[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

[UtopiaRay]

Yesterday was game 4 of the ongoing T20 Division 1 tour, at home to Australia in Humid/Sticky conditions.

Australia won the toss and elected to bowl and while the first wicket didn't fall until the 12th over, they kept openers Sanjeev Patankar and Tanvir Sarkar in a straightjacket - just 48 runs came from the first half on the innnings, and T. Sarkar eventually fell for 26 off 36. Nos. 3 and 4 Shahriar Azam and Mahir Bashar were unable to make an impact on proceedings, but Patankar carried his bat for 63* off 61 as we ended on 3/109. Mikey Malakellis was the star bowlers, picking up 1/13 in a particularly miserly display.

Australia's first wicket fell earlier than ours, with opener Ubbe Ragnarsson trapped in front by RF Hemang Malhotra for 14 off 17. This did not seem to slow the Australian chase much, as they were 2/75 off 13.2 overs when skipper Rupert Wiltshire fell to RFS Golam Razzak for a run-a-ball 37. Both teams only managed to take 3 wickets, with Bayden Sloane being the last man to fall for 19, but by then Australia needed 3 off 10 which was achieved just 2 balls later. No. 3 Rooster Cocks made 40* off 37 and made sure the chase stayed on track. Golam Razzak was the pick of the bowlers, taking 1/14 off his 3 overs.

We now move on to the final round, against UAE. We're currently sitting in 4th with 1 win, ahead of NZ and WI on NRR (ours is -0.0656, NZ's is -0.0814, WI's is -0.3799). If we win, we can only be eliminated by NZ beating Australia by a greater margin. If we tie or lose, we need both NZ and the Windies to also lose their games and NZ's loss to be by a greater margin, given the NRR situation.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7013429

Match Ratings

Bangladesh U20 Australia U20
Batting - Top Order 9,883 10,293
Batting - Middle Order 8,074 8,386
Batting - Tail 3,553 5,580
Bowling - Seam 9,753 (12) 9,250 (16)
Bowling - Spin 10,148 (8) 12,126 (4)
Fielding/Keeping 11,683 11,375
Overall 167,093 174,711

[UtopiaRay]

Apologies for the lateness of this match report. This time last week, we took on the UAE in the final round of T20 Division 1 in Green/Sunny conditions.

To quickly recap - we enter this game sitting in 4th, ahead of NZ & WI only on NRR. That said, the gap to NZ's NRR is very tight (ours is -0.0656 to their -0.0814), but WI are further behind (-0.3799). In order to stay in Division 1, the following things needs to happen:

We win, and NZ either lose to Australia or win, with an equal or smaller margin of victory (NRR-wise) than we have over the UAE.
We tie or lose, and both NZ and WI tie or lose and keep their NRR lower than ours.

We won the toss, and elected to bowl first. This may well have been crucial - at this point, all 12 games on the tour were won by the team chasing. The Emiratis lost opener Hana Alam for a duck to Atif Shuvo in his u20 farewell game, but from there they boucned back strongly through Badri Malik (38 off 28) and Sean McBae (52 off 38). When McBae fell at the start of the 15th over, UAE were 3/110. Their last 6 overs didn't quite go to plan, even with WS Tushar Joy struggling (1/41) and they ended on 5/153, managing 3/43 off the last 6 overs. Atif Shuvo was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2/22.

154 felt like it could be a difficult target, and it certainly looked that way early with Tanvir Sarkar (6), Minhaz Rafique (2) and Shahriar Azam (10) all falling cheaply. Despite the early setbacks, opener Ehsanul Nousher continued his fine tour with a match-defning knock of 66 of 51, before being bowled by LFM Cemal Walliyullah. At that point we were 4/110 after 15.2 overs, needing 45 off 28. No. 5 Tipu Nawaz fell 2 overs later for 34 off 26, meaning it was skipper Raja Sarkar batting with AR Bipul Pal. Bipul did not stick around - he scampered a single off his first ball, belted a 6 off his second and was LBW to Naim Zakariyya (who was the pick of the UAE bowlers with 2/21). With 2 overs remaining, we needed 16 runs - and ultimately we got there comfortably thanks to Atif Shuvo, in his final act at this level, belting 12* off 5. We got home with 4 wickets and 5 balls to spare.

