Slow Left Arm Bowlers from Bangladesh : Bright Future for Bangladesh Cricket

[Miraz]

World cricket haven't seen plenty of Slow Left arm orthodox bowlers as Left-arm orthodox spin is one of the harder bowling styles to master as it requires long hours of practice to get the right line, loop, length and most importantly variety. Over the years world cricket have seen some slow left arm orthodox bowlers which include : Palwankar Baloo (India), Bishen Bedi (India), Phil Edmonds (England), Tony Lock (England), Maninder Singh (India), Wilfred Rhodes (England), Ravi Shastri (India), Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies), Phil Tufnell (England), Derek Underwood (England), Johnny Wardle (England), Iqbal Qasim (Pakistan) and Aamir Sohail (Pakistan). Current cricketers who have played tests or ODI include Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) Ashley Giles (England), Monty Panesar, (England) Mohammad Rafique (Bangladesh) Murali Kartik (India), Sanath Jayasuriya, (Srilanka) Ray Price, (Zimbabwe), Nicky Boje, (South Africa) Enamul Haque Jr., (Bangladesh), Abdur Razzak (Bangladesh) and Sakib-Al-Hasan (Bangladesh).Some great players of world cricket are included in the list and many of them are considered as all-rounders. Among current cricketers Vettori, Giles, Boje, Jayasurya and Rafiq can be regarded as allrounder. All these players contributed significantly to their team's overall success. Modern cricket is evolving and its very important to have allround cricketers to succeed and survive at international level.

Bangladesh is an emerging cricket nation and is slowly making impact in world cricket. It is really encouraging to see a good number of slow left arm orthodox bowlers are playing for Bangladesh and a few others are on the pipeline and on the verge of starting their career for Bangladesh. Bangladesh was never known as a country with left arm cricketers. In the past only Enamul Huq Moni was the only test level left arm cricketer. It's Mohammad Rafiq who changed the scenario for Bangladesh. His brilliance and success in world cricket encouraged young talents to follow him and that is paying the dividend for Bangladesh. Currently Bangladesh seems to have the most potential slow left arm bowlers in cricket world and the more encouraging news is most of them are allround cricketers, impressive in all departments of the game. These young lads are going to start a new era in Bangladesh cricket and I have got every belief that it is going to be the start of a bright future.

Let's have a look..

We had..
1. Enamul Huq Moni - He is the pioneer of slow left arm bowlers for Bangladesh. He was fairly successful at ICC level but failed to continue his impressive form to test and ODI level. He ended his career with some mediocre records though he was highly rated by some cricket experts.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	4s	6s	ct	st
Tests	10	19	4	180	24*	12.00	520	34.61	0	0	25	1	1	0
ODIs	29	26	5	236	32	11.23	479	49.26	0	0		0	6	0
First-class	34	51	8	1033	81	24.02			0	6			25	0
List A	61	55	11	612	84*	13.90			0	1			22	0
ICC Trophy	24	16	3	205	37	15.76			0	0			16	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
Tests	10	2230	1027	18	4/136	4/136	57.05	2.76	123.88	2	0	0
ODIs	29	1238	1083	19	2/40	2/40	57.00	5.24	65.15	0	0	0
First-class	34	8373	3424	129	7/74		26.54	2.45	64.90		9	4
List A	61	2678	2038	46	4/25	4/25	44.30	4.56	58.21	1	0	0
ICC Trophy	24	1298	649	35	3/18	3/18	18.54	3.00	37.08	0	0	0

Currently we have

1. Mohammad Rafiq - He is one of the best slow left arm bowler in current cricket. He is an accurate, rhythmical slow left-armer, played in Bangladesh's inaugural Test in November 2000 and was left out as administrators branded him as ODI specialist. Once he received the opportunity, he bounced back in May 2003, with 6 for 77 against South Africa at Dhaka which was the best bowling by any Bangladeshi in test level. Now a days he is considered as one of the best slow left arm bowlers of world cricket. He has the best arm delivery among current bowlers and is the most lethal weapon in his armory. He is easily the best allround cricketer we ever had. Now he is edging towards a notable double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Tests. He has set outstanding examples and high standard for young stars with his hard work and dedication.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	4s	6s	ct	st
Tests	26	50	5	982	111	21.82	1498	65.55	1	4	101	33	6	0
ODIs	100	90	13	1049	77	13.62	1448	72.44	0	2	103	24	22	0
First-class	47	81	9	1464	111	20.33			1	8			18	0
List A	135	118	16	1341	77	13.14			0	3			35	0
ICC Trophy	9	5	1	76	26	19.00	56	135.71	0	0	6	4	3	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
Tests	26	7233	3184	87	6/77	9/160	36.59	2.64	83.13	3	7	0
ODIs	100	5060	3787	95	5/47	5/47	39.86	4.49	53.26	2	1	0
First-class	47	12702	4966	195	7/52		25.46	2.34	65.13		12	2
List A	135	6849	4742	145	5/16	5/16	32.70	4.15	47.23	2	2	0
ICC Trophy	9	346	203	19	4/25	4/25	10.68	3.52	18.21	1	0	0

