Review of New Zealand-Bangladesh Tests (2022)

This two-test series marked an important landmark, as Bangladesh won their first Test against New Zealand in their 16th attempt. The series was drawn 1-1.

Results of all Tests between NZ and BD:

Overall: 17 tests: NZ lead 13-1, 3 draws

In NZ: 11 tests: NZ lead 10-1

In BD: 6 tests: NZ lead 3-0 with 3 draws.

Most runs (minimum 350):

Tamim Iqbal leads with 908, followed by Shakib (763) and newly-retired R Taylor (746).

Highest individual scores (Minimum 110):

TWM Latham’s 252 in the second Test is the highest for NZ against BD, surpassing the 202 by SP Fleming at Chattogram in 2004. Their previous best in NZ was 200* by Williamson at Hamilton in 2019. Also note that Shakib had made 217 at Wellington in 2017.

Incidentally Latham is the first player to score 252 in a Test.

While there is not enough data for meaningful batting averages, we have some strike rates:

Highest strike rates (Min 1000 balls faced, all instances):

Not surprisingly, R Taylor has