BANGLADESH NATIONAL CRICKET TEAM

The 'Bangladeshi cricket team', also known as the 'The Tigers', is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. It is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One-Day International status. It played its first Test match in 2000 (against India at Dhaka), becoming the tenth Test cricket playing nation.
The Bangladesh Cricket Control Board was established in 1972. Soon after, a cricket league commenced in dhaka and chittagong. A national level cricket tournament begun in the country in 1974-75. During this time the cricket league started at the districts level. Other tournaments that were organised included National Youth Cricket, Inter-university Cricket, College & School Cricket, Shahid Smriti Cricket, Damal Summer Cricket and Star Summer Cricket.
Bangladesh first appeared in the ICC trophy in 1979, when it won matches against Fiji and Malaysia. In 1986, it played its first ever one-day international match without becoming a full member of ICC. Cricket has gradually become very popular in urban areas of the country. Although football was the most popular game for a long time, cricket gained a momentum and soon surpassed football, especially after Bangladesh won the ICC trophy in Malaysia in 1997. Bangladesh also performed well in the 7th World Cup held in 1999 in England, where, in a group match it defeated Pakistan. In 1997, Bangladesh became a regular ICC member with the right to play one-day internationals. It attained the status of a test playing country on 26 June 2000.
The Bangladesh cricket team starred in the 2007 World Cup as the youngest cricket team to have ever been in the world cup. Having only three players above the age of 24, the Bangladesh cricket team has been repeatedly described as a team with great potential. Among the younger players were three teenagers: the 17 year old Tamim Iqbal, 19 year old Sakib Al Hasan and 18 year old Mushfiqur Rahim who was also chosen to be wicket keeper in place of the experienced Khaled Mashud. Bangladesh was the first team to arrive at the West Indies for the 2007 World Cup as their coach Dav Whatmore wanted the team have a good preparation for the upcoming matches. In their first game of the 2007 World Cup held in the West Indies, Bangladesh stunned India by defeating them by 5-wickets. The Bangladeshi bowlers did an effortful job of restricting India to only 191 runs. During their chase, the 17-year old Tamim Iqbal scored an outstanding 51 runs off just 53 balls which gave the Bangladeshi batsmen a flying start and led them to winning the match. During their second match, Bangladesh suffered a huge loss against Sri Lanka by 198 runs (by the D/L method). However, in their third match, Bangladesh beat Bermuda by 7 wickets (by the D/L method) and that victory along with the victory against India eventually led to Bangladesh advancing into the second-round of the 2007 Cricket World Cup called the Super-8 round. This also led to the unexpected knockout of India from the 2007 Cricket World Cup which left millions of Indian cricket fans disappointed. After their entry to the Super-8 round, Bangladesh endured two brutal defeats, the first against Australia by 10 wickets, and the second against New Zealand by 9 wickets. This led to critics suggesting that Bangladesh's victory against India was a random spark. However during their third Super-8 match they beat South Africa (the top ranked team)by a stunning margin of 67 runs. Mohammad Ashraful starred in this match scoring a brilliant 87 runs of only 83 balls, and was awarded man of the match. However, that was followed by a shocking loss to Ireland. That was the first time that Bangladesh had ever lost to Ireland, and the third time that Bangladesh had lost to a non test playing nation.

Contents

History of Bangladeshi international cricket

1999

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

The future

Current squad

Tournament History

★ 1999: Not eligible - Not an ICC full member ★ 2001/02: 3rd place

★ 1996: Won ★ 1998: Won ★ 2000 onwards: Not eligible - Now an ICC full member

National Records of Bangladesh

Batting and Individual records

Bowling records

See also

Notes

External links

History of Bangladeshi international cricket

1999

Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 62 runs during the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Bangladesh managed 223/9 from 50 overs. Pakistan could only manage 161 due to a few run-outs by wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud and some tight bowling by Khaled Mahmud, who took 3/31 from 10 overs.

