by A. Bashir
If we call our pre-Test Status era as the Childhood of Bangladesh
cricket, then it is not unreasonable to say that our cricket is now only into
her Early Teenage phase. A phase replete with potential, fiery
enthusiasm, boundless dreams as well as the difficulties, emotions, vulnerabilities
and even introverted ness to some extent that are all vivid characteristics
of this age! Our cricket has yet to reach her potent Youth let alone be Grown-Up
enough to play with the Big Guys.
More specifically, our current bunch of players still have something incomplete
in them. In time, they themselves will have to realize this and must find the
cures for those gaps in their skills. I will try to elaborate on my observations
about an issue regarding our batting strength that has been bothering me for
some time. (And I?m sure, as have many others). And that is the lack of
ability of most of our batsmen to play shots that make 1?s or 2?s
or 3?s in their innings.
In my observation, Bangladesh cricket has been dominated by the following two
types of batsmen in the squad for the last 5 years:
Type-1: Batsmen who know how to play some strokes and score boundaries
This type includes Hannan Sarker, Habibul Bashar, Nafees Iqbal, Ashraful Islam,
Alok Kapali and Mohammad Rafiq from the current roster of players and a few
others from the past. These players are natural stroke-makers and are considered
to be our big assets for the future. But for some strange reason, they seem
to almost completely lack the ability to find easy gaps for singles and doubles
and to keep rotating the strike. Whether it is their lack of skill or something
in their mindset is still a mystery. The end results are somewhat like these:
- They let the opposition bowlers dominate over time allowing a huge number
of dot balls
- They create unwarranted pressure on themselves and the team; causing low
scoring rates
- They think boundaries are the only good way to score
- They get impatient when restricted by a good bowling attack and often play
foolish risky shots rather than thinking of going for 1?s and 2?s
- Luck seems to be their only Mantra to get a decent score
- And finally, they end up like a machine without lubrication, achieving
a modest innings of 50-60 odd runs at best!
Type-2: Batsmen who almost do not know how to play strokes
This type includes Manjural Islam Rana, Mushfiqur Rahman, Tapash Baisya, Tareq
Aziz and a few others. These guys are not genuine batsmen by definition but yet
they do score some decent runs for the currently struggling Bangladesh squad.
The good thing about these players is that they, for sure, know that they are
not out there to play mind-blowing strokes and raise the scoring rate! They
know they are out there to stop the collapse and save the team from further
humiliation on most occasions.
The end results for this type are somewhat like these:
- They refrain from attacking risky balls
- They are always looking for the 1?s or 2?s and 3?s
- They very often frustrate the opposition bowlers by keeping the scoreboard
ticking and yet not giving away wickets as they are not taking useless risks!
- And yet, they end up with a below-par score of 30-40 at best most of the
time, as they do not have the natural talent to play strokes!
Between Black and White
It is pretty obvious that both these types of batsmen are very much incomplete
and therefore they are constantly scoring only an average number of runs. Between
this Black and White, only a good balance of strokeplay and
the ability to make shorter runs can result in a genuine and solid batsman. Only
then is he able to play without pressure and build long innings without being
a burden to the team. I have to admit that very few of the players have this
right blend.
Players like Rajin Saleh, Khaled Mashud Pilot and Javed Omar are somewhat between
these two Black and White types. But for some reason, they are more on the defensive
side. It is very unfortunate that our core of "talented batsmen" (the
stroke-players) does not yet have this perfect blend. (Ashraful?s latest
Innings of 67 consists of eight 4?s and three 6?s!!). No wonder
we are constantly seeing our players getting frustrated (probably not satisfied
actually) at around 30/40 runs and quickly finding them back in the pavilion.
It really does not whether our batsmen are incomplete because they lack talent
or maturity or because of some missing aspect in their training regimen. What
matters is that all our current and future talents in the batting department
find in them a perfect balance between black and white. Only then can the Tigers
produce some all-time-greats. Without this balance, the Teenage
age of our cricket will rapidly turn into the Confused and Mediocre
Youth.