Zeeshan
November 29, 2010, 01:46 PM
If is a iffy word, but it's pretty safe to say that if this series will be over with Bangladesh stacking a nine-oh streak historians will look back upon this team with awe and admiration as they select the perfect collage for the postage stamp commemoration and refer them humbly as "The Invincibles"(of course, with plenty of head rollings from the netherworld ). Spare me the limelight for a moment and I will establish -without the help of "statistician extraordinairre Rajnish"- that this back-to-back whitewash will definitely give the tigers a stance more menacing than they could ever muster.
They say don't count your chickens before they hatch. Here in Banglacricket - where dreams not only come true but are made into schizophrenic illusions- we believe that not only should we count them but make sure that they are given a heavy dosage of steroid. So without further ado I present you The Invincibles
Iceman > Bradman is probably the most daring inequality that has reigned this forum since triangle and Minkowski. But it speaks more volume than a box of hyperboles. In 1948, after Bradman's departure from the cricket arena having completed steamrolling England in 34 matches without a single blemish, a leading cricket writer of that time, our friend R C Robertson-Glasgow mused that "So must ancient Italy have felt when she heard of the death of Hannibal."
Bangladesh? Utpal Shuvro dubbed Shakib as Iceman.
"Barbiturates", "bipolar disorder", "flamboyant batting", "suicide" -- string together and what do you get? No, not Sidney Barnes but our dear old Ashraful's batting, whose wildcard entry, sure raised many eyebrows. Perhaps the only Barnes in him is that of swinging like the door of one to get out to a loose shot, but at the end of the day critics and metacritics will reel in unison that when the man is in song his innings is more Daliesque in flavor than a surreal Mr.Barnes holding radio, mirror and comb at the middle of a field.
http://www.trueknowledge.com/images/thumbs/90/90/30c94fed20b10408b17fa22dcdc53fcb.jpg When one looks at Don Tallon one cannot help but wonder at the striking resemblance with Bangladesh's own Mushfiqur Rahman. (Maybe 'resemblance' is too strong of a word; perhaps 'contrast' would suit more). However they do seem to perfectly complement one another. Tallon whose sobriquet "Deafy" was a man of deftness removing only the bail without upsetting the stumps was said to have hands of an agile violinist; whereas, Mushfiqur...is, well, Mushfiqur. May be, "The Chatterbox" is far cry from being the "Bradman of the wicketkeeping" and may be when Bradman noted that Tallon's own hands were "long" and "fine" and "intact" as if one had not played much cricket- how surreptitiously one would've thought that his remark may carry meaning way different than he intended.
Speaking of toe-to-toe tango when it comes to flashy, dance-down-the-track-as-if-to-shake-bowler's-hand, risk taking, Wisden Cricketer of the Year, 151 scoring, left handed batsman, Tamim sure can match step with Neil Harvey. Of course, there is also the subtle factor of him being the only Bangladeshi batsman to have the same average as that of Harvey's.....................in bowling.
And of course when one looks at the style of Bill Brown one cannot help but notice the striking factor of him being as cautious than Roqibul Hassan. Just like Brown, Roqibul possess such a snail like pace as if to render him immobile. Brown used to quip that his wife says that you could tell he is batting "by the number of people leaving the stadium." Perhaps that's one conclusion even Mrs.Roqibul Hassan can also safely draw having seen his husband bat.
Cheerful? Life of the party? Popping in to random houses? Taking off pants and handing to waiter after she insists to take your jacket when she spilled on it? The very name Lindsay Hassett pops up in mind. Bangladesh? Shurowardi Shuvo.
Mahmudullah may not have scored 206 with a measly 1 for 5 of best bowling figure but the man sure is not far off when it comes to taking Arthur Morris words off his mouth when he lamented that he does not have "confidence of some of the players today".
Sid Barnes called him the filmstar because of his dashing good looks. Or as affectionately known as "The Black Prince" Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack would probably be an ideal model if HAL wanted to create a supercomputer simulation of a bowling machine. Rubel Hossain likes cricket.
181 on first class debut, 185 in Lord's, 7/65, 281* vs. Leicestershire, 10 wickets at Lord's - such voluptuous vital stats may never be touched other than the man with the Midas touch himself Keith "Nugget" Miller. But then again when a person like Koushik (Mashrafe Mortaza) carries a 600k ladykiller look in an ad getting up and shaving then Old Spice Man aint got nothing on him.
Well folks, there you have it. It's the eve of the poorman's Ashes. Whereas The Invincibles of the 40s would beat England in over 30 games in a year with minimal casualty, the tigers have managed to repeat it versus the Eagles in a decade. Whereas the former would bowl 8-over balls, our bowlers naturally ball similar numbers. Whereas the teammate of one would sacrifice his wicket so as not to exceed Bradman's 234, our players perform hara-kiri less so altruistically. Whereas the former would be referred to as the most "cherished sporting legends" by Australian federal government, the latter would be showered with choi katha jomi and gari. They are our hero, our son and our pride. So go ahead, dream big and if things don't work out you can always quote the Don himself: "I was never coached. I was never told how to hold a bat."
