Pakistan’s ‘impossible’ qualification equation

As Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam worked away at the measly 30-run target set by Pakistan in the final day of the Rawalpindi Test, the excitement in the voice of Athar Ali Khan—Bangladesh's sole representative in the commentary box—was apparent. He said something to the effect of there being celebration on the streets once the win is confirmed, and I remember wondering if that would really be the case this time around.

There is no doubt in the cricketing significance of this achievement. Athar Ali Khan's excitement was justified, because Bangladesh have only ever won eight Test matches away from home. Excluding wins against Zimbabwe and the second-string West Indies side in 2009, this is only the third team of note that Bangladesh have beaten in away conditions. Pakistan are far from the best Test side in the world right now, but in previous 13 attempts, Bangladesh had lost 12 and drawn only once. It is a massive moment for Bangladesh cricket.

But there is a good reason for Athar Ali Khan's prediction of mass celebrations to not materialise. If sports is only interesting for the compelling qualities of the stories it tells, then context is everything. And for cricket in Bangladesh, the context right now is tumultuous at best, and grim if we are being honest.

The July Uprising, which culminated on August 5 with the end of the Sheikh Hasina regime, has turned many established norms and systems in Bangladesh upside down. It's possibly a testament to the extent of how intertwined the previous regime had made itself to every facet of life in the country that the cricket board too found itself directionless after the upheaval. In fact, three members of parliament for the ruling party were directly involved in the cricket scene, all of whose fortunes are now up in the air. The MP who had been board president for over a decade has absconded, the MP who is a celebrated former captain saw his house torched and is now dealing with the consequences of his conspicuous silence as the nation burned, and the MP who is an active national team player is facing murder charges, which, however dubious, is a direct result of him being involved in an authoritarian government.

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Coming to terms with the dire state of Bangladesh men's cricket

The fact that former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan Papon resigned on the first day of this Test match and that a murder case was filed on the second day against Shakib Al Hasan, who took three wickets in the game, made this achievement for the Test side all the more challenging. Yet, it was sobering to see that there was no deluge of congratulations coming from political leaders, the chief adviser's office or the president's. No one went above and beyond to celebrate the win; no land was gifted to the players. The reaction to this was reflective of the collective headspace our country is in right now—one that can't occupy itself too much with cricket.

But this remarkable win has opened the window of opportunity to talk about cricket during this difficult time. Cricket, despite being just a sport, has contributed to some of the best moments in our recent national history and remains highly popular among the masses. Doing well by cricket is something that will be expected of whichever administration is in charge. The win in Rawalpindi gives us the scope to discuss how this will be made possible.

The first order of business has to be to depoliticise cricket. While this may seem like a task as simple as telling cricketers and administrators to not involve themselves in politics, that would be infringing upon the rights of citizens. However, looking at the root of political influence in cricket administration, and in most other sports in Bangladesh, there is a more effective way to combat it.

A big part of how sports governing bodies in Bangladesh are set up is by allowing various sporting clubs in the country to nominate board members. While that is a standard practice across the world, keeping tabs on which clubs get to nominate board members remains crucial. For example, if the clubs who get to be a part of this process at BCB are mainly from Dhaka, then the BCB will never truly be representative of the interests of cricket players and fans across the country. If certain political parties are allowed to find ways to take control of the clubs whose nominees make up sports governing bodies, politics will always be a part of sports in this country.

Keeping these sports clubs clear of political influence will be a monumental task. Empowering communities and experienced sports organisers—and not politicians—to take control of clubs will be key to ensuring that not only cricket, but other sports too can begin to espouse fair competition in an environment where high performance athletes can flourish.

Of course, there's a lot more to do as well. Life needs to be breathed back into domestic cricket. The cleaning up of clubs must be followed up by ensuring fair umpiring and sporting conditions to play in, and academies need to be set up for players to train in and become professionals who can make a living by playing in the domestic circuit. Only by making certain that the basis of domestic cricket is strong can we even begin to think about a world-beating national side.

And yes, we can have a national cricket team who can do it all. The win in Rawalpindi is an indication of it. The rare occasions of remarkable success that Bangladesh cricket has experienced in the past is proof of it. In today's environment of newfound opportunities to rebuild our country, maybe we can rebuild cricket too.

Azmin Azran is digital features coordinator at The Daily Star.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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There's no point in head scratching or pondering on ways to turn back time, it's done. Bangladesh have exited the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and boarded their flight back home from England yesterday. However, on their way back, there still may be a few things lingering at the back of their minds. Perhaps such thoughts could lead to imaginary scenarios where the 'what ifs' make the difference between what was and what could have been. Just what if…

Mushy had been a little patient

What are the must-do things while defending a below-par 244, that too against a compact New Zealand side at the biggest stage -- a World Cup game? Well, the message from the pavilion would have been to grab every chance you get. If not literally, grabbing opportunities on the ground become easier when you are wearing a pair of gloves. Creating an opportunity, even a tiny error of judgement from the opposition is induced by a series of small endeavours while in pursuit of your aim. But when the moment comes, you need to wait and make the right call and time it to perfection. Maybe Mushfiqur Rahim -- the man with the gloves behind the stumps for the Tigers -- succumbed to euphoria while thinking about the result and had not been concentrating on the process that needs to be done in order to get a desired outcome when he tried to grab the ball early in an attempt to have Kane Williamson run-out in the 12th over. Mushfiqur knocked the bails off with his arm before grabbing the ball and the Kiwi skipper -- batting on eight at that time -- who was nowhere near the crease, had eventually made his ground and survived, courtesy of that error. Williamson, who was finally dismissed on 40 in the 32nd over, went on to string together a 105-run third-wicket stand with Ross Taylor in a game that the Tigers lost by just two wickets.

