[U20] Announcements

[UtopiaRay]

Welcome to Season 60, everyone.

First things first, I'd like to thank MuslimDave for managing the U20s for 4 seasons. You've done a fantastic job in keeping us as a hugely competitive side, and getting the team to World Cup finals twice as well. I'd also like to thank wmchamps for stepping in as an assistant manager at short notice, having a manager of your experience was a great help.

Next, I'd like to talk about the One Day World Cup, now that some time has passed. As you're all aware, we went down in the final to Australia by 34 runs. While it's a shame to have missed out on the trophy, there are still some positives to be taken from this tournament.

To quickly recap, the group stage matches went as follows:

Game 1 v UAE - lost by 6 wickets

Game 2 v Zimbabwe - won by 2 wickets

Game 3 v Australia - won by 11 runs

Game 4 v South Africa - won by 41 runs

Game 5 v Canada - lost by 4 wickets

We didn't get off to the ideal start, losing our opening match, but to turn it around and win 3 in a row (including beating the eventual champions) in increasingly convincing fashion gave us a lot of confidence. Dropping the Canada game was a bit of a disappointment, but other results went our way and we still qualified for the semis. Speaking of which:

Semi final v Scotland - won by 8 wickets

This was easily our most comprehensive performance of the tournament. We restricted an in-form Scottish batting lineup to 8/202, had an early wobble when we lost both of our openers without scoring, only for Tanvir Sarkar and Asif Kamal to close out the game without any further incidents.

Final v Australia - lost by 34 runs

And then the final. Not a great toss to lose, and in the end Australia's batting might was too much for us to handle.

A few specific highlights I want to mention - Talha Haque ended the tournament as the leading wicket taker (13 wickets @ 19.31 from 5 games), and keeper Tanvir Sarkar had a superb all-round tournament, scoring 265 runs from 4 innings @ 132.50 (2 not-outs) to go with 6 catches and a stumping.

I do want to mention that I am on the lookout for assistant managers currently. If you are interested, I have 2 openings - let me know via the forums, in-game or via Discord (I am on both the FTP and Bangladesh Discord servers).

[MuslimDave]

My bad, my review was incomplete… Great initiative

[UtopiaRay]

Belated happy new year, everyone. We have our second tour of the year starting next Monday, a T20 tour of England in Division 1.

Tour Details
Tour Dates: 13 Jan 2025 - 17 Jan 2025
Hosting Rights Won By England
First Preferred Pitch Dry
Second Preferred Pitch Crumbling
Third Preferred Pitch Sticky

Since the slight change to the percentage of getting each pitch (57%, 28% and 15% respectively), our results have changed for this tour. Last time we had a 3-0-2 allocation, and as you'll see later, we have a 2-2-1 allocation for this tour.

T20 Division 1 - Tour Selection

Batsmen:
Polash Wadud - Sitakunda Leopards (11 Caps)
Shaun Johnson - Ohoka Swamphens (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Roshan Sen - Hoarders CC (U20 Debut)
Sarvesh Chawla - Espoir (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Mahendra Sarkar - The Elite (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Karanveer Shankar - Glen Fruin (4 Caps, T20 Debut)
Ashok Das - Staindrop Rockets (4 Caps, T20 Debut)

Wicket Keepers:
Tanvir Sarkar - Xanadoosra (7 Caps, T20 Debut)
Shariar Azam - Bailey (U20 Debut)

All Rounders:
Anil Jilani RFM - Washington Generals (8 Caps, T20 Debut)

Bowlers:
Shaun Warne RWS - The Toronto Cougars (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Mahfuz Nawaz LFS - It Hurts When IP (5 Caps, T20 Debut)
Vinay Khanolkar RFS - North Cunnett CC (U20 Debut)
Ajit Powar RFS - Welsh Fire (U20 Debut)
Rohan Chawla RFS - Indian Tigers (2 Caps, T20 Debut)
Nazmus Alam RM - Bushveldt Carbineers (13 Caps)
Vinay Shashtri RF - Hoarders CC (U20 Debut)
Bipul Pal LM - Glen Fruin (4 Caps, T20 Debut)

A couple players have moved on to senior cricket, but we have more U20 international experience across the squad, if not in U20 T20Is.

