Micromax ODI Cup Bangladesh Vs Zimbabwe 2010
The Ashraful fantasy
Mohammad Ashraful still looks odds on to walk out to bat on Friday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium since he is the only name the decision-makers trust and try for all their money’s worth.
If news from within the Bangladesh team’s think-tank is to be believed, Ashraful has been given a three-match licence to book his place for the World Cup. After his failure against Zimbabwe yesterday, he has certainly struck out in the first attempt; not quite the fearless swing-and-miss of a baseball hitter, but the thoughtless poke of a man too comfortable with his place amongst the Tigers.
So why does Ashraful feel so unafraid to attempt a half-hearted late-cut to an off-spinner who has dismissed him three times in the past? He does it because in the minds of some in the national team’s management he remains an unrealised fantasy.
“He is just one innings away” is an old favourite of his backers who inevitably stick the “gifted” tag to the man who averages a meagre 23.33 in ODIs for the last ten years.
The last five innings, before Wednesday’s debacle, saw him score 31, 20, 9, 14 and 13 and his 2010 ODI averages now stand at 18.33. He was brought back into the national fold for the Zimbabwe series on the back of some big scores in the National Cricket League. Such a performance, a total of 470 domestic runs, can only be enough for a youngster to earn a place in the Academy side but not for Ashraful, not for his talent, inconsistency and especially not due to his lack of hunger.
His return, unlike that of Tamim Iqbal, not only disturbed the winning combination that completed the 4-0 whitewash of New Zealand but also removed one of the better fielders in the side. Essentially, Ashraful returned with less material than a washed-up stand-up comedian fighting for his space in the spotlight, replacing the one who could give you more laughs.
On Wednesday, the comedy that has become Ashraful’s international career unfurled once more and it was quite a sight when Ray Price, animated as ever and a master of the needle, took aim at the man supposedly under fire.
The first ball was well swept, ran away for four but it didn’t stop Price or the Zimbabweans sensing that they were in for the kill. The next ball Ashraful faced, he tried to steal a single, only to run Junaed Siddiqui out.
After seeing off two deliveries from Price, the man who has dismissed him on six previous occasions, Ashraful played three more before Prosper Utseya’s floated off-spin got him out.
It was just an attempted late-cut, less a shot than a prod, and it left the Tigers at 89 for four.
The brief innings irked many observers who compared his inclusion to the axe that fell on Shahriar Nafees. The left-hander was slowly getting reacquainted to international cricket before his sudden omission, a clear paradox to Ashraful’s sudden rise.
If Bangladesh cricket claims to be getting out of the mindset of picking potential talents, then Ashraful’s was a bad example. In no uncertain terms, he is a once-in-a-generation batsman, but as the curtailed careers of Al Shahriar Rokon, Alok Kapali and Aftab Ahmed will tell you, talent only takes you so far.
Ashraful has the eleventh highest batting average among Bangladeshi batsmen in one-day cricket and although he has averaged more than 25 in four calendar years (2005 to 2008) he has never yet cracked 30.
He could still turn his 18.33 average in 2010 into something significant but waiting for that single innings (or in other words a string of fantastic shots) will do more harm than help to Bangladesh cricket.
