The Reverse Sweep

World Cup Team Previews: Bangladesh - Shock & Awe

Let’s hope Bangladesh perform at the World Cup otherwise the 42 match group stage threatens be the most futile preliminary round of any competition since Australia played American Samoa in a World Cup qualifier in 2001. The good news is that the Tigers steady improvement in ODI went into hyperspace with the recent 4-0 home triumph over New Zealand - ok it was only New Zealand, but even so. If Shakib can inspire his troops to reach similar heights then both West Indies and even England could be vulnerable to a shock exit at the group stage.

Strengths

Playing at home is a huge advantage and if the team does well support will be vociferous. Tamim Iqbal and Shakib would get into the XI of pretty much every other team in the competition whilst conditions should suit Bangladesh’s array of spinners.

Weaknesses

Despite the win over New Zealand, Bangladesh is hardly used to winning and as such invariably fall short when the finish line is near. Other than Tamim, their batting lacks class and depth, and players habitually get out between 20 and 50 without pushing on to the hundreds that are needed to win matches. The bowling, although strong in the spin department, severely lacks quality seamers especially with the absence of the clever Mortaza.

Main man

Tamim Iqbal is the left-handed Sehwag and could light up the competition. And can Mohammad Ashraful finally deliver on his promise? Probably not.

Look out for…

An all spin attack – Bangladesh is so lacking in international class quicks that desperate measures may well be required.

Prediction

Victory over the West Indies gets them through to the quarter finals where Bangladesh will be walloped by Sri Lanka. 

Where next?

World Cup Team previews: Part 1 - India: Glory or effigies?

World Cup Team Previews: Part 2 - South Africa: Don't mention the 'C' word...

Our XI to shine at the World Cup

Graduates from the Sehwag School for Batting announced - featuring Tamim Iqbal

Spare a thought for Mohammad Ashraful

Bangladesh star in "If at first you don't succeed..."

Check out all our other Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes featuring amongst others Yuvraj Singh, Kamran Akmal, Sachin Tendulkar and Imran Khan

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep 

XIs: An XI to watch closely in the World Cup

 
We’re not particularly excited at the prospect of the World Cup. It is far too long and the initial group stage of 42 matches could easily be shortened to play-offs between Bangladesh-West Indies and New Zealand-Zimbabwe in order to produce the eight quarter-finalists.

Notwithstanding our gripes about the length and format of the tournament however, we are looking forward to seeing if England can complete a memorable 12 months by adding the World Cup to the Ashes and World T20 triumphs.

Furthermore, we are looking forward to seeing how a number of players perform on the big stage. Here’s XI of them:

Hashim Amla

Sachin’s legions of devotees will doubtless disagree, but is there a better ODI batsman in the world than the bearded wonder at the moment? An average of 75 in 2010 with five ODI hundreds, a phenomenal career ODI average of a touch under 60 and his love of the sub-continent all make Amla our bet to be the tournament’s leading run scorer.

Tamim Iqbal

The left-handed Sehwag is the key to Bangladesh springing a surprise and getting to the last eight. It will likely come down to a straight fight with the West Indies and a blitzkrieg shootout between Tamim and Chris Gayle. Now that will be worth watching.

Ricky Ponting

A last hurrah or a fourth successive World Cup and the third as captain? The Ashes series was like a Shakespearean tragedy for Ponting, so it will be fascinating to see how the World Cup plays out for one of the all-time greats.

Kumar Sangakkara

Along with India, Sri Lanka have to be the favourites to win the tournament and if that happens King Kumar is likely to be omnipresent with his elegant batting, sharp work behind the stumps, shrewd captaincy and eloquent words. As cool as a cucumber.

Virat Kohli

Despite not yet playing Tests, Kohli is far and away the most impressive of the young Indian batsmen jostling for position to eventually replace the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman. He has taken to ODI cricket like a duck to water and scored more ODI runs (995) than anyone in 2010 with the exception of Amla.

Shahid Afridi

After his belated confirmation as captain, Afridi will be even keener to improve his dreadful World Cup record of 11 with the bat and 40 with the ball. The captaincy hasn’t dimmed the explosive batting of the man with three of the top six fastest centuries in ODI history. Whether he and Pakistan fly or flop, one thing is for sure - it won’t be boring.

