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Scorecard
Greg Smith and Ned Eckersley both hit centuries as Leicestershire recovered from a nightmare start to put the brake on Middlesex’s promotion charge in their County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road.Leicestershire lost three wickets in the first two overs of the game but Smith (108) and Eckersley (106) helped the home side recover to 319 all out by the close of the first day. Top-of-the-table Middlesex needed 12 points to clinch promotion when play began and they pocketed three of them with seamers Tim Murtagh, Corey Collymore and Gareth Berg claiming three wickets apiece.Wicketkeeper Eckersley, looking to earn himself a contract with Leicestershire, recorded his maiden first-class century while Smith posted the third championship ton of his career. The two of them shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 131 to keep the Middlesex attack at bay for 42 overs.All this came after Middlesex made a flying start after winning the toss and putting the home side in to bat in windy conditions on a pitch with tinges of green in it. It took the visitors just two overs to pick up their first bowling point as Leicestershire lost three wickets without adding to the four runs scored by Matt Boyce off the third ball of the morning from Murtagh.Boyce then edged Murtagh’s final delivery to second slip where Ollie Rayner took the catch. Will Jones, on his Championship debut, was trapped lbw by Collymore who followed that up by bowling James Taylor with the last ball of his over.It left Leicestershire staring at another batting debacle having been bowled out for 34 by Essex and 48 by Northants earlier in the season. But between them Smith, Eckersley and Jacques Du Toit showed real grit and determination to haul their side back from the brink.Smith and Du Toit, who have both been struggling for runs this summer, began the fightback with a fourth-wicket stand of 84 in 22 overs. They rode their luck at times but punished anything loose to the extent that 52 out of 75 runs came in boundaries.Du Toit’s brisk knock of 42 was ended when he chased a wide delivery from Berg and was caught by Andrew Strauss at slip. That brought in 22-year-old Eckersley to join Smith in the middle and the two of them showed great resolve and concentration to steer the home side towards respectability.Smith reached his 50 – only his second of the summer – off 96 balls with seven fours and the century stand came up in 34 overs. Eckersley’s 50, which included four boundaries, came from 118 deliveries and the next landmark was Smith’s 100 arriving off 186 balls with a glorious cover drive that brought him his 12th boundary.The two of them batted throughout the afternoon but in the second over after tea Smith flicked at a ball down leg side from Collymore and was caught behind.Eckersley continued to battle on even though wickets fell at the other end and he reached an excellent 100 that included 12 boundaries. He was finally ninth out at 308 bowled by Berg, who then had Nathan Buck caught behind off the final ball of the day leaving both sides with three bonus points.

Scorecard
Derbyshire’s seam attack blew away Gloucestershire’s batting on a windy day atDerby to put the home side in a strong position in the County ChampionshipDivision Two match at the County Ground.They bowled the visitors out for 220 and forced them to follow-on afterall-rounder Will Gidman had taken a career-best six wickets for 92 runs inDerbyshire’s first innings 413.Derbyshire lost their last six wickets for 84 but Gloucestershire were soon introuble and only a last wicket stand of 68 between Richard Coughtrie and DavidPayne took them past 200. Jon Clare took three for 19 and Tim Groenewald, Tony Palladino and Mark Turner each bagged two wickets to earn a first innings lead of 193.Luke Sutton put Gloucestershire back in and Clare struck a big blow by havingHamish Marshall caught behind for three just before the close with the visitorsseven for one, still 186 behind. After the bat had dominated on the first day, Jon Lewis struck with the fourth ball of the morning when Wes Durston got an inside edge onto his stumps withoutadding to his 151.Clare hit seven fours in his 34 which came off 23 balls and Turner played someimpressive drives to secure maximum batting points before Gidman completed hisfirst six-wicket haul. There had been some movement and bounce for the pace bowlers and Derbyshire soon made inroads with Marshall falling for a duck on the stroke of lunch whenhe played across the line at Groenewald.Chris Dent drove loosely to be caught behind, Chris Taylor was trapped on thecrease by Turner and when Alex Gidman was lbw to Clare for 20, Gloucestershirewere on the slide at 67 for 4. His younger brother had scored 89 against Derbyshire at Bristol in April but this time he managed only eight before he skied a wild hook to midwicket andKane Williamson also fell to a rash stroke after batting 117 minutes for 15.Lewis cut Turner for six but when he was lbw for 23, Gloucestershire were 125for eight and in danger of being routed – but the last two wickets added 95.Coughtrie showed the application the earlier batting had lacked to score anunbeaten 54 and Payne showed he is one of the better number 11s by strokingeight fours in his 38 before he was stumped coming down the pitch to GregSmith’s off-spin.It was no surprise when Sutton invited Gloucestershire to bat again and he wasrewarded when Marshall went for the second time in the day to leave Derbyshirescenting a three-day victory.

