[U20] Announcements

[UtopiaRay]

It's (well past) time for our OD Division 1 review. We'll start by having a look at the games, and then go in to some more detail on individual performances afterwards.

Tour Details
Hosting Rights Won By Bangladesh

Yes, we win bidding rights for the first time and it really does not go to plan. We opted for Slow, Dry and Sticky pitches (in that order) and received 1 Dry pitch (v Australia) along with 4 Slow pitches.

Fixtures
Game 1 v Canada - Won by 6 wickets

We started our tour quite well, with a 6 wicket win over Canada. The Canadians batted first and made 9/267, which looked to be a good total at the time. Skipper Tony Griggs top scored with 84 off 87, and the highlight for us was debutant leggie Tushar Joy picking up 5/59. While the two Canadian ARs had days to forget, their specialist batter lurking at no. 8, Trent Johnston, made sure they didn't lose too much momentum in the face of Tushar Joy and Ajit Powwar (2/56), hitting 46 off 34. We got off to a solid start, with a 64 run opening partnershyip and all of the top 4 made contributions, but nos. 5 & 6 in Minhaz Rafique (91* off 88) and skipper Raja Sarkar (53* off 59) carried us home, reaching the target off the final ball.

Tense results delivered off the final delivery set a bit of theme for the rest of the tour, though of course we didn't know that at the time.

Game 2 v Bermuda - Match tied

We then move on to the Bermuda game, where we found ourselves bowling first again. Bermuda's innings got off to a rocky start, leaving them 4/64 in the 18th over. From there, their lower order bailed them out after opener Daynason Bailey anchored the innings with 45 off 96. Destroyer in chief was no. 7 Rupert Cort playing the finisher role with 64* off 52. In Slow/Windy conditions, our spinners were mediocre (Mukesh Khaleel - 1/46, Ajit Powar - 1/35, Golam Razzak - 1/55) though the two quicks did well (Hemang Malhotra - 2/51, Atif Shuvo - 1/32). We may ahve lost Anwar Farukh in the 8th over, but Ehsanual Nousher (45 off 77) and Sanjeev Patankar (65 off 102) did well to steady the ship, leaving us 3//167 after 40.5 overs. From there things took a distinctly frustrating turn - No. 5 Mushfiq Mahmud was the last specialist batter standing, and ended the innings by exposing the ARs and tail as much as possible - what was a good platform turned in to a tied game.

Game 3 v Sri Lanka - Lost by 5 runs

We then came to game 3 against Sri Lanka, which in Slow/Overcast conditions saw the game play out very differently to game 2. Game 2 was the bowlers having the upper hand, and this game saw the batters on top - SL made 3/256, batting first. They were 1/30 when opener Outtadaa Middladabatt ran himself out for 9, but we were unable to capitalise on this opening. Captain Chandradasa Schaffer laid the platform with 63 off 111, and keeper Manusha John capitalised on said platform with 79* off 78 (joined by Disanayaka Lakmini hitting 45* off 35). Our chase got off to a very poor start, 1/33 becoming 4/75 in the 17th over. Opener Anwar Farukh followed Schaffer's lead, making 81 off 124 and falling as he looked to accelerate. Despite a fine 93* off 98 from Minhaz Rafique, no-one else was capable of sticking with him and we fell short, ending on 6/251. A disappointing finish to a distinctly winnable game.

Game 4 v Australia - Lost by 149 runs

And then we have the blowout. Australia win the toss and elect to bat and despite Tushar Joy picking up 5/51 in Dry/Windy conditions, Australia ended on 8/313 - a truly commanding total. Destroyer-in-chief was Rooster Cocks (yes, really) with 83 off 70, ably supported by captain & opener Rhys Wiltshire with 61 off 74. Just as we looked to work our way back in to the game, no. 8 Jade Briscoe came out and belted 43 off 25. Our chase got off to a bad start with Tanvir Sarkar falling for 3, and it never recovered. Despite Ehsanual Nousher making a fine 61 off 73, no-one else crossed 23 and we were skittled for 164 with 8.4 overs remaining. A horrific performance that left us in a dangerous situation before the final round.

