Its only a 2 Test series. Interestingly both tests to be played at the same venues as Sri Lanka's 2-0 series win from a few years back (Duban and Port Elizabeth).
This also marks our first tour of South Africa were we don't play any games in their third-class venues like East London, Bloemfontaine, or Potchesfstroom.
Will be a very tough series, but I am cautiously optimistic we can compete with or without Shakib.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
Cricket in Asia getting intensified with Top Player against the Board President. After Virat Ganguly incident, its now Shakib Nazmul Hasan encounter taking it to another level.
Nazmul Hasan's action seems he wants to end Shakib's career :o
Shakib back in the squad, presumably for both series.
If he is truly ready to play then its good for him to be back, but if he really doesn't wish to be there, having him play is not beneficial for anyone.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
SA forced to name a second string Test side since so many first teamers will be at the IPL. Disappointing, as you always want to Test yourself against the best.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
Solid win by the Tigers. Pace attack looks good, batting looks good...seems like BD are coalescing into a pretty well rounded unit. Fielding is the one aspect that remains mediocre apart from the occaisional brilliance.
A series win against this full-strength Proteas team will do perceptiona and team morale a world of good.
On the other hand, SA looked quite ordinary here. Anyone know if better players are being overlooked due to quotas and such? It seems like this was a full strength side based on what SA have been putting out on the park recently.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
Mixed first day for Bangladesh on Day 1 of the Test series. But you'd have to say Bangladesh would take 230 odd for 4 on what looks to be a decent wicket. There is already some turn however, and SA have 2 specialist spinners and will be bowling last.
The progression bears some resemblence to the Mount Maunguini Test from a few months ago. Both NZ and SA had gotten to comfortable starts, before middle order wobbles let Bangladesh get back into the game. Both top orders saw a run out against the run of play, highlighting the importance of crisp ground fielding in Tests.
Lots of rain predicted for this Test, so will be interesting to see how far this match goes.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
Very happy to see Khaled amongst the wickets...the Sylheti duo of Khaled and Ebadat sharing 6 wickets between them.
Taskin continues to be unlucky. Had just 4 wickets in the NZ series and today had a clear outside edge not reviewed.
Batting was disappointing. Shanto in particular seems to have been really batting well under pressure and just got a peach from what it looks like. Hope the top order gets scores in the 2nd go around.
Saffers in full control although we still have plenty of batting left.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
But the pace attack continues to be a revelation. Mehidy is also bowling admirably in overseas conditions now.
I reckon our bowling attack is now stronger than SL, WI, and England too.
Stronger than SL yeah. WI and England at full strength? Idk about that. Holder and Kemar will finish as West Indian greats. Seales too probably. And England have Robinson, Broad, Anderson and Jofra?
Stronger than SL yeah. WI and England at full strength? Idk about that. Holder and Kemar will finish as West Indian greats. Seales too probably. And England have Robinson, Broad, Anderson and Jofra?
To be fair, Chameera and Kumara could also potentially finish as SL greats (behind Vaas). Lakmal is probably 2nd (maybe Malinga), but neither of them were insurmountably great.
I don't think Holder and Kemar will go down as greats in a similar bracket as the Holdings, Marshalls, Roberts', Walshes, Ambroses, et al. I think of Holder and Kemar more as "effective" than "great". Maybe if Kemar hadn't lost his pace for the majority of his career. Seals its to early to tell, but yes, if he can keep an average of 25 or less for 200+ wickets, he will go down as legend. I think Joseph has a ton of potential as well.
I'm discounting Broad and Anderson since England seem to have moved past them. To me Archer doesn't look all that special either apart from his easy pace. I feel like he's a one-pitch pony at this stage. Haven't seen Robinson...is he any good?
Even Broad and Anderson, I would put down in the aforementioned "effective" category rather than "great". Not at all trying to dimish their combined 1100 Test wickets or whatever unbelievable number it is.
I also don't really rate Pakistan's current attack that highly. Shaheen is good, sensational at times, but too inconsistent. Not sure what to make of young Naseem Shah...tremendous pace, but does he have an abundance of any other skill? I know he bowled quite well vs Australia recently, so perhaps he's got more potential than I initially thought. I could be wrong, I did also say that Babar Azam was just a minnow-basher, and was proven wrong then.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
Stronger than SL yeah. WI and England at full strength? Idk about that. Holder and Kemar will finish as West Indian greats. Seales too probably. And England have Robinson, Broad, Anderson and Jofra?
To be fair, Chameera and Kumara could also potentially finish as SL greats (behind Vaas). Lakmal is probably 2nd (maybe Malinga), but neither of them were insurmountably great.
I don't think Holder and Kemar will go down as greats in a similar bracket as the Holdings, Marshalls, Roberts', Walshes, Ambroses, et al. I think of Holder and Kemar more as "effective" than "great". Maybe if Kemar hadn't lost his pace for the majority of his career. Seals its to early to tell, but yes, if he can keep an average of 25 or less for 200+ wickets, he will go down as legend. I think Joseph has a ton of potential as well.
I'm discounting Broad and Anderson since England seem to have moved past them. To me Archer doesn't look all that special either apart from his easy pace. I feel like he's a one-pitch pony at this stage. Haven't seen Robinson...is he any good?
Even Broad and Anderson, I would put down in the aforementioned "effective" category rather than "great". Not at all trying to dimish their combined 1100 Test wickets or whatever unbelievable number it is.
I also don't really rate Pakistan's current attack that highly. Shaheen is good, sensational at times, but too inconsistent. Not sure what to make of young Naseem Shah...tremendous pace, but does he have an abundance of any other skill? I know he bowled quite well vs Australia recently, so perhaps he's got more potential than I initially thought. I could be wrong, I did also say that Babar Azam was just a minnow-basher, and was proven wrong then.
I mean I see the 80s/90s Windies quicks as legends. Yes they are a league above Kemar and Holder but these guys are still excellent bowlers. Probably on par with India`s best quicks barring Bumrah surely. And fair enough about England. With BD, I still wont make any judgement on their bowling lineup giving guys like Ebadot and Khaled are still rather new and have had bad performances recently too. Taskin and Mehidy are good though.
Pakistan quicks are alright. At least on par with BD. Their spin attack might be one of the worst though. Cant believe how bad it is
I think Pakistan's pace attack is still better than ours. We have to remember the likes of Ebadat, Taskin, Khaled, Shoriful are still very raw even if most of them are 26-28 years old. I think Ebadat has the most caps with just 14 or 15 matches. That's one year of fixtures for England or India.
Though the first Test ended in a whimper, and I disagree with the fuss raised about umpiring. Erasmus is a top umpire and anyone can make a few mistakes in a Test. We were just beaten by a better side and there's no shame in that. What I'm interested to see is if the gains from the NZ win were one off flukes or a sign of the future.
The seamers continued to progress, and Miraz progressed as an overseas spinner. The fielding was at times sensational. The youngsters are contributing. So all in all a lot of positives to take into the next Test and beyond.
Hopefully Tamim comes back for the Port Elizabeth Test.
Bangladesh cricket fanatic, observer of all others.
Another shambolic batting display by BD against a 2nd string SA attack.
It was good to see consistency from Khaled and Taijul pick up a 9 Fer. Ebadat bowled well in Durban but not as well in PE. He's very much an inconsistent quantity at the moment.
The batters have a lot to improve on. Their ability to play spin is dreadful.
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