Now, we did have a minor scare as NZ became the only team to bat first and win a game on this tour, defeating Australia by 6 runs. However, the NRR change was not significant enough, and as a result we stayed in Division 1 for another season.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7013440

Match Ratings

Bangladesh U20 UAE U20
Batting - Top Order 9,602 10,059
Batting - Middle Order 8,387 7,900
Batting - Tail 5,071 4,126
Bowling - Seam 9,431 (16) 9,033 (12)
Bowling - Spin 9,632 (4) 10,304 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 10,937 10,725
Overall 167,340 164,097

[UtopiaRay]

T20 Division 1 review

Today, we will have a look back at the wash-up of our T20 Division tour.

Tour Details
Hosting Rights Won By Bangladesh

We won bidding rights for the second consecutive tour. We did avoid relegation, but not in an overly convincing manner. That said, I am still comfortable with the pitches selected, given our team.

Fixtures
Game 1 v Bermuda - Lost by 5 wickets

We set the theme for the tour right away - bat first and lose (for 14/15 games on the tour, this is how they went). We won the toss and erred fatally, though a total of 3/140 in Sunny/Uneven conditions seemed potentially defendable. Minhaz Rafique was superb with 72, but Tanvir Sarkar's 35 off 42 cost us momentum. Despite taking wickets at regular intervals throughout the first 14 overs, we simply could not close the game out and Bermuda got home in relative comfort, thanks largely to Daynason Bailey (45* off 30) and Lloyd Christmas (41 off 29).

Game 2 v New Zealand - Lost by 5 wickets

We then move on to the NZ game, where we lost the toss and were asked to bat first in Sunny/Sticky conditions. Our innings never really got going against a strong attack, and we stumbled to 5/116. Ehsanul Nousher top scored with 46 off 47, and we were troubled the most by RFM Darren Widows (2/21) and RWS Emmet Stammers (2/23). Our defense of 117 started poorly, with no wickets until the 12th over. That first wicket became a hattrick to Hannan Khadim, easily the pick of our bowlers (3/11). Despite taking 2 more wickets to keep the pressure on, we simply didn't give ourselves a big enough total to defend, and NZ got home in the final over. Opener Junior Stormont top scored with 35 off 32 for the tourists, doing enough to resist Khadim's red-hot showing.

Game 3 v West Indies - Won by 8 Wickets

We then came to game 3 against the West Indies, the other winless team at this stage of the tournament. In Humid/Green conditions we won the toss and elected to bowl - a decision that proved fruitful. The Windies could only manage 6/116, with young RM Ishant Jain continuing his excellent form (1/18), ably assisted by RFS Vinay Khanolkar (2/24). There were no real standouts for the West Indies with the bat - their batters either couldn't score quickly enough, or didn't last long if they did. Our chase was far more comfortable than expected - we only lost Ehsanul Nousher (38 off 42) and debutant Tipu Nawaz (3 off , wrapping things up with 3 overs to spare.

Game 4 v Australia - Lost by 7 Wickets

While our loss to Australia was less decisive than on the OD tour, it was still quite convincing. We lost the toss and were sent in, limping to 3/109 in Humid/Sticky conditions. Tough for anyone to bat in (or so we thought), but frustrating as opener Sanjeev Patankar (63* off 61) never had any decent support throughout his innings. Australia lost an early wicket but were never seriously in any danger, reaching the target with 8 balls to spare. RFS Golam Razzak was our best bowler (1/14 off 3.1 overs), and no. 3 Rooster Cocks top-scored with 40* off 37.

