Play Coach/Captain before the WI match

[Zunaid]

By the end of the day, we will have seen the West Indies play two games. We have also seen our team in two contrasting scenarios. We haven't yet seen Nazmul, Shuvo and SS but we have discussed aplenty the first two. Poor Shuvo hasn't gotten much attention.

Anyway, play coach and captain and pick YOUR 11. I am also adding a poll but do describe in detail in our post who is at what position and why. That and subsequent discussion is what makes BC interesting.

[Equinox]

Playing XI:
Tamim
Imrul
Zunaed
Mushfiqur+
Raqibul
Shakib*
Naeem
Shuvo
Shafiul
Razzak
Rubel

Batting: If win toss bat first. Tamim to approach innings as he has been (look to play a big innings) barring the stupid shots out of frustrations. Imrul's role depends on how fluent Tamim is on the other end, if Tamim is fluent just give him the strike and hold one end if he is struggling take the onus and attack the bowlers. Raqibul promoted to 5 to try and play out a "Younus-Misbah" partnership with Mushfiq and control the tempo of the game until at least the 35th over. Shakib takes over from then, take PP anywhere from 37th to 42nd overs. Just hope that Naeem and lower order can connect and get some runs. No need to play 8 batsmen.

Bowling: Open with Naeem and hope to get Gayle early. Shafiul to share the new ball. Use Shafiul and Rubel in short 3-4 over bursts. Shuvo in to exploit the weak players of spin in the Windies line-up. Other bowlers bowl as you did against Ireland. Crowd will be behind you.

[kalpurush]

Originally Posted by Equinox
Playing XI:
Tamim
Imrul
Zunaed
Mushfiqur+
Raqibul
Shakib*
Naeem
Shuvo
Shafiul
Razzak
Rubel

Batting: If win toss bat first. Tamim to approach innings as he has been (look to play a big innings) barring the stupid shots out of frustrations. Imrul's role depends on how fluent Tamim is on the other end, if Tamim is fluent just give him the strike and hold one end if he is struggling take the onus and attack the bowlers. Raqibul promoted to 5 to try and play out a "Younus-Misbah" partnership with Mushfiq and control the tempo of the game until at least the 35th over. Shakib takes over from then, take PP anywhere from 37th to 42nd overs. Just hope that Naeem and lower order can connect and get some runs. No need to play 8 batsmen.

Bowling: Open with Naeem and hope to get Gayle early. Shafiul to share the new ball. Use Shafiul and Rubel in short 3-4 over bursts. Shuvo in to exploit the weak players of spin in the Windies line-up. Other bowlers bowl as you did against Ireland. Crowd will be behind you.

I will take Nafees inplace of Junaid, otherwise this is my squad too

Junaid didn't play well in the last two matches, thus need to be replaced IMHO
I know team MGT will keep the same team we played against the Irish.

[Eshen]

I would go with the same team from the last match, it's not a good practice to change the team after every match, the management already proved itself fickle enough!

May be in the Chittagong phase Shuvo can come in place of Naeem and SN in place of Zunaed.

[ahms]

Originally Posted by kalpurush
I will take Nafees inplace of Junaid, otherwise this is my squad too

Junaid didn't play well in the last two matches, thus need to be replaced IMHO
I know team MGT will keep the same team we played against the Irish.

I have been thinking the same. But Junaid did well against India and unfortunate to be runout against Ireland. It would be wise to leave same combination. I would rather leave SN for ENG/SA after quarterfinal qualification.

[cricket_dorshok]

the same team. No need to change.

[kalpurush]

Originally Posted by Eshen
I would go with the same team from the last match, it's not a good practice to change the team after every match, the management already proved itself fickle enough!

May be in the Chittagong phase Shuvo can come in place of Naeem and SN in place of Zunaed.

I think it's a better idea than mine.
Three cheers for Eshen bhai

[al-Sagar]

go with the winning combination until we loose ....

when we loose Break the loosing combination

[Zunaid]

Question: Is the winning combination the best combination to win against the West Indies?

NOTE: I have no axe to grind on my own. I am interested in seeing what people think. I am still making up my mind about the team and will wait until I see West Indies again today.

In general I am thinking of the same team but am wondering about a third pacer - should I bring in Nazmul? But at whose expense? I won't replace a batsman for a bowler so that makes it difficult as the only option is Ash (IMO). I would also like to bring in SN and the only suitable replacement would be for Ash (Junaid has not done enough wring to warrant a displacement). Then again, Ash did well with the ball and you just don't cut someone right after you bring someone in. In the end, I will probably be going with the team we had but will think long and hard about trying in SN. Poor SS gets no love, one SLA too many facing a team with so many left-handers. That also leaves Riyad cooling his heels. Lets face it - the 15 should not have had both of Naeem and Riyad if they have no room in the top order.

