The Unsolved Batting Mystery

[jeesh]

What do Mehrab Hossain (Opee), Aftab Ahmed, Mohammed Ashraful, Rajin Saleh, Raqibul Hassan, Tushar Imran, Hannan Sarker, Alok Kapali, Shahriar Nafees, Nafees Iqbal have in common?

All of these guys were once considered very talented batsmen. They broke into our team did very well for a few matches-scored fifties and even centuries. After that they had a few bad games, some were chopped, some were given more opportunities, some were recalled for the second time. But none of them are ever the same again. It seems like a curse that have been working on all our batsmen. In other countries, batsmen get better as they age and gain more experience. In Bangladesh it is the opposite. Batmsen are good when they are fresh and just in the side, but as they play more matches they keep on getting worse. Just look at the and statistics of our batsmen.

The list will keep on growing. More and more players will be added. What is the reason some of our batsmen have excellent starts to their career, then they flop and disappear into obscurity. One year they are our heroes, next we are all asking for them to be chopped. Is it our domestic cricket? Is it a problem with our players mindsets? Is it a problem with our selectors? Problem with our coaching? What is your opinion? BCB needs to get to the root of this problem and address it. Otherwise Bangladesh will always have 20-23 year olds playing for the national team. Once batsmen reach 25, its as if it is better for them to retire than continue.

[Zeeshan]

Confidence er obhabh. Tempermental issue. Only exception so far has been Sakib, Mushy comes close. Once you commit to a shot you give everything. Players are in the iffy zone for the most part. Yadda-yadda-yadda. But great thread nevertheless.

[BengaliPagol]

Mindset and temperment are the key to a true batsmen. Something us Bengali's are not accustomed to. It also might be the pressure getting to them.

It explains why our team cant play test matches.

[godzilla]

I hope Tamim dosen't end up in that list aswell ...

[jeesh]

His brother did. He isnt too far away.

If these guys were still playing at the level they started we could have been so far ahead. All of them had so much talent.

[SMHasan]

It's happening because of: Lack of love for the game and bad planning- personal and collective planning. Those cricketers came and played matches here and there but they couldn't flourish because they do not bear it in their heart! It's so vital that you love something and continue! on the other hand planning has to be good in order to be sucessful as a sportsman. I don't think traditionally we are good planners.

Look at Ash- the way he bats- it seems that he needs to catch a train or plane. Every time he gets out he makes such an impression in his face that it was a huge mistake to play that shot and yet he plays that. It proves how bad planner he is. He doesn't even know how to progress, how to build an innings. I believe he will be lost in the London/NY underground station as he doesn't know what to do next, it needs a good planning in order to move around there, trust me.

[Jadukor]

A very good question indeed. We will forever be a young and inexperienced squad if we don't find an answer to this problem and keep losing players after they have played hundred odd matches.
I think it is a combination of lack of intent and failure to adapt that is causing us to lose these players. In the face of sustained pressure our batsman always choose the easy way out and commit harikiri.

I wonder if it's also because our cricketers get into their comfort zones and stop working/training hard enough once they get selected. I wonder if they spend time thinking about their own game and how to improve.

I think cricket is an evolving game and one needs to keep improving in order to succeed. In today's game with all that slow motion cameras and multiple angles your opponents can study your flaws in much more detail. Most experts say that the first year is the easiest because your opponents hasn't
had the time to figure you out.

Tamim was worked out by Hafeez... Petersen by some left armers... Raina by short pitch deliveries. Now it is upto the players to work on their technique and turn things around and in established sides perhaps the Coach and Captain would be wise enough to back the player and help him turn things around. But in our case... with all the grouping and media sniping and unprofessional people as Board President, the easy option is to discard the player and look for the next big thing.

[jeesh]

Looks like Tamim Iqbal and Shuvagoto Hom has joined the list. Lets hope temporarily!

[cricheart]

Self-confidence the factor that lack among our young players ruin those careers. Practice is ultimate solution to gain confidence. Why this list of falling batsmen growing? Coz they don’t practice enough that’s all, simple. Not just academy camping or hotel gym; Daily practice for game, techniques, physical, mental, food, sex all important. Lack of # of games and leisure killing us more, this helping our players more lazy.


