Day 1 press coverage

[sar2005]

Nice posts. Thanks for bringing those article in BC.

I thought there was lot of turn in the wicket already. The way macgill bowls his last 5/6 overs, a wicket could be gone in any delivery. I don't think it would be too easy for AUS to bat against rafiq and enam. On the same point, i have doubt if murtuza and shahadat can make an impression

[IanW]

Yeah, the wicket has turn.

And Bangladesh has 350 in the bank, and 5 wickets in hand.

They're on top. Now they have to stay there.

Ian Whitchurch

[shovon13]

the wicket isn't a batting track, its a slow track with low bounce. its not like the aussie batsmen are going to go out there and have a field day. in fact, they'll have to adjust themselves to an entirely new environment. they're fresh from playing a couple of series on the fast pitches of south africa and australia. masri, shahadat, rafiq, enamul aren't about to fold to anyone, not after this kind of batting performance. our fielders will be as energized as ever as well. aus better be careful.

Edited on, April 9, 2006, 10:59 PM GMT, by shovon13.

[IanW]

The other point about the playing conditions is that the ground wasnt sold out yesterday.

But it will be.

Ian Whitchurch

Edited on, April 9, 2006, 11:10 PM GMT, by IanW.

[SMHasan]

From The Guardian:
Marketing student pummels Australian attack

Bangladesh 355-5

Agencies
Monday April 10, 2006
The Guardian

Shahriar Nafees saved his first century at any level for the biggest stage as lowly Bangladesh shredded Australia's world champion attack on the opening day of the first Test in Fatullah. Their stumps score of 355 for five was the home side's highest single-day score in Test cricket.Rajin Saleh (35), dropped on 31 by the wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, and Khaled Mashud were at the crease when play was stopped two overs early due to bad light. Nafees (138), shared a Bangladesh record second-wicket partnership of 187 with his captain Habibul Bashar (76) as the hosts belied their position at the foot of Test cricket's world rankings.


The 20-year-old marketing student, who was dropped on 66 by Shane Warne at slip off Jason Gillespie, hit 19 fours in his innings which ended when he was bowled by the leg-spinner Stuart MacGill. It is understood to be the first century Nafees has scored in any form of organised competition and is sure to make him an instant national hero. "Playing against Australia is always encouraging and that encouragement helped me make my maiden Test century," Nafees said afterwards.

The left-hander's previous Test innings had yielded just 152 runs with a highest score of 51. He nearly doubled that aggregate with his innings here. His score was also the third-highest by a Bangladesh batsman in Tests.
Like Nafees, Bashar also had a lucky escape when he was dropped by Gilchrist on 36 after misreading a delivery from Warne. The 36-year-old leg-spinner, who has taken more wickets than anybody in Test history, finished with the unflattering figures of no wicket for 112 from 20 overs.
Bashar was caught by Brett Lee at mid-on off MacGill just before tea but Australia's five-pronged bowling attack generally struggled to make inroads after the hosts won the toss. MacGill also took the wicket of Aftab Ahmed (29) to finish with three for 82.
The seamer Gillespie, playing his first Test since being dropped after last year's Ashes, trapped the opener Javed Omar lbw for 27 with the fifth ball of his first over and had Mohammad Ashraful dismissed the same way on 29.
Australia's coach John Buchanan praised the home team. "Bangladesh played exceptionally well. I am disappointed that today's play was not satisfactory," he said.
Despite his team's impressive start, Bashar warned against complacency: "We must survive until tea on Monday if we want to prove our worth."
Bangladesh have won only one of their 42 Tests so far but they embarrassed Australia last year when they beat them by five wickets in a one-day international in Cardiff. Only once before had the minnows scored more than 300 runs in a day, against Sri Lanka in Chittagong last month.
The performance made a mockery of the Australian captain Ricky Ponting's assertion last week that Bangladesh did not deserve Test status, a comment he later retracted.
The Bangladeshis capitalised on an ideal wicket for batting and an Australian team lacking their usual verve after arriving in the country just three days ago from a successful tour of South Africa. The Australian bowlers were made to look ragged in the oppressive conditions.

---

[IanW]

Finally, a positive headline about Bangladesh cricket from an Indian paper. They havent cought up with day 2 yet.

'Cricket world should treat Bangladesh seriously'

Press Trust of India Posted online: Monday, April 10, 2006 at 1434 hours IST Updated: Monday, April 10, 2006 at 1442 hours IST

Melbourne, April 10: Australian coach John Buchanandis missed complacency as a factor after Ricky Ponting's men were flayed by cricket minnows Bangladesh on the opening day of their first Test in Dhaka on Sunday which was heralded by the tigers as the beginning of a new era. RELATED STORIES • Bangladesh smashes 355-5 against Australia • Warne denies attacking Murali for taking easy wkts • South Africa retain 16-man squad for NZ Tests Buchanan, whose bowlers were pummeled for 355 for five by a brash, aggressive Angladesh, denied Australia had underestimated its Opposition. "I don't think so. We just didn't adjust to the conditions all that well. We showed what we should have done in that first hour after lunch (when only 28 was scored)," Buchanan said. The home team struck a staggering 144 for one in the first session yesterday at the Narayanganj Osmani Stadium in outer Dhaka. "The first session was a very good start for them but we reined them after lunch a bit. Nonetheless, it's fairly imposing score at this stage. It was a flat old wicket. The new ball did a bit this morning but we didn't use it that well. It's not a position that we want to be in but it is a position we'll have to deal with over the next four days,” he said Bangladesh opener Shahriar Nafees, whose stunning debut century - his country's first against the world champion - led the tiger charge, said the result should quash once and for all questions about the legitimacy of his country's Test status. "We always like to say that Bangladesh cricket is going upwards and we try to prove it and this is one of the best days for Bangladesh cricket. Scoring 350 against the Aussies is awesome," Nafees said on Sunday night. The 20-year-old, who idolises Adam Gilchrist, said the opening day's result should serve as a warning to the rest of the cricket world that Bangladesh should be treated seriously. "Why not when we scored 350 against the best attack in the world in a day?" he said. Former Bangladesh Captain Aminul Islam, who scored the country's first century, against India in their inaugural Test in 2000, said Nafees' century proved that Test cricket's youngest member was advancing well. “He played smooth cricket and all the brave shots against the world's best bowling attack. It was another sign of improvement for us," Islam said. Nafees said he was not at all nervous about facing Australia's vaunted attack. "I was not nervous at any stage of the day, facing anyone. I decided to play the ball - what I like to do is wait for the bad balls," he said. "I am always inspired to play well against Australia, they bring out the best in me. It is always nice when you get a hundred in any kind of matches, whether it's with a tennis ball or a cricket ball. Scoring runs against the best in the world is always good," he added.

[fai_hasan]

thanks mate, please continue with the updates.