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Sept 24th, 2004:
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)
yesterday named four players who
have just recovered or still
nursing injuries in the
preliminary squad of 21 for the
Test and ODI series against New
Zealand next month.
Captain Habibul Bashar, who
returned home on Wednesday night
from Australia following a
successful surgery on his right
thumb, has been included in the
list after missing the ICC
Champions Trophy in England.
Another welcome return is that
that of injury-prone fast bowler
Mashrafee bin-Mortuza who last
played for the country a year
ago.
Left-arm spinner Enamul Haque
Junior, who captained Bangladesh
U-19 team in England recently
before a raptured posterior
cruciate ligament sidelined him
mid-way through the tour, is
also in the side and so too is
his U-19 mate Talha Jubair.
Paceman Jubair has fought his
way back from a persistent back
injury.
Bashar is expected to recover
fully before the series but the
others have a lot more to prove
if they are to convince the
selectors of their fitness.
22-year-old Mashrafee,
regarded as the country's
fastest bowler, has only started
bowling recently after
recuperating from a career
threatening knee damage and
looks an unlikely candidate to
make the team as there is very
little time and opportunity to
show that he is match-fit before
the series gets underway.
Jubair could be considered
for only the three-match ODI
series after his reasonably good
performance in limited overs
games in England for the under
19s. It is believed he is not
fit enough yet to take the load
of Test matches. His last Test
was against the West Indies in
Chittagong in December 2002.
Enamul too has not played a Test
after the second game against
England in Chittagong in his
debut series last November.
The selectors, desperate to
find a solution to the team's
brittle batting, have brought
back opener Hannan Sarkar and
middle-order batsman Alok Kapali.
Sarker was dropped after a
miserable tour of the West
Indies in May-June while Kapali
was axed from the Champions
Trophy squad after a prolonged
form slump.
Three Under-19 cricketers
Nafees Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed and
Nazmul Hossain, who were
involved in the Champions Trophy
retained their places.
Apparently, the focus has
been on settling the top order
batting as three openers --
Javed Omar, Sarkar and Iqbal and
six specialist batsmen have been
picked. The spin department is
as ever dependant on veteran
Mohammad Rafique with fellow
left-arm spinners Manjarul Islam
and Enamul expected to fight for
the second spinner's role in
helpful home conditions.
However, the absence of a
specialist off-spinner could
prove a handicap.
The preliminary list includes
as many as six new ball bowlers.
All-rounders Khaled Mahmud and
Mushfiqur Rahman are two other
seam options. The selected
cricketers have been asked to
report at the Army Stadium on
September 26, the first day of
the training camp.
New Zealand will begin the
tour with a three-day match in
Dhaka from October 14-16. The
first Test starts on October 19
in Dhaka while the second will
be in Chittagong from October
26-30. The three ODIs are
scheduled on November 2, 5 and
7.
THE
PROBABLES: Habibul
Bashar, Rajin saleh, Khaled
Mashud, Khaled Mahmud, Javed
Omar, Mushfiqur Rahman, Hannan
sarkar, Alok Kapali, Mohammad
Ashraful, Mohammed Rafique,
Manjarul Islam, Tapash Baisya,
Faisal Hossain, Alamgir Kabir,
Mashrafee Bin Mortuza, Enamul
Haque Junior, Nazmul Hossain,
Tareq Aziz, Nafees Iqbal, Aftab
Ahmed and Talha Jubair. |