ScorecardEven Mark Ramprakash struggled to bring a semblance of common sense batting to County Championship proceedings at The Oval, where another 15 wickets fell on a helter-skelter second day.Having dismissed Kent for 250 to gain a first-innings advantage of 137, Surrey then stumbled to 138 for 7 by the mid-point of a second division match played more like a Twenty20 bash than a conventional Championship tussle.Despite reasonable batting conditions and the fact Kent are without three frontline bowlers, the wicket count continued to blossom as Surrey lost their first four leg before to ill-disciplined shots.Openers Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jason Roy both fell to on-loan Hampshire seamer David Balcombe, who later returned to have Tom Maynard caught behind.First innings century-maker Zander de Bruyn played around a rare straight one from Robbie Joseph, while Ramprakash perished for 20 after an uncharacteristic rush of blood and an attempted legside flick against left-armer Ashley Shaw.Surrey’s demise continued late in the day when occasional leg-spinner Joe Denly snared Steven Davies (39) and Gareth Batty without scoring as Kent restricted the home lead to 275.Having resumed at the start of the day on a perilous overnight position of 26 for 2 – still 361 in arrears – Kent appeared hell-bent on following on.They lost four wickets for 35 runs in the morning session as Sam Northeast played outside the line of a Stuart Meaker off-cutter that brushed off stump then, in Meaker’s next over, Martin van Jaarsveld edged low to first slip to go without scoring.Visiting captain Rob Key walked across his stumps working to leg against Tim Linley to go leg before then Darren Stevens padded up to the same bowler to make it 87 for 6 . Seventh-wicket partners Alex Blake and Geraint Jones both enjoyed good fortune and Blake would have gone for a duck had Hamilton-Brown held on to a sharp low chance at slip.As it was, the pair flourished to set a new seventh-wicket record stand against Surrey, beating the 132 posted by George Collins and Jack Hubble at The Mote in Maidstone in 1926 by six runs.They took Kent to the brink of avoiding the follow-on before Jones, on 61 from 100 balls, aimed a reverse sweep against off-spinner Batty only to balloon a bat-pad catch to Roy at short leg.Ten runs on, Wahab Riaz mowed a good length ball from Batty to cow corner but picked out Ramprakash, bringing in Balcombe who forced through the covers for four to ensure Surrey would bat third.Two balls later Balcombe lost his off stump to a Chris Tremlett yorker and only four short of his second championship century, Blake then tossed his own wicket away. Turning for two against the deep cover fielder Roy, he was sent back by last man Shaw to be run out at the non-striker’s end.

Match facts

Saturday, June 11, North Sound
Start time 0900 (1300 GMT)Virat Kohli continues to grow as a batsman with each game•Associated Press

Big Picture

West Indies with Chris Gayle are competitive at times. West Indies without Gayle have seemed as flat as a flawed artist who lost whatever little inspiration he had. The familiar script has played out: there have been few partnerships of substance, the precious few have been broken at the wrong time, and the house has collapsed in a heap. The bowlers have not been getting enough breakthroughs, when they have managed to, they haven’t been able to sustain any pressure. Like a closed loop, West Indies continue to stumble from one failure to another.Men placed in seemingly hopeless situations have no choice but to cling on to hope, and that is what Darren Sammy has been doing. After every loss, he puts on a brave face and undertakes an honest search for positives. When the execution is flawed, he talks about intent being there. He wants Ramnaresh Sarwan to play the role of a finisher; Sarwan’s strike-rate has remained stuck in the early 60s.Not that West Indies haven’t had their moments so far. Not often does one find them in a commanding position of 175 for 2 with 14 overs to go. Nor do they often have the opposition on the mat at four down with more than a 100 still needed. Such potential match-winning positions have been frittered away though, allowing an Indian side missing several regulars to be on the verge of their third ODI series win in four tours.While most attention has been focussed on West Indies’ woes, Suresh Raina’s side has efficiently chugged to three victories. The difference between the two teams has been India’s ability to shut the opposition out, something West Indies badly need to do. There were concerns before the tour began about how India would fare with their depleted squad, and so far, the bench has showed it has strength, albeit against a team ranked six places below them.

