‘We still have a chance’

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."

The gloomy weather yesterday in Cardiff, where it rained heavily until late afternoon, did no favours to Bangladesh ahead of today's World Cup match against World Cup favourites and hosts England.

Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun and Mosaddek Hossain were all restricted to indoor practice while the rest of the team opted to take a break from practice because they could not train outdoors. For a team that places great importance on momentum, it was not the ideal preparation for perhaps the toughest examination of their campaign, especially as they are coming off a loss against New Zealand in their last match.

The defeat threw light on the less-than-ideal form of some important players, and skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza included himself and star opener Tamim Iqbal in that category. Mashrafe has conceded 81 runs from 11 wicketless overs in the two matches so far, while Tamim has scored just 40 runs from 67 balls after getting starts against both South Africa and New Zealand -- uncharacteristic for a player who has been known for cashing in on good starts for the past four years.

"We are in the middle of the tournament now, so it is not as if we can change a lot through practice," Mashrafe told reporters yesterday. "But for some players, practice sessions are very important. If you talk about me, then obviously today practice was very important to top up certain things that are not happening for me on the field. Tamim is feeling the same. In that regard, I think we have been a little unlucky. For some of us the practice session was important, to get used to the wind, not being able to do which may not be a positive sign for us. But you can't do anything about the weather; we have to try to keep our confidence levels high."

Mushfiqur is one of those in form, but he has been a target of criticism for letting off Kane Williamson in the two-wicket loss against New Zealand, when he disturbed the bails with his elbow and negated a sure run-out at a crucial juncture.

"I think Mushfiqur is completely okay, and there is no reason not to be normal," said Mashrafe when asked about Mushfiqur's state after a social media barrage against the keeper. "And of course, there will be criticism surrounding those who are working. It is easy to do that. The team is supporting each other. It is normal, the people who are talking about it are the ones not able to take it normally."

In the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, we take a look back on World Cups past through the eyes of Bangladesh's former World Cup stars. Mehrab Hossain, became the first Bangladeshi player to score a century in a one-day international when he struck 101 runs against Zimbabwe. A month later, he featured in the Tigers' maiden ICC World Cup campaign in the United Kingdom in 1999 and became Bangladesh's first batsman to strike a 50 at the showpiece event. With this edition of the ICC World Cup knocking on the door, Mehrab took a look back on the golden days of Bangladesh cricket and his World Cup exploits in an exclusive interview with 

The Daily Star's Nabid Yeasin.

The Daily Star (TDS): How did it feel to represent the country in their maiden ICC World Cup in 1999?

Mehrab Hossain (MH): A lot of emotions took over at that time since the World Cup is the absolute top-flight of cricket events in the world. Obviously there was excitement but at the same time, there was no fear at all for me regardless of which opponent we faced or any other aspect. Overall, I think I was in a trance as everything just happened. To be honest, I never set any target that I have to score a hundred in the World Cup. I just wanted to play my natural game and be confident.

TDS: What is your best World Cup memory?

MH: I struck a fifty against West Indies in that World Cup. I was lucky enough that it was also the first fifty hit by a Bangladeshi batsman at the World Cup too. I had planned before to somehow perform well against West Indies ahead of the World Cup as my father was a huge fan of theirs. He had told me 'son you must do well against West Indies'.

TDS: Any interesting World Cup incidents you would like to share?

MH: I remember one incident during the game against Pakistan, which we won. Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar opened the innings before Waqar Younis came on as the one change. I opened the innings with Shahriar Hossain, who smashed three boundaries off Waqar in his first over. When Shahriar struck the third boundary of the over he suddenly came up to me and asked, 'who is this ordinary bowler?' I was very surprised to hear that since he had no idea who Waqar Younis was. It was very funny.

TDS: What do you think will be Bangladesh's biggest challenge in England?