Yusuf Pathan

The final piece in the jigsaw for India? After continually disappointing in an Indian shirt, Pathan has suddenly transformed himself into potentially the most devastating hitter in limited overs cricket. Recent hundreds against New Zealand and South Africa demonstrated what he could do – expect more of the same during the World Cup.

Graeme Swann

His absence from the England side in all but the first of the recent seven match series with Australia showed how vital he is to England’s hopes. The pitches down under may have been deliberately prepared to nullify Swann’s threat but that certainly won’t be the case on the sub-continent. Swann loves the big stage, and in pyjama cricket at least there is none bigger than this. England’s chances rest on how he performs.

Lasith Malinga

If Sri Lanka is to repeat its success of 1996, they will need Malinga to fire and stay fit. Expect plenty of timber to fly when he is around and the ball to swing, whether it is old or new. And just how do you play that yorker?

Dale Steyn

The best bowler in the world bar none. Steyn doesn’t worry about containment and will attack relentlessly, and as he showed in Nagpur last year he can be deadly on the sub-continent.

Ray Price

The romantic in us would opt for Murali in his last international tournament, but we really like Price. He may be a spinner, but he has the attitude, stares and choice words of a fearsome fast bowler. Think Merv Hughes without the tash. And he is a decent bowler too who could help his side to a surprise place in the last eight at the expense of the hapless Black Caps.

Where next?

Yusuf Pathan goes from zero to nine on the Richter Scale

10 reasons to love Graeme Swann

Graduates from the Sehwag School for Batting announced

Exclusive: The New Ten Point Pakistan Player Code of Conduct

An XI of cricketers that died young

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes featuring amongst others Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, David Gower, David Lloyd and Charles Colville 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The best Test XI of 2010

 
So, 2010 is in its last throes - a year that saw England retain the Ashes and win the World T20 in the Caribbean, India cement their position as the number one test side in the World, Pakistan cricket embroiled in even more turmoil and the swift descent of Australia to one of the also-rans.

It has also been a year of notable individual performances and that leads us to the Reverse Sweep's Test XI of the year:

1. Virender Sehwag (1422 Test runs at 61.82, 5 100s)- More brutality was wreaked on hapless bowling attacks as Sehwag piled up the runs at an astonishing strike rate of 90.80. Next best: Tamim Iqbal - the left-handed Sehwag

2. Hashim Amla (1249 runs at 78.06, 5 100s)- Arguably the batsman of the year - his feats in the mini-series in India where he scored 494 runs for once out proved to be the prelude to an annus mirabilis for Amla, who opens for our XI to accommodate who is to follow. Next best: Alastair Cook, who went on a journey from zero to hero in 2010

3. Jonathan Trott (1325 runs at 66.25, 4 100s)- The scourge of Australia looked in risk of losing his place at the start of the year, but from the start of the English summer Trott has averaged 93 in ten tests. Next best: Kumar Sangakkara - averaged 99.28, but only played six tests

4. Sachin Tendulkar (1562 runs at 78.10, 7 100s) - Like Amla, the Little Master had an annus mirabilis and was the leading run scorer in tests, recorded his 50th Test ton, celebrated 20 years in Test cricket and scored the first double hundred in ODI history. Not bad for a 37 year old. Next best: Thilan Samaraweera - the only man to average over 100 in tests in 2010 but like Sangakkara only played six tests

5. Jacques Kallis (1198 runs at 79.86, 6 100s; 12 wickets at 47.83) - Seems to get better and better, and finally got his first Test double hundred - his 38th in Tests - against India at Centurion to celebrate his sudden and miraculous hair growth. Next best: AB De Villiers - the third cog in South Africa's stellar middle order.

6. VVS Laxman (939 runs at 67.07, 2 100s)- The master of batting in the second innings won India tests they otherwise would likely have lost at Colombo (103*), Mohali (73*) and Durban (96). Along with Harbhajan, he also saved India against New Zealand at Ahmedabad with 91. Very Very Special, indeed. Next best: Ian Bell - the year that the boy finally became a man

7. MS Dhoni (749 runs at 41.61, 1 10o; 41 catches, 7 stumpings)- With Sangakkara and McCullum relinquishing the gloves, Dhoni pips Prior and Haddin to a place in our XI. The captain of the World's number one ranked test side, skippers our XI too. Next best: Brad Haddin or Matt Prior - take your pick.

