lunch

[rafiq]

The Wisden Bulletin
by Wisden staff
Friday, October 25, 2002


Lunch Bangladesh 124 for 1 (Sarkar 57*, Bashar 32*) v South Africa
Scorecard
Bangladesh tore up the script during a vaguely surreal beginning to the second Test at Potchefstroom. Aided by a flat pitch and some appalling bowling from South Africa, they romped to 124 for 1 from just 27 overs at lunch. Even Australia would be proud of that score.

By the same token, a club side would be disappointed to bowl as South Africa did. They pounded virtually everything in short when line and length was the way to go, and their usually mechanical bowling line-up malfunctioned badly. Shaun Pollock was rusty in his first Test for 10 months, while Nantie Hayward, who was surprisingly preferred to David Terbrugge, was again seriously wayward, though he did pick up the only wicket to fall.

Al Shahriar and Hassan Sarkar, the 19-year-old playing only his third Test, put together Bangladesh’s first half-century opening partnership overseas with some meaty clumps and streaky edges to the vacant third-man area, before Al Shahriar went for 30. Looking to turn Hayward to leg, he was beaten by some extra bounce and gloved to Graeme Smith in the gully (52 for 1).

You expected the floodgates to open, but instead Bangladesh carried on merrily. Sarkar recovered from a fearsome bang on the head from Makhaya Ntini to reach a brave and impressive second Test fifty, and Habibul Bashar again looked the closest thing Bangladesh have to a class act with some authoritative strokes.

The pair had added 72 when South Africa trudged off sheepishly at lunch. You would not expect their bowlers to be quite so benevolent in the afternoon session.