| 
Posts and words
Loading ...
Habibul-Bashar
Andrew “Roy” Symonds starts repaying what he owes.
By Scott 4 years ago, at the end of April, 2 Comments »
Andrew Symonds’ big night out on the day before an ODI against Bangladesh in 2005 will go down in infamy in Australian cricket lore, and probably will be celebrated in Bangladesh for a while to come as well. But he did redeem himself somewhat with a match-winning century in Dhaka to win the 2nd ODI for Australia yesterday.
It must be said, in all honesty, that at the moment he looks like he’s been on an even bigger bender then his 2005 effort. The dreadlocks look scruffy and the beard makes him look like a vagabond. At the moment, if any Australian cricketer is crying out for a makeover by the folks from ‘queer eye for the straight guy’, it is Symonds.
He may look like a drunken derelict, but his 5th ODI century for Australia was a most sober and abstemious effort. He came in with a bit of a crisis happening and Australia struggling after losing 3 for 10 after Adam Gilchrist got interrupted just as he was really warming up. That brought to mind his innings in Sydney against Sri Lanka, where Chaminda Vaas roughed up the Australian top order. Starting this time at 3 for 65, he combined with Michael Clarke to compose a brilliant but ungainly knock.
It’s one thing to score a glittering century on an easy paced but reliable SCG wicket; this wicket at Dhaka was simply diabolical. It was slower then a Madagascar sloth and deader then WG Grace. He came out wearing a helmet but there was no way Mashrafe Mortaza was going to get a bouncer to get beyond rib high at best. Pitch preparation is a black art at the best of times, but whoever was in charge of this one should hang his head in shame. Bangladesh may be poor, but if they can afford to put on a gloriously manicured outfield, there’s no excuse for a pitch like this.
So once the fast men finished their spells with the new ball, we had the rather dreary sight of spinners bowling and the batsmen working them over for singles. It is this sort of cricket that drove the ICC in frustration to introduce monstrosities like power-plays and supersubs. It is hardly the batsmen at fault in situations like this; in Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds, Australia had two of its most positive minded batsmen at the crease. But Clarke only scored 2 boundaries in his 54.
Credit must go to the bowlers, especially the redoubtable Mohammed Rafique. The veteran spinner has clearly been the pick of Bangladesh’s bowlers right through this Australian tour. Of course, it does help his cause that as a slow left arm spinner, he is a member of the spin caste that has troubled Australians the most over recent years. Daniel Vettori is another that springs to mind.
So Symonds played Rafique with respect, picking him off, working him over for the singles, and waiting for the loose ball from the other end. These were not in short supply once Bashar had to face the chore of juggling to find ten overs from his ‘fifth’ bowler, but again the conditions conspired, and the lack of bounce clearly frustrated Symonds. However, instead of losing his head and his innings, he managed to keep his composure, and his wicket, and in the end his century came off 122 balls; slow by his standards but fast in the conditions.
Bashar perhaps missed a trick; he seemed content to allow Australia to pick off singles, and I wonder when a captain is going to be bold enough to try keeping his inner fielders close enough to the batsmen to make singles hard work. It could have paid dividends.
But it was never tried, so they tied Australia down for a while but they could not get them out though, and a late burst saw Australia through to 250. And once the Australian fast men knocked off the top order of Bangladesh’s batting, that was it as a game. Habibul Bashar played a good captain’s knock to ensure Bangladesh had some respectability with their reply of 183, but Symonds was the man who made the difference. And a good thing too, because against this opponent, Symonds owed his country a match-winning innings or three.
2 Comments »Bangladesh lose Test but win admirers
By Scott 4 years ago, mid-April, 3 Comments »
Bangladesh wasted their chance to spring a massive surprise on Australia in the First Test, and it was no surprise to anyone that the roused Australians would react with their customary vehemence to quell Bangladesh’s resistance in the Second Test. So it came to pass, but the agency with which this was inflicted was perhaps an even greater surprise then Bangladesh’s inspiring First Test performance.
In a golden age of batsmanship, we cricket lovers have had a chance to see some delightful innings. Back in the 1980’s it was a rare thing for an Australian summer to be punctuated with a double century, but now it is a rare summer we don’t see one. However, I’ve never seen anything quite so unlikely as Jason Gillespie’s 201 not out at Chittagong.
It’s not that he can’t bat. Australia’s recent cricket history is dotted with examples of ‘Dizzy’s stout defensive efforts with the bat. Quite a few nations have experienced the frustration of trying to dig him out, and Australia’s top order batsmen know that they can bat normally and not worry about him giving his wicket away. However, his method of stern and stubborn defence is not especially effective in quick scoring.
This monumental innings by Gillespie did not see a change of his traditional modus-operandi. A stout defence, a cover drive, and a dab around the corner provided him with the bulk of his runs, and it was only after he was well into his second century that he became more adventurous. He was kept company for the bulk of his epic by the redoubtable Mike Hussey, who scored the most un-remarked upon 182 that he’s ever likely to score. Together they put on 320, and sealed the fate of Bangladesh who had been skittled on the first day for 197.
