Bangladesh in Australia

[Donny]

Cairns, Darwin to become first cities outside capitals to host Test cricket
Australian Cricket Board - 2 May 2002


Darwin and Cairns will become the first Australian cities outside the nation's capitals to host Test matches after the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) today announced that Test and one-day international cricket will be played in Northern Australia during the winter of 2003.

ACB Chief Executive Officer, James Sutherland, said with the backing of the Northern Territory Government and the Cairns City Council the ACB had scheduled the Australia versus Bangladesh series for Darwin and Cairns between July and August 2003, subject to the final approval of the stadia by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

"With the international cricketing calendar becoming increasingly congested, the ACB has been searching for suitable facilities in Northern Australia," said Mr Sutherland.

"Marrara Oval in Darwin and Bundaberg Rum Stadium in Cairns were identified and with the works that are now committed to bring these grounds up to international standard the ACB is confident that they will meet ICC specifications."

The Northern Territory Government recently announced a multi-million dollar upgrade of Marrara Oval, while the Cairns City Council and the Cairns Australian Football League (Cairns AFL) are committed to the minor works identified by the ICC in order to bring the venue up to the required standard.

The matches are expected to inject $12 million into the local economies and will promote Cairns and Darwin widely through the telecast of the games both nationally and internationally.

Australian Test captain, Stephen Waugh, also welcomed the opportunity to take the Australian team to Northern Australia.

"To get the chance to play top level cricket in Darwin and Cairns is terrific. The team hasn't played in this part of the country before and it will be a great opportunity to take cricket up to Northern Australia where I know there is a lot of support for the Australian team," Waugh said.

"Clearly with these two venues becoming available, the ACB will be looking to use them in the future," said Mr Sutherland.

"There are emerging opportunities over the coming years for both international cricket and matches involving Australia A to be programmed in these areas, but it is premature to confirm teams and dates beyond next year."

"When the ACB started investigating this issue it was immediately apparent that it would require the support of a number of people and organisations in both Cairns and Darwin to make this happen," said Mr Sutherland.

"Without the hard work of the cricket people in these cities and the efforts of governments and facilities owners to invest in their own assets this simply would not have been possible."

Exact dates are still to be finalised but the ACB confirmed that Darwin's Marrara Oval will host the First Test in early to mid-July before the teams move to Cairns for the Second Test and the first two one-day internationals in late July and early August. Both these games will be day/night fixtures.

The one-day international series will then return to Darwin for the final match, which will be a day game.

[Donny]

Bangladesh select their lambs for the slaughter
Wisden CricInfo staff - June 12, 2003

Bangladesh have announced 15 sacrificial lambs for their two-Test tour of Australia later this month, a series that cricket fans and Bangladesh players are anticipating with little short of dread. The one surprise is the recall of the former captain Khaled Mashud, who had been sacked after the World Cup for allegedly setting a bad example on and off the field. Khaled Mahmud will lead the side.

Amid all the recriminations and politicking that have followed that disastrous World Cup campaign, the show has to go on ... unfortunately. Bangladesh have lost 18 of their 19 Tests to date, 13 by an innings. Australia, on the other hand, have won 29 of their 38 matches since the turn of the decade.

This massacre-in-waiting promises to be the most unequal struggle between bat and ball since Australia's bowlers took on the media in a net session at Port Elizabeth during the World Cup. Only an un-Australian display of mercy can prevent a glut of records being smashed in the coming weeks.

After publicly admitting that the appointment of the Pakistani Mohsin Kamal was a mistake, Bangladesh have at least found themselves a coach who is familiar both with Australia and with the art of victory. But even Dav Whatmore, a former Australian Test cricketer and Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning coach, will be hard-pressed to salvage anything from what is arguably the most one-sided international event in history. The only mercy is that the first Test will be conducted in the relatively secluded environs of Darwin.

