Our Sports Reporter
Spinners succeed in three-dayer but ...
West Indies A got off to a sound start against hosts Bangladesh in the one-off three-day match, which began at the Banga-bandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The visiting second string Caribbean side were on 336 for seven at stumps, thanks to a magnificent 127-run fourth-wicket partnership between two middle-orders Floyd Reifer and Ramnaresh Sarwan.
After the tourists lost their third wicket with the scoreboard reading 100 in 27.1 overs, the left and right hand combination of Reifer and Sarwan, proved too good for the thought-less Bangladeshi bowlers as they took them to the sword from the very word 'go' of their partnership. They scored 100 runs in only 77 minutes with Reifer and Sarwan playing havoc with the local bowlers, who hardly have any experience of playing the longer rendition of the game.
Of the two, left-handed Reifer, who is tipped to replace injured Jimmy Adams in the West Indies senior team now touring South Africa, scored 89 from 108 balls. In his 127-minute stay at the crease punctuated by 14 sweetly timed hits across the rope, Reifer smote a huge six off left-arm spinner Enamul Haque in the 42nd over to complete his fifty in 86 minutes. He was then dropped by Akram at first slip when he was on 55.
His young right-handed partner Ramnaresh Sarwan was rather more aggressive with the willow. The Guyanese middle-order, who contributed 59 runs facing 68 balls in 100 minutes, took only 57 balls to reach his fifty He was absolutely harsh on debutant off-break bowler Fahim Muntasir Rahman in the 35th over hammering two sixes and scoring another five runs. Fahim, in that over, conceded 21 runs which also included a boundary from Reifer.
However, the fruitful partnership came to an end when Fahim trapped Reifer leg before in the last ball of the 50th over.
Fahim, who in his first spell in the morning session took the wicket of opener Adrian Griffith to open his account for the national team, then dismissed Sarwan in his next over when the West Indian tried to cut a rising ball but missed the line giving a thin edge to wicketkeeper Khaled Masood.
After the successive departure of Reifer and Sarwan with West Indies A firmly placed on 233 for five, Richard Smith and wicketkeeper Courtney Browne added 74 runs for the sixth wicket before Smith, one short of a well deserved fifty, was brilliantly taken by Shahriar Hossain at point off an Enamul Haque delivery. Smith smashed six boundaries in his 78-minute stay.
Browne (38) was the last man to be out on 325 in the 81st over when his full-hearted drive off Enamul was magnificently held by substitute Hasanuzzaman at cover.
Skipper Ian Bishop and lower middle-order Rawl Lewis then added only 11 runs in the remaining nine overs of the day without any further damage.
Earlier, the two openers, Adrian Griffith (36) and Wavell Hinds (28), gave the tourists a reasonably good start after they won the toss and decided to bat. The duo scored 62 runs in 12 overs before Hinds was caught by Morshed Ali Khan at long-on off a Khaled Mahmud delivery.
The visitors will play 10 more overs today as the first innings of both sides is of 100 overs.
For Bangladesh, two spinners Enamul Haque and newcomer Fahim Muntasir Rahman evenly shared six wickets. Veteran left-arm tweaker Enamul was the most successful bowler of the day. He bowled 30 overs including ten maidens and gave away only 73 runs for his three wickets. On the other hand, Fahim bowled 22 overs with a maiden and conceded 99 runs for his share of three wickets.
Day 2: Bangladesh face possibility of innings defeat
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Tuckett fills his bucket
Poor technique and lack of temperament forced Bangladesh to 'follow on' agai-nst the visiting West Indies A at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Bangladesh need another 148 runs to avoid an innings defeat when they resume their second innings this morning with eight wickets in hand.
On the second day of the one-off three-dayer, Bangladesh, replying to a mammoth West Indies A total of 386, were bundled out for only 149 in 36.1 overs in their first innings in the face of some fired-up pace bowling from Carl Tuckett and Pedro Collins. Tuckett was the more venomous with a proud haul of six for 25.
West Indies added 50 runs to their overnight score of 336 for seven in the remaining ten overs of their stipulated 100 with the loss of two more wickets.
The home side, needing another 237 runs to avoid an innings defeat, made yet another disastrous start to their second innings with both the openers Shahriar Hossain (4) and Javed Omar (4) returning to the dressing room with the scoreboard reading only 14.
However, skipper Aminul Islam and Akram Khan put their acts together and stemmed the rot. They remained at the crease till the end with an unbeaten 75-run partnership for the third wicket to see Bangladesh on 89 for two at stumps.
Akram was not out on 30 while Aminul was undefeated on 24.
The home side looked absolutely lost in a version of the game, which they do not play in domestic cricket. Their lack of knowledge about the difference between a one-day limited-over game and a multi-dayer was widely exposed as their batsmen kept on returning to the dressing room one after another without offering any resistance to the Caribbean pace trio of Collins, Bishop and Tuckett.
Collins, the left arm new-ball bowler, drew first blood by dismissing both the openers Shahriar Hossain (11) and Javed Omar (7) in the fifth and seventh over of the first innings.