Bangladesh’s response to this huge deficit was discouraging, with only Shahriar Nafees and Habibul Bashar showing the required skill and discipline. The Bangladesh batsmen benefited from some sloppy Australian fielding on the fourth evening, but fell quickly to Warne and MacGill on the fifth morning, with only a delightful cameo by Mohammed Rafique to give the Bangladesh supporters cheer.
So is it really a case of one step forward and two steps back? I do not think so myself. While Bangladesh will be embarrassed that it was Jason Gillespie that filled their boots against them, rather then one of the more established batting stars, the result in Chittagong surprised no one. But the First Test did surprise everyone, and there is no denying that there is some real talent in the Bangladesh batting lineup. Bangladesh have started a long way behind the field, and while progress has been slow for them, it is nevertheless clearly there. They did not win any Tests this time round, and it will be a while before they do against Australia but they did win admirers.
3 Comments »
Not quite the great escape, but that was actually a very good Test match.
By Scott 4 years ago, mid-April, 1 Comment »
So Australia escaped, mainly through the remarkable deeds of Ricky Ponting, once again demonstrating that he is the peerless Australian batsman of his age, a great age of Australian batsmanship.
This was his 31st century, and his first against Bangladesh. A lot of batsmen have scored a lot of easy runs against Bangladesh, but this was no easy century; I can think of almost a dozen that Ponting has scored that were easier; two against West Indies in Brisbane, and his second against South Africa in Sydney spring to mind just in this latest Australian season. This was close to being a masterpiece in fact.
It wasn’t quite perfect; he was dropped on 97, a difficult chance to Mashrafe Mortaza. It was watchful, thoughtful and dripping with purpose and energy. Ponting is no great shakes as a captain, but he’s one of the all-time great batsmen at the height of his powers, and he is a delight to watch.
But just as Ponting can be credited with saving a lost cause, Bangladesh can be faulted for losing it. In his Verdict for Cricinfo, Osman Samiuddin puts the case for the prosecution:
Even if we accept that Australia were tired – this was their 11th Test since October – five days ago nobody expected them to nervously chase just under a hundred on the last day with five wickets in hand. Five days ago, most expected the last day to be a day off. In this context alone, the performance is remarkable. But while everyone celebrates, Bangladesh might choose some serious contemplation instead. Should Bangladesh be happy they pushed Australia so close? Or should they grumble about having missed the opportunity to win it?
Their second-innings collapse – after Dav Whatmore had said he was hoping they wouldn’t do just that – will gnaw at them. Habibul Bashar has already repented his sin of a dismissal and if they were smart, then Aftab Ahmed, Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Rafique and Khaled Mashud, would follow suit. More than just a hundred runs separates chasing 300-plus and 400-plus.
And though Steve Waugh claimed he never told nobody about dropping World Cups, surely his successor Ricky Ponting could have told Mashrafe Mortaza that he had just dropped history through his fingers. Australia needed 24 when Ponting miscued a pull with only Stuart Clark and MacGill to come. And Mohammad Rafique might curse the pitch for offering too much spin when he beat Ponting’s outside edge. Ultimately, will it be any consolation that, like Multan, they should not have lost this Test? Or solace in Ponting’s words that, “They’ve played very, very well. For them to score 355 on the first day was a terrific effort. They certainly have come a long way.” Just one of the many intriguing after-effects of this Test will be how the home side now responds in Chittagong.
Australia have played eleven Tests since October and they’ve won ten of them. You don’t get a chance to beat Australia very often at all, so when the cricketing fates flow your way, you just have to take them. England did that last year to win the Ashes, but consider this. Since Ricky Ponting became captain of Australia in early 2004, Australia have lost just three Test matches.
It may well be a long time until Bangladesh get another chance to beat Australia and while they deserve commendation for pushing Australia as close as they did, which after all is way above what we expected, in the long run they will rue this missed opportunity.
1 Comment »Bangladesh (BANGLADESH) beat Australia (AUSTRALIA!)
By Will 5 years ago, mid-June, 26 Comments »
Never, ever, did I think I’d be writing those words. Bangladesh have beaten Australia. Australia have lost to Bangladesh. Bangladesh have outplayed Australia. Australia have etc etc. 2 days ago, I wrote “God knows what Australia will do to them…How did they beat Worcestershire?!” Somehow they went ten times better than Worcester by beating the Aussies.
What a day to remember, and what an honour to have watched it. This is one-day Cricket – and this is Cricket itself – so strange things do happen; but not this strange, not this often. This is one of the best wins, nevermind upsets, I’ve witnessed; the best team in the world (and they are) have been beaten by the worst team in the world (and they are). With 4 balls to spare. Worryingly, Australia have just about 14 and a half hours until they play a resurgent English side in their backyard – a backyard teeming with a media ready to pounce on their losses. Ponting’s top will have already been blown half way into The Channel by now – what a fun game this is!
