Exciting newcomers

[reverse_swing]

Sports Reporter

The two fresh faces in the Tigers' 20-man preliminary squad for the tour of England, Shahadat Hossain Rajib and Shahriar Nafees Ahmed both offer something new.

While 18-year-old Shahadat is making quite an impression with his raw pace Nafees, a year older than the tearaway, could become the first specialist left-handed opener for the Tigers if the selectors decide to trust his obvious talent.

But whether they survive the final cut or not, the youngsters are nevertheless grateful for the opportunity to rub shoulders with the country's top names and are quite happy to pursue their individual goals.

The exciting Shahadat said his only concern at the moment was to bowl even faster.

"I have averaged 90 mph but I'm not satisfied with that speed. I love to bowl fast and I'm confident that I can improve my pace. My dream is to see my name in the genuine fast bowlers' list," said Shahadat after the first training session of the preliminary team at the Army Stadium yesterday.

Naturally aggressive and well-built, Shahadat, who is the country's quickest bowler, said nothing delighted him more than seeing the stumps uprooted by a fast delivery.

"I still don't think too much about variation. I want to beat batsmen with raw pace. I love the sight of stumps cartwheeling," said the six feet three quick who hails from Narayanganj. "I would like to be known as the Narayanganj Express."

After unsettling opposing batsmen in the Under-19 World Cup early last year, Shahadat had toured England with the U-19s and Zimbabwe with Bangladesh A and he feels the experience gained from those trips would come handy if he is selected.

"I am just beginning my career, so I'm not thinking about the final selection. But if I get the chance, nothing like it because English conditions suit fast bowlers.

"I had enjoyed bowling in Zimbabwe too and I have gained valuable experience from that particular series," said Shahadat, who took 12 wickets in two A team Tests as Bangladesh A thumped the hosts 3-0.


IN FOCUS: Fast bowler Kazi Shahadat Hossain Rajib (L) and opening batsman Shahriar Nafees Ahmed pose after completing the first training session with the Tigers at the Army Stadium yesterday. PHOTO: STAR


Nafees, who had captained the A team in Zimbabwe and also had English experience with the U-19s, said he was in no hurry to make his full international debut.

"I consider myself extremely lucky that I have received the call up.

I have a target to cement my place in the opening slot and that's why I am prepared to wait my turn. I take this selection as a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable experience.

"I am just excited to be here. It is now my job to prove myself at the highest level," said Nafees who has learned his trade at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP).

-Dailystar

[paco]

"I have averaged 90 mph but I'm not satisfied with that speed. I love to bowl fast and I'm confident that I can improve my pace. My dream is to see my name in the genuine fast bowlers' list," said Shahadat after the first training session of the preliminary team at the Army Stadium yesterday.

Ahem, really ? That seems a little on the high side considering he clocked 78mph at the pacer hunt, and Masri and Tapash averages around 82.

Either way, he needs to learn that with only about 90mph he's not going to beat too many top class batsmen. He needs variation, swing and consistency to be a great bowler.

WASCORONI FOR PRESIDENT !!

Edited on, April 4, 2005, 6:28 PM GMT, by paco.

[oracle]

I predict ( a bit of hope) that Masrafee and Shahadat will open the bowling at Lords. Incidentally, I would get both of them to check out Ntini. 5/145

correction -best bowling 8/34 Botham!

Howstat

Edited on, April 4, 2005, 6:38 PM GMT, by oracle.
Reason: wrong info corrected

[AsifTheManRahman]

>>WASCORONI FOR PRESIDENT !!

everything was ok until the last line. shesher line ta lagay apni bujhay dilen je apni akhono high quality dailer upor asen :P

i'm sure that was the reason for editting the post

Edited on, April 4, 2005, 6:34 PM GMT, by AsifTheManRahman.
Reason: same reason as you

[oracle]

I think there was a king of typos hanging around here. Yeah.. go ahead nominate me for a high number of wrong calls.

Anyway, Ntini came to mind all of a sudden and could'nt figure out why. I wanted to find out which foreign bowler , (yes leave out the GIles, Goughs and Anderson s of the world) and the australian supermen such as Mcgrath and so on.... So question was who did exceptionally well at Lords, and did well recently , i.e 3 years back max. And Voila that is why Ntini came to mind.

Apologies for the wrong turns...