Squad Khaled Mahmud (capt), Javed Omar, Khaled Mashud, Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Rafique, Hannan Sarker, Mohammad Ashraful, Al-Sahariar, Manjural Islam, Alok Kapali, Sanwar Hossain, Tareq Aziz, Tapash Baisya, Anwar Hossain Monir, Mashrafe Mortaza.

Tushar Imran and Habibul Hossain are to join the team later for the one-day matches.

[Donny]

Buchanan warns there will be no respite for Bangladesh
Wisden Cricinfo staff - June 13, 2003


As if the prospect of playing two Tests against Australia wasn't daunting enough for Bangladesh, John Buchanan, Australia's coach, has warned that his side won't be easing off during next month's two-Test series.

"Our game will always be to be as aggressive as we can be, and to try and put our opposition under as much pressure as we can, right from the word go, so that won't change," he said. As for fatigue on the part of his players, he said, "Those players who played both the one-day and the Test matches were certainly feeling the pinch through the West Indies tour."

He explained that the prospect of playing at new venues – the Tests will be held at Cairns and Darwin – would offset any weariness in a side who have been on the road almost continuously for 18 months. "With four or five weeks off, coming to a new venue, playing a new team, in something that will begin a tradition, I think really excites them."

But Buchanan did have some encouraging words for Bangladesh, particularly with regard to Dav Whatmore, their new coach. "I think what he'll do is bring them direction, I think he will bring them some discipline and give them some shape," he explained. "Whether that happens immediately, time will tell. But I think that's a very good move for them, and something that will improve their cricket a little bit quicker than maybe what it has done in the past."

[Donny]

No surprises in Australian squad
Wisden CricInfo staff - June 20, 2003

Steve Waugh has been retained as the captain of the Australian Test side for the series against Bangladesh, in a squad that contained no surprises whatsoever. Both the Test and the one-day squads, announced today, incorporated no additions to the ones that returned victorious from Australia's tour of the West Indies.

Damien Martyn's finger injury has not healed sufficiently for him to regain his place in the Test squad, but he was named, subject to fitness, in the one-day side. Trevor Hohns, the chief selector, said: "Martyn hasn't been chosen for the Test match because his injured finger just isn't quite right. The medical staff are concerned with his lack of preparation and at this stage [are] committed to making sure Damien gets himself 100% right."

Hohns brushed aside suggestions that Australia would have played anything less than their strongest sides. "Cricket fans in Cairns and Darwin deserved to see Australia's two world champion teams in action," he said. "We were always going to name our strongest possible sides. There was never any doubt about that. The players want to play in this series and they thoroughly deserve that opportunity."

Test squad 1 Steve Waugh (capt), 2 Ricky Ponting, 3 Andy Bichel, 4 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 5 Jason Gillespie, 6 Matthew Hayden, 7 Brad Hogg, 8 Justin Langer, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Darren Lehmann, 11 Martin Love, 12 Stuart MacGill, 13 Glenn McGrath.

One-day squad 1 Ricky Ponting (capt), 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Michael Bevan, 4 Andy Bichel, 5 Jason Gillespie, 6 Ian Harvey, 7 Matthew Hayden, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Darren Lehmann, 11 Damien Martyn (subject to fitness), 12 Glenn McGrath, 13 Andrew Symonds.

[Donny]

Pitches drop in on Darwin
Wisden CricInfo staff - June 19, 2003

Preparations for Bangladesh's maiden Test tour of Australia are fully underway. Two drop-in pitches, prepared at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and flown 2000 miles north to Darwin, have been installed at the Marrara Oval ahead of Darwin's inaugural Test on July 18, which will be followed by a one-day international on August 6.

Darwin's weather is too dry for the development of international-standard wickets, and so the drop-in technique, now fairly common in Australia and New Zealand, was the obvious solution. The pitches, which weigh 18 tonnes each, were split in half and lowered into place using a crane, before being rachetted back together in a process that took several hours.