MH: I think the biggest challenge will be to keep strong nerves. The environment of World Cup cricket is totally different. England is the birthplace of cricket and the World Cup being held in England itself is a huge thing. I think we have to play the type of cricket we normally do but at the same time we have to keep our nerves strong seeing as whoever is able to do so will likely enjoy more success.

TDS: As a former opener, who do you think would be the best opening partner for Tamim Iqbal?

MH: At the moment two of the best openers in the country are in the team. Soumya Sarkar is in very good touch and I think the type of wickets in England are perfect for Soumya to adapt. He likes to play on the rise shots as the wicket will offer true bounce there. Pitches in ICC tournaments have remained batting friendly over the past few years and so I think the combination of Soumya and Tamim will be good.

TDS: Realistically, what do you think Bangladesh's chances are in the upcoming World Cup?

MH: Well, expectations are sky high but I think we also need to be realistic. Considering the type of cricket we are playing at the moment, I think the other teams are playing even better cricket than us. To give a tough fight we have to click in all departments consistently, only then we can hope to reach the semifinals. However, if you want to reach the semifinals, you have to win a minimum of six games. It will be important for the senior players to work on their fitness since it's a long tournament and that could prove crucial for Bangladesh.

One of the recurring themes of Bangladesh's World Cup campaign has been the disappointing performance of the one batsman most fans would have been looking at to set the biggest stage alight for the Tigers. Tamim Iqbal averaged 57.06 between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, but on the biggest stage, he managed 235 runs at an average of 29.37 from eight games. A player who takes great pride in performance and the legacy he will leave behind in Bangladesh cricket, the meagre returns frustrated Tamim throughout the event, even though it was his most successful World Cup in terms of runs scored. Yesterday, as the Tigers prepared to make their way back from the UK, Tamim spoke to The Daily Star's Sakeb Subhan about his disappointment and the need to move past it. The following are excerpts of the interview:

The Daily Star (TDS): Are you disappointed with your performance in the World Cup?

Tamim Iqbal (TI): Yes, very disappointed. In the sense that, after what happened in 2015, I have been preparing myself for 2019. In these four years I've had a lot of success. And then, even in Ireland I did really well. But I think that as soon as the World Cup started, I took a lot of pressure on myself. Just thinking that I don't go back to 2015 again. It is very easy for anyone who reads this to come and ask me why are you thinking like this, you have scored so many runs. But only I know what is going on inside. My nightmare was going back to 2015, what happened in 2015, how I suffered and my family suffered.

TDS: By that you mean the outside pressure after you dropped a catch against England and also some inconsistency with the bat?

TI: The outburst that happened was very new for me then. I couldn't handle it at that time. And then how the family suffered, and all of that. I knew very well that the World Cup is a tournament that makes even those who do not follow cricket start following; that's how big the event is. I think that is what killed me at the beginning. I took a lot of pressure on myself; I wanted to prove a point… not prove a point, I wanted to do really well.

And in these four years, the success I got, I never tried to prove to anyone. I just went there, batted and things happened. But here, I put so much pressure on myself to succeed that it hampered me. I was actually looking to get  a score in the first two games. That's very important for me. The 62 I scored [against Australia], if I could have scored that in the first two games, it could have been a different thing mentally. I think that is why I find it disappointing. The trolling, the criticism is part of my life. I need to accept it. I think that I have dealt with it much better than I did in 2015. What bothered me was myself. I lost to myself.

TDS: What bothered you more, that you couldn't score runs or the pressure you put on yourself?

