Bangladesh spent a refreshingly solid day with the bat, ending the first day on 259 for 5 against West Indies on a Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch that has already started to turn and break. But the visitors couldn't really break the home side's doggedness - even with spin as debutant Shadman Islam spent more than three hours at the crease for his 76 while Shakib Al Hasan bookended the day with an unbeaten 55.
Shakib and Mahmudullah batted out the final 22.3 overs of the day, adding 69 runs for the unbroken sixth-wicket stand. Mahmudullah remained unbeaten on 31 off 59 balls with one four; Shakib too struck just the one boundary in his 113-ball stay. The pair went through a 19-over phase that didn't have a single boundary. It was slow for sure, but it effectively blunted the West Indian attack.
Bangladesh's batting throughout the day was pleasantly steady, particularly Shadman who became the eighth Test debutant for Bangladesh this year. He struck six fours in his 199-ball innings, spanning three mid-sized partnerships with Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque and Mohammad Mithun.
Bangladesh lost two wickets in each in the day's first two sessions. They went to lunch on 87 for 2 though they could have done with Mominul's ill-timed dismissal. Off the penultimate ball of the first session, Mominul pulled a rank half-tracker from Kemar Roach into mid-on's lap.
The loss of Shannon Gabriel might yet prove costly in Windies’ quest to square their two-match series versus Bangladesh when the second Test bowls off in Mirpur on Thursday evening. West Indies will have happy memories of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, winning on their two previous visits in 2011 and 2012. Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be confident having won three of the last four matches hosted at this venue dating back to 2016. The narrative remains the same from Chittagong with a lot resting on first innings performances. Of the previous seven Test matches hosted in Mirpur, the team choosing to bat first has come out victorious on five occasions.
Windies’ Depleted Bowling Attack
Windies’ bowling has, no doubt, been its strong suit having only failed to claim fifteen (15) of a possible *one-hundred and fifty (150) wickets in Tests throughout 2018. It will only be the second time in 2018, however, that the Caribbean men will be asked to do battle without two of their three resident seamers–Gabriel/Holder/Roach. With Raymon Reifer, Shermon Lewis and Keemo Paul as possible replacements, so much more will rest on the shoulders of Kemar Roach.
A test awaits Hope in Mirpur
Windies’ batting has yet to come to the party on this subcontinent tour; lasting sixty (60) overs just twice, this after six (6) innings. With Shai Hope’s current form, one cannot help but feel that his young career is heading to a crossroads. Hope is the latest spark of light in a sparse pool (puddle even) of genuinely talented batsmen to represent the West Indies in recent times. Many of whom, however, failed (not dissimilar to his current situation) to fulfil their potential. To put Shai Hope’s situation into perspective, here is a contextual comparison between himself and current teammate and Windies opener–Kieran Powell.
The pair of Hope and Powell has batted in thirty-three innings since Powell’s return to international cricket in 2017; with Hope amassing 1065 runs at an average of 33.28, while Powell has helped himself to 929 runs at an average of 28.15.
However, when we watch either batsman, ignorant to the statistics, we continuously draw the conclusion that Hope simply oozes class. On the other hand, there has recently been murmurs for Windies to move on from Powell and seek another opening partner for Kraigg Brathwaite. Although this might be justified, what has been the difference between Hope oozing class until he gets to thirty and Powell doing everything in his power to get out after getting a start? Age? Experience? What’s that saying, “To whom much is given, much will be required”?
To clarify: the argument is not, ‘we tolerate Hope so give Powell a break’ but rather, demanding more from Shai Hope. A batsman as talented as he is should not be given more slack because of his talent, but the opposite–we should be expecting more from them. Top cricketing nations hold such talented players to the highest standard. Therefore, we should not remain silent, when arguable our most talented batsman at the moment is performing on par with someone whose head we are calling for. That is not to say, should Thursday evening in Mirpur become the turning point in Hope’s career, fingers should be pointed at those who dared to hold him accountable at a period when his performances were not up to scratch. Neither is it to say that there is a lack of belief that he will eventually get it right.
As most Caribbean sports fans support European football teams; when those players are not performing up to standard, what do we do and say? What is the difference? Is it that we are less passionate about West Indies Cricket?
