Breeding ground is HP - thanks McInnes

[cricket_pagol]

Age is not the only sign of adulthood. One could realise this after Bang-ladesh's splendid five-wicket victory against India in Port of Spain early Sunday where three teenagers stunned the world cricket fraternity.Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, middle-order batsman Shakib Al Hasan and dashing left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal showed in the match that age could never be the sole criterion of maturity. Just imagine that the three players' average age is 18 which was good enough to embarrass the formidable Indian cricket team under the tutelage of former Australian great Greg Chappell.
They have already been branded as the 'young brigade' but now the immediate question is where the products were actually made? The answer is they derived from the last few years' development programme undertaken by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) under its High Performance (HP) programme.
If former BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury had initiated it then Arafat Rahman, former chairman of the Development Committee, brilliantly carried on with important programme that harvested a rich crop in the Caribbean.
"I must say it was the outcome of the BCB's development programme. What the young guys did yesterday is the result of this programme. The board focused on this work when we had thought that there would be huge a vacuum in the pipeline if we didn't take such kind of initiatives," said BCB general secretary Mahbubul Anam.
"The programme is ongoing in a more intense way and I strongly believe that its results would be
immense," he added.
Many was surprised how it was possible for a 18-year old wicketkeeper-cum-batsman, Mushfiqur Rahim, to keep cool in the middle not only behind the stumps but also with the bat during his 56-run unbeaten knock. It was not only his first World Cup match but also only the 12th one-day appearance.
Playing only his fifth one-day international how a 17-year old batsman, Tamim Iqbal, shattered one of big giants' attack in the competition remains a big surprise for many outside the world while Shakib, an example of coolness only at the age of 19, holds a stunned average of 55.07 after 21 ODIs.
They are of a generation groomed under different circumstances by getting more opportunities than their predecessors but also have gone through a disciplined programme which made them mentally tough.
"I must thank Richard McInness because he did a tremendous job with these boys to make them not only physically, but also mentally, prepared to compete in the highest level. He actually modelled this programme," Mahbub praised the Australian coach.
But unfortunately, it seemed that the programme has got stagnant in recent times although the BCB general secretary demanded that they have expanded it after the making of the BCB National Cricket Academy.



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