2003

In September, Bangladesh came very close to their first Test victory, when they lost to Pakistan by only one wicket.

2004

In December, Bangladesh defeated India in their 100th ODI, this being only the third time that they beat a Test playing nation.

2005

Early January, Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe in their 35th Test, their first ever Test match victory. In the first Test of the series, Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by 226 runs in Chittagong Stadium. Bangladesh scored a huge total of 488 in the first innings. In reply, Zimbabwe was all out for only 312 for their first innings. Bangladesh's 2nd innings was declared after scoring 204 for 9 wickets. Powered by a spirited spell from Enamul Haque Jr., who took 6 wickets for 45 runs, Bangladesh wrapped up Zimbabwe's innings for only 154.
Bangladesh would have needed to get the fourth-highest fourth innings total to win in Test cricket history in the second Test of the series. They opted to play out the last four sessions playing conservatively and consequently secured a draw. This gave the team its first Test series win and triggered scenes of wild jubilation across the country. National coach Dav Whatmore was later quoted as saying that playing overly-aggressive cricket to try to win the Test would not have been a good idea.
Bangladesh also secured their first One-Day International series win in the same tour. Despite losing the first two matches of the five-match series, they recovered to win the series 3-2.
On June 18, Bangladesh scored an upset victory over the mighty Australia in the NatWest Series. Australia scored 249 runs for 5 wickets in 50 overs. In reply, Bangladesh reached 250 runs with 4 balls to spare. Mohammad Ashraful scored 100 runs off just 101 balls, his first one-day century, while Aftab Ahmed hit a huge six in the first ball of the final over, and hit a single for the next ball to win the game. This win was a triumph for a Bangladeshi team that had been criticised by Richie Benaud, Mike Gatting and others as incompetent and not good enough for Test or ODI cricket in the English media, just days before.

2006

The first home One-Day International series of 2006 began with some optimism for Bangladesh, who registered their first-ever win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the series. At the end of March, Bangladesh played four ODIs against Kenya, winning all four. Then in April, they came very close to beating Australia in a Test match, taking a first-innings lead of 158, and eventually losing by only three wickets after bowler Mashrafe Mortaza dropped what could possibly have been a catch to turn the match around. At the end of July, Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe as the ODI series favourites but lost by three games to two. However, in August, the team defeated Kenya in all three matches of a series and subsequently went on to whitewash Zimbabwe in an ODI series staged in Bangladesh. That year, Shahriar Nafees became the first Bangladeshi to score over a thousand runs (which included three centuries) in a calendar year while Mashrafe Mortaza became the leading wicket-taker in the world in ODIs staged in 2006.

2007

Bangladesh had a marvelous lead up to the World Cup, defeating Zimbabwe 5-0 at home and 3-1 in Zimbabwe, defeating Scotland 2-0 at home and winning a tri-series undefeated against Canada and Bermuda.
On 17 March, in their first match of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh stunned India with a five wicket victory in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Bangladesh scored 195/5 in reply to India's 191 all out with half-centuries for Saqibul Hasan (53), Mushfiqur Rahim (56 not out) and the 17 year old Tamim Iqbal (51). Only Sourav Ganguly (66) and Yuvraj Singh (47) posted respectable scores for India. On March 21, though, they lost to Sri Lanka 318/4 to 112 all out, Bangladesh losing by 198 runs. However, on 25 March, Bangladesh recouped its loss 96/3 to 94/9 win against Bermuda, advancing to the Super 8 round and cementing India's first-round elimination in the tournament. Bangladesh lost to Australia on 31 March and Ireland in that tournament and also to New Zealand on 2 April. On April 7 they won an outstanding game against South Africa by a big margin of 67 runs. [1]

★ For match details see Wikinews
On June 2, Habibul Bashar, who had previously resigned as ODI captain, though insisting that he would like to retain the Test captaincy, was replaced as captain by Mohammad Ashraful in both forms of the game. Mashrafe Mortaza was appointed vice-captain.

