ICC 2005 Super Challenge

[Cruxdude]

Will post the scorecards after getting home but it has been decent stuff. Lost both the tests against England but England were lucky not to lose the second test where we collapsed after a great start to the chase.

In the ODI series, defeated England every single time and defeated Australia once. A heart breaker in the finals. Last over 6 to win with 3 wickets in hand. Took 4 singles and then Warne takes 2 wickets of the last two balls (So typical of him). Lost by 1 run.

Won the Srilanka test series 1-0. The first test was all rain affected and the Srilankans batted on for 4 days. Somehow saved the test after losing 7 wickets in the second innings following on.

Won the second test after restricting Srilanka to sub 350 totals in both the innings.

Lost the ODI series 3-0 and choked in the first two from winnable situations.

Overall the keeper A Ahmed has been awesome. Abedin has been good without being great. The other opener has been decent. The tail has contributed a lot with the bat esp the spinner Hasan and the all rounder Manjural Islam.

The pacers have been patchy though.

 

[Noble One]

Awesome effort in Sri Lanka, Cruxdude.

Everyone can agree that Abedin is the best of the Bangladesh batsmen. Not looking forward to the progression to the next season, worried he may retire.

 

[_Ed_]

Yeah, exactly. If someone's able to get a bit of a fluke and have him play on for another season in their game, that might give them a bit of an advantage in this challenge.

 

[Cruxdude]

Missed out on the scorecards as I had proceeded to the next season. No more Abedin as he has retired. Batting depends a lot on Bashar, Aftab and the keeper Arif Ahmed.

The first series was a home series against India. Lost the first test by 10 wickets and the second by an innings and 271 runs. None of the batsmen stood up against an attack of Kumble, Harbhajan and a seamer called G Singh.

Rafique was the only guy taking wickets along with Mortaza. Rafique had best figures of 8/173 in the 2nd test.

Was expecting more thrashings in the ODI series but won it 2-1. Batted too conservatively in the first ODI as I was scared of being bowled out early and ended up with 175-4. India stuttered but won it by 5 wickets.

Next game my openers gave mne a good 5 RPO start for 10 or so overs and Bashar played an awesome innings of 60 odd in 50 odd balls. We scored 270 add. The Indians were totally destroyed by M Islam the left arm spinner after a blistering start by Sehwag. Won that match by 153 runs.

Next game again batting first, got a good start but middle order fell away a bit and ended up with 226 or so. Again Rafique, Hasan and Islam combined to spin India out for 170.

My first ODI series win and never expected to beat India especially after the horror test series.

 

[Cruxdude]

Awesome effort in Sri Lanka, Cruxdude.

Everyone can agree that Abedin is the best of the Bangladesh batsmen. Not looking forward to the progression to the next season, worried he may retire.

Yeah was thrilled with the bowlers. After letting Sri Lanka bat for 4 days in the previous test without losing much wickets I wasn't hopeful. But everyone chipped in in the 2nd test.

 

[Noble One]

Detailed update to come later, but progressed into the 2006/2007 season. Abedin retired as expected. No real talent to emerge in the youth-pool, a couple of players with 2nd XI averages > 50, but both with poor starts in first class cricket.

Beaten 2-0 by India in the Test series. Lost both games comprehensively with my batting having a torrid time. Restored some pride in the ODI's with a respectable 2-1 loss to India.

The visiting England side has been beaten 2-0 in the Tests. The batsmen stood up and scored runs, and Hasan in his debut Test series was incredible with the ball. Ahmed as keeper has been rock-solid with 8 half-centuries in 10 Tests now. Promoted to number 3 to see if he can improve his conversion rate.

 

[Noble One]

2006/2007 Season

India tour of Bangladesh

1st Test - Bangladesh v India - India by an inns/149 runs
Bangladesh: 151 (Ahmed 41, Parvez 37)
India: 453 (Rafique 5/155, Islam 1/63)
Bangladesh: 153 (Rahman 72, Iqbal 45)

2nd Test - Bangladesh v India - India by an inns/69 runs
India: 480 (Rafique 4/107, Islam 2/103)
Bangladesh: 223 (Rafique 71*, Ahmed 67)
Bangladesh: 188 (E Sunny 42*, Iqbal 34)

2-0 Loss

1st ODI - Bangladesh v India - India by 7 wickets
Bangladesh: 7/173 (Ahmed 29, Rahman 27)
India: 3/177 (E Sunny 1/29, Rafique 1/38)