2. Enamul Huq Jr. - This young lad has got all the ability to serve Bangladesh cricket for a long time. Enamul gives the ball a big rip from a high, economical action, and looks set to be a fixture in the squad for some time. He has got lot of varieties in bowling and even more turns and flights than Rafiq. He declared his arrival in international cricket with a remarkable 6 for 45 - and the historic final wicket in the first Test victory over Zimbabwe in January 2005, then added 7 for 95 (and 12 in the match) in the drawn second Test. Currently a regular member in test team and featured only in 3 ODI's. He has to improve his batting regain his place in the ODI squad.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	4s	6s	ct	st
Tests	10	18	11	28	9	4.00	146	19.17	0	0	2	0	2	0
ODIs	3	2	1	4	4*	4.00	3	133.33	0	0	0	0	5	0
First-class	39	61	29	293	32	9.15			0	0			15	0
List A	22	13	6	70	22	10.00			0	0			9	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
Tests	10	2385	1198	32	7/95	12/200	37.43	3.01	74.53	0	3	1
ODIs	3	180	129	4	2/37	2/37	32.25	4.30	45.00	0	0	0
First-class	39	9441	4437	153	7/47		29.00	2.81	61.70	5	11	3
List A	22	1119	706	27	4/27	4/27	26.14	3.78	41.44	2	0	0

3. Abdur Razzak - Slowly moving into the heart of the BD fans and making him automatic choice for the ODI team, very consistent performer with good economy rate and impressive average of 27.54 with ball. Keeps it tight and can ball with field restrictions (power play). He is doing amazing job at the death overs. He has got a numinous ability to tame world class batsmen. Maturing with bat in every game.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	4s	6s	ct	st
Tests	1	2	0	15	15	7.50	26	57.69	0	0	2	0	0	0
ODIs	22	15	9	90	21	15.00	119	75.63	0	0	3	2	6	0
First-class	35	55	7	943	83	19.64	1677	56.23	0	5			13	0
List A	62	46	16	381	35*	12.70	494	77.12	0	0			19	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
Tests	1	180	99	0	-	-	-	3.30	-	0	0	0
ODIs	22	1149	733	30	3/17	3/17	24.43	3.82	38.30	0	0	0
First-class	35	7916	3412	117	7/11		29.16	2.58	67.65	2	4	1
List A	62	3122	1936	100	7/17	7/17	19.36	3.72	31.22	1	2	0

4. Manjarul Islam Rana - One of most consistent performer, good bowler, batsman and very good slip fielder. Doesn't have the blessings of the selectors. He is the only Bangladeshi to take wicket in his first international over. May return in the ODI squad in future. Has to fight hard to regain his place.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	4s	6s	ct	st
Tests	6	11	1	257	69	25.70	692	37.13	0	1	30	1	3	0
ODIs	25	21	5	331	63	20.68	668	49.55	0	1	21	1	6	0
First-class	37	64	11	1910	151	36.03			2	8			24	0
List A	62	54	12	810	76*	19.28			0	3			21	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
Tests	6	749	401	5	3/84	3/84	80.20	3.21	149.80	0	0	0
ODIs	25	996	689	23	4/34	4/34	29.95	4.15	43.30	2	0	0
First-class	37	6241	2703	97	7/82		27.86	2.59	64.34		5	1
List A	62	2782	1734	79	4/9	4/9	21.94	3.73	35.21	7	0	0