[AsifTheManRahman]

i was responding to paco's post

[oracle]

i was responding to paco's post

ye shall not stand alone

[Locutus]

Originally posted by reverse_swing
Sports Reporter

"I have averaged 90 mph but I'm not satisfied with that speed. I love to bowl fast and I'm confident that I can improve my pace. My dream is to see my name in the genuine fast bowlers' list," said Shahadat after the first training session of the preliminary team at the Army Stadium yesterday.

"I still don't think too much about variation. I want to beat batsmen with raw pace. I love the sight of stumps cartwheeling," said the six feet three quick who hails from Narayanganj. "I would like to be known as the Narayanganj Express."

-Dailystar

That just tells that he is not experienced enough to be in the National Team. First he needs to KNOW the most basic things about being a good bowler and then he has to WORK on those things. In International level bowlling 90+ mph is not everything. Just look at Shaun Pollack of SA; he is not the fastest bowler but he is surely one of greatest bowler in the game, even at age 33 because he has the technique.

I like his confidence but sometime you have to be mature to play the game. You are not a pro wrestler that you have to name yourself and that even before proving yourself. Shahadat has not shown anything that shows he belongs in the big league other than bowling 90 mph.

BY THE WAY, DO NOT TAKE ME THE WRONG WAY. I THINK HE HAS POTENTIAL TO BE GOOD BOWLER.

[Samir]

Both Shahadat and Nafees look very confidence and determined. Let's hope they do well...

[Zobair]

variations will come with time..right now shahadat is doing the right thing...focussing on bowling faster and faster...he is still pretty young...pace and more pace is the name of the game for him...it won't last for him forever...express pace bowlers are once in a generation for each country (unless you are windies of the 70s)...he wants to be one and rightly so...adds a new dimension to our rather docile attack...Go shahadat!

[jabbar]

well said pompous. BD is lacking in the pace department and is (somewhat) being filled by the likes of Mashrafee and perhaps in the future, Shahadat.

However, my opinion for Shahadat is that he should not play. At least not the tests. Give him a bowl in 1-2 ODIs. Again, I refer to the Australian's selection policy. A young speedster by the name of Shaun Tait (you guys may or may not heard of him?), comparable to Lee in pace, and has taken a ton of wickets this season, has been held back for a long time in the interest of giving hime time to hone his skills and learn the art of bowling. Bowling fast is not the only thing a pace bowler must know.
Rather than throwing Shahadat into the deep end, he should be given time to comnbine skill and art with his raw pace.

I suspect (hope ) the selectors are thinking the same way...



Edited on, April 5, 2005, 2:02 AM GMT, by jabbar.

[samiur666]

is this guy really bowling at 90MPH? Can anybody verify this for me?

[Rubu]

jabbar, not to say shahadat should play or not, i'm writing this to tell u that your argument does not apply to bangladesh.

australia already have a way too good team and is not lacking in any department. so, even if someone good comes, they can wait to horn their skills. well, we do not have it and when a talented new comer comes in, he does not replace another good player (like australia) but replaces a gap. we do not have a good 3rd seamer. mashrafee is the only quality bowler we have. taposh is a very good supportive bowler when mashrafee is covering one end but he is not very effective pair with anyone else. nazmul, so far is only filling the gap. he might turn out to be a good bowler in the future but still have a long way to go. so, there is nothing wrong with trying out a telented 3rd seamer if available. same goes for shahrier nafis. if JO was good, we would have make him wait until he retairs or something. but, JO is also there because no one better is available. again we can rush. but think of our top and middle order right now. ash-rajin-aftab-suman makes a good line up and even if a good batsman comes up, he needs to wait because who he'll be replacing is already good.

5 years from now, if we have a good team in every department i'd be a pro-senior, but until them bring in all the kids you have available to fill in the gaps.

[shaoun]

i dont think shahadat was in pacer hunt. shahadat hussein was already playing for u-19 team when the pacer hunt was going on. i dont see any reason why he should be in the pacer hunt. i like his cockyness, thats what our fast bowlers needs. no more being humble its time that our playeers talks some trash too.

[Rubu]

shahadat was not in pacer hunt. but he and talha was bought to the final round of pacer hunt to get a compatitive score. shahadat scored 78mph and talha is even lower, i believe. whereas, waskuruni scored 85 or something like that. it was stated by coach McInnes that the speed guns they used were off by about 5mph or even more. which mean shahadat was bowling around 85 at that time. he mgiht got better after that. as the best of my knowledge, waskuruni polash (paco's president) is the fastest bowler of bd right now.

