‘We still have a chance’

Bangladesh cricket superstars Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal were among six Bangladesh players to have registered for England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB's) inaugural draft for The Hundred.

The four other Bangladesh players to have signed up were Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman and Mushfiqur Rahim.

The Hundred is a new competition in a novel 100-ball format in which eight freshly formed teams, representing seven cities from around the UK, compete against each other. Each team has both a men's and women's side.

165 overseas players were registered in the full list before the main draft on October 20 with the likes of Rashid Khan, Chris Gayle, David Warner, Aaron Finch and Babar Azam some of the major names who have already signed up.

Both Shakib and Tamim entered with a reserve price of 100,000 pounds, alongside other star names such as Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Shahid Afridi, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard.

There were four reserve price brackets  -- 125,000, 100,000, 75,000, 50,000 and 40,000 pounds.

67 players have not set a reserve price and the four other Bangladesh players in Mushfiqur, Mustafizur, Saifuddin and Mithun are expected to be among them.

When Bangladesh stand-in captain Tamim Iqbal walked into the media room of the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday, there was a smile on his face, probably in anticipation of the kind of questions that would be thrown at him ahead of the third and potentially face-saving ODI against Sri Lanka today.

Much like his own form, the Tigers are struggling to recover from a series of failures, having already lost the three-match series 2-0 and now desperate to avoid the humiliation of a whitewash.

Tamim said that it would be very important to finish the series on a positive note, adding that a 2-1 result would be far more satisfying than being whitewashed.

"I think we have a lot to prove to ourselves, although we have lost the series. So, the series will be 3-0 or 2-1, the difference will be that we will be able prove something to ourselves. Of course, we couldn't play to our potential in the first two matches. But if we could win this match by playing good cricket, it's very important for our own satisfaction. Many people are watching us play. They have expectations from us, and we have to play well for them," Tamim told reporters yesterday.

Although the 31-year-old could not give any specific reasons for the failures in the first two ODIs, he did say that his team were not up to the mark in all three departments of the game and informed that it would be important for everyone to step up for the last game.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh bowling department was unable to pick up early wickets, which has been a feature of their bowling since the ICC World Cup and has allowed opponents to cash in with steady starts.

Tamim also pointed out the deficiency and said that it is imperative for the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam and even Mehedi Hasan Miraz to provide early breakthroughs considering, Sri Lanka are rely heavily on their top order.

As far as his own form goes, the dashing left-hander managed to score just one fifty in his last 11 innings and was bowled in the last six innings, including the first two ODIs. Tamim admitted that he tells himself every day that today would be his day, but somehow it is not going his way.

There were also questions about the roles the senior plyers will have to play to guide the side and ensure that the dressing room remains relaxed after a string of negative results.

Tamim urged the experienced campaigners like himself, Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim to provide the assurance.

"Normally, when the team isn't doing well, everyone looks to the seniors as they have played so many matches and they have a lot of experience to effect a turnaround. I think, as captain… forget about being the captain… as an individual player I have thought about this. The truth is when the team doesn't play well, you look to these players who have been playing for the national team for a long time.

"They have been scoring runs for five-six years. It could be me, Mahmudullah or anyone. It's disappointing that I couldn't do that well. When the team needed us, we should have stepped up. One thing I have said and we could try is that we can try to play well. But sometimes, there are things out of your control. I always believe in one thing: that is not [going to last] forever. This drought will end and I will start scoring runs again," said an optimistic Tamim.

In chase of the herculean target, Shakib Al Hasan could only manage a run-a-ball 41. Photo: AFP

There were two crucial factors in Bangladesh conceding 381 for five in yesterday's World Cup match against Australia, which ultimately proved to be decisive. The first -- Sabbir Rahman dropping David Warner on 10 off skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza in the fifth over -- led to the second, which was Australia riding on Warner's 166 to launch an attack that yielded 151 runs in the last 12 overs of the match. And letting off a left-hander made it even harder for Bangladesh as they did not have a second off-spin option in Mosaddek Hossain, whose left shoulder injury opened the door for Sabbir.

Mashrafe is always protective of his players, but even he had to concede that letting off Warner was a costly error.

"These things happen in such matches," Mashrafe said during the post-match press conference. "But he added more than 150 [since the drop], but we have to take such chances in these matches. But still, I thought we were okay till the 40th over, even though they had lost just one wicket. We needed to get a set batsman out then, as it would have been difficult for new batsmen coming in at that stage. Even if we gave away seven to eight runs per over from then, it would have been better."

One of the big advantages won by Australia was that, having sent in the left-handed Usman Khawaja at the fall of opener Aaron Finch's wicket, the two left-handers negated Shakib Al Hasan's left-arm spin. Mashrafe rued missing out on Mosaddek's off spin as the team's first-choice off-spinner -- Mehedi Hasan Miraz -- was the most economical, conceding 59 runs from 10 overs.

"They plan to sweep against Shakib and perhaps that was the plan to send in Khawaja -- Warner was charging him while Khawaja was turning the strike over to Warner," Mashrafe said. "If Mosaddek was there, I could have used off-spinners from both ends. I still think it was okay, but I would say that the real damage was done after the 38th over."

Perhaps Warner's continued presence was why Mashrafe found it difficult to hide his disappointment at the missed chances. Sabbir was again the culprit in the 26th over when he fumbled a run-out chance against Warner, when the batsman was on 72.

