STROLL IN THE PARK: The West Indies team are a happy bunch as they go about the business of decimating the Bangladesh batting during yesterday's World Cup match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.It was a disaster waiting to happen, a train-wreck that finally piled up at the feet of their well-planned opponents.
The West Indies team, so fresh after the game that they played football, exposed what was already exposed of the Tigers: a poorly equipped and overly tinkered Bangladesh middle-order that performs only when it suits them.
For the second game in a row, the Tigers skipper Shakib Al Hasan's dismissal mirrored the team's mental make-up. To the naked eye, it seemed Shakib's heart was telling him to sweep while the mind tried to play straight. He got stuck in between, missing Sulieman Benn's tossed-up delivery. It was the similarly bewildering return catch he popped against Ireland that spelled doom for the Tigers, only to be retrieved but when you are bowled out for 58, there is no room for a comeback.
It so happened yesterday that the Tigers were laid bare in front of a world audience during a World Cup game they should have won.
The Tigers, particularly their engine-room of batting, have been put through stern tests and time and again, they have flattered to deceive. Against India and Ireland, the Tamim Iqbal-Imrul Kayes opening pair gave Shakib Al Hasan & co a big enough foundation to score from but on both occasions, the batsmen threw away the opportunity.
Times have truly changed for the Tigers as their opening stand now provides both the fireworks and the solidity, figures alone proving their worth. But for the ever-rotating middle-order, it has been the opposite. Had it not been for Tamim and Imrul over the last two years, Bangladesh would have missed out on a lot of successes and had to be content with the tag of "also-rans" in the World Cup, as batting alone does half the job for this improving side so reliant on inspiration.
Tamim and Imrul failed to provide that platform for the first time in this tournament, going against the team management's wish to hold back the shots for at least ten overs. Tamim was tempted into a loose drive by Kemar Roach off the third ball of the first over, before Imrul fell to the West Indies captain for just five.
But the implosion that followed was extraordinary. The scorecard made for incredible reading: the West Indies using just three bowlers to bowl 18.5 overs to complete the job.
Junaed Siddiqui's swinging willow showed how good the wicket was, at least for the Tigers, but Mushfiqur Rahim's aerial flick off a straight Darren Sammy delivery confirmed it would be another shot-a-minute session as it landed in Ramnaresh Sarwan's waiting hands at mid-wicket. Junaed's eyes lit up after yet another rapid start but Roach trapped him with a yorker, the left-hander attempting a flick (of all shots) to this brilliant delivery.
After Shakib fell for eight in the 11th over, Rokibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful and Naeem Islam had to salvage the situation but there was no Khaled Mashud-style survival act as the trio thought it better to give in than put up a fight.
Rokibul swung his bat in frustration after driving airily to Kieron Pollard at point and though the stage could not have been more perfect for an Ashraful revival, it never came. The right-handed batsman, who started dangerously, struck two boundaries, played out a few dot balls and then, the moment Roach was brought back, under-edged one to Devon Thomas for 11, the second best score after Junaed's 25.
After the collapse against Ireland, it was hoped by everyone associated with cricket in Bangladesh (read the whole nation) that the batsmen would learn their lessons. But after that horrid collapse came another and as the Tigers fly off to Chittagong to play the double-header against England and the Netherlands, it is again expected that the unnecessary ego would be swallowed.
A backlash against England would be welcome but the fear remains of continuous complacency. Here's a recent quote from one of the middle-order batsmen after the Ireland win: "I played so well for my 30-odd and you guys (the media) don't write anything good about me."
If there are still batsmen in that dressing room who thinks a 30-odd is good enough, Jamie Siddons and Shakib Al Hasan have their hands full.