8. Graeme Swann (64 wickets at 25.96, 6 five-fors) - The leading wicket taker in tests in 2010 and the best spinner in the world is an automatic choice for this XI. Next best: Daniel Vettori - a.k.a Superdan

9. Dale Steyn (60 wickets at 21.81, 4 five-fors) - The best bowler in the world bar none with a phenomenal strike rate of 39 in 2010. His 7/51 in Nagpur was arguably the test performance of the year. Next best: Peter Siddle - Australia's shining light

10. Zaheer Khan (47 wickets at 21.97, 2 five-fors)- If Steyn is the best, than Zaheer is the canniest bowler in the world. Lethal with the new or old ball and his record is even more remarkable given that he played all but one test in 2010 on batsman-friendly subcontinental wickets. Probably India's most important player. Next best: Mohammad Aamer - the light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long?

11. James Anderson (57 wickets at 22.96, 3five-fors) - Absolutely deadly in swing-friendly conditions against Pakistan in the summer, but just as effective in Australia where his development as one of the best fast bowlers in the world has been undeniably confirmed. Next best: Morne Morkel - who forms with Steyn the best new ball attack in the world.

Where next?

Sachin Tendulkar's Annus Mirabilis

10 reasons to love Graeme Swann

Heroes: VVS Laxman

Dear Jimmy...

Amla the Magnificent - Much more than a beard

In defence of Jonathan Trott

Graduates from the Sehwag School for Batting announced

Read all the latest from our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

A sense of deja vu for England and Bangladesh

England and Bangladesh have obviously played each other too often over the last few months, as it is all becoming rather predictable now.

The first match of the one day series at Trent Bridge confirmed a number of observations made since the sides first faced each other in Bangladesh in February. The sense of deja vu is overwhelming.

1. England are running a bit scared of Tamim Iqbal and set negative fields far too early to the swashbuckling opener.
2. James Anderson is wasting the new ball on an alarmingly regular basis.
3. Tim Bresnan is a wholehearted trier, but a test or ODI opening bowler he is not. Two late wickets does not hide the fact that after Bresnan's one for 255 series against Australia, Ryan Sidebottom or Ajmal Shahzad deserve a run out.
4. Bangladesh lose momentum as soon as Tamim Iqbal is out.
5. It doesn't matter how good a position Bangladesh get themselves into, they will always find a banana skin to slip over. The 250 they scored yesterday was at least 40-50 runs below a par score.
6. Ian Bell likes playing against Bangladesh. By the end of this series his one day average may even surpass his test average against the toothless Tigers.
7. Bangladesh's seam bowling is on a par with a county 2nd XI attack.
8. Cricket is a game of two sides, but when England and Bangladesh play the former always wins comfortably (with the only doubt being when Tamim Iqbal is at the wicket).

We can't wait for the next two matches at Bristol and Edgbaston. Can you guess what is going to happen?

Is it time to revoke Bangladesh's test status?

Following Bangladesh's defeat at Lord's there were the usual calls for their test status to be revoked. Indeed, Tamim Iqbal used a typically blunt comment from Geoff Boycott on this very subject as inspiration for his brilliant hundred on the Sunday.

When you consider this question in purely cricketing terms, it doesn't look good. Since their first test match in 2000, Bangladesh have played 67 tests and only won three. Two of these victories came against a third choice West Indies side and the other came against a Mugabe decimated Zimbabwe. Furthermore, Bangladesh have only drawn six tests (three against Zimbabwe), so the accusation that the Tigers lack bite and are perennial losers is an unanswerable one.

Progress has been painfully slow and even though in their test matches this year at home to India, away to New Zealand, and now home and away to England they have shone intermittently, the sorry run of defeats has continued.

