All posts by csb10.top

On first meeting, Zimbabwe interim coach Stephen Mangongo appears mild-mannered, friendly and even warm. On interrogation, his stern side comes out.It is not abrupt, nasty or cold. It is just to the point. Harsh but true. Something Zimbabwe Cricket needs as it enters its first home series since late 2011.The team, made up of many of the same players that staged a successful comeback to Test cricket, has taken some severe knocks. They have been defeated, but worse than that, they have been humiliated and Mangongo takes the latter personally. The heavy losses in New Zealand and the first-round exit from the World T20 were difficult to digest, but the West Indies tour caused an acid reflux that the caretaker coach found nauseating.”We want to forget it as soon as we can. It was an absolute disaster, honestly,” he spewed. “We thought we could compete but we didn’t. We learnt some harsh lessons there. Our technique against spin was exposed and it’s an area of great concern.” Shane Shillingford sliced through Zimbabwe with the ease of a butcher and Mangongo’s first concern is to ensure Bangladesh’s slew of spinners do not do the same thing.”If you want to play Test cricket you need to bat over a period of time. Spin is part of Test cricket and you can’t hide away from it. Coming from West Indies [after] having that terrible tour, obviously all of us needed to work on our game, and the guys have been working hard. They want to make sure they are correct and rectify[ing] things.”Instead of spin, problems have weaved their way into Zimbabwe’s preparation. They lost two days of training because of a dispute between the non-centrally contracted players and the board. Out of 14 days, Mangongo described that as “massive.”But they gained hurt. Not only the pain of the recent performances, but the recurring trend of the board and the players tussling over middle ground and administrative issues mirrored in the morale of the team. Mangongo said that could only serve as motivation. “There is self-drive. They are professional cricketers. You don’t want to get out there and keep getting hammered every game, so there is that drive to come and show people that we can play, that we belong at Test level.”Some of the squad have been fingered as not having a place among the game’s elite and Mangongo acknowledges that. He told local media he would ring in changes for the Bangladesh series to address that. A few will be injury enforced – Chris Mpofu (back), Tino Mawoyo (groin) and Regis Chakabva (thumb) have been ruled out of the Tests. Others will be tactical – two spinners instead of three seamers for example.Mangongo does not have much more than the training squad to choose from, because a lot of the country’s franchise cricketers, such as Charles Coventry, have gone overseas to make a living. He has warned the old guard that their places are not guaranteed. “I was embarrassed by the performance in the West Indies, and as far as I’m concerned if people play like that and they don’t believe, then they mustn’t be on the international stage.”There’s no one reason why we shouldn’t try the next bloke. International sport is hard, it’s tough, but you must go out there and do your bit and at least be competitive. Otherwise you shouldn’t be there. We’ve got 75 professional cricketers in Zimbabwe, so I don’t believe we should just be looking at one group of special people. It’s actually the time to expose more guys because you never know who could be the next talent. Some guys have had their chances and they haven’t done well. Nobody has a right to play.”And nobody has a right to win either. That’s why Zimbabwe are so determined to show they are better than what the last year and a bit have illustrated, and that the small glimpses of hope that shone through in August 2011 were not just mirages.”It’s key for us to make sure that we compete, and in our home conditions, play good cricket, and hopefully get a positive result. It’s absolutely important for us to remain in the international arena and for people to respect us, and to be dignified we need to be beating guys like Bangladesh. Otherwise people will take us for a joke,” Mangongo said.Some already do and all Zimbabwe can try is to change their minds with actions, not words. Mangongo has given himself the responsibility of overseeing that. “I’m very strict. I call a spade a spade. I want the job to be done and done properly, otherwise we shouldn’t be here. That’s me. That’s how I operate.” Now the team have to do the same.