"I think wickets were needed against them. When you play against such teams on wickets like these, you need to convert half chances. Maybe the run-out would have made things different… that's true."

The positive from the match was the batting and Mashrafe gave the batsmen credit for scoring 333.

"We thought that 320 or 340 would have been chaseable and were trying to keep them to that. After the match against West Indies [when Bangladesh chased down 322 with 8.3 overs to spare] we had the belief that we could chase scores like that. I think the bowlers tried their best to restrict them within that mark, but it is hard to keep asking the batsmen to chase more than 350 every time."

Rain has been a constant companion of the Bangladesh team since their fourth World Cup match against Sri Lanka was washed out in Bristol on June 11, and it was a presence in Taunton yesterday during their first practice session since that game.

However, in their eagerness to get their World Cup campaign back on track and lift themselves from seventh position after four matches, 12 of the 15-man squad started practice in the afternoon drizzle at the Coopers Associates County Ground. The small ground will be the venue for the Tigers’ next match against the West Indies on June 17. The players missing from the optional practice session were Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das and Rubel Hossain. Shakib, who sustained a left thigh strain in the match against England on June 8, has been advised to rest and may join the team during practice today or tomorrow.

During practice itself, the Tigers appeared to have overcome the gloom of rain setting back their race to the semifinals, and were enjoying the warm-up game of keepy-uppy and their fielding drills. As the sun broke through batsmen like Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim were eager to get the net batting started as there was no telling how long the good weather would stay.

Apart from Shakib’s injury, there are lingering concerns regarding Mohammad Saifuddin’s back problem which first flared up during the warm-up match against India on May 28. Bangladesh bowling coach Courtney Walsh said yesterday that Saifuddin had played a couple of games ‘under duress’ but hoped that the two days of rest would be good enough to have the pace-bowling all-rounder back to 95 per cent fitness. Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has been nursing hamstring trouble since the India match as well. Both players, however, looked fit enough during fielding practice, both diving around to take catches.

With the match still three days away, settling on a playing eleven was still a way off. The square boundaries in Taunton are short, which may play into West Indies’ power-hitters’ hands. One change could be to include an extra pacer in Rubel Hossain, but Walsh said that they would have to see the pitch closer to the match day to come to that decision.

Bangladesh are back at the scene of prior conquests, the stadium nestled in the middle of Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Now known as the Cardiff Wales Stadium, it is doubtful whether the former Sophia Gardens -- where they shocked Australia in 2005 and defeated New Zealand from a near hopeless position in 2017 -- will have enough inspiration to get them over the line against tournament favourites England in their World Cup match today.

Unlike yesterday, when the Tigers' practice session was reduced to an indoor one by incessant rain, the weather for the match starting at 10:30am (3:30pm Bangladesh time) is expected to be free from rain interruptions.

Both teams are coming into the match on the back of hard-fought losses. Bangladesh lost by two wickets to New Zealand at The Oval on Wednesday after being all out for a sub-par 244, and England fell 14 runs short of Pakistan's 348 for eight at Nottingham on Monday.

Other than their positive record at the ground, inspiration can also be drawn from the fact that the Tigers beat England in their last two World Cup games in 2011 and 2015. But it was the second loss that set England on the path to their current position of the team that plays lights-out cricket and aims to score 350-plus each time they walk out to bat.

That brand of cricket will make an interesting contrast to Bangladesh's. Before their opening match against South Africa, which they won by 21 runs, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza talked about not chasing England's example and instead focusing on the brand that brought them success over the last four years. It is one more focused on building partnerships at a good rate, minimising risks with cricketing shots, taking singles rather than relying on big shots throughout the innings, and bowling as a unit to extract wickets through pressure. The bowling held up its end of the bargain against New Zealand, but the batting failed to deliver in all those aspects.

Even so, Mashrafe hinted that there are unlikely to be many changes to the eleven that played at The Oval unless conditions dictate otherwise.

"The plan is to change according to conditions, and I don't think so much change is going to help the team much," he said at the pre-match press conference. "But it depends, if it keep raining like this, we have to think about it. If not, then obviously, there is the management, as well. They will think about it. If someone will come with different plans, we will think about it."

England skipper Eoin Morgan talked about the possibility of playing an extra seamer by bringing in Liam Plunkett.

"Obviously another day where the wicket is under the covers, wickets that have been played on here so far have been a bit greener and probably seamer-friendly. So that's a potential, yeah," Morgan said.

The same move, bringing in Rubel Hossain, would be a brave one from Bangladesh. It was Rubel who won them the match against England in Adelaide with a four-wicket haul, but playing four seamers -- at the expense of off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz -- would be to ignore that England are weaker against spin. The other change, after Bangladesh's lower middle order failed to fire against New Zealand, could be to bring in Sabbir Rahman for Mosaddek Hossain at number seven.

However, Mashrafe seems to place value on the part-time off-spin of Mosaddek especially as Mahmudullah Riyad is unable to bowl because of a shoulder injury.

Like against South Africa, and indeed against New Zealand, it may all come down to whether Bangladesh can play their brand of cricket successfully. Even that may not be enough against a rampant England and like Mashrafe said yesterday, with conditions and fan support favouring the hosts, the Tigers will have to be one step ahead and play better than their opposition today.