Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan's antics during press briefings have been well-advertised, but the BCB boss probably violated the very essence of the game -- respect -- while taking a swipe at Mushfiqur Rahim's decision to skip the Pakistan tour. 

Responding to a question at the BCB headquarters on Tuesday regarding Mushfiqur's prospect of travelling to Pakistan for the last leg of the three-phase tour, Hassan first said that he was yet to hear anything from the horse's mouth.

It was a reasonable response.

He then said something more at home in a political dictionary.

"Will have to think for the country. Don't always have to think about your own [welfare]. This is what I personally believe. Family is very important, but the country is even more important," he said.

After a pause, he said something quite rational again.

"Well, there was fear. We all had fears over travelling to Pakistan. Wasn't the fear-factor prevalent in those who have travelled?" he asked.

But then he uttered something that no decent professional athlete -- let alone Mushfiqur, a champion batsman and the most committed cricketer of the country -- deserves.

"[His] family member went there and played. So would nothing happen if something happened to [Mahmudllah] Riyad [his brother-in-law]? Will the family members cry only if something happens to him [Mushfiqur]? I can't believe such things," Hassan proclaimed.

His bizarre logic for Mushfiqur to travel to Pakistan next April, which can be debated, is not an issue at all. The burning question is whether the board president has the authority to mock the family sentiments of Mushfiqur or any other cricketer.

Does the BCB boss have the right to belittle a cricketer, let alone a player like Mushfiqur, who has time and again showed his utmost dedication to serving the nation during his illustrious career spanning over 15 years?

Mushfiqur decided against touring Pakistan due to security concerns raised by family members and he has every right to respond to the request of his dear ones, which is quite common in the international sporting arena.

There might be criticism among the fans but this kind of reaction from the establishment and that too against a player who publicly acknowledged that he never felt good when out of the ground, is not only uncalled for but also a serious violation  of mutual respect.

The board president has reasons to be disappointed. Bangladesh badly lost the two T20Is and the first Test against Pakistan by an innings. It is also understandable that, had Mushfiqur been around, Bangladesh could have put up a better fight with the bat.

Just to show how important he is in the Tigers' batting line-up, Mushfiqur hammered a magnificent double-hundred in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe on Monday.

The day after he scored 203 not out at Mirpur, the BCB president said normal service returned to the Bangladesh camp as a reference to that easy win against Zimbabwe.

He also presented Mushfiqur with the player-of-the-match award with a smile on his face. But whether that was a compliment is anybody's guess now.  

Cricket’s global crown will find a new resting place today when perennial bridesmaids England and New Zealand square off in the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s. By the end of the final, cricket will have first-time world champions for the first time since 1996, when Sri Lanka etched its name into cricketing folklore.

England, the top-ranked ODI side, had been tipped for a maiden trophy before the tournament started, but New Zealand’s second successive final may have surprised some. Today’s final at Lord’s, starting at 10:30 am (3:30 pm Bangladesh time) will pit two contrasting cricketing philosophies against each other -- the pace-setters versus the adapters.

Since being booted from the 2015 World Cup at the group stage, England have undergone a renaissance. Fearlessness has been the mantra for the hosts -- they are arguably the only team capable of accelerating throughout the 50 overs of an ODI. They proved that for the umpteenth time in the semifinal against a formidable Australia. Having bundled their old foes out for 223, openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow did not give much space to Australia’s feted pacers, putting on 124 in just 17.2 overs. Even after their dismissals, England kept accelerating and romped home with 17.5 overs to spare as Joe Root and skipper Eoin Morgan ensured that the pressure on the Aussies does not relent.

Fittingly, England’s hyper-aggression was seeded by none other than New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup. Under Brendon McCullum’s captaincy, New Zealand had displayed the same streak of fearlessness as they romped unbeaten to the World Cup final before the wheels came off against Australia. Morgan had said before that it was their defeat to New Zealand, apart from the Adelaide loss against Bangladesh that sealed their exit, that brought home how far England lagged in terms of being at the cutting edge of ODI cricket.

