Story Bangladesh Begin Blissful Age [India In Bangladesh]

[treva]

Some tough games, with 3 big-guns of cricket. I think by the New Zealand tour Bangladesh should really be pushing for a series win. That's their best opportunity, and if they can get some good results against Australia, England and India, then they'll be in good form to grab a big series win. I think Beefy needs to concentrate on test cricket, that's where Bangladesh really fall behind the rest.

 

[Shri]

Jaz, that was a good read.

You might be surprised by the results yourself when you use the Bangla spinners. Batting will be a problem though. Gear up for that.

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Very tough fixtures coming up for the Bangladeshis. I think New Zealand would be a little easier but others are looking very tough. Good luck against the might Aussies and the Indians. Great presentation Jaz

 

[Pakistani Army]

Thats a tightly packed schedule. Botham will definatly be tested aswell as the Bangladeshi players.

Great presenattion Jaz!

 

[Jaztheman]

Teams For First Test Announced

The Bangladeshi board has both named their 12 players selected for the first Test Match, which is to be started on Sunday 9th April. The tour between Australia and Bangladesh is the first tour for Sir Ian Botham to witness as coach of Bangladesh and reports have come in that spirit is already high after Botham moved into Bangladesh with his family. The Bangladesh's 12 players for the first Test are:

Shahriar Nafees
Javed Omar
Habibul Bashar(*)
Naeem Islam
Rajin Saleh
Mushfiqur Rahim(+)
Manjural Islam
Arafat Salahuddin
Mohammad Rafique
Hassibul Hossain
Alamgir Kabir
Arafat Sunny

A very young and undetermined team has definitely been chosen as 3 of the 12 players haven't represented their country in a Test before and 5 of them have played less than 10 tests. There was no surprise in seeing the likes of Javed Omar and Habibul Bashar, who have carried the side in recent years, however there are some young players that are new to the side. Arafat Sunny has impressed Botham enough in his warm up game a few days ago to be selected into the side and he is only 19. The other two players who might recieve their debuts are 19 year old Manjural Islam and Arafat Salahuddin. He has named a team with the future in mind for definite.

There were some surprised though as players like Tamim Iqbal and Ehsanul Haque missed out despite having great First Class averages. Mohammed Ashraful is another played that Botham has seemed to forget about but Sir Ian Botham has declared that Ashraful will be playing the second Test. Onto the bowling and it is an expected bowling attack apart from that Saifullah Khan was taken out of the team due to an injury to his right shoulder. He may recover in time for the second Test.

The average age of the squad is a breath taking 24 which I think is a statement from Sir Ian Botham. He has named only two players over the age of 30 and could of chosen a very experience Bangladesh line up if he had wanted. Sir Ian Botham, on the matter, said "We have a very good youth setup in Bangladesh and I want to take advantage of that. We have a very young team because they are the best players. Being young, that is a benefit and bonus to us."

Matthew Hayden
Philip Jaques
Brad Hodge
Michael Clarke
Michael Hussey
Ricky Ponting
Justin Langer
Adam Gilchrist
Shane Watson
Andrew Bichel
Brett Lee
Shane Warne
Nathan Bracken
Michael Kasprowicz
Jason Gillespie
Stuart Clark
Glenn McGrath

The Australian 17 man team for the Tour has been announced as well. Compared to the Bangladesh team, it is full of experience and age and has much more quality. Australia have 4 players in their team that have played over 100 tests. With four players having over 200 Test wickets and another four players have over 5000 Test runs, it's going to be one heck of a ride for Bangladesh.

It was a very unsurprising team with the coach of Australia going for the expected team. Michael Kasprowixz, Nathan Bracken and Andrew Bichel may be counted as surprises but they all are quality bowlers with good records. There have been have a few surprises as players like Damien Martyn and Simon Katich were not chosen ahead of some of the batsmen. On the bowling side of things there were no surprises although I'm sure Stuart MacGill and Shaun Tait would of loved a pop at the Bangladesh team.

The average age of the Australian team is 31, which is a lot higher than that of Bangladesh. The Australian team just breaths experience and despite having an oldish team, they still have few young guns in there. Shane Watson, Michael Clarke and Philip Jaques are all 26 years old or younger and at least two of them would be in the expected line up for Australia. This could be the last season for the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer though so those players will be no doubt playing out of their skins to go out with a bang.

We've got to say with the teams that have been selected, the experienced Australia team should be too much for the inexperienced and youthful Bangladesh team. There are always surprises in cricket though and as long as Sir Ian Botham can keep the Bangladesh spirits high, then he may have a chance of taking Australia all the way, or giving a damn good performance. We expect a Series win for Australia, but I wouldn't bet against Bangladesh giving their all.​

 

[Funknath]

The Australian Squad looks strong IMO and for Bangladesh H.Bashar will perform well !