5. Sakib-Al-Hasan - Most promising allrounder of BD cricket. He came into the limelight after blistering performance with both ball and bat in the U-19 level. Grabbed the opportunity to play for National team with two hands and Bangladesh fans are expecting him to be a regular member in the ODI squad. His ability & the calmness to play in the middle order is very much required for Bangladesh's fragile batting line up.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	4s	6s	ct	st
ODIs	4	4	2	88	30*	44.00	141	62.41	0	0	11	0	0	0
First-class	11	21	3	574	85	31.88			0	3			7	0
List A	12	12	3	262	55*	29.11	355	73.80	0	1			7	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
ODIs	4	207	125	4	2/32	2/32	31.25	3.62	51.75	0	0	0
First-class	11	2345	1016	35	6/79		29.02	2.59	67.00	1	2	0
List A	12	577	375	14	4/30	4/30	26.78	3.89	41.21	2	0	0

6. Mehrab Hossain Jr. - Mehrab is considered as the most promising genuine allrounder of Bangladesh cricket. Bangladesh national team is lacking a player like him for long time. He can bat any position from 1 to 6 & is certainly knocking the door of the national team. He can solve the opening problem for BD national team for long time in both forms of the game. He plays first class matches for Dhaka Division.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	ct	st
First-class	20	35	4	1085	196	35.00			4	3	12	0
List A	18	17	3	557	65*	39.78	891	62.51	0	5	8	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
First-class	20	1939	1106	25	6/80		44.24	3.42	77.56	2	1	1
List A	18	782	540	21	4/37	4/37	25.71	4.14	37.23	1	0	0

7. Nadif Chowhury : Another young promising player. Reported for suspected action, later got cleared. Has got lot of variations with ball. He is another young allrounder in making. His inclusion in the Barisal division was rewarded with some consistent performance with both bat and ball. He can ball in long spells which is an added advantage for any first class team.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	ct	st
First-class	19	31	6	867	90	34.68	1735	49.97	0	4	14	1
List A	17	17	1	225	42*	14.06	346	65.02	0	0	4	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
First-class	19	3750	1772	60	5/34		29.53	2.83	62.50	3	3	0
List A	17	710	446	13	2/24	2/24	34.30	3.76	54.61	0	0	0

8. Nabil Samad - Another very good young bowler. He has got the most impressive first class economy rate among Bangladeshi bowlers. He is used as a stock bowler in first class matches and comes at first change in the list A matches. Has got tremendous potential. Keeps the line and length tight & he resembles the bowling of Rafiq.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	ct	st
First-class	24	36	16	204	33	10.20	724	28.17	0	0	7	0
List A	20	9	4	56	23	11.20	71	78.87	0	0	5	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
First-class	24	5817	2278	91	6/43		25.03	2.34	63.92	8	4	0
List A	20	869	551	24	5/32	5/32	22.95	3.80	36.20	1	1	0

9. Elias Sunny :This young lad has impressive first class record. 78 wickets from 22 matches. A bit overlooked by many fans and BD selectors. He is a decent allrounder and batting is one of his major strength. He plays first class cricket for Dhaka division.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	ct	st
First-class	22	32	7	669	176	26.76	1581	42.31	1	4	14	0
List A	18	13	4	177	46*	19.66	278	63.66	0	0	8	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
First-class	22	4127	2017	78	5/46		25.85	2.93	52.91	5	3	0
List A	18	959	602	26	3/19	3/19	23.15	3.76	36.88	0	0	0

10. Arafat Sunny - Another slow left arm bowler from Bangladesh U-19 level. Plays national league with Dhaka division and was one of the leading wicket taker. He plays first class cricket with Dhaka division and is known as fighter with bat.

Batting and fielding averages

class	mat	inns	no	runs	hs	ave	bf	sr	100	50	ct	st
First-class	26	43	18	682	55	27.28			0	2	15	0
List A	26	18	3	150	34	10.00	312	48.07	0	0	14	0

Bowling averages

class	mat	balls	runs	wkts	bbi	bbm	ave	econ	sr	4	5	10
First-class	26	4567	1994	91	6/50		21.91	2.61	50.18	2	7	1
List A	26	943	547	21	4/17	4/17	26.04	3.48	44.90	1	0	0

Inspiring ten bowlers/allrounders. 5 of them already made national debut and all of them are extraordinary. I feel we have real good future with these young boys. Almost all of them are quite imposing with bat & very good fielder.

This is not the end; these ten young bowlers/allrounders are picked from a bunch of left arm bowlers who are making impression in Bangladesh's international and domestic cricket. Suhrawardy Shuvo is the notable absentee in the list who has just played 7 first class matches and took 34 wickets. He is upcoming and will declare his arrival sooner than later.