“I think he has had quite a bit to do with it,” Morgan said at the pre-final press conference at Lord’s yesterday when asked about McCullum, whom he had just chatted with on the way to the press meet. “You could say about world cricket. We are close mates and he’s taught me a lot about leadership and I think in 2015 the way that New Zealand played, very similar to the way they are playing at the moment. They proved to everybody that you can perform at the highest level and get to the top by being yourselves and not trying to be somebody else, or a different team, or be somebody that is a bit of a novelty for everybody else, so that’s quite cool.”

Now, however, New Zealand are the adapters chasing England’s pace. That does not necessarily mean that they will be clear underdogs in the title-decider. They have proven to be remarkably awake to situations on the pitch. While McCullum blazed a new trail in 2015, Kane Williamson’s men are performing a function that has been a reality of New Zealand cricket since inception. Being a small country with a tiny talent pool, recognition of limitations has been their tried and tested method to success. And that is what they have done throughout the World Cup -- be it in pacing their chase against Bangladesh on June 5 and winning by a whisker, or resetting targets when batting in Manchester in the semifinal against India, when they bucked a three-match losing streak to beat the pre-tournament favourites in a match that rain had extended to the reserve day on July 10. Their adaptability has seen them through to the finals despite being the only team other than Afghanistan not to have scored 300 in the edition.

England captain Eoin Morgan and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will both look to etch their names into history when the sides square off in the World Cup final at Lord’s today. PHOTO: Twitter/AFP

“I think most teams expected scores to be a lot higher than what we have seen, but the reality of it is that they have been quite tough surfaces and there’s been surfaces that have aged throughout perhaps a match on one day,” Williamson said. “Trying to make those adjustments are really important. I think both sides looked at the surface [in the semifinal], thought it was a really good one, and thought perhaps 300 was going to be at play, but after 15 overs or so, we were saying ‘this is really quite difficult and 300 looks like a long, long way away’ so if we are able to perhaps achieve something a little bit more realistic on that surface, then that gives you every chance to win. And we have done it on a number of occasions but we will have to be good at doing that tomorrow.”

The pitch at Lord’s bore a green look and that may favour the Kiwis a little more as their seam attack has been the most consistent in the World Cup so far. Their bowling attack is the only one to have conceded runs at less than five an over and against a side that have scored at more than six an over throughout the tournament, that will probably be the main battle in deciding the new champions.

While England, having won their league match comfortably on July 3, will start as favourites, both sides have shown that the tools at their disposal -- aggression and adaptability -- can win the day. As Williamson said, it will all come down to responding to conditions and realities on the day.

Mushfiqur Rahim is unlikely to take part in the second Test against New Zealand, starting from March 8 at Basin Reserve in Wellington as the wicket-keeper batsman is yet to recover fully from the multiple injuries sustained during the ODI series.

The 30-year-old, who missed the first Test in Hamilton is still recovering from his wrist and finger injuries along with his rib cage pain. He had a batting drill today after thirteen days and according to the Tigers head coach Steve Rhodes, the right-hander in extremely doubtful for the second Test as Mushfiqur had felt some soreness in his ligament area while batting with the cricket ball.

Mushy is trying his best to be fit as quickly as possible for the Test matches. Today, he started his drill with some tennis ball, moved onto rubber ball before finishing with some cricket ball work. When he got to the cricket ball there was still a little bit of soreness in that ligament area, making him extremely doubtful for the second Test.

"It will take an amazing recovery overnight but we all hold out all the time for Mushy but the good news may be there is that he is on course for the third Test. Let's hope there are no setbacks along the way," Rhodes told the reporters after the training session today.

Rhodes said that the team management will still wait for the experienced campaigner till the last moment and added that there is a very slim chance for Mushfiqur to play the second Test.