Game 5 v England - Match tied

As mentioned in the match report, the situation heading in to the final game against England was this - we were sitting in 4th, with England in 5th and Canada last. We have 1 win and 1 tie, both England and Canada had a win and a tie. Our NRR was the worst of the 3 bottom teams after the loss to Australia, so the following scenarios could occur:

Win, and guarantee safety.
Tie, and hope Canada lose to Bermuda, keeping us safe in 4th.
Lose, and guarantee relegation.

For the first time all tour, we batted first and despite Ehsnaul Nousher once again giving us a platform with 58 off 71, we ended on 5/231. Not undefendable, but we would have liked another 20 runs. Mushfiq Mahmud had a much better innings this time, with a fine 52 off 47. England started badly, falling to 2/14 in 3 overs, but it proved to only be a temporary setback. Nos. 4 & 5 Victor Moses (55 off 98) and Theo Wiese (92 off 131) were able to recover very strongly, leaving them 4/185 after 43.5 overs. Tushar Joy removed Wiese in the following over, but keeper Felix Franks made sure they never lost touch with the target, and the game was tied. Golam Razzak took 2/52, and AR Bipul Pal took 2/43. However, Canada won their final game against Bermuda, and our relegation was confirmed.

OD Division 1 - Touring Squad

Batters
Mahir Bashar - Bailey (3 games) - Mahir had an underwhelming tour, managing just 65 runs @ 21.67 (SR 53.72) from his 3 innings. While his fielding and captaincy are good assets, he did not accomplish much in his primary role, scoring few runs and very slowly.

Anwar Farukh - Birds XI (3 games) - Anwar gave a good account of himself, scoring 124 runs @ 41.33 (SR 65.9). His 81 against SL should have been match defining but we fell short, and at least managed cameos in his other 2 apperances. His SR was low, but his best innings was him playing an anchor role. That said, he was a bit slow in his two cameos but not enough to cause alarm.

Mushfiq Mahmud - Justice for the 96 (3 games) - Mushfiq had a somewhat mixed tournament (94 runs @ 47, SR 102.17) - his innings against Bermuda actively contributed to us blowing a winnable position, and his half-century against England got us in to a winning position that we then blew (through no fault of Mushfiq's). If nothing else, he did a fine job of keeping the tempo up where several of our batters got bogged down, or scored quickly but fell cheaply.

Ehsanul Nousher - Bancroft (4 games) - Ehsanul had a fine tournament, ending with 199 runs @ 49.75, and a strike rate of 73.16. He consistently managed to get us off to good starts all tour, though his highest score was 61 so it would be good to see him go big in the future. Still, a fine performance from Ehsanul.

Sanjeev Patankar - Caradon CC (4 games) - Sanjeev had a sound tour, ending with 140 runs @ 35 with a SR of 67.96. His lone half-century set us against Bermuda, only for us to be unable to close the game out. Aside from that, he made some cameos but had no other innings of substance. Not a bad tour by any means.

Minhaz Rafique - Vudu Blasters (3 games) - Minhaz had a fantastic tournament, peeling off 207 runs @ 207 (2 not-outs) at a strike rate of 99.52. His 91* against Canada won us the game, and his 93* against SL a fine innings that should have got us over the line. He briefly threatened to get us going against Australia, but got run out on 23.


Wicketkeepers
Tanvir Sarkar - Xanadoosra (4 games) - Tanvir had a split tournament - superb behind the stumps, horribly out of touch in front of them. With the bat, he only mustered 53 runs @ 13.25, striking at 62.35. Easily the worst tour of his otherwise glittering u20 career, though behind the stumps was a different story as he took 9 catches and 3 stumpings. Exceptional glovework, but his batting was well off the pace.

Shahriar Azam - Bailey (4 games) - Shahriar had a tournament of cameos. His lone game behind the stumps saw him take 2 catches and his batting was limited to small scores, ending with 63 runs @ 21, striking at 112.50. He was here for a good time, but never a long time with the bat, and hopefully he can manage some more meaningful contributions going forwards.