Pitches:
13 Jan vs England (Crumbling)
14 Jan vs UAE (Crumbling)
15 Jan vs New Zealand (Dry)
16 Jan vs Australia (Dry)
17 Jan vs USA (Sticky)

The games for this tour will be played at 10.00am UTC time.

[UtopiaRay]

Today was our first game of OD Division 2, against New Zealand in Humid/Crumbling conditions.

New Zealand won the toss, and sent us in to bat. We got off to a very rocky start, losing openers Siddarth Srivastav and (captain) Karanveer Shankar for 11 and a duck respectively, with no.3 & keeper Tanvir Sarkar falling for 7 shortly afterwards. We then lost no. 5 Mahendra Sarkar for 11 a few overs later, leaving us 4/43 after 12 overs. From there we had a brief bright spot, with no.4 Shaun Johnson and no.6 Polash Wadud making it to drinks with the score on 4/93. Unfortunately, that was to be the only 50+ partnership of the innings, and it ended 4 balls after the drinks brake when Wadud was bowled for 23. From there, we lost no.7 Mahfuz Nawaz for 7 and Shaun Johnson eventually fell for a dogged 49. The tail collapsed quickly, and we could only muster 132, all out in 37.4 overs.

It was a different story for NZ - we dropped keeper-opener Motu Ryder in the 3rd over, and did not generate another chance until seamer Bipul Pal dismissed his opening partner Thomas Storey (for 55) and no.3 Harvey Barrett (for a duck) in the 31st over. By then, the Kiwis were 2/121, needing just 12 more runs for victory. Legspinner Shaun Warne removed no.4 Mike Cooke for 1, but NZ were able to comfortably wrap up the chase with 7 wickets and 14.5 overs to spare. A far from ideal performance to start the tournament, but we move on to tomorrow's game against the UAE in Humid/Uneven conditions.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=6952241

Match Ratings
New Zealand U20 Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order 10,900 9,573
Batting - Middle Order 8,732 8,312
Batting - Tail 4,655 4,328
Bowling - Seam 9,161 (30) 9,304 (30)
Bowling - Spin 9,562 (20) 9,978 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 11,103 10,850
Overall 172,413 164,943

[grizzlybackere]

We looked to bounce back after our defeat yesterday, playing UAE in Humid/Uneven conditions.

Like the first match, we were put into bat, unlike yesterday, our openers were rock solid, putting on an opening partnership of 91 in 108 balls. Siddarth Srivastav made 76 (107) and Karanveer Shankar 41 (47). After the first wicket, wonder kid wicket keeper Tanvir Sarkar kept the momentum going with a better than a run a ball 88 (85), putting on a partnership of 84 runs before Srivastav was out. A few smaller partnerships followed, although a good momentum was maintained. Finisher Sarvesh Chawla came to the crease at 216-4, proceeding to smash 54 off 30 balls. After 50 overs, 297/5 looked like a competitive score.

UAE started their response solidly, although a dropped catch 3 balls into their innings could have made it the perfect bowling start for us. When UAE's first wicket fell to Jilani for 36 runs after 10.5 overs, the Bangladesh bowlers had been exerting a level of control that had kept us ahead of the game. After the first wicket, we continued to keep it tight, with Aziz getting UAE's opener Abdu'llah for 46. Regular wickets followed from here, even 2 spirited partnerships of 43 and 58 runs from UAE's lower order couldn't pull them back into the game, they finished on 262/8, a 35 run for Bangladesh and our first of the tour. All bowlers contributed in some way, either by taking wickets or keeping the run rate in check.

Tomorrow's match is a Christmas day show down against Ireland in Humid/Crumbling conditions.

https://www.fromthepavilion.org/scoreca ... Id=6952239

UAE U20 - Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order - 8,674, 9,349
Batting - Middle Order - 8,874, 8,561
Batting - Tail - 4,671, 4,189
Bowling - Seam - 8,878 (30), 9,171 (40)
Bowling - Spin - 9,797 (20), 9,964 (10)
Fielding/Keeping - 10,089, 10,568
Overall - 160,705, 162,565

[UtopiaRay]

After a solid victory against UAE in round 2, we looked to pick up a second win on the bounce against Ireland on Christmas day.