TI: I took a lot of pressure to score runs. I had to score… I had to score. If you try too hard to do something, it doesn't happen. I really am not someone who has a bad tournament and will then come and give excuses, but actually I was very unlucky in this tournament. There were three to four dismissals where I couldn't do anything. The Cottrell runout, the three chop-ons. It had nothing to do with my technique. There were one or two dismissals which I regret… England and New Zealand. The first game [against South Africa] was a very good delivery, the last game [against Pakistan] was a good delivery. Surprisingly, though I didn't score runs, I actually batted really well. It wasn't as if I was being beaten or struggling. Whenever I batted, everybody thought – myself included – that this is the day probably. I went there and played a couple of nice shots and then it just happened. The good thing is I don't take the past innings with me when I am batting. I started panicking more because I was getting out after one mistake. I actually lost patience with myself. I wondered what the hell is happening. I talked to Neil and he said you cannot do anything. After the first two games I went to [batting coach] Neil [McKenzie] and said 'let's shoot my batting and see if there is anything technical'. Then he told me 'I wish I could tell you something', there was nothing. He said 'it's basically the same, you've done this'.

There are two positives from this. One was the processes that got me success, the way I batted and the processes I did before the game, I did exactly the same. In such situations, there will be people giving you all kind of advice: 'Go and attack', 'if this is not working you should bat like this or that'. That is the worst possible thing I could have done. Because after not scoring in two matches, if I went down the wicket to the first ball, or swung my bat around and then got out, then that would have the worst possible thing. The best thing I did was I never changed. I batted exactly the same way when I scored a lot runs and when I didn't score a lot runs – from game 1 to game 8 – I batted the same way.

TDS: When you say the same way, do you mean the changed Tamim who aims to bat till the 40th over?

TI: The aim is to bat deep. Sometimes, with the way I start… I will take time when I start the innings. When I am batting on 40 or 50, I make up the time I took. I have a lot of confidence in myself, the team, the coaching staff have a lot of confidence in me. It's not like I have done it for 10 games; I have done it for 50 games. Unfortunately I never got to that stage in this World Cup. People will say that there are a lot of ifs and buts, but it does not bother me because I know what I was trying to do. The other positive is that in my bad times, if I am averaging 30, I am pretty happy.

TDS: A lot of criticism has come because of your changed role, from swashbuckler to someone who bats all the way through.

TI: My role also has changed and, though it is a World Cup, I batted exactly the same way for the last five years. The way I batted actually helped the team to win. It doesn't bother me what people think. Changing myself because some people think a certain way is the worst possible thing I could do. What I do is not easy. My point is, if something has worked for me for a number of years, why should I change it? The people who understand cricket will understand what I went through and the people who don't understand cricket, will always criticise. And I am completely fine with it; I think I have come out of that space in 2015. There were high expectations, for me too, because I took myself to that level. It hurts a lot, but I need to come out of it.

TDS: You say that you have lost to yourself but also that the frustrations did not hamper you in the middle. Where did it affect you?

TI: It didn't affect me when I was batting. It affected me before the game – two days before the game. When playing a match, what you're doing in the middle is important but there are other important things. How mentally relaxed you are a day before, how positively you are thinking, all this adds to your batting. If you are not in a good mental space when you are going out to bat, it sometimes definitely hurts you and definitely affects your game. I took a lot of pressure to perform. It was not about social media or people writing about me, it was me who was the problem.

TDS: Did the dropped catch of Rohit Sharma add to the pressure?

TI: The catch drop didn't bother me either. I dropped the catch and felt bad for a couple of overs and I was up and running in two overs' time. I was going into the hot position to field. I was cheering when wickets were falling. I was probably the first one to go to Mustafizur when he took five wickets. Dropped catches are part of cricket. It was an important catch, I understand. A lot of criticism came after the dropped catch. Going forward, I will be taking a lot of good catches and I will also be dropping catches.

TDS: With three wins out of eight matches, how would you rate Bangladesh's performance?

TI: I thought it was a disappointing performance. We definitely had our moments and our chances. I could answer that question by saying that it was a very positive tournament, we pushed the best teams to the limit, but I think that we as a team have come out of that position. Just playing well is not our target. Playing well and winning games is our target. If you think in that way, we are number seven. If South Africa win we become number eight. So you cannot say it was a great campaign.