Raja Sarkar - Bancroft (2 games) - Raja was our captain for 2 games but did not feature behind the stumps. His 2 innings were very different - a match-winning 53* against Canada, and a laboured 23 (off 57) against Australia. It is worth mentioning that against Australia he walked to crease in the middle of a collapse and was attempting to arrest it, so it's not a huge knock against Raja.


Allrounders
Bipul Pal - Glen Fruin (4 games) - Bipul's batting didn't really come off, managing 32 runs @ 16 in 3 innings. That said, he usually came in very late in an innings, so he had to go from ball 1 which he struggled with, striking at precisely 80. With the ball, he was much better - 5 wickets @ 32.60 sounds unimpressive until you realise he had an economy rate of 4.08. While he wasn't super threatening, he was always able to control the run rate which is still valuable.

Atif Shuvo - Aqrabiyah Antlers (2 games) - Atif made just 2 apperances, and like Bipul he only came to the crease at the very end of both innings, managing 19 runs @ 19, with a SR of 126.67. With the ball he was not as effective, taking 1 wicket @ 93, with an ER of 4.65. His 1/32 against Bermuda was a fine performance but he then went missing against SL, taking 0/61 in very friendly conditions. Not an ideal tour for Atif.

Bowlers
Tushar Joy - Caradon CC (4 games) - Tushar had a standout tour and was comfortably our best bowler. His final tally reads 11 wickets @ 19.00, with an ER of 5.22. He took 5-fors against both Canada and Australia, which means he has equalled the most 5-fors by any Bangladesh u20 (or u19) bowler in history - and he got to that record in just 3 games. Initially viewed as a replacement spinner, he bowled his way in to becoming our spin spearhead in just a single tour.

Hannan Khadim - Bancroft (2 games) - Hannan is our premier RFM, but only made 2 appearances given the FM-unfriendly pitches of this tour. While he didn't manage a wicket, he did maintain an economy rate of just 3.85 over his 2 games which was very impressive. Not a bad performance from Hannan.

Mukesh Khaleel - Rockstar Gangs (2 games) - Mukesh's first and final tour went similarly to Hannan Khadim's - 1 wicket @ 79, ER of 3.95. The difference is Mukesh was operating in spin-friendly pitches and his ER was very good, we were hoping for an extra wicket or two. Not a bad tour, not a great tour, just average.

Vinay Khanolkar - North Cunnett CC (3 games) - Vinay had a disappointing tournament - he entered as our premier spinner, and left having had minimal impact on any of the 3 games he played. He ended with 3 wickets @ 59.33, and a lacklustre ER of 5.93. He was both unthreatening and unable to contain the scoring, which is well below expectations.

Hemang Malhotra - Caradon CC (2 games) - Hemang had 2 games with 2 very different outcomes. In Slow/Windy conditions that did not suit him at all as an RF, he took 2/51 which we were quite pleased with. He then had a nightmare against Australia, with his 10 overs disappearing for 80 in Dry/Windy conditions. That was at least somewhat understandable as the conditions were actively hostile to him, and it was against an immensely powerful Australian batting lineup.

Ajit Powar - Welsh Fire (3 games) - Ajit Powar entered as one of our better spinners, and in his final u20 tour he was just ok. 3 games for 4 wickets @ 37.25 (ER 4.97) isn't bad, but in helpful conditions it's a bit below par. Tellingly, that makes him our second best-performed spinner on this tour after Tushar.

Golam Razzak - Sitakunda Leopards (3 games) - Golam's first u20 tour was a mediocre one. 3 games, 4 wickets at 44.25 and an ER of 5.90. His higher ER is because as an OBB, we had him bowling as much as possible at the death and while he wasn't bad, he wasn't particularly good. That said, he is a young man with great potential.

[UtopiaRay]

Speaking of late announcements, we have our squad for the T20 Division 1 tour of Bangladesh (yes, we are hosting again) that commenced today.

Tour Details
Hosting Rights Won By Bangladesh
First Choice Pitch - Green
Second Choice Pitch - Uneven
Third Choice Pitch - Sticky

Fixtures
28th Apr v Bermuda - Uneven
29th Apr v New Zealand - Sticky
30th Apr v West Indies - Green
1st Apr v Australia - Sticky
2nd Apr v UAE - Green

This means we have a 2-1-2 allocation. Our quicks will definitely prefer the conditions on this tour, and the spinners will find some assistance on the Sticky tracks.