For the third game in a row, we lost the toss, and this time Ireland elected to bat first. I didn't mind this turn of events, as the conditions were Humid/Crumbling - if we were able to knock over Ireland quickly, we would be in with a shout. Fast bowler Anil Jilani picked up an early wicket, removing opener Gerard Gamble for 3, but Ireland were able to stabilise - reaching 59 runs before losing their 2nd wicket in the 18th over. Ireland only lost one more wicket before the drinks break, and were 3/90 after 25 overs. After drinks, Ireland started to accelerate up to 4 RPO before losing the 4th wicket with the score on 4/134 off 34.3 overs. From there, Ireland did wobble late but were able to maintain the scoring rate, reaching 8/227 from their 50 overs. Anil Jilani picked up 3/42 off his 10 overs, and leggie Shaun Warne (why is it not Shane...) took 3/50.

Our chase did not get off to a great start, losing opener Mahendra Sarkar for 1 in the second over. We did start to look more confident from there, with opener Shaun Johnson and no.3 Ashok Das getting the score to 50 before Das fell to offie Niall MacDermott for 25. Keeper Tushar Hafiz joined Johnson at the crease and we got our first 50 partnership of the innings, ending only when Hafiz was stumped off MacDermott for 24. At this point we were 3/102 after 28.4 overs - behind the run rate, but with enough batters left to be able to mount a challenge. That is what I would have said, if it wasn't for the fact that 9.3 overs late, we were all out for 143. Ireland's spinners picked up 7 wickets between the 3 of them, and absolutely tore us apart where ours weren't able to do the same to Ireland.

We now play the currently unbeaten West Indies on Boxing Day, and we are going to need the win in order to stay up.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=6952246

Match Ratings
Bangladesh U20 Ireland U20
Batting - Top Order 9,100 9,396
Batting - Middle Order 8,658 8,740
Batting - Tail 4,701 4,623
Bowling - Seam 8,927 (20) 9,380 (20)
Bowling - Spin 9,868 (30) 9,502 (30)
Fielding/Keeping 10,685 10,085
Overall 164,652 163,940

[grizzlybackere]

Forget the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Bangladesh v the unbeaten West Indies was the place to be today, we were looking to bounce back after defeat yesterday. Conditions were Hot and Crumbling.

We won the toss and elected to bat, this decision was initially vindicated, Srivastav (57) and Shankar (36) making a solid start with an opening stand of 84 runs. After this partnership was broken, we just couldn't get going again. There were no partnerships or individual totals of note. 84-1, became 136-5 and finally 172 all out in 45.2 overs. No other batter reached higher than 17. You couldn't help feeling that even in these bowler friendly conditions the total was a bit light.

With this small total to defend, the bowlers battled admirably, for a long time we were well in the game, reducing the Windies to 57–3 within 18.5 overs. However, it was the next 75 run partnership from Daly and Sultan that really hurt is. The run rate was generally kept in check, but that 173 run total was creeping ever closer. A fightback from the bowlers ensued, reducing the Windies from 138-4 to 162-8 in 45.1 overs, (the same over and within a ball where we got bowled out). Those 2 wickets and extra overs in hand proved crucial with the Windies got across the line, finishing on 173-8 after 48.3 overs.

A disappointing result, that also means that it sets up a winner stays in Division 2 contest versus South Africa tomorrow.

https://www.fromthepavilion.org/scoreca ... Id=6952240

West Indies U20 v Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order - 9,406, 9,372
Batting - Middle Order - 8,633, 8,117
Batting - Tail - 4,545, 4,352
Bowling - Seam - 9,613 (20), 9,042 (20)
Bowling - Spin - 10,145 (30), 9,753 (30)
Fielding/Keeping - 10,844,10,350
Overall - 167,985, 161,411

[UtopiaRay]

After a difficult first four games, we come to our final fixture of the tour - South Africa, in Hot/Uneven conditions. This game was do or die - we had to win to avoid relegation to division 3.