Form guide (most recent first)

West Indies: LLWWL
India: WWWWW

The spotlight

Nothing epitomises the spirit of this young Indian team better than the continuing growth of Virat Kohli. He realised he was risking throwing it all away, and has moulded himself into a batsman who is expected to bat through the innings and finish games. He did that in the previous match, also becoming the third-fastest Indian to 2000 ODI runs. The expectations will be the same tomorrow.Sammy reminded Ramnaresh Sarwan in Trinidad that he was once compared to Michael Bevan as a capable limited-overs finisher. Sarwan has done it on numerous occasions, like when he took West Indies to a thrilling win against India in 2002 with a last-ball boundary. The Sarwan of old was classy and combative. The runs are still coming, albeit a lot more slowly and the fight doesn’t seem to be there, especially when it is sorely needed in Gayle’s absence. Can the vintage Sarwan make a re-appearance?

Team news

West Indies made a couple of changes to the squad, resting Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Rampaul. Sammy said the pitch in Antigua would have more life in it, which makes the decision to rest Rampaul seem a little strange. Darren Bravo should return tomorrow, making it unlikely that Danza Hyatt will make his ODI debut.West Indies (possible): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Kirk Edwards, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Andre Russell/Anthony Martin, 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Carlton Baugh (wk), 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Devendra Bishoo.With Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth set to miss the Tests due to injuries, India would want to give Ishant Sharma a go during this series, considering there is no warm-up game before the next leg of the tour. Amit Mishra’s four wickets in the second ODI mean an in-form R Ashwin will continue to miss out.India (possible): 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 S Badrinath, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Suresh Raina (capt), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Praveen Kumar, 11 Munaf Patel.

Stats and trivia

• In the previous ODI at the Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, Darren Sammy smashed an unbeaten 58 off 24 balls at No. 9 against South Africa in 2010. It remains his highest ODI score.
  

