The day was October 30, 2016. England's last wicket, Steven Finn fell and they embraced a defeat of 108 runs against the 9th rank team in the world. There were smiles, handshakes and selfies being taken in Bangladesh's dressing room. It was Bangladesh's bowling coach Courtney Walsh's birthday. Bangladesh chose to give him the best gift he could have asked for. A test win against one of the top test teams in the world at the moment: England. On the other hand, England's dressing room was calm and everyone was looking at sky or ground or their shoes wondering what the hell exactly happened. Everyone was looking at life in retrospect. Such was the severity of the defeat. Losing 10 wickets in 22.2 overs in a single session against Bangladesh: That is what had unfolded in Mirpur.
There was a time not so long ago, that people used to shrug their shoulders when any team used to do well against Bangladesh and used to say, "But, it is only Bangladesh!!!". Gone are those days now. Bangladesh have developed into a potent team at their home. Yeah, they will struggle in alien conditions and it will take quite some time and a lot of wins away from home when everyone considers them a serious test team. But, in their own backyard, they have undoubtedly reached that stage. It was their first test win against any team other than eroded Zimbabwe and heavily under-strength West Indies. They easily could have won this series 2-0, had their not been a divine interaction in the form of Ben Stokes at Chittagong.
When England won at Chittagong, it was so easy to dismiss the idea that it was a fluke that Bangladesh even came so close to team like England, but those who follow test cricket closely knew otherwise in their hearts. Bangladesh were almost as good as England in Chittagong, but just failed to cross the line. At Mirpur, they completely outplayed England in all three departments. As an England cricket fan, The worst part of this defeat was knowing the plain, ugly truth that "At the end of the day, better team won". It was almost unimaginable and unbearable.
Bangladesh look like a very formidable opponent at their home. In the likes of Tamim, Kayes, Mushfiqur, Shakib, Mustafizur and Mehedi, they already have got the core of a very competent test side. They looked comfortable against the English spinners. They scored at a rapid rate against the new ball. The only worry which was ostensibly visible was their inexperience against the reverse swing with the old-ball. They look to counter that very soon. With a little bit of work, they can challenge test teams on a regular basis. They deserve full credit for that. Their fans needed this win. This was a special moment in the cricket-crazy country.
Coming back to England, it was an absolute disgrace. Many will say, "Yeah, well. It was a good day for test cricket." World cricket needs a strong Bangladesh, blah, blah, blah. But, World cricket needs a strong England side too. England probably spends more money on their cricket budget in one week than Bangladesh does in one whole year. England sends their teams to Asia on Lions and A-teams tour. There is absolutely no excuse for this defeat. Granted that they got undone by a young debutant Mehedi Hasan, but he was nothing England were not prepared for. He doesn't have variations of Ajmal or Ashwin. He undoubtedly bowled well throughout the series, but against England he was made to look like an absolute genius. England played him as if they are playing off-spin for the first time. On the other hand, England's spinners were nowhere near world-class and gave too many release balls. They were never able to quite build up the pressure.
Batting-wise, their team selection was terrible. Perhaps they do not know, who their best 7 batters are. Giving Gary Ballance so many opportunities in spite of the fact that he doesn't belong there at this moment is completely outrageous. Ben Duckett looked fine, but his catching was school-grade. It is just too much to ask Stokes to do everything. Root had a bad series, so did Cook. But other batters just couldn't step up on the occasion and this scenario is becoming increasingly familiar in English cricket. They are always left to wonder about "Only if" of the moments they could have seized. England do have some of the best stuffs in the test cricket world. Their reverse-swinging skills with the old-ball, the depths in their bowling and batting are outstanding. They have a stock of all-rounders at test cricket level in the form of Woakes, Stokes and Ali. Unfortunately, these disasters keep on happening with them more than any other team in the world.
No doubt, there are so many low-points in England cricket file. Jamaica (2009), Lord's (against Netherlands in 2009), Bangalore (against Ireland in 2011), the UAE (against Pakistan in 2012), Chittagong (against Netherlands again in 2014), First round elimination in 2015 world cup, Whitewashes in 2006-07 and 2013-14 Ashes. This name of Dhaka on October 30, 2016 must be added to that list, that is for sure. It was indescribably poor. Personally, It often frustrates me watching England lose like this. But, they keep on doing that. I am actually dreading to know that if Bangladesh was a trailer of this horror show, what is going to happen to them when they visit India in 2 weeks? It could be a very very long series for them. India are undeniably the best team in their home conditions. I am expecting a nice competent series, most of them will depend on how much they learnt from Dhaka.