For just the second time this tour we won the toss, and elected to bat. We began quite steadily, with a 72 run opening partnership ending in the 16th over when skipper Karanveer Shankar departed for 24. Keeper Tushar Hafiz joined veteran opener Siddarth Srivastav at the crease and they shared in another 72 run partnership before Hafiz departed for 36. We then had a little wobble, with no.4 Ashok Das departing for 10 and Siddarth Srivastav falling for a career-best 91, with the score on 4/174 after 36.1 overs. All-rounder Anil Jilani and no.6 Sarvesh Chawla had a solid partnership before a mini-collapse occurred late in the innins - Chawla fell for 21, no.7 Polash Wadud capped off a disappointing tour with 10, and Jilani fell for 43. The score was 7/247 with 4 overs to go, with bowlers Bipul Pal and Rohan Chawla having just entered the fray. They managed 6 runs off the next over, before express quick Karl Dippenaar returned to bowl his 9th over. At that point, Dippenaar had been quite impressive, with figures of 1/27 off his 8 overs. Enter Bipul "Glenn Maxwell" Pal, belting 22 runs off Dippenaar's 9th overs (I would post an image, but I can't get the imgur link to display). With their confidence greatly enhanced from that over of carnage, the boys scored another 15 runs off the last 2 overs to end on 7/290. A very solid total that should give the bowlers plenty to work with.

Though initially, it did not feel that way. The South Africans got off to a flying start, keeping the run rate above 6 before opener Salty McClatchey fell for 35 with the score on 1/56 after 8.5 overs. Anil Jilani had borne the brunt of their early aggression, with his first 5 overs disappearing for 35 and the wicket of McClatchey, but in his sixth over he dismissed McClatchey's opening partner Kepler de Villiers for 22. From here, RSA had a bit of a wobble - skipper Aziambei Chinamasa run out for 9, and keeper Nic Mulder caught for 20 off the bowling of Rohan Chawla. At this point, South Africa are 4/97 at the start of the 19th over. No.5 Anton Meyer is joined by their last specialist batter Morgan Docker, and the only recognised batter yet to come is all-rounder Hencus Strachan at 7. Picking up a wicket before drinks would be ideal - and that's exactly what happened, with leggie Shaun Warne dismissing Docker for 11, 3 balls before drinks. From here, South Africa manage their second 50+ partnership of the innings, with Strachan and Meyer putting on 55 for the 6th wicket, before Strachan was caught for 32 by Warne off the last ball of the 37th over. Just 4 balls later, offie Mehrab Aziz clean bowled Meyer for 38, and the last 3 wickets fell for 26 runs (one to Jilani, two to Bipul Pal). South Africa were all out for 207, and we had won by 83 runs, staying afloat in Division 2.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=6952237

Match Ratings
Bangladesh U20 South Africa U20
Batting - Top Order 8,819 9,177
Batting - Middle Order 8,509 7,660
Batting - Tail 4,757 3,848
Bowling - Seam 8,858 (20) 8,874 (30)
Bowling - Spin 9,646 (30) 8,537 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 10,154 9,818
Overall 160,705 152,045

Up next: In the next few days, I'll write up our post-tour review.

[UtopiaRay]

The dust has settled, so it's time for the post tour review.

Batsmen:
Polash Wadud - 4 games
Shaun Johnson - 3 games
Siddarth Srivastav - 4 games
Sarvesh Chawla - 3 games
Mahendra Sarkar - 3 games
Karanveer Shankar - 4 games
Ashok Das - 4 games

Wicket Keepers:
Tanvir Sarkar - 3 games
Tushar Hafiz - 2 games

All Rounders:
Anil Jilani RFM - 3 games

Bowlers:
Shaun Warne RWS - 3 games
M.Nawaz LFS - 3 games
Mehrab Aziz RFS - 3 games
Enamul Mortaza RFS - 1 game
Rohan Chawla RFS - 2 games
Nazmus Alam RM - 3 games
Rishi Patel RM - 3 games
Bipul Pal LM - 4 games

Game 1 v NZ - lost by 7 wickets

The tour got off to a difficult start, in Humid/Crumbling conditions against New Zealand. We were sent in to bat and got skittled for 132, managing only 3 wickets before the Kiwis got home. Seamer Bipul Pal picked up 2/23 off 6 overs, along with fellow debutant Shaun Warne taking 1/20 off 6.4 overs. Batter Shaun Johnson (also on debut) managed 49 off 91, but that was it for positives.

Game 2 v UAE - won by 35 runs

But we were able to turn things around straight away, with a solid win over UAE in Humid/Uneven conditions. Keeper Tanvir Sarkar cracked 88 off 85 deliveries and took a catch, veteran opener Siddarth Srivastav laid the platform with 76 off 107, and Sarvesh Chawla played an ideal finisher's innings, hammering 54* off 30 on debut. We finished on 5/297, what would be our highest total of the tour. For the bowlers, Anil Jilani took 2/44 and Nazmus Alam returned figures of 3/52 (both off 10 overs), as we restricted UAE to 8/262.