“Life is jokey but it’s bloody serious. You got to plan. West Indies didn’t do it.” Ralph, an old caretaker of an inn, drawls as he lights up a cigarette. It’s 11 pm and the small neighbourhood in Port of Spain is quiet. The glow from his cigarette lights up his grizzly beard. “We were too arrogant when we were winning and didn’t plan for the future. Talent is all dried up now and we are watching the ego fights between the board and the players. It’s all downhill. It’s good to see India planning for the future by bringing in the younger players.”It’s a puzzling series in many ways. The weaker team is ignoring its stars and testing its bench strength. The stronger team is being forced to test its bench strength while its stars choose to rest, some in fatigue, some following injury. The agenda is still pretty simple and straightforward: It’s India’s series to lose. They are the new world champions and will have to win this ODI series. Never mind that they are missing a couple of big players – a champion team can’t have any excuses.West Indies ran out of excuses for their decline a long time ago and are now scraping the bottom of the barrel of hope. It’s a grim scenario. The evidence screamed out when the flight from London descended on Barbados. It was a breathtaking visual – a sparkling sea framing the houses like a jewel – but the question that immediately came to mind was, how on earth did such a tiny island produce a battery of world-class players? Now that same smallness offered another scary thought. How on earth will they find world-class players from such a small area? Trinidad is a much bigger place but big, of course, is relative.Sometimes a win can just prove to be a setback. Is West Indies’ recent Test win over Pakistan a boon or a bane? Will it make the hardliners in the WICB turn more adamant in their vision for a future that doesn’t involve the bigger stars like Chris Gayle? Or does that win offer concrete proof of their new vision? This series against India can help decide it.It was a series against India in 1976 that turned the corner for West Indies in many ways. bloodbath in Sabina Park when Clive Lloyd, hurt after India chased down 403 in the previous Test, unleashed his fast men against the hapless visitors is a landmark event in West Indian cricket history. That victory made Lloyd, and by extension West Indies, realise that pace was the way to go and his gang of fast men went on to unleash such joyous violence – that still stirs the heart of cricket fans – around the world. Fire was raging in Babylon and Lloyd wasn’t fiddling. Nostalgia is fun but not when the present is bleak.If West Indies are to do well in this series, they can’t reproduce tracks that were on offer in the series against Pakistan. If India has a weakness, it’s against pace and bounce and West Indies, despite having a legspinner as their strike bowler, need to exploit it – like they did so successfully in the World Twenty20 held in the Caribbean region. Will they go for it?For India, the absence of the seniors is the best thing that could have happened. This squad is perfect to test the bench strength. It’s also the perfect setting for the new India coach, Duncan Fletcher, to ease himself in. He has been ostensibly roped in to help India prepare for a future sans the big names. Now he doesn’t have to wait for the end of India’s tour of Australia early next year to prepare for that eventuality. This series gives him a taste of things to come.In the Tests, India are going with a new set of openers and in the ODIs, they will also be infusing fresh blood into the middle order. If West Indies are able to produce tracks that aid bounce, this Indian team can be tested by the likes of Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul and Andre Russell. It still won’t be easy, but at least it will give them a chance.If the tracks are flat, this could well turn out to be like the 1971 series between the two teams, when a debutant named Sunil Gavaskar gorged on a second-string attack to pile up the runs and launch himself into a calypso. This Indian team might not have anyone in the calibre of a Gavaskar but it’s a team filled with ambitious young men, desperately seeking success and fighting for the few available spots when the bigger stars return for sterner tests. It’s almost a fight for survival for many. Life is jokey but it’s bloody serious.

ScorecardAndrew Gale set up the easiest of Yorkshire victories at New Road and left Worcestershire stranded at the foot of Group A after their fourth defeat in five Clydesdale Bank 40 games.Steven Patterson took four for 28 in the Royals’ laboured progress to 155 for 9 and Gale continued his good form in the competition as Yorkshire eased home by seven wickets with 21 balls to spare.The Yorkshire captain made 56 and lifted his aggregate to 285 from five innings after sharing in successive half-century partnerships with fellow-left handers Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth.Rotherham-born left-arm spinner Shaaiq Choudhry secured Worcestershire’s first success when Ben Scott stumped Ballance for 27 and Moeen Ali’s off-spin accounted for Gale with a tumbling catch at mid-wicket by Jack Shantry.Yorkshire never had to rush and Lyth was able to bat within himself until he took an unnecessary risk in going for a second run which would have completed a half-century. He was comfortably beaten by Alexei Kervezee’s return from deep square leg.Worcestershire were hopelessly short of runs despite James Cameron’s third successive CB40 half-century and an eye-catching innings by 17-year-old schoolboy Aneesh Kapil. Kapil, who later bowled five overs at a lively pace, joined Cameron in a stand of 88 in 20 overs, which was all that stood between the home side and total collapse.Struggling at 30 for 4 after two wickets each for Yorkshire’s new-ball pair, Patterson and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, they folded again as soon as Kapil departed, lbw for 44 when pushing forward to the fourth delivery in a second spell by Adil Rashid.Kapil who played for Wolverhampton in the Birmingham League at the age of 13, was unfazed by registering a duck for his club team only 24 hours before he was called up for a competitive debut in the county side.A flamboyant stroke-maker, he hit four of the dozen fours that Worcestershire mustered in the entire innings, and fortunately for Yorkshire, a glaring let-off, when Hannon-Dalby put down a simple opportunity at short third man, cost them only two runs.Similarly a let-off for Cameron – Ballance spilling an awkward chance at mid-wicket – was quickly brushed over. One run later, the Zimbabwean-born left-hander fell for 51, driving to mid-off as Patterson struck twice in his second spell.Along the way, Cameron hoisted Rashid for a straight six but managed only two fours as Yorkshire, despite missing a contingent of first-teamers, took an unshakeable grip on what became a one-sided contest.

