BD Nat Cricket S29 Review
Format - T20Is
Final Ranking - 10th
Season Record - Played 9, Won 3, Lost 6. 3 Bonus Points, NRR -1.27 (
Points Table)
Top Performers
Batting:
1) Balakk Snigdha (9 innings, 379 runs, 4 50s, Ave 47.38, SR 144.11, HS 95*, WR #3)
2) Shan Javed (9 innings, 268 runs, 0 50s, Ave 29.78, SR 120.18, HS 49, WR #13)
3) Raun Shkorer (7 innings, 150 runs, 0 50s, Ave 21.43, SR 110.29, HS 45, unranked)
Bowling:
1) Mahmood Hafeez (4 matches, 7 wickets, SR 11.14, Econ 6.54, BB 3/32, unranked)
2) Khawaja Khattak (6 matches, 7 wickets, SR 18.86, Econ 7.95, BB 2/26, unranked)
3) Taufeeq Imran (8 matches, 7 wickets, SR 27.43, Econ 6.00, BB 3/21, unranked)
Tosses Won - 6 (!)
Batted 1st 4 times, Bowled 1st 5 times
Highest Expert Preview Ratings - 68,222 (in our final game)
Well a tough first season in charge comes to an end. Dead last, but with a couple of a memorable wins over England and Pakistan. A good win over semi-finalists Zimbabwe as well! We would do well to learn from them how to topple the stronger teams.
So I think fundamentally our main issue was failing to get runs on the board batting first. We averaged just 143 when we got to bat first, and lost all 4 games. However we won 3 out of 5 chasing! This does give a clearer idea on what we need to be doing at the toss moving forward, but also an area for improvement. Balakk and Shan both batted well all tournament, but no one else managed over 200 runs for us this season, which is a concern. Maybe Raun might have gotten there if he wasn't dropped for the final 2 games, he did alright given his poor form all tournament, but I need to find a way to get more out guys like Azmat, Sami and Mansoor. Something to work on.
Our bowling stats don't look great at first glance, with no one taking more than 7 wickets, but I think that's partly because of our horses-for-courses approach. Also lack of scoreboard pressure in the games where we batted first. We bowled first in 5 games and took 31 wickets in those matches, which isn't bad for T20s! But we took only 11 wickets in the 4 games where we were defending a score. The lack of runs on the board dampened the effectiveness of our attack. Our search for a 2nd spinner proved futile - Tauseef Baloch took 4/36 on debut in the win over England, but just 1/124 in the 10 overs he bowled after that. Lester Shum got 1/49 in his one game, where he struggled in helpful conditions, and unfortunately I couldn't find anyone else ready to step in and perform at this level. We've got some good spin bowling talent for the future, but we might keep struggling in spin-friendly conditions for a couple of seasons to come.
On the topic of captaincy - Mubashar Obaid lost the role for the final game. He too struggled for form his season, and while his skillset suggests he should be really good at T20Is, I may have overestimated the level to which those skills would translate at this level. We've also got two other LMs on the bench, so while I'd like for him to captain in the OD leg next season, it would either mean leaving Khattak/Riaz on the bench a lot, or sacrificing a bit of variety in our attack. Unfortunately we don't have any other captaincy options on par with Obaid atm - Taufeeq Imran is great but is ageing out, and the remainder of the squad aren't as good. However maybe some young buck will come in off the bench ready to take the reigns whenever International cricket resumes.
Speaking of Taufeeq Imran - what a legend he's been for us. 29 years old, 39 games for BD, kept a phenomenal economy rate for us this season and remains one of our best fielders. We may have seen the last of him at the international level, but it's been a good career.
And finally - a note on the future. My BD Nat team database now has 115 players in it, and I'm continuing to add to it whenever I can. Going off this, the future of BD cricket is, err, not very bright
Of the 115 players I've scouted, 5 of the 7 highest bowling potentials are already in the squad, and 3 of 6 the highest batting potentials are in the squad too! The other 3 highest batting potentials will all be in the squad within a season or two, but the cupboard is bare after that. There are no 50 potential BD players under the age of 19 in the game at the moment!
What this means is that we need more people recruiting BD cricketers! We had the lowest average expert previews of all the nations this season, and we're supposed to be in a golden era right now! The lack of talent coming through means we'll probably remain the weakest Nation in the game for many, many seasons to come.
But hey, we've got to play the cards we're dealt. In the coming weeks I'll keep scouting, and will be in touch with managers for updates on players that are on the fringes of selection. I missed out on selecting some quality players like Sami, Jamil and Mansoor when I first picked the squad this season, and do not want to make that mistake again. We need to be at full strength every game.
I also hope that with this database I may be able to identify players who can form the core of our squad in the coming years, and then get in touch with their managers to help ensure they're trained to their potential. A small nation like us has to compensate for the lack of raw talent by optimising the talent we do have, and I aim to put some plans in place to ensure we remain competitive. Finishing in last place sucks, let's try our best to do better next season
As usual - if you've got any talented youngsters (at least potential 44) or would like to get involved with the BD Nat setup, be sure to drop me a message. Thanks!
Both frustrating losses too, neither side performed up to the standard expected. For ZCC it drops us from 2nd to 3rd, but for FHK it makes no difference in the final standings. We don't get that perfect season, but we still promote up to Div 2 
Wish we could play on Mondays and Wednesdays during the off season.