This is why it was so pleasant to see Hope among the runs in the ODIs versus India, because we are all awaiting the fulfilment of his potential. Until then, Hope will continue to be answerable for every under-performance.
*only including the times oppositions were forced to bat
In a Test which was scheduled to run up until early Monday morning, the West Indies and Bangladesh played out a rather entertaining three-day contest in which the hosts emerged victorious by 64 runs. In a cricketing nation where; win toss > bat first > win Test match is usually the order of the day, much rested on the first innings bowling performance of Windies after being asked to field first by Shakib Al Hasan. After three matches on the side-lines, three deliveries into his return, Kemar Roach’s 2018 Test form resumed normalcy by inducing a left-hander’s outside edge, calling Dowrich into action to leave Bangladesh at 4 for 1 after 1.
Roston Chase would have assumed Dowrich’s role two overs later had he been able to accept Imrul Kayes’ gift of an outside edge instead of handing the “leftie” a lifeline. Indiscipline was to mar Windies bowling performance even further as Warrican overstepped while gifting Kayes yet another reprieve after he holed out to deep square. Trust West Indies to ensure that Chase’s mistake wasn’t an incident, nor was Warrican’s a coincidence, but to make it a pattern when Dowrich followed suit by giving Mominul a “lifeline” on 67 in the 35th over.
It took a Shannon Gabriel resembling the one from Windies’ tour of the UAE back in 2016 – realizing that pace in pace regardless of the continent but intelligent enough to keep his length up while varying his angles (at pace) – to help West Indies claw their way back into the match at stumps on Day 1. Even at 324 all out in the fifth over of Day 2, on a wicket which showed signs of gripping even on Day 1, Bangladesh were still large and in charge.
With the top-order leaving it all on the lower-order (surprise, surprise) to stutter to 246, it meant that West Indies would be tasked with dismissing the hosts for next to nothing, at second attempt, to stand a chance. However, it was not to be and West Indies were taught the value of first innings deficits in these conditions.
There were several talking points from the match including the pitch, Brathwaite’s defensive captaincy (even on Day 1) and Gabriel getting himself suspended for the Mirpur Test.
In the defence of a Chittagong pitch which has gone from one extreme to the other, after producing 1533 runs over five days earlier this year and was consequently rated ‘below average’ by the ICC, Bangladesh’s coach expressed that to experience spinning wickets on the subcontinent is no different from experiencing pacey wickets in the Caribbean, stating “that’s the beauty of playing all around the world”.
A more proactive approach will be required from Captain Brathwaite in the field if the visitors harbour any hopes of squaring this series, especially as they will be without their talisman Gabriel in the must-win second Test.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CMC) – Veteran West Indies star Deandra Dottin is now the world’s number two-ranked all-rounder in Twenty20 Internationals. In the latest rankings announced yesterday by the International Cricket Council, the 27-year-old had jumped two spots to second, following her exploits in the recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Dottin overtook West Indies teammate Hayley Matthews and Australia’s Ellyse Perry, and is now only 32 points behind her captain Stafanie Taylor, who tops the list with 353 ranking points. Barbadian Dottin was one of the few consistent performers for the Windies in the T20 World Cup, making 121 runs and finishing as the joint-leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps. Bowling her sharp right-arm seam, she produced career-best figures of five for five in the opening match against Bangladesh in Guyana.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – West Indies will look to build on their exploits during the recent ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup when they tour England next year for a six-match limited overs series at several major country venues.
On Monday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the itinerary for the much anticipated tour, which will run from June 6-25. The two teams will contest three T20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals, the latter of which will form part of the ICC Women’s Championship – the qualification criteria for the 2021 50-overs World Cup. The Windies last toured England for a bilateral series 11 years ago when the now-retired Nadine George captained a side which included the teenaged pair of Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin.
Taylor, now captain, said the Windies would be up for the challenge when they renew their rivalry with the hosts. “It’s great that we’re having this tour of England. This will form a major be part of our overall development and we believe we can play well in English conditions,” Taylor said. “We had a great ICC Women’s World T20 at home, so this tour will be good for players as we aim to improve and individuals and get better as a team.”