Game 3 v Ireland - Lost by 84 runs

We rolled in to the Ireland game with our confidence restored, only to have it shattered immediately. In Humid/Crumbling conditions, Ireland batted first and made 8/227, with Anil Jilani (3/42) and Shaun Warne (3/50) being the pick of the bowlers. After an early wicket, we stabilised well and had made it to 2-102. It looked like the chase might be possible - and then we lost 8-41, and the game. Shaun Johnson laid the platform with 48 off 89, Ashok Das and Tushar Hafiz made 25 and 24 respectively, but that was it.

Game 4 v West Indies - Lost by 2 Wickets

Our second last game saw us take on an unbeaten West Indies team, this time in Hot/Crumbling conditions. For the first time this tour we won the toss - at last! - and elected to bat. We got rolled for 172 - Siddarth Srivastav scoring 57 off 72 (his 2nd 50 in a row), opening partner and captain Karanveer Shankar attemped to play the anchor role and made 36 off 79, but no-one else crossed 17. The West Indies chase did not start convincingly, a 30 run opening partnership turning in to them being 3/57. They recovered strongly through an 85-run 4th wicket partnership, but the fall of opener Adrian Daly for 61 triggered a substantial collapse - from 4/142, to 8/162, still needing 11 to win. Unfortunately, that was as close as we got, and Windies 9 and 10 Tremaine Potiphar and John Burke closed it out from there. To get so close against the team that would end the tournament unbeaten was bitterly disappointing, and it left us needing to win the final game to avoid relegation to Division 3. Best of the bowlers was Mehrab Aziz with 3/28 off 9.3 overs.

Game 5 v South Africa - Won by 83 runs

But at least it wasn't all doom and gloom. The equation before this game was simple - win and we're in, lose and get relegated, as South Africa were also on 1 from 4 (with the UAE going winless). For the second time in a row, we won the toss and elected to bat, this time making a more competitive total of 7/290. Opener Siddarth Srivastav making a career high score of 91 off 110 in his final game of U20 cricket (and his 3rd straight 50+ score), and Anil Jilani also making a career-best score of 43 off just 31. Every player made at least 10, and I want to make special mention of bowler Bipul Pal, belting 22 runs off the 48th over. South Africa started very aggressively in response, scoring above 6 RPO before Jilani dismissed both openers, and their skipper & no.3 Aziambei Chinamasa was run out for 9. The Proteas continued to lose wickets steadily, eventually being dismissed for 207. Anil Jilani took 3/51 off 8 overs, Bipul Pal followed up his batting heroics with 2/29 off 7.2 overs, and leggie Shaun Warne took 2/35 off 10 overs.

Summary

A bit of a disappointment. We came in to this tour as World Cup finalists, and just barely avoided relegation on the final day. Our two wins were quite comfortable, but the only other competitve game was the loss to the Windies, with a pair of blowouts against NZ and Ireland. We now move on to the Division 1 T20s, where our batting in particular will have to be a lot better.

[UtopiaRay]

Belated happy new year, everyone. We have our second tour of the year starting next Monday, a T20 tour of England in Division 1.

Tour Details
Tour Dates: 13 Jan 2025 - 17 Jan 2025
Hosting Rights Won By England
First Preferred Pitch Dry
Second Preferred Pitch Crumbling
Third Preferred Pitch Sticky

Since the slight change to the percentage of getting each pitch (57%, 28% and 15% respectively), our results have changed for this tour. Last time we had a 3-0-2 allocation, and as you'll see later, we have a 2-2-1 allocation for this tour.

