Bangladesh let themselves down against England, says Habibul Bashar

Even though the general consensus was that it was perhaps 25-30 runs short, 305 was still an excellent score, especially when one considers that a score in excess of 300 had never been chased down in the ICC Champions Trophy previously.

Habibul Bashar feels Bangladesh did not play good cricket © Getty Images (File Photo)

Bangladesh would have fancied its chances at the halfway stage of its opening ICC Champions Trophy fixture against England at the Oval. Even though the general consensus was that it was perhaps 25-30 runs short, 305 was still an excellent score, especially when one considers that a score in excess of 300 had never been chased down in the ICC Champions Trophy previously. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD, ICC Champions Trophy 2017, England vs Bangladesh – Match 1

But when your frontline bowlers don’t take wickets early on and you are playing one bowler less, then I think you will always struggle, no matter what total you put on the board.

I felt Bangladesh was a little conservative in its approach by picking the additional batsman in its playing eleven. It appeared as if the scars inflicted by the Indians in the practice game were still weighing on their minds.

I wouldn’t say Bangladesh was fearful of a repeat of 84 all out two nights back, but its first aim seemed to be to pack the batting, which left it a bowler light. I don’t think, given the attack Bangladesh put out and the way Alex Hales, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan batted, that another 30 runs would have made a real difference.

Bangladesh ought to have a little more faith in its top-order batting. I know conditions in England can change quickly, and as we have said earlier, the way the batsmen shaped up would be crucial, but I also feel that not too much should be read into how the warm-up games unravel.

If seven batsmen don’t get you runs, I don’t think the eighth batsman will necessarily make a difference.

That’s probably where Bangladesh missed a trick, by sacrificing a specialist bowling option. And when you are a bowler light and your principal bowlers don’t pick up wickets up front, then protecting any total can become a very difficult task.

That being said, Bangladesh began the defense of its challenging total with promise by getting rid of the out-of-sorts Jason Roy early, but Hales and Root batted brilliantly. They put on a master-class in the art of chasing a 300-plus total, never panicking, never trying anything outrageous, and yet keeping in touch with the required rate.

Root was particularly pleasing on the eye while Hales was punishing, and once Hales was dismissed with a hundred there for the taking, Morgan came in and fed off his recent form and experience to make what could have been a tricky chase appear straightforward.

I do understand that The Oval surface was flat and extremely good for batting, but that’s where the quality and the streets-marts of the bowlers must come into play. Also, given that the track was so batsman-friendly, you needed the additional bowling resource. It wouldn’t have been just a statement of intent, it was also the most practical option available.

Bangladesh will reflect on what could have been had they played an extra, wicket-taking spinner.

Tamim Iqbal will be particularly disappointed that his brilliant century didn’t bring the desired result. Tamim has been Bangladesh’s most consistent batsmen in recent times and he built his innings beautifully.

Soumya Sarkar took his time initially and Imrul Kayes looked good during his brief stay in the middle, but the real damage was done by the seasoned pair of Tamim, who brought up a richly deserved century, and Mushfiqur Rahim. As Root and Morgan were to do later, these two batted without taking undue risks and still scored at a rapid clip, setting the foundation for a large total.

However, when the two fell off successive deliveries, the lack of firepower in the extended batting order became apparent. For all the depth in their batting, Bangladesh didn’t have that one man who could have come in and tonked the ball around, using the long handle to good effect. Sabbir Rahman did that for a little while, but Bangladesh needed more sustained fireworks at the death, which wasn’t to be.

There is no need for Bangladesh to beat themselves up, however. It played extremely good cricket, especially up front with the bat, but it probably let itself down tactically, more than anything else.

Bangladesh can take plenty of confidence from the batting effort going into its next match, and if it can clean up its bowling act, it will still have a good tournament. This was perhaps a case of not seizing the moment, but Bangladesh has shown that it has what it takes to create, and then capitalise, on chances, and that’s exactly what it must do going forward.