The future

Bangladeshi former captain Habibul Bashar and coach Dav Whatmore have said that they hope Bangladesh will become a serious cricketing contender by 2010. Cricket's enormous popularity with the Bangladeshi people has produced a mood of optimism that this ambition can be achieved. Bangladesh's U19 team, the stepping stone before the International Test scene, regularly performs well against established Test nation's U19 teams. In the recent 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh were one of the favourites to win beforehand, but fell in the quarter finals to England U19.
Many have criticised Bangladesh's elevation to Test Status. The country's supporters counter this by pointing out that it took New Zealand, now a strong international side in both forms of the game, many years to win its first Test match. Possibly due to these doubts about Bangladesh's ability to compete at the highest level, Bangladesh will only get the opportunity to play 41 tests through 2006 - 2012 (The least among full ICC members with the sole exception of Zimbabwe), according to the recently publicised ICC Future Tours Programme.
India, which strongly supported Bangladesh’s bid for test status in 2001, is the only full member nation not to invite Bangladesh to play on its own soil, even though India is due to tour Bangladesh three times between 2006 and 2012. Bangladesh has yet to play a Test on Indian soil. Some have suggested that India, which will be one of the busiest cricketing nations during this period, did not schedule to play Bangladesh because of time conflicts and fear of player fatigue. However, this still strengthens the notion that Bangladesh is not on an even footing with other Test playing nations when it comes to securing regular international fixtures. For example, Bangladesh usually plays only two tests in a test series, while most other countries play three or more matches.^[1]
[2]

Current squad

Name	Domestic team	Playing Role
Habibul Bashar	Biman Bangladesh	Middle-order Batsman
Abdur Razzak	Khulna Division	Spin Bowler
Aftab Ahmed	Chittagong Division	Middle-order Batsman
Javed Omar	Dhaka Division	Opening Batsman
Mashrafe Mortaza	Khulna Division	All-Rounder/Opening Bowler
Mohammad Ashraful (c)	Dhaka Division	Middle-order Batsman
Mohammad Rafique	Dhaka Division	Spin Bowler
Mushfiqur Rahim	Rajshahi Division	Wicketkeeper
Rajin Saleh	Sylhet Division	Middle-order Batsman
Shakib Al Hasan	Khulna Division	Allround Spin Bowler
Shahadat Hossain	Dhaka Division	Fast Bowler
Shahriar Nafees	Barisal Division	Opening Batsman
Syed Rasel	Khulna Division	Fast-medium Bowler
Tapash Baisya	Sylhet Division	Fast-medium bowler
Tamim Iqbal	Chittagong Division	Opening Batsman

Tournament History

World Cup

★ 1975: Not eligible - Not an ICC member

★ 1979 to 1996 inclusive: Did not qualify

★ 1999: First round

★ 2003: First round

★ 2007: Second round - Super Eight Stage (7th place)

ICC Champions Trophy

★ 2002: First round

★ 2004: First round

★ 2006: 9th place

ICC Knockout

★ 1998: Did not participate

★ 2000: First round

Commonwealth Games

★ 1998: First round

ICC Trophy

★ 1979: First round

★ 1983: 4th place

★ 1986: First round

★ 1990: Semi Finals

★ 1994: 2nd round

★ 1997: Won

★ 2001 onwards: Not eligible - Now an ICC full member

Asian Test Championship

★ 1999: Not eligible - Not an ICC full member

★ 2001/02: 3rd place

Asia Cup

★ 1984: Did not participate

★ 1986: 3rd place

★ 1988: 4th place

★ 1990/91: 3rd place

★ 1995: 4th place

★ 1997: 4th place

★ 2000: 4th place

★ 2004: 4th place

ACC Trophy

★ 1996: Won

★ 1998: Won

★ 2000 onwards: Not eligible - Now an ICC full member

Australasia Cup

★ 1986: Did not participate

★ 1990: First round

★ 1994: Did not participate

National Records of Bangladesh

Batting and Individual records

'Test Matches'

★ Highest team total - 488 all out against Zimbabwe in 2005.