2nd ODI - Bangladesh v India - Bangladesh by 5 wickets
India: 6/215 (E Sunny 3/18, Rafique 1/34)
Bangladesh: 5/216 (Bashar 69, Ahmed 55*)

3rd ODI - Bangladesh v India - India by 152 runs
India 2/302 (Shahzada 1/50, A Sunny 1/68)
Bangladesh: 8/150 (A Sunny 43*, Islam 33)

2-1 Loss

England tour of Bangladesh

1st Test - Bangladesh v England - Bangladesh by 3 wickets
England: 296 (Hasan 7/85, A Sunny 2/30)
Bangladesh: 264 (Ahmed 75, Iqbal 49)
England: 260 (Hasan 4/74, Rafique 3/34)
Bangladesh: 7/295 (Ahmed 84*, Rahma 79)

2nd Test - Bangladesh v England - Bangladesh by 231 runs
Bangladesh: 499 (Ahmed 95, Ahmed 95)
England: 283 (Islam 3/28, Rafique 3/51)
Bangladesh: 6/261 dec (Ahmed 78, Rahman 62)
England: 246 (Islam 6/83, A Sunny 2/74)

2-0 Win

1st ODI - Bangladesh v England - England by 25 runs
England: 8/194 (Mortaza 3/44, E Sunny 2/29)
Bangladesh: 169 (Ahmed 46, Bashar 31)

2nd ODI - Bangladesh v England - England by 6 wickets
Bangladesh: 7/244 (Ahmed 71, Rahman 49)
England: 4/246 (Islam 2/53, Hasan 1/30)

3rd ODI - Bangladesh v England - Bangladesh by 10 wickets
England: 6/163 (Rafique 2/22, Razzak 2/32)
Bangladesh: 0/165 (Ahmed 88*, Rahman 66*)

2-1 Loss

Bangladesh tour of New Zealand

3 Day Friendly - Wellington v Bangladesh - Draw
Bangladesh: 382 (Ahmed 81, Rahman 63)
Wellington: 389 (A Sunny 5/136, Hasan 3/89)
Bangladesh: 5/99 (Ahmed 35*, Islam 21)

1st Test - New Zealand v Bangladesh - New Zealand by 366 runs
New Zealand: 381 (Hasan 4/133, Mortaza 3/53)
Bangladesh: 233 (Iqbal 43, Ahmed 43)
New Zealand: 9/352 dec (Islam 6/68, Rafique 1/45)
Bangladesh: 134 (Ahmed 77*, Iqbal 14)

2nd Test - New Zealand v Bangladesh - Bangladesh by 10 wickets
New Zealand: 328 (Rafique 5/106, A Sunny 3/64)
Bangladesh: 520 (Bashar 109, Rahman 101)
New Zealand: 255 (A Sunny 5/90, Rafique 3/78)
Bangladesh: 0/64 (Rahman 34*, Iqbal 23*)

1-1 draw. A fantastic Test series against New Zealand. It was an incredible performance to bat so well in the 2nd Test considering the disaster in the 1st Test. The lack of a pace attack hurt in New Zealand conditions as both Mortaza and Shahzada leaked runs and failed to take wickets when needed.

1st ODI - New Zealand v Bangladesh - Bangladesh by 1 wicket
New Zealand: 8/205 (Razzak 2/36, Islam 2/44)
Bangladesh: 9/207 (Ahmed 69, Saleh 49*)

2nd ODI - New Zealand v Bangladesh - Bangladesh by 2 wickets
New Zealand: 9/198 (Rafique 4/44, Islam 2/21)
Bangladesh: 8/199 (Ahmed 84, Bashar 34)

3rd ODI - New Zealand v Bangladesh - Bangladesh by 123 runs
Bangladesh: 242 (Bashar 92, Rahman 59)
New Zealand: 119 (Razzak 5/32, Hasan 3/24)

3-0 win. A good sign leading up to the World Cup. I'm not 100% certain of the attack I will use, as the combination of Rafique, Razzak, Islam, Hasan, E Sunny, A Sunny and Parvez are rotated on a game by game basis. Mortaza will play as the sole pace-bowler.

