In
particular, the rain interrupted all of Australia’s fixtures. Of course, you
can’t say that they would have been victorious had the heavens not opened and
the covers rolled on. Even Steve Smith admitted his side were in trouble
against New Zealand at Edgbaston last week. On the other hand, they were
looking good against Bangladesh, Mitchell Starc’s final 4-wicket burst setting
up what had seemed a simple target under clear skies.
Today’s
defeat to England on Duckworth/Lewis was no fluke, though. Eoin Morgan and Ben
Stokes had dragged the hosts out of a tricky situation and the Aussies were
down and out when play was finally halted for good. That they did so was the
result of another dramatic turnaround; one I was delighted to have witnessed at
first hand.
As is common
in Cardiff, there had been plenty of rain in the previous 24 hours, so it was
unsurprising to arrive at the stadium to see the big screen announcing a pitch
inspection at 10.45. Fortunately a few sunny spells were helping to dry out the
square and outfield and so umpires Llong and Gould gave their go-ahead for an
11.30 start. Phew!
I’d gone for
a ticket to see Bangladesh v New Zealand as I’d never before seen the former
nation in live action. It was also many years since I’d seen the Black Caps
play – in a 3-day game against Essex. I could not have anticipated experiencing
the drama of a side’s reversal of fortunes in a 50-over international.
Kane
Williamson had won the toss and elected to bat first. With a meagre crowd of
neutrals like me, vociferous tiger-waving Bangladesh fans and some keen primary
schoolchildren, much of the New Zealand innings was unremarkable. Martin
Guptill’s early six was not an indication of things to come, as the wicket
seemed to help the Tigers’ seamers. Williamson and Ross Taylor mixed delightful
boundaries and play-and-misses but once they fell, a familiar collapse ensued. Broom,
Neesham and Santner scampered a number of singles and twos but Mossadek’s spin
yielded three quick victims and Rubel Hossain bought the Bangla fans to their
feet. 265-8 isn’t a bad total for Cardiff but it should have been more.
Bangladesh’s
innings got off to a dreadful start. Tim Southee trapped the previously
prolific Tamim Iqbal first ball and the same bowler did for Soumya and Sabbir
in his next two overs. Trent Boult also caused huge problems, and the
diminutive Mushfiqur Rahim in particular was struggling against pace and
short-pitched deliveries and it was probably a merciful release when Milne
produced a perfect nip-backer to flatten middle stump. That brought Mahmudullah
to accompany Shakib al Hasan. A young supporter beside me asked what I thought the
pair should do. Er, be patient, build a partnership and not get out?!
So far, so
obvious, but that is exactly what they did. There was no resort to T20-style
histrionics; just finding gaps for singles and the occasional four, maintaining
the run-a-ball target rate. As time went on, the experienced pair played themselves
in, improving their timing against the seam of Neesham, Milne and Anderson.
When Boult and Southee were brought back early, Mahmudullah and Shakib were no
longer vulnerable; they were on a roll. Mitchell Santner’s spin looked more
effective at first but any poor deliveries were punished. The hundred
partnership came and went, and each player advanced into the 60s, 70s, 80s and
90s. The children in the crowd had gone but the few Bangladesh fans were compensating
for their absence as they sensed an unlikely victory.
When Shakib
reached three figures with his first six, it was game over. Skipper Williamson
was powerless, the number of wides increased as bowlers tried a bit too hard
and Shakib cracked further beautiful drives and pulls before he risked a swipe
too many against Boult and lost his off stump. The partnership had swelled to
222, an ODI record for Bangladesh. It seemed appropriate that Mahmudullah also
reached his third one-day century shortly after but it was Mossadek’s boundary
which clinched a five-wicket victory with almost three overs remaining.
NZ were
definitely out and Bangladesh knew they had to wait another 24 hours to see
whether England would do them a favour by beating the Aussies. Which we now
know is exactly what Morgan’s men did.
Congratulations
to Bangladesh for proving me and many others wrong. I now await to see who I
will be seeing meet England at Sophia Gardens next Wednesday. It’s anybody’s
guess…
