Resurrection of cricket

I politely beg to differ with your correspondent S A Mansoor who has expressed his sheer frustration about Bangladesh cricket and has even proclaimed the premature death of our cricket in his write-up (demise of cricket) published in The Financial Express on October 18. Ostensibly, he has been embarrassed by the way Bangladesh cricket team started their innings in the second match of the recently concluded Walton Bangladesh-West Indies ODI series played at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur. But he shouldn't have been so pessimist considering the fact that even a very disastrous start by a batting side does not necessarily mean that the team will ultimately put up a very poor show. Bangladesh managed to score 220 runs in their innings which, by any standard, is a respectable total in one-day cricket. However, West Indies defeated Bangladesh comprehensively by 8 wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. But interestingly in the 3rd and final ODI match played at Chittagong, West Indies were bundled out for a paltry 61 and Bangladesh clinched their historic victory against the mighty Caribbeans also by a convincing margin of eight wickets. Now, if the Bangladeshi boys can bowl out a side like West Indies for sixty one, their second ever lowest total, isn't it the resurrection of Bangladesh cricket? Unlike Mansoor, I am interested in using the abbreviation 'SBPEC' which stands for 'Sometimes Bangladesh plays excellent cricket.' As a matter of fact, the Bangladesh national cricket team has to their credit some magnificent and memorable victories against teams like mighty Australia, South Africa, India and England. Should we ever forget the sensational victories of our boys against the Aussies in Cardiff, England in 2005 and against the Proteas in the world cup in 2007? In reality, Bangladesh is a young cricket playing nation and it is passing through ups and down. But we can really believe that if our cricket is nourished and nurtured properly, the day is not far away when Bangladesh will make its way into the elite group of world cricket. M Anwaruzzaman Shaheed Shamsul Haque Road Jhawtala, Comilla