So what the hell happened? Australia were/are still remarkably unprepared and complacent – that’s what. McGrath – Glenn McGrath – looked nonpenetrative and not particularly fit. Jason Gillespie was marginally better, but really lacked spice and venom – his two most-relied-upon features of his bowling. And the entire unit looked bored, lazy, disinterested and expected “someone else” to win the game for them. Well they got that much right – Bangladesh won it.
After the 20/20 loss – a reasonable dent to Aussie pride in itself – they would have put it down to rustiness and complacency. After Somerset’s loss, Ponting was said to be angry and embarrassed – understandably, despite the county having two quality batsmen in Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuria. But now? What can be said? They have let themselves down woefully, and genuinely look a shadow of the team they have been, could be and ought to be. Bangladesh outplayed them in their fielding, bowling and batting – BANGLADESH!
So, on to the Bangers’ day to remember. It all began in the first over, ball number two, when Gilchrist was given out LB – a little unluckily, perhaps. Just the start any international side needs – dismissing arguably one the greatest ODI players of all time for nought. “Minor setback,” so the Australians would have thought: but the innings never recovered, or got going. They fiddled around in the dull middle overs taking quick singles, the odd two – but no boundaries. Katich – highly rated outside these shores – played pretty well, but the soon-to-be-disciplined-and-we-don’t-know-why Andrew Symonds was sorely missed in those middling overs. Australia, who – don’t forget – chose to bat (wrongly) had only made 249-5. Still miles more than they needed. Or…was it?
Michael Holding, on Sky, remarked twice on the lack of “chirping” or chatter by the Aussies – and it was worth noting. There really was no energy or commitment – or at least a distinct lack of what we are accustomed to seeing from Australia cricket sides. Christ – they invented body language on a cricket-field.
The top 3 Bangladeshis all made reasonable starts, and all coped with the threat of McGrath and Gillespie; but at 72-3, familiar frailities were being exposed, until man of the hour Mohammad Ashraful bounced to the wicket. He and his skipper, Habibul Bashar, put on a brilliant and measured 130 for the fourth wicket and there were genuine thoughts that Bangladesh could win it. By the time Bashar was run out, going for an unlikely 2nd, people were starting to realise Australia (despite this wicket) were in some strife. Betting sites must have been over-loaded – and I admit, I stuck a tenner on at £2.10 
(Not as good as the bloke on Cricinfo’s IRC who put had £2 at 150/1 though!)
It ebbed and flowed, as befits a game of this stature, until 7 were needed from the final over – to be bowled by Jason Gillespie. And, extraordinarily, Aftab Ahmed smashed Gillespie’s first ball over mid-wicket for six – only the second in the match to all but seal the win. They won with a scampered, desperate, excitable single the next ball – and Ponting didn’t know where to look. For the previous 7 overs, or thereabouts, he had been having conversations with his bowlers almost every ball. Unheard of – genuinely unheard of. Chris Cairns’ comments last year that his “granny could captain” the Australia team were simply not dismissed – everyone agreed with him. For once, we saw this giant of the game humbled, panicking and clearly a little embarrassed by his team’s performance. For years, we have seen them act machine-like (McGrath is often referred to as being “metronomic”) – a slick, professional well oiled machine had been reduced to a side not dissimilar to the English in the 90s: sloppy, confusingly-below-par and gutted.
Where does this leave them now? Well, Ponting admitted the panic-button was not far off being pushed – and Darren Lehmann admitted the button would already have been pressed, somewhere in the middle of Bangladesh’s innings. Most other sides wouldn’t receive this amount of coverage of 3 defeats: but Australia aren’t “most other sides,” they are one of the greatest teams in sport who today were humbled by the worst. David really did conquer Goliath, and 150 million Bangladeshis and one Englishman will never forget it.
26 Comments »Bangladesh delay inevitable – but show promise
By Will 5 years ago, at the start of June, 2 Comments »
I admit it – Bangladesh did show some promise today. They reached the heady heights of nearly 300 for 8, a far improved performance than in their previous 3 innings in this series. The pitch had flattened out and, whilst there were still some embarassing shots played, overall they were far more disciplined. I thought Javed Omar looked good – and the much heralded Habibul Bashar looked good square of the wicket and pulling.
However, they were helped by England’s bowling: Australian batsmen, currently (I think) several thousand feet above the skies en-route to England, will not be losing much sleep when they read about it. Hoggard looked very ropey – my favourite adjective of the moment, apologies for its over-use: only when he pitched the ball up did he look penetrative, which twice resulted in him taking a wicket. Harmison bowled brilliantly in the first innings, but today was clearly suffering from an ankle problem. The Aussies reckon Harmison is carrying the England attack and, on today’s showing, it’s hard to disagree.
The whole England team looked pretty hacked off with the whole game – they just didn’t want to be there. I don’t know what England take out of this series – some say a little, most say “not a thing.” And it’s not as thought Bangladesh took anything from it either.
2 Comments »