T20 Division 1 - Tour Selection

Batsmen:
Polash Wadud - Sitakunda Leopards (11 Caps)
Shaun Johnson - Ohoka Swamphens (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Roshan Sen - Hoarders CC (U20 Debut)
Sarvesh Chawla - Espoir (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Mahendra Sarkar - The Elite (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Karanveer Shankar - Glen Fruin (4 Caps, T20 Debut)
Ashok Das - Staindrop Rockets (4 Caps, T20 Debut)

Wicket Keepers:
Tanvir Sarkar - Xanadoosra (7 Caps, T20 Debut)
Shariar Azam - Bailey (U20 Debut)

All Rounders:
Anil Jilani RFM - Washington Generals (8 Caps, T20 Debut)

Bowlers:
Shaun Warne RWS - The Toronto Cougars (3 Caps, T20 Debut)
Mahfuz Nawaz LFS - It Hurts When IP (5 Caps, T20 Debut)
Vinay Khanolkar RFS - North Cunnett CC (U20 Debut)
Ajit Powar RFS - Welsh Fire (U20 Debut)
Rohan Chawla RFS - Indian Tigers (2 Caps, T20 Debut)
Nazmus Alam RM - Bushveldt Carbineers (13 Caps)
Vinay Shashtri RF - Hoarders CC (U20 Debut)
Bipul Pal LM - Glen Fruin (4 Caps, T20 Debut)

A couple players have moved on to senior cricket, but we have more U20 international experience across the squad, if not in U20 T20Is.

Pitches:
13 Jan vs England (Crumbling)
14 Jan vs UAE (Crumbling)
15 Jan vs New Zealand (Dry)
16 Jan vs Australia (Dry)
17 Jan vs USA (Sticky)

The games for this tour will be played at 10.00am UTC time.

[UtopiaRay]

Yesterday was the first game of our first T20 tour of the year against the hosts England, in Humid/Crumbling conditions.

We lost the toss, and were sent in to bat. We got off to a quite solid start, with a 56 run opening partnership ending at the first ball of the 9th over - Ashok Das nicked off for 25 off 20. The next 5 overs saw a slowdown however, with no.3 Shaun Johnson struggling for timing, and eventually departing for 13 off 20, with the score on 2/87 after 13.3 overs. The pressure mounted when keeper Tanvir Sarkar was dismissed first ball, but U20 debutant Roshan Sen and opener & skipper Karanveer Shankar plundered 42 runs of the next overs before Shankar fell for an excellent 72 off 57 deliveries. We were 4/129 with 10 balls to go, and made it to 4/142 - Roshan Sen was 25* off 17, and Anil Jilani with him on 4* off 5. Given the Crumbling pitch, I felt quite comfortable with our total.

That feeling of comfort felt immediately justified as allrounder Anil Jilani started with a bang - removing skipper Paul Brinsley and no.3 Marty Gibson for 2 and a duck respectively inside the first over. England were able to get to 51 before losing their next wicket, opener Brendan Rawle stumped off Rohan Chawla's offbreaks for 32. At this point, keeper Samit Dries is joined by no.5 and Spin Specialist Barney Wilton and I'm feeling confident. 3 down, less than halfway to the total, on a very difficult pitch. That confidence turned out to be misplaced. The only other wicket was Wilton, bowled by leggie Shaun Warne for 48 off 32 in the 20th over, one ball before England sealed their 6 wicket victory. Dries and Witon batted with minimal difficulty against Warne and Chawla and simply cruised to the total.

A disappointing way to start the tour, but we move on to tonight's game against the UAE, in Hot/Crumbling conditions.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=6952317

Match Ratings
England U20 Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order 9,857 9,555
Batting - Middle Order 9,034 8,900
Batting - Tail 4,943 5,361
Bowling - Seam 9,650 (12) 9,569 (12)
Bowling - Spin 10,870 (8) 10,263 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 11,209 11,009
Overall 174,717 172,168

[UtopiaRay]

Apologies for the lateness of this post, I'll put both round 2 and 3 up today.

After a disappointing opening game, we then took on the UAE in Hot/Crumbling conditions.

