Whats up with all the massive scores in NCL this season?

[al Furqaan]

Ash, Hom, N Iqbal, almost every Sylhet batsman remain duds who's crossing north of 20 is rare these days. But there have still been some mega scores already and we're just 3 innings deep into the season. Excluding TIK (and bowlers like Gazi), since he hasn't played in 5 years (whoa!), we still have scores of 209, 181, 148, 120, Naeem has a couple of big tons, and there are a couple more I must be forgetting. Asif Ahmed has a near ton (88) and will probably score a ton or two this year, with one of them probably being decently big (like his 150 from last season). Anamul has yet to get into the act, but he scored 2 tons last year, plus a massive 193.

Is it better batting? Poorer bowling? Have we outsourced our curating to the BCCI?

The thing is that individual bowlers are still doing well (Enamul, Gazi, Saqlain, Shahadat(!), and Taskin. And of course Razzak Raj).

Is it the hope of landing one of the covetted new FC contracts? One third of the current NCL players, possibly more, will miss out on the 80 new contracts. Could this be motivating the batters to bat with some sense (those who have it) and the usual bowlers to keep bowling well?

I'd like to hear Sohel's take on this.

[MohammedC]

Crap bowlers. At last the batsmen are dominating the spinners even Shakib is getting hammered. Time to come out of closet and start grooming fast bowlers for next generation.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by MohammedC
Crap bowlers. At last the batsmen are dominating the spinners even Shakib is getting hammered. Time to come out of closet and start grooming fast bowlers for next generation.

That can't be true. Enamul, Sunny, Saqlain, Razzak, Gazi have all been ripping wickets. They're all spinners. Rajib, Taskin, and Nazmul are the pacers who've done well, and although other pacers haven't made a mark they've bowled so few overs that even if they get slammed for 36 an over, it can't account for the volume of runs being scored thus far.

[TimAus]

I think it is definitely better batting. I cannot possibly believe that bowling in Bangladesh would suddenly get worse and there's no evidence to suggest pitches are any different. The influence of Siddons and Law, both of whom toiled like crazy in domestic cricket (Siddons 11587 runs at 44.91, Law 27026 runs at 50.42) has hopefully rubbed off on the young stars of Bangladesh.

[Kohli_Sox]

As already RM mentioned, our techniques getting better, so our batters are getting well equipped to handle situations day by day. Also there is a change of mind set I think. Everyone is craving to perform good and more the competition for National Team spot, more the better.

[Ajfar]

This is the way for us to improve in the longer format. In order for us to win Test matches we have to learn to take 20 wickets. Our bowlers are not capable of doing that, and most likely won't be anytime soon. But if our batsman's can start putting up big totals on the board and kill a lot of time in the middle, and bowlers put up a decent performance. We can put ourselves in good positions to draw test matches. At this point that alone is a big achievement for us.

[deshimon]

It's a good sign that our batsmen are getting runs. Some of them are showing consistency which is very important for us. Most of the time we saw, in Test match, our batsmen got all out without accumulating a proper amount of runs to make our bowlers fight. One the other hand our bowlers aren't yet capable to take 20 wickets. So this is the only way to save a Test match scoring lot of runs.

[Abid_Khan]

Even with poor bowling, it still takes temperament and enduration to play these long innings. I guess it's a step in the right direction? It's hard to say when not many of us have actually witnessed the standard of domestic cricket this season

[TimAus]

Given that the next team to tour Bangladesh are going to be West Indies, a team notorious for failing epically against spin, I think these scores are very promising. Bangladesh spinners are going to be able to put pressure on West Indies batsmen on these pitches, but that wouldn't mean anything if the batsmen couldn't score big. With the form of some of the batsmen right now that may be less of a worry and the slow bowling brigade could have a chance to bowl Bangladesh to some test victories.

[BengaliPagol]

These tons really justify how much of a huge threat Bangladesh is to International cricket (mostly batting wise). It shows our temperament to score big and how we can dismantle any bowling lineup even if its consists of Morkel, Steyn, Ajmal and Malinga.

We also see the likes of Abul Hasan and Enamul Haque getting the world class Rakibul's and Kapalis bowled. Its just good to see these bowlers stepping up to class batsmen.

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by BengaliPagol
These tons really justify how much of a huge threat Bangladesh is to International cricket (mostly batting wise). It shows our temperament to score big and how we can dismantle any bowling lineup even if its consists of Morkel, Steyn, Ajmal and Malinga.

