ODI Squad - MORX is back!

[Sham]

From BBC Sports (bbc.co.uk/sport)

Bangladesh have recalled teenage batsman Mohammed Ashraful for three home one-day internationals against West Indies.

The right-hander became the youngest player to score a Test century last year when he made 114 not out against Sri Lanka, aged only 17 years and 63 days.

But he was dropped from the squad for the recent tour to South Africa after a loss of form.

The selectors have also recalled former captain Naimur Rahman.

"The team is a blend of old and young, but the balance is in favour of younger players," said chief selector Aliul Islam.

"We don't have quality cricketers to face the world-class stars, but have picked up the best possible side keeping in view the World Cup in South Africa next year."

Bangladesh will be playing host to West Indies for the first time, and the one-day games - the first to be played on 29 November - will be followed by two Tests.

The tourists will be led by wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs because regular skipper Carl Hooper is to undergo knee surgery.

Hooper's place in the squad has been filled by Daren Ganga and pace bowler Darren Powell has been included at the expense of the more experienced Cameron Cuffy.

Bangladesh one-day squad: Khaled Mashud (captain), Al-Shahriar, Hannan Sarkar, Enamul Huq, Habibul Bashar, Sanwar Hossain, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Rafique, Tapas Baishya, Talha Jubair, Manjurul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Naimur Rahman, Tushar Imran.

West Indies tour party: Ridley Jacobs (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes, Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Jermaine Lawson, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Daren Powell, Ricardo Powell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan.

ps. All I can say is, thank god Shanto didn't make it.

pps. For those who don't know the Morx reference, thats what we named Durjoy after our tour to Zimbabwe in 2001. I think the word comes from Moron. Its the best name we could come up with for someone that not only captained terribly but kept getting out in the last over before lunch/tea/end of play.

[bd_cricket]

Durjoy is back.
"He is the best available off-spinner among the lot."

Ashraful is back.
"He is a talented player and should not be kept out for a long time."

Sujon is dropped.
"Spinner-allrounder is prefered over medium pacer-allrounder in this series. And Sujon is not capable of bowling 10 overs against a top class opponent "

Golla is dropped.
"Sezan is better batsman than Golla in One day."

Bulbul has been confirmed to return in the test team.

[Pundit]

Not too bad, I would say. But definitely the emphasis is different from this board's philosophy.

The BCB board chooses by opposition strength, environmental conditions, while this board strongly emphasizes on individuality.

But the deal now therefore is, what happens if MORX/AShraful do well in the ODIs ? Does that permanently remove Sujon from the SA bound squad ? I for one believe that Sujon will really prosper in SA conditions, while Ashraful/MORX's bowling will be creamed their.

[bd_cricket]

BTW, those are not my comments.....
I think the selectors shouldn't make comments like these - otherwise it will be a repeatation of Mainu & co.
I forgot, Mr mainu commented something after dropping Sumon from the first test squad. Can anybody recall?

[bd_cricket]

BTW, those are not my comments.....
I think the selectors shouldn't make comments like these - otherwise it will be a repeatation of Mainu & co.
I forgot, Mr mainu commented something after dropping Sumon from the first test squad. Can anybody recall?

[Pundit]

BD_cricket - unfortunately they cannot be any more diplomatic. I suppose this is the only way they can clarify their choices when asked (or probed) by the media.

[Mahmood]

Part 2.

Enjoy.....

[rafiq]

somehow both ashraful and morx have weasled their way back into the squad, with the latter much less deserving. what did morx do with the ball (or the bat) in the challenge cup to deserve this recall? since when is he the best off-spinner available - what happened to fahim muntasir?

the selectors may be right with going with a spinner all rounder instead of the gentle medium pace of khaled mahmud. whoever gets the slot, however, will not be as productive with the bat as mahmud would have. been


since they are so hell bent on playing a right arm spinner to the WI's left arm batsmen, ashraful may not have a way into this one day squad. naimur really throws a wrench into all our previous permutations for one day and even tests:

hannan
rokon
sumon
tushar
sanwar
kapali
pilot
naimur
taposh or yet another spinner such as rafique - that would make 4
talha
manjurul

on a different note, as long as the selection committee comments are objective, they are useful since we are a country where no one ever needs to explain their actions - so this is indeed refreshing. if someone's feeling gets hurt because they are not a "better one day batsman" then, well... tough.

[Sham]

We already have two spinning all-rounders in Kapali and Moni to justify a place for Morx. Yes, I know it may be a little rich giving Moni all-rounder status but he can score runs. I think it was a mistake to leave Sujon out. He should have gotten Morx's place. Sujon's bowling is a bit innocuous, but he is a real fighter with both bat and ball. If I were leading the side out onto the field, I would rather have a player with the heart and committment of Khaled Mahmud than Morx.

Also, Khaled Mahmud can do a job for us in the ODIs similar to what Larson used to do for New Zealand. Take the pace off the attack and bowl 10 overs for 25. Sujon did well against NZ in the Champions Trophy in SL. He was bowling extremely well but Pilot decided to make him bowl 10 overs straight. Big mistake. Bangladeshi bowlers don't have the mental stamina to concentrate for a 10 over spell. Use Sujon in two spells and he can bowl 10 overs for under 30.

