@Razab: I agree that Imrul fell short of standard especially when compared to Hussey, the best in the strike-rotation business in my opinion also. But compared to his own usual performances in the middle, he did well with some beautiful patches here and there. I guess my not-so-high expectation of him or others I similarly see as stop gap measures, makes me happier than I ought to be when they clear that proverbial bar set closer to the ground than it should be. I suppose I am biased when it comes to my own family, meaning all Bangladeshi players doing better than I realistically expected to do. Positive reinforcement for myself more than anyone else really.
That being said, I wholeheartedly agree that there is absolutely no excuse, especially for top order batsmen, for blocking full-tosses and half trackers or driving them straight to the fielder, no matter how "compactly", when gaps, including bunts, are there for the taking. That kind of pressure results in wickets and victory for the opposition. Most of our guys have a problem using the wrist and flicking singles through leg-side gaps and lazy running, coupled with the often unforced obesity-driven culture of dot-or-the-rope compound the problem. They need to be drilled in the middle, rather than in the nets, to rectify that. I saw Tamim's eyes light up when Watson talked about not wanting to run in the heat being a major factor behind his buck-wildin' 15-15. An alarming sign from a chain-smoking high-flier quietly approaching Ramesh Powar girth in all the wrong places.
Perhaps a guy with better ability such as Fazle Rabbi or Anamul Haq can perform their way into challenging Imrul for the opening slot as the more permanent opening partner for Tamim, but until that happens, we're stuck with what we have and can only hope that they can sustain improvement through small moves.
Thanks again for your comments bro