ScorecardDavid Willey continued his impressive start to the season with the ball•PA Photos

David Willey took his Championship wicket-tally to 15 in five innings by taking 4 for 71 on the opening day against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Thanks largely to the left-arm seamer, the home side were able to post only 192 all out after winning the toss, 18-year-old wicketkeeper Cameron Herring top-scoring with 43 in his first Championship innings.Steven Crook, James Middlebrook and Trent Copeland, who conceded only 26 runs from 18 overs, provided able support for Willey. By the close the visitors had replied with 107 for 3.Gloucestershire’s County Ground is a building site at the moment with ground development work continuing behind the bowler’s arm at both ends. Perhaps that contributed to a tentative batting display by the hosts, who were 9 for 2 in the seventh over, with Willey having Chris Dent taken in the slips and bowling Dan Housego pushing forward.Michael Klinger was caught behind playing forward to Crook for 23 and, with the ball moving in the air and off the seam, may have regretted his decision to bat. Crook accounted for Alex Gidman, as he was caught at first slip by Andrew Hall and it was 70 for 5 when Hamish Marshall was caught behind off Willey for 8 in the final over before lunch.Will Gidman offered a second catch to Sales to give Willey his fourth wicket and although Benny Howell (31) looked in better form than most, he had his stumps rearranged by Crook pushing forward to make it 111 for 7.Herring and Jack Taylor then put together an attractive stand of 48, which ended when offspinner Middlebrook was introduced into the Northants attack. He accounted for Taylor with the score on 159 as the batsman skied to mid-off. David Payne was then stumped by David Murphy off the medium pace of Hall for a duck.Herring was last man out, stumped advancing down the track to Middlebrook, having hit eight fours in an 81-ball innings of immense promise.The teenager’s good day continued when he dived to catch Kyle Coetzer for 24 off Will Gidman to break a Northants opening stand of 41. Sales pulled a simple catch to mid-wicket off Liam Norwell and departed kicking himself for 5. Then Stephen Peters, on 34, repeated the shot against the same bowler and was brilliantly caught by Will Gidman at mid-on.

While Chris Gayle was setting off enough fireworks to keep Harare lit up through a month of powercuts, Bangladesh’s squad were doing a drill which involved walking while held back by a resistance band. It was a powerful contrast: on television, one man was batting with the freedom of a escaped prisoner; on the field, 18 others were being stifled as they tried to move forward.Ask around and many will say that is their impression of Bangladesh’s Test cricket. Although they have made definite strides in the shorter versions, their latest Test defeat smacked of regression. Those involved don’t agree, however. “We know we didn’t play as well as we could have,” Shane Jurgensen, the Bangladesh coach, said. “We have come here to win but at the same time we know that Zimbabwe are a tough opponent.”Losing a game is not ideal, especially as it was a game a lot of people may have expected us to win. But if you actually look at the record of Zimbabwe in their own country, they have performed quite well, so I don’t understand why people seem to be very upset.”The anger is perfectly plausible: Bangladesh came to Zimbabwe as favourites and their opposition was knotted in turmoil. To lose by a margin as big as 335 runs was more of an embarrassment than it was just disappointing and it has set them back. Bangladesh must win the second Test to avoid their 38th series defeat.They can start by batting in completely the opposite fashion to Gayle. “We didn’t play with any patience and we need to improve that,” Jurgensen said. “We just have to bat for longer. We did not last until the second new ball in each innings, we had no partnerships or players batting for long periods.”Bangladesh’s highest partnership was 53 runs and although Mohammad Ashraful spent more than two hours at the crease in both innings, only one other batsman, Jahurul Islam, showed the same kind of staying power. “We have to be very disciplined in our approach to every ball, and do our basics right on this surface, which is a little bit foreign to us,” Jurgensen said.The surface may have had an effect but too often the Bangladesh batsmen got frustrated when runs dried up and Zimbabwe used that to their advantage. “We know that they are pretty attacking players and that if you starve them for runs, they create chances,” Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s captain, said.Mahmudullah was one of the players guilty of that and his position at No. 4 has been questioned but Jurgensen indicated his time had not run out just yet. “In the second innings he looked a bit more himself and it was a shame that he got out,” he said. “He probably put a little pressure on himself but in the second innings he was looking positive, and played like the Mahmudullah we know. His footwork was positive.”While impatience was the problem with the bat, a lack of creativity hindered Bangladesh in the field. Mushfiqur Rahim was over-reliant on his left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr, under-bowled Sohag Gazi and did not have a third seamer to back up Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain.”We should have probably picked three quicks but we went with our strength,” Jurgensen said. “We just didn’t bowl well enough for long enough. There were periods where we probably could have attacked them more, with different types of deliveries and different methods.”As a similar surface awaits them, Bangladesh may consider including one of Shafiul Islam or Ziaur Rahman and they will still rely heavily on Robiul. He was, by some distance, their best bowler and can be expected to exploit conditions again but Zimbabwe claim to have come up with a strategy. “We’ve done some video analysis and we’ve come up with ways to counter him – leave him a lot and play him straight rather than across the line,” Taylor said.And then there is the third department – fielding. While Zimbabwe seemed to have returned to the committed unit they were known to be, Bangladesh put down crucial chances, including Taylor on 35 in the first innings. “In recent times we have been fielding quite well, we just missed a couple of catches on that day,” Jurgensen said. “Our slip fielding has been quite good, we have taken some good catches, but yes we have dropped some unfortunately. All I can say is that we are working hard on it.”The amount of time Bangladesh have put into training confirms Jurgensen’s claims that they are practising at every opportunity. Their sessions are lengthy, well-organised and cover all departments intensely. But, it may be quality not quantity that’s needed.It may also be that the mental preparation is as important as the technical, especially because Jurgensen emphasised that concentration has to form a big part of their game in the next match. “Once the players cross that line they have to make sure they are concentrating every ball. There is a real fine focus,” he said.And that has to apply for much longer than the length of a Gayle IPL innings. “That’s what’s really important in Test cricket, you have to play five days. We only played two days in the first Test and the other two days we were pretty terrible. We need to improve that and make sure we compete for five days. If we do that we will get the result we want.”

