful Bangladeshi politicians who reward [বাংলা]চাটুকারিতা এবং তৈলমর্দন[/বাংলা] ... :)
100% khati kotha.

[abz..+]

good over by rubel

[abz..+]

444444444444444444

[WarWolf]

I really didnt want to see Enam in the squad. He is simply over-hyped.

[Eshen]

Glad to see the bet on Jr paid off.

[abu2abu]

Glad to see the bet on Jr paid off.

Not quite. He took a lot of lower order wickets and the Windies should never had got to 237...

[Sohel]

Enamul Haque 24 2 62 3 2.58

Shakib Al Hasan 21.1 7 59 3 2.78

Mohammad Mahmudullah 13 2 44 3 3.3

[Eshen]

Not quite. He took a lot of lower order wickets and the Windies should never had got to 237...
What mattered is that he took wickets where pacers failed, even to take lower order wickets (wicket that Shahadat got was out a freak accident, not by his own merit).

[nahaz]

Nahaz, we DID win the last match with two pacers!!

India played a lot of Test matches only with two pacers. Mind you they didnt have much pace option and thier spinners were top-notch.

I can't even remember who we won against last! I don't remember a win since the WC. Look, we might've had most of our wins playing 3 spinners, but that mean its a good tactic. You have to look at how many we lost with that tactic as well..the ratio's at least 10:1.If we took the time and effort to train and regularly play with 3 pacers, we wouldn't have had such unpredictable bunch of pacers.

If you actually look at the match commentary u can see what I meant. 238 is a good total, but u have to consider how spinners got 9 of those wickets. Pacers bowled 7-8 overs till tea. Promise u, Australia would've scored 460 with such predictable bowling. WI batsmen have only themselves and their novice attitude to spin to blame.

[Eshen]

I have not expected Sakib to make so little use of pacers though. Picking two specialist bowlers but giving them only 15 overs all together! When the tail was up, he could have started to use a pacer from one end (he eventually brought back Shahadat, but waited long time for that), to mix things up a bit. May be the pacers losing confidence because the captain is not backing them up well.

[Ajfar]

Not quite. He took a lot of lower order wickets and the Windies should never had got to 237...

wicket is wicket, it doesn't matter weather they are top order batsman or lower order batsman. if you go by your theory than you demean the crucial breakthrough that ash gave us and the 5 wickets haul that riyad had in the first test.

[auntu]

So three spinners proved right. Good decision indeed.
Happy Birthday Sohel bhai...Vanilla or chocolate cake? My choice is vanilla...

[Sohel]

So three spinners proved right. Good decision indeed.
Happy Birthday Sohel bhai...Vanilla or chocolate cake? My choice is vanilla...

Thanks bro, chocolate all the way ... :D

[Alien]

Not a bad idea picking 3 spinners. BD was never a fast bowlers' haven given the flimsiness of our players. Ones like Shahadat and Mashrafee don't click that often. But this time its the favourable condition and decent captaincy of Sakib that led to us in good control Day 2.