Jamie Dalrymple, the offspinning allrounder, has returned to Middlesex following his exit from Glamorgan in November.Dalrymple, 30, left Lord’s in 2007 for Glamorgan, where he spent three seasons, the last two as captain. But in a tumultuous winter for Glamorgan, he quit the playing staff after he was replaced as captain by South African batsman Alviro Petersen.Dalrymple, who played 27 ODIs for England, will not be available for selection in all competitions for Middlesex until 3 June.”At a pinch we could have rushed Jamie’s return so that he was available for the start of the season,” said Middlesex director of cricket Angus Fraser. “But I did not think this was right. I believe the players who have trained hard this winter deserve the first opportunity to stake a claim for first team selection. Depriving them of this opportunity at the start of the season would have had a de-motivating effect on the squad.””I will be watching the early season closely and wish the team every success whilst trying to get up to speed as soon as possible,” said Dalrymple. “I am delighted to have been able to rejoin the club I played with for so long.”Dalrymple made 2,725 runs at 30.27 in 62 first-class matches in his previous time at Lord’s, taking 95 wickets. He also made 1,964 runs in 96 one-day matches at 31.17.”Along with his cricketing skills, Jamie is a natural leader who brings experience and know-how,” said Fraser. “The departure of Owais Shah has left us with one fewer experienced, destructive match-winning middle order batsman in limited-over cricket.”We believe Jamie can fulfil that role. He also bowls good off-spin and is a magnificent fielder. Jamie’s arrival gives our squad an excellent balance of experience and youth.”

Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The new Logan Cup champions will be crowned at Mutare Sports Club on Saturday, and though this game could still go either way, the dazzling strokeplay of Bernard Mlambo in the final session gave Mountaineers the edge at the close of the third day. With Hamilton Masakadza still at the crease, their last eight wickets need another 148 runs.Matabeleland Tuskers resumed on their overnight score of 116 for 2, a lead of 72 runs. First blood went to the home side, as both overnight batsmen fell before either had scored another run: Steve Trenchard (23) clipped the third ball of the day to square leg off Tendai Chatara, while Charles Coventry (24) was trapped lbw by a good ball from Shingi Masakadza. Within minutes it was 119 for 4 and Mountaineers surged into the ascendancy.Keith Dabengwa, the team’s acting captain, and their wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Ngulube fought back with equal determination, and Dabengwa later off-drove a ball from Timycen Maruma for six, a fine stroke with surprising power from a man of slender build. While Ngulube defended, Dabengwa kept the score moving, but was out to Prosper Utseya just before lunch for 39. The pair had added 57.Ngulube played a slow but valuable innings, and was out to the first legal delivery – after a wide – with the second new ball, Chatara having him caught at the wicket for 34 off 125 balls. Keegan Meth was in good touch with the bat, looking every bit an allrounder as he played some fluent strokes, rarely looking in trouble. But there continued a slow but steady fall of wickets, each middle-order partnership adding useful runs but none building the major stand that would have taken the match from Mountaineers’ hands.Maruma took two wickets with successive deliveries, when he deceived and bowled Tawanda Mupariwa for 10, and then trapped Chris Mpofu lbw unwisely sweeping at a straight ball. Meth made 65, the top score of the innings, before he drove a low catch into the covers off Donald Tiripano, and after a bright last-wicket partnership the innings closed for 290. Four bowlers took two wickets each, with the restrictive Utseya returning the most impressive figures of them, bowling 24 overs for only 37 runs.This left Mountaineers 247 to win, and it was really anybody’s match. Most of all, though, it was a test of nerve for Mountaineers, who completed their Logan Cup league programme undefeated; the pressure is always greater on the batting side in such circumstances, and particularly so after the collapse to Meth in the first innings. Tino Mawoyo and Bernard Mlambo made an enterprising start, although there were a couple of nervy strokes, and had made 29 before Mawoyo, in the tenth over, edged a ball from Meth to the keeper, gone for 12.This brought about an exciting individual duel between Hamilton Masakadza and Meth – a duel that in the end may well decide the match. At first Mlambo took the lead, cutting, driving and pulling powerful boundaries off Mpofu. Reaching the other end, he drove balls from Meth through mid-off and mid-on for fours, and the score raced to 50 in the 12th over before Masakadza had even got off the mark. After a slight breather, Mlambo resumed his assault and reached his own fifty with a superb pull off Brad Staddon, having faced 61 balls. He continued his assault with sixes over long-on off John Nyumbu and a pull over midwicket off Ncube.With such brilliance at the other end, Masakadza wisely sat back and handed over as much of the strike as possible, but eventually Mlambo played one stroke too many when he holed out on the midwicket boundary to Dabengwa’s first ball of the match for 68, scored off 77 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes. Masakadza finished the day on 13 not out, and he and Meth will be the key figures in the grand finale. The last day of the Zimbabwe season 2010/11 could see a wonderful climax.