The operation was overseen by Tony Ware, the curator at the MCG, who predicted that the soil-and-steel structure would make a good wicket for Darwin's tropical conditions. "It is really just a quite a heavy, sticky clay that obviously goes hard when it's dry," said Ware. "The pitch itself won't play overly quick. It would probably be as quick as a lot of Test venues around the world, but probably not as quick as our wickets are in Melbourne, for instance."

Ware added that the decision to split the pitch was made after problems with the drop-in wickets at the Colonial (now Telstra) Stadium in Melbourne during the one-day series against Pakistan last year. "In Colonial last year, we put a Super Challenge wicket in and it wasn't able to be joined in the middle so it opened up a little bit in the join," said Ware. "What we've done is developed a bolt system and a ratchetting system so that we can actually pull the two halves of the frame together very tightly. That just gives us an extra level of guarantee that the join across is not going to cause any issues during the matches."

Ware added that other preparations in Darwin were going well, and a quick outfield was anticipated. "Obviously, there is a lot of work going on around the venue with new scoreboards and new boxes being built,and other facilities. It's all coming together really well for the match in July."

The Australian Cricket Board, meanwhile, has announced a strong Academy team for the three-day match against Bangladesh which begins on July 3 at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Three Western Australian players, Scott Meuleman, Luke Ronchi and Peter Worthington, and the South Australian Mark Cleary have all made their domestic four-day debuts in the Pura Cup, while 18-year-old South Australian batsman Callum Ferguson made his one-day ING Cup debut against New South Wales in February this year.

[Donny]

Selectors give Love a chance
By ROBERT CRADDOCK
21jun03

MARTIN Love was yesterday presented with the best present a fringe Test batsman could ask for – a series against Bangladesh.

Love has fought off a challenge from rapidly emerging Michael Clarke for a berth in the 13-man squad for next month's Tests against Bangladesh in Darwin (July 18-22) and Cairns (July 25-29).
Australia decided to exclude batsman Damien Martyn from the Test squad and, subject to a fitness test, bring him back through the following three-match one-day series.

"Damien's finger is not quite right," selection chairman Trevor Hohns said yesterday.

"The medical staff are concerned with his lack of preparation and, at this stage, we're committed to making sure he gets himself 100 per cent right."

Martyn has not batted since his brave, unbeaten 88 against India in the World Cup final in South Africa on March 23.

But he is keen to play in Darwin where, as a youngster, he hid under a table when his house was threatened by Cyclone Tracy.

Love has scored 133 runs at 33 in three Tests, but now has the chance to cement himself against cricket's weakest attack.

It seems the only way Love won't get a chance to show his wares is if Australia plays five specialist bowlers, as it did in the West Indies, for he would be the man to miss out.

But against Bangladesh, which has lost 18 of its 19 Tests, Australia is unlikely to need an extra bowler.

Because of the uncertainty of the character of pitches in Darwin and Cairns, Australia has chosen six bowlers, including spinners Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg, to cover all eventualities.

Melbourne Cricket Ground curator Tony Ware has been supervising the preparation of Darwin's Marrara Oval wickets. Two strips were cut in half and dropped in this week after being prepared off-site.

Ticket sales for the two Tests have been encouraging and the ACB is likely to take further advantage of the northern venues next year, with a two-match series against Sri Lanka scheduled for mid-winter.

TEST SQUAD:
Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehmann, Martin Love, Steve Waugh (c), Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill (two to be omitted).

ONE-DAYERS:
Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting, Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Michael Bevan, Andrew Symonds, Hogg, Lee, McGrath, Gillespie, Bichel,
Ian Harvey.

[Donny]

Bangladesh realistic about the task in hand
Wisden Cricinfo staff - June 23, 2003

Bangladesh yesterday departed for their short tour of Australia (two Tests, three ODIs), but for once the aims were realistic and there was no sign of the pre-tour hype which is customary on such occasions. They know that only a miracle will stop them being heavily defeated by Australia, but the hope is that they will perform well enough to help them shed their reputation as international cricket's no-hopers.

