Champions Trophy: Bangladesh Tigers roar and Baggy Greens whimper

The competition is certainly hitting its stride now, but England were in ominous form from the word go. It’s no surprise to me that the hosts have scorched their way to the top of Group A with a 100% record. My preview failed to predict the impact of the British weather, always the great leveller in cricket competitions, especially when all the games matter as in the Champions Trophy.

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…

World Cup 2015: Australia make it five!

A shame that the final proved so one-sided because until today the tournament looked as open as any World Cup I can remember. Whether it was home advantage, extra tactical nous or luck, Australia made their experience tell when it mattered, ending New Zealand's magnificent march to Melbourne.

Maybe, too, the script was pre-typed for Michael Clarke to dedicate victory to the late Phil Hughes and announce his retirement from ODIs. Steve Smith has stepped into the breach superbly, with Shane Watson recovering some form at last. More remarkable was the work done by the physios to ensure the Aussie pacemen stayed fit throughout, and each of them played a part in the nation's success.

I felt that if the Aussies were going to win the final they had to dismiss both Black Cap openers cheaply. In the event, four players were out for ducks but none more significant than Brendon McCullum. He was brilliantly bowled by a 93mph inswinging Starc yorker, but not sure if anyone could have dug that one out. Guptill and Williamson fell before the scoreboard read 40 and, while Grant Elliott stuck around for another 80+ score, the quicks did their job and bowled out the opposition with ten overs to spare.

Southee, Boult and Vettori have bowled NZ into the final but, apart from Finch's caught-and-bowled for zero, there was to be no repeat of the group stage heroics. Michael Clarke can retire with head, as well as World Cup, held high, scoring 74 from 72 balls, although James Faulkner's 3-36 earned the Player of the Match award.

As for the World Cup itself, I reckon it was another wonderful advert for the 50-over format. The huge tally of sixes will please the T20 fanatics but there was plenty to enjoy amongst the bowling fraternity and also those of us wanting to see the nations like Ireland and Afghanistan mixing it with the big boys - and England - in 2019.

So who comprises my team of the tournament?

My openers are Martin Guptill and Shikhar Dhawan. The New Zealander's 237 not out against the West Indies was just the icing on the cake and his captain McCullum's four rapid half-centuries came close to edging out the Indian, whose 137 against South Africa showed that ODI batting is not all about slogging the ball over cow corner. Chris Gayle thumped more sixes than anyone but apart from that 215 he was largely quiet.

Kumar Sangakkara is an obvious choice at number three thanks to his four consecutive centuries, also taking the gloves, and AB De Villiers again demonstrated why he is one of the greatest batmen of his generation. However my number four doesn't represent one of the top nations and didn't even reach the quarter-finals. Brendan Taylor of Zimbabwe accumulated 433 runs from his six matches, including successive hundreds against Ireland and India. His scoring rate of 107 was up there with the best, too. He may have occupied the fourth position but I think Mahmudullah's first two ODI centuries of his career were too important for him to be left out of the team.

It wasn't really a vintage World Cup for established all-rounders but I'll make an exception for Corey Anderson. His wickets tended to be expensive but his 231 runs at more than a run a ball provide ample compensation, and gave New Zealand great impetus in the latter stages of a few innings.

Daniel Vettori hasn't played a lot of cricket in recent years but at 36 and recovered from injuries a-plenty, the former NZ captain was the top spinner of the World Cup. He played in all nine games, took 15 wickets at 20 apiece, conceding barely four runs an over. Despite the talents of Mitchell Johnson and Wahab Riaz, two other left-arm quicks led the wicket-taking league. Trent Boult's seam and swing were critical in the Black Caps' success, but Mitchell Starc's extra pace and place on the winner's podium won him the Player of the Tournament award despite both claiming 22 scalps.

Umesh Yadav enjoyed a productive set of games in the latter stages, pipping team-mate Mohammed Shami to the Eleven thanks to his marginally superior wicket tally. Both proved many people, myself included, wrong about the quality of Indian seamers, but it wasn't enough to beat the eventual champions in the semi-final.

In summary, hats off to Guptill (NZ), Dhawan (Ind), Sangakkara (SL, +), Taylor (Zim), De Villiers (SA *), Mahmudullah (Ban), Anderson (NZ), Vettori (NZ), Starc (Aus), Boult (NZ), Yadav (Ind).

Above all, hats off to Australia and New Zealand for co-hosting a successful tournament as well as providing the two best teams. ICC, take note: don't ruin a winning format!