This time we won the toss, and elected to bat. In retrospect, this was not the correct decision to make - we got off to an absolutely horrific start. Not a terrible collapse, though - instead, pegged back by a few breakthroughs, our top order struggled for any fluency in very difficult conditions. After losing Shaun Johnson for 6 to the third ball of the game, opener Ashok Das and Mahendra Sarkar began to struggle considerably. Sarkar departed for a scratchy 9 off 17 at the end of the 5th over, and 9 balls later Ashok Das followed suit, departing for less-than-fluent 7 off 13 - both men falling to spinner Zane Ibrahim. We were 3/25 off 6.3 overs, and under pressure to accelerate. Keeper Tanvir Sarkar was joined by no.5 Roshan Sen, and they made it to the halfway mark of the innings, but the score read 3/40 - still very much behind the eight-ball. At last, spurred on by keeper Sarkar, we had three solid overs of acceleration, with the score reaching 69 at the end of the 13th over, only in the next over for Roshan Sen to become Zane Ibrahim's 3rd and final victim in an excellent performance - 4 overs, 3/9. 4 balls later and no.6 Sarvesh Chawla nicked off for 2, bringing medium pacer Bipul Pal to the crease. We were 5/74 with 32 balls remaining, and we made it to 5/116 - Sarkar finishing on 49* off 42, and Pal contributing 22* off 18. A very small total, but potentially defendable in very tough conditions.

The UAE's chase hit a snag early on, with opener Alam Talib getting stumped off Bipul Pal for 1 off 4. They then began to accelerate up to near 7 RPO, before fellow opener Nabeel Abdu'llah was trapped in front by debutant offspinner Vinay Khanolkar for 18. The Emiratis continued along ahead of the required run rate, before losing no.3 Farid Ghayth for 12, caught behind off skipper Nazmus Alam. At this point they were 3/50 off 8.1 overs, and no.4 Badri Malik was joined by Faraz Khayr at the crease. While Khayr fell cheaply, making just 6 off 12, Malik proved to be a real thorn in our side, eventually getting bowled by Shaun Warne for 47 off 42. At that point, the UAE were 5/103 off 17 overs with keeper Rakin Mansur joined by no.7 Jarir Salim and only needed a further 14 runs. It would prove no obstacle, getting home with 7 balls to spare.

A very disappointing second game as well, putting us under some considerable pressure for game 3 against New Zealand. We need a win to keep our hopes of staying in Div 1 alive.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=6952307

Match Ratings
Bangladesh U20 UAE U20
Batting - Top Order 9,372 9,559
Batting - Middle Order 8,106 8,645
Batting - Tail 4,090 4,328
Bowling - Seam 9,441 (8) 8,866 (8)
Bowling - Spin 10,091 (12) 9,435 (12)
Fielding/Keeping 11,169 10,672
Overall 164,848 163,857

[UtopiaRay]

2 games, 2 defeats - and now we have to take on a very strong New Zealand team, in Hot/Dry conditions.

This time we lost the toss and were sent in to bat. Neither of our openers made much of an impression - Skipper Karanveer Shankar fell for a run-a-ball 7, and Shaun Johnson made 8 off 9, both men dismissed by offspinning all-rounder Julian Woods. No.3 Mahendra Sarkar continued his unconvincing form, limping to 15 off 24, departing with the score on 3/55 after 9.2 overs. From there, we started to accelerate, but lost keeper Tanvir Sarkar for 29 off 23 shortly afterwards. The acceleration continued unhindered this time - no.5 Polash Wadud, in his final U20 tour, played his first innings of any substance, hammering 61* off just 34 deliveres, with 6 fours and 2 sixes. The real highlight was the 13th over, where Wadud hit exactly half of his total boundaries and scored 20 runs in one over (there was also a wide). Only one more wicket fell for the rest of the innings - no.6 and allrounder Anil Jilani departing for 19 off 14 in the 18th over, but we continued to up the ante and ended the innings on 5/162, easily our best batting performance of the tour.

Our defense started very well, with tearaway quick Vinay Shashtri having both Thomas Storey and Kelly Barstow nicking off for 4 and 2 respectively in the second over, leaving the kiwis 2/9. From there, we were able to apply considerable scoreboard pressure on the pair of Brett Hogan and Franklyn Harland, with NZ reaching just 2/41 after 9 overs. The third wicket, however, proved to be elusive, and Hogan and Harland found their stride. The next 5 overs disappeared for 58 runs, and suddenly the Kiwis were 2/99, needing 64 off the last 6 overs. We were able to regain some control, conceding 19 runs off the next 3 overs, but as NZ were looking to mount their charge to the finish line, Rohan Chawla trapped Harland in front for 76 off 62. The Kiwis needed 33 off 10 balls and despite a late cameo of 10 off 5 from Kane Williamson, they could only manage 22, finishing on 3/152. At last, we have a win on the board, and after the events of this round we are 5th, though all 4 teams ahead of us are 2/3. A win tonight against Australia should see us enter the final round in control of our destiny. A loss and we are relying on a last round win and other results favouring us.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=6952311

