Associate members Vs Bangladesh: Head-to-head match up
Country |
Win |
Loss |
Draw |
Bermuda |
1 |
1 |
0 |
Ireland |
0 |
2 |
1 |
Canada |
2 |
1 |
0 |
Holland |
4 |
2 |
0 |
Kenya |
8 |
4 |
0 |
Scotland |
1 |
2 |
0 |
Total |
16 |
12 |
1 |
Wins: stands for the wins by the associate members.
Loss: stands for the wins by Bangladesh. |
The ICC recently announced that the top six ICC
associates of Kenya, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Bermuda and the Netherlands
will all have ODI match status whenever they play each other or a Full member.
I was keen to see how did Bangladesh do against them, how far they have progressed
and what chances we have against them.
I will go down the list of nations alphabetically and have broken down each country analysis into
three stages:
- Past: pre-2005
- Present: 2005 onwards
- Future: prognostications
Bermuda
Win-Loss-Draw 1-1-0.
Bangladesh has faced Bermuda twice in ICC Trophy. They are going to face the
same nation again in the 2007 World Cup. Their current coach is Gus Logie, the ex-West
Indies batsman.
Past
ICC Trophy 1982 vs Bermuda: Embarrassment
The first meeting was in 1982 and Bangladesh had one of their most embarrassing
losses against them. Bangladesh were all out at 67. Only Nazim Shirazi scored 26
and extra with 11 was the next highest scorer. No one else made it into double figures.
ICC Trophy 1990 vs Bermuda: Avenging the loss
In the 1990 ICC Trophy, Bangladesh faced the same team again and avenged the loss.
Minhajul Abedin Nannu
and Aminul Islam Bulbul played wonderfully with bat and ball. They won by 36 runs.
Present
Bangladesh has moved on to bigger and better status. Bermuda has made it
to the 2007 World Cup. In 2004, Bermuda beat Barbados and had WI (167 in 50 overs; Lara played)
on the ropes. Dwayne Leverock is their strike bowler who can also bat
a little. However their batting lineup is vulnerable against pace.
Future
Comparing talent, experience and resources Bangladesh has a huge advantage.
Even though the 2007 World Cup will be held in their own backyard, Bangladesh
should prevail with a decent margin if not with a thumping victory. West
Indian Gus Logie,
the mesmerizing fielder, is their head coach and should prepare them well.
Ireland:
Win-Loss-Draw 0-2-1
Past
1997 ICC Trophy vs Ireland: Abandoned
The 1997 ICC Trophy's second round match between Ireland and Bangladesh match
was abandoned. Bangladesh had them 129 all out and galloped to 24/0 in 6.4 overs before the
rain interruption.
More recently, Bangladesh beat Ireland twice in 2004 during their England
tour.
At Belfast in 2004: Nail biting win
This was an unusual yet nail biting game. Ireland batted first and made 179 in 32 overs
before a rain interruption. Bangladesh had to score 206 in 32 overs which they
managed with 2 wickets remaininf thanks to a scintillating century from Nafis
Iqbal.
At Limavady in 2004: Easy victory
Bangladesh batted first and was in trouble with 116 for 6 at one stage.
Then Khaled Mashud (51 notout) and Mohhammad Rafique (42) took them to a respectable 231. Ireland
folded at 177 (46.3 overs). Mahmud took four wickets and Tapas Baisya three.
Present
Ireland beat Kenya in the ICC Continental Cup final in October 2005. They have
improved but should not possess any threat to Bangladesh's dominance over them
if they meet again.
Future
There are no meetings scheduled between the two countries. Bangladesh should have the upper hand.
Canada
Win-Loss-Draw 2-1-0
They have caused the most heart-breaking set back in Bangladesh's short cricketing
history. Bangladesh has lost to Canada twice.
Past
1979 ICC Trophy vs. Canada at Litchfield: 49 run loss
The first one dates back to Bangladesh's first ICC Trophy tour.
1990 ICC Trophy vs. Canada: Easy win
Then in 1990 Bangladesh beat them easily by 117 runs showing the great
strides Bangladesh has made in a decade. Nurul Abedin scored a century and Bangladesh
reached 265/6
in 60 overs. The bowlers took care of the rest.
2003 WC vs. Canada: Heartbreaking Loss
Then came the 2003 World Cup. With internal bickering and an unfit coaching staff, we hit the lowest point of our cricketing history.
Bangladesh could not even come close to their 180 and folded to 120 all out in
just 28 overs.
Present
Canada has been active of late recently. Their U-19 team finished 2nd at the
U-19 World Cup qualifiers behind USA. At the Intercontinental Cup finals they
lost to Scotland by an innings and 84 runs in a 3 day match. Earlier in the same
competition, the drew a very high scoring affair with the Emirates in the semis.
They almost beat Bermuda in another 3-day match. Bermuda held on to 221/9 for
a draw chasing 394. On the ODI frontier, they are the best in America. They
handily won all the games and the championship at the Americas
Cricket Championship at Bermuda.
