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India’s first game in the world cup, against Bangladesh, in Mirpur, with ‘we know what you did last World Cup’ reminders stinking up their nostrils. In spite of a bloated score, Bangladesh pushed, and pushed so damn hard, like they were delivering their next cricketing baby. About time too, Ashraful is yesterday’s papers, Shakib, an old headline, Tamim, he’s on the verge of being Ashrafulled.
But I want to follow Bangladesh, in spite of what they cannot be. They beat Ireland when I hoped the cricketing hierarchy will go awry and beat Bangladesh instead. Then I hoped they will push the Windies, if not beat them, but they got 58ed. That was take-a-deep-breath time for well-wishing neutrals, so for the locals it was don’t aim, just shoot.
And here we are, Bangladesh vs. the side that should be taken lightly. England look heavy, as they play their opponents with the knowledge that they know some deep dirty secret about their royally fucked past.
Strauss is stuck with the inept Prior again, bad enough having him behind the wickets, add to that, top of the order. Screwed both ways you are, who else is there – Swann can’t open possibly? OK, but he can bat before Collingwood, who they don’t want, but some years around could make Bangladesh take us seriously?
England slept through their batting, I took a nap too. If the Poms had a chance, even they won’t watch themselves bat. It’s tricky when Trott is your batting fulcrum.
But Bangladesh, today, they wanted to believe again, that they can play, snap themselves from the last bad game. And that’s how the chase started, Tamim knifed through the bowling, Kayes meditated. There was so much cool going it had to end badly, some rock star cut short in his prime.
Much after Tamim, a tiny collapse, and then a much bigger one, you’re at 169/8. And I ask myself, why did they not play Mahmudullah in the previous game, why don’t they always play him? Even though we went with England on the Early Bored Call today, I had a vision, today was gonna be Mahmudullah’s day. Of course, I also thought that Shehzad and Bresnan were gonna run through them, and after that, Anderson was gonna lose it for England. You can follow BoredCricket on twitter, it’s all there.
And really, it’s not about any of these guys, it’s really Shafiul Islam – in at 10, 24/24, the 4s, even a 6, born on 6th October like me, but more than that, the clarity to defend in between, he was the guy of the game, Kayes will always be the man of the match. Come, let’s embrace Shafiul Islam.
O' Bangladesh, what have you done to England
Different Strokes with Jonathan Trott
There are cricketers you like, but if you don’t watch them play for a while, you almost forget why you liked them in the first place. That’s it with Trott. It’s been a while he played, and when he did, I gave the test a miss. I just couldn’t bring myself to watch a game that was already decided. So I miss most of it, and switch on when England needs one to win, and it’s the last over before tea.
The build up was no different to Bravo’s last over yesterday (ODI vs S.A) where he bowled a few dot balls, somehow pushed it to one required of the last ball. Another game, I couldn’t bring myself to watch.
And even though the solitary runs were scored in both games, as expected, Trott did the unexpected. After scoring the winning runs he walks away, then walks back - once at the crease he plays some arithmetic cricket – not quite measuring the crease and drawing with chalk but close. Poker faced. Job done, he walks off.
Is Jonathan Trott any relative of Neil McKenzie? What was Trott’s victory dance like – there was no dance, Trott did the goosestep, his version. “What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?”