There was a time not so long ago, that people used to shrug their shoulders when any team used to do well against Bangladesh and used to say, "But, it is only Bangladesh!!!". Gone are those days now. Bangladesh have developed into a potent team at their home. Yeah, they will struggle in alien conditions and it will take quite some time and a lot of wins away from home when everyone considers them a serious test team. But, in their own backyard, they have undoubtedly reached that stage. It was their first test win against any team other than eroded Zimbabwe and heavily under-strength West Indies. They easily could have won this series 2-0, had their not been a divine interaction in the form of Ben Stokes at Chittagong.
When England won at Chittagong, it was so easy to dismiss the idea that it was a fluke that Bangladesh even came so close to team like England, but those who follow test cricket closely knew otherwise in their hearts. Bangladesh were almost as good as England in Chittagong, but just failed to cross the line. At Mirpur, they completely outplayed England in all three departments. As an England cricket fan, The worst part of this defeat was knowing the plain, ugly truth that "At the end of the day, better team won". It was almost unimaginable and unbearable.
Bangladesh look like a very formidable opponent at their home. In the likes of Tamim, Kayes, Mushfiqur, Shakib, Mustafizur and Mehedi, they already have got the core of a very competent test side. They looked comfortable against the English spinners. They scored at a rapid rate against the new ball. The only worry which was ostensibly visible was their inexperience against the reverse swing with the old-ball. They look to counter that very soon. With a little bit of work, they can challenge test teams on a regular basis. They deserve full credit for that. Their fans needed this win. This was a special moment in the cricket-crazy country.
Coming back to England, it was an absolute disgrace. Many will say, "Yeah, well. It was a good day for test cricket." World cricket needs a strong Bangladesh, blah, blah, blah. But, World cricket needs a strong England side too. England probably spends more money on their cricket budget in one week than Bangladesh does in one whole year. England sends their teams to Asia on Lions and A-teams tour. There is absolutely no excuse for this defeat. Granted that they got undone by a young debutant Mehedi Hasan, but he was nothing England were not prepared for. He doesn't have variations of Ajmal or Ashwin. He undoubtedly bowled well throughout the series, but against England he was made to look like an absolute genius. England played him as if they are playing off-spin for the first time. On the other hand, England's spinners were nowhere near world-class and gave too many release balls. They were never able to quite build up the pressure.
Batting-wise, their team selection was terrible. Perhaps they do not know, who their best 7 batters are. Giving Gary Ballance so many opportunities in spite of the fact that he doesn't belong there at this moment is completely outrageous. Ben Duckett looked fine, but his catching was school-grade. It is just too much to ask Stokes to do everything. Root had a bad series, so did Cook. But other batters just couldn't step up on the occasion and this scenario is becoming increasingly familiar in English cricket. They are always left to wonder about "Only if" of the moments they could have seized. England do have some of the best stuffs in the test cricket world. Their reverse-swinging skills with the old-ball, the depths in their bowling and batting are outstanding. They have a stock of all-rounders at test cricket level in the form of Woakes, Stokes and Ali. Unfortunately, these disasters keep on happening with them more than any other team in the world.
No doubt, there are so many low-points in England cricket file. Jamaica (2009), Lord's (against Netherlands in 2009), Bangalore (against Ireland in 2011), the UAE (against Pakistan in 2012), Chittagong (against Netherlands again in 2014), First round elimination in 2015 world cup, Whitewashes in 2006-07 and 2013-14 Ashes. This name of Dhaka on October 30, 2016 must be added to that list, that is for sure. It was indescribably poor. Personally, It often frustrates me watching England lose like this. But, they keep on doing that. I am actually dreading to know that if Bangladesh was a trailer of this horror show, what is going to happen to them when they visit India in 2 weeks? It could be a very very long series for them. India are undeniably the best team in their home conditions. I am expecting a nice competent series, most of them will depend on how much they learnt from Dhaka.
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