Bangladesh's performance against Kenya in the World Cup leaves me pondering with one thought: how much lower the standard will slump to?
Our bowling was completely let down by some poor (that's an understatement!) fielding and there isn't much to talk about their lacklustre batting as usual. The number of dropped chances leaves me wondering whether these players will be able to catch a cold in North Pole! A total of 58 runs were scored from these drops and I am certain that if Bangladesh held on to those, they had the match in the bag.
When will this nightmare be over I wonder!
Fuad Bin Rahman
Dhaka
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Bangladesh's performance against Kenya was one of their better performances in the 2003 World Cup. But they lost the game due to their inability to handle the pressure and some poor and ridiculous captaincy. I couldn't understand why Khaled Mashud persisted with Sanwar Hossain and Mohammad Ashraful in the last 10 overs instead of bowling with the
main bowlers. Instead of bowling out their opponents they tried to keep the runs under check and that's when they lost the game. As Ian Smith said, they should have kept Kenya under 180. And as always the fielding was not up to the mark.
Bangladesh's Test status seems to be skating on thin ice. If it is taken away not only will it be embarrassing for the cricket crazy nation, it will also be extremely difficult to get it back. The governing body should make good use of this dreadful experience. It has to be said that they have changed too many things. The selection has been poor. So it's not right to blame the players only. We should get a good coach someone in the ranks of a Bob Woolmer or a John Wright or a Geoff Marsh. The captain and the coach should have more say in the selection. The good thing or the positive sign is that most of our players are young and blooming stars. With the right guidance (which I don't think they have been receiving) the standard will improve, and redeem ourselves from all the shame and disgrace!
Jeeshan Mirza
Mastermind School, Dhaka