What should be our batting line-up in Tests ?

[Miraz]

I think our batting line up needs a shake-up. Too many walking wickets at the top order. They are finding it hard to cope with the fast bowlers. IMO, will fare better in the middle order. On the other hand, players like Mushfiq and Riyad showed good technique against faster bowlers and they should be moved up the order.

I would go with the following order in Test matches. I will also take Naeem in place of Shahriar Nafees as he will be wasted at number 8 position. If we still keep SN, I would play him at number 7.

Tamim
Imrul
Raqibul
Mushfiq
Riyad
Ashraful
Shakib
Naeem
Shahadat
Shafiul
Mahbubul/Rubel

[Tigers_eye]

Tamim
Imrul
Zunaed
Raqibul
Mushfiq
Riyad
Naeem
Shakib
Shahadat
Shafiul
Mahbubul/Rubel/Enam

That would be my lineup at this point. Yes, that #8 is a permanent spot.

[Tigers_eye]

What happened to the such nice application shown in the Carribeans? What was the rush? 6 o'clock show? Or the format change has not sinked in to their minds yet and thus forgot, in came the dhum-dharakka mode? The more you learn to leave the ball the longer innings you will play. Runs would come automatically, partnership would be built, opponents would get tired and morals would be low, you would put yourself in a commanding position. Simple rules of test cricket. Bad balls are to be punished but not from the word get go. Getting yoruself in needs patience. The more T20 you play you lose that concept.

[Miraz]

I think Shakib will be wasted at number 7 or number 8 position, he deserves a better slot. However, I want him to bat at number 7 or 8 for a longer period of time (like Riyad is doing now) to create the hunger for staying on the wicket and batting up the order. He should eventually take number 4 position of the batting line up.

If Ashraful fails again in this very important Bangladesh winter (India series, New Zealand series followed by England series), we should leave him out of the Test team. It will be time to move on like we did with the captaincy. We need someone who will put value to his wicket. No more walking wickets in Tests. And I am not talking about one or two flash in the pan good scores, Ashraful must show some consistency to keep his place in the line-up.

Like Siddons said, we are not just about Ashraful anymore. If he delivers, he is a wonderful batsman to have in the team, but there is no place for a "failed wonder" in the ever developing Bangladesh team. It sends wrong signal to other players.

Same goes to players like Shahriar Nafees and Aftab Ahmed.

[magic boy]

Tamim
Zunaed
Raqibul
Mushfiq
magic boy
Riyad
Naeem
Shakib
Shahadat
Shafiul
Mahbubul
Enam

[Tokai]

I think Raqibul needs a break. The nick "rock" did the trick for him, making his bat and feet as heavy as rocks that he can't even move them lately.

A break should take some of those extra weight off. I think Naem will be a better replacement for him at this point. See, with the field settings in test. his ability to hit it clean may really help. That is only if he can distinguish between the bad ball and the good balls. I think we should give him a try.
I'll not keep SN just because he is an ICLer and by leaving the team he proved he does not have the motivation. I'll take a newcomer for him to give it a try.
Here is my line up:

Tamim
Kayes (I wish we had a better replacement, but will do for now)
Mushfiqur
Mahmudullah
Shakib
Ashraful
Naem
New comer
then the 3 pacers, order does not matter.


I think Mushifiqur is the best test batsman we have and he should come down at #3.

[Tigers_eye]

Originally Posted by Miraz
he deserves a better slot...

On what grounds? He is not a complete batsmen yet. Our future is almost solely dependant on him. He has to make that change and be more responsible. He is the captain of the ship. Just because he can hit the ball better than everyone else doesn't mean he deserves a top order slot continues his impatient ways. Test don't have time restriction. He doesn't understand that concept yet. I hope he grows up soon. As I said putting the bad ball away is fine. But why not get settled in first?

69/4 compells batsman coming in to be watchful in test. If you say that is not his style then #8 should be his ideal spot. Test is a partnership game. He failed in that category.

The way he started the game, we all knew any minute now. And that happened.

[_Rafi_]

Shakib shouldn't be promoted to top order. He is not a complete test batsman. His techniq is not good thats why he tries to score as more as possible.

