Bangladesh’s touring cricket sides continued to struggle on Thursday, as the Under-23 team suffered a shock defeat to the UAE in Singapore before the A team conceded 367 runs to their England counterparts in the second unofficial One-Day International.
A spectacular batting collapse sent the Under-23s crashing to a 59-run defeat against the UAE in their Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup match at The Padang.
The shock result meant that the Bangladeshi side were the only Under-23 team from a Test-playing nation not to advance from the group stage, while the UAE face off today against India Under-23s, who were themselves upset by Afghanistan on Thursday, in an unlikely semi-final match-up.
The Pakistan and Sri Lanka Under-23 sides will meet today in the other semi-final.
The Bangladesh Under-23s had looked to be cruising to victory, responding to the minnows’ total of 202/8 by reaching 133/3 in the 36th over, but Nasir Aziz’s spell of spin bowling sparked a dramatic collapse that saw seven Bangladeshi wickets fall for just 10 runs, ending the innings at 143 all out in 42 overs and stunning the favourites.
Man of the Match Aziz finished with figures of 5/17 in seven overs, the second standout Emirati performance in the match after opener Shaiman Anwar’s 100 off 135 balls helped give the UAE a fighting total.
Noor Hossain led the Bangladeshi attack with 3/31 in his 10 overs, while Asif Ahmed took two wickets for 19.
The Under-23s would have still fancied their chances to chase down the relatively modest target and an opening partnership of 50 runs within 10 overs set the Bangladeshis well on their way.
Openers Soumya Sarkar and Rony Talukder scored 30 and 21 respectively, while number three batsman Maishukur Rahman led the team with 34 before falling to Aziz and starting the collapse.
The defeat adds yet another black mark to a month of on-field misery for the touring Bangladesh cricket teams, coming on the heels of the Under-19s’ disappointing last-place finish in their tri-series in England and the Bangladesh A team’s as-yet winless tour of the same country.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh A team bowlers followed up Tuesday’s crushing 202-run defeat to the England Lions by conceding even more runs to the same opponents on Thursday, allowing the hosts to score 367/3 in the first innings of their second unofficial One-Day International in Taunton.
Two days after Luke Wright and Gary Balance scored matching centuries to take the Lions to 353/4 in 50 overs, Michael Carberry (146 from 132 balls) and James Taylor (106 off 100) repeated the trick, while Jos Buttler smashed 47 off 23 deliveries before holing out three runs shy of his half-century.
Ziaur Rahman was the only bowler to escape relatively unscathed, finishing with figures of 1/41 in 10 overs. Elias Sunny was less fortunate, getting bludgeoned for a staggering 95 runs in his nine overs.
-With New Age input