★ Highest aggregate of runs - Habibul Bashar (2953) in 47 matches at an average of 32.09.

★ Highest individual score - 158
★ by Mohammad Ashraful against India in 2004.

★ Highest partnership - 191 for the sixth wicket by Mohammad Ashraful(102) & Mushfiqur Rahim(80) against Sri Lanka in 2007.

★ Most number of centuries - Mohammad Ashraful (4) in 38 matches.

★ Most number of half centuries - Habibul Bashar (24) in 47 matches.

★ Most number of dismissals (wicket-keeping) - Khaled Mashud (87 dismissals) in 44 matches.

★ Most number of catches (excludes wicket-keeping) - Habibul Bashar (21) in 47 matches.

★ Highest average (qualification 20 inns.) - Habibul Bashar (32.09)

★ Most number of matches played - Habibul Bashar (47).

★ Most number of matches as captain - Habibul Bashar (18) from 2004 to 2007.
'ODI Matches'

★ Highest team total - 301/7 against Kenya in 2006.

★ Highest aggregate of runs - Habibul Bashar (2168) in 111 matches at an average of 21.68.

★ Highest individual score - 134
★ by Saqibul Hasan against Canada in 2006.

★ Highest partnership - 175
★ for the fourth wicket by Habibul Bashar (64) & Rajin Saleh (108) against Kenya in 2006.

★ Most number of centuries - Shahriar Nafees (4) in 47 matches.

★ Most number of half centuries - Habibul Bashar (14) in 111 matches.

★ Most number of dismissals (wicket-keeping) - Khaled Mashud (126 dismissals) in 126 matches.

★ Most number of catches (excludes wicket-keeping) - Mohammad Rafique (28) in 123 matches.

★ Highest average (qualification 20 inns.) - Saqibul Hasan (43.80).

★ Highest number of sixes in a match - Mashrafe Mortaza (5).

★ Highest number of sixes in a career - Aftab Ahmed (46) in 66 matches.

★ Most number of matches played - Khaled Mashud (126).

★ Most number of matches as captain - Habibul Bashar (69) from 2004 to 2007.

Bowling records

'Test Matches'

★ Most number of wickets - 94 by Mohammad Rafique at 40.79 in 31 matches.

★ Best individual bowling - 7/95 by Enamul Haque Jr against Zimbabwe in 2005.

★ Best bowling in a match - 12/200 by Enamul Haque Jr against Zimbabwe in 2005.

★ Most number of 10 wicket hauls - Enamul Haque Jr (1).

★ Most number of 5 wicket hauls - Mohammad Rafique (7).

★ Best average (qualification 50 overs) - 39.46 by Enamul Haque Jr.
'ODI Matches'

★ Most number of wickets - 119 by Mohammad Rafique at 38.75 in 123 matches.

★ Best individual bowling - 6/26 by Mashrafe Mortaza against Kenya in 2006.

★ Most number of 5 wicket hauls - Aftab Ahmed, Abdur Razzaq, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mohammad Rafique (1).

★ Best average (qualification 50 overs) - 22.61 by Abdur Razzaq.

See also

★ Bangladeshi national cricket captains

★ Bangladesh national women's cricket team

Notes

1. ICC Future Tours Program
2. Whatmore concerned at lack of Tests

External links

★ BanglaCricket: Bangladesh cricket news, scores, player profiles, interactive discussion forum, and fantasy games.

★ TigerCricket: The Official Website of Bangladesh Cricket Control Board: Among other things, Animated live score

★ Cricinfo Bangladesh: Bangladesh cricket news, photos, live scores, profiles, statistics by Wisden Cricinfo

★ Bangladesherkhela: A complete sports website in Bangla.

★ CricBD: Bangladesh cricket news, scorecards, player profiles and discussion