Javed was the first to go giving an edge to the man behind while trying to play across. Shahriar's dismissal was more comical as a rising Collins delivery, after kissing his gloves, hit his helmet and rebounded into the safe hands of Ramnaresh Sarwan at forward short leg.
After the early departure of the two openers, skipper Aminul Islam and his predecessor Akram Khan added 28 runs for the third wicket before Akram was caught by Bishop at mid-off while mistiming his shot in trying to pull leg-spinner Rawl Lewis.
Right-arm pacer Tuckett took over charge from that point on and ripped through the middle order with a six-wicket haul that sent the home side packing in the 37th over.
Tuckett dismissed wicketkeeper Khaled Masood (5) in his very first over and then went on to capture the wickets of skipper Aminul Islam (22), Enamul Haque (27), Fahim Muntasir Rahman (0), Shafiuddin Ahmed (4) and Al-Shahriar (15) in his next eight overs.
For Bangladesh, veteran left-hander Enamul Haque scored highest 27 while Mr Sundries also contributed the equal measure to the Bangladesh total.
Among others, Aminul and Akram scored 22 and 17 runs respectively. One-down Al-Shahriar, who initially retired hurt on zero after sustaining an injury when hit by a bouncer from Collins in the 9th over, added 15 after returning from a local hospital with four stitches on his left ear.
The Bangladesh innings was held up for ten minutes after lunch when a fire broke out on the roof between the VIP Gallery and the air-conditioned hospitality boxes. It was being widely assumed that the fire broke out when a cigarette butt ignited a stack of seat foam.
Day 3: Match lost but Enamul saves the blushes
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Carl Tuckett bags Inter Sports award
Left-handed lower-order batsman Enamul Haque hammered an unbeaten 76 to save Bangladesh from the humiliation of an innings defeat against West Indies A, who ultimately won the three-day 100-overs match by eight wickets on the final afternoon yesterday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The veteran southpaw came in at number seven with Bangladesh reeling at 128 for five in their second innings and needing another 109 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Bangladesh were forced to follow on the day before in reply to the West Indies total of 386. Against all odds Enamul stood his ground for more than two hours to help Bangladesh take an unanticipated 64-run lead before being all out.
Bangladesh, with their overnight total of 89 for two in their second knock, lost six wickets in the morning session while adding only 86 runs. At lunch the home side were still under threat with the score on 175 for eight. They needed another 62 runs to avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat.
Skipper Aminul Islam, who was unbeaten overnight on 24, was the first to go in the ninth over of the third day after sharing a 104-run third wicket partnership with Akram Khan. The careless captain was castled by leg spinner Rawl Lewis when he was on 37.
In his passionate 154-minute stay at the crease, Aminul faced 131 balls and hit two boundaries.
Akram Khan returned next in the span of two overs after offering a simple catch to substitute fielder McGarrell at silly point off another Lewis delivery, leaving Bangladesh on 127 for four. Akram stayed at the crease for more than three hours and scored 42 off 122 balls inclusive of a quartet of boundaries.
Medium-pacer Carl Tuckett, who took six wickets in the first innings to bundle out Bangladesh for 149, bowled out wicketkeeper Khaled Masood in the next over before the 'recurring failure' could open his account.
After the departure of Masood, Enamul and Khaled Mahmud added 32 runs for the sixth wicket before the latter was caught by Bishop at first slip. Mahmud scored 24.
Skipper Ian Bishop then sent back injured Al-Shahriar (5) and lower-order Fahim Muntasir Rahman (4) in the 26th over of the day to leave Bangladesh on 175 for eight and raising hopes for an innings win.
But the West Indies attack was in for some frustration from that point onwards when number ten batsman Shafiuddin Ahmed joined Enamul with Bangladesh needing another 62 runs to avoid the innings defeat.
The duo added 59 runs for the ninth wicket and took the scoreboard to 234 before Shafiuddin was caught by Hinds at mid-on. In his 74-ball innings, Shafiuddin, who mainly provided the much-needed support for his senior partner Enamul, scored 25 runs which includes five sweetly timed hits across the rope.
With Bangladesh needing another three runs to avoid the innings defeat, Enamul then partnered number eleven Morshed Ali Khan and added another 67 runs for the last wicket to help Bangladesh reach 301 before Morshed was out in the 92nd over.
Morshed perhaps played the innings of his life hammering 32 off 33 balls with a huge six and four fours.
Enamul obviously remained not out. His 76 included ten boundaries. This Enamul was struck off from the national team after the ICC trophy win and only came back into the side last month when he replaced injured off-spinner Mushfiqur Rahman in the ACC trophy in Nepal.
West Indies, needing 65 to win in the remaining 31 overs of the day, reached their target in only 13.4 overs with the loss of the two openers, Adrian Griffith (0) and Hinds (8).
Both the wickets were taken by new-ball bowler Shafiuddin Ahmed.
Medium-pacer Carl Tuckett, who finished with match figures of eight for 67, was adjudged Inter Sports player-of-the-match. He received a 10,000 Taka cash award from the State Minister for Youth and Sports, Obaidul Quader. Bangladesh Cricket Board general secretary Syed Ashraful Haque, back from Sharjah, was also present at the simple prize giving ceremony.
The tourists left the capital for Bombay last evening to begin their month-long tour of India.