It was the 18th of June 2005, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds strolled around the pleasant little town ahead of Australia's first game of the NatWest series. "It's only Bangladesh!" he thought. As the teams entered the Sophia Gardens and the crowd filled in (a small crowd), many expected a stereotypical mauling from the all-conquering Aussies. They made 249 runs in their 50 overs batting first. Many thought they might as well have declared for 150! But the 'minnows' were in a mood to upset the applecart. Riding on a phenomenal 100 from Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh roared their way to 250-5 in 49.2 overs. The most shocking game of cricket had just been played out. And as Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Rafique celebrated one of the finest and most inspiring wins in the history of the game, Adam Gilchrist looked on from behind. He knew he was witnessing a new chapter in world cricket - one that despite lacking in statistical strength, was by far going to be one of the most inspiring.
Bangladesh weren't done yet. Dav Whatmore (their coach back then) had just started his magic. (Remember: Whatmore coached Arjuna Ranatunga's Sri Lankan team to a World Cup title in 1996) Two years later, at the Queen's Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Bangladesh shocked India out of the World Cup 2007. Batting first, an already under-turmoil Indian team was shot out for a measly 191. After that, there was little doubt about who was going into the next round and who was going home. Bangladesh's team work had done it again!
But was that all? By no means! Later the same year, Bangladesh chased down a challenging 165 against the West Indies (they had Christopher Henry Gayle in their ranks back then) in the World Twenty20 in South Africa. Once again, skipper Ashraful showed off his fantastic abilities with the bat, hammering 61 runs in 27 balls. But to me, the Man of the Match yet again was Bangladesh's team spirit.
The long journey is not over yet. Qualification to the Asia Cup finals of 2012 having beaten both the World Cup finalists in back-to-back games is perhaps Bangladesh's greatest cricketing achievement yet. But I expect more in the coming years.
But what makes Bangladesh special? Do they have big names? Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza and, now, Shakib-al-Hasan were and are certainly great players in their own right, but in the cricketing world, they'd hardly qualify as big names. So why have Bangladesh succeeded in doing what Zimbabwe, Kenya and others like them haven't been able to do in so long?
What makes Bangladesh such an inspiration is that they're probably one of the only teams in world cricket in a long time who've understood and highlighted the fact that cricket is a team game. Dav Whatmore, to me, deserves a lot of accolades. Remember his stint with Sri Lanka. When Sri Lanka entered the World Cup of 1996, they were barely the favorites! They certainly did have Ranatunga, Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Aravinda de Silva and Vaas amongst them, but again, at the time, not really big names. Sri Lanka won the World Cup of 1996 through the greatest of great strengths - team spirit. And as Whatmore flew into Dhaka, he brought in with him the same old idea of 'team spirit', teaching his young kids that to win a game, it wasn't enough if you performed alone - you also have to back the others and make them perform just as well.
Watching Bangladesh on the field is a treat. They're certainly nowhere close to being a skilled and crafty unit. But they play intense. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and give 105% in all that they do. They're not easily satisfied by personal milestones of hundreds or five-fors. They want the same for their fellow teammates as well! They're passionate about their cricket and fearless against the Big Boys. They're out there to enjoy their game and keep it to that - short and simple.
Like Symonds said, "they're only Bangladesh," and that's why they're so special!
Bangladesh weren't done yet. Dav Whatmore (their coach back then) had just started his magic. (Remember: Whatmore coached Arjuna Ranatunga's Sri Lankan team to a World Cup title in 1996) Two years later, at the Queen's Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Bangladesh shocked India out of the World Cup 2007. Batting first, an already under-turmoil Indian team was shot out for a measly 191. After that, there was little doubt about who was going into the next round and who was going home. Bangladesh's team work had done it again!
But was that all? By no means! Later the same year, Bangladesh chased down a challenging 165 against the West Indies (they had Christopher Henry Gayle in their ranks back then) in the World Twenty20 in South Africa. Once again, skipper Ashraful showed off his fantastic abilities with the bat, hammering 61 runs in 27 balls. But to me, the Man of the Match yet again was Bangladesh's team spirit.The long journey is not over yet. Qualification to the Asia Cup finals of 2012 having beaten both the World Cup finalists in back-to-back games is perhaps Bangladesh's greatest cricketing achievement yet. But I expect more in the coming years.
But what makes Bangladesh special? Do they have big names? Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza and, now, Shakib-al-Hasan were and are certainly great players in their own right, but in the cricketing world, they'd hardly qualify as big names. So why have Bangladesh succeeded in doing what Zimbabwe, Kenya and others like them haven't been able to do in so long?
What makes Bangladesh such an inspiration is that they're probably one of the only teams in world cricket in a long time who've understood and highlighted the fact that cricket is a team game. Dav Whatmore, to me, deserves a lot of accolades. Remember his stint with Sri Lanka. When Sri Lanka entered the World Cup of 1996, they were barely the favorites! They certainly did have Ranatunga, Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Aravinda de Silva and Vaas amongst them, but again, at the time, not really big names. Sri Lanka won the World Cup of 1996 through the greatest of great strengths - team spirit. And as Whatmore flew into Dhaka, he brought in with him the same old idea of 'team spirit', teaching his young kids that to win a game, it wasn't enough if you performed alone - you also have to back the others and make them perform just as well.
Watching Bangladesh on the field is a treat. They're certainly nowhere close to being a skilled and crafty unit. But they play intense. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and give 105% in all that they do. They're not easily satisfied by personal milestones of hundreds or five-fors. They want the same for their fellow teammates as well! They're passionate about their cricket and fearless against the Big Boys. They're out there to enjoy their game and keep it to that - short and simple.
Like Symonds said, "they're only Bangladesh," and that's why they're so special!
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