The Australian government has decided to cut down gambling advertisements and the broadcasting of live odds during television coverage of all sports, including cricket, in response to the blurring line between commentators and bookmakers. Betting is legal in Australia and the move will be seen with interest in India, where there is a feeling that legalising betting will decrease the influence of criminals in the industry.The prime minister, Julia Gillard, on Sunday announced that the federal government would demand changes to the broadcasting codes that would limit advertisements for betting companies and the updating of odds from betting companies or commentators to scheduled breaks in play.For Australia’s football codes that would mean such promotions could only be shown at breaks such as quarter-time or half-time, while during cricket coverage it would likely refer to changes of innings and lunch and tea breaks. Any representative of a gambling company providing updates during such breaks will not be able to do so from the venue and will not be able to appear with the commentary team.The Gillard government’s move is largely the result of in-play betting updates during coverage of football codes, especially the National Rugby League. This year, a hefty sponsorship deal allowed bookmaker Tom Waterhouse to appear alongside Channel Nine commentators during their coverage of NRL matches, which prompted a public backlash amid concerns over the growing move to the mainstream of sports gambling.The NRL and Channel Nine altered Waterhouse’s role several weeks into the season as a result of the public reaction to the increasingly blurred line between commentator and bookmaker. Although the prevalence of betting information during cricket coverage had not reached that stage, Cricket Australia’s CEO James Sutherland indicated in February that CA would consider what was and was not appropriate, and had already spoken to Channel Nine about the way such updates from sponsor Bet365 were presented.Sutherland’s comments at the time came shortly after the release of the Australian Crime Commission’s report into links between performance-enhancing drug use, organised crime and possible betting corruption in sport in Australia. Although cricket was not implicated in any way, the report highlighted the need for vigilance from all sports.

The BCB ad-hoc committee’s other decisions

• The Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League 2012-13 – which has already been postponed three times – will begin on August 29, after the players return from tours in England (Bangladesh A and Under-19s) and Singapore (Under-23s). The player transfers will take place under a new rotation system on July 25.

• The super league phase (the second phase) of the league will be held after the New Zealand tour, while the 2013-14 season’s Dhaka Premier League will be held after the World Twenty20’s conclusion in April.

• The BCB will request the National Sports Council, the regulatory body for sports in Bangladesh, to provide them with a schedule for elections as soon as possible. The board expects its election dates to be announced within the next 30 days.

• Nadir Shah’s mercy plea is being considered. The umpire, who was banned for corruption, had asked the board to lift the 10-year suspension.