GOD LET THE SUN SHINE!

The persistent drizzle at the Country Ground in Bristol on June 11 might not have had a huge impact on the lifestyle of the city's inhabitants but it did mar Bangladesh's chalked out plan or intended route to the semifinal of the World Cup. Going into the World Cup, Bangladesh were expected to beat the likes of Afghanistan, West Indies -- which they did eventually -- and Sri Lanka. And when Bangladesh started their campaign with an unexpected yet well-deserved 21-run victory over South Africa, the Tigers had just made their chances brighter, needing to do the regulation work from then on and a few surprise wins over the powerhouses of cricket to pave their way to a maiden World Cup semifinal. However, it all depended on that game against Sri Lanka -- a side that are one place lower in ICC ODI rankings than Bangladesh -- where the Tigers were clearly the favourites. Unfortunately, the Tigers were kept waiting, maybe with hopes of the rain to stop in Bristol, till the official announcement of the match being abandoned was made, forcing the Tigers to remain content with one point from the inexperienced Sri Lankan side.

SABBIR IMPACTED THE RIGHT TEAM

The team management was probably right on money to give Sabbir Rahman the nod ahead of Mosaddek Hossain for the game against Australia on June 20 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, given Sabbir's reputation and proven ability of playing pace well and better than most in the Tigers' XI. But little did they know that Sabbir's impact in the game would see Australia opener David Warner's bat shine instead of Sabbir himself. Often the destructive Warner does not provide his opposition with any chances but Bangladesh were probably lucky to have been presented with two chances by the left-hander which were both relinquished in the same game. The first opportunity came as early as the fifth over, when Warner went on his back foot to cut a Mashrafe Bin Mortaza delivery towards backward point only to see a perfectly positioned Sabbir going low to his right with both hands and spilling the ball onto the ground. Warner, on just 10, breathed a sigh of relief. By the time the next opportunity came, Warner had inflicted just the right amount of pain as expected after being handed a life early on, as the 32-year old was then batting on 70 in the 26th over. A slight mix-up between him and Usman Khawaja saw Warner run a quarter way to other end but he soon realised that he had to sprint back. A fumble by the same culprit, Sabbir, at mid-on allowed Warner to reach home safely. And this time Warner would stop only after hitting a 147-ball 166 in a game where the Tigers lost by 48 runs and were left wondering what could have happened had they restricted Australia to 30 or 40 runs less than their mammoth 381 for five.

TAMIM HAD NOT DONE THAT

Tamim Iqbal usually takes these types of catches nine times out of ten during fielding drills at practice sessions. But the one time he would miss the catch was unfortunately during Bangladesh's must-win game against India on July 2 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. This time it was not a call for catch by a fielding coach after hitting the ball in the air with a willow during practice sessions as it was India opener Rohit Sharma who had mistimed an attempted pull shot off Mustafizur Rahman in the fifth over of a high intensity World Cup tie. Tamim, running to his left from deep square leg, covered almost 15 yards and did all the hard work before applying the finishing touch -- catching the ball. But to everyone's surprise he spilled the ball after touching it with the palm of his hand before watching it ricochet off his chest and fall to the ground. Rohit, who was on nine, moved onto 10 after taking a single and survived. But you don't expect a batsman of Rohit's calibre to stop there, right? Shrugging off the heart in hand moment, Rohit kept on inflicting misery on Bangladesh, scoring a magnificent 104 off 92 deliveries. The right-hander was adjudged player-of-the-match in their 28-run victory over the Tigers. 

THERE WAS A CLONE OF SHAKIB?

While wondering about what could have happened for Bangladesh in the ongoing World Cup, imagining something totally absurd would not do much harm. The Tigers are out of the World Cup but one particular Tiger from the squad still remains in the mega event. Bangladesh's ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is well in contention for the player-of-tournament award after his excellent World Cup campaign. The prestigious award would certainly be at the top of Shakib's personal achievement's shelf and it would not be a surprise to see him add the trophy to his other accolades. Playing in eight matches, Shakib has scored fifty or more in seven of them -- with a score of 41 against Australia being the only anomaly. The all-rounder scored back-to-back hundreds in this World Cup and also smashed five fifties. Shakib, who finished with 606 runs, became only the third player ever after Sachin Tendulkar and Matthew Hayden to have scored 600 runs in one edition of the World Cup. While Sachin and Hayden did not part-take with the ball, Shakib has also scalped 11 wickets in the mega event to see him ahead of anyone else in the race to be adjudged the player-of-the-tournament. Maybe now the team management will be left pondering on ways to get a clone of Shakib to further bolster the side.

