Nazimuddin Murders Scotland: A Half-@$$ed Post Mortem

[Sohel]

Another important T20 practice match against an associate side, another opportunity for our Tigers to show that they’re learning from previous mistakes, and demonstrate that they're finally starting to get that rhythm right. Then again, T20 cricket perhaps offers most of those glorious uncertainties, and a single over or two can make the impossible happen.

The impossible didn't happen and Bangladesh won with 4 overs to spare. That said, the Scottish total did not have to be 145. Play with fire too much and you’re bound to get burned someday. We need professionalism, not cute little ploys that can bite us in the butt when least expected. I’m glad that it didn't this time around, thanks to Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel and Farhad Reza with the ball, and Aftab Ahmed and most notably, Mohammad Nazimuddin with the bat.

Cricinfo didn’t provide any ball-by-ball details, and without that particular benefit, this one sided post-mortem has a higher margin of error than usual … apologies.

We fielded first and here are the bowling figures: -

Bowling O M R W Econ

1. Syed Rasel 4 0 20 0 5.00
2. Abdur Razzak 2 0 6 2 3.00
3. Mashrafe Mortaza 4 0 42 2 10.50 (1w)
4. Farhad Reza 4 0 24 0 6.00
5. Shakib Al Hasan 4 0 28 2 7.00
6. Mohammad Ashraful 2 0 19 1 9.50

Abdur Razzak was highly effective opening the bowling once again, and his two wickets provided the early breakthrough which perhaps set the stage for a Scottish defeat right off the bat. Two wickets with an economy of 3.00 is simply outstanding. The increasingly important Syed Rasel was suffocating as always with yet another 5-ish economy rate after his allotted spell. The RaRa tandem continues to impress and look to be the T20 edition of our SLA Trio from the WC07.

Farhad Reza had his second match with a bowling economy of 6.5 or less. I sincerely hope that he can carry on replicating such performances against better teams with better batsmen.

Mashrafe Bin Murtaza’s figures again don’t look too hot in this particular version of the game, where containment is paramount to effective bowling. He needs to get his economy down to 6.5 and below to an effective T20 bowler. I’d gladly trade those 2 wickets for a better economy.

Shakib Al Hasan's figures, though not nearly as bad and heavily mitigated by those two wickets, also need to head in that particular direction. He's just coming back from an injury and I think we can safely cut him some slack at this point.

Mohammad Ashraful continues to be expensive and needs to explore other options before the big dance. I’m still trying to figure out why he didn’t bowl out Abdur Razzak who alongside his RaRa partner Syed Rasel, is the best we have. Having himself and Mashrafe bowl the last two overs, in spite of the late wickets, seem totally nonsensical from where I’m sitting, unless a dubious flair for the dramatic guided that peculiar decision. I’ll rate this team bowling performance a 3.5 out of 5, simply because of a stellar performance from the RaRa tandem, well supported by Farhad Reza.

PS: -

st Mushfiqur Rahim b Abdur Razzak

Yet another stumping from Mushfiqur Rahim behind the stumps was somewhat mitigated on paper by those 5 byes. That said, a stumping is a stumping is a stumping, and still pleasant to read about, especially when it is our Mushy who’s doing it.

Now to the traditional Achilles heel of our cricket, the batting.

Bangladesh innings (target: 146 runs from 20 overs) R M B 4s 6s SR

1.Tamim Iqbal c Brown b Blain 8 3 6 2 0 133.33
2.Nazimuddin not out 74 62 42 9 3 176.19
3.Aftab Ahmed st Smith b Lyons 33 33 27 5 0 122.22
4.Mohammad Ashraful b Lyons 4 7 7 0 0 57.14
5.Shakib Al Hasan b Haq 8 7 6 0 1 133.33
6.Alok Kapali not out 9 10 9 0 0 100.00

Extras (lb 2, w 9, nb 1) 12

Total (4 wickets; 16 overs; 66 mins) 148 (9.25 runs per over)

Tamim Iqbal played 6 balls, hit a couple of boundaries and walked back to the pavilion. Maybe the world class Scottish bowling did the trick, or maybe it was some of those habits we have come to know too well. Either way, this type of early exit does nobody other than the opposition any favors. Maybe this time we can see what Junaid Siddique has to offer at this level and demote Tamim further down the batting order, and relieve the early pressure put on the team as a result of his untimely dismissals.

Nazimuddin continues to shine where others don’t, at least not nearly as much, and looks to be our ace-in-the-hole in this tournament and possibly others yet to come. He is that special player nobody took much notice of and he’s making sure that they do. This young Chittagonian too has outstanding shots at his arsenal, and the right attitude to apply them effectively. The 9.25 run rate in the match is largely his work with the bat. Third match in a row where he deserved to be the MOM, and the second match where he has been. Just look at these number again and put a cheery on top: -

Nazimuddin not out 74 62 42 9 3 176.19

I will throw that cautious optimism to the wind and proclaim that a star is born, and he is here to stay by the supreme grace of Allah.