Good players have emerged. Tamim is undoubtedly a world-class batsman and captain Shakib Al Hasan is a very good all-rounder. Others like Mahmudullah and Mushifqur Rahim also appear to have the talent to flourish on the international stage. However, the sad truth is that until Bangladesh produce a couple of decent seam bowlers (especially now that Mashrafe Mortaza's body can not cope with five day cricket), they will continue to struggle. The climate and conditions in Bangladesh are not conducive for fast bowling, but nor are they in the rest of the subcontinent and India, Sri Lanka and especially Pakistan have unearthed some real gems during their cricket histories.

But there is more to this story than  cricket. Bangladesh is the seventh most populous country in the world, and the ninth most densely populated. She is no stranger to natural disaster and is subject to annual monsoon floods and cyclones, and poverty is rife. One only needs to have seen the news this morning about the devastating fire in Dhaka to see that misery and the Grim Reaper visit this country on a regular basis.

As such, cricket is a beacon of hope to the many Bangladeshis living in the slums of Dhaka and Chittagong. Despite the flood of defeats, the Bangladesh cricket team is well supported and their victories in limited overs and Twenty 20 internationals against the likes of Australia and Pakistan cause the kind of celebrations normally reserved for when a country wins the football World Cup. We only have to look back a few months to remember the noise and joy of a capacity Bangladeshi crowd when it looked like their side were going to beat England in a one day international in Dhaka before Eoin Morgan spoilt the party. 

When you consider this, surely it wouldn't be right for the ICC to remove Bangladesh's test status and condemn it to second tier matches against the likes of Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan? But the ICC is not supposed to be a philanthropist and the endless run of defeats is not doing Bangladesh or cricket any good. So what can be done?

At the Reverse Sweep we believe there is something that the ICC could do to help Bangladesh whilst maintaining their test status and it would be a very simple move. Why not limit Bangladesh's test matches to four days? New Zealand only played three day tests in their formative years as a test playing nation, and whilst their win record was the same as Bangladesh in their first 67 tests, they actually drew 32 matches (the same as they lost). It would hardly be surprising if New Zealand took some solace from these draws and used it as a basis for their eventual improvement.

If Bangladesh only played four day tests, they certainly would have drawn their last two matches with England at Lord's and Dhaka. Losing becomes a habit, so if Shakib and his men had a real chance of at least earning a few draws, we believe there would be an undoubted improvement in their performances. And with the opposition having to take a few more risks in order to win in four days, more opportunities for the Tigers to actually win test matches will emerge. Surely, this would be good for cricket as well as Bangladesh and its fervent supporters? Then we would see more Tamim's, Shakib's and hopefully Mortaza's emerge.  

Toothless England fail to contain Tiger Tamim

The late wickets of Mohammad Ashraful and Shahadat Hossain may have swung the test back into the home side's favour but that does not hide the fact that England were pitiful at Lord's yesterday.

The bowling attack, Steve Finn apart, was powder puff and toothless, Andrew Strauss was uninspiring as captain, and one can just imagine the smile emanating from Ricky Ponting's face when he woke up in Australia this morning. On this display, the Aussies will hardly be quaking in their boots ahead of the Ashes.

Bangladesh on the other hand were marvellous. Tamim Iqbal, who we have long admired at the Reverse Sweep, hit one of the best test hundreds seen at Lord's and he was ably supported by Imrul Kayes, who finally reached fifty in his 12th test. Compared to their dismal performance in the field on the first day, this was a tenacious and whole-hearted performance from the Tigers.

But England's four men bowling attack were extremely poor. Using the new ball well in Australia is absolutely critical, but in both innings James Anderson and Tim Bresnan have allowed Tamim and Kayes to give their side a flying start. Anderson is just coming back from an injury lay off and was left twiddling his thumbs in the Caribbean, so perhaps can be excused. And at least he bowled better later in both innings. 

Bresnan on the other hand is not a test match opening bowler and never will be. At best he is a third or fourth seamer and on this showing was neither. Unless England opt for five bowlers, Bresnan should not be in the side and even then it is highly debatable he is good enough to bat at seven against the top sides.

For once Swann has not soared for England and even had the chastening experience of being smashed for six twice in an over by Tamim as seventeen came off his first over after lunch. Swann though is allowed a bad day at the office after being England's star man for so long. He will bounce back and should have a good summer on more helpful wickets.