Rohit Sharma became the first player to hit five centuries in a single World Cup as India cantered to a seven-wicket win in their final World Cup group match against Sri Lanka yesterday.

The opener smashed 103 off 94 deliveries as semifinalists India chased down their target of 265 in 43.3 overs to end the group stage with seven wins, one defeat and a washout.

Sharma’s opening partner KL Rahul top-scored with 111 as the pair put on 189 runs for the first wicket to put India in complete command.

Man-of-the-match Sharma reached his milestone with a boundary off Kasun Rajitha to pass the mark set by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who scored four hundreds at the 2015 tournament.

His century came off 92 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes.

Sharma was dismissed shortly afterwards, caught by Angelo Mathews off the bowling of Rajitha.

Known as the “hitman”, Sharma leads the current World Cup’s run-scoring charts with 647 runs in eight matches after hitting his third successive century.

“I’m just trying to go out there and do my job, I’m not thinking of milestones,” Sharma said.

“If I play well these things will happen on the way.

“I have learned from my mistakes in the past. I don’t go into a match thinking of hundreds. Every day is a new day.”

He is only the fourth batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, Matthew Hayden and Shakib Al Hasan to score more than 600 runs at a single World Cup.

Tendulkar, India’s all-time record run-scorer in one-day internationals, tweeted his praise for Sharma.

“3 consecutive 100s and 5 in a single @cricketworldcup is just phenomenal, Rohit,” Tendulkar wrote.

Rahul registered his first century of the tournament but was caught behind shortly before the end of the game off veteran paceman Lasith Malinga -- playing his final World Cup match -- after hitting 11 fours and one six.

Skipper Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 34 and Hardik Pandya hit the winning runs to give India a chance of finishing above group leaders Australia, who are playing South Africa in Saturday’s later match at Old Trafford.

“We wanted to play good cricket but we didn’t expect to do this well heading in to the semis,” Kohli said.

“That’s what hard work gets you. I am really proud of this team as a captain, they are amazing people.

“More or less everything is set for the semis but we don’t want to be one-dimensional. We need balance in the side. We are very happy.

“England or New Zealand next? The opposition has never mattered. We don’t focus on what they bring to the table. If we play well we can beat anyone.”

Earlier, Mathews hit his third one-day international century and put on 124 runs for the fifth wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne (53) to give Sri Lanka a respectable total after they were reeling at 55-4.

Jasprit Bumrah returned impressive figures of 3-37 in his 10 overs as India, who had already qualified for the semifinals, restricted Sri Lanka with some quality  bowling.

The 1996 champions finished their World Cup campaign with three wins, four defeats and two games ending in no result.

Captain Dimuth Karunaratne said Sri Lanka would take stock as they try to build for the future.

“After this World Cup we have to think about what we have to do and what we got wrong. We will talk to the selectors and find some new talent,” he said.

Kane Williamson led by example as the New Zealand captain’s 79 not out guided his side to a seven-wicket win over Afghanistan that maintained their 100 percent start to the World Cup on Saturday.

Williamson was New Zealand’s top scorer with a 99-ball innings containing nine fours after Jimmy Neesham took career-best one-day figures of 5-31 to dismiss Afghanistan for 172 at Taunton.

New Zealand’s third successive victory kept them on course to make the semifinals in the 10-team tournament, while minnows Afghanistan have lost all three of their match-es.

New Zealand, who saw off Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in their opening two games, have won 11 of their last 12 World Cup games, with their only defeat in that span com-ing against Australia in the 2015 final.

The Black Caps’ run chase got off to the worst possible start when Aftab Alam had Mar-tin Guptill caught off a thin inside edge with the first ball of the innings.

Guptill’s 14th ODI duck was a dream start for Aftab in the pace bowler’s first appear-ance in this year’s World Cup.

Afghanistan took the field without leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who was hit on the head when he was dismissed by Lockie Ferguson’s bouncer in the first innings.

But it was Aftab who was leading the Afghan attack to good effect and he removed Colin Munro to leave New Zealand on 41-2.

It was a nervous start from the Black Caps and Williamson had to survive a review of a caught behind appeal.

Afghanistan kept the pressure on and Williamson rode his luck again when he just made his ground to beat a run-out review.

Together with Ross Taylor, Williamson steadied the ship in a 89-run partnership for the third wicket.

Fittingly, it was Williamson who clinched the win with a routine single as New Zealand reached 173-3 in 32.1 overs.

SCORES IN BRIEF

Afghanistan: 172 all out in 41.1 overs (Zazai 34, Zadran 31, Shahidi 59; Ferguson 4-37, Neesham 5-31)

New Zealand: 173 for 3 in 32.1 overs (Williamson 79, Taylor 48; Alam 3-45)

Result: New Zealand won by 7 wickets.