It’s over two years since we tipped Shakib al Hasan for great things. It’s been a bit of wait, but he might be getting somewhere.

After 75 in his last innings, he’s now hit a hundred. It was against Pakistan as well. Without wishing to be too harsh on Canada, who Shakib’s first hundred was against, Pakistan aren’t rubbish - like, say, Canada are.

Bangladesh were 10-3 when Shakib arrived at the crease and fell to 109-8 via 16-4 and 84-7. He hit 108 and Mashrafe Mortaza batted like a grown-up for 38. Bangladesh still lost, obviously, but if they find a couple more Shakib al Hasans, things are going to start getting interesting.

Tags: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Shakib Al Hasan by King Cricket
3 Comments »

Yes, Bangladesh lost again, but Shakib al Hasan had an all-round good game and that warrants coverage.

He took 2-50 as Pakistan pummelled their way to 308 and then he hit 75 off 73 balls. Shakib now averages 32 with the bat in one-day internationals and 33 with the ball. For a 21-year-old who’s played 46 matches, that’s not half bad, even if not all the matches were against Test standard opposition.

He has done things against Test teams though, even if his solitary hundred was against Canada. He’s taken wickets against every Test side he’s played against bar Australia - and he’s only bowled five balls against them, so let’s not judge him too harshly.

He’s also hit fifties against Sri Lanka, against India, against England, against India again, against South Africa and now against Pakistan.

It’ll be sad when other people start writing about him. We won’t be special any more. We won’t be Shakib al Hasan’s sole, special, mental media outlet.

Tags: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sakib al Hasan by King Cricket
3 Comments »

The opposition’s best batsman, Mohammad Yousuf, scored a hundred. Shahid Afridi hit 27 off 11 balls. Bangladesh’s top scorer was their number ten, Mashrafe Mortaza. Shakib al Hasan was out first ball.

There are four more of these fixtures. How are we going to get through them? Does anybody know anything about being really dangerously into gambling? How do you do that? Television has taught us that you win and win and win and then, when you bet an extraordinary amount, you lose. But in our experience, you lose straight away, get disheartened and don’t bet again for another three years.

Tags: Bangladesh, Pakistan by King Cricket
2 Comments »

Opening partnerships are the most boring kinds of batting partnership - especially if it’s the first innings. There’s no context to the innings and you’re removing any doubt about the rest of the game. Let’s face it, after 415 runs without a wicket, it’s either going to be a South African win or a draw.

We admire it in for its cold remorselessness. We like players who don’t let the opposition have a sniff. But as records go, it’s not one of our favourites.

Must be a bit of a confidence booster though. Next innings, Smith and McKenzie can look at each other as they go out to bat and they can think to themselves: ‘We can bat for bloody ages together.’

Then McKenzie can think: ‘Smithy’s so strong’. And Smith can think: ‘McKenzie’s cover-driving’s dreamy.’ Then the pair of them will just drop their bats, discard their helmets and kiss.

Graeme Smith’s leg will bend at the knee and come up behind him.

Tags: Bangladesh, Graeme Smith, Neil McKenzie, Records, South Africa by King Cricket
8 Comments »

This would have been a much better update if we’d actually written it yesterday, like we meant to. Now everything’s rather tainted by an impending South African victory.

In the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa, Shahadat Hossain took 6-27 as South Africa were bowled out for 170. Those are rather sparkling bowling figures and if a 21-year-old from any other Test playing nation had done that against South Africa, the world might take notice.

Unfortunately, Shahadat Hossain has merely produced a valiant performance in another Bangladeshi defeat, so no-one cares. Poor Shahadat Hossain.

Well we care, Shahadat. In ten years time when you and the whole of the rest of the team are 30 and have about 150 caps each and you’re battering England without breaking sweat, we hope you remember this support.

Come that day, we hope you’ll find it in your heart to offer up a few rank half-volleys to whichever England batsman we’ve adopted and scared witless.

Tags: Bangladesh, Shahadat Hossain, South Africa by King Cricket
6 Comments »

Do you want the better batsman or the better wicketkeeper behind the stumps for your team? That argument’s been represented by any number of individual duels over the years. Recently though, we think you’ll all agree that the better batsman’s been winning out, in general.