Finn has been the one positive in the bowling department. His height and bounce have caused the Bangladesh batsmen problems and six wickets (so far) in your first home test at the age of 21 is a good performance. Whether he is ready to be part of the XI for the Ashes we shall see. It will be interesting to see how he fares against Pakistan later in the summer.

But the final word should be reserved for Tamim. Earlier this year we compared him to Virender Sehwag and named Tamim as one of the first two graduates from the Sehwag School for Batting. In six tests in 2010, Tamim has now scored 727 runs at 60.58 and in scoring a fifty and a hundred on his first test at Lord's, has surely confirmed that he is Bangladesh's first genuine world class batsman. And lest we not forget, he is only 21 years old. His innings yesterday was an exhilarating adrenalin rush and a joy to watch and it would seem there is plenty more to come. 

World T20 preview and predictions

Just five days after the end of the IPL season, international cricket resumes with the World T20 in the Caribbean. Although, it will be a less frenzied affair with no DLF maximums, no timeouts and praise be to God, no Danny Morrison, it is not exactly an example of good scheduling by the ICC. And coming under a year after the last World T20 in England, no-one could argue that cricket in general is adopting a less is more approach to the youngest form of the game.

The competition itself is structured in the same way as a year ago with four initial groups of three being whittled down to two groups of four in the Super Eight stage, before the semi-finals and final. Group A sees holders Pakistan up against Bangladesh and Australia, and with Shahid Afridi captaining pretty much anything could happen. Shorn of Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan through the mismanagement of Ijaz Butt and one of the best T20 bowlers in the world in Umar Gul through injury, Pakistan may even struggle to get past unpredictable Bangladesh.

Despite losing a warm-up match to Zimbabwe and Brett Lee to injury, Australia has to rank amongst the favourites for the trophy; though the decision to leave Doug Bollinger at home could come back to haunt them. We'll take the Aussies to top the group and Bangladesh to get past Pakistan and cause more match-fixing allegations from their oh so wonderful politicians.

Group B sees last year's runners up Sri Lanka take on New Zealand and Zimbabwe. King Kumar's boys should do well on the expected slow pitches of the Caribbean and New Zealand don't generally get beaten by the minnows, so despite the boon of beating Australia, the ever-improving Zimbabwe are likely to miss out here.

The wonderful story that is Afghanistan qualifying for the competition is likely to end abruptly with India and South Africa the opposition in Group C, and the hosts West Indies and England will have too much firepower for Ireland in Group D.

Then the real business will start with the Super Eight stage although the bizarre way in which those groups will be constituted is confusing to say the least. By our reckoning, assuming Australia, Sri Lanka, India and England win the preliminary groups, the two Super Eight groups will be Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa and England in Group E, and Australia, Sri Lanka, India and West Indies in a much tougher looking Group F. But we could be wrong and we're already on the phone to Professor Stephen Hawking in order to get a better understanding of how this works.

Anyway, taking for granted that we are correct; and for England's sake we hope we are, then the Reverse Sweep's belief that 2010 is going to follow 1966 and 2003 in the annals of English sporting glory looks a distinct possibility. With T20 being a great leveller, the selectors finally picking the right squad and England having a good balance between bat and ball, Paul Collingwood's men should be right up there in contention for the trophy. We take them to go through to the semi-finals with South Africa from this supposed Group E.

If Group F looked like this then it would rightly be called the group of death. All four teams look strong with India led by the excellent MS Dhoni and Australia the two favourites for the competition. But don't rule out the hosts who will be looking to make up for their disappointing performance when hosting the World Cup in 2007. With Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, West Indies have the impact players that win a T20 match in a five over spell. And with T20 having that element of unpredictability we go for the hosts to join India in the last four.

With South Africa likely to choke in the semi-final and the West Indies probably running out of steam, we at the Reverse Sweep are predicting an India-England final with the absence of Sachin Tendulkar meaning that England will finally break its duck of having never won a limited overs ICC world trophy. But we won't be massively surprised if we get it wrong.

