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An uncalled for protest

QUAZI ZULQUARNAIN ISLAM
The joy derived from Bangladesh's Iepic encounter in the final of the Asia Cup was tempered somewhat by the announcement, yesterday, that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appealed to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) regarding taking necessary action in relation to the incident involving Pakistani fast bowler Aizaz Cheema and Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah Riyad.
The incident happened from the first ball of the final over in the Bangladesh innings when the Pakistan paceman blocked the path of Riyad when he tried to take asecondrun after the ball had gone to third-man. It ended up as a single and the Tigers were left needing to score eight off five balls; a task that proved a step too far for them.
Now BCB's appeal which is made in lieu of Clause 42.5 in the law-book could theoretically see Pakistan penalised five runs, an action that would see Bangladesh be crowned victors of the Asia Cup. Although, the chances of such happening are almost non-existent, such a pedantic move from the BCB will have not won them any admirers and worse, threatens to jeopardise the affection the Tigers have gained across the cricketing world in the last few days.
The matter seems even more excruciating since the issue was raised by Mahmudullah during the game itself and the umpire had dealt with it accordingly. Under the same clause (42.5) it is stated that "the umpires together shall report the occurrence as soon as possible after the match to the Executive
of the fielding side and to any Governing Body responsible for the match, who shall take such action as is considered appropriate against the captain and player or players concerned.” Neither Steve Davis nor Ian Gould thought the incident worth reporting and in truth the 'misdemeanour' itself was so minor, that reporting this seems distinctly un-gentlemanly from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
The Tigers played well, exceptionally so, but it is the nature of the game, and life itself, that some days you maybe better but still will not come out on top. That is the beauty of cricket and also its flaw but that is why we watch and follow it as well. Nitpicking infinitesimal incidents and fixating on them as a means of projecting blame seems, forgive the adjective, a classless thing to do.
At the end, there is also to consider the consequences of what might happen if Bangladesh do get awarded these five runs and hence are announced as belated victors of the Asia Cup. What would the reaction be like then? The truth of the matter is that it would be at best a Pyrrhic victory for the Tigers, won in terms of 'legality' in paper and not out on the field of play.
No one wants that.
At worst, it will gravitate into a slinging match of disrepute with Pakistan, who have already expressed their 'disappointment' at this action of the BCB. Such acts of mud-slinging will serve to do nothing but taint the efforts of the Bangladesh team in a tournament where they finally came of age. As the saying goes, why ruin a beautiful memory? The BCB should learn that at times, it is best to let sleeping dogs lie.