Beyond the boundary - Come Back, Confucius (18 May 1999)

18 May 1999

Beyond the boundary - Come Back, Confucius

Shakil Kasem

Welcome to the World Cup! Bangladesh's first foray into this competition gave the team an indication of what life in the big bad world is likely to be. It is best to be philosophical about it, part stoic, part Hegelian. Life in the middle promises to be nasty, brutish and short. Come to terms with it, or leave it.

One is left to wonder exactly what sort of motivation that the skipper had kept on insisting that Gordon Greenidge was providing them. To go by the many interviews the captain has been giving lately, Gordon Greenidge is the closest thing to Confucius our cricketers are likely to encounter. What happened at Chelmsford, the home ground for Bangladesh for the last month or so, seriously questions the team's intentions in this competition, if the coach is ready to answer, that is.

Granted, the team was never meant to be the new David on the block, taking on every Goliath that crossed its path. What was expected from them was some sort of commitment to the game of cricket. Sadly, the world was perforce made to witness a spectacle that, should it be repeated, must definitely put a question mark over the team's ability to survive in the big pond. Where was the positive approach the coach is so fond of spouting every so often?

Any team can have a bad day on the field. But matters should not be compounded by the kind of thoroughly inept batting that was displayed by each and every member of the side. When a side is put into bat, it obviously implies that the bowling side has specific goals to achieve. The object of the whole exercise is to deny them that privilege. Bangladesh played into the trap, committing hara-kiri with abandon. I refuse to believe that the Bangladesh team is incapable of a more sensible approach to batting, than what was put on display.

It is inconceivable that the team management, as well as the captain, are not aware of one basic fact. The team has a most inexperienced pair of opening batsmen, not likely to adjust to English conditions on a hurry. The onus is on the middle order to provide the batting with the momentum and stability, to last at least the full quota of overs. How is it possible that the two most experienced batsmen in the side decided to get out the way they did? Especially since they had done the hard work and weathered the early storm. There is really little left in the game when a batting side decides to gift its wickets, happy to be bundled out with almost a quarter of the innings still remaining.

It is immaterial how well one bowls defending a total that is meant to be achieved at less than two runs per over. New Zealand wanted to stay as long as possible, because no side wants to give up a free ticket for batting practice. The wickets they lost were out of boredom.

Cricket, especially the one-day variety, is a batsman's game. Bangladesh must come to terms with this fact. There is a method and an approach to batting all fifty overs. After the Meril Cup in Dhaka, nothing seems to have changed. Sad to say, the only performances of the day worth mentioning were those of the die-hard Bangladeshi fans. Theirs was a bitter pill to swallow, for their dil did want more.

Admittedly, cricket is a funny game. Let's not make it any funnier still, when we play it.

Source :: The Daily Star