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| Competition and Progress Bangladesh is in a period of transition and development with a young team. They need time and more according to al-Hasan. He has already set notable achievements before his 24th birthday. Last season he became the first Bangladeshi international to play in county cricket. We witnessed his demolition of Middlesex at Lord's where he took 7 for 32. “It's very special for me,” he told us. “I got seven, so it's quite a memory for me.” Others are likely to follow him and he hopes to return. “I'd love to play,” he says. “I love the atmosphere and the grounds here, so I enjoyed my time in Worcester – all over actually – so the two months I've been in England it was really good for me. I had a great experience, so I'm hoping to come back.” Experience Experience of different conditions can only help, but English counties have their own needs and quite rightly put those first, so Bangladeshi cricketers need another solution. “I thought we learned a lot from England, especially at the Test Matches and then we came back to play the ODI series,” he said. “We won a game, so that was a great experience for our boys and I thought we adapted to the conditions well and more we play, the more we will learn in these sort of conditions, because at home we'll get slow and low bounce wickets, but here [England] it's different, so we have to address it and I think we had a great experience this time.” Al-Hasan boasts the best single-innings bowling analysis for his country in a Test Match. Two an a half years ago he played in the first Test Match at Chittagong against New Zealand. They lost, but his bowling gave them a real chance, 7 for 36. With typical modesty he doesn't even know his own exceptional figures. “I got seven wickets in an innings against New Zealand,” he says. “I don't know the bowling figures exactly, but I got seven wickets against New Zealand.” Competitive? So what will it take to help them compete? “Lots of touring to places like England and Australia and South Africa, although we are not playing much cricket over in those places, so we're playing in our home conditions more often than not,” he says. “I think it will be a great experience for all the boys there if we come to England or South Africa every year or every two years, so that will be a great experience for us rather than after five years or ten years.” While they beat the West Indies on their recent tour there, the West Indies Cricket Board contributed significantly to that loss by fielding a sub-standard team during a contract dispute. A win is a win, but it provided a false measure, so how long before they turn into a team able to hold their own against any of the top teams on merit? “I think the way we are playing, the guys are still inexperienced as far as the Tests are concerned,” says al-Hasan. “We're doing very well in our home conditions, but we need to improve when it comes to South Africa, England or Australia, so we need to improve on those areas. If these guys play for another five years we'll be a very competitive team.” |