[allrounder]

Selected the same XI except SN instead of Zunaid. Cannot say much about selecting between the two without seeing them practice. Batting depth is a must for an inconsistent team like us.

It is sad that I have to select 4/5 mediocre players in the playing XI. But these are the best Bangladesh have right now, so have to play with them. They are far better than their predecessors and sure the future players will top these players too (except Tamim,Shakib and Razzak will be in till they retire). But come on, we could not produce someone better than Mushfiq yet?

1. Field first. Historically we have done better chasing than setting a stiff target for our opponents. Setting a below par target and winning is great for the game of cricket, but it is too much pressure to handle. Have to take medication for chest pains and sweaty palms.

2. Rotate strike and keep dot balls to minimum, not sure what is acceptable number of dots in 1day. But do not rely mainly on boundaries.

3. Forget batting power play. It never helped us more than it hurts us.

4. Use seamers with the old ball for reverse swing.

5. Field placement has to be aggressive, cannot allow them to rotate strike freely.

6. Target a bowler to go after and play safe with the best bowlers.

[Holden]

I've just posted what I think would be an interesting line-up against the WI in the match thread, but I will re-post it here as it is relevant in this thread too.
From what I gather WI have a lot of left handed batsmen, taking this into account and also adding a couple of left-field selections, I have come up with the following:-

Tamim Iqbal
Imrul Kayes
Raqibul Hasan
Mushfiqur Rahim
Shakib Al Hasan
Mahmudullah Riyad
Mohammad Ashraful
Naeem Islam
Shafiul Islam
Rubel Hossain
Nazmul Hossain

The above team has 7 bowling options: 3 pacers, 1 World Class SLA, 3 part-time right arm spinners. But controversially Abdur Razzak has been dropped. This is because the WI have a lot of Left handed batsmen, so I feel the off spinners will be more useful, also Shakib is there as the SLA. There are also 3 pacers who all have their own unique attributes to bowl on the slow pitches in Mirpur. I believe all these bowling options, provide variety and will make it very difficult for the WI batsmen to accumulate runs and therefore we can restrict them to a lowish total.
On the batting side of things, in theory the batting line-up goes down to number 8, so it is a relatively long line-up, although the quality of the batsmen can be disputed. The controversial decision here is to drop Junaid and promote Raqibul in his place. Junaid has been inconsistent so far whilst Raqibul has chipped in with runs every time he has had a chance to bat. Raqibul whilst not a natural number 3 has the right temperament to bat there. Also the fact that Raqibul is one of Bangladesh's best fielders goes in his favour. But to be honest either one of these or Shahriar Nafees could be chosen for the number 3 positions and the dynamics of my lineup would not differ too much.

I know this lineup would never be chosen in a million years, but it is interesting don't you think?

[Night_wolf]

2 changes 4 me..nayeem,junaid out abir,riyad in

[allrounder]

Holden, I feel your team is weak in batting. We do not need 7 bowling options, SN instead of Ryiad is a better option. Also I fear Rokibul and Mushfiq playing together is a bad idea because of their slow strike rate. They should be apart from each other.

[Zunaid]

I should encourage everyone to be more daring. Assume we have 15 professionals who would understand that being dropped even after a win is because what we are choosing is a team to beat the next opponent given that team's composition, form, state of the pitch and so on.

You have 15 to play with. Now play!

[allrounder]

Because the game is very important for Bangladesh to win and qualify for QF, we will not try any daring stuff but pick the best combination that will back up the weakness we have mainly in batting. Against India our bowling was just an off day on the ground, otherwise our bowling is more reliable than batting. I might drop Razzak for Nazmul, will that be daring enough for you?

[iDumb]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
I should encourage everyone to be more daring.

I would drop that no good keeper of ours - another ashraful that - only less fleshy and doesn't garner enough attention for whatever reason - maybe his diminutive figures.

the guys played enough ODI to suggest his avg is significant. When was the last time he won us a match?

15 member lacking a better wk.. junaid to keep in my squad.

Tamim
Imrul
Junaid (wk)
Shakib
Rokibul
Nafees
Riyad
Shafiul
Razzaq
Nazmul
Rubel

12th man: nayeem

[iDumb]

Originally Posted by allrounder
Because the game is very important for Bangladesh to win and qualify for QF

yeah I would probably go with the same team. But I am hesistent to give Ash so many overs. He almost lost us the ireland match towards the end where he went for a lot of runs. I don't know why so many ppl are cheering his 2 wickets that much without noticing how his bowling folded under pressure.

above team of mine... is however the best in my opinion.

[Eshen]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
I should encourage everyone to be more daring. Assume we have 15 professionals who would understand that being dropped even after a win is because what we are choosing is a team to beat the next opponent given that team's composition, form, state of the pitch and so on.

You have 15 to play with. Now play!

If you want to be really daring, I would say bring Naz in place Raz. We rely a lot on Raz for PP bowling, but with all three Windies top order batsmen being lefty, we should look at some other option, and I feel Naz is the best option we got.