The games for this tour will be played at 2:00am FTP time.

T20 Division 1 -Tour Selection

Batters
Mahir Bashar - Bailey (5 Caps, T20 Debut)
Tipu Nawaz - Glen Fruin (U20 Debut)
Ehsanul Nousher - Bancroft (4 Caps, T20 Debut)
Raqibul Nousher - Hoarders CC (U20 Debut)
Sanjeev Patankar - Caradon CC (4 Caps, T20 Debut)
Minhaz Rafique - Vudu Blasters (3 Caps, T20 Debut)

Wicketkeepers
Tanvir Sarkar - Xanadoosra (25 Caps)
Shahriar Azam - Bailey (6 Caps)
Raja Sarkar - Bancroft (5 Caps)

Allrounders
Atif Shuvo - Aqrabiyah Antlers (4 Caps)
Bipul Pal - Glen Fruin (18 Caps)

Bowlers
Ishant Jain - Bancroft (U20 Debut)
Tushar Joy - Caradon CC (4 Caps, T20 Debut)
Hannan Khadim - Bancroft (9 Caps)
Vinay Khanolkar - North Cunnett CC (12 Caps)
Hemang Malhotra - Caradon CC (2 Caps, T20 Debut)
Shukla Pal - Brew Boys (U20 Debut)
Golam Razzak - Sitakunda Leopards (3 Caps, T20 Debut)

A much more settled side this time, with a sprinkling of new players as we look to bounce back from a poor first tour.

[UtopiaRay]

Today we had our opening game of the T20 Division 1 tour of Bangladesh, where we faced Bermuda in Uneven/Sunny conditions.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, our innings got off to an inauspicious start when form opener Ehsanul Nousher was clean bowled off the first ball. This was followed by an extended period of consolidation that would ultimately cost us the game, broken only when Tanvir Sarkar was caught for 35 off 42. Unlike Tanvir, opener Minhaz Rafique was able to accelerate before falling for 72 off 55, and with cameos from Sanjeev Patankar (26* off 18) and skipper Raja Sarkar (6* off 5), we ended on 3/140. Not ideal, but not impossible to defend. Best of Bermuda's bowlers was easily express quick Norval Brooks, who took 1/20 off his 4 overs.

Bermuda started better than we did, but started to wobble when they lost their first 3 wickets in the 6th, 7th and 9th overs respectively, leaving them 3/63. The issue was that they were still very much on track to reach the target, even when keeper/captain Emmerson Sammy fell for 5 just two overs later. Opener Lloyd Christmas eventually departed for 41 off 29, and Bermuda needed 35 runs off as many deliveries. Daynason Bailey was the last specialist batter, joined by AR Clinton Bury and the two of them combined to finish the chase with 8 balls to spare. Bailey ended on 45* of 30, with Bury's share being 14* off 13 as he kept Bailey on strike as much as possible. Despite the disappointing loss, debutant seamer Ishant Jain had a match to remember, picking up 2/14, but ultimately 141 just proved too small a target.

We now move on to tomorrow's game against NZ, where we look to come away with a better result.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7013439

Match Ratings

Bangladesh U20 Bermuda U20
Batting - Top Order 10,013 10,255
Batting - Middle Order 8,147 8,806
Batting - Tail 4,267 5,308
Bowling - Seam 9,831 (16) 9,483 (16)
Bowling - Spin 10,721 (4) 10,587 (4)
Fielding/Keeping 11,751 11,188
Overall 170,742 174,258

[UtopiaRay]

We now move on the game 2, against NZ in Sticky/Sunny conditions.

We lost the toss and were asked to bat first, and it became apparent that this would be a low scoring affair. Opener Minhaz Rafique fell in the 4th over for 6 off 10, though we responded with a 44-run 2nd wicket partnership that ended when debutant Raqibul Nousher fell for 19 off 24. Our inability to get the RR to 6 persisted throughout the innings, and we ended on 5/116. Ehsanul Nousher top scored wtih 46 off 47, and the pick of the bowlers for NZ was RFM Darren Widows with 2/21.

