playing minnows or not?

[al Furqaan]

it is evident that cricket is now a mass media sport and that the players are better shape than decades past. thus we see a paradigm shift where gone are the 6 test series and are replaced by 3 test series along with the money makers, the ODI series.

especially subcontinent teams play many ODIs. the players need constant cricket in order to keep their form and fitness. for example, india will be playing almost every month over the next 24 months. while this is certainly too much cricket, bangladesh are not in the luxury to have to worry about that problem.

i looking at our schedule, we have been mighty busy the past 15 months or so. 27 ODIs played in 2006 alone, along with an addition 15 in 2007 already. this equates to an average rate of around 34 ODIs per year. a very healthy number.

but over the next 8 months or so we have only 3 ODIs against india, 3 against SL, and 3 against NZ = 9 in 8 months or only 14 ODIs per year average. while we will have 7 test matches in this time, i think we could easily squeeze some ODIs in.

may-july is booked with the series vs india and @ lanka. september is relatively free as we will probably only play 2 matches in the 20-20 WC in south africa.

we have already seen the fruits of our WC successes: an extra test against SL and an extra series against NZ. but we are still semi-minnows and getting more big series is going to be tough if not impossible.

i think we should arrange a series or 2 (perhaps a triangular or even quadrangular series) with the minnows: ireland and kenya are the prime teams, IMO.

kenya are improving once again, and ireland, well we saw what they are capable of doing. not only does this help out the associates - which is a duty of ours as a test nation, but it also helps us to hone our skills. thought we hated it at the time and thought there were no benefits to playing minnows in 2006, it helped us out a lot. for one it shielded us from the inevitable, if rarer, thrashings from top teams thereby preserving our confidence. it also gave us the some of the mental skills necessary to beat top teams.

for example, we were always in the driver's seat in the india match. the old bangladesh team would have either lost that match after all but winning it, or we would have narrowly pulled off a "fluke" win after nearly losing it.

against south africa, we started on the backfoot, but clawed back into the game and never looked back. the old bangladesh would have managed to lose both these games by not not chasing 190 odd and not defending 250.

repeatedly dominating lesser opponents helps by putting yourself in enough different game situations and how to react to changes in the script. this is a big reason for our improvements.

thus i think short series against minnows is something the BCB should arrange at home. teams like ireland and kenya will get much out of playing a reasonably stronger team in foreign conditions. it will help pad our stats, and confidence. plus it could serve up some cricket in the "backwater" venues such as bogra and khulna.

i hesitate in playing zimbabwe, though i empthize with their cricketing plight. zimbabwe has gotten much out of playing bangladesh so often in addition to a spineless ICC constantly bankrolling the morons who run the ZC.

after our last series there, where we couldn't even get cricinfo commentaries except on the innings, i was pissed. the mugabe regime is a joke and they have single handedly destroyed zimbabwean cricket. the only time zimbabwe can beat bangladesh is with bangladesh playing their absolute worst (as in the 2006 series) in zimbabwe conditions. hell, we played sub part cricket in february and still walked away with a 3-1 series win. by accepting to play cricket with zimbabwe, the BCB inadvertantly legitimizes the mugabe stranglehold on the ZC. this is unacceptable. when cricket kenya was heading in the same direction, they turned around because no one was playing Kenya, that is kenya had nowhere to go. thus i don't want to see any test nation playing zimbabwe, and certainly not bangladesh.

will be adding a poll to see if you agree.

[al Furqaan]

just to clarify my position:

1) i am NOT in favor of a 2006 style play 30 ODIs a year against ireland, kenya, zimbabwe, and mauritius...just a couple 3 ODI series, or 4 ODI triangulars is enough

2) in no way should they interefere with our big series, and if need be, the minnow series should be scrapped to make way for a big team, unless we have already finalized a deal with a minnow.

3) i am not advocating a 7 ODI series with kenya or anything...just a few matches maybe 1 series a year against ireland and kenya...we have the time for that.

4) these are basically like A team and or FC matches for our boys...list A and FC mathces is what brings experience for ODIs and tests, and thats what has happened.

5) of course our boys do need time for R and R...they have all of august for breaks. and a series against minnows in november would mean they have all of october, the residual of november, and part of december before the NZ series...that could be 6-8 weeks of breaks. thats long enough. afterall, they are professionals. if they can't do that much, they they should just retire now. just watch the indians sweat it out for the next 2 years.