As for the rest of the team, I don't really have many complaints. I hope Mazharul and Ehsanul keep pushing for a place though.

[Pundit]

Yes - Mahmud is a real fighter, and a gem with the bat in the ODI squad. Who can count how many times we posted 200+ instead of 150++ because of him ?

I would really have been agitated about Durjoy's inclusion had this not been in BD, or some team other than the WI was playing against us. Sometimes our beach loving friends react oddly against spin.

Anyway, it will nevertheless be an interesting series in terms of team selection.

Regarding K Mahmud bowling 10 straight overs - even Bulbul had him do so against Pakistan during wc '99. But this was almost 4 years back (wow, already), and he has ofcourse aged considerably.


[Edited on 21-11-2002 by Pundit]

[Sham]

The BBC report that I pasted mixed up Moni with Seezan. Anyway. its Ehsanul Huq thats in the team and not Enamul Huq. So my previous post about the team having two spinner all-rounders in Moni and Kapali was based on a wrong premise. It doesn't change my view, I would still rather have Sujon than Morx, but I'm glad that Seezan is getting another opportunity.

[Sham]

I have to say, it seems like the selectors did do some thinking before picking this squad. Some of it may be flawed, such as Sujon's omission in my view, but atleast they have taken into account the setting and the strength of the opposition and selected with a plan in mind. That doesn't happen often with our selectors.

Also, I sort of agree with Rafiq. Perhaps saying that 'Sujon is not good enough ..' or 'Seezan is better than Golla..' was not necessary but atleast the selectors provided their reasoning. I think in future, they will do better not to mention names of players they have left out and instead concentrate on making a case for the players that they have picked. But overall, it is refreshing that they feel the need to account for their decisions.

[Mahmood]

According to Inqilab, Sujon is back in the stand by for the ODI under media pressure.

[Pundit]

Media pressure ? That's ofcourse what Inquilab will say !!

Whereas I will say it was due to my pressure (see previous msgs), while Tehsin will claim due to this board's persistence !!

This series is going to be held in BD, so being the host board, the BCB can do whatever it can, however times it wants. Don't you think if MASRI became 100% fit overnight, they would include him despite having already "declared" the team ? Then the npapers will claim that it happened only due to their foresight in having recommended the right doctor for his treatment.

[Pundit]

But we have to admire K-Mahmud's spirit - as soon as he is informed of the good news, he rushes to the camp the very next morning.

Compare this to Rafique and Nannu's past reactions when they basically showed their finger after having been informed of a slightly better opportunity.

Mahmud/Bulbul are real fighters, whereas Nannu/Rafique/Akram are real teary eyed good for nothing moaners.

[Sham]

Yeah, I was impressed by Sujon's grace. And its not like he has been named in the squad, he is on stand by. He definitely has the right attitude.

On a different note, I was reading the Daily Star report today about the boarding allocating 1.75 crores or something around that figure for the Windies series. I have one request. Please get someone to go around and wipe the seats at the BNS galleries before each match. I went to the stadium on the first day of the first Test against Pakistan in January and all the seats at the international gallery were covered in bird droppings. It was disgusting, everyone had to cover their seats with newspaper. When people pay money to go and watch a day's cricket, they really don't want to have to deal with crap!

[Orpheus]

Very nicely put -- Sham!!

Miah, Bish taka diya khela dekhben abar rajar ashon o chaan - taile to hobe na.
You are lucky they are offering seats at these prices. People should be happy with even a peephole at that price.

It might be a conspiracy! They have some sort of contract with the newspaper ppl.

[Tehsin]

Amder recent (excluding SA tour) khelar je haal, bish taka diya je manush dekhte jaai, eitaai beshi.

Not a huge fan of Sujan the player but if I were to pick a one day side for Bangladesh, I'd pick him over the Durjoy's anyday cause the guy has heart and guts (refer to pundits post: Pundit posted on 21-11-2002 at 10:13 PM).

However, apart from the loose comments from the selectors, I don't mind if they pick Durjoy for Bangladesh (our home) matches even though Sumit would have been a better choice. I won't even mind them picking Mushfiq babu for any future matches to be played in Rajshahi because he jad some good scores and took wickets in his hometown in many matches.

Howeverm if they want to feed us the bull about they are picking this team with the WC in mind then give me a break. Ash and Durjoy over Sujan for the South African wickets ? Afraid to laugh cause I won't be able to stop myself.

Morx is good for Dhaka, he has done well for the Dhaka/metro/Abahani sides in the leagues. Hopefully he will take advantage of this generosity that has been bestowed on him undeservedly. Come to think of it, I remember saying the same thing the last time they recalled him and we all know how that turned out, khek.

[Sham]

I wouldn't mind a peephole if it was clean! Seriously though, it really isn't difficult to keep the galleries clean. And, I really wouldn't mind paying more for entry. Nor would most people who go to watch the games. Its kind of sad. When foreign teams play each other at BNS, the galleries are packed. When BD plays, not as many people turn up. Those who turn up to watch BD play, especially in the Tests, are die hard fans, and I am sure they wouldn't mind paying more.

[James90]

I was suprised at how clean The 'Gabba was when I was there. I don't know who cleans them though