Great to see Aftab Ahmed getting back into his act after some of the post-marital hiccups. Sort of the taking the back seat and letting Nazimuddin be Nazimuddin proved to be absolutely the right way to go. Maintaining a strike rate of 120 plus while doing that insinuates wonderful things to come in his and our T20 future. Being stumped after playing such a crucial role does add to some of the disappointments that have followed him for a while now, but a 27 ball 33 in a T20 match, especially batting at number 3 after yet another early breakthrough for the opposition, is significantly more valuable indeed than those damaging ODI and Test innings of the past.

I have no idea as to how Ashraful and Shakib managed to get themselves bowled out after playing 7 only balls each, and frankly speaking, I don't care to find out. They need some serious introspection if that, and I'm sure other things, help avoiding such failures against the likes of N'tini, Edwards and Powell. They're lucky that the talismanic Nazimuddin already won the match for us and Alok Kapali was there to provide the easy finishing touches and go through the formalities with 24 balls to space.

I'll give the batting performance a 3.5 out of 5 only because Nazimuddin gets full marks and Aftab a solid 4. All in all a decisive victory for the tigers that, considering the opposition, gets a 3.5 out of 5 in my book.

[Anher]

Well detailed analysis Sohel bhai. Thanking for time consuming worthwhile work

[sadi]

I am impressed but I would wait till the world cup is over before commenting on his batting. I am more worried about Mashrafee since he is struggling with the ball and if we want to create an upset, he has to come through big time.

[Evolution]

well done pal... really great work...

[cricket_king]

Another very thorough report on Bangladesh cricket team's day. Nazimuddin continues to intrigue me further. I didn't even take notice of him until the Kenya match where he scored the 43. Even then I didn't consider it anything great.....but that match against
Pakistan did the trick and now this one as well.

One thing bugs me though - What if? What if he ends up like the rest of them? Just another flash in the pan. Congrats to him anyway.

[truetruetiger]

briliant analysis, shabash!!!

[sandpiper]

I am so pleased with this young lad.... hope he will retain this blazing form in the upcoming mathces

[rubel_18]

yeh he seems like a vry gud prospect and if he fires it on in T20 Cup I am sure he will get a call up for NZ tour

[MohammedC]

If he continues well in the big matches where do you see Nazim in near future
as opening batsmen with S Nafees in test and with Tamim in ODI and 20/20.

Should he be included in NZL tour ?

Well my answer is he should, but what do you think?

[Tokyobreeze]

It was nice to see that AshFool has found other ways of getting out than run outs. For last few matches, I don't know what he was doing to get run out all the times.

[BD-Shardul]

Tamim: Should not be in the final squad. enough is enough. Junaed should replace him.

Ash: Ekbar nazimer dike takaya dekh, bachcha pola kemne khele. Na takaleo problem nai, fault to ar to na, all blame is on low quality Scottish attack. Nanna Munna scot polara bowling er ABC i jane na. What our Ash can do? He can't play if the attack is below par

Aftab: A high school math teacher once said to us: "Gunda jodi hosh, tahole sherokom gunda hoish; doctor engineer jodi hosh to sherokom doctor engineer hoish- ekta kotha mone rakh-ei duniyate ar motamotir kono jaiga nai"-Your position is like that. Cameos are good, but BD needs more than that from a batsman like you.

Nazim: Will only pray for him.

Sakib: I still wonder why he was included in the T20 squad. Whom should I blame: Shkaib, soccer mia or destiny or what?

SNR Bhai: Bhai, apnar ki kolom dhorley ki lekha ashe naki? Excellent post mortem.

[Miraz]

Good analysis Sohel.


This time no disagreement.

[Pundit]

So what is the single most problematic feature with our recent performances -

I could say it is Mashrafee's bowling. He is conceding almost 3.5 x-tra runs per over, which amounts to 14 additional runs. Considering our barely capable batting line-up, those 14 runs are not a margin I would like to see our opposition have.

2nd most important issue - Ash conceding 2.5 run more per over per game (If that is a trend). That is 10 more runs.

Add those, and you get 24 runs. Again, considering our collective batting effort, those 20 odd additional runs put us on the wrong side of any game's outcome.

About are batting, like our side, most teams have imbalanced batting performances within there line ups. See some of the scores today. And since this is 2020, the probablity of one batsman making a difference is far greater. And fortunately for us, the need to have one batsman click is far more likely than 2,3,4..for a team like us especially.

Not to say our batting is not a problem, but if you look at it, faster scores are more important than more batsmen scoring over 10 or 15.