In terms of the cricketers to look out for, here are our tips (one per country) as the likely stars: England - Kevin Pietersen, India - MS Dhoni, South Africa - Dale Steyn, West Indies - Kieron Pollard, Australia - Cameron White, Sri Lanka - Angelo Mathews, Bangladesh - Tamim Iqbal, New Zealand - Ross Taylor, Pakistan - Shahid Afridi, Zimbabwe - Elton Chigumbura, Ireland - Niall O'Brien, Afghanistan - Mohammad Shahzad.

Let the festivities begin, and then roll-on quickly so we can get some test cricket...    

Openers - an endangered species?

Once upon a time an opening batsman, especially a test match opening batsman used to be a member of an exclusive club. Noticeably different from their middle order colleagues in style and technique, the opening batsman was considered a specialist role and certainly not one that non-openers were queueing up to try.

My, how things have changed. These days the number of specialist openers actually opening the batting is so few, I am starting to wonder if they are going the way of the dodo.

Take Australia for example. Shane Watson used to be an injury prone, under-performing all-rounder who was lucky to bat as high as six. Now he has been reborn as a test match opener who has surprised everyone (probably even himself) by being a success and keeping a specialist opener with a career average of 60 (Phillip Hughes) out of the side. His partner in crime is another former middle-order batsman turned opener in Simon Katich, who has also been significantly more successful since his rebirth.

Other countries are no different. Tillakaratne Dilshan was an underperforming number six who was in and out of the Sri Lankan side. Now he is Son of Sehwag and has taken to opening like a politician to sleaze as he replaced another reinvented opener Sanath Jayasuriya at the top of the order. Sehwag himself, lest it not be forgotten, was also a middle order batsman before realising that his best route to a regular spot in the Indian team was to reinvent how openers should approach test cricket.

Maybe teams like Pakistan and New Zealand should take note. The former have never replaced Saeed Anwar as a succession of specialist openers have struggled in the role since his retirement. Maybe Umar Akmal should have a go at emulating Sehwag and Dilshan? The Black Caps have similarly struggled since the departure of Mark Richardson (and he started as a number 11!) and arguably even all the way back to John Wright. I am sure that SuperDan(iel Vettori) will soon be taking on that role as well.

Chris Gayle and Tamim Iqbal are hardly typical opening batsmen, with their carefree approach more Sehwag than Boycott. And even those starch conservatives South Africa have taken to reinventing Ashwell Price and Neil McKenzie, one with more success than the other, rather than picking a specialist opener to partner Graeme Smith.

Which leaves England. Here at last in the bastion of cricket tradition is a test side with two specialist openers in Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook. Forget fads like pinch-hitters. Forget reinventing Kevin Pietersen as an opener, specialists like cucumber sandwiches and warm beer will continue to be the preserve of at least on cricket team in the World.

So whilst thanks to the home of cricket, the specialist opener is not quite extinct yet, they clearly need an endangered species tag around their necks.

How competitive are Bangladesh?

A while back, I wrote a post refuting the general view that Bangladesh are getting better. On the evidence of the test series with England, I was wrong. They are getting better but how competitive are they? And how close are they to actually winning a test match against anyone other than Zimbabwe or a West Indies third XI?

First the positives. Whatever the outcome of the 2nd Test, Bangladesh have done reasonably well in this series. They have taken both games to five days and certainly in this test they have at times been on top -like on the first morning when Tamim Iqbal's blitzkreig batting had England in temporary disarray. They've also had the worse of the umpiring decisions in this match with Tony Hill in particular making a number of howlers in England's 1st innings.

Bangladesh have also finally produced some decent players. Tamim Iqbal looks a special batsman and at 21 can only get better, especially if he quells the recklessnessthat saw him lose his wicket in the 2nd innings yesterday at such a crucial time. Shakib seems to be growing into his captaincy role and is a genuinely good all-rounder. Mahmudullah is a classy batsman and he was Bangladesh's most dangerous bowler in the 1st test. And Mushfiqur Rahim also looks good with the bat even if his wicketkeeping leaves a lot to be desired. Junaid Siddique has also done well and could have a future as Tamim's opening partner.