Another problem is- the word 'Ambitious' aint really match with most of Bangladeshis. If you are ambitious, you wont stop practicing. I like sakib at this point as he never showed expression of satisfied, always disappointment even after getting out making a good innings. They lack hunger for sure.


Lack of love for the game, sorry these players shouldn't consider playing cricket in first place. Better play any other game that they could enjoy. Knowing lots of records & achievements of BC and personal idol will help liking it more, so far Mash I found very keen in remembering past and records.


Mentor- This is where schooling should help that pro teams provide. Unfortunately comm problem dont help them finding a good mentor.


Communication problem.. hmm its big problem for our past and present talents. We always had too much issues in comm in senior-junior, selector-coach, capt-others, admin-press, local-int, crease-hutch, strike-nonstrike etc etc etc.

[Zunaid]

Top post there.

[jeesh]

You make a good point about lack of mentors. If players keep on disappearing after 25, you dont have mentors in the team to guide the younger generation and give them confidence. Kohli can learn from Tendulkar, Sehwag. Asad Shafiq can learn from Misbah, Chandimal can learn from Sangakara/Mahela. Who can Anamul learn from-Ashraful? Tamim Iqbal (Who himself has so much to learn)? Shahriar Nafees?

I live in Sri Lanka. Sometimes when i am passing school grounds i see young kids playing 3-4 day matches. They are in their white kits, play with 2-3 slip fielders, short leg and silly point. These 12-13 year old boys are trained to occupy the crease, play with a patience and responsibility. One of Sri Lanka's biggest and most talked about sporting event is a 3 day match between 2 of the largest boys school. So their focus on the longer version of the game produces proper batsmen. Now that Mahela, Dilshan and Sangakara are set to retire Sri Lanka will have new stars in Dinesh Chandimal, Thirimane. Their system produces technically correct and intelligent batsmen. Doubt we have anything close to this in our cricket structure.

[Jadukor]

Sri lanka are way ahead because not only they have a good cricketing structure but they also have a great education system. I was amazed by the speech Sanga gave at the MCC

[F6_Turbo]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
Sri lanka are way ahead because not only they have a good cricketing structure but they also have a great education system. I was amazed by the speech Sanga gave at the MCC

They have the whole private school/boarding school thing happening - sports schools etc. Big reason for their success.

[lamisa]

great posts by cricheart and jeesh!

[shuziburo]

We can talk about our lack of resources and money, but BCB has plenty of both, if they want to utilize it properly. We need a visionary leader at BCB to shake the status quo. SHC will be a great option, if he can get the job after Loitta leaves.

You need to temper steel to make it tough. Our players are not tough enough when they make the team. Consequently, when the opponents figure them out, they are unable to reinvent themselves to counter those tactics.

[mufi_02]

Originally Posted by jeesh

I live in Sri Lanka. Sometimes when i am passing school grounds i see young kids playing 3-4 day matches. They are in their white kits, play with 2-3 slip fielders, short leg and silly point. These 12-13 year old boys are trained to occupy the crease, play with a patience and responsibility. One of Sri Lanka's biggest and most talked about sporting event is a 3 day match between 2 of the largest boys school. So their focus on the longer version of the game produces proper batsmen. Now that Mahela, Dilshan and Sangakara are set to retire Sri Lanka will have new stars in Dinesh Chandimal, Thirimane. Their system produces technically correct and intelligent batsmen. Doubt we have anything close to this in our cricket structure.

Back in the days we had Nirman School Cricket. It was also very much talked about and dominated newspapers. But obviously it was in ODI format. As a test playing nation, we should have evolved Nirman format and transformed it into a longer format tournament. But not only we failed to do that, we made sure the league vanishes completely. Now we only rely on BKSP and some GP Pacer Hunt, Search for Tamim's XI etc etc.