[Rubu]

You know what they say, don't break the winning combination.

[Jadukor]

My starting 11

1. Tamim - automatic choice
2. Kayes - playing positive and with good scoring rate
3. Junaid - don't like him much but against quality pace bowling he is our best option
4. Shariar Nafees - Can play big innings and very good against spin. could be handy in the middle overs
5. Shakib - the man is a legend already
6. Mushfiq - lack of better alternative
7. Naeem Islam - lack of better alternative
8. Shuvo - his batting has not been good but domestic record suggests he can bat and more importantly he has the attitude of a fighter just like Md Rafique
9. Razzak - automatic choice
10. Shafiul - our next speed star
11. Rubel - neverless slinger that could be deadly with the old ball

[Rabz]

Reposting from the match thread:

I usually dont play the "My XI" game, but can't help myself for this one:

Tamim Iqbal
Imrul Kayes
Shahrear Nafees
Mushfiqur Rahim
Sakib Al Hasan
Mahmudullah Riyad
Mohammad Ashraful
Naeem Islam
Abdur Razzak
Rubel Hossain
Shafiul Islam
=============
SN for Zunaed.
Riyad for Rock.

I think this is the best combination for the WI game.
The team has 8 batsmen and 7 bowlers.
2 pacers, 2 SLA, 2 offie and 1 Ashraful.
It gives the team a perfect balance and saves it from being one dimensional which it would if we pick Shuvo.
Rock is a good batsmen but No 6 is not a place for him to bat. It is a strategical mistake to make him bat at 6.
ZS needs to warm the benches. Havent really done much to warrant a place in the team and more so, he is not found reliable.
Not someone we depend on when he comes to bat at No 3, which is supposed to be the most important batting position of the whole line up.

[Sohel]

Other than Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo, they have issues with spin, so I packed the team with slow bowlers to contain, neutralize and dispatch the other batting threat, including and especially Gayle (Razzak within the first 10 overs) and later Pollard (Shakib during the last 10). Sarwan has vulnerabilities and can be exasperated into playing a bad shot, but the other two are solid. Only quality intent with application to match can get them out.

I went with Shubho rather than Riyad because he's capable of both applying pressure AND picking up wickets because of pressure from the other end.

Batting-wise, I'm optimistic about our chances because they have only Roach and Benn as specialist bowlers. The others, including Dwayne Bravo, represent no serious threat. That being said, our propensity for cerebral flatulence is potentially their greatest bowling asset, and I hope we don't throw our wickets away cheaply or create the bogged-in conditions where we feel we need to release some of that pressure. A steady diet 1s and 2s with the odd boundary off of half-volleys and full-tosses ought to put runs on the board, at least 260 I reckon.

And of course we need to field well.

My starting XI (batting order):

1. Tamim
2. Imrul
3. Nafees
4. Musfiq
5. Shakib (bat & bowl 10 overs)
6. Zunaed
7. Ashraful ("bat" & bowl 3-5 overs)
8. Shubho (bowl 6-10 overs)
9. Shafiul (bowl 10 overs)
10. Razzak (bowl 7-10 overs, including opening spell with the new ball)
11. Rubel (bowl 10 overs)

12. Rokibul (fielding)

[bdtiger]

1. Tamim
2. Imrul
3. Nafees
4. Shakib
5. Rokibul
6. Mushfiq
7. Naeem
8. Shuvo
9. Razzaq
10. Shafiul
11. Rubel

[firstlane]

If it was upto me-

1.Tamim
2.Nafees
3.Imrul
4.Musfiq
5.Shakib
6.Junaid
7.Naeem
8.Razzak
9.Shafiul
10.Rubel
11.Nazmul

I have 6 batsmem and 5 bowlers; 2 alrounders among them. 3 pacers, 2 spinners and 1 part timer. I would play Nafees at the top of the order to make the best use of powerplay with Tamim. If he fails Imrul can come and play his supporting role to Tamim. I would play Junaed at no.6 and give him the freedom he needs. If he fails Naeem can come next and do the repair work.

I would have Kapali instead of Ash and Farhad Reza(I don't know any other fast bowling allrounder) instead of Shuvo in my 15.

[Rajkumar]

Tamim - 50/0 start in 6 over.
Shariar Nafees - Great pictures for newspapers when we win (what we've been missing).
Imrul Kayes - Because Shariar Nafees gets out cheaply.
Nazmul Hossain - Sacrifice for collapse.
Shafiul Islam - Sacrfice for collapse.
Mushfiqur Rahim - Build the innings after a collapse.
Sakib al Hasan - For the powerplays.
Abdur Razzak - Sacrifice for collapse.
Rubel Hossain - Sacrifice for collapse.
Rakibul Hasan - To complete 50 overs.
Mahmudullah - To complete 50 overs with Rakibul.