Cricket that hurt a nation
application and commitment are the essen | Saturday, 2 April 2011
application and commitment are the essen
Capt. Husain Imam When Bangladesh were, to the shock of the entire nation, bundled out with only 58 runs on the board against the West Indies in less than 19 overs in the first round of Cricket World Cup 2011, I thought that it was an accident. It did not take long to prove me wrong. In 15 days time, there came another shock. This time it was against South Africa. Bangladesh, chasing a total of 284 scored by South Africa in their allotted 50 overs, were all out for 78 runs in just about 25 overs. This was enough not only to shatter almost all the hopes of Bangladesh going to the quarter final but also to prove that the team's performace against the West Indies was not an accident. It was only a repetition of unique display of irresponsible and mindless batting the Bangladeshi players were accustomed to. If we talk about accident, it was probably the match against England which clinched a sensational victory for the Tigers because of exceptional and unbelievable batting by a tail-ender who was not expected to do so. The cricket fans of this country have certainly been badly hurt by the dismal performance of their team in these two matches of Cricket World Cup 2011, although if we talk about the overall performance of the team in the wider context of the game, three wins out of six including one against England, it was not too bad. It is not that the people expected Bangladesh to win every game. What they wanted to see was a sensible performance of their team. They did not expect their team to perform in such an irresponsible manner as they did in the matches against the West Indies and South Africa. They did not expect their team to finish their innings in less than 19 overs with only 58 runs on the board and that also in their home ground against a team which was by no account a Caribbean team of the historical standard we are used to see. They did not expect them to repeat the same mistakes and finish their innings in just about 25 overs to suffer another ignominious defeat, this time in the hands of the Proteas, in just about two weeks' gap. It is probably high time we came out of the illusion about Bangladesh cricket and did some down to earth assessment of their actual position. There is no doubt that Bangladesh is a young team. Its players' average age is probably not more than 23. In terms of age of individual players, it is probably the youngest among the ICC Test as well as ODI playing teams. But if we talk about experience or exposure can we say that the team is still inexperienced or less exposed to international cricket? Certainly not. It is almost 12 years that Bangladesh has been playing as a Test playing nation. Their entry as an ODI team was even earlier. Many of these players have by this time already played 50 or more ODIs. Some have even crossed the 100 figure. Therefore, the argument that Bangladesh is still a young and inexperienced team does not really hold good for their poor performance. If young age is a factor in cricket, it is a positive factor. Many of the cricket legends of the world had their entry in international cricket at a very early age. Shachin Tendulker is one example right in front of us. Yes, talent is a factor. According to cricket experts both at home and abroad, the Bangladesh team has no dearth of it. There are in fact at the moment not many teams in the world which have so many young as well as talented players as Bangladesh have. What is then wrong with Bangladesh cricket? If cricket is a game of mind, even as a layman I dare say, the Bangladeshi players do not use the mind or for that matter the brain. If patience, application and commitment are the essence of cricket, the Tigers are seriously lacking in those qualities. Take for example the case of Tamim Iqbal, supposedly the best batsman of Bangladesh team, in the match against South Africa. What on earth could prompt him to go for a reckless shot of a wide short-pitched ball and lose the wicket in the second or third over of the innings of such a crucial match before even being familiar with the pitch condition? What could be the reasons for the other boys to follow the suit one after another and lose all the wickets in 25 overs when their prime responsibility was to steady the ship and play the full innings? Nobody believed that Bangladesh would be able to chase a total of 284 against South Africa and win the game. But was it too much to expect that they would refrain from repeating the same mistakes as they did in the game against West Indies and play a sensible innings? Was it too much to expect that they would at least respect the sentiments of the millions of cricket fans of the country and give their best? The game against West Indies was not the first nor would probably the one against South Africa be the last for us to watch our boys act in that reckless manner unless some serious changes are brought about in their psyche. They must be made to understand that cricket is not a game of only practice, lessons, coaching and some facilities. Nor is it a game of bat and ball only. It is a game where physical fitness, practice, learning, patience and application of mind -all have to work together. More importantly, a player has to respect the game. It is also important for the players as well as the cricket management to realise that a lot of money is being spent out of the government exchequer for the development of cricket in Bangladesh and it is the taxpayers' money that they are spending. They got to make the best use of it and pay the people back by offering good cricket. The writer is a retired merchant navy officer and he can be reached at e-mail : [email protected]