Blame Adam Gilchrist. He’s a great wicketkeeper, but his batting’s so spectacular it easily overshadows that fact. International sides want wicketkeepers who average 50 now, let alone 40. They’ll never get it because Gilchrist’s a one-off, but it won’t stop them trying.

But there might be some hope for the thoroughbred stumpers. Might Twenty20, that impure bastard version of the game, bring wicketkeeping skills to the fore once more?

Here’s our rationale - obliterate it in the comments with your usual gusto. How many batsmen do you need in Twenty20 cricket? How many do you really, really need? We reckon five - five specialists at any rate.

Presumably at least one of your five bowlers won’t be Tufnell-esque and presumably any eligible keepers are at least half-competent with the bat. If you’re serious about winning, then you don’t really want to be losing more than five wickets in 20 overs. Things aren’t going your way if that happens.

So you can fairly happily pick your best keeper. And you know what - there’s an added incentive.

In Twenty20 cricket, with scoring being so low and tight, batsmen get cheeky. It’s not totally unknown for them to take a run off a ball which goes straight through to the keeper. They like to jump around as well to disrupt the bowler’s line and length, coming down the pitch or batting out of their crease.

So wouldn’t it help if you had a keeper who was good enough to stand up to the stumps to fast-medium bowlers? No cheeky byes. No batting out of the crease. The wicketkeeper’s having a real impact there.

Twenty20: saviour of the wicketkeeping tradition. There’d be a touch of irony in that.

Tags: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, county cricket, wicketkeeping by King Cricket
8 Comments »

Here’s a comparison. The Rugby World Cup finished last Saturday. England played in the final. Their next international fixture will be on the second of February.

England’s final match in the Cricket World Cup was on the 21st of April, against the West Indies. Their next international fixture, a Test match, also against the West Indies, was on the 17th of May. If by some miracle they’d made the final of the World Cup, it was played on the 28th April.

Okay, so maybe every cricket website you read is repeatedly making this point and maybe every newspaper too, but the fact is we’re all right about it. International cricket is no longer special. The word ‘everyday’ can be synonymous with ‘mundane’ - the everyday grind; your everyday clothes. Mundane, commonplace, routine, everyday. Cricket is played every day.

Cricketers ‘retire’ from one-day internationals or Tests in their twenties; players are rested from matches or even tournaments; and international fast bowlers cut their pace to increase their longevity.

The latter’s been happening in county cricket for years. It’s something county cricket’s always been criticised for. ‘Too many matches mean that there are no fast bowlers on the county circuit, so young batsmen aren’t prepared for Test cricket’.

Well now its relentless fixture list is perfect preparation.

Tags: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, county cricket by King Cricket
8 Comments »

We’re brilliant at this whole ‘identifying players to watch during the World Cup‘ thing, just so long as you’re not too rigid about which World Cup we were talking about.

Chris Gayle might have gone for a duck yesterday, but earlier in the tournament he hit the first ever international Twenty20 hundred. That’s worth watching.

Justin Kemp won Chris Gayle’s match with 46 not out off 22 balls. That’s worth watching.

Shahid Afridi hit 22 off seven balls and then took four wickets. That’s worth watching.

And yesterday Saqibul Hasan took 4-34, which was only superseded in watchability by Mohammad Ashraful’s 27 ball 61.

As a result of losing this match as well as their first, the West Indies were knocked out with no points from their two games.

India against Scotland was washed out yesterday meaning each side got one point. Scotland’s captain, Ryan Watson, said: “At least we will go home with one more point than the West Indies.”

This might not actually be the case however. If Pakistan beat India by a great margin, Scotland could still qualify. And they’ll still be one better than the West Indies.

See the rest of our World Cup players to watch here. Ian Bell’s unlikely to achieve much what with not being in England’s squad and all, but if we’re adopting a lazy recycling policy about our ones to watch then we can’t suddenly get all proactive just because one of them’s not even appearing.

Tags: Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan, West Indies by King Cricket
No Comments »