Game 5 v UAE - Won by 4 Wickets

The UAE entered this game having won 3 out of their 4 games, and would have been viewing this as an opportunity to pinch the title off Australia if they lost their last game. We had to win - winning meant that NZ had to beat Australia by enough to make up the difference in NRR, a tie would mean the Windies & NZ both had to lose their games as well (with NZ's NRR still being relevant), and a loss meant relegation. We won the toss and told the UAE they could bat first and despite them making 5/153 in Sunny/Green conditions, we were good enough to chase it down. Ehsanul Nousher top-scored with 66 off 51, and Atif Shuvo was the pick of the bowlers in his final u20 game, taking 2/22. UAE's no. 3 Sean McBae made a spirited 52 off 38 and Naim Zakkariya took 2/21 off 3.1 overs, but we got home with 5 balls remaining.

In a bit of an upset, NZ became the only team to successfully defend a total but not by enough to get their NRR ahead of ours. We were safe from relegation at the latest possible moment.

T20 Division 1 - Touring Squad

Batters
Mahir Bashar - Bailey (2 games) - Mahir had a difficult tour as the vice captain, managing 18 runs from his 2 innings. He only played 2 games as regular skipper Raja Sarkar was fit to make 3 appearances, but struggled in his limited opportunities at the crease, admittedly in some hostile conditions.

Tipu Nawaz - Tipu Nawaz (4 games) - Tipu's first tour was fairly quiet - he played 4 games but only made it to the crease on two occasions. His first innings, where he fell for 3 in our win over the Windies, was ultimately inconsequential. His second innings he made 34 off 26 to help us over the line in the successful chase against the UAE. He was sort of a good luck charm - if he actually got to bat, we won, even if he didn't contribute.

Ehsanul Nousher - Bancroft (4 games) - Ehsanul may have scored slowly (SR 106.38), but he was a consistent presence at the top of the order in some very challenging conditions (150 runs @ 37.50). He regularly got us off to decent starts, though whether we were able to do anything with them is another story.

Raqibul Nousher - Hoarders CC (3 games) - Raqibul's first T20 tour saw him limited to cameo appearances, scoring 28 runs @ 28 (2 not-outs), with an admittedly poor SR of 87.50. He only came in later in the innings, but was unable to up the tempo when he did.

Sanjeev Patankar - Caradon CC (3 games) - Sanjeev had a good tour, scoring 96 runs without being dismissed at an acceptable strike rate in some trying conditions (SR 114.29). We look forward to his continued development.

Minhaz Rafique - Vudu Blasters (4 games) - Minhaz started very strongly with a fine 72 off 55 in his first game, but that was it. He made 8 runs in his other two innings and was not required to bat in his other appearance.


Wicketkeepers
Tanvir Sarkar - Xanadoosra (4 games) - Tanvir had an interesting tournament - he ended as the 4th highest run-scorer (Ehsanul Nousher was 2nd) and had one brilliant innings of 73* off 51 to ice the chase against the Windies, but his other 3 innings he either fell cheaply or got stuck in the mud and struck well below 100 SR. He managed just 2 catches as well, though that is partly down to the T20 format.

Shahriar Azam - Bailey (3 games) - Shahriar just sort of existed. He played 3 games, but only 1 as keeper where he took a catch. With the bat, he could only muster 33 runs @ 11 with a SR of 86.84. He was unable to influence proceedings with the bat, though was sound in his lone game behind the stumps.

Raja Sarkar - Bancroft (3 games) - Raja was back as our regular captain and was minimally required with the bat. His 2 innings were 6* off 5 in the loss to Bermuda, and 12* off 10 to close out the win against the UAE. He did not keep wicket, just like the previous tour.