Mushfiqur struck a magnificent 159 run knock against the Kiwis back in 2017 at Basin Reserve where he along with Shakib Al Hasan added a record 359-run fifth wicket stand for the Tigers and the cricketer would be eagerly wanting to make a comeback in this venue. Perhaps only a miracle could help Mushfiqur now to play the second Test.

The Hyatt Regency in Birmingham became a busier hotel over the last two days. When the Bangladesh team arrived here on June 25, it became a hub of sorts for subcontinental visitors in the stronghold of the south-east Asian community in Britain, but it reached another level on Friday when the Indian team arrived at the same hotel. For once on their World Cup trek through the UK, Bangladesh’s supporters will be in the minority.

Bangladesh had faced the full volume of Indian support during their Champions Trophy semifinal in 2017 here, and Indians swamped the streets on the day of the match and overwhelmed the Bangladeshi support inside the arena, much as their team did to their opponents. So when Bangladesh take on India in their World Cup match at Edgbaston on July 2, they will be underdogs in every sense -- in terms of playing ability, tournament position and recent results between the two teams.

It is an encounter that, depending on whether or not India beat hosts England today, Bangladesh will have to win to stay alive in the race to the semifinals. On Friday night, while Birmingham was abuzz with weekend revellers, Mashrafe came out in front of the hotel for some fresh air and while that would have caused a small commotion of Bangladeshi selfie-hunters on other nights, Mashrafe was more or less left alone as Indian fans tried to talk their way through tough hotel security and failed. Mashrafe recalled how overwhelming the support for India was the last time.

Although the match was still four days away, the wheels in Mashrafe’s head were already turning about finding a way past a team that was yet to be defeated in the World Cup. Would it be better to bat first or bowl first if they won the toss? They lost by nine wickets after batting first and scoring 264 in 2017. Bowling first would open the possibility of them being batted out of the game as they were done by the two other strong contenders for the title -- Australia and England.

He had in the past expressed relief after losing the toss. Would it be better to lose the toss this time too?

“Maybe,” Mashrafe mused as the deluge of Indian fans swept past. He was wondering what score would be enough to win against the strong Indian lineup if they did bat first. 340 seemed to be the number. But for that, they would have to see the wicket, and Mashrafe did not yet know which strip they would use for the match. Such were the worries and conflicts that constitute the mind of a captain heading into what may become a sudden-death match against the strongest team of the tournament. It could be said that Bangladesh, ranked eighth, had done enough by staying alive this deep into the tournament and impressing all and sundry with their performance in hostile conditions.

“To tell you the truth, none of my team are satisfied with what we have done so far. We have played well, but while it would surprise many outsiders if we reached the semis, I can say for sure that no one in the team would be surprised,” Mashrafe said.

Having played their last match against Afghanistan on June 24, many Bangladesh players were away in various places of the UK on vacation. Mashrafe and opener Tamim Iqbal were among those who came back on Friday. Others joined the team yesterday and today Bangladesh are set to undergo a practice session to prepare for the crucial World Cup encounter. There will be much for the team to finalise over the next two days.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes, the hero of the final for the hosts as they clinched their maiden World Cup title, said that he will be apologising to Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson for the rest of his life after his accidental nudge with the bat led to one of the most critical moments in the game.

With England needing nine runs off three deliveries, Stokes struck one towards mid-wicket, and while going for a double, his bat came in the way of Martin Guptill’s throw from the deep. The ball ricocheted off his bat as he dived at the non-striker’s end and it went to the boundary. England were awarded six runs and they went on to seal the match in Super Over following more drama.

After the match, Christchurch-born Stokes said: “I am pretty lost for words. All the hard work to get here and be world champions, it’s an amazing feeling. Playing against New Zealand is always a good event, they are good lads.”

“I will be apologising to Kane for the rest of my life [re: the overthrow for the six]…It was written in the stars to happen for us,” Stokes added.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson pointed to luck not working in his side’s favour after the game.

“That [Stokes’s accidental boundary] was a little bit of a shame, wasn’t it? You just hope it doesn’t happen at moments like that. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be for us,” Williamson said.