‘The Oval should be good for us’

South Africa opener Tony de Zorzi yesterday lamented for missing out on a golden opportunity of converting his maiden Test hundred into a bigger knock on a batting-friendly surface at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Wednesday. 

Zorzi, who smashed 12 fours and four sixes for his 269-ball 177, was solid throughout his innings before it was cut short by Bangladesh's left-arm spinner Taijul Islam.

"Yes, definitely the opportunity was there. It's not often you find yourself in a position where you can do it. Definitely, there was an opportunity to get a double [century] or maybe even more," he told reporters in Chattogram after the end of the second day's play.

Replying to South Africa's colossal 575-6d, Bangladesh ended the day at 38-4, still trailing the visitors by 537 runs. 

Pacer Kagiso Rabada, who was the chief destroyer in the first Test in Mirpur with nine wickets, picked up two wickets, while fellow pacer Dane Paterson and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj scalped one each. Rabada received a further boost as he climbed to the top of the ICC Test Bowlers' Rankings.

It already looks like an uphill battle for Bangladesh who would have to play out of their skin to avoid another hammering defeat. 

"When you've got KG [Kagiso Rabada] in your lineup, anything can happen for you so we're lucky to have him. (Dane) Patterson showed a bit of discipline and got the wicket," Zorzi said.

"For us, it was about taking advantage of tired (Bangladesh players') legs. If I was an opener in that situation, it's not a nice time to come in and bat. Anything can happen with tired minds and tired bodies. We were just at the right place and at the right time and we made good decisions."
 

Shakib Al Hasan's homecoming took a complete U-turn yesterday as the all-rounder chose not to return to Bangladesh to play his farewell Test, seemingly heeding the advice of the Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan.

Shakib was expected to arrive in Dhaka yesterday night and join his teammates in a practice session today at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur ahead of the opening Test against South Africa from October 21, which was also set to be his final red-ball game for the Tigers.

However, it was reported on Wednesday midnight that the ace all-rounder might be reconsidering his plan to return home for his Test swansong due to security concerns.

"I am not sure where I am going next, but it is almost sure that I am not going home," Shakib told ESPNcricinfo, a cricket website, yesterday when asked about his plan of action after he reached the UAE on Wednesday from where he was supposed to board a Bangladesh-bound flight.

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Shakib gets further assurance over farewell Test

After a day of speculations of what might have prompted Shakib to decide not to come to Bangladesh, Sports Adviser Asif informed the media in the evening that he had advised the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to discourage Shakib from returning, fearing public anger.

"This decision was made to ensure the safety of players and to protect the country's image," Asif said in a press conference, which put an end to the day-long drama.

Earlier in the day, the news of Shakib not boarding the Bangladesh-bound flight spread like wildfire. The all-rounder also communicated with few media outlets, saying security concerns prompted him to change his travel plans.

However, when contacted, the BCB could not provide an explanation on what was happening. Top officials like BCB president Faruque Ahmed and CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury were in the UAE and could not be reached but those who are in Bangladesh claimed they have no knowledge on the matter.

Deputy press secretary to the chief adviser Azad Majumder told The Daily Star that there was no restriction on Shakib returning to Bangladesh.

"Shakib can return to Bangladesh anytime. It's his decision whether he will arrive here or not," Majumder informed.

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Shakib wants countrymen by his side in Test swansong

In the meantime, a protest started at the main entrance of the Mirpur stadium where some 100 protesters carrying different banners and boards demanded the BCB to not allow Shakib, a former lawmaker of the ousted Awami League government, to play the South Africa Test and also submitted a memorandum.

However, the issue seems far from over with a conflicting statement coming in from another government official, Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, on the same day.

"All I know is that he [Shakib] himself has said that he is not coming due to security concerns. I am not aware of any official word from the government for which he will not be able to come to the country."

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed said quitting was the easiest option in response to Najmul Hossain Shanto's reported desire to step down as captain.  

It was reported by cricket website Cricbuzz that Shanto is unlikely to lead Bangladesh after the conclusion of the ongoing home Test series against South Africa. 

"The easiest option is if someone simply says, 'I don't want to do it, thank you,' and leaves. That's the easiest option. But if you really dig down to understand why they don't want to continue, and whether there are any underlying reasons, it's important to discuss those issues. We will talk," Faruque told reporters on Wednesday.

"I can't understand anything unless I sit with him. You can't make decisions based on reading newspapers. If I sit with him, I will know whether there's an issue, or he doesn't want to continue... I won't know until we sit down together. At this moment, there hasn't been any conversation with him directly."

Shanto has struggled immensely with the bat in recent months. He has registered just one fifty in his last 16 Test innings, managed to score 164 runs at a strike-rate of 102 in his last 10 T20Is but has fared better in the ODI having scored two fifties and a century in his last eight innings after a horrendous 2023 ODI World Cup campaign. As a skipper, the 26-year-old has so far captained the Tigers in nine Tests, nine ODIs and 24 T20Is. He led the side to three Test wins which included a 2-0 series win in Pakistan. He also won three ODIs and 10 T20Is at the same time.

"I don't know if Shanto has spoken with you... Sometimes social media news can affect them. Players actually need to be more aware of this, whatever they feel about it... Not about chain of command, I think there are a number of steps that could be taken, such as reaching out to Cricket operations, the CEO, or the president. I hope players will be mindful of this. If any player feels he can't continue, then that's a personal matter. If there's any such request, then we'll discuss it," Faruque said.

"Since taking on responsibility, we've had to handle forming BPL teams and several other issues that required our attention. I only got the chance to sit with the players once, and only 8-10 of them came, where we talked about BPL only. I'll be flying to Chattogram tonight to try to meet with the team, the coach, and everyone. Hopefully, there will be some outcome."

National team selector Hannan Sarkar confirmed to The Daily Star on Sunday that the selectors know about Shanto's plan to quit as captain from all three formats.

"I have heard about the matter [Shanto wanting to quit captaincy] but didn't get anything official like a letter. He may have informed verbally," Hannan said.

Bangladesh's bowling coach and the current interim coach of the Tigers for the upcoming Nidahas Trophy series was a fearsome bowler in his playing days and he reveals that he did not need to hurl abuse at his opposition since he could just use the ball to get his point across.

Walsh was from a time where fast bowlers were greatly feared and during his lecture today at Kolkata for the Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture, the great West Indian gave a few accounts from his playing days.

"You know that my home ground of Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, is surrounded by hospitals, 10 probably 15 hospitals, and on weekends they would be full of players we'd send there... a nose broken, a finger chipped, a bleeding mouth... we played hard, that's what we did at Sabina Park, that's why so many hospitals.... Once we had the Leeward Islands team led by Viv Richards for a game, before lunch five or six of them were down at the hospitals...

"Why insult with abuse when you can injure with a ball?" Walsh revealed.

Walsh also admitted to the fact that he handled matches professionally and if blood was spilled on the field of play, it was not intentional. In 1994, he hit India's Manoj Prabhakar during the third Test against India at Mohali. Prabhakar ended up with a broken nose.

"A few fellows, not too many," Walsh said with a nod. "Nothing intentional about that aggression, it was just part of the job.," Walsh attested to causing injury that led to blood being spilt.

Walsh will be hoping that some of the young guns in the Tigers' lineup can learn about that professionalism and aggresion and apply them with a positive mindset.