So things seem to be improving and doubtless, on their own pitches, Bangladesh could give New Zealand, West Indies and even Pakistan a run for their money. But there are some fundamental problems too. With Mortaza injured and unlikely to play test cricket again, the seam attack is extremely weak, which doesn't bode well for the early summer tests in England. They also lack strength in the batting department and seem to rely on the same players each time. What price would Jamie Siddons pay for Mohammad Ashraful to finally realise his undoubted promise?

They have alsodeveloped an unerring ability to lose the initiative in matches just when it looks like they are getting on top. Yesterday, they knocked off the 1st innings deficit for the loss of only one wicket before imploding on a docile pitch. Similarly, Bangladesh failed to step up to the plate at crucial moments against India and New Zealand in recent test matches. At the moment they are a team that can have a good session or even a good day, but over five days they lack consistency and concentration.

Bangladesh's record since playing their 1st test in 2000 is atrocious with only three wins and six draws in their 65 tests before the current match in Dhaka. That record will undoubtedly improve as the team is young, but there is a long, long way still to go for Bangladeshi cricket.   

Fearlessness, impetuosity and Tamim Iqbal

Now we at The Reverse Sweep are big fans of Tamim Iqbal. Along with Tillakaratne Dilshan, we nominated Tamim as one of the first two graduates from the Sehwag School of Batting. And we lauded his batting on Saturday, when but for an umpiring error he probably would have scored a century before lunch in the 2nd Test in Dhaka.

Why do we like Tamim? Because he stands and delivers, is utterly fearless and is truly Bangladesh's first world-class batsman now that Mohammad Ashraful has sadly been revealed as a flash-in-the-pan impostor. He turned 21 on Saturday and he certainly has the impetuousness of youth.

Unfortunately, fearlessness and impetuosity can sometimes get you into trouble at the crease. And so it proved today. A slightly more circumspect Tamim had reached his fifty, and with Bangladesh having recovered the first innings deficit for the loss of only one wicket, there was a real chance for his side to post a challenging target on the final day. If he had stayed in that is.

Considering he had already been dropped three times, Tamim should have resolved to make England pay but his luck finally ran out when he attempted a horrible slash off Graeme Swann to Stuart Broad at point. Given that Swann was supposedly suffering from Dhaka belly, Tamim had provided the immodium on a plate.

Fearlessness is good, but only when combined with a good dose of common sense and awareness of the match situation. Let's hope Tamim learns from this.  

Tamim Iqbal's 'come and get me' plea to the IPL

A while back I wrote that Tamim Iqbal had successfully graduated from the Sehwag School for batting. That was after his brilliant century 151 against India in January.

Today he decided to take his PhD and secure a spot in the IPL with his batting in the second test against England in Dhaka. And unlike Matt Hayden he did it without using a Mongoose.

Tamim treated Tim Bresnan with the disdain he deserves as perhaps England's least threatening opening bowler of all time. And then he took a shine to Graeme Swann, newly installed as the second best test bowler in the World. Tamim treated him like a club 3rd XI occasional bowler. Steve Finn was carted for 22 from his two overs.

He reached his fifty off only 34 balls and had reached 85 (off 71) before he got a diabolical decision being given out caught behind off his arm to give James Tredwell his first test wicket. This prevented him from getting a 100, and who knows a 150, before lunch. It would have been as deserved as it would have been memorable.

If the shadow of his former self Damien Martyn can get an IPL contract then Tamim can expect his Blackberry to be buzzing soon. 

 

Graduates from the Sehwag School for Batting announced

To coincide with the ascension of its patron to the number one ranked test batsman in the ICC rankings, the Sehwag School of Batting based in Viru's home city of Delhi has announced the first graduates from its initial intake of students, as well as details of honorary degrees awarded to four already established batsmen.

The press release stated that the school had been created to further the style, panache and all out attacking bravado of its patron so that similar daredevil batsmen become more prevalent throughout the cricket world.

 

The statement named criteria on which degrees will be awarded both on a postgraduate and honorary level. These are:

Graduates must be opening batsmen; preferably (but not essentially) ones that started their careers lower down the order.

Degrees will only be awarded to batsmen who demonstrate an all out attack mode in all formats of the game, irrespective of whether wickets are falling around them.

Good stats and high strike rates need to be combined i.e. Mohammad Ashraful has been a student now for over five years but still shows no sign of actually graduating.