Allrounders
Bipul Pal - Glen Fruin (4 games) - Bipul's batting barely mattered - he only made it out of the dressing sheds in the final round, where he made 7* off 3. With the ball he was economical if not threatening, ending with overall figures of 3/111 off 15.4 overs (Average 37.00, ER 7.09, SR 31.33).

Atif Shuvo - Aqrabiyah Antlers (2 games) - Atif was only selected twice, and made 19 runs without being dismissed. His 12* off 5 helped us close out the UAE game, where he took both of his wickets in a fine performance (2/22). A competent performance to farewell u20 cricket.

Bowlers
Tushar Joy - Caradon CC (2 games) - Tushar was a much quieter presence, largely down to the very pace-friendly conditions we had opted for. He managed 1/66 off his 8 overs and was a peripheral figure on a tour where the quicks took centre stage.

Hannan Khadim - Bancroft (4 games) - Hannan had a hot and cold tour. He took a hat-trick on his way to 3/11 against NZ, but in his other 3 games he took 2/96 off 12 overs. His peak was immense, but we saw how low the troughs could be in the opener against Bermuda (1/41).

Ishant Jain - Bancroft (4 games) - 19yo Ishant looked very impressive in his first u20 tour, picking up 4/84 off 16 overs (ER 5.25, SR 24). Immensely difficult to score off, and a constant threat.

Vinay Khanolkar - North Cunnett CC (3 games) - Vinay performed quite well in unhelpful conditions on his final tour, taking 4/80 off 10.4 overs (ER 7.50, SR 16) before riding off in to the sunset. A regular wicket-taking threat, and decent economy given the pitches.

Hemang Malhotra - Caradon CC (2 games) - Hemang was decent in his 2 appearances, taking 0/25 against Bermuda and 1/25 against Australia. An economical tour for Hemang, and we hope he becomes more of a threat as he continues to develop.

Shukla Pal - Brew Boys (2 games) - Shukla managed 1/47 off 8 overs this tour - he was very difficult to score off and was competent in his role as a backup seamer.

Golam Razzak - Sitakunda Leopards (2 games) - Golam's first T20 tour was a step up from the OD tour. He only played twice, but he took 2/36 off 6.3 overs. Despite conditions actively hampering him, he managed to be a wicket-taking threat and very difficult to score off. A very creditable performance from the young man.

[UtopiaRay]

OD Division 2 - Squad Announcement

Tour Details
Hosting Rights Won By West Indies
First Choice Pitch - Uneven
Second Choice Pitch - Crumbling
Third Choice Pitch - Hard

Fixtures
19th May v West Indies - Hot/Hard
20th May v Zimbabwe - Humid/Crumbling
21st May v England - Humid/Uneven
22nd May v Pakistan - Humid/Crumbling
23rd May v Netherlands - Humid/Uneven

This means we have a 2-2-1 allocation. Particularly with the weather, the quicks will really be the major threat from either side, though game 1 will be easy pickings for the batters.

The games for this tour will be played at 14:00pm FTP time.

OD Division 2 - Tour Selection

Batters
Mahir Bashar - Bailey (7 Caps)
Taufique Kayes - It Hurts When IP (U20 Debut)
Ehsanul Nousher - Bancroft (8 Caps)
Raqibul Nousher - Hoarders CC (3 Caps, OD Debut)
Sanjeev Patankar - Caradon CC (7 Caps)
Minhaz Rafique - Vudu Blasters (7 Caps)

Wicketkeepers
Tanvir Sarkar - Xanadoosra (29 Caps)
Shahriar Azam - Bailey (9 Caps)
Raja Sarkar - Bancroft (8 Caps)

Allrounders
Mashrafe Amin - Hoarders CC (U20 Debut)
Bipul Pal - Glen Fruin (22 Caps)

Bowlers
Raja Jadhav - Plaatkoek (U20 Debut)
Ishant Jain - Bancroft (4 Caps, OD Debut)
Tushar Joy - Caradon CC (6 Caps)
Hannan Khadim - Bancroft (13 Caps)
Hemang Malhotra - Caradon CC (4 Caps)
Gangadeep Rao - North Ayrshire Bears (U20 Debut)
Golam Razzak - Sitakunda Leopards (5 Caps)

The core of the team is quite settled, with a couple additions as we build towards the World Cup. We look forward to returning to Division 1 at the earliest possible time of calling.