Incomplete...
They say don't count your chickens before they hatch. Here in Banglacricket - where dreams not only come true but are made into schizophrenic illusions- we believe that not only should we count them but make sure that they are given a heavy dosage of steroid. So without further ado I present you The Invincibles
Iceman > Bradman is probably the most daring inequality that has reigned this forum since triangle and Minkowski. But it speaks more volume than a box of hyperboles. In 1948, after Bradman's departure from the cricket arena having completed steamrolling England in 34 matches without a single blemish, a leading cricket writer of that time, our friend R C Robertson-Glasgow mused that "So must ancient Italy have felt when she heard of the death of Hannibal."
Bangladesh? Utpal Shuvro dubbed Shakib as Iceman.
"Barbiturates", "bipolar disorder", "flamboyant batting", "suicide" -- string together and what do you get? No, not Sidney Barnes but our dear old Ashraful's batting, whose wildcard entry, sure raised many eyebrows. Perhaps the only Barnes in him is that of swinging like the door of one to get out to a loose shot, but at the end of the day critics and metacritics will reel in unison that when the man is in song his innings is more Daliesque in flavor than a surreal Mr.Barnes holding radio, mirror and comb at the middle of a field.
http://www.trueknowledge.com/images/thumbs/90/90/30c94fed20b10408b17fa22dcdc53fcb.jpg When one looks at Don Tallon one cannot help but wonder at the striking resemblance with Bangladesh's own Mushfiqur Rahman. (Maybe 'resemblance' is too strong of a word; perhaps 'contrast' would suit more). However they do seem to perfectly complement one another. Tallon whose sobriquet "Deafy" was a man of deftness removing only the bail without upsetting the stumps was said to have hands of an agile violinist; whereas, Mushfiqur...is, well, Mushfiqur. May be, "The Chatterbox" is far cry from being the "Bradman of the wicketkeeping" and may be when Bradman noted that Tallon's own hands were "long" and "fine" and "intact" as if one had not played much cricket- how surreptitiously one would've thought that his remark may carry meaning way different than he intended.
Speaking of toe-to-toe tango when it comes to flashy, dance-down-the-track-as-if-to-shake-bowler's-hand, risk taking, Wisden Cricketer of the Year, 151 scoring, left handed batsman, Tamim sure can match step with Neil Harvey. Of course, there is also the subtle factor of him being the only Bangladeshi batsman to have the same average as that of Harvey's.....................in bowling.
And of course when one looks at the style of Bill Brown one cannot help but notice the striking factor of him being as cautious than Roqibul Hassan. Just like Brown, Roqibul possess such a snail like pace as if to render him immobile. Brown used to quip that his wife says that you could tell he is batting "by the number of people leaving the stadium." Perhaps that's one conclusion even Mrs.Roqibul Hassan can also safely draw having seen his husband bat.
Cheerful? Life of the party? Popping in to random houses? Taking off pants and handing to waiter after she insists to take your jacket when she spilled on it? The very name Lindsay Hassett pops up in mind. Bangladesh? Shurowardi Shuvo.
Mahmudullah may not have scored 206 with a measly 1 for 5 of best bowling figure but the man sure is not far off when it comes to taking Arthur Morris words off his mouth when he lamented that he does not have "confidence of some of the players today".
Sid Barnes called him the filmstar because of his dashing good looks. Or as affectionately known as "The Black Prince" Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack would probably be an ideal model if HAL wanted to create a supercomputer simulation of a bowling machine. Rubel Hossain likes cricket.
181 on first class debut, 185 in Lord's, 7/65, 281* vs. Leicestershire, 10 wickets at Lord's - such voluptuous vital stats may never be touched other than the man with the Midas touch himself Keith "Nugget" Miller. But then again when a person like Koushik (Mashrafe Mortaza) carries a 600k ladykiller look in an ad getting up and shaving then Old Spice Man aint got nothing on him.
Well folks, there you have it. It's the eve of the poorman's Ashes. Whereas The Invincibles of the 40s would beat England in over 30 games in a year with minimal casualty, the tigers have managed to repeat it versus the Eagles in a decade. Whereas the former would bowl 8-over balls, our bowlers naturally ball similar numbers. Whereas the teammate of one would sacrifice his wicket so as not to exceed Bradman's 234, our players perform hara-kiri less so altruistically. Whereas the former would be referred to as the most "cherished sporting legends" by Australian federal government, the latter would be showered with choi katha jomi and gari. They are our hero, our son and our pride. So go ahead, dream big and if things don't work out you can always quote the Don himself: "I was never coached. I was never told how to hold a bat."
Incomplete...