Difference between us and the Roman, British empire is that there would be no fall.

[oronnya]

ok Let's be practical now .. We know it very well that 80% of these high scorers will be very generous to give their wicket away cheaply at the main stage !! Yes their batting technique has improved but I don't think they have developed the temperament to play long innings at the international level yet.. get all these high scorers into the national team and still you will see them struggling to put up a decent total...

[TimAus]

Originally Posted by oronnya
ok Let's be practical now .. We know it very well that 80% of these high scorers will be very generous to give their wicket away cheaply at the main stage !! Yes their batting technique has improved but I don't think they have developed the temperament to play long innings at the international level yet.. get all these high scorers into the national team and still you will see them struggling to put up a decent total...

Negative view. In the past there weren't big scores in the NCL. If there suddenly are now that shows that something has changed. Yes the pressure will be higher and the bowling better quality in Test matches. Nobody denies that, and not every player who succeeds in NCL will succeed in tests. But runs are being scored at a rate that they have never been before, it can only result in an improved showing by the national team's batsmen, the only question that remains is by how much.

[Rinathq]

Dont care about the runs... I like the fact that more and more batsmen are batting longer... That means they are finally understanding the longer version. In the days of T20 cricket, u would expect to see less temperament and more aggressive approach.

Keep it up. What we need is seamers getting more wickets and overall an increased consistency. The level of longer version is going up slowly

[observer]

It is pleasing to see as has been pointed out that there are some big innings being played, but also some good bowling performances from both pace and spin early in the season.

It is a good sign that players once set are actually going on to big scores. The flat nature of the wickets in many cases, means it is easy to get to 10 or 20 or maybe a few more before concentration becomes an issue, but pleasingly some guys have batted for several hours and in some cases for more than a day. Regardless of who you are facing or the condition of the wicket this is still a good effort. I have not seen the nature of the wickets outside of Dhaka yet, and no doubt they seem to be slightly batsmen friendly, but big scores of 150 plus are still worth noting.

I have seen some games in Dhaka and the wicket there has been sporting for the bowlers, but some of the batting has been poor. Some good innings from Ratul (asif ahmed) and also from Suhan (wk) in all innings 3 innings he has played this season on the same wicket have been impressive. These are good signs for these two young players that on a more challenging wicket and in the context of the game scores they have been able to post match high scores under team pressure.

Increased competition for National team spots is the only way to ensure greater strength in the team performance and only time will tell if this early season "form" translates onto the big stage.

[Tiger Manc]

Hi Richard. What do you think of Sohag Gazi? Do you think he's good enough to play for the National Team?

[observer]

Gazi looks like he has the skills to be a genuine allrounder. Only time will tell if he can deliver consistent performances with both bat and ball over multiple seasons. I domt think he managed any wickets in 1st innings of round 2 and not too many in first innings of rnd 1. However in saying that, anyone who can take 7 for and peel off a brisk 100 has something to work with. Alauddin Babu and Soumya Sarker have also delivered some good allround performances, but we need to see this consistency over multiple seasons.

[Equinox]

Originally Posted by observer
Gazi looks like he has the skills to be a genuine allrounder. Only time will tell if he can deliver consistent performances with both bat and ball over multiple seasons. I domt think he managed any wickets in 1st innings of round 2 and not too many in first innings of rnd 1. However in saying that, anyone who can take 7 for and peel off a brisk 100 has something to work with. Alauddin Babu and Soumya Sarker have also delivered some good allround performances, but we need to see this consistency over multiple seasons.

Actually Shohag has gotten a couple of wickets in this match so far. He has dismissed Mushy and Zunaed in what seems to be a very batting-friendly wicket. I have been tracking Shohag Gazi with a lot of interest for a while now and he seems to me a very genuine off-spin prospect although I wouldn't hand him a NT debut just yet.

[sharup]

The problem with the BD players is that they are on fire domestically facing ordinary bowlers but when they face international bowlers they tuck their tails between their legs and return to the dressing room.

I don't give a rats a$$ about these big scores by some of the players. The very same players (with the exception of very few of course) will disappoint you by throwing their wickets against a good bowling unit.

Until we have some quality world class bowlers in NCL I will continue to judge their batting performance at international level.

[M.H.Rubel]

Today in a news channel grounds men were interviewed. Overall they said that wickets are a bit batting friendly outside Dhaka so lot of runs are coming. But dhaka wicket is sporting.

