Bangladesh won. Did cricket?
By Kazim Ibn Sadique
It has been an eventful week in sports. Leo Messi scored 86 goals in one year, England thumped India at both Mumbai and Kolkata to lead the four-Test series 2-1, United beat City in a stunner of a game, and of course, Bangladesh won a series against a full-strength West Indies. It's happened before but not against a full-strength side. Surprisingly, this time we were the ones with a key player missing - Shakib Al Hasan.
Truth be told, there were tense moments in the RS dugouts -- consisting of me, Jawad, the RS dog and a very vocal tickticky -- after Bangladesh crashed in the 3rd and 4th ODIs. Die-hard supporters and players usually are extremely superstitious, hence RS's lack of sports editorials or any kind of predictions whatsoever. The one slip was the picture of Mushfiq we put in on Monday. Look where that got us, a nail-biter and a series of near heart-attacks.
But at the end of the day, the feelings are mixed. At the risk of sounding like the forever dissatisfied supporter, the cricket during this series was kind of abysmal. Catches were dropped almost every match, batsmen threw their wickets away in Tests, Pollard boasted that he'd hit 'em out of the city, then failed spectacularly until he gave it a good go in the last ODI. The epitome of stupidity was Kieran Powell's charge down the track to Shohag Gazi. What was he thinking?! On the topic of thinking, where did Elias Sunny deposit his brain during that run?
There have been some new finds this series. Shohag Gazi has impressed, in both Tests and ODIs. Anamul [or Enamul] did well, despite his utter lack of foot movement. He is going to have to work on that if he wants to succeed in the long run. Not everyone can be Sehwag.
Speaking of Sehwag, there's a nice video floating around on Facebook. It's made by Maverick Studios. The guys there have made several videos for the Bangladesh team over the past couple of years and this one is pretty awesome. The theme is that we answer our critics on the field. And we have. No matter what anyone says, Bangladesh cricket has been improving. Sure, we are still a little overawed by our victories. But that's Bangladesh, the new claimant for the throne of unpredictability in the world cricket scenario. We play from our hearts. And this is not just true for our cricket, but our economy as well. After our liberation war, nobody thought we would survive as a state. We have not only survived, but have made significant progress, astounding economists worldwide. Sure, we have our problems, most of it leading back to politics and corruption, which definitely needs fixing. But we are can be a force to be reckoned with should we choose to apply ourselves.
Those of you thinking we shouldn't be happy with the Dark Horse tag, we won't be. Patience has yielded a lot to us over the years. We have gained some world class players within 14 years of being in the game. Without going for over-glorification, no team ever takes us for granted, at least in the ODIs. And we will find consistency eventually. It is strange to me - who has followed Bangladesh cricket from ICC Trophy in 1997 - how far we have come. At one point, we didn't win a single match for five years. And now, we are in a position to scrutinise the level of the game even when we win against a powerhouse world champion, because make no mistake, West Indies are the T20 world champions, or at least Samuels is.
Next stop, a little more fortitude in Test matches. Oh, and Shakib's wedding, of course.
Osama Rahman formerly of RS says: We aren't from Gangnam
We believe Bangladesh tried to pull out a useless flash mob activity by doing the Gangnam dance. Suffice it to say maybe our players should stick to cricket. Chris Gayle, the unhappiest man in the tournament, even laughed at the effort of our boys. Leave the dancing to the professionals, victory isn't justification for acting the fool. Unless you are Ashraful and aguner gola is playing.
All said and done, we are really happy that Bangladesh won and we will celebrate with the four others who still watch cricket. Let's just hope that we start excelling in other sports as well, perhaps one that won't die out in the next couple of decades.
A Plea to the Honourable Prime Minister
By Syeda Sunehra Afsara Aupshori, Sunbeams School, Class IV
Dear Government,
My name is Syeda Sunehra Afsara Aupshori. I am 11 years old and I study in Sunbeams School in grade IV. I am very sad to hear about Lovely Deh, the girl who was burnt in the face during a fire in a garments factory where she worked along with the other girls and boys just like her. Here is a list of suggestion of what I think the government should do for Lovely Deh and others like her.
WHAT MS. SHEIKH HASINA SHOULD DO:
1. Help people like her go to school and get a better job
2. Teach the garments factory owners a lesson.
3. Check the factories - even if it is only two days a week - to make sure they have a cafeteria to eat in, fire exits and enough space to get out in case of emergency.
4. End child labour.
5. Do not let children work in people's homes and instead make a school for them. I would also like you to arrange for their parents to get a job so they do not need to send their children to work. Also, they should strictly go to school in the morning with the other children in the house and have a special school for their needs.
I know you are a very busy these days but we believe in you and that is why you are our prime minister. And for your and their well-being, I am asking you to change their lives and make a much better future for all of us.
Thank you for your kindness and time.
Best Regards to you
Aupshori
KIDSTARS
The Jungle Boy
By Neeha Noireeta Hossain
8 years old, Class II , SFX Greenherald Int'l School
There was a boy who lived in the forest. His name was Zeyn. He was very kind to the animals in the forest. One day he saw a hunter who had trapped a deer. He did not want to fight but also did not want the deer to go with the hunter. He thought of a clever plan. He did not know where the rope was.
So he said to the hunter, "Do you think you are smart"?
"Yes," said the hunter.
“If I ask you some questions, can you answer me?” "Yes," said the hunter.
“Can you answer me how many animals you have trapped?” “50,” said the hunter. Zeyn became angrier and said, “Which animals?” “Tiger, monkey, lion and many animals.”
“Can you tell me, where is the rope?”
“It is in my hand.”
So he put out his hand for the hunter to shake it. The rope fell and the deer got free. They ran away. After some time the deer became a dwarf and gave him a stick and said, “If your enemy is in front of you, you point this stick at your enemy and your enemy will die.”
He again went on. He came to a lake and saw a fish by the side of the lake. The fish said, “Would you please take me to the lake? A fisherman came; he trapped me but I jumped out.” Zeyn took the fish and as soon as he put the fish in the lake, the fish became a beautiful mermaid and said, “You saved my life; you go straight and you will find a hut, you will find a key too. Go to the hut, you will understand what to do.” Then the mermaid disappeared. So Zeyn went straight and saw the hut. As he went in, he saw a box and a book, which said if you want to open this box you will have to find a diamond key. After he read this, he went on. He saw a pigeon who had hurt her wings. The pigeon was sitting on a branch of a tree; her wings were hurt so she could not fly. As soon as Zeyn saw this, he started to climb the tree. He saved the pigeon. He crushed some leaves as medicine. When she got well she became a fairy and said, “You saved my life and here is your reward: this diamond key.” Then she disappeared. Then Zeyn again went to the hut. This time he saw a monster. He was very clever. He took out the stick which the dwarf had given him and pointed to the monster and the monster died. Zeyn got in to put the diamond key in the key-hole. As soon as he opened the box, there was no longer a jungle. He came to a wonderful world. There were no hunters. Zeyn became the king and the mermaid and the fairy became the Queens. The dwarf was also one of Zeyn's friends.
They all sang together :
"Oh! What a wonderful world no one fights,
No one is bad over here,
No one is sad over here,
We live happily all the year".
From that day they lived happily ever after.