Finally, graduates have to have one additional special quality about them just like the religious like fervour attracted by Sehwag.

So without further ado, the first two graduates from the school are:

Tillakaratne Dilshan - Dilshan came to the school as a mature student struggling in the Sri Lankan middle order. He left it as the closest mortal there is in the world to Sehwag. Whether it is tests, ODIs or T20 it doesn't matter to Dilshan as in his new role as an opener he blasts the ball to all corners of the ground with alarming regularity. And his party piece the Dilscoop ensured that he completed his degree in record time.

Tamim Iqbal - Tamim passed his final exam only yesterday as he blasted away at England despite wickets falling regularly at the other end. The examiners particularly liked the way he tries to hit the ball as hard as he can at almost every opportunity. Despite his stats not quite being good enough, allowances were made for the fact that he plays for Bangladesh, and Sehwag casted the deciding vote for Tamim after his 151 against India in January.

Honorary degrees were awarded to four recent opening batsmen who Sehwag has played against and who he considers meet his batting mantra.

Chris Gayle - Not only a big-hitter but also the coolest man in cricket, Gayle received unanimous support from the Awards Committee, who noted that his patient century in Adelaide before Christmas nearly cost him an honorary degree as it was considered too circumspect. However, the fact that he made up for it in the next test at Perth sealed it. The committee particularly liked Gayle's dismissiveness of Nathan Hauritz - a player that Sehwag himself can not wait to face.

Sanath Jayasuriya - The granddaddy of brutal opening batsmen was also a shoo-in for an honorary award. Indeed, Sehwag himself suggested that if it hadn't been for Sanath he may have never been asked to open. Jayasuriya is the man who ripped up the template of what an opening batsman should be and consigned the likes of Boycott to the antiquated history books.

Matthew Hayden - Bullies do prosper sometimes and Hayden was certainly one of those. The barrel chested opener was probably the main driver behind Australia being able to score consistently at over four runs per over in test cricket and provided the inspiration for Sehwag to take that even higher as he did recently against Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Marcus  Trescothick - The man who introduced Sehwag to the delights of English sausages used to tuck in regularly to bowlers in both tests and ODIs. Special mention was made as to how the quick starts that Banger gave England in the infamous 2005 Ashes series were one of the main reasons behind their eventual triumph.

 

Bangladesh are getting better (repeat 1,000 times)

There seems to have been about a million articles recently claiming that the Bangladesh team are getting better with the common inference being that they will be able to compete with the other test playing sides in the next year or so.

As Boris Johnson would (probably) say this is absolute piffle.

True they did manage to beat the West Indian under 12 side in the test and ODI series in the Caribbean last year.

It's also true that they have finally produced a genuinely good player in Shakib Al Hasan. And in the recent series with India certain individuals stepped up to the plate at certain times. Mushfiqur Rahim looks like a promising wicketkeeper/batsman, the wonderfully named Mahmudullah is too low in the batting order and best of all Tamim Iqbal's century in the 2nd Test was a genuinely great innings.

But they still lost the series easily 2-0 having previously lost every match in the ODI tri-series prior to the tests. Even Zimbabwe used to be more difficult to beat at home.

And then today New Zealand bowled out Bangladesh for 78 and knocked off the runs in less than nine overs with no wickets down. Now the Kiwis are admittedly better than the sum of their parts but only the West Indies and Pakistan are arguably between them and Bangladesh in the rankings.

We'll have to see how Bangladesh fare on the rest of their tour to the land of the long white cloud, but even an England team captained by Alastair Cook (who was certainly Captain Clueless in the T20I he captained in SA) should win both tests and all the ODIs.

Perhaps the biggest proof of Bangladesh's continuing ineptitude is the fact that Mohammad Ashraful is continually referred to as their best batsman. This is the same Mohammad Ashraful who averages 23 in both tests and ODIs. That is lower than both Stuart Broad and Nathan Hauritz.

I'd quite like to see Bangladesh improve but I can't see it happening to the level it needs to for them to compete with the other test playing sides. I fear they will be the whipping boys of international cricket for the foreseeable future.

Over to you Captain Cook.