Bangladesh hasn't yet satisfied its well-wishers and worldwide fans with its performance. Now these young lads have to take the initiative and responsibility to take the leap. Apart from Rafiq, Razzak and Rana all of these players are under 20 years and has started playing serious cricket knowing Bangladesh is a test playing country and they have got every chance to represent Bangladesh. They came from a proper cricketing background and have basic education on cricket. They were nurtured in the under 19 and development squad and now its very important to utilize their potential properly. BCB has got the major responsibility for that and it has to ensure adequate international exposure which is very much required to make them mature and more capable. Most of them featured at U-19 world cup and proved their superiority over other test playing teams. If we can guide them properly they can well translate their success to the next level and that will be enough for Bangladesh's success in all forms of cricket. I am looking forward for those days.

This is not the end of the story and supply of young left arm cricketers to enrich Bangladesh cricket. We have some astonishing young talent at U-15 and U-17 level. At least four of them are left arm all rounders.
Bangladesh is blessed with these young talents and its very important to nourish them with proper coaching, physical training, diet and exposure. They have seen Mohammad Rafiq tormenting top order of other test playing teams and are getting ready to take the button from Rafiq. Imagine a day in future when three bowlers with the quality of Mohammad Rafiq is playing for Bangladesh and I'm sure you can predict which team is dominating and winning matches.

(Information taken from Wikipedia and Cricinfo, Career stats are up to 16.08.06)

[kalpurush]

A bright future is waiting for us - for sure. Thanks for your nice work.

[ialbd]

well spotted & compiled Miraz bhai, I was also thinking abt this when I saw Sakib balling. Bangladesh team is almost synonymous with 'left arm spin' now...
________
Homemade Vaporizers

[Miraz]

I will edit the first post time to time, want to make it a complete article.

Is there anyone else?

Bangladesh is now the leading place to generate slow left arm bowler.

[HawkEye000]

I think you got the batting stats of Nadif and Nabil Samad wrong......also you could include Shuvo and Arafat Sunny and may be even Musharaf

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by HawkEye000
I think you got the batting stats of Nadif and Nabil Samad wrong......also you could include Shuvo and Arafat Sunny and may be even Musharaf

Arafat Sunny added. Thanks

[HawkEye000]

why not include Suhrawadi Shuvo too...he is quite promising

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by HawkEye000
why not include Suhrawadi Shuvo too...he is quite promising

Shuvo hasn't played that much compared to others. Yap he is promising and will add soon. Thanks

[Beamer]

Thats dandy! we need a good off-spinner though for tests..

[khalifa]

Among these listed young talents, Forhad Reza wasn't mentioned because it's a list primarily of SLAs. I understand. I just wanted to point out their batting abilities. The way Sakib and Forjad played with the KENSs today, sure the future bodes well for BD. I haven't seen such composure, temperament and technique in most (if not all) BD senior batters. The way Sakib was finding gaps with his cover drives and nudges, was a treat to my eyes. BD batting always makes me sweat (with nerviousness), but the way these 2 lads batted today, I felt no worries whatsoever. Just brilliant!!

[Rabz]

Really nice job, Miraz bhai..
plz do make it as an article and and im sure the mods would stick it up at the homepage.. might also try sending to cricinfo.. who knows may b they would also be interested in such interesting findings.

[MarufH]

Nice work!! Feels good to have something comming up that will rull the world!

[HereWeGo]

I am also very optimistic with so many Left arm spinner coming up but Don't u guys think that our attack is becoming very one dimensional. If we come across someone like ganguly who is a master playing slow left arm spinners than we might be in for a lot of trouble. By the way when i say ganguly i mean the ganguly that existed some 3 years back not his shadow that exists now.

[ammark]

Originally Posted by khalifa
Among these listed young talents, Forhad Reza wasn't mentioned because it's a list primarily of SLAs. I understand. I just wanted to point out their batting abilities. The way Sakib and Forjad played with the KENSs today, sure the future bodes well for BD. I haven't seen such composure, temperament and technique in most (if not all) BD senior batters. The way Sakib was finding gaps with his cover drives and nudges, was a treat to my eyes. BD batting always makes me sweat (with nerviousness), but the way these 2 lads batted today, I felt no worries whatsoever. Just brilliant!!

