This is a really hopeless situation

[AsifTheManRahman]

With both Mashrafe and Tapash out of the team, we're left with Shahadat, who played only one test and is yet to take a wicket, and Rasel, the debutant. I don't know the latest on Rafique, but if he can't play either, then we will end up going into the tests with a bowling attack that is no better than that of a mediocre associate nation's; and if he does play, he will probably be coming in at a situation like 100/0, with nothing much to do.

this is very frustrating. one would have thought we'd been around for long enough to be able to show traces of our experience on the field. with our main players injured, we are actually back to where we were 4/5 years ago, when we had the likes of shanto and manju opening the bowling for us. the fact that we can't do anything about it simply adds to the frustration. here we are, standing in the 4th year of our test status, and we still have to field two opening bowlers with a single test between them.

the best that we can expect is to watch the opposition score something in excess of 600, and sit back and hope that our batters don't screw up. Although this is our A-team pace attack, it's not the same with our batting line-up.

[Orpheus]

this is blessing in disguise...

Enamul jr
Shahdat H
Rasel??

that's that future attack isn't it

the injuries are making the selection much more easier.. now no one can't be blamed for giving dubut to Rasel or lettting Shahadat play... let's just see what happens OK...

[Sauron]

Originally posted by Orpheus
this is blessing in disguise...

Enamul jr
Shahdat H
Rasel??

that's that future attack isn't it

the injuries are making the selection much more easier.. now no one can't be blamed for giving dubut to Rasel or lettting Shahadat play... let's just see what happens OK...

Great perspective, Orpheus! You are onto something here.

[Rubu]

Orpheus, after 40 years someone will be the president of a country who is now 5. lets make that five years old kid president now and lets see what happens

well, we'll actually see tomorrow.

[rafiq]

I am going to be positive going into this match. Adversity often brings out the best in people, and for young pacers Russell and Shahadat this may be the beginning of great things. So let's not write them off too soon. Sure there will be the usual dose of wides and no balls, but if they can get a couple of wickets early you never know... I was afraid Russel was being over-bowled in the A team England tour, and read now that he is compaining of a calf injury. Maybe minor, but watch out for another last minute blow!

If I was Bashar I would would bat first and try to accumulate some runs before throwing our bowling attack at the wolves. Shahriar Nafees did not play well in the 3 day match when he came in the middle order against the spinners, I say play him at opener and put Tushar in at 3.

And speaking of bowlers, let's not write off rafique and enamul just yet either.

[Bengal Tiger]

Let's just support the team. No use critiising now.

[oracle]

I am hoping to see Bashar bat first. And if they put up a decent total - somewhere around 370 then we should see some results from Rasel.

[BD Tigers]

Insha Allah...our inexperienced bowlers will rise to the occassion and give a shock to the Srilankans. The batsmen are what I am concerned more. Hopefully if we bat first, put up a decent score (around 300) and have the bowlers to go at them.

Go BD...

[Hegar]

Lets hope the Sri Lankans take them lightly and we get a few early breakthroughs. If Rafique and Enamul bowl well I think Sri Lanka wont make a big a total as everyone thinks.

[SS]

With toporder and middle order hardly making two digit scores..most probably we will have to rely on tail enders to score 100+ on the other hand our new inexperienced bowlers will totally loose their confidence if lankan batsmen pull them all over the ground. Last few trips we all were hopeful we will fight, but this time it's just waiting for the series to come to an end.

[ZunaidH]

I say this opens up an interesting possibility of playing Enamul, Rafiq and Manjural Rana. If I were the captain, I would tell Shahadat and Russel bowl wicket to wicket and take the shine of the new ball as soon as possible. After the 12 th over if no break through happens, pass the ball to Enamul and attack from both end with Rafiq and Enamul and interchange with Rana. The only time I would consider bringing Russel Shahadat is when the spinners get tired.

[aosaif]

i dont think rana is a test quality bowler

[kaisermatin]

syed russel bowled better than tapash.

[Fazal]

Yes its 100% hopeless situation only if you worry too much about whats going to happen long before the game starts, then worry too much when bad things start happening during the game and then continue whining even long after the game is over.

As I cannot effect the following ( in any way):
a) Team Selection,
b) Effect the players' performance or,
c) change game outcome,

I would rather whine during the game only ( oe may be few more days after the game.) Thats it. The rest of the time I would prefer to be more optimictic.

So my prediction, even BD will loose in the 1st test in the morning of 4th day, we will see some promising performance from Nafees, Tushar, Rasel and Enamul Jr.

Good Luck Boyz.

.... now don't tell me Rasel is also injured. Is he?

Edited on, September 11, 2005, 6:18 AM GMT, by Fazal.

[Fazal]

Edited on, September 11, 2005, 6:17 AM GMT, by Fazal.