Graeme Smith is ready to “leave it all out there” when he captains South Africa for the last time in an ODI tournament, starting on Thursday against the West Indies in Delhi. “I feel I am best prepared going into this tournament as I have been throughout my career. I am just excited to be able to lead the guys.”So ready is he that he almost left it all out there when a reporter persisted in asking if Smith thought the team would be able to drop the chokers tag, given their record under pressure. When Smith said that there is a “luck element” in tournaments such as this, the journalist went on to ask if South Africa’s nerves often undid any luck that the team may have secured. Smith sneered in reply. “So you have been out in the middle, you will understand that?”Silence.No one on the outside can really understand the unique kind of pressure that has weighed South Africa down, or how stoically they’ve had to deny that it’s had any effect on them. Every few years, when questions like the one above get asked, we get a small glimpse into the burden of underachievement South Africa cricketers carry. It’s why each tournament, for them, seems bigger and more important than the previous one and why this one is “the biggest tournament” for this group of players to date.”A lot of the guys who are here for the first time have definitely said that,” Smith said. “The expectation, the energy around India and before we left, the things that were going on around the group, especially compared to the other World Cups, this is a lot bigger.”The heightened importance of this tournament may stem from the fact that South Africa have brought their most dynamic line-up to a major competition, especially in the bowling department. “It’s the most variety that we have ever had,” Smith said. “We now have pace, we have bounce, we have left-armers, we have got a few spin options.” The variation means that South Africa hope they will be “a lot harder to prepare against” because their starting XI is going to be more elastic than it has been in the past. “Tactically we have got our ideas about how we would like to set up in this tournament. We have covered every base there and we are really excited to get going.”South Africa have been training in India for just over two weeks and although that time has allowed the squad to settle in, there is still an element of uncertainty going into their first game in the World Cup. The Feroz Shah Kotla stadium is hosting its first match after a 14-month ban it incurred in December 2009 for having a dangerous pitch. It has been since relaid, with a surface that promises even bounce, but Smith said neither side knows what to expect from it. “It’s an unknown factor for all of us. But I think you can see they have made a really big effort out here.”It’s also the first time Smith will use the Umpire Decision Review System in a one-day international and it may prove tricky when the team is in the field because “with our bowlers, every decision is out,” Smith said. “I’ll have to trust AB also because I am not always going to be in a position to really judge the lines and where the ball has pitched.”What’s not a first is coming up against the West Indies in the opening match of a World Cup. The last time that happened, South Africa were put to the sword by a blustering innings from Chris Gayle. Smith is wary of not allowing the same kind of flamboyant performance to undo South Africa again. “They have guys who on their day can really punish you and take the game away from you. That’s why in Cup competitions, they are a very dangerous opponent to come up against.”The West Indies struggle with consistency, as Smith noted, and often fall away in a four- or five-match series, but playing them in a one-off match is as much a competition as playing anyone else. Their strategy is based on a certain casual yet colourful flair. In many ways, on their day, they are side that leaves it all there. To see them come against a South African captain who hopes to do the same promises an explosion.