[UtopiaRay]

Yesterday was our first game of OD Division tour to the West Indies, where we took on the hosts in Hot/Hard conditions.

Hot/Hard conditions tend to turn games in to run-fests, and this was no exception. F/FMs can extract a minor amount of assistance, but all other bowlers get nothing (Spinners) or are actively disadvantaged (medium pacers). We lost the toss and were asked to bat first, and this was somewhat concerning given we've just come off a tour where 14/15 games were won by the team chasing. Despite losing debutant opener Taufique Kayes (14 off 12) and star WK Tanvir Sarkar (7 off 12), we were scarcely troubled for the rest of the innings. Opener Ehsanul Nousher compiled an imperious 152 off 120, falling late in the 38th over. 2 earlier he had lost his partner for much of his innings in Sanjeev Patankar for a fine 86 off 81. What could have been a late-innings collapse never materialised, and numbers 5 & 6 Raqibul Nousher (68* off 47) and skipper Raja Sarkar (48* off 29) made sure we never lost momentum, ending on 4/384.

Ordinarily scoring 384 is enough to guarantee victory, but in these conditions almost no total is safe. The hosts started strong with a 127-run opening partnership, ending when Kevin Hosein was caught for 67 off 60. Their top 3 continued to make hay, fellow opener Renwick Demming compiling 132 off 125 and Everette Prince racing to 108 off just 79. When Demming eventually fell, he was followed quickly by the departure of Linden Gibbons for 2 and we may have finally had an opening. Just like with our innings, that did not eventuate. No. 5 Emil Blonsky continued where the top 3 left off, hammering 58* off 37 to get the West Indies to the brink of victory. However, needing 18 off the final over, they could only manage 14 runs with Prince getting runout in the process. We hung on to win by just 3 runs, and move on to game 2 against Zimbabwe.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7016633

Match Ratings

West Indies U20 Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order 9,998 10,844
Batting - Middle Order 9,418 8,533
Batting - Tail 5,128 4,015
Bowling - Seam 9,895 (40) 10,506 (30)
Bowling - Spin 10,113 (10) 10,027 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 11,364 12,518
Overall 176,835 178,679

[UtopiaRay]

We now move to Tuesday, for game 2 of the OD tour of the Windies, where took on Zimbabwe in Humid/Crumbling conditions.

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat in some very pace-friendly conditions, which we certainly took advantage of early on. Zimbabwe listed to 5/70 in 25.5 overs, unable to stop the loss of wickets or run rate. From there, however, things began to change. Darren Giles and Hendro Bisset were able to regain control of the situation, with a 58-run partnership broken as Giles fell for 51 off 73. From there, AR Musawengosi Sarang and Bisset were able to accelerate in the death overs, with Zimbabwe reaching 7/227 from their allotted overs. Bisset was the last wicket to fall for a fine 58 off 57, with Sarang staying to the finish (on 46* off 41). Gangadeep Rao's excellent first tour continued, as he was the pick of the bowlers in taking 2/32 (assisted by Ishant Jain, who took 2/44 himself).

Our chase got off to an unconvincing start as well, with both Raqibul Nousher and Taufique Kayes departing for just 9 runs each. Tanvir Sarkar and Minhaz Rafique started to turn things around, before Rafique departed for 25. With the scoreboard reading 3/83, Tanvir was joined at the crease by Sanjeev Patankar and they registered the highest partnership of the match - 95 runs - before Tanvir fell for 78 off 111. Skipper Mahir Bashar could only manage 13 runs, but Patankar (on his way to a match-winning 72* off 85) and AR Bipul Pal guided the team home to win by 5 wickets, with 8 balls to spare. Musawengosi Sarang was Zimbabwe's best bowler, taking 2/42 with his left-arm offbreaks.

