***Official - Sri Lanka in Bangladesh***

[inbox24]

Paper tigers.

Looked in quite a strong position, yet folded so meekly.

 

[susudear]

They are becoming better

Yeah, pity about Shakib, really deserved a 100.

Odds have lengthened, but Bangladesh are still in it, especially as the very slow turn is negating Murali considerably.

Btw, is it just me, or have Bangladesh started to come on a bit? Especially at home? They came close to beating NZ, and are giving Sri Lanka a real run for their money by batting hard into the final day and posting 400+.

Edit/ 8 down. Prasad, who is finding some reverse swing, strikes again.

I won't say Bangladesh has arrived. Can't say till they really win a test against a proper team. But they are certainly becoming better, thanks to individual performances of especially Shakib. He has given confidence to the other players by performing world class with the ball and reasonably well with the bat. Ashraful needs to be consistent enough.

However a 400+ total in the last innings against Murali on a turning track is just awesome. If only they batted a bit sensibly in the first innings.

 

[susudear]

Slowly but inevitably

I think Murali is approaching the end of his career. He was good, but not great against India, and now the signs are more evident in this test match.

 

[cricman]

Hopefully they can build on this, We have 2 match winners in Shakib and when Ash decides to score runs

 

[DingDong]

I think Murali is approaching the end of his career. He was good, but not great against India, and now the signs are more evident in this test match.

are u stupid or something? he picked up 10 wickets in the game. do u expect him to take 6 for 50 every innings?

 

[susudear]

And also

Hopefully they can build on this, We have 2 match winners in Shakib and when Ash decides to score runs

Add to that the improving Shahadat Hossain. Shakib cannot do all the bowling himself and it helps to have a wicket-taking fast bowler at the other end. Mortaza is now experienced and use it wisely.

I would like to see Rajin Saleh instead of this joke of an opener Imrul Kayes.

 

[susudear]

No

are u stupid or something? he picked up 10 wickets in the game. do u expect him to take 6 for 50 every innings?

He bowled 70 overs for those 10 wickets and by allowing Bangladeshi batsmen to score 400+ on a turning 5th day pitch, he has not impressed many.

Also, note his record in the current year is 33 wickets @ 26 against teams barring Bangladesh. While it is not a pathetic average, by his own high standards, it is a sign of slowing down.

 

[cricman]

Shakib wins the Man of the Match,

Imrul Kayes looks classy to me Tamim ran him out in the 2nd innings.

Ashraful really knows how to tacke Murali he scored more than 65 runs off him it was a treat to watch. He played a fantastic shot to Ton up but he played across the line vs the new ball and underestimated Vaas for the 2nd time in the match.

2nd Test were gonna have to deal with Ajantha Mendis but if they use there feet they should be fine.

I actually like Ash, Shakib and Mushifiq batting at 5/6/7.

 

[krkode]

He bowled 70 overs for those 10 wickets and by allowing Bangladeshi batsmen to score 400+ on a turning 5th day pitch, he has not impressed many.

Also, note his record in the current year is 33 wickets @ 26 against teams barring Bangladesh. While it is not a pathetic average, by his own high standards, it is a sign of slowing down.

Probably slowing down, for sure. Which is why it is such an encouraging sign to see Mendis looking good to take up Murali's mantle. Fact is, Murali is well-past proving anything to anyone, if there is one man responsible for Sri Lanka's rise from minnowhood to a competitive test side, it's Murali.

That said, pretty solid performance by Bangladesh here. Shakib is turning out to be something special - the two times Bangladesh came even remotely close to winning a test this year, it was Shakib at the helm with fantastic all-round performances.

 

[Migara]

Also, note his record in the current year is 33 wickets @ 26 against teams barring Bangladesh. While it is not a pathetic average, by his own high standards, it is a sign of slowing down.

Haven't you noticed that those were against India who are the best spin playing nation? Murali dragged his average against India from 34 odd to 30 with that series.

Is he slowing down? yes certainly. He's lacking that very quick off breaks ones he bowled (58, 59mph stuff), which zipped off the pitch. But his control is now even better. And after about12 seasons, we are seeing Murali of old, giving the ball air and beating batsmen in the air rather than off the pitch. But his stats (SR, Avg, ER) will get better when he is in partnership with Mendis

 

[Migara]

Great play by Bangladesh. This would shut up people who are suggesting that Ireland are better than Bangladesh. Only Minnow team that were better was Kenya, and now they are in tatters.

 

[Uppercut]

Great play by Bangladesh. This would shut up people who are suggesting that Ireland are better than Bangladesh. Only Minnow team that were better was Kenya, and now they are in tatters.

Uh, no it wouldn't. "Ooh look, Bangladesh 'only' lost a game by 107 runs after 2044 straight losses. Should definitely be a test team now." Ireland would be a much better test side than Bangladesh were they given half the chances to show it that Bangladesh have.

