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T20 Division "1" Tour Review

So titled because both groups under the new format are called division 1.

Tour Details

This was the first tour under the new league structure where instead of bidding for hosting rights, teams play 3 games at home and 3 away. That said, the tour was treated as if Pakistan were hosting so no fixtures were actually at home. We played the same 3 teams twice on this tour - Nepal, Kenya and England - and that appears to be how the league will be run in its first iteration.

Fixtures
Game 1 v Kenya - Won by 13 runs

We started our tour on the right foot, with a 13-run victory over a strong Kenyan outfit in Sunny/Uneven conditions. We lost the toss and were asked to bat, and we responded by making 3/162. Openers Aminul Bishwash (75 off 53) and skipper Robin Kulkarni (48 off 45) did most of the heavy lifting, with the middle order not called upon until late in the innings to make sure we finished strongly. Kenya fell short, ending on 5/149 despite a valiant unbeaten knock from opening bat Jeremiah Pillani (65* off 48). LF Semi Valemei (1/19) and RM Ashok Karthik (2/26) were the pick of the bowlers.

Game 2 v Nepal - Won by 18 runs

We move on to game 2 where we took on international newcomers Nepal. We lost the toss and were asked to bat again, and in Cloudy/Uneven conditions we limped to 5/123. Like the previous game, Aminul Bishwash (31 off 29) and Robin Kulkarni (34 off 34) scored the bulk of the runs, this time assisted by keeper Shahid Khalim (26* off 20). RFM Lucky Bogati (1/17) and LF Purna Suwal (2/22) were the standout bowlers in what was a strong performance by the Nepalese bowling attack. Despite a seemingly chaseable target of 124, Nepal could only muster 7/105 in response. Destroyer in chief was LF Semi Valemei again, with a truly incredible performance in taking 5/8, the 2nd best T20 figures in Bangladesh U20/19 history.

Game 3 v England - Lost by 5 wickets

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for this tour. After notching up a pair of victories, we took on England in Humid/Uneven conditions and completed the trifecta of losing the toss & batting first. In the most pace-friendly conditions of the tour, we managed 5/132 with no. 3 Syed Zobair (39 off 36) as the top scorer. In a solid team performance by the English attack, LM Randal Lawes was marginally the best bowler with 1/24. Despite strong performances from Subhash Kardar (2/12 off 3.2 overs) and Debojit Das (2/30), England got home with 5 wickets and 4 balls to spare. Captain Sammy Walters top scored with 40 off 44, but the real thorn in our side was no. 4 Jeremy Boardman who belted 34* off 18 to seal the win.

Game 4 v Kenya - Lost by 3 runs

Looking to bounce back from our first loss, we come to game 4 against Kenya in Humid/Dry conditions. We once again lost the toss but were instead asked to field and despite a strong start by our bowlers, Kenya recovered to make 6/152. Numbers 3-5 made the vast majority of the runs, specifically Hamisi arap Kogsey (33 off 27), Kenneth Waiswa (46 off 34) and keeper Dabir wa Njonjo (45* off 29) all making substantial contributions. RM Ashok Karthik was superb, taking 2/18 and giving us what felt like a chaseable total. Instead, we fell 3 runs short in a frustrating batting performance that saw us go under a run a ball for the first 10 overs. Opener Raja Narayan anchored the innings (perhaps a bit too well) with 66* off 59, and found some support from Arafat Khadim (29 off 23), Shahid Khalim (24 off 18) and Mizan Mamun (14 off 7) who's last over heroics weren't quite enough to see us home. Pick of the bowlers was Darweshi arap Moi, with 1/23.

Game 5 v Nepal - Lost by 5 wickets

On to game 5, and the single most disappointing result of this tour. For the first time, we won the toss and elected to bat first in Cloudy/Uneven conditions. We made 5/133, with a 3-way tie for top scorer as each of Aminul Bishwash, Shahid Khalim and Moinul Chowdhury made 28 off 26, 25 and 21 balls respectively. Our score felt a little underwhelming, but it was more than what we successfully defended against Nepal in round 2. RF Chandra Bhusal was comfortably pick of the bowlers with 2/17. Despite a very strong start with the ball, reducing Nepal to 4/43 at the start of the 8th over, we then drifted out of the game and only managed one more wicket (Ganesh Ghale for 27 off 32) as Nepal cruised home with 5 wickets to spare. Keeper Ravi Shepra top-scored with 48 off 37, and best of the bowlers was Ashok Karthik with 1/22. A bitterly disappointing result against a beatable opponent.

