The disastrous start to the 2003 World Cup by the Bangladesh cricket team has shocked the whole nation. Pundits have already started their research to expose the reasons that led Khaled Mashud and company to disintegrate in front of the whole world.

It has now become the principal topic of discussion for each and everybody at each and every corner. Some blame the organisers for not being able to handle the cricket team of a newly recognised Test playing nation, some blame the players for not being fully committed to the game and the country while some others think that the coach, Mohsin Kamal, is not competent enough to handle a team at this level. But each and everyone agreed on one point that the decline began after the government upset the going of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) by appointing Ali Asghar MP as the president in late 2001. And the performance of the boys in South Africa was nothing but the result of what has happened in the last one and a half years.

The Daily Star Sport looked into the past 16 months with a bird's eye and tried to identify the reasons that might have brought down the standard of the game in the country.

Three main reasons have been identified: Poor understanding amongst the players as a team, poor team management and poor organisation. Today, in presenting part one of this analysis, we look into the first two factors.

THE PLAYERS AND THE TEAM

Khaled Mashud's announcement that he would resign as captain after the World Cup just before the squad left for Namibia was a big blow to the morale of the team.

Although Mashud said that he wanted to give more time to his family, many believe that the man more popularly known as 'Pilot' took such a hard decision after failing to get any response from the board over his demands for the team.

Moreover, the players failed to develop themselves as a team. It seems as though only a few play with some sort of conviction while the rest do not even understand what it means. Chaminda Vaas' hattrick off the first three balls of the Bangladesh innings on Friday was a perfect illustration of how irresponsible the batsmen can be.

Besides, the players are not that keen to pick up on what they are being taught time and again. If they had implemented even ten per cent of what they had been taught so far, they would have played more carefully.

Some pointed at the lack of experienced players in team. But most of the observers still believe it is the best possible selection we have.

ORGANISATION

Ever since Ali Asghar took over as BCB president from interim president Akmal Hossain after the October 2001 election, drastic changes had been made in the whole set-up of the Board.

Asghar first removed his successful predecessor Saber Hossain Chowdhury as the chairman of the Development Committee and put Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's youngest son Arafat Rahman in his place. The move angered many as Arafat had no credible record as a cricket organiser in comparison to the experienced Saber.

Asghar then changed the Cricket and Tournament Committees. Nurul Kabir MP was made the new chairman of the Tournament Committee in place of BCB director Dewan Shafiul Arefin while board director Mahbubul Anam was appointed the Cricket Committee chairman replacing Syed Ashraful Huq who is now the executive secretary of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

Asghar kicked up a row by removing BCB director Ahmed Sajjadul Alam as the manager of the New Zealand-bound Bangladesh team in December 2001.

The Board of Directors split into two distinct groups by the controver-

sial nature of Asghar's actions.

The icing on the cake came for Asghar when the High Court, following a writ petition by BCB councilor Rafiqul Islam, suspended the activities of the Board of Directors last August and asked Asghar to run the board single-handedly!

Although the High Court asked Asghar to hold fresh elections within two months, the ruling party MP kept has been running the Board by forming an 11-member Advisory Council.

The Development Committee has so far failed to bring about any improvement in the game. Moreover, the committee is yet to reveal a long-term plan for the development of the game.

The Tournament Committee, meanwhile, looks determined to change everything that was introduced by the now defunct board.

They squeezed the National Cricket League, the only First Class tournament prevalent in the country, and converted it into a Dhaka based tournament this season. Instead of ten matches, each of the six divisional teams were allowed to play only five First Class matches in the first round while the two finalists played one more match. The concept of playing the final in a league format also became a point of discussion.

The experiment was a complete failure. The 2000-2001 National League produced cricketers like Tushar Imran and Mashrafee-bin-Mortuza. Alok Kapali and Taposh Baishya followed them into the national team through the 20012002 season. But this year's competition did not produce a single promising newcomer to represent the national team.

The Premier League of Dhaka has also experienced a change through the inclusion of BCB Development Squad. Many think this will not bring about any good results as the development squad (consisting of under-19 cricketers) do not have any motivation.

The Cricket Committee also failed to understand the players properly. Reducing the number of cricketers in the pay-roll to half has sparked division among the players. According to Asghar's latest deci-

sion announced last month, only six players instead of 15 are now getting monthly salary while the rest are getting match fees and salaries when playing for the national team.

Asghar also must ultimately shoulder the blame for the ridiculous decision of replacing Trevor Chappell with Mohsin Kamal.

The Board has also made a mockery of the selection process by replacing the Mainul Haq-led selection committee without any prior notice.

In their place, Aliul Islam, who never played cricket for the national team, was made the chief selector while Omar Khaled Rumi (who has been out of touch with the game for the last one decade and now mostly involved in pop music) and former Bangladesh pacer GM Nowsher were appointed as the other members of the committee.

Ultimately, the principal reason is a lack of accountability on the part of everyone involved in cricket, ranging from the players to the organisers. Nobody seems willing to take any responsibility for the sorry state of affairs and only seem intent on blaming other parties. If cricket is to develop in Bangladesh, everyone involved in it must realise that every time they point a finger at someone else, there are four others pointing straight back at them.

MANAGEMENT

Bangladesh have easily the most incompetent team management at this year's World Cup.

Coach Mohsin Kamal does not command the respect of his players and therefore finds it difficult to control them. He has failed to guide the players according to the demands of the situation. He has failed to motivate his players and improve their performances. Simply put, the former Pakistan pacer has failed to get through to the players in any sense or form.

Habibul Bashar, once regarded as Bangladesh's top batsman, has hardly played a single innings worth writing home about ever since Kamal took over ten months back.

The inclusion of a trainer and a psychologist in addition to the physio has proved a futile move by the BCB, since no co-ordinated plan was formulated as to how they

would be used.

The decision to hire former Bangladesh coach Gordon Greenidge as a batting consultant for ten days also backfired and only served to belittle Kamal's confidence even more prior to the World Cup.

Last but not least, the manager of the team, ASM Faruque, lacks the qualities required of a leader. He might be a respected former cricketer but as a manager he has failed to create any impact on the team with his inability to be harsh on the players when required.