 

[Migara]

Uh, no it wouldn't. "Ooh look, Bangladesh 'only' lost a game by 107 runs after 2044 straight losses. Should definitely be a test team now." Ireland would be a much better test side than Bangladesh were they given half the chances to show it that Bangladesh have.

Sorry to disturb your fantasies, but Ireland are not good as Bangladesh, and will not be in the future. BAN U19 beats regular test U19 teams. I don;t know whether Irish have an U19 team, and if they have, check their performances. You'll get a good idea of what future holds.

 

[Uppercut]

Sorry to disturb your fantasies, but Ireland are not good as Bangladesh, and will not be in the future. BAN U19 beats regular test U19 teams. I don;t know whether Irish have an U19 team, and if they have, check their performances. You'll get a good idea of what future holds.

I'm quite familiar with the Ireland U19 team thanks. Bangladesh have more of a future but Ireland certainly have a better team of players right now- or at least, would do if they played test cricket as their players wouldn't leave for England. I shall do a detailed comparison in the other thread.

 

[Prince EWS]

Uh, no it wouldn't. "Ooh look, Bangladesh 'only' lost a game by 107 runs after 2044 straight losses. Should definitely be a test team now." Ireland would be a much better test side than Bangladesh were they given half the chances to show it that Bangladesh have.

Yeah, AWTA.

 

[Prince EWS]

Sorry to disturb your fantasies, but Ireland are not good as Bangladesh, and will not be in the future. BAN U19 beats regular test U19 teams. I don;t know whether Irish have an U19 team, and if they have, check their performances. You'll get a good idea of what future holds.

We're not talking about Under 19 cricket though. If anything, it shows just how dire the Bangladesh situation really is - despite producing lots of talented young players and being given much more assistance and guidance from the ICC in terms of growth and exposure, they still can't manage to actually put out a team much better (if better at all) than Ireland.

 

[susudear]

Proof?

We're not talking about Under 19 cricket though. If anything, it shows just how dire the Bangladesh situation really is - despite producing lots of talented young players and being given much more assistance and guidance from the ICC in terms of growth and exposure, they still can't manage to actually put out a team much better (if better at all) than Ireland.

Bangladesh is easily the worst test team around. But what proof you have to conclusively say Ireland is better than Bangladesh?

 

[Migara]

We're not talking about Under 19 cricket though. If anything, it shows just how dire the Bangladesh situation really is - despite producing lots of talented young players and being given much more assistance and guidance from the ICC in terms of growth and exposure, they still can't manage to actually put out a team much better (if better at all) than Ireland.

Once again debatable. U19 cricket shows how much is your bench strength. Bangladesh were able to put up a team to score 400+ against 4th ranking test side, and that was after they lost a number of players to ICL. Add Alok Kapali and Shareer Nafees to that side instead of Kayes and Raqib, suddenely that batting side looks even better. Both these when losing to ICL were on top form, and Kapali hit a scintillating century against India few weeks back in the Asia cup.

Ireland has very good FC players, but lacks that X factor about them, as Mortaza, Shakib or Ashraful. The X factor is the one that drives minnow teams to victoey in their early matches. For SL they ahd De Silva, Rumesh Ratnayake and Ranatunga who carried that X factor with them. Sadly Irish does not have such a player to bring up scarce victories against good sides.

 

[Uppercut]

Ireland has very good FC players, but lacks that X factor about them, as Mortaza, Shakib or Ashraful. The X factor is the one that drives minnow teams to victoey in their early matches. For SL they ahd De Silva, Rumesh Ratnayake and Ranatunga who carried that X factor with them. Sadly Irish does not have such a player to bring up scarce victories against good sides.

If Bangladesh have, ahem, "the X factor that drives minnow teams to victory in their early matches", how come they haven't had any victories in their early matches? And by early i mean, first 60-odd matches.

Besides, Niall O'Brien has more of an X-factor than Ashraful and Boyd Rankin is so much better than Mortaza it's embarrassing for the latter.

 

[krkode]

Uh, no it wouldn't. "Ooh look, Bangladesh 'only' lost a game by 107 runs after 2044 straight losses. Should definitely be a test team now." Ireland would be a much better test side than Bangladesh were they given half the chances to show it that Bangladesh have.

Honestly, though, have other teams who entered test cricket in the "middle" so to speak, experienced early years any different?

Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, India (?) etc. all experienced a fairly extended period of minnowhood before they became contenders on the world stage. Then a few standout people showed up to sort of fish them out - Andy Flower and Heath Streak for Zim, Jayasuriya and Desilva for Sri Lanka and fortunes changed (In Zimbabwe's case, they're back down, sadly). Perhaps the handful of people who are showing some decent spirit nowadays despite Bangladesh still losing are reason for hope for the future.

I sincerely doubt Ireland would fare any differently if given test status today. Fact is, you can't give a country with no test history test status and expect them to contend with the other teams in the setup. Not for a very long time.