Mushfiqur Rahim has been retained as Bangladesh’s captain, after he accepted the job following a discussion with BCB president Nazmul Hassan. The Bangladesh board handed Mushfiqur – who had resigned his post following Bangladesh’s ODI series loss to Zimbabwe in May – the captaincy till December 31 this year, meaning he will be in charge till the home series against New Zealand that begins in October.Mushfiqur, in the days following his resignation, had admitted to making a “mistake”. The board had said they would conduct an investigation into the matter, but it was ultimately Mushfiqur’s discussion with Hassan that produced the decision.”The tenures of Mushfiqur Rahim and [vice-captain] Mahmudullah ended recently,” the BCB’s media committee chairman, Jalal Yunus, said. “Mushfiqur has talked to the president, there he agreed to lead Bangladesh. He and Mahmudullah have been given extension as captain and vice-captain till December 31, 2013.”The decision to keep Mushfiqur in the job, provided he agreed to it, was always a certainty, given that he had led Bangladesh to an ODI series win over West Indies last year, a Test win over Zimbabwe, drew a Test against Sri Lanka and also secured an ODI series draw against the same opponents. Mahmudullah remains his deputy despite a run of low scores in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.The captaincy issue was one of several discussion points during the BCB’s ad-hoc executive committee’s meeting on Wednesday, which lasted more than six hours. Another major decision to come out of the meeting was the confirmation of Shane Jurgensen as head coach till the 2015 World Cup. Jurgensen was made the interim coach last year, after Richard Pybus quit the job in October. He is considered to be a calming influence on the team.Bangladesh’s three-man selection panel will be in charge till September this year. The tenure of chief selector Akram Khan, Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar expired on June 30, but they will select the squad for the New Zealand series. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the selection panel is unlikely to change even after September. The board’s cricket operations committee did not propose an expansion of the selection panel to a five-member committee, as they had talked about doing recently.

Luke Wright will get the chance to press his case for a return to England’s ODI team when he leads the Lions in three 50-over matches against Bangladesh A later this month. Ashley Giles, England’s limited-overs coach, will take charge of the Lions and have the opportunity to assess the form of Wright, who has become a key member at the top of the order in England’s T20 side since his recall last year.Three players yet to make their Lions debuts are part of the 12-man squad. The Somerset and Northamptonshire bowlers Jamie Overton and David Willey and Sussex’s allrounder Chris Jordan, the first man to take 50 Championship wickets this season, have all been called up. They will join several players already capped by England, including Jos Buttler, James Taylor, Ben Stokes and Danny Briggs.Wright last played ODI cricket for England at the 2011 World Cup but has previously said he has “huge ambitions to get back into the one-day side”. Michael Carberry, who played a single Test against Bangladesh in 2010, will also get the chance to press his case for a limited-overs call-up – he is the second-leading run-scorer in this year’s FLt20, after making a century in Hampshire’s quarter-final on Wednesday, and fifth in the YB40.”We are delighted to reward this Lions team with an opportunity to impress the selectors ahead of a number of forthcoming ODI series,” the national selector, Geoff Miller, said. “Many of this squad have been in or around England, Lions, EPP or PEPP squads before, so it is a great chance for them to push for places for the England ODI games later this summer and also this coming winter.”Looking further ahead, we are also keen to build a strong platform for the 2015 World Cup, so opportunities such as this play a big part in giving the coaches an opportunity to assess the levels of these players first hand.”The timing of the games has not been universally welcomed, with a full round of Championship matches taking place during the same week. The first unofficial ODI at Bristol is scheduled for Tuesday August 20, followed by matches on August 22 and 24. Yorkshire, who currently lead Division One, will be missing in-form batsman Gary Ballance, while defending champions Warwickshire will lose Boyd Rankin for their match against Somerset, who will continue their attempts to stave off the threat of relegation without Buttler and Overton.A further Lions fixture will also be incorporated into the schedule, after Northamptonshire’s qualification for Friends Life t20 Finals Day meant they would be unable to fulfil a two-day fixture against the touring Australians. The ECB will announce the Lions team to play the August 16-17 match early next week.England Lions squad: Luke Wright (capt), Gary Ballance, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Chris Jordan, Jamie Overton, Boyd Rankin, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Vince, David Willey

ScorecardJimmy Adams stretched his stay at the crease to almost ten hours•Getty Images

