search for a speedster

roaring tigerz · #1 July 21, 2005, 02:15 PM

The last England tour has cruelly exposed the lack of quality in our pace bowling department. While Mashrafee has has been impressive in sporadic spells, all his efforts have come to nothing due to the mediocre bowling from the other end. The support cast for Mashrafee are just not good enough. Tapash, Munir,Alamgir, Nazmul neither have the physical stature nor the control to trouble top batsmen. Shahadat is a real potential. But he was completely out of his depth during his test debut and would need at least two more years before he is ready to play international cricket again. Talha's injury has been holding him back and if he performs consistently in england he might be an effective partner for mashrafee.some other contenders from domestic cricket are shafaq al zaber, waskoorni palash, sk rassel, dollar mahmud and others. but they are largely unknown quantities. who do you think might fill the void in the fast bowling department in the coming years for Bangladesh?

Edited on, July 21, 2005, 7:25 PM GMT, by roaring tigerz.

shovon13 · #2 July 21, 2005, 02:32 PM

as you pointed out, shahadat still needs a couple of years to add varities to his craft and become effective. as of right now, my best bet is talha. as far as i know, he's taller and faster than tapash. while he is infamous for spraying the ball all over the park and letting off pressure, he seems to be getting back into his old rhythm in this england tour. in the meantime, sk russel and nazmul may prove to be better options for odi's, unless talha shows great control of the ball.

tapash will never be out of the equation. as of right now, he is still our second best pacer. but that may change after our national team's tour of srilanka.

Edited on, July 22, 2005, 3:08 AM GMT, by shovon13.

IanW · #3 July 21, 2005, 07:18 PM

Ummm, this would be why the BCB kicked off the Grameen Phone Pacer Hunt, right ?

Ian Whitchurch

PS I completely disagree with the crack about Shahadat. Playing international cricket, against FC Gloustershire in England, he demolished both opening partnerships. He's a genuine quick, and unless you want to risk his heart breaking, he needs to play away from low, slow subcontinental pitches.

r56hg · #4 July 21, 2005, 07:38 PM

Quote:

he needs to play away from low, slow subcontinental pitches.

We should remember that this subcontinental produced some world great pace bowler like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar.

Edited on, July 22, 2005, 12:39 AM GMT, by r56hg.

IanW · #5 July 21, 2005, 08:17 PM

r56hg,

You might note that after Imran (who is one of the all-time greats), Pakistan's pitches got faster and bouncier.

The old flat tracks could and did break fast bowlers hearts.

For similar reasons, Western Australia with the bouncy WACA has produced more and better quicks than the batsman's paradise that it South Australia's Adelaide Oval.

Ian Whitchurch

shovon13 · #6 July 21, 2005, 10:12 PM

Ian, perhaps i was rash on saying shahadat is still a couple of years away from maturity. in fact, he's already a pretty strong candidate for the best quick bowler of the country behind masri. but i think he can definitely develop more by touring with the A team, instead of facing the big guns already. well, then again, i could be undermining his abilities.