Why is This Team Still Playing Test Cricket?
On July 15 Tigers were belted by Ireland at Belfast by seven wickets. In a one-sided match Bangladesh never looked like a test playing nation against the spirited Ireland, who is not even among the privileged group of cricketing nations.
Although in the next match they managed to turn the table on the host their performance was far from convincing. In fact when they lost their 2nd wicket at 41, many Bangladeshi fans were biting their fingers, gripped with the fear of a whitewash by a non-test playing country. On this day however, their star batsman Tamim Iqbal stayed at the wicket and saved the match for them.
Then today another minor cricketing nation, Netherland, who is not even in the vicinity where they can lay any claim for Test status, gave them a cricketing lesson by thrashing them with six wickets. It was not only the margin of win, but the way the win was achieved that prompted me to write this article.
Winning the toss Netherlands invited Bangladesh to bat. It was a rain-curtailed 30 over match, reduced from usual 50 overs. Bangladesh lost their 1st wicket at the score of 13 when their star batsman Tamim Iqbal prodded at a ball outside the off stamp without even bringing his leg in the line of the ball, and was caught behind.
Although the other Bangladeshi opener stayed to score a half century, no other batsmen made it big. It was pitiful watching the Bangladeshi batsmen bat in the fag-end of the game, when they totally failed to dominate the Netherland bowlers. Except for an over-boundary in the 28th over, they played seven overs without clearing the fence for once. And in the last ball of the game their Captain Mashrafe Mortaza was out trying to hit a ball clearing the ground. A true pathetic display of power play by a Test cricket playing nation.
Continued on the next page
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