Dropped catches cost us: Law

Stuart Law lamented the four dropped catches and untimely fall of wickets in Bangladesh’s 5-run loss yesterday which sealed a series win for Zimbabwe.
The new Tigers coach, who praised Mushfiqur Rahim for the valiant century in the dark at the Harare Sports Club, was shocked to see the four clangers.
The wicketkeeper-batsman more than made up for dropping the catch of Tatenda Taibu on 41 by hammering a superb 101 off 100 balls, but with his final swing of the bat became the wicket that gave Zimbabwe the victory.
“You can’t blame him [Mushfiqur]. He’s played one of the best innings of his career. It’s just a shame that a guy who plays an innings like that ends up in the losing team. He’s absolutely distraught in the dressing room,” said Law at the post-match press conference.
“If some of the batsmen who got out before him did things differently, it would’ve been a different story. I still can’t get out of the head the four catches we dropped, that probably cost us,” he said.
The Tigers had an on-and-off chase especially after Tamim Iqbal ran himself out bizarrely and then Shakib Al Hasan was caught superbly by Prosper Utseya to make it 124 for four.
Mushfiqur, who strained his hamstring during the innings and was not available to collect his man-of-the-match trophy, carried the Tigers into a winning position through two important partnerships, but those two ended in dismal fashion.
“We tried hard today. We had plans that we stuck to. It was looking pretty good at some stage but we came out the wrong side. We put up a good fight. Once again, credit to Zimbabwe. They showed how to bat.
“A couple of silly mistakes at the wrong time cost us the match today,” said the former Australian cricketer. Now Law believes that his team has finally woken up, due to the close loss, and have all to play for in Bulawayo in the last two one-dayers.
“I don’t think we need to lift the team anymore. We were well up for the game today, we fielded well in the first 20 overs. Lot of hustle, noise, encouragement and some great stops.
“Even though the series is gone, there’s pride at stake. It would be nice to get out of Harare to erase some bad memories of our cricket here,” he said.
It was Bangladesh’s first one-day series loss to Zimbabwe in five years and despite the hosts coming back into Test cricket after six years, it was their preparation this time that won the day.
“Zimbabwe have had fantastic preparation; they played tough cricket against Australia A and South Africa A leading into the series.
“Our preparation probably wasn’t ideal with the monsoon at home. We played games against our Academy, probably not the sternest test before we come here and play a team that has played tough cricket,” said Law.
His opposite number Alan Butcher hailed his team’s fighting spirit and said he’d love to make a clean sweep of it. “We shouldn’t get too carried away. We won a Test and three ODIs but there are areas of improvement. We knew that from the first two games that Bangladesh were capable of playing better than they did. And they showed it.
“We’d really love to have a 5-0 win,” said Butcher, who praised his two young fast bowlers.
“A year ago we never heard of Brian Vitori. He wasn’t getting any franchise. Kyle Jarvis was struggling with an injury; we weren’t sure when he’s coming back. Those two have really come forward,” he said.

-With The Daily Star input

Related News

Warner plans Test exit at SCG

Sport Desk : dhakamirror.com Veteran Australian cricketer David Warner announced his plans to retire from Test cricket, claiming that he wants the match he plays in the longest format of the game—against Pakistan in Sydney in 2024 to be his last. Speaking to reporters in Beckenham ahead of next week’s World Test Championship final against ... Read more

‘A’ team in trouble against Windies

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A yet another listless batting performance saw Bangladesh A struggling against their West Indies counterparts on day two of the third and final unofficial Test at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. At stumps, Bangladesh reached 157-7 in their first innings, in reply of West Indies 445 all out, trailing ... Read more

ICC leaders in Pakistan to secure cricket World Cup participation

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Senior International Cricket Council (ICC) officials are set to travel to Pakistan to secure the country’s participation in this year’s 50-over World Cup in India which has been in doubt for political reasons. Bilateral cricket has been a casualty of the soured relations between India and Pakistan over the last decade, ... Read more

Australia announce 15-member squad for World Test Championship final

Josh Hazlewood included Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Australia have confirmed their 15-member squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India beginning on June 7 at The Oval, London. Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood, who had injury concerns during the Indian Premier League, has been cleared to play in WTC final and has found a ... Read more

Liton not losing sleep over bad patch

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh batsman Liton Das asserted that he is not losing sleep over his recent bad patch with the bat as he is confident of overcoming it shortly. The 28-year-old performed dismally in the recently concluded three-match one-day international series against Ireland, as he could manage 0, 21, and 35 at their ... Read more

MS Dhoni fans won’t let him retire even when he is 75 years old, says Harsha Bhogle