Jaz nice update KUTGW!

 

[shantanu_rooney]

OMG!!! Bangladesh gonna have tough time against the Aussies. Aussesi squad look to be great. But hope Beefy and Bangla create a shock.

Brilliant presentation and written Jaz.

 

[Amiya]

Sir Botham believe in Young talent would be the key for Bangladesh success. They might get few defeat early on but they have bright future under Sir Botham. Brilliant writing & presentation Jaz. I hope it will continue for a long time.

 

[Shri]

Manjural Islam is dead in real life right?

Any way, the write up is immense as usual from Jaz. Posting good scores is going to be very difficult with Warne and McGrath in the side. But if you get a good spinner's pitch, you might bowl the Aussies out quickly.

Good luck Jaz.

 

[Jaztheman]

First Test Preview

The cricketing season is upon us! This first match of the year is the first Test between Bangladesh and Australia. It's the up to date version of David v Goliath as it is 1st and top in the Rankings, Australia, against 10th and last in the rankings, Bangladesh. The stage is set and it's bound to be one sided but newly appointed coach Sir Ian Botham has said that his lads are going to give it their all.

The Bangladesh team for the First Test:

1. Shahriar Nafees
2. Javed Omar
3. Habibul Bashar(*)
4. Naeem Islam
5. Rajin Saleh
6. Manjural Islam
7. Mushfiqur Rahim(+)
8. Arafat Sunny
9. Mohammad Rafique
10.Hasibul Hossain
11. Alamgir Kabir

So the first Bangladesh team selected by coach Sir Ian Botham involves 2 players on their debut. The batting lineup is rather strong, stronger than you would of though. Nafees and Omar open the innings, with Nafees having the second highest batting average in the team of 32.30. Nafees has only been around the International stage for a while, still being only 20, but is very mature and already has 1,300 First Class runs. He is one of the best batsmen in the side at a very young age. Omar's 22.45 leaves alot to be desired and is the older of the two openers, being 29 himself. He doesn't average over 29 in any form of the game and will need to prove himself to keep his spot as opener. Habibul Bashar, the captain for the first match, is the best player in the team and has the highest average, that of 34.75. He's also the most experience player of the team with 41 Test caps. The top order is the strongest part of the team, for definite.

The middle order isn't too bad either. Naeem Islam comes in to get his International debut at only 19 years old. He has been very impressive for Rajshahi as his First Class average shows, 40.50. The number 5 for the first Test Match is aggressive batsman Rajin Saleh. He's only young at 22, but has 16 Test match caps. He average 50 in his only test match last season which is very promising indeed. Manjural Islam, one of two all rounders in the starting 11, is at number 6. His bowling in Test Matches has been very poor and his batting hasn't been too good either but he is 21 years old and has much to learn. He apparently got Ian Botham out in the nets yesterday so it could be his match. The keeper is in the traditional slot of number 7 and that keeper for the match is Rahim. 17 year old Mushfiqur Rahim has shown bags off potential and at only 17 his First Class average is already in the mid 30's. He's not too shabby with the gloves either.

Now to the bowlers. Arafat Sunny is the second of two debutantes in this match. The 19 year old is a constant performer for Dhaka and already has 91 wickets at 21.91. His batting is surprisingly good for a bowler as well, with his average of 27.28 being enough to be put above team mate and all rounder Rafique. Sir Ian Botham was reported to say that Sunny is a fantastic young spin bowler who will no doubt be in the bowling attack for the next decade at least. Rafique is the number 9 for the game. The 35 year old has a good First Class average of 24.98 but his Test average of 35.75 isn't too good. He isn't that much of an all rounder either, he's more of a bowler. He won't be in the team for that long. Hossain and Kabir round up the bowling attack and the Bangladesh team. Hasibul Hossain is a 28 year older is a seam bowler which is hard to come by in Bangladesh. He has 146 wickets at 25.41 in First Class which is very good but he is still yet to prove himself on the Test stage. Alamgir Kabir is the number 11 and theres a good reason for that. The 25 year old averages a mere 8.86 with the bat and considering he's a bowler is fine. He has a very good First Class average but despite playing 3 Tests Matches and going for 221 runs, he is yet to take a wicket.

The Bangladesh team is looking the strongest it has looked for a while, especially with Sir Ian Botham at the helm. They have a lot of youth in the side which could count against them in the short term but in the long term it can only be good. They will still need to play out of their socks, mind, and have it all to do against a remarkable Australian team.