[jeesh]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
Sri lanka are way ahead because not only they have a good cricketing structure but they also have a great education system. I was amazed by the speech Sanga gave at the MCC

School cricket system is terrific. In Bangladesh you get schools in apartments and 4-5 storied buildings with hardly any facility for sports. In Sri Lanka most schools have very good sporting facilities-large grounds for cricket, rugby, basket ball courts, swimming pools. At school level a young cricketer may also be involved in rugby, basketball, swimming, athletics or tennis if not all. This is why they are better athletes than us.

[mufi_02]

^^ I think it has to do with our massive population and concentration. Dhaka has 10+ million people and there are just not enough spaces for every school to have fields. Land is like gold mine in Dhaka and the only mantra is to build and build. But if you look at older schools, Dhanmondi Govt Boys and other such govt schools, they have big grounds. I have never been to SL but I am assuming Colombo is not as full of genjam as Dhaka.

[playmaker]

I think what we really need is big grounds

Soon barisal and rajshahi will have enough grounds to groove cricketers while the process will come to a halt in dhaka

[Kana-Baba]

Great post. But you missed to name the biggest flop of Bangla cricket history - ROKON.

[jeesh]

Originally Posted by mufi_02
^^ I think it has to do with our massive population and concentration. Dhaka has 10+ million people and there are just not enough spaces for every school to have fields. Land is like gold mine in Dhaka and the only mantra is to build and build. But if you look at older schools, Dhanmondi Govt Boys and other such govt schools, they have big grounds. I have never been to SL but I am assuming Colombo is not as full of genjam as Dhaka.

The whole of Sri Lanka has a population of around 20-25 million, and the country is almost the same size as Bangladesh. So yeah there is a lot of free space around here. But i dont think space is the issue really. Its the mindset. In Bangladesh parents are only concerned about their children studying, sending them to coaching centres etc. Here in Sri Lanka every child is encouraged to get involved with at least one sport-parents encourage them. Also our policy makers are more interested in building shopping malls and apartment complexes. They dont give a hoot to sports like we do.

[jeesh]

Originally Posted by Kana-Baba
Great post. But you missed to name the biggest flop of Bangla cricket history - ROKON.

Oh how could i forget Al Sahariar Rokon. What a stylish batsman he was. Remember how he hit an in form Shoaib Akhter for 3 fours?

[SMHasan]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
A very good question indeed. We will forever be a young and inexperienced squad if we don't find an answer to this problem and keep losing players after they have played hundred odd matches.
I think it is a combination of lack of intent and failure to adapt that is causing us to lose these players. In the face of sustained pressure our batsman always choose the easy way out and commit harikiri.

I wonder if it's also because our cricketers get into their comfort zones and stop working/training hard enough once they get selected. I wonder if they spend time thinking about their own game and how to improve.

I think cricket is an evolving game and one needs to keep improving in order to succeed. In today's game with all that slow motion cameras and multiple angles your opponents can study your flaws in much more detail. Most experts say that the first year is the easiest because your opponents hasn't
had the time to figure you out.

Tamim was worked out by Hafeez... Petersen by some left armers... Raina by short pitch deliveries. Now it is upto the players to work on their technique and turn things around and in established sides perhaps the Coach and Captain would be wise enough to back the player and help him turn things around. But in our case... with all the grouping and media sniping and unprofessional people as Board President, the easy option is to discard the player and look for the next big thing.

Well said.

I wonder Ash worked out by whom? I think Ash himself is his own demise, no bowlers take his wickets, it's him who does the job for him!The man with a suicide mission you can say.

[jeesh]

Ashraful was better as a 16 or 17 year old than he is now 10 years down the line. Just dont know what happened.

[BANFAN]

We have all the schools outside Dhaka who has reasonable grounds, but you need much more than grounds to improve your sports. Gears, coaches and patronization. We have our lousy physical training teachers teaching every sports at the school level, but if you want to improve our cricket, you need to have a ex cricketer employed as a teacher /coach at the school level. Then you will see boys comng up with good basic skills. Although we have the school cricket tournament on regular basic, but these boys are all ameatures and self educated, so the standard of school cricket is very poor and it doesn't yield desired benefits.