[Roni_uk]

Shows the quality of NCL bowlers .... I will eat my words if any of these guys if selected scores these kind of massive scores. The reality is each of them wont last even 10 overs when it comes to international matches.

We MUST include 2 or 3 international good players in each of the teams just to mix up the variations in NCL.

[Sohel]

I haven't had the chance to actually watch any of the matches and therefore cannot put real context behind any of the notable performances so far. A total absence of real match reports where the action behind the numbers is reported, doesn't happen in our press so no help there either. Context is important if we are to assume that our so called "FC" stats qualitatively measure up to those of other test playing nations, and can help us pick players likely to sustain success at the highest level.

I echo RM's post here and feel that in light of the qualitative realities of our so called "FC" cricket, we ought to look for consistently notable performances over consecutive seasons as the NCL, hopefully, is transformed beyond "picnic" cricket.

The way things stand now, the NCL can actually adversely impact your game for a variety of reasons. You can get away with a lot of fundamental flaws in the tournament. For example, not moving your feet and blocking full-tosses and half-volleys to put up high scores against toothless attacks made even more toothless by flat tracks, and doing that in a league where many bowlers depend on unforced batting error when a batsman plays a bad shot in order to get most of their wickets. None of these things will you succeed at the highest level no matter how awesome your so called "FC" stats are.

So context means a lot to me personally and without actually watching the matches or reading real reports, I cannot make an educated comment as a fan as to who's ready for international cricket based on these so called "FC" stats alone.

However, I have been getting reports from several players actually playing at the moment and all say that despite several good individual performances with both bat and ball, the overall competitive spirit is sadly lacking when compared to a local league such as the DPL or the much hyped BPL. Players will not be at their best without that kind of high pressure, professional seriousness, period.

[TimAus]

Originally Posted by Sohel
The way things stand now, the NCL can actually adversely impact your game for a variety of reasons. You can get away with a lot of fundamental flaws in the tournament. For example not move your feet and block full-tosses and half-volleys and put up high scores against toothless attacks made even more toothless by flat tracks, and in a league where many bowlers depend on unforced batting error when a batsman plays a bad shot in order to get most of their wickets. None of these things will you succeed at the highest level no matter how awesome your so called "FC" stats are.

I remember Ian Bishop once talk about his introduction to First Class Cricket. He said the quality of batting was so good in the West Indies during the 80s that if you didn't bowl brilliantly for your island you simply wouldn't get any wickets. Guys like Greenidge and Haynes would bat for days on end if the bowlers weren't on their game. This kind of culture set up the bowlers to become much better at finding ways to dismiss batsmen and was the reason Bishop and others of his generation (Walsh and Ambrose notobly) were so good on flat tracks.

Right now in Bangladesh you have a situation where bowlers have been used to getting wickets by waiting for mistakes. If that tactic works it will encourage bad bowling. The fact that the batsmen now are seeming to be putting the lesser bowlers to the sword shows that this shift is beginning to happen. The bowling may be poor, but it would never get better until the batting punished it for being poor, which in the past has not happened.

Bangladesh haven't got the strength of First Class cricket that other countries like Australia and England have right now. We all know this. And therefore they can't compare themselves to this league. All the good players in the league can do is exploit the weaker ones and rise to the top, while the lesser players must work hard to improve their game. Right now it seems the batsmen are improving. This will in turn force the bowling to improve and hopefully the cycle will push BD cricket forward.

[Tiger444]

The overall culture needs to change. It seems our cricket is more focused on the shorter versions which is really not the way to go. Longer version cricket is the ultimate form of the game and our players need to start being more focused for the longer version. It needs to start at the school level. Have quality longer version tournaments starting from the school level all the way to the senior level. One of the reasons why Sri Lanka have been so solid is because they have a very strong school cricket system. We need more BKSP like schools in other regions of the country and not just Dhaka.

I was reading an article of Stuart MacGill and he said that he felt a lot more pressure playing for South Australia then he did for Australia. Then I read another article about how West Indies became so good. Again players had heart playing for their islands and trying to be the best in the WI. Heck even Shakib said he feels a lot more pressure playing in the DPL compared to international cricket. So we need the competitive spirit to go up for sure in the NCL. Have pride playing for your region. If the attitude towards the NCL is improved upon then we will see improvements in the longer version of the game.

[PoorFan]

NCL should allow good overseas bowlers in every team, otherwise these big innings will never help learning technique against good and fast bowling.