Our hot start to the tour continues, with round 3 seeing us take on fellow Division 1 relegates in England.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7016631

Match Ratings

Zimbabwe U20 Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order 9,770 10,605
Batting - Middle Order 9,087 8,488
Batting - Tail 5,809 4,624
Bowling - Seam 8,886 (30) 9,910 (40)
Bowling - Spin 9,894 (20) 10,453 (10)
Fielding/Keeping 10,693 12,381
Overall 171,387 177,489

[UtopiaRay]

This time last week, we took on England in game 3 of the OD tours of the West Indies in Sunny/Uneven conditions.

We lost the toss and were asked to bowl first, and we quickly took advantage of that decision by dismissing opener Jonathan Johnston for 7, caught behind off debutant AR Mashrafe Amin. England were able to consolidate for a time, before fellow opener Caleb McPherson departed for 19 and no. 4 Bruce Penman fell in the following over for a duck. England were now 3/64, but were able to respond to this wobble with their largest partnership of the match. Skipper Chris Astley and keeper Rob Packer put on a 77 run partnership that ended in the 35th over, with Astley falling for 74 to RFM Gangadeep Rao. England were able to find some rhythm late and ended on 8/244, Rob Packer top scoring with 92 off 94. Gangadeep Rao was pick of the bowlers with 3/54 in just his second U20 Nat appearance.

Our chase started in convincing fashion, with a 109 run opening partnership ending at the start of the 22nd over when Mahir Bashar was knocked over for a fine 54. Minhaz Rafique was the next to fall for 22, after putting on a 52 run partnership with opener Ehsanul Nousher. Ehsanul was the last wicket to fall, for a composed 92 off 117 (the innings' top score) as the English quicks were not able to take advantage of the conditions. As a result, we secured a comfortable win over the team that followed us down to Div 2 by 7 wickets, with 35 balls to spare. WK Shahriar Azam chipped in with a fine 50* off 41 to close out the chase.

Our good tour keeps getting better, and we now take on Pakistan - the only other unbeaten team in the group. A win here, and we are virtually guaranteed promotion.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7016634

Match Ratings

Bangladesh U20 England U20
Batting - Top Order 9,988 9,862
Batting - Middle Order 8,240 8,885
Batting - Tail 4,282 5,566
Bowling - Seam 9,439 (40) 8,986 (40)
Bowling - Spin 10,200 (10) 11,129 (10)
Fielding/Keeping 11,201 10,403
Overall 167,320 169,975

[UtopiaRay]

We move on to last Thursday, where we took on Pakistan in game 4. Conditions were Hot/Crumbling, the only particularly spin friendly conditions we would experience all tour.

Having said that, we won the toss and elected to bowl first in the sweltering heat. Our start was more subdued with the ball, as you would expect when the quicks are working at a disadvantage. Pakistan were able to reach 63 runs before losing their first wicket - Sardar Sharif getting bowled by LFS Raja Jadhav. Sharif's departure caused a wobble, with keeper Shahid Aslam getting caught for 8 and captain & opener Shan Maqsood nicking off for 41. That left Pakistan 3/79 in the 21st over, though their situation improved with the following partnership. No.4 Hazrat Sarwar looked to be in fine touch, cruising to 45 off 52 before being cleaned up by RWS Tushar Joy (this would be Pakistan's highest individual score). Pakistan were 4/153 after 35.2 overs, and from here we clawed our way back in to the game. Regular wickets fell throughout the remainder of their innings, and Pakistan finished on 9/227. Raja Jadhav and Golam Razzak were a cut above the rest of the bowlers, taking 3/35 and 4/43 respectively.