Capt. Husain Imam When Bangladesh were, to the shock of the entire nation, bundled out with only 58 runs on the board against the West Indies in less than 19 overs in the first round of Cricket World Cup 2011, I thought that it was an accident. It did not take long to prove me wrong. In 15 days time, there came another shock. This time it was against South Africa. Bangladesh, chasing a total of 284 scored by South Africa in their allotted 50 overs, were all out for 78 runs in just about 25 overs. This was enough not only to shatter almost all the hopes of Bangladesh going to the quarter final but also to prove that the team's performace against the West Indies was not an accident. It was only a repetition of unique display of irresponsible and mindless batting the Bangladeshi players were accustomed to. If we talk about accident, it was probably the match against England which clinched a sensational victory for the Tigers because of exceptional and unbelievable batting by a tail-ender who was not expected to do so. The cricket fans of this country have certainly been badly hurt by the dismal performance of their team in these two matches of Cricket World Cup 2011, although if we talk about the overall performance of the team in the wider context of the game, three wins out of six including one against England, it was not too bad. It is not that the people expected Bangladesh to win every game. What they wanted to see was a sensible performance of their team. They did not expect their team to perform in such an irresponsible manner as they did in the matches against the West Indies and South Africa. They did not expect their team to finish their innings in less than 19 overs with only 58 runs on the board and that also in their home ground against a team which was by no account a Caribbean team of the historical standard we are used to see. They did not expect them to repeat the same mistakes and finish their innings in just about 25 overs to suffer another ignominious defeat, this time in the hands of the Proteas, in just about two weeks' gap. It is probably high time we came out of the illusion about Bangladesh cricket and did some down to earth assessment of their actual position. There is no doubt that Bangladesh is a young team. Its players' average age is probably not more than 23. In terms of age of individual players, it is probably the youngest among the ICC Test as well as ODI playing teams. But if we talk about experience or exposure can we say that the team is still inexperienced or less exposed to international cricket? Certainly not. It is almost 12 years that Bangladesh has been playing as a Test playing nation. Their entry as an ODI team was even earlier. Many of these players have by this time already played 50 or more ODIs. Some have even crossed the 100 figure. Therefore, the argument that Bangladesh is still a young and inexperienced team does not really hold good for their poor performance. If young age is a factor in cricket, it is a positive factor. Many of the cricket legends of the world had their entry in international cricket at a very early age. Shachin Tendulker is one example right in front of us. Yes, talent is a factor. According to cricket experts both at home and abroad, the Bangladesh team has no dearth of it. There are in fact at the moment not many teams in the world which have so many young as well as talented players as Bangladesh have. What is then wrong with Bangladesh cricket? If cricket is a game of mind, even as a layman I dare say, the Bangladeshi players do not use the mind or for that matter the brain. If patience, application and commitment are the essence of cricket, the Tigers are seriously lacking in those qualities. Take for example the case of Tamim Iqbal, supposedly the best batsman of Bangladesh team, in the match against South Africa. What on earth could prompt him to go for a reckless shot of a wide short-pitched ball and lose the wicket in the second or third over of the innings of such a crucial match before even being familiar with the pitch condition? What could be the reasons for the other boys to follow the suit one after another and lose all the wickets in 25 overs when their prime responsibility was to steady the ship and play the full innings? Nobody believed that Bangladesh would be able to chase a total of 284 against South Africa and win the game. But was it too much to expect that they would refrain from repeating the same mistakes as they did in the game against West Indies and play a sensible innings? Was it too much to expect that they would at least respect the sentiments of the millions of cricket fans of the country and give their best? The game against West Indies was not the first nor would probably the one against South Africa be the last for us to watch our boys act in that reckless manner unless some serious changes are brought about in their psyche. They must be made to understand that cricket is not a game of only practice, lessons, coaching and some facilities. Nor is it a game of bat and ball only. It is a game where physical fitness, practice, learning, patience and application of mind -all have to work together. More importantly, a player has to respect the game. It is also important for the players as well as the cricket management to realise that a lot of money is being spent out of the government exchequer for the development of cricket in Bangladesh and it is the taxpayers' money that they are spending. They got to make the best use of it and pay the people back by offering good cricket. The writer is a retired merchant navy officer and he can be reached at e-mail : [email protected]