Jimmy Adams often gives the appearance of being able to bat all day – as indeed he did here, as well as for much of the previous evening. There was no discernible difference in tempo towards the end of his innings as there was at the very start, but then he is not alone in that among left-handed openers. John Edrich was no different and Adams, the Hampshire captain, would be content with such a comparison. He had made 71 overnight and finished with the second double-century of this match.In a season in which he has recorded six ducks in Championship cricket, Adams has now made two double-hundreds. Once he gets going, he specialises in large innings, for, as with Robert Keogh earlier in this match, he lacks nothing in the way of concentration and perseverance. He looked, given his intention of batting for as long as possible, as if he had his eye on the highest score by a Hampshire captain, Dick Moore’s 316 against Warwickshire at Dean Park in Bournemouth, a ground, alas, where the club no longer play and which is now up for sale.Partners came and went but Adams ground remorselessly on, leaning back to force the ball away through the off side and collecting runs all the while off his legs. There was one possible chance to Jon Batty, standing up to James Middlebrook’s offspin, but out of practice at this level. Otherwise, it was an object lesson in the art of accumulation. The same bowler was driven for six to reach 200 off 408 balls, and there were 34 fours besides. The pity is that we, and he himself, will never really know how good he is, for the England selectors are not likely to seek him out now.There were five overs remaining when he was caught at slip off Matthew Spriegel, having reached 218. Maybe Adams should have declared behind Northamptonshire’s first-innings total of 438 in order to try to bring about a positive result. He chose to continue batting, having been ably assisted by Neil McKenzie, who reached a half-century before Azharullah nipped one back at him and had him leg-before when he might have been forward.Sean Ervine and Adam Wheater, playing as a specialist batsman, went cheaply, but Michael Bates, who has not been given nearly sufficient cricket this season – supposedly because his batting is not good enough – made 71 with ten fours and without apparent concern until he slapped a long hop from Azharullah to cover.Given the support Bates received, the members are evidently on his side. He will not be the last wicketkeeper to lose his place on account of making insufficient runs but the point at issue about his performances is whether Hampshire have allowed him enough time to develop his batting. It is not as if Wheater’s runs have made any difference to their standing in the second division. Bates has one year remaining on his contract – and some hard thinking to do this winter.Northamptonshire, who had recovered so well after losing their first four wickets for just 32 on the opening day, were penalised five runs in the most unusual circumstances. Batty whipped off a glove in running to collect the ball from behind the stumps and threw it back to Andrew Hall, who had picked up the glove and put it on, presumably to protect his fingers from any fierce throw. The umpires, Steve O’Shaughnessy and Martin Saggers, were impressively alert to that. Hampshire will resume 77 runs to the good.

ScorecardNed Eckersley’s half-century frustrated Glamorgan•Getty Images

A half-century from Ned Eckersley and afternoon rain held up Glamorgan’s pursuit of victory on the third day at Swansea. A total of 38 overs were lost in the afternoon leaving Leicestershire 134 for 2 in their second innings still trailing by 171 runs.Glamorgan began the third morning 242 runs ahead after reaching 445 for 7 overnight. Only 11 runs had been added when Andrew Salter edged Ben Raine to Greg Smith at second slip and after a few lusty blows Graham Wagg also perished holing out to deep extra-cover.But the last wicket frustrated Leicestershire with Hogan hitting the spin of James Sykes to midwicket and long-on in successive balls before lofting Ben Raine to long-on and long-off in successive balls to bring up the 500. The last wicket realised 46 runs with Michael Hogan scoring 27 off 13 balls before Mark Wallace declared.Just before lunch Hogan, the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship, prospered with the ball to have Greg Smith lbw as Leicestershire reached 28 for 1 at lunch. By tea, Leicestershire had made their way to 133 for 2 still trailing by 172 runs, with Glamorgan’s bowling attack were finding wickets far tougher to come by.Leicestershire were close to losing a wicket from the opening ball of the afternoon session when Eckersley nearly gloved a bouncer from Hogan behind. And Eckersley, on 4, had some more fortune when he dragged a Hogan no-ball onto his stumps four deliveries later.With the score on 93, rookie offspinner Andrew Salter bowled Niall O’Brien but Eckersley went on to reach a half century from 105 balls before rain heralded an early tea at 3.45pm. Play was delayed by almost three hours, eventually resuming at 6.20pm, but just four overs were possible before the close with only one run coming off them.

