The Hindu : Sport : Bangladesh wins many hearts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 01, 2005

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Bangladesh wins many hearts

Ted Corbett

Shariar Nafees and Khaled Mashud in rescue act

CANTERBURY: Bangladesh has won a large gathering of admirers in England during the last two months and on Thursday it showed why.

This country loves the underdog, the non-league team battling against Manchester United, the village side who reach the final at Lord's and today this obviously under-strength, under-developed bunch of triers, who have taken one victory from Australia, threatened to repeat that magic moment.

They began the final match of the preliminary series — a dead game since England and Australia have already won their way to Lord's on Saturday — as if they might collapse as the touring New Zealanders did here in the 1960s.

A high-speed spell from Brett Lee gave him the wickets of Tushar Imran and Mohammad Ashraful — the ball after Ashraful hit him for a six into the back of the stand at square leg — and Jason Gillespie, whose skills have varied greatly throughout the series, had Javed Omar caught behind. Omar's dismissal was strange.

Gillespie was turning away, about to throw the ball to the nearest slip and certainly not thinking of an appeal when Gillespie won a decision from Aleem Dar.

Whatever the circumstances, Bangladesh was 19 for three and we wondered if the journey home might come soon. Nothing of the sort. Nafis Ahmed stuck around until he was sixth out for 75 in the 36th over and gave backbone to the innings.

The captain Habibul Basher hit 30 in 24 balls before he received a brute of a delivery from Shane Watson whose medium pace suddenly provided a leaping ball that Basher could not avoid.

Aftab Ahmed went quickly so that Bangladesh was 75 for five and again we wondered if we might avoid the week-end tea time rush on the motorways.

The bedrock

Instead Nafis and Khaled Mashud stayed together for 18 overs and added 94; the bedrock on which the tail contrived to produce 250 for eight.

Khaled Mashud made an undefeated 71 and Khaled Mahmud, who was dropped after a wretched show in the fifth game, made 22 in an eighth wicket stand of 58. It was a promising score on a pitch that was too slow for Lee, whose successes came from yorkers and whose 10 overs went for 62, but just right for Watson.

Because Gillespie and Kasprowicz are both out of sorts, Watson might make the Test side. "I'm trying to take my chances with both hands," he grinned after his two for 43.

Adam Gilchrist who had caught out five behind the stumps — simple catches in fact — smashed four, two, six off the first over from Mortaza but Matthew Hayden was caught at the start of the third over and, in gloomy, damp conditions it began to look as if Australia might find the going difficult. Geraint Jones, the England wicket-keeper, has already taken five catches in an innings during this series.

Superb shows

But, as the world has seen in the last 10 years, the Aussies know no fear. When in doubt they attack. Gilchrist went for his shots and hit two superb strokes to the on and the off. Ponting was once more a mixed up batsmen. At times he looked in better form than at any game in the series; to other deliveries he seemed as out of touch as ever. Is the pressure of leading Australia in an Ashes tour too much for this accomplished batsman?

At 63 Gilchrist tried another big offside shot, the ball flew to first slip and Gilchrist, who takes a pride in walking, headed off to the pavilion. TV replays suggested that he hit the ground rather than the ball and that in his wish to wipe out the suggestion that there was such a thing as an ugly Australian he had walked off when there was no need.

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