[Sham]

I like Shahadat's attitude as well. A fast bowler's first target should be to bowl as quick as they can! And with time, maturity, experience, you add guile, variety and all that sort of thing! Look at Lillee for example, started off being an out and out fast bowler and became better and better as he got older and his pace started to diminish. Same with Hadlee, although he was never all that quick to begin with, but he started adding more and more angles to his bowling as his speed went! Starting off with raw pace is not a bad thing. BD can do with a bowler who can keep England on their toes, it adds a new dimension to our attack.

Having said that, he can't be quick and all over the place! If he bowls half-volleys on the leg stump, or even off stump, it won't matter how damn quick he is, he will be dispatched to the boundary before he can look up to see where the ball has gone! He needs to be on target and quick. I am not too worried about whether he can bowl off cutters and all that at the moment. As for swing, he will get some natural swing in England anyway at this time of year, and the 8 feet slope at Lord's will help him and the other pacers as well!

[AsifTheManRahman]

ok. there's a confusion here (and also in the other thread concerning these two newcomers, which imo should be merged with this one). how fast is shahadat on average? because if he's bowling at 78 mph, i really don't think he has any business trying to become a 90 miler - he won't make it. however, if his average speed is higher than what he achieved in the pacer hunt (anything around 85) then i like his attitude but also do hope that he improves his accuracy: according to a lot of sources (McInnes, other threads on this board), although he has bowled pretty well in the recent Zim series, he does get kinda wayward on more occassions than "necessary".

[Locutus]

Originally posted by jabbar

However, my opinion for Shahadat is that he should not play. At least not the tests. Give him a bowl in 1-2 ODIs. Again, I refer to the Australian's selection policy. A young speedster by the name of Shaun Tait (you guys may or may not heard of him?), comparable to Lee in pace, and has taken a ton of wickets this season, has been held back for a long time in the interest of giving hime time to hone his skills and learn the art of bowling. Bowling fast is not the only thing a pace bowler must know.
Rather than throwing Shahadat into the deep end, he should be given time to comnbine skill and art with his raw pace.


Edited on, April 5, 2005, 2:02 AM GMT, by jabbar.

Well said Jabbar!

He should not be jummping into Test Cricket rightaway and atleast not in this series. If he does play he will be smoked by the English and thats not going to help his confidence level. And I mean smoked because he is not experienced enough or good enough of a bowler yet to play against team like England. Let him play couple of ODI matches first.

[Sham]

Asif, when McInnes, Rabeed and everyone else who has seen him play has said that he is quite quick, I don't think we should bother too much about a half-suspect speed gun used at the GP pacer hunt. Now I am not suggesting that he bowls at 90 mph and can put fear into world class batsmen. But few bowlers can. He is still young and has a long way to go. A fast bowler is at his prime (pace-wise) between 22 and 25 usually. He is still not at his fastest. If he is pretty quick, he has the potential to become a genuine fast bowler. I agree, if he does bowl at around 78, he needs to add more to his bowling because pace alone isn't going to do it, but the reports we have had from people who have seen him play suggest that he is considerably quicker than that.

[dukha]

I suggest "Tapash and Shahdat" for the openning Bowlers but anyway it would be Tapash and Mashrafe the way it's for us since long time .Whatever it's we just wanna win ...........

Edited on, April 5, 2005, 5:50 PM GMT, by dukha.

[Tokai]

Originally posted by AsifTheManRahman
ok. there's a confusion here how fast is shahadat on average?

here is a bit of u2u conversation between me and u19 coach Rechard McInnes. it was a while back that i asked him and he replyed coming back from zim tour with A team. might help you to avoid some confusion:

Me:

hi coach, do u know the bowling speed of shahadat? i think he never faced a speed gun, but u'd be the best person to ask this question. thanks.

His reply:

On tthe recent tour of Zimbabwe i would estimate that he bowled consistently between 140 and 145 kmphr

keep in mind that 144kmph = 90mph. result: he usually bowls around 88-91 mph.

[Sham]

Okay, now I am convinced that you are snorting some bad stuff! You don't want Mashrafe to open the bowling? What possible reason could there be for that?