1. Matthew Hayden
2. Michael Hussey
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Philip Jaques
5. Justin Langer
6. Adam Gilchrist
7. Shane Watson
8. Brett Lee
9. Jason Gillespie
10. Stuart Clark
11. Glenn McGrath

The duo of Hayden and Hussey open the innings for Australia as they have done for many years now. Hayden will be a formidable opponent for the Bangladesh bowlers, averaging over 50 in Tests and First Class. He is in immense form but isn't the best of batsmen away from Australia. Hussey has an even better average than Hayden but has played many less Tests. Michael Hussey averages 68 in 10 Test matches. He also averages over 50 in First Class and is still only 30 years old, so has a chance to score 20,000 runs. He is a quality fielder as well and can be called as wicketkeeper if needed. Ricky Ponting wraps up the top order, which is an outstanding top order. Ricky Ponting has arguably been the best batsmen over the last 6 years, since the start of the century. He averages just short of 60 in Test Matches and just under 60 in First Class matches. He has captained Australia for a while now and leads them to a victory nearly all of the time.

The middle order of the Australian team is nearly as strong as the top order. Phil Jaques takes the 4th spot in the lineup and plays his second Test for his country. He has been impressive in First Class for a while now and has recently signed for Worcestershire, whom he seems to be doing well for. He has a very high average for a 26 year old. Veteran Justin Langer gets the number 5 spot in the first Test. He has played exactly 100 tests with 7393 runs. He has been in the Australian team for many years and is only 35 so could be in it for the next few years as well. He brings wealth of experience to the team and offers so much more than just his batting ability. Adam Gilchrist and Shane Watson end the middle order. Adam Gilchrist is one of the best Wicket Keepers of all time and have an incredible batting record for a keeper. He has taken just under 700 catches in 175 First Class Matches and has a higher Test average than First Class. He is 34 but is expected to be the Keeper for many years to come. Shane Watson is the number 7 and despite only playing 3 Test Matches he has been impressive. He is a batting all rounder and is a good aggressive batsman at that. Despite being a batting all rounder he is more than capable of opening the bowling, or playing a big part.

The bowling of Australia has always been as strong as the batting and that is no exception with this team. For some strange reason Shane Warne has been left out of the First Test but the lineup is still ten times better than Bangladesh's. Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath, with the help of Watson, are the seam bowling attack for Australia in the match with Stuart Clark being the lone spinner. Glenn McGrath is the best bowler of the bunch with 542 wickets at 21.56 and will be indispensable to the Australian team. Gillespie and Lee both have over 200 wickets each and are both handy with the bat as well. Stuart Clark, ahead of Warne for some reason, has had a good start to his Test career with 21 wickets at 18.76 but will have to keep playing consistently well to stay in the side.

The Australian team is as strong as it ever is. They can rest players such as Shane Warne and Michael Clarke yet still have an unbelievable team. The team oozes quality all over the field and they have the all round ability to be the best in the world for many years to come. They go for experience over youth but still have some very good youth players in the making, which is the sign of a good cricket team. They are just simply awesome, to be honest.

Pitch

Bangladesh's chances of getting something out of the match increases the more the pitch is spin. Unfortunately for them, the pitch is a batting pitch to start with. The forecast for the match seems uncertain as their will be overcast, sun, chance of rain, all sorts! The bounce is even which will be poor for the fast bowlers and the wear is very good, which devalues the spinners. The outfield is very slow so we may not see that many boundaries from the weak players and as many as we would normally see. The light is very good so we should see full third sessions on every day and a great game of cricket.

Toss

Ricky Ponting and Habibul Bashar have both already been out on the pitch and evaluated their options. They've also already done the toss, which was won by Bangladesh. They have opted to bowl first on this pitch, putting Australia into bat. Is this a wise decision or will it pay off for Sir Ian Botham's Bangladesh? We will soon find out, in the first game of the cricketing season.​

 

[Jakester1288]

Brilliant work, but I reckon it's wacked up that the Aussies have Jaques at 4 and Hussey opening. Same goes for Langer.

 

[Shri]

Batting pitch? Australia will post 400 - 500 in the first innings. Warne & McGrath are capable of bowling out Bangladesh twice. I predict an innings victory for Australia.

 

[Jaztheman]

Batting pitch? Australia will post 400 - 500 in the first innings. Warne & McGrath are capable of bowling out Bangladesh twice. I predict an innings victory for Australia.

Warne isn't playing in the first test.

 

[Shri]

Warne isn't playing in the first test.

You are in with a good chance if Warnie is not playing.

 

[Jaztheman]

You are in with a good chance if Warnie is not playing.

Yeap, Stuart Clark is in instead. He's played 3 Tests for Australia and averages under 20 with the ball and has taken 21 wickets. Not a bad replacement to be honest, but much worse than Warne.

Cheers for your comments everyone.