Which brings the discussion to a very different point. Maybe in 2020, there should be 9 batsmen, 11 fielders, and atleast 5 different bowlers. That will bring a balance between batting and bowling.

Bangladesh are lucky that 2020 is all about batting, and that too the strike rate and not score per batsman.

[Beamer]

Whatever Nazimuddin is on, its working, and keep feeding him that! Amazing string of performances and in the form of his life. He is actually making it count by scoring big, unlike the ususal manner our form batsmen gives us, a cracking 30 and done for the day.

Not too long ago, he was the third member of that famous trio of Nafis Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed and Nazimuddin from Chittagong. While Nafis has fallen off somewhat with everpromising Aftab still in frustrate the fans mode, here he is- Nazim, the last man from that trio to crack into the national limelight. He has grabbed his opportunity with both hands and its hard to see how he doesn't become a fixture in the ODI and Test team. Its worthy to note that he has paid his dues by playing in the domestic circuit for a few years before cracking into the national fold, unlike the other youngsters that we shoo in from the youth ranks to the national team. Some have made the transition nicely but for the majority, it was too early and examples are ample. We need to remember that...

[al Furqaan]

yes beamer bhai is right...but i would like to hold off on him playing tests - tho i can't wait to see him replace JO. he has a FC batting avg of 36.30, better than most on our test team, with 6 hundreds (including a 204) from 74 innings.

so perhaps he is ready for his Test debut come january.

[Murad]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
yes beamer bhai is right...but i would like to hold off on him playing tests - tho i can't wait to see him replace JO. he has a FC batting avg of 36.30, better than most on our test team, with 6 hundreds (including a 204) from 74 innings.

so perhaps he is ready for his Test debut come january.

Nazim is not a Test opener, he always plays at No.3 in first class matches and hes best there. We need a better no.3 batsman in Test. Rajin Saleh is good for nothing in no.3 position. I think Nazim can replace him in the NZ tour.

He could be a better opener in the ODI that way JO will not come back to ODI anymore.

[Murad]

Mashrafe is being too expensive against the low quality batsman. I think he's not bowling with good line & length like before. I wonder what will be his economy against WI on the 13th? I think he's hiding some injuries. He's not performing well since the India series. He was a disaster in the srilanka series. If he keep playing like this, I think he might lose this place. I hope he bowls well in the next match and gain some confidence. We need him to bowl well against the quality teams if we want to win.

[cricman]

Originally Posted by Sohel NR
\

Mohammad Ashraful continues to be expensive and needs to explore other options before the big dance.

He bowled the last 2 overs and got the big fish and of course any bowler is gonna be expensive bowling at the death

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by cricman
He bowled the last 2 overs and got the big fish and of course any bowler is gonna be expensive bowling at the death

You make a very good point, but I'd still like to see him explore other options before the WI match. Wickets may get the SR down but tighter bowling is the better way to contain the opposition, especially in T20s IMHO. I also didn't know about Razzak's injury when I opened this thread. I guess Ash bowled Razzak's last two himself because Alok and Aftab tend to be expensive in the shorter versions of cricket as they have been of late. Then again, he continues to prefer his VC over Rasel for the last few overs - and Mashrafe has been pretty generous himself - so I don't see why he cannot have them bowl a few. Now with Razzak out of the next practice match, I'm looking forward to how he handles the bowling.

[Ahmed_B]

PHEW!... what a crystal-analysis from obscure CI coverage!

[Roni_uk]

Nazimuddin also was the highest scorer of the day today:

BAN - Nazimuddin not out 74 42 9 3
AUS - HEK Hussey c Vettori b Bond 72 44 6 4
PAK - Shoaib Malik not out 64 37 3 4
WI - MN Samuels DO Obuya b Ongondgo 63 30 3 6
NZ - CD McMillan b Johnson 60 29 5 4
SCO - NS Poonia lbw b Mohammad Ashraful 54 43 4 2
SL - ST Jayasuriya b Philander 46 34 5 1
KEN - T Mishra b Collins 43 42 4 1
ZIM - H Masakadza b Fawad Alam 41 37 3 1
SA - JM Kemp b Wijekoon 32 22 2 3


Well done! Mashallah! I wish him all the best for the forthcoming matches.

[zahid]

Top order jodi weak teamer shathey bhalo runs na kortey parey, stronger teamgulur logey ki korbo?

[Rabz]

A very good analysis from a very limited resource!
Miraz bhai shabdhan!!

Sohel bhai is planning a coup on your editorial position!!
and so far, he is also doing a good job, like u.

[Antora]

wow!!!!!!! very good analysis!!!!

[cricman]

Originally Posted by zahid
Top order jodi weak teamer shathey bhalo runs na kortey parey, stronger teamgulur logey ki korbo?