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Chennai Super Kings are set to bring their fifth Indian Premier League trophy home, and as there have been speculations that it might be the last season of their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the 41-year-old is planning to bow out on a victorious note. Though there are no confirmations yet, ‘MSDians’ ... Read more

Bangladesh to get $100,000 from World Test Championship

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Cricket Board will receive $100,000 from the ICC World Test Championship, the smallest fraction of a total prize purse of $3.8 million, alongside New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies. Bangladesh finished in ninth position among nine teams in the Championship, the final of which will be played at The Oval, ... Read more

Not much changes in WC squad: Nazmul

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan hinted that the Bangladesh squad that played against Ireland in the home series in March is set to be finalised as the squad for the forthcoming ICC World Cup scheduled for October-November of this year in India. The Tigers played a three-match one-day international ... Read more

Taskin eyes World Cup challenge in India

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com As the conditions in India are known to be quite challenging for pacers, Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed wants to take on that challenge and flourish with the ball in the forthcoming ICC World Cup scheduled to be held there in October-November this year. Earlier, the Indian Express reported that the majority ... Read more

BCB boss hints at inclusion of Afif, Mahmudullah

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan hinted at the inclusion of Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, and veteran Mahmudullah in the Tigers’ squad for the forthcoming ICC World Cup, scheduled to be in October-November in India. Mosaddek, who played his last one-day international against Zimbabwe in Harare in August 2022, performed well ... Read more

Shakib ruled out of third ODI against Ireland with finger injury

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out from the third and final one-day international against Ireland after he suffered a finger injury while fielding in the second ODI in Chelmsford, England on May 12. The third and final ODI will be played at the same venue on Sunday. ‘Shakib ... Read more

Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak critically ill

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com FORMER Zimbabwe national cricket team captain Heath Streak, who is currently serving an eight year-ban from the game for breaching the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption code, is reportedly critically ill, prompting calls for prayers from the public. David Coltart, who served as Zimbabwe’s minister of education, sport, arts and culture from ... Read more

Pakistan appoint Grant Bradburn as cricket team head coach

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Saturday that veteran New Zealand batter Grant Bradburn has been appointed as the head coach of the national men’s side for the next two years, following a robust recruitment process. The New Zealander also served as the head coach of the side during the recently-concluded ... Read more

Shanto appreciates Domingo and the selectors for their support

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com The most remarkable thing in the second ODI was to see Najmul Hossain Shanto come of age. Touted as one of the best young players, Shanto failed to live up to the expectation on most of the occasions but on a day when it mattered the most, he delivered to give ... Read more

Women’s team loses 3rd T20I and series against SL

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh women’s team were outplayed by their Sri Lankan counterparts in the series-deciding third Twenty20 international, losing the match by 44 runs to lose the series 1-2 at the SSC Ground in Colombo on Friday. Asked to bowl, Bangladeshi bowlers failed to contain the Sri Lankan batters as Nilakshi de Silva ... Read more

Women’s team suffer crushing defeat

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh women’s team suffered a thrashing seven-wicket defeat against their Sri Lanka counterparts in the second game of the three-match Twenty20 International series at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Thursday. With the win, the home side levelled the series 1-1 as Bangladesh earned a six-wicket victory in the ... Read more

Being the World Cup winning team’s captain would be sweet: Babar

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Babar Azam, the skipper of Pakistan’s cricket team, has expressed his aspirations to lead his team to victory in the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2023. Babar stated that his focus is now on winning the World Cup and he is determined and ambitious to achieve this goal and believes that it ... Read more

Mahmudullah in plan for WC: Tamim

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh one-day international skipper Tamim Iqbal expressed their eagerness to have their veteran campaigner Mahmudullah in the squad for the forthcoming ICC World Cup scheduled for October–November in India. Mahmudullah’s inclusion in the side came under scrutiny following his dismal performance in the three-match one-day international series against the touring England, ... Read more

Mashrafe surprises with spin in Abahani defeat

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza shocked the country’s cricket fraternity on Sunday by bowling off-spin instead of pace while playing for Legends of Rupganj in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League during their match against Abahani Limited at BKSP-3. The veteran pacer is the highest wicket-taker among all Bangladeshi pacers in ... Read more

Katherine Sciver-Brunt announces retirement from international cricket

Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com England’s leading female wicket-taker, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, has announced she has retired from international cricket. Arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, Sciver-Brunt said that playing for England ‘saved her life’. Sciver-Brunt made her international debut in August 2004 and went on to collect 335 wickets in 267 appearances, ... Read more