Game 6 v England - Lost by 7 wickets

Game 5 was disappointing as we got ourselves into a winnable position against a team we expect to beat and blew it. Game 6 was disappointing because we were never at the races. We won the toss and elected to bat first in Cloudy/Dry conditions and were made to heavily regret the decision. We ended on a pitiful 5/105, with keeper Tonoy Hassan (23* off 17) and AR Dhawal Shewag (21* off 19) the only batters to remember what format they were playing. LM Randal Lawes was again the best English bowler on display, taking 3/18 and squeezing the life out of our top order. Our bowlers did what they could, but 106 was never going to be anywhere near enough and England sauntered home with 7 wickets and 10 balls to spare. Keeper Dion Potts top-scored with 45* off 49, and LFM Debojit Das took 2/14.

T20 Division "1" - Touring Squad

Batters

Aminul Bishwash - Welsh Fire (5 games) - Aminul had a much better time on the T20 tour, ending with 153 runs @ 30.60 (SR 114.18) and a top score of 75 in the opening round. He still made some valuable contributions after his half-century in the opening fixture in what was a noticeable improvement from the OD tour.

Moinul Chowdhury - ARKACHIEVERS (2 games) - Moinul only managed 2 appearances and didn't face a ball in one of them. He made a spirited 28* off 21 in the loss to Nepal that indicated he could do a job at U20 nat level.

Mahir Kamal - Oxhey Players (2 games) - Mahir struggled in his 2 appearances this time around, making 15 off 13 in the loss to Kenya along with 20 off 24 in the final fixture against England. Not ideal, but Mahir remains part of our plans going forwards.

Arafat Khadim - Revolution (5 games) - Arafat was a largely anonymous figure on his first nat tour, ending with 65 runs @ 16.25 from his 4 innings (SR 104.84). A disappointing return from a batter who is absolutely capable of better performances.

Robin Kulkarni - Hoarders CC (4 games) - Robin performed competently in his final U20 tour, ending with 110 runs @ 27.50 (SR 102.80) in 4 innings. His captaincy and ability to lay a platform set us up well in the 2 wins, though he did struggle to accelerate in admittedly difficult conditions.

Mizan Mamun - Halcyon (4 games) - Mizan found the going very tough on this tour, managing just 43 runs @ 14.33 (1 not-out, SR 104.88). His only notable innings was 14 off 7 as he nearly snatched a win over England in game 3, but otherwise he struggled greatly. Mizan has been moved on as we look to build for the WC.

Raja Narayan - RedPanthers (4 games) - Raja's one and only U20 tour was a mixed affair. On one hand he found consistency that eluded all of our batters apart from Bishwash and Kulkarni in scoring 114 runs @ 38 (1 not out) in his 4 innings. The issue was his strike rate of just 92.68 displayed an inability to accelerate which is critical in T20s.

Syed Zobair - The Shrill Otters (4 games) - Syed's entry to U20 nats was not particularly notable, as he managed just 55 runs @ 13.75 (SR 100) in conditions where we expect more from a Seam Specialist.

Wicketkeepers

Shahid Khalim - Mekerz Tanks (4 games) - With the departure of Bipul Binny, Shahid took over the role of primary keeper and performed competently, ending with 95 runs @ 47.50 (2 not outs, SR 130.14) and taking 4 catches. Shahid never batted higher than 4 and displayed an ability to accelerate effectively that eluded much of the squad.

Tonoy Hassan - Glen Fruin (2 games) - Tonoy did a solid job as Shahid Khalim's understudy, hitting 18* off 10 against England in game 3 and 23* off 17 against the same opponents in game 6. He also took 2 catches, both in game 3. A solid pair of performances as the backup keeper in his first and last U20 nats appearance.

Allrounders
Subhash Kardar - Hoarders CC (3 games) - Subhash performed creditably with the ball, taking 3/68 off 11.4 overs @ 22.67 (ER 6, SR 22.67) in his first and last U20 nat tour. He was not called upon to bat, but he posted solid returns with the ball.

Ashok Karthik - The Far Side (5 games) - Ashok was nigh-unhittable, returning figures of 5/101 @ 20.20 across his 20 overs (ER 5.05). He was restricted solely to cameo appearances with the bat (20 runs off 18 balls in 2 innings without being dismissed), but his excellent economy and sufficient wicket-taking threat were greatly valuable on their own.

Sarvesh Rayudu - Xanadoosra (1 game) - Sarvesh Rayudu is a very promising talent, but he did not have a good day at the office on his nat debut. He made 10* off 6 at the death against England in game 3, but his 4 overs disappearing for 42 runs played a major role in our inability to defend 133. He did manage 1 wicket but it was too little, too late.

