[Match Thread] Bangladesh v Zimbabwe : 1st Test, Sylhet

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Also happy for Mavuta. I thought it was looking like a bad decision to play him after the first innings, but he did what you want a leg spinner to do - clean up the tail. Can't ask for more from a player on debut. Definitely keeps his spot for the next game and has probably cemented a position as the second spinner after Cremer, and ahead of Chisoro and W Masakadza now.

[sloandog]

Is this Sean Williams' 'career defining match' ?? It's been said he only scores when the game is over or in losing causes. But this match he played a top innings and was MOTM

Is this his career defining match ?

Has been a stunning tour for him so far, isn't it? This is what I always expected Williams to be able to produce day in and day out given his talent, way back in 2008 when we first saw him do similar consistent things in Pakistan followed by the "Chevrons" gig in SA where he literally carried us. Based on sheer natural talent, no one in the team is anywhere close to him, including BT. But his class had never materialized so well till this tour...

Can't put to words how chuffed I am for him.

I was always amazed that Sean Williams never recieved a county call up after the 2015 World Cup. He scored four half centuries. I guess the reason Taylor got a contract was compiunded by the fact he scored two big hundreds in that tournament. Really pleased for the guy

[CrimsonAvenger]

As I said earlier, I did not have the heart to follow the game till I went in and realized they were 7 down. Looks like the bowlers were also rotated well and decent bowling changes were made right through the innings by the skipper?

[CrimsonAvenger]

I was always amazed that Sean Williams never recieved a county call up after the 2015 World Cup. He scored four half centuries. I guess the reason Taylor got a contract was compiunded by the fact he scored two big hundreds in that tournament. Really pleased for the guy

Yeah BT's knocks overshadowed his and he also failed to take us over the line crucially on many occasions in that tournament. The IRL game brainfade where he could have stood his ground and forced a review by the umpires instead of rushing to the pavilion was a case in point.

[sloandog]

I was always amazed that Sean Williams never recieved a county call up after the 2015 World Cup. He scored four half centuries. I guess the reason Taylor got a contract was compiunded by the fact he scored two big hundreds in that tournament. Really pleased for the guy

Yeah BT's knocks overshadowed his and he also failed to take us over the line crucially on many occasions in that tournament. The IRL game brainfade where he could have stood his ground and forced a review by the umpires instead of rushing to the pavilion was a case in point.

Yea that was a major brain fart; really was stupid.

[Kriterion_BD]

As I said earlier, I did not have the heart to follow the game till I went in and realized they were 7 down. Looks like the bowlers were also rotated well and decent bowling changes were made right through the innings by the skipper?

Had Zimbabwe lost the same bowling changes would have been criticized. Why was Chatara not bowled? Why did he keep persisting with Mavuta and Welly instead of bringing Raza back on? etc.

[sloandog]

Can I just say Kriterion, I really like the look of Tajiul, he seems like he's got his shit together

[CrimsonAvenger]

Yeah, things that end well always look nice as a plan later on. But I guess Mavuta taking that wicket just before lunch might have given the skipper enough confidence to persist with him, may be.

But what really had worried me was if we don't ring in the changes at all, like what Cremer did in the SL test last year - not bowling Mpofu or Masakadza at all for the whole day and over-bowling himself and Williams as the match just slipped away, or even when he made no changes to the status quo in the WCQ match against the WI. I was almost certain this would end up that way, so was pleasantly surprised to see the changes made and the confidence shown in the bowlers. Of course the guys also delivered when they were trusted making the job easy.

[CrimsonAvenger]

Can I just say Kriterion, I really like the look of Tajiul, he seems like he's got his shit together

Might be their premier spinner now, bowled good areas regularly and wasn't afraid to toss it up. Working with Joshi for over an year also might have had an impact too. That guy has had some serious success as coach with small time Ranji teams in India.

[Kriterion_BD]

Can I just say Kriterion, I really like the look of Tajiul, he seems like he's got his shit together

Oh yeah. I've been a fan of Taijul. He had a very good domestic record before making his debut, but we have lots of SLAs that fit that mould like Saqlain Sajib and Sanjamul Islam. He's not as good as good as Ravindra Jadeja but he fills our 3rd spinner slot quite well on the types of tracks we have at home.

Miraz has more potential I feel, he just didn't get much turn from the Sylhet surface for some reason. But if you noticed, Miraz didn't bowl many bad balls at all. Almost every ball was bowled in a tight line just outside off stump. In fact, I think that might be why he didn't turn the ball. If you notice Raza seemed to get the ball to turn more when it was pitch 6 or 8 inches further outside the line of off stump (to the right hander).

Nazmul is a T20 bowler only. He should stick to imitating snakes as far as careers goes. But with two young spinners in Taijul and Miraz, our Test spin attack is OK. We just need a quick to partner the Fizz, and perhaps a leg spinner. And of course sort out the top order issues like getting rid of Mahmudullah.