[Naimul_Hd]

1. Tamim
2. Imrul
3. SN (i still think, he deserves to be in the team)
4. Raqibul
5. Riyad
6. Shakib
7. Mushfiq
8. Naeem Islam
9. Nazmul/Mash
10.Shahadat
11.Rubel/Shafiul

Ash is wastage in Test cricket. he rather play in ODI and T20. Let a bowling allrounder play in his place. Team will be much better off. Thats why i chose Naeem in the place of Ash.

[SS]

Players who have free tickets and irresponsible nature should not be in the batting line up, few of them currently are in the test squad who still failed to develop their game as per test standard.

[Neel Here]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
On what grounds? He is not a complete batsmen yet.

on this ground. http://stats.cricinfo.com/bangladesh...d=25;type=team

he may not be a complete player but he is far more complete than any of the others.

my choice of batting line-up in playing XI would look like (along with expected role in brackets)

tamim (score at a brisk pace)
imrul (hold fort)
rock (hold fort)
mushfiq (keep the scoreboard moving)
riyad (-do-)
shakib
naeem
4 bowlers

this team will have very good bowling and batting depth, 4 genuine bowlers + shakib + riyad + naeem and 7 batsman.

[Beamer]

I don't have a clear answer for what should be our test line-up. What I do know that since the departure of Bashar, we haven't found a no.3 for tests, the most crucial position. In theory and practice, Siddons likes an extra opener at no.3, and we have tried it with Imrul, Zunaid and now SN, without any meaningful contribution from anyone of them. I think the opening position is the least of our problems. Bigger worry is the no.3. Tamim and Imrul will continue to open and I got no problem with that. Ashraful should have taken the mantle from Bashar, but it looks like he has lost what set him apart from everybody early, which was the awareness of his off stumps at all times. Compound that with lack of feet movement, two mindedness regarding what to play and what to leave, and general lack of aggressiveness in attitude ( Bashar had that in abundance )has resulted in a total messy situation. So, who among the current crop has it what it takes to be a no.3? Nobody if you ask me. Rakibul could have been a candidate but the guy refuses to or unable to put away middle-leg balls to the boundary. A no.3 must not shun away from scoring opportunities. He seems to be a guy who only thinks of holding the order together, but by refusing to move the scorebeard, he is inevitably putting pressure on himself. He is neither scoring, nor is he staying after facing a substantial amount of deliveries. I rule him out at no.3 and I don't see anyone who is a no.3 in this squad. Lets not jump the gun and promote Riyad or Naeem in that role. They have done well at no.7 and no.8 in limted opportunites in ODI's, but it takes a different mindset to be a test no.3. The guy who I think can be tried ( though not a surething ) is Rahim. He is technically much more able, has a decent mindset and somewhat good but not excellent in building partnerships. Besides, he has been around for a while, unlike Riyad and Naeem. But, Riyad definitely deserves to move up to no.6. Until and unless we get a stud who is a true no.3, I am willing to afford Rahim the opportunities there.

1. Tamim
2. Imrul ( or an opener , be it Zunaid or SN for future considerations )
3. Rahim ( VC )
4. Sakib ( Do not want him to change one bit in his mindset and approach or he will become Ash )
5. Rakib
6. Riyad
7. Naeem
8. Best wkt keeper in the country ( apply )
9-11 ( three bowlers )

As you can see that I have dropped Ash. But, it is not a carte blanche for Rakib. He must improve or the chopping block is on him.

[Rabz]

Whatever it should be, Riyad should move up the order.
He is just being wasted at no 8.
He earned it.

[Nadim]

1) Tamim
2) Kayes
3) ROK
4)Mushi
5)Ash
6)Riyad/Shakib
7)Shakib/Shakib
8)Nayeem/Shuvo (if we need a batting allrounder then play nayeem, if we need bowling allrounder then pick S.Shuvo)
9)Shahdat
10) Shafiul
11) Robin

[sharifk]

are you asking for the next match against india or in ideal condition when all the bests are available for selection? if it's for the next game, this should be the order:

1. TI
2. Imrul
3. SN
4. Roqibul
5. Riyad
6. Shakib
7. Mushy
8. Nayeem
9. Shahadat
10. Shafiul
11. Rubel

i would have had no place for ash if he would fail in the second inning and bd would lose. i would bring nayeem instead of him and send Rriyadh at # 5. but if we still win, I wouldn't break the winning combo....