[TheWatcher]

Our players have very busy schedule starting from this December.

December-January: Tour of NZ (3 ODIs, 2 Tests)
February: Hosting SA (2 Tests)
February-March: Tri-series with India, SA (6-7 ODIs)
March: Hosting India (2 Tests)
April : Asia cup (2-4 ODIs)
June-July: Tour of Australia
September-October: ICCCT
October: Hosting NZ ?
November: Touring SA
December: Hosting SL
January (09): Hosting Zim
January (09): Tri-series with Zim, SL

I think we should let the players relax a little in domestic setup before this exhausting streak of international matches starts.

[Farhad]

Agree with Watcher. But I chose "maybe" depending on how long the gaps are...And I wanna pay Ireland back :p

[Aritro]

I think playing all those matches against the weaker teams aided our development hugely last year. I think it was an enormous benefit to our players to be able to spend a decent amount of time at the crease in a slightly lower intensity environment.

I'm all for a series against Ireland away from home. I assume their wickets tend to be greentops and we could use some experience on those. Be nice to get it against Ireland instead of New Zealand or England.

Doesn't look there's any openings in the schedule though.

[Tigers_eye]

no! need rest. Already had six bonus games this year.

To the SL board,
It is in the mail.

[Nocturnal]

NO.

[Sovik]

how about 2 or 3 odis' in ireland against ireland.

[sandpiper]

in Dublin ?

Originally Posted by sovik
how about 2 or 3 odis' in ireland against ireland.

[Fazal]

A good mixture of playing against minnows and gaints is always good as long as schedule permits. This will give opportunity to test new players against minnows and opportunity to rest few established players. But definitely not too many games against Minnows like before.

[Miraz]

We must accommodate our time to play countries like Ireland, Scotland, Canada and Kenya.

I am not liking the big brother attitude of some of the members, think about Australia, they came to play us just after completing the grueling South Africa tour.

Many countries accommodated Bangladesh, within their busy schedule, when Bangladesh was passing difficult time, and playing Bangladesh was nothing but some extended practice. Whatever busy schedule we have, we must not forget we were minnows (some might argue that we are still minnow) and we were given opportunities to play top sides quite regularly.

IMO, Bangladesh should at least play 5-6 ODIs against so called minnow countries in a calendar year.

[sandpiper]

we should play at least 8-9 match per yr

Originally Posted by Miraz

IMO, Bangladesh should at least play 5-6 ODIs against so called minnow countries in a calendar year.

[Tigers_eye]

12 month cricket kheltey galey even 19 year olds would get tired and break down (considering the practices before any series, travelling etc.). I am not against playing the weaker opponents it is just those players need rest a minimum of 3/4 months in a calander year. To improve the weaker teams Our A team can visit few trips or can entertain some of them (Nepal would be a good place for our academy team).

Australia was bound to come to BD because their FTP had it. Our FTP don't have the weaker teams. So the comparison is not correct.

The main concern is too much cricket at times takes the joy out of playing cricket. The players must have time to relax. Otherwise expecting concentration and consistant performance couldn't be demanded. The 3/4 month rest will only recharge the bodies. That's how all major sports are in US.

Even Australians and the English rest their player for a long period of time in a year.

[Kabir]

We shouldn't forget that we're still a comperatively weak team compared to the big teams. We do surprise them...but htat's because it's one of those days that just clicks for our players. For being a great team, we need consistent clicking...and that can only be achieved through practice, practice, and more practice. Not only practice is important, but also practicing with a variety of players is important.

We must not forget that it is also our responsibilty to grow cricket around the world. If as a weak team ourselves, we can help an associate team get practice, it is a win-win situation for everyone.

However, I don't agree that we should get to play whenever there's a gap in schedule. I would say, we should get to play as much as we can, but by giving our players sufficient rest in a year that Tigers_eye bhai was saying.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by TheWatcher
Our players have very busy schedule starting from this December.

