All to play for
While the rest of the cricket world was fixated on Jayawardene's record breaking feats and monty's emergence as the new turbanator, cricket's second class citizens were fighting their own battles in the middle of Africa. While only a few even knew or cared about this series...well even the zimbabwean papers weren't too enthusiastic about their team, there is a lot at stake for both sides.
If you ever happen to come across the famed Bangladeshi cricket forum Banglacricket, you will quickly realise that passion for the game runs deep in every nook and corner of the country. Winning this series is critical to sustain the progress that Bangladesh has made in recent times . But if they happen to lose, all the cricketing stakeholders would again raise questions about their credentials. Similarly, Zimbabwe are on the periphery of being wiped out as a cricketing nation, sadly more as a result of politics than their players. With a team of relative unknowns, the Zimbabweans see this series as an opportunity to show everyone that they still have what it takes to play international cricket.
Before departing, the coach and captain of Bangladesh had for the first time associated words like 'favorites' to their team and even made passing remarks of achieving a 'whitewash.' So naturally we, the bangladesh cricket fanatics were expecting nothing but a complete annihilation of Zimbabwe. Even before a ball was bowled, I smelled sweet sweet victory. Why not, wasn't this team branded the weakest ever to set foot in an international match? Even considering our teams proven ability to self-destruct, the only way I believed Bangladesh could lose was if the players conspired to not show up in the field at all.
But of course what happened in the first game, unfortunately reaffirmed my belief in the unpredictability of cricket. Bangladesh not only lost the game, but they were outplayed in every department. Whatever the youthful Zimbabweans lack in skills they make up for it with passion and resolve. It was refreshing to see, their 'never-say-die' attitude and I am sure their richly deserved victory will give a big boost to Zimbabwean cricket.
The story for Bangladesh was eerily familiar... atrocious shot selection,top order collapse, innings in rebuild mode, early wickets, fielding lapses, part-time bowlers get carted around, lose game. I would say we are extremely lucky to stand at parity in the series at this point. Because the second game followed the same pattern as the first one. If anything, the top order batting looked even more brittle and clueless than the first game. The 20 year old debutant all rounder, Forhad Reza almost single-handedly steered the momentum in Bangladesh's way. Without him, Bangladesh could have very well been looking deep into the bottom of the abyss. The series is intriguingly poised, and I can guarantee that both nations will fight to the death to avoid the ignominy of being labeled as the worst of 'em all.
Young allrounders for African Safari
The Bangladesh team for the upcoming ODI series' against Kenya and Zimbabwe was announced yesterday. We heard rumors that there could be a couple of new faces in the squad this time. Those rumors bore fruition as Sakibul Hasan and Farhad Reza were called up for their first international duties. The opportunity to play against more 'equal' oppositions is the perfect time to try to build towards the World Cup and test some promising youngsters.
Sakib's inclusion has especially created quite a buzz among Bangladeshi cricket fans. Currently representing Bangladesh A team on a tour to Zimbabwe, the 19 year old has only played a handful of first class games. Yet his elevation to the top level was expected sooner rather than later. He has been the outstanding performer in the Bangladesh U-19 team for the last couple of years. Sakib is such an exciting prospect because he promises to be Bangladesh's first genuine allrounder. While he is a very useful left arm spinner, Sakib is also a dynamic top order dasher. Big things are expected of him.
Farhad although a surprise selection to many, has forced his way through impressive performances in the domestic leagues. With Dave Whatmore's focus on multi skilled players, and the dearth of such cricketers in the national leagues, Farhad definitely has a chance for a prolonged run. His medium pacers are more steady than storming and he is known to be quite capable of throwing his bat around at number 7 or 8.
Both these selections show that the Bangladesh cricket islooking at the future and seeking to build a team for the World Cup. While both are positive additions, it remains to be seen if the selectors give them sufficient opportunities to to acquaint themselves to international cricket.
Post Ashes Blues
England's last Ashes triumph seems a distant memory now. The English demolition job at the hands of Murali brought back all too familiar memories of the 90s' beleaguered English teams.In the 8 months since the heady days of the Ashes conquest, England has played 9 tests, winning 2 and losing 4. In the meantime, the Aussies have romped to 11 test victories without conceding a single defeat. On present form, I would consider England lucky to pinch a single game, let alone retain the Ashes.
To be fair to England, their recent sub-continental assignments have been among the toughtest any team could expect to face. The constant injury woes hasn't made things easier for them . But then again, the English media and fans alike have been under the illusion that their team are world beaters. For a team of such lofty ambitions, the English media has excuses aplenty following every debacle. The Pakistan drubbings were brushed aside as anomalies, and all the struggles in India were forgotten with the solitary victory at Mumbai. And so the sub-continental expedition was declared a grand success. But even if they did lose why would it matter? Afterall, its not the Ashes, is it?
While England did dominate almost every session against the youthful Srilankan's, their failure to close out the games just emphasized their lack of squad depth and absence of killer instinct. Invariably, if Flintoff and Pieterson fails the team follows suit. But surely, I am completely wrong. The failure had to be due to something entirely different, like injuries, complacency or player burnout. Why stop at this... surely England were swindled out of a deserved win by a chucker, as opined by the respectable Mr Henderson in The Times.
The End is Nigh
Every generation has some standout cricketers, who set new records and who revolutionize the game. In this era, there are a few giants of the game whose spectacular performances in the field over the span of many years have ensured that their names will be etched alongside the legends of the game. The likes of Lara, Tendulkar, Jayasuria, Warne, Muralitharan, Inzamam, Gilchrist and McGrath have been among the most dominant personalities in the world cricket arena over the last decade or so.But age slows everyone down, even those we mere mortals once thought of as 'invincible.'
In recent years, as the battle weary bodies have started to succumb to persistent injuries or the once monotonously regular match winning runs and wickets have become more and more infrequent, the silent whispers of retirement have also been getting louder and louder.Well, such is the cruel reality of professional sports. Tendulkar, the youngest in the batch is already 33 while Lara is at the other end of the spectrum at the ripe old age 37. While we are assured of at least a few more dazzling centuries and fantastic ten wicket hauls from the Tendulkar's and the Warne's, it is time for the baton to be handed to the next generation.
It is an interesting exercise to try and predict who among the present young cricketers would dominate the game in the coming years. There are already a few emerging stars who have started to translate their immense potential to exhilerating performances. Cricketers like Pieterson, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sangakkara, Clark and Lee have started to emerge from the shadow of their illustrious predecessors and form the backbone of their respective teams.But the likes of a Lara or a Murali will never be seen again in a cricket field when they finally decide to walk away from the field. So let us appreciate and rejoice in the artistry of these great performers while we still have the opportunity to do so.