ScorecardDeandra Dottin’s half-century brought West Indies close to a win in the first ODI•West Indies Cricket Board

A late flurry of wickets cost West Indies Women the first ODI as they went down by one run against New Zealand Women at the Sabina Park in Kingston.Poised for a win at 212 for 6, with 14 needed off 30 balls, West Indies lost their last four wickets for 12 runs to be dismissed for 224. The first of those four wickets was that of captain Merissa Aguilleira, who had scored a solid 43 and looked good to guide her side to victory. Her wicket was followed by the dismissals of Anisa Mohammad, out lbw to Nicola Browne, and Tremayne Smartt, stumped off Suzie Bates’ bowling. In the final over, with West Indies on the brink of a win, Browne effected a run-out to dismiss Shaquana Quintyne.West Indies had set up their chase well, guided by Deandra Dottin’s 66-ball 65. Dottin added crucial partnerships – first a 49-run fourth-wicket stand with Stafanie Taylor and a 74-run stand with Aguilleira that put West Indies in a comfortable position. Dottin’s innings included seven fours and a six but crucial wickets from Lea Tahuhu and Morna Nielsen gave New Zealand a chance to storm back into the game.Earlier, New Zealand could only score 225 in spite of having been in a strong position of 210 for 2. Having chosen to bat, Bates and Natalie Dodd shared a 65-run opening stand. Once Dodd fell, Bates added 95 runs for the second wicket with Amy Satterthwaite and put on fifty runs with Sophie Devine, while bringing up her fifth ODI hundred. Bates’ 110 came off 133 balls and included nine fours. New Zealand, however, lost their last six wickets for just 15 runs. Stafanie Taylor bagged four of the last six wickets, dismissing wicketkeeper Rachel Priest, Katie Perkins, Browne and Nielsen. Taylor finished with figures of 4 for 19 off seven overs.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim rated the 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand slightly ahead of their 4-0 win over the same opponents in 2010. He believed the win this time was evidence of Bangladesh’s progress and at the same time argued it is harder to follow up on a previously high achievement.The home side won three close matches last time New Zealand visited, but in the current three-match series they won comfortably in the first two and chased 309 in the third and final game in Fatullah.”Both the achievements have different experiences but personally the 3-0 win feels better for me,” Mushfiqur said. “Firstly, I am the captain, and secondly because you can achieve a result with a lot of hard work but to hold that result is even more difficult.””During the 4-0 win in 2010, the team was different. Here our best performers were not in the team. Despite everything we won this series, so I feel this series win is doubly important. This is proof that the Bangladesh team is improving.”The sense of confidence within Mushfiqur’s team was evident in his decision to bat first in Mirpur in the second ODI, which they won by 40 runs, and also by the decision to field first in Fatullah. The recent scores on this newly-laid wicket suggested that batting first would be a better option due to lower bounce in the second innings. However, it turned out to be a truer wicket with better bounce and Bangladesh made 309 when the average second-innings score on these wickets had been 157.”It wasn’t a win-the-toss-bat-first kind of wicket,” Mushfiqur said. “Since it was a day game, we wanted to use early swing in the first five to ten overs, take wickets and put them on pressure.”But they started well and it seemed like they would score 320-330 at one point. A score like 307, with the new ODI rules, is not a big target. We just tried to play at our best.”This win was secured by the little contributions within the batting line-up. It started with Ziaur Rahman’s cameo where he swung at almost every ball and came up with two fours and two sixes in his 20-ball 22. By the time he fell in the eighth over, Bangladesh’s run-rate was well in line with what was required.Mominul Haque’s 32 kept the run-rate intact while Naeem Islam’s half-century was responsible for the rest of the innings. Nasir Hossain provided the finishing with an unbeaten 44 off 38 balls, with Sohag Gazi and Mahmudullah also helping out”I think the small contributions were a lot in numbers. The young players are playing well, putting pressure on the senior players. We also have to try to hold our position,” Mushfiqur said.”This is good for Bangladesh cricket. Everyone sees the team’s interest ahead of their own.Mushfiqur revealed he had had a talk with Nasir after the batsman did not contribute in the first two matches of the series. He added that Naeem, too, was an inspiration because he was not even in their plans until Shakib Al Hasan came down with dengue fever, but he turned out to be one of the Man-of-the-Series contenders with the highest runs among both teams although that ultimately went to the captain”I never thought of becoming the Man of the Series,” Mushfiqur said. “I was congratulating Naeem because he is the highest scorer, so he was unlucky that I got it. He wasn’t supposed to play. If Shakib didn’t get sick he would not be playing the whole series, so I feel that everyone has matured a lot.”Nasir didn’t score in the last two games. I have been telling him for the last two days not to worry too much. When the team needs runs you will score, we said. I hope that we can continue like this which is the biggest challenge. It’s difficult but if we have the mentality we can do it.”