If you mean no one on either side, I would disagree and say Williamson played well.
Well of course I meant from Bangladesh. Williamson was very good and so was Taylor in the 3rd ODI, he would have gotten a few more had Mahmudullah not removed the last 2 batsmen in successive deliveries.
Welcome to CW - was hoping we would get some Bangers fans joining the forum after the series win. Hope you like it here.
Thanks
Well I was just going through some cricket forums after the series win to see what the international community thought about Bangladesh's victory and gradual progress in the ODI game, and found this forum in progress.
I wouldn't have Ashraful in there.
Well I knew a lot of people would not approve of putting Ashraful in there. Like many people in our country, I can see that many here have also given up on him.
The thing is, he is still one of the best batsmen in the country technically. He has all the shots in the book and all his problems are in his head, it's not that he lacks the ability.
The problem with Ashraful was, he was burdened with too much expectation and responsibility at a very tender age. At the mere age of 18/19, the hopes of an entire nation of 150 million people rested on the shoulders of Mohammad Ashraful. And he was just not mentally strong enough to cope with that pressure.
I remember, during games people sitting around me saying that, 'If Ashraful doesn't play well today we are screwed.' And that was basically the case almost every time Bangladesh played. If Ashraful played, we stood a decent chance of competing in that game. If he didn't, Bangladesh's hopes went then and there.
However, I thought that he was making some good progress during the 2007 World Cup where he was the best Bangladesh batsman in the tournament in my view. But the decision to give him the captaincy after the WC was one of the biggest mistakes in the history of Bangladesh cricket (of course not as big as the decision to give us test status back in 99, but still quite big :P). Just when I thought that he is finally learning to deal with the pressure of being the best player in team, he was burdened with the added responsibility of leading the side and he was nowhere CLOSE to being ready for that.
So again, his performances suffered (although he played one or two good innings here and there) and it dealt a huge blow to his already fragile confidence. He was stripped of the captaincy but he hasn't made any sort of impact since then.
But I expect him to make a comeback. Why? Because he realizes now that he is not the best player in the side anymore and he doesn't have his 'automatic spot' in the side now. Even a year back, despite his run of poor form, the Bangladesh lineup was so weak and inexperienced that the selectors just had to pick him.
That is not the case anymore, we have players like Jahurul, Rokibul waiting in the wings. Btw, I personally am a big fan of Jahurul and expect him to become a regular starter in the side pretty soon.
This New Zealand series I believe has the potential to be a turning point for Ashraful. If you see, he was in and around the side every time Bangladesh pulled of victories against the bigger nations. Even in the last win against New Zealand at Dhaka, he played a big role. He was not out there in the end with around 60 odd runs.
The lad was devastated after the New Zealand series, because this is the first time that Bangladesh has won a series and he has played no part in it. But he was around everything that happened in Bangladesh cricket in the last 6-7 years. So this was quite a big blow for him.
So, this series win without him, I believe will pave the way for the return of Ashraful. When he will be brought back to the side, he won't have the pressure that he used to have before. He knows he is not the best player anymore and people not exactly expect him to win matches for Bangladesh every time he goes out there with a bat in hand. If he can play himself into the side with two good fifties, that will give him the confidence which will propel him to bigger things. *fingers crossed* !