[roaring tigerz]

agree with orpheus.mashrafee would be missed no doubt. but i like the sound of either rasel,rajib or talha better than tapash. tapash has been off color for quite a while and in spite of his whole hearted and tenacious efforts frankly he has been a bit of a liability in recent times.
i dont think its the right time for rajib to play test now, but yes it might be a blessing in disguise after all. surely our fast bowling cupboard looks completely bare, but if at least one of the three young guns come out with credible performances after this test, it would be a huge boost to our teams balance. if we had to choose two, I would go for rasel and rajib. and i seriously think, that if we decide to play one spinner from now on, it should be enamul and not rafiq. during the last couple of series, rafiq's performances have been increasingly lacklustre. he has just been too one dimensional and defensive. to lesser batsmen his arm balls would be a definate problem. but i dont see rafiq doing anything other than a holding job against the srilankans. enamul certainly is raw and inexperienced, but he is much more attacking and has more variations in his armory. but both rafiq and enam should play in the first test.

[Zobair]

To be honest I am cautiously optimistic of our performance in the test series. I don't mean that we will necessarily win or even draw matches rather that the we will end up fighting harder than most people believe given our injury and form troubles. Our tigers are just more comfortable with a scenario where their backs are against the wall, and expectations are nil(like it is now).

[mwrkhan]

Originally posted by Zobair
Our tigers are just more comfortable with a scenario where their backs are against the wall, and expectations are nil(like it is now).

Isn't this always the case (Zimbabwe visit excepted)?

[BangladeshFan]

taposh absence is a blessing actually. he is too inconsistent. but mashrafi absence is a real blow.
about shahadat, i think he should change his mindset, instead of trying to blow up batsman he should concentrate to be consistent.

enamul is very promising but after the zim series he hasnt done much. the srilankan play spin far better than zim. i am looking forward to rafiq to deliver as he hasnt done much either in recent times.

[Ahmed_B]

My opinion in few words:

Our current bowling can't make any difference in the game. It will be solely our batting that will determine EVERYTHING!!

I am really more worried about the batting rather than bowling (as I am pretty sure that bowling strength will be inadequate..)

[Warlock]

Rassel is going to do well but I am worried about Shahadat. I am afraid he is going to get another beating like the Lord's test. I have a sneaking feeling that Rafiq's best days are over. Besides, he seems to be out of focus- I am talking about his quarrel with Whatmore. If we are lucky Enamul may perform well, after all the Srilankan turfs are spinner friendly. Speaking about that it may be a good idea to take Tushar as he can bowl off-spin.

[SS]

I think we should bring our team back...I never felt this much hopeless after Mohsin Kamal's era...It was horrible in last world cup but alteast I was happy when our bowlers could have restricted them below 300 in odi's and took 5 wkts in test limiting(!!!) the oppositions under 500. I don't know if both the openners or first and second down for lanka will score double century record partnership.

[Rubu]

Originally posted by aosaif
i dont think rana is a test quality bowler

Why Not?

I'm comparing apple with orange here, but if shahadat after given 100+ run in 12 overs in a pacer friendly pitch, and talha never doing anything anywhere, can get the chance why can't rana get the a chance in a spin friendly pitch?

i've no way to test this, but if i could i'd be able to prove that rana would give less run opening the bowling with new ball than talha or shahadat.

i don't like the fact that you have to play at least two straight bowlers (don't know what else to call them) just because everyone else play them. do we have any that deserve a chance to play in a test team?

[Zobair]

Well! depends on who you ask Its often the perception by our own players/fans rather than the reality which is important. Every time our players put in a half-decent performance, the expectations from the fans and the players themselves rocket up. One starts hearing mumbo-jumbo in the media about the players who are confident of doing well, and that they have started to understand their game better. Even that much pressure seems too much for our players. After the Zimbabwe tour, our players made some noises in media about their ambitions for the England tour. Subsequently, the performance in the test series meant that we were completely written off for the whole tour. I mean, did anyone expect us to do well against England and the Aussies and that too after the terrible test performance? But of course, once we got our famous win against the Aussies, people, and our starlets started dreaming about the Sri Lanka tour. The application and respect shown by our batsmen especially in the first ODI (which sets the tone for a tour usually) was below par. And so on and so forth. And such ups and downs will continue until our players learn not let a good performance or two, and the subsequent build-up of expectations get to their heads. I predict this sort of inconsistency to continue at least until the next world cup.

Also I think, that our players desperately want to become more competitive, and are tired of being the under-dogs, and this desperation compounds the pressure on them. Perhaps, in their 'haste' to make good their 'escape' they screw it up , and sent right back to their jail cells.

Originally posted by mwrkhan
Isn't this always the case (Zimbabwe visit excepted)?

Edited on, September 11, 2005, 3:18 PM GMT, by Zobair.

[BangladeshFan]

Originally posted by Rubu

Why Not?

I'm comparing apple with orange here, but if shahadat after given 100+ run in 12 overs in a pacer friendly pitch, and talha never doing anything anywhere, can get the chance why can't rana get the a chance in a spin friendly pitch?

i've no way to test this, but if i could i'd be able to prove that rana would give less run opening the bowling with new ball than talha or shahadat.

i don't like the fact that you have to play at least two straight bowlers (don't know what else to call them) just because everyone else play them. do we have any that deserve a chance to play in a test team?

playing 3 left arm spinners will be too much. if bd would have an offspinner or even leggie i would have preferred 3 spinners and 1 pacer. if tushar or ash can bowl(bashar must use them, or dav should put a note in his pocket, the guy is a pathetic captain) it would solve the prob somewhat. i think u r right, rana will be more effective than bd pacers in those wickets but then we have nothing else to do.