I'm curious.... kibhabe dekhlen??

[Miraz]

Almost finished the article. See the first post. Will do some editing and will add the conclusion.

Any suggestions???

[khalifa]

Originally Posted by ammark
I'm curious.... kibhabe dekhlen??

I am sorry that I couldn't get your question, did you mean how I watched 'em play? I subscribed to Channel I for this series, and it sure paid me back with these youngsters proving their mettle again in the 3rd match.

[sadi]

so far so good. Great article. I am sure you will update Sakib's stat. Definately a front page material.

[Googly]

First of all I must congratulate Miraz for his great effort. I know you are talking about present crop of SLA Bangladesh team in late 70s and had a tremendous impact on games against international teams like MCC. He was instrumental in gaining ICC associate membership for . Some of you may have heard about him or watched him play. He is none other than the great , he was too good a student who stood both in SSC and HSC. He left for the USA

[sadi]

Originally Posted by Googly
First of all I must congratulate Miraz for his great effort. I know you are talking about present crop of SLA Bangladesh . Some of you may have heard about him or watched him play. He is none other than the great , he was too good a student who stood both in SSC and HSC. He left for the USA

Never heard of him

[thebest]

I asked my father about Lintu. He is a cricket enthusist. Still at the age of 68 he watches cricket evn at mid night. It does not have to involve Bangladesh or Pakistan (his fav 2). He told me that Lintu was a very good bowler from Rajshahi. But did not play so much. May be 5 - 6 seasons.
I am interested about Ram Chand Goyala. Is he was also SLA? I never watched him but read his exploit in newspaper.

[Tigers_eye]

Great article Miraz bhai. All we need in the conclusion is wakeup call for the Cricket Bangladesh authority to recongnize this and nurture these talents. Also create a parmanent pitch say like in khulna for these bowlers to thrive. Then we can make sure SA, Australia or WI gets to see what SLA bowling is all about. we schedule one test there and include 4 of these bowlers

[abdulw11]

Originally Posted by Googly
First of all I must congratulate Miraz for his great effort. I know you are talking about present crop of SLA:p bowlers. But, I have to say that the all time greatest SLA bowler of Bangladesh is none of them. He was perhaps the only world class player in the Bangladesh:p team in late 70s and had a tremendous impact on games against international teams like MCC. He was instrumental in gaining ICC associate membership for :pBangladesh. Some of you may have heard about him or watched him play. He is none other than the great :pSLA:p and Chinaman bowler Khandakar Nazrul Kader Lintu. He used to play for a weak team in the league – Young Pegasus – but stood out through his performance. Lintu had great control and variety in his bowling. The wicket keepers did not have a clue to what he was going to bowl and had difficulty keeping him. Unfortunately for :pBangladesh:place, he was too good a student who stood both in SSC and HSC. He left for the :pUSA:p for graduation and as far as I know he is doing great in his professional career there. To me and many others he is the pioneer of SLA bowling in Bangladesh.

Is Lintu, by any chance, you?

[Fazal]

Originally Posted by thebest
I am interested about Ram Chand Goyala.

Is Ram Chand Goyala, by any chance, you?

[Googly]

Originally Posted by abdulw11
Is Lintu, by any chance, you?

Lol, I am not Lintu. He lives in the USA and I live in Australia. I am not even related to him. I have just seen him play. I just mentioned this because we should be proud of our cricket heritage and I wanted to give our young members some idea about the great cricketers of the past. May be I will mention about others later if you people are interested. By the way, I first started to watch live international cricket with the tour of Sri Lanka in1977-78. MCC was the first team to visit us in 1976.

[Googly]

Originally Posted by thebest
I asked my father about Lintu. He is a cricket enthusist. Still at the age of 68 he watches cricket evn at mid night. It does not have to involve Bangladesh or Pakistan (his fav 2). He told me that Lintu was a very good bowler from Rajshahi. But did not play so much. May be 5 - 6 seasons.
I am interested about Ram Chand Goyala. Is he was also SLA? I never watched him but read his exploit in newspaper.

Your father is spot on. Lintu didn't play more than 5-6 seasons as I mentioned that he left for the USA for studies. Every touring captain used to praise him.

Ram Chad Goala was also a vey good SLA. He used to play for Abahani and got chance to play for Bangladesh late in his career. As far as I know his surname Goala came from his family's profession in the past.