December-January: Tour of NZ (3 ODIs, 2 Tests)
February: Hosting SA (2 Tests)
February-March: Tri-series with India, SA (6-7 ODIs)
March: Hosting India (2 Tests)
April : Asia cup (2-4 ODIs)
June-July: Tour of Australia
September-October: ICCCT
October: Hosting NZ ?
November: Touring SA
December: Hosting SL
January (09): Hosting Zim
January (09): Tri-series with Zim, SL

I think we should let the players relax a little in domestic setup before this exhausting streak of international matches starts.

of course this changes everything: but i stand by my posts since they don't contradict this info.

wow didn't realize 08 was so busy....it looks like the BCCI's calender!!!

my post is only for the BIIIIIG breaks (like the one before ZIM series 05 and England series 05 and also SL 05 and SL 06 - 5 months)...IMO 5 months is too long for a break given the nature of cricket.

tigers eye, even NFL players don't get 5 months off to go eat mishti with their wives in their graamer bari

[Kabir]

An alternative is to send our A-team for series with associate teams. if the associate teams can beat our A-team, that would be very encouraging for their team. I still remember when we beat India-A and we had such big celebrations. However, if our A-team plays with other associates, we're sure to get some great outcome, and some of these players will definitely mature and make our national side place a bit more of a challenge.

[TheWatcher]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
12 month cricket kheltey galey even 19 year olds would get tired and break down (considering the practices before any series, travelling etc.). I am not against playing the weaker opponents it is just those players need rest a minimum of 3/4 months in a calander year. To improve the weaker teams Our A team can visit few trips or can entertain some of them (Nepal would be a good place for our academy team).

Australia was bound to come to BD because their FTP had it. Our FTP don't have the weaker teams. So the comparison is not correct.

The main concern is too much cricket at times takes the joy out of playing cricket. The players must have time to relax. Otherwise expecting concentration and consistant performance couldn't be demanded. The 3/4 month rest will only recharge the bodies. That's how all major sports are in US.

Even Australians and the English rest their player for a long period of time in a year.

To add to Tigers_eye's post, our domestic leagues have been significantly losing popularity due to the absence of national team players. Don't forget that this is the main source of income for vast majority of cricketers who have no contract with BCB. Domestic leagues are vital factors for our development and our national players need to participate here too from time to time.

Over last one year, we have done more than our fair share of playing Zimbabwe and associate countries. Let other full members take care of those countries for next year or two.

[Miraz]

T_E bhai, I know it was FTP that made Aussies bound to play us but still we got the opportubity within busy schedules of other teams and that helped us to progress.

Playing 5-6 (or 8-9 proposed by another member) will not reduce the rest that much. It's ODIs. Players can still enjoy 3-4 months break (in divided times).

Sending A team can be a good idea, but it can never replace the need for playing weaker oppositions.

[AsifTheManRahman]

we should play at least a series or two against minnows ever year. it will help us win a few games against the bigger teams.

[MohammedC]

We should have couple of ODI series a year prior to a big series. It will be a good practice.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by TheWatcher

Over last one year, we have done more than our fair share of playing Zimbabwe and associate countries. Let other full members take care of those countries for next year or two.

true, but i am advocating this for our self interest mainly - which is that these minnow tours give us a chance to sharpen our claws before a big hunt/fight.

yes we have done enough "minnow-sitting" in 2006 to last us the better part of this decade, but we were not without benefit either.

we a short series between long breaks - that is if we have long breaks - is when we can play the minnows.

of course, our national team tours against top sides, our A team, U-19 team, our domestic and acadamey sides are priorities, but we can make better use than have our players have 4 months off to gain weight. 3 months is fine...plus they love what they do i.e play cricket.

its not like we're making a mexican do construction jobs on his holidays.

[Sovik]

Originally Posted by sandpiper
in Dublin ?

why not

[Nafis_BD]

I think that having a couple of tournaments with the minnow teams is great!!!! They are getting chance to play better teams, we are getting practise and etc and I think this really shouldn't effect them not getting rests, just playing 7-8 games with them will still leave the Bangladesh players with enough time for resting like a couple of months or something like that!!! We should also show our respect to the minnow teams though remembering that we were minnows too. And we needed these kind of games with the big teams too, also we still are not a big team comparing to the other big ones like Aus!!!

[TheWatcher]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
true, but i am advocating this for our self interest mainly - which is that these minnow tours give us a chance to sharpen our claws before a big hunt/fight.

You can sharpen your claws in domestic cricket too. I say it once again - our domestic leagues have been ignored for too long now. Without a strong domestic setup, we are not going too far. We need our national players to participate in domestic leagues more frequently, for their own good and for the good of the country.

[BD-Shardul]

What about Bangladeh, Kenya and Ireand tri series in our home ground? Playing these countries will definitely help in enhancing the confidence of the tigers. More importantly, we need to take revenge from Ireland.