Batting is only headache

Bangladesh cricket team finished the World Cup campaign with frustrating note but still they gave the impression that they can win any match of their own standing.

Habibul Bashar's men, who are scheduled to return home on April 26, can claim that they have fulfilled their target by reaching the second round in the showpiece event for the first time in their third appearance. Because it was a promise the Tigers had made before leaving the country.

Their brilliant wins against India and South Africa have not only enhanced their reputation in the cricketing fraternity but also taken the country's cricket a step forward.

During a two-month long tourney of the Caribbean, which was also a new experience for the boys, won seven matches out of 13 inclusive of the triangular series and the build-up matches.

Bangladesh first served up a warning when they handed a two-wicket defeat to full-strength New Zealand in a warm-up game to emerge as a 'feared side' in the tournament and they carried their stunning success into the tournament proper.

Dav Whatmore charges stunned favourites India in their very first preliminary round match with a superb five-wicket victory, which virtually eliminated the Rahul Dravid's men from the meet.

And their 67-run victory against top-ranked South Africa, their only success in six second round games, simply forced their critics to have new thoughts about Bangladesh.

Despite all these success stories, there are concerns over the way they lost matches, especially some second round defeats that were as pathetic as their wins were glorious.

Bangladesh failed to sign-off the tournament in the right way because of their poor batting performance. Bangladeshi suffered a humiliating 99-run defeat against hosts West Indies in the last game as their batsmen found wanting at the bouncy track in Barbados.

But their 74-run defeat to ICC associate members Ireland was real heartbreaking.

What actually Bangladesh have achieved in the tournament was mainly because of the brilliant efforts by the bowlers.

Bowlers did an excellent job, especially the left-arm spin trio who was part of all nine matches, became the talk of the tournament.

Abdur Razzak led the table with 13 wickets, followed by pace duo Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (9) and Syed Rasel (8 in 7 games) and fellow spinners Mohammad Rafique (8) and Shakib (7).

No doubt Mohammad Ashraful's classy 87-run knock against South Africa and an explosive 51 by young left-hander Tamim Iqbal were the knocks to remember but as a whole, the Tigers' batting was disappointing.

There are clear evidences that the batsmen have hardly come out of the same old chronic disease under outgoing coach Dav Whatmore's four-year guidance.

Captain Bashar agonisingly failed to lead his side from the front to endanger his one-day career. The 34-year old, the most successful captain of the country, scored just 105 runs in eight innings looking for the most part a tired man, a far cry from his heady days.

Mohammad Ashraful made highest 216 runs in nine innings but the way he got out in the last couple of matches raised the questions whether he has yet to realise his potential.

Young all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan seemed to be a solution for the inconsistent batting but he failed to justify his reputation despite scoring two half centuries in an aggregate of 202 in nine innings.

The top-order's suffering continued as dashing Aftab Ahmed also cut a sorry figure, making 128 in nine innings, Tamim notching 175 in nine games and Mushfiqur Rahim aggregating 131 in eight innings.

Last but not the least, the problem of the opening pair remained unsolved. The team think-tank had no clue and followed a wrong policy for the last couple of years.

Left-handed opener Shahriar Nafees, who passed the 1,000-run mark in the last calendar, simply lost his touch and had to be replaced after making 31 runs in six matches. His replacement Javed Omar scored 55 in three games.

It was however Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, dubbed the Narail Express, who showed the world that he has got the ability and heart to light up the cricket fraternity.

A man, who has gone through surgeries on both knees, was not only at his best during his four-wicket brash against the Indians but also showed his character in every game with bat or ball.