[dolcevita]

tamim
kayes
rokibul
mush
riyad
nafees
shakib
ash
tailenders

[Equinox]

Tamim
Imrul
Rokibul
Riyad
Ashraful
Mushfiq+
Shakib*
Naeem
Shahadat
Shafiul
Robin/Enamul

12th Man: Zunaed

[WarWolf]

Raqibul has been a disappointment for the last few months. If he cannot fix the problems with his techniques, sooner or later he is gonna lose his place to someone like Nayeem. As this is his 6th match only, I would like to give him chances for few more matches.

[Dhakablues]

I will bat for Shahrier Nafees. He failed on one occassaion only after his return, its too early to discard him just now. Give him one more chance before dropping him again.

On the other hand, I think Ashraful also needs to get his new approach solidified. There is no disagreement that he has changed his approach and its a new Ashraful. But the fact is, he himself is not yet comfortable with his change. Give him the NCL to clean up.

I think we should keep this core team and bring in Naeem down the order, move Mushfique/Riad up. Shakib still worries me as a batsman because of his aerial shots too often. He is now a world class bowler but I dont think he is a world class batsman yet. His average was 50.xx in ODIs and now its down to mid 30s. Nevertheless, he is the permanent captain but should be at 5.

It is important that we do keep the core team to develop and prepare for the World Cup and to me, the number 2, 3 are the positions to grab as I am still not convinced with Imrul, Ashraful, Zunaid, Mehrab. But my ideal XI for Test:

Tamim
Shahrier Nafis
Mushfique
Roqibul
Riad
Sakibul
Naeem
Shahadat
Bowler 2 - Shafiul/Rubel
Bowler 3 - Enamul Jr./ Razzaque/ Saqlain
Bowler 4 - TBD ( selector's special surprise)

[BD-Shardul]

My line up for the second test will be:

Tamim Iqbal Khan
Imrul Kayes (I do not want him, but we have no other option, no matter what is your ability, you should not look tame when you are out there)
Zunaed Siddique (I think he has the best test record at no 3 after Bashar?)
Shakib Al Hasan (He has to come at no 4 and play responsibly)
Rokibul Hasan (I dont know, he better sorts him out)
Mahmudullah Riyad (Integral)
Nayeem Islam
Mushfiqur Rahim
Shahadat Hossain
Mahbubul Alam Robin
A new SLA (Sajib or Shuvo may be?)

[WarWolf]

Beamer bhai

Sorry to disagree with you. Rahim has some real problems in his techniques to be a genuine no.3 batsman. As a no.3 batsman you have to be equally good against the pace and the spin attack. Unfortunately he is a little bit vulnerable against moving pace balls.

We have seen him getting bowled a good number of times while trying to defend fast incoming deliveries. If you carefully watch his techniques, you will see he has some problems in defending such deliveries. He has a high back lift and brings the bat from outside while defending a ball. Sometimes he makes slight delay in bringing the bat against sharp incoming seam balls and the ball passes through his bat and pad. As a result he gets himself bowled. To me, he has to fix this problem before being considered for the no.3 position.

On the other hand, he is probably the best player of spin in the team (I didn't consider Ash due to his inconsistency). He definitely suits better in the middle order other than getting moved to the top order.

[Beamer]

I know what you are saying Warwolf. I was looking for a stop gap solution at this point until someone emerges from nowhere. All of our players have technical issues, Rahim included, but he at least plays positively and plays situational game fairly well. I just don't trust Ash. I don't think Riyad is ready for such a big leap. Rakib, as I have mentioned is still too shaky, so Rahim is an option. But, I am fine without him playing at no.3 as well.

[wiseshah]

my ideal test team atm will be

tamim
imrul kayes
Junaed Siddiqi (even of form junaed is better than minnow basher dakat looking nafees)
rokibul
mushfiq
mahmudulllah
sakib
naeem (ash out, naeem in)
shahadat
shafiul
rubel

[wiseshah]

adding naeem means one extra bowling option plus a solid batsman who can bat according to situation at any position
again my MSN rules everywhere

M-mahmudulah
S-shakib
N-naeem

[wiseshah]

i think BCB should definitely think of shohrawardi shuvo now. its time to debut the young guy before its too late, i think we should consider him against england. then we will have 4 genuine allrounder

mahmudullah
sakib
naeem
shuvo
and we can arrange our line up with much more flexibilty. depending on ash for one half century or century in a blue moon time is over, its time to move on. he didnt learn in last several years, he will never learn.