A view from the Gully (23 May 1999)

23 May 1999

A view from the Gully

Tawfiq Aziz Khan

Dublin's dubious love for cricket was on display on Friday as the qualifiers Bangladesh and two-time World Champions, the (not so-mighty) West Indies, created history in the Irish capital. The island state on the west of England has a history similar to Bangladesh - the only difference being that they staged their armed struggle in 1916 and we in 1971.

Though Emon De Valera was the elected president of the republic Michael Collins was the hero of the Irish struggle for independence from Britain. The Irish have definite characteristics of their own but their love for cricket may not be as strong as their nationalism. Even then they have organisation for managing and staging cricket tournaments. This is the first World Cup match they have organised and though a little amusing for our subcontinent, the organisers boasted of a sell-out for this match, the figure being only 3500 seats.

But they have something to brag about; humiliating the mighty West Indians in a match here in Dublin. Well, history could be repeated here on Friday had our boys taken a queue from Sunil Gavaskar's impish advice and the BBC reporter's suggestion!

The crowd at Contarf cricket club was friendly but the weather was not. This premier cricket ground is situated on Castle Avenue, Contarf, near the city centre. There are five more venues in the island where major matches are played. The picturesque setting, a small vociferous crowd and sun and shade were all perfect for a day's cricket but the villian of the piece was the gale that blew throughout the match making life difficult, specially for the fielders. Even the more experienced West Indians were seen keeping their hands in pockets to keep them warm. Bangladesh hardly have the feel of such weather, faced a more hostile nature than a fearsome enemy attack.

It was a good decision to bat first on a flat wicket against an attack that is dreaded by many. This had also reduced the awful prospect of chasing (and perishing) a big target that could spell danger for the team. Two youngsters had to carry the burden.

Mehrab Hossain and Naimur Rahman scored the bulk of the runs and in the process Mehrab became the first Bangladeshi to score a fifty in a World Cup match. He is also the first with an ODI century; many congratulations. Naimur was a bit unlucky to have missed his for five runs only.

But it was very interesting to watch the so-called stalwarts of the team that includes the captain himself. The three seniors, between themselves, wasted as many as 60 deliveries (ten overs) and delivered a huge eleven runs with much pain and toil. May God bless them for their stupendous efforts. Aminul and Akram failed their country again and Minhazul Abedin, who crashed into the team at the cost of Jahangir Alam and for whom the entire Selection Committee of the BCB, lawfully constituted, was scrapped by the Executive Committee abruptly, obliged his mentors with a 5-run debut. But he will have enough to gloat about the prized wicket of Brian Lara for the rest of his life. The fuss over his exclusion was unjustified.

Those who have not yet made the debut must be shivering in the dressing room and praying that their numbers don't come up. It should be understood that it is not 'all talk and no play' at this stage of the game. Because 'it does not get bigger than this'.

Source :: The Daily Star