Future
Ian Billcliff, captain John Davison and Desmond Chumney are the ones to watch.
There are no current plans for them to play Bangladesh. I am confident that if Bangladesh plays
Canada again in the near future, the word "revenge" will be written all over the place.
Holland
Win-Loss-Draw 4-2-0
Past
Bangladesh has faced Holland six times and have a losing record. This is
very sad indeed. Bangladesh
only won the 1982 and 1997 ICC Trophy matches while they lost the 1985, 1990
and 1994 ICC Trophy and the 1997 ICC Trophy warm-up matches.
1982 ICC Trophy vs Holland: Win
1985 Tour Match vs. Holland: Loss
1990 ICC Trophy vs. Holland: Lost. A 161 run thrashing
1994 ICC Trophy vs. Holland: Loss
1997 ICC warmup match vs Holland: Loss by 5 wicktes.
1997 ICC Trophy vs Holland: Win
Present
In the 2003 World Cup, they beat Namibia but lost to them the following year. In 2004,
they lost to Ireland by an innings and 47 runs and drew with Scotland in a 3-day
matche. But they did do well against a full strength Warwickshire (Bell, Streak,
Knight all played) and lost by only 23 runs in a 50 over match. van Bunge, van Troost,
Kloppenburg, Reekers are quality batsmen. They do have a domestic cricket
infrastructure but that
only comprises of one-day competitions.
Future
The ICC Intercontinental Cup tie against Kenya is scheduled for early 2006, but
that may be pushed back because
of Kenya's upcoming tour of Bangladesh. If I am not mistaken, Bangladesh will play a warm
up match against the Netherlands right before the 2007 World Cup. I expect nothing but
a Bangladesh win.
Kenya
Win-Loss-Draw 8-4-0
Their record against Bangladesh is very impressive. Tikolo and Odumbe have
scripted many victories against Bangladesh.
Past
Bangladesh won in the 1986, 1990, 1997 (finals) ICC Trophy matches against Kenya.
They also beat Kenya in 1998. On the other hand Kenya have won in 1994, 1997,
1998, 1997/98 (2 matches), 1998/99 (2 matches), and in the 2003 World Cup. In
that World Cup, Kenya proved that they were far superior to Bangladesh going
all the way to the semis. I will highlight a couple of Bangladesh's matches
versus Kenya.
1997 ICC Trophy final vs Kenya: Win.
This win led to Bangladesh to their first ever World Cup and the eventual
ascension as a Test playing nation.
2003 WC vs Kenya: Loss to a rampant Kenya
Bangladesh and Kenya went different ways during this World Cup. While
Bangladesh crashed out of the preliminary stages that included a horrific loss
to Canada, Kenya went all the way to the semi-finals with wins over Canada, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Present
However, since the world cup, Kenya has had very little competition while Bangladesh
has gained valuable experience. Bangladesh's talent pool has broadened while
Kenya basically still relies upon Tikolo's batting. Their coach Sandeep Patil
also left after the 2003 World Cup. Their current coach is Mudassar Nazar.
Future
Hopefully in March of 2006, Kenya will visit Bangladesh for a few games and
we can witness a sound beating by Bangladesh. That should help to narrow the
win-loss gap between us.
Scotland
Win-Loss-Draw 1-2-0
Scotland has improved dramatically in the last fifteen months, but the main architect of their success
stories , coach Andy Moles, has been ousted by their senior players
and board.
Past
1997 Semi-finals vs Scotland: Win by 72 runs.
Khaled Mashud contributed 70 of the team's total of 243 while Mohammad Rafique
(4) and Enamul Haq (3) shared seven wickets amongst them.
Present
In September 2004, Bangladesh had a 2-match tour of Scotland.
Sep 1st, 2004 vs Scotts: Convincing win
Bangladesh won the first match convincingly. Scotland were all out for 142. Khaled Mahmud
got 3 wickets and Tarek Aziz gave away a measly 23 runs in his 10 overs while
removing both openers cheaply.
Sep 3, 2004 vs Scotts: High scoring loss
Bangladesh lost the second one after having scored 259. Tapash Baisya and Tariq Aziz
giving away 74 and 61 runs may not have helped our cause.
It is disappointing that we could not defend a total of 259.
Last season, Scotland beat two sides in the National League (England), tied
with another and won all seven games in the ICC Trophy. They certainly are no pushovers.
However, I am certain they can not play spin well. Lockhart, Watson and Watts are
the player to watch.
Future
We should beat them very handily now as we have progressed more than any associate
members.
Last thoughts
Our records are not favorable against these six
associate countries. But have to point out that most of our losses are from the
80's and 90's. Bangladesh is now a Test playing nation and have started to
show glimpses of greater things. They are more experienced than any of the six
nations mentioned here. Last year they won their first Test and ODI series.
Bangladesh has registered wins against the likes of India (2004) and Australia
(2005). The future is full of hope. All they have to do is perform consistently.