NZ's chase started a bit more comfortably, though at a similar pace to ours. The Kiwis didn't lose their first wicket until the 12th over, with keeper-opener Robert Love nicking off on 28 from 39 to Hannan Khadim. That first wicket was to be followed immediately, as Khadim took his first hat-trick at u20 level, dismissing star batter Kane Williamson and no. 4 Zane Ketene off the next two balls. After struggling to create an opening, we suddenly had a substantial one and we looked to capitalise in the next over as Shukla Pal took a wicket on debut, kncoking over opener Junior Stormont for 35 off 32 (making him NZ's top scorer). NZ were now 4/66 after 12.5 overs and looking a bit wobbly, but they had 2 specialist abtters in Alama Drewer and Kit Havili still at the crease, with AR Glenn Phillips in next. Havili fell to RFS Golam Razzak for 12, but Phillips' entrance to the crease proved crucial - he hit 16* off 9 to seal the game with 5 wickets and 3 balls to spare. Pick of the bowlers was easily Hannan Khadim - 4 overs, 2 maiden, 3/11.

A very disappointing result - Khadim goes ballistic and the other bowlers aren't able to make it count. We move on to game 3 against the West Indies tomorrow in the battle of the cellar dwellers - neither team having won a game on this tour.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7013431

Match Ratings

Bangladesh U20 New Zealand U20
Batting - Top Order 9,548 10,167
Batting - Middle Order 7,812 8,639
Batting - Tail 4,066 4,869
Bowling - Seam 9,468 (12) 9,046 (12)
Bowling - Spin 9,964 (8) 10,572 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 10,836 10,771
Overall 162,481 170,426

[UtopiaRay]

At last, we have some good news! Today we took on the West Indies in Green/Humid conditions, with a view to getting ourselves out of the relegation battle. Both ourselves and our opponent were the only teams to have lost their opening two rounds and with our 4th game being against an unbeaten Australian outfit, a win here will likely prove vital.

We won the toss, and elected to bowl first. While the first 10 overs only brought one wicket (opener Renwick Remming caught for 5 off 14), the Windies could only manage 42 runs in that time. The 4 quicks - LM Bipul Pal, RMs Ishant Jain & Shukla Pal + RFM Hannan Khadim - did a fantastic job of containing the scoring, and that continued right until the final 6 overs which went for 51. Even with that late burst of aggression the Windies ended on 6/116, with RFS Vinay Khanolkar being the surprise pick of the bowlers in taking 2/24 (worth mentioning the 2 RMs - Ishant Jain took 1/18 and Shukla Pal took 0/18). Though the conditions were certainly beneficial to the quicks, 117 did not feel like it would be a sufficient total for WI's bowlers.

And that turned out to be the case - chasing 117, openers Ehsanul Nousher (38 off 42) and keeper Tanvir Sarkar (73* off 51, his maiden U20 T20 half-century) put on 106 for the first wicket, and the only other wicket to fall was no. 3 Tipu Nawaz for a scratchy 3 off 8. Nousher did a fine job in rotating the strike while Tanvir grew increasingly free-flowing as his innings wore on. Despite picking a 5-man pace attack for conditions that certainly gave them something to work with, only RM Frank Jack found any success, taking 2/29. I'll also quickly mention Raqibul Nousher - I wouldn't normally mention a batter scoring 1* off 2, but that 1 run happened to be the winner.

We now take on the only unbeaten team in Australia, in Sticky/Humid conditions tomrrow. They are an immensely powerful side, but an upset victory would go a long way to guaranteeing a safe spot in Division 1.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7013433

Match Ratings

Bangladesh U20 West Indies U20
Batting - Top Order 9,794 9,256
Batting - Middle Order 8,189 7,957
Batting - Tail 4,322 3,609
Bowling - Seam 9,791 (16) 8,892 (20)
Bowling - Spin 10,743 (4) 0 (0)
Fielding/Keeping 11,716 10,891
Overall 169,960 156,815