Season Stats

Tests

Batting:
Ahmed: 527 runs @ 65.87
Rahman: 394 runs @ 35.82
Ahmed: 360 runs @ 32.73
Bashar: 343 runs @ 34.30
Iqbal: 285 runs @ 25.91

Bowling:
Rafique: 27 wickest @ 26.63
Hasan: 22 wickets @ 27.18
Islam: 21 wickets @ 27.86
A Sunny: 12 wickets @ 27.08
Mortaza: 7 wickets @ 35.71

ODI's

Batting:
Ahmed: 316 runs @ 45.14 (As mentioned, this guy is a star as a keeper-batsman)
Bashar: 272 runs @ 34.00
Ahmed: 260 runs @ 32.50
A Rahman: 249 runs @ 31.12
G Rahman: 157 runs @ 19.62

Bowling:
Razzak: 10 wickets @ 18.10
Rafique: 10 wickets @ 33.80
Islam: 10 wickets @ 37.30
Hasan 7 wickets @ 27.29
E Sunny: 7 wickets @ 33.86

Next up, the World Cup....................................

 

[Noble One]

World Cup 2007

The dream ends...

Rafique retired prior to the start of the World Cup.

Sri Lanka v Bangladesh - Sri Lanka by 8 wickets
Bangladesh: 128 (Rahman 36*, Ahmed 32)
Sri Lanka: 2/129 (Islam 1/32, Hasan 1/42)

The World Cup has started in dismal fashion with a massive loss to Sri Lanka. Our batsmen choked against the might of ICC2005 god in Samaraweera. 128 was never enough runs to defend on a perfect track.

Bangladesh v Canada - Bangladesh by 8 wickets
Canada: 140 (Islam 3/9, Mortaza 3/35)
Bangladesh: 2/141 (Ahmed 62*, Rahman 31)

An easy victory over Canada that has helped ease the NRR pressure from the Sri Lanka game. Ahmed has continued as the star of the batting lineup, without doubt the best find of my time with Bangladesh.

India v Bangladesh - Tied scores but India win due to more wickets left
India: 7/199 (Islam 3/35, E Sunny 2/36)
Bangladesh: 8/199 (Ahmed 95*, Rahman 54)

Our World Cup has ended due to the 'more wickets left' ruling. In truth we should have won this game after bowling so well, and then making 126 before the loss of the 1st wicket. Bangladesh have been dumped from the 2007 World Cup at the first stage, and as a result the failure of this challenge.

The winner of the 2007 World Cup is the West Indies. They defeated South Africa in the final by 5 wickets. South Africa struggled to make 9/185 with Pollock scoring 57* and Reon King taking 4/53. West Indies won with ease thanks to a Chris Gayle 92.

Good luck to anyone who makes it to the World Cup. It has been a fun journey.

 

[Cruxdude]

That was a pretty decent performance. Is the Ahmed who is top scoring in loads of games the wicket keeper or Aftab?

 

[Noble One]

That was a pretty decent performance. Is the Ahmed who is top scoring in loads of games the wicket keeper or Aftab?

Wicketkeeper. Only batsman in the team who I would class as reliable.

 

[Somerset]

Had some spare time this afternoon so decided to have a go at this. Lost both tests to England and failed to win an ODI in the tri-series, though completely dominated the three-day matches and the OD friendly. Abedin was brilliant scoring two 200s (207 and 200*) against Combined Universities and Northamptonshire respectively. Bashar scored 167 against Combined Universities, 134* against Northamptonshire and 192 in the second test, while Raffique took 31 wickets in the three FC matches and two test matches. ODIs were mostly a disaster, bowling especially.

 

[Noble One]

Minhajul Abedin must surely have one of the highest first-class averages for any Bangladesh batsman ever?

Terrible ODI record IRL though.

 

[Somerset]

Well this came completely out of the blue! Lost by an innings to Sinhalese in the three-day warm-up but we then managed to beat Sri Lanka in a close test match. Took 154 overs to make the 273 runs to win in the fourth innings.

 

[Mike5181]

We could probably compile a pretty good team just by using the players that performed for everybody. Bashar got a triple century for me. That was pretty insane.

 

[Noble One]

Bashar was an automatic choice for my team. Frustrating player as he would score a brilliant century and then go missing for 3-4 Tests.

 

[Somerset]

Bashar was an automatic choice for my team. Frustrating player as he would score a brilliant century and then go missing for 3-4 Tests.

Hes been pretty consistent for me actually. Just the one century, a massive 192 against England, but hes chipped in with 50s almost every test. He and Abedin basically hold the batting together, if they fail its a real struggle to make a decent total.

 

[Mike5181]

Safe to say that's the biggest win in this thread.

 

[Somerset]

Haha, wow! Thats an immense innings - ironically I haven't found Saleh to be much good so far.

 

[Noble One]

Massive innings. He played in the World Cup as he is one of the few Bangladesh bats with an aggressive mentality. Proved to be a failure, also did very little in the two years leading up to the Cup.

 

[Howe_zat]

Safe to say that's the biggest win in this thread.

wat