"We are going to have a tough tour in Australia but mentally, we are strong and ready to face the opponents with courage," Khaled Mahmud, Bangladesh's captain, told reporters in Dhaka. "Everybody is now in a positive mood and we are not thinking anything negative. Though it will not be possible to bring any radical change in the team within the next few months, I think there will be some positive results after a certain time."

Mahmud welcomed the itinerary, which gives Bangladesh almost a month to acclimatise before the opening Test. "It will be good for us," he said. "We will be able to train hard to adjust to the local conditions."

He added that the advice given to the team before the Tests in South Africa, that they should try to play for five days, was wrong. ""It added pressure on the players," he explained. "I realise that it was not right and I don't want to repeat it. My only advice is to try to do better and play our natural game."

Only a wild optimist expects Bangladesh to do anything other than be crushed by a weary Australian side keen to get things over and done with. That accepted, the only way is up for Bangladesh and if they can show more fight than they have in recent performances then they will gain from the experience.

[Donny]

Gilchrist warns no quarter will be given
Wisden CricInfo staff - June 25, 2003


A few decades – and several human-rights acts – have passed since anyone last extolled the benefits of a "damn good thrashing", but there's nothing like the prospect of a gruesomely one-sided contest to get an Australian's juices flowing. Adam Gilchrist, the supposed nice guy of the Australian team, has promised to teach Bangladesh a lesson they will never forget when the teams meet at Darwin next month for the first Test of an intriguingly awaited contest.

Many former Australian Test players, most recently Dennis Lillee, have criticised the decision to stage such a hopelessly lopsided contest. On the one hand, Bangladesh have lost 18 of their 19 Tests to date, 13 by an innings. Australia, by contrast, have won 29 of their 38 matches since the turn of the decade, and haven't lost a home Test series since 1992-93. Gilchrist, however, was unrepentant.

"People will look at the series and say it's going to be a write-off, that we're going to not only win but smash them," he said. "But there's no doubt they'll benefit from the experience, whether it's an absolute thrashing or if they really surprise everyone and do well. Win, lose or draw, it will be a lesson for them, a step forward for them to play against what's perceived to be the best team in the world.

"There are a lot of positives to the series that people might be overlooking," added Gilchrist. "It's the first time for Australia playing Bangladesh, so we'll be making history in that regard. There will be the history of playing the first Test in Darwin, and the history of playing the first Test in Cairns. And there will be the excitement factor of the locals up there getting to see Test-match cricket."

The bottom line for Australia, however, is victory – by the widest possible margin. "Hopefully, if we play well, we'll smash them," warned Gilchrist, "because that will mean we're still playing to our level."

[Donny]

Bangladesh opened their Australian tour with a good performance against a Queensland Academy of Sport Invitation XI at the Allan Border Field, today.

They dismissed the QAS for 201. From 3/10, they recovered with a 100 run stand from Carseldine (92) and Hopes (53) but no other batsmen really made an impression.

Tapash Baisya took 3/33 and Khaled Mahmud, 2/34.

At stumps, the Bangers were on 3/86 from 29 overs.

[Donny]

Interesting bowling figures.

James Hopes, a Bulls Pura Cup player, took a wicket early today and has the figures of 9 overs, 8 maidens, 2 wickets for 1 run !!

[Donny]

After 52 overs, Bangladesh are 6/136.

Hopes has 3/10 from 12 overs. He's getting a bit expensive. 1/9 from his last three overs !! Better take him off. Lol.

[Donny]

A 70 run stand from Kapali (55) and Mashud stopped the rot but QAS have hit back and the Bangers are 8/195. 6 runs behind.

Hopes has 4/35 from 18 overs.

[HAL]

Where did Hopes get that? ?

[Donny]

Bangladesh got to the lead and declared at 9/203, a lead of 2.

[Donny]

QAS are struggling big time. They are 7/142. Alok Kapali has 4/25.