We also started in sedate fashion, reaching 1/72 before Taufique Kayes fell off the first ball of the 20th over for 42. 9 overs later we lost Ehsanul Nousher for 43 off 80, and had a mini-collapse. 2/113 after 28.2 overs became 4/152 after 34.3 overs - keeper Tanvir Sarkar was caught by his counterpart Aslam for 28, and Sanjeev Patankar departed for just 12 off 10. While the RRR was still in touch, a few more wickets could have spelled disaster. Ultimately, only one more fell - that of skipper Raja Sarkar for a free-flowing 47 off 41, doing a fine job of getting the chase back on track (and managing the highest individual score of the match). Minhaz Rafique guided us to a 5-wicket win with 5 overs to spare with a composed 38* off 35, pushing our win streak to 4 games.

We now come to our last game of the tour, against the Netherlands. Promotion is guaranteed, and we can only lose our hold on top spot if we lose to the Netherlands and Pakistan beat England.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7016643

Match Ratings

Pakistan U20 Bangladesh U20
Batting - Top Order 10,256 10,423
Batting - Middle Order 9,206 8,157
Batting - Tail 4,745 3,896
Bowling - Seam 9,312 (20) 10,034 (20)
Bowling - Spin 10,218 (30) 9,947 (30)
Fielding/Keeping 11,095 11,907
Overall 174,649 171,641

[UtopiaRay]

We now come to the final game of the tour, and of the regular season - against the Netherlands, in Humid/Uneven conditions.

We won the toss, and Raja Sarkar elected to bowl first for the final time as U20 cricketer. Young AR Mashrafe Amin took an early wicket, dismissing Cyriel van Dulmen for just 10, but the Dutch were not deterred by this. Opener Jorik Werkman continued on unfazed, before losing no. 3 Hielke Timmermans for a scratchy 17 off 36 to Gangadeep Rao. 2/69 became 3/101 after drinks, as no. 4 Hidde Boer was run out for 12. What followed was the highest partnership of the innings - 80 runs, ended only when Werkman finally fell in the 40th over for a determined 92 off 117. Netherlands were 4/181, and though the 5th wickets fell 2 overs later (no. 5 Tim Vierhouten for 46), the last 4 overs were a shambles. The Dutch charged home to reach 7/265, a very solid total in otherwise difficult conditions. Werkman's 92 was the top score, and Hannan Khadim was the pick of the bowlers with 3/40.

The first 35 overs of our chase all looked quite promising. A 98 run opening partnership, with Taufique Kayes scoring his maiden half-century (53 off 68), joined by his opening partner Shahriar Azam (53 off 87). Tanvir Sarkar followed up with 40 off 49, and we were 3/175 after 34.5 overs. The crucial difference is that the Dutch were able to do what we couldn't, and closed out the innings. 3/175 became 7/220 in the space of 9 overs, and suddenly 266 began to resemble a truly imposing total. Raja Sarkar tried to dig the team out of trouble, but fell late for 32 off 30 as were dismissed for 254. The Netherlands won by 11 runs - Shahriar Azam and Taufique Kayes shared the top score of 53, and Sebastiaan van Muiswinkel was the pick of the bowlers with 4/46 off his 9.3 overs.

A disappointing loss to end the tour, but with Pakistan losing their final game we were able to hang on to top spot. Our regular season tours are over for now, and in a few weeks we have the OD World Cup. We've made the last two finals and fallen short - this season we aim to go a step further.

https://fromthepavilion.org/scorecard.h ... Id=7016629

Match Ratings

Bangladesh U20 Netherlands U20
Batting - Top Order 10,268 10,517
Batting - Middle Order 8,593 9,100
Batting - Tail 4,259 4,641
Bowling - Seam 9,706 (40) 9,376 (50)
Bowling - Spin 9,471 (10) 0 (0)
Fielding/Keeping 11,935 10,359
Overall 172,324 170,352