Dhawal Shewag - El Dude Brothers (5 games) - Dhawal was only required to bat on one occasion, making 21* off 19 in the loss to England in game 6. With the ball, he was serviceable on Uneven pitches and ok on the Dry tracks, ending with 4 wickets @ 37 (ER 7.66, SR 29) as our specialist death bowler.

Bowlers

Atif Alam - 74nks (1 game) - Atif was particularly disappointing in his lone appearance, conceding 0/41 in the loss to Kenya in Humid/Dry conditions. He was selected to gives us a solid RWS option and it did not pay off at all.

Debojit Das - Sydney Cricket Club 52 games) - Debojit gave a good account of himself on his debut tour, ending with 6 wickets @ 20 (ER 6, SR 20) from his 5 appearances. A solid wicket-taking threat who could keep the scoring rate manageable.

Vinay Joshi - Hyderabad Badshahs (2 games) - Vinay performed well on the 2 Dry pitches we played on, ending with 2 wickets @ 23.50 (ER 6.71, SR 21). He was difficult to score off against England (0/18 off 3 overs), and a took 2 wickets in the loss to Kenya (2/29).

Imrul Rahman - Hoarders CC (1 games) - Imrul was quite good in his lone appearance (to be expected given 4 Uneven pitches), taking 1/20 off 4 overs in the otherwise dismal performance in game 6 against England.

Mehrab Matin - Glen Fruin (2 games) - Mehrab was a little disappointing in his 2 appearances, taking 0/30 in the win over Nepal and 2/30 in the loss to Nepal. Despite being a decent wicket-taking threat, he was unable to maintain control over the run rate.

Semi Valemei - Mackay Cutters (5 games) - Semi had a very up and down tour. His figures seem decent, as he ended with 6 wickets @ 20 (ER 6, SR 20) from his 5 games. However, after taking 1/19 and 5/8 in games 1 & 2, he did not manage another wicket all tour. The 2 games he played well, he was fantastic. His other 3 performances were totally unremarkable, which was rather disappointing.

[UtopiaRay]

OD Division 1 Squad Announcement

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

Fixtures
15th Dec v Australia - Uneven
16th Dec v New Zealand - Hard
17th Dec v Kenya - Green
18th Dec v UAE - Uneven
19th Dec v Canada - Uneven

This means we have a 3-1-1 allocation for our final tour under the existing touring format.

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

OD Division 1 - Tour Selection

Much like the previous two tours, I have opted to go for a balanced 10 bats/10 bowlers selection as I'll lay out below.

Batters
Aminul Bishwash - Welsh Fire (15 Caps)
Santosh Dutta - The North Howick Diamondbacks (U20 Debut)
Mahir Kamal - Oxhey Players (4 Caps)
Arafat Khadim - Revolution (5 Caps, OD Debut)
Milon Rafique - Illawarra Dragons CC (3 Caps)
Sarvesh Rawant - Glen Fruin (2 Caps)
Habibul Sarkar - Caradon CC (U20 Debut)
Syed Zobair - The Shrill Otters (4 Caps, OD Debut)

As we build towards the WC at the end of the season, we have an increasingly experienced side with just a few newcomers to U20 nats. Given the very pace-friendly pitches, the bats will have their work cut out for them on this tour.

Wicketkeepers
Debojit Kapoor - Mekerz Tanks (U20 Debut)
Shahid Khalim - Leinster Lightning (8 Caps)

Shahid Khalim is now the experienced keeper who will pass the torch at the conclusion of this tour to the promising Debojit Kapoor.

Allrounders
Shukla Kaif - Glen Fruin (U20 Debut)
Ashok Karthik - The Far Side (18 Caps)
Sarvesh Rayudu - Xanadoosra (1 Cap, OD Debut)
Dhawal Shewag - The El Dude Brothers (9 Caps)
Saeed Uddin - ARKACHIEVERS (OD Debut)

Ashok Karthik will be signing off after this tour, with Sarvesh Rayudu looking to develop in to his long-term replacement. Dhawal Shewag has firmly established himself as our premier spinner, and Shukla Kaif is a very promising youngster in the form of his life. Saeed Uddin is another allrounder like Kaif who should do well in very friendly conditions for F/FMs.

Bowlers
Mehrab Ahmed - Caradon CC (U20 Debut)
Debojit Das - Sydney Cricket Club (5 Caps, OD Debut)
Sreesanth Ramchand - Sitakunda Leopards (2 Caps)
Semi Valemei - Mackay Cutters (7 Caps)
Jaffor Wadud - Bancroft (U20 Debut)

We've got a pair of debutants joining the bowling attack to give us a lineup that should be able to make the most of the allocated pitches.

After a disappointing T20 tour, we look to finish the regular season strongly on the run in to the WC.