For Bangladesh, the 2011 World Cup is the ideal stage to leap on to as a cricketing nation. The campaign will mark the culmination of two years of team-building through some tumultuous and heady moments, in between a lot of ordinary days.It was expected that cricket in Bangladesh would take solid shape after success in the 2007 World Cup, where the team beat India and South Africa, but it went backwards for some time. Through a change in personnel, development of a core group and some high-profile wins since 2009, Bangladesh now look well prepared for their first ‘home’ World Cup.The tournament has always been part of the country’s imagination; a cherished destination during the ICC Trophy years. Bangladesh’s first campaign, the 1999 World Cup, presented alien conditions to inexperienced players, but victories against Scotland and Pakistan helped the country gain ODI and Test status.The next tournament was disastrous, however, as Khaled Mashud’s team lost all five games including a humiliating defeat to Canada. A wake-up call was served and four years later, Habibul Bashar led Bangladesh through a much better time in the 2007 edition, their first venture into the Super Eights.The stars of the 2007 campaign – Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak – are now the leading players and have made an impact on world cricket. The batting looks better at the top with Shakib holding up the middle and then leading the spin attack. Spin bowling and top-order batting are their strengths while fielding and pace bowling, overseen by specialist coaches, are on the way up.This is Bangladesh’s best chance to make a major impact in world cricket, something they would love to do in front of their home crowd.World Cup pedigree
In three World Cups, Bangladesh have won five matches in all; a poor scorecard, but they did well in the 2007 tournament. Two victories in the first round took them to the second phase, their first time ever, where they surprisingly dominated their win over South Africa.Form guide in 2010
Starting 2010 at the back of a successful year, Bangladesh slipped in the first half. They broke a 14-match losing streak by beating England in Bristol, but promptly lost to Ireland and the Netherlands a week later.A dreadful Asia Cup in between, Bangladesh bounced back in grand manner, crushing New Zealand 4-0 in the one-day series and then finishing the year off with a 3-1 win over Zimbabwe.Expert eye
Athar Ali Khan: We have to be realistic but 2010 has been a success story. Bangladesh beat New Zealand 4-0 but what has really come to the fore is that they have stayed together like a team and won games from difficult situations. This is a big step for the team. Individually, Tamim, Shakib, Mahmudullah and the spinners have all had a good year.Looking at the performance, I think they’ll go to the second phase. We should think one step at a time as they’ll play the top teams in home conditions. There shouldn’t be anything far-fetched but I think reaching the quarter-final is an expectation.Prediction
Defeating a better opponent or two and staying clear of the minnows in their group would help Bangladesh reach the quarterfinals. A last-eight finish could please the team, but a step further will simply make the cricket-mad people here go berserk.Watchability
Bangladesh’s waywardness has always been exhilarating to the eyes but has given their fans the most suffering. Now Bangladesh have started to become more consistent, especially with the bat and much will depend on the start that Tamim and Imrul Kayes will provide, part of which would be great to watch.Shakib balances the team with his all-round abilities, his left-arm spin bringing in the wickets. Improvement among the pace bowlers is encouraging but due to the conditions and the shape of the attack, spin will play the larger role.They haven’t always fielded like tigers but the World Cup could bring out a new dimension in their armory.Key players
Shakib Al Hasan: Currently the No.1 ODI allrounder in the world, Shakib possesses the ability to take the game away from the opposition with both bat and ball. The 23-year-old is a feisty batsman, opting to take charge from the first ball he faces, but can anchor the innings from the middle order to take Bangladesh to big scores.His left-arm spin however makes him a more dangerous player, his slider accounting for many a batsman. An athletic fielder, Shakib often is in better form when leading his side.Tamim Iqbal: Much has changed for the then 17-year-old who bashed Zaheer Khan over his head in the last World Cup. Now Tamim has moulded himself as Bangladesh’s top-order mainstay through big knocks in both formats. His off-side play remains disdainful while his shots on the on side are often sublime, especially the Brian Lara-esque one-legged pull.Temperament is also a plus for this left-hander, who holds the Bangladesh record for the highest individual ODI score (154 against Zimbabwe) but has often thrown away a good start.Abdur Razzak: His career could have ended some time ago, but the left-arm spinner turned things around in the space of three months last year, and has now become a vital cog for Shakib. He was nowhere in the first half of 2010 but kept things tight against New Zealand and against Zimbabwe – Razzak took 13 wickets in four games including Bangladesh’s first ODI hat-trick.Sound temperament and the ability to hold up an end are his strengths but he sometimes struggles in the end overs when he becomes too predictable. Yet, Shakib will rely on the man who at 29 is the oldest among the Bangladesh players.