Match Ratings
New Zealand U20 Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order 9,818 9,142
Batting - Middle Order 8,407 8,867
Batting - Tail 5,370 4,890
Bowling - Seam 9,216 (4) 9,628 (8)
Bowling - Spin 9,573 (16) 9,690 (12)
Fielding/Keeping 10,824 10,767
Overall 168,996 167,337

[grizzlybackere]

After a stirring win against league leaders New Zealand, it was a chance to back that up against their Antipodean neighbours Australia. Conditions were humid and dry. The Aussies won the toss and put us into bat.

Bangladesh made the highest score of all the teams batting first in Division 1 today. 139-3. There were 3 partnerships of over 20 runs, the highlights being Das and Shankar's 44 (39) and Shankar and Wadud's more brisk 46 (23). 38 runs came off the final 3 overs, setting up what looked like could be a competitive total. Shankar top scored with 46 (40), with Das close behind with 42 (37).

Australia got off to a fast start with the bat, 14 runs came off the first over, by the time medium pacer Pal took ourfirst wicket in the 4th over, they had made 30 runs, well ahead of the run rate. After the fall of the first wicket, Bangladesh were able contain the Aussie's to a point. This was punctuated with 3 overs going for double figures, which kept the Australian's noses in front. Leggie Warne managed to pick up 2 wickets, but went for over 9 runs an over with his 4. When Nawaz had Benson caught at point for 34, the Aussies required 17 runs with 2.1 overs to go. Warne's final over went for 11 runs, meaning that Khanolkar had only 5 runs to defend in the final over. He bowled valiantly, but alas, it was too tall an ask for the young off break bowler. Australia got home, scoring 2 runs off the final ball.

In order to stay up we have to beat bottom of the table USA and hope that table toppers New Zealand beat England in the final round of matches.

https://www.fromthepavilion.org/scoreca ... Id=6952318

Match Ratings - Australia U20 v Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order - 9,273, 9,012
Batting - Middle Order - 9,120, 7,821
Batting - Tail - 5,198, 4,064
Bowling - Seam 9,567 (12), 9,375 (8)
Bowling - Spin 9,974 (8), 9,945 (12)
Fielding/Keeping - 10,804, 10,387
Overall - 170,230,159,277

[hamsterj1312]

After a dissapointing loss to Australia on the last ball if the game we were left sitting in 5th. This meant the chances of staying up were put of our control. To stay up we needed to beat the USA and needed NZ to beat England.

We started by losing the toss and being put into bowl for the first time this tour. Jilani started well once again by getting a wicket on his fourth ball. This was then followed up by shashtri who removed the other opener in the following over leaving the USA 6-2 off 2. Our bowlers kept it really tight after this while taking wickets a frequent intervals. At the half way point the USA were really struggling at 33-4 off 10 overs. This theme continued throughout the innings with only Weber putting up some resistance finishing on 38(32) while the USA reached 96-7 off there 20 overs. Ourvowling performance filled us with confidence that we could win the game and while England scored 134 we knew we still had a chance.

We started well with the bat scoring 18 off our first 2 overs. Although things slowed down we kept ticking along and only losing 2 wickets before the half way point at which we were 58-2 off 10 only needing 39 off the next 10. These two then continued slowly ticking away at the runs before losing 2 quick wickets in the 15th and 16th overs. However it was a case of too little too late as we chased the total down in 18.1 overs. Johnson top scored with 45(51) not out while M.Sarkar scored 22(22).

After winning our game all our attention turned to the NZ vs England game. After England scored 134, NZ chase got off to a slow start and when they needed 53 off 5 overs with 4 wickets remaining things weren't looking great. However NZ didn't give up and ended up winning on the last ball meaning we finish the tour in 4th place and retain our place in Division one.

https://www.fromthepavilion.org/scoreca ... Id=6952308

Match Ratings
Bangladesh U20 USA U20
Batting - Top Order 9,011 9,460
Batting - Middle Order 8,313 7,930
Batting - Tail 4,398 3,913
Bowling - Seam 9,518 (12) 9,354 (12)
Bowling - Spin 9,847 (8) 9,898 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 10,733 11,056
Overall 162,943 162,330