Bangladesh WC 2015 Watch

[grant]

Ashton Turner picked up 4 wickets with his off-spin today...

Taijul Islam has gone for 75 runs off 9 overs so far in these warm-up matches.
Arafat Sunny, on the other hand, has been doing just fine....

[Kriterion_BD]

You know I would have picked Arafat and Jubair as the specialist spinners, leaving Taijul as a Test specialist. However, most BD fans - and most importantly - the selectors jumped on the Taijul bandwagon, and I went along with it. Coach Hathuri apparently had some real tiffs with the chief selector over Jubair's omission.

Regardless of how poorly Taijul has done and might end up doing, I don't necessarily think Jubair would have made this squad a whole lot stronger. Yes, Jubair's potential blows Taijul's out of the water, but Taijul is a seasoned vet and Jubair is a teenage rookie. Jubair could deliver a truly match winning spell against any team, but he could also get carted for 0-60 against the likes of Scotland. Taijul will be more consistent, even if its just consistently mediocre.

[grant]

You know I would have picked Arafat and Jubair as the specialist spinners, leaving Taijul as a Test specialist. However, most BD fans - and most importantly - the selectors jumped on the Taijul bandwagon, and I went along with it. Coach Hathuri apparently had some real tiffs with the chief selector over Jubair's omission.

Regardless of how poorly Taijul has done and might end up doing, I don't necessarily think Jubair would have made this squad a whole lot stronger. Yes, Jubair's potential blows Taijul's out of the water, but Taijul is a seasoned vet and Jubair is a teenage rookie. Jubair could deliver a truly match winning spell against any team, but he could also get carted for 0-60 against the likes of Scotland. Taijul will be more consistent, even if its just consistently mediocre.

Picking Jubair would have been a gamble, I think. He isn't ready yet. He bowled too many poor deliveries against Zim.
The pitch and conditions in Ban helped him. Plus, Zim batting was atrocious.

[grant]

http://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-beats ... -runs-9929
Meanwhile, Afghanistan....

[jaybro]

Ireland recover from massive loss to Scotland to beat Bangladesh ........

[grant]

Very interesting matches today....
Ireland strangling Bangladesh with the medium pace of Mooney, Sorensen and O'Brien....
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket ... 06139.html

And Scotland losing to WI by just 3 runs in a high-scoring match....
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket ... 06137.html

[grant]

Anamul Haque scored 25 off 72 deliveries against some 70-75 mph bowlers. Not good signs for BD....
They will be playing Afg and Sco in the group stage. Now I can't be sure if they can beat Scotland too.....

[ZIMDOGGY]

I love these minnows being competitive

[Kriterion_BD]

Hopefully the loss to Ireland wakes the team up before the take on Afghanistan on Wednesday.

However, almost all of these practice game results have been extremely unpredictable. Not sure how much stock I'd put in it so far. Ie NZ hammering SA, NZ are good but are they that good. PAK struggling against BD but comfortably handling ENG. SL being annhilated by ZIM.

[Kriterion_BD]

Word is Taskin will be in the playing XI today - no reason not to be. For most of you, it will be the first time watching him live. I hope he puts on a good show.

But I believe he is a different BD seamer that all the rest. The way I see it, we've only produced 3 genuine pace prospects through the years: Mashrafe, Shahadat, and Taskin. All three debuted as teenagers. All 3 had the necessary attributes to make a genuine fast bowler. Everyone knows Mash...injuries have forced him to become a trundler but he is still effective, and early in his career was genuinely quick. Shahadat fell off the wagon due to indiscipline.

But Taskin differs from them in a couple of ways. He has Shahadat's aggression but has Mashrafe's ability to bowl accurately. Of course his pace is solid, consistently in the 140s, and we are waiting to see if he can hit 150 km at some point during this world cup. He seems to be a wicket taker with the ability to be a real strike bowler. He is reasonably tall at 6'2" but perfect bowling mechanics and a smooth action ensures that he gets the bounce of a bowler who is a good few inches taller (think Ishant Sharma). He is strong, fit, and unlike most non-Pakistani subcontinent seamers, he looks "menacing" as stated by some Pakistani posters.

Yes, he will get tonked at times...how could he not on the pitches of today? But he is just 19 and will be persisted with. He will also delivery those truly game-breaking spells that leave an indelible image seared into your memory forever.

He has stated his ambition of bowling fast, of wanting to reach the magical landmark of 150 km. His coaches say he wants to work hard, and he has said he wants to be the best. He wants people to know that Bangladesh too can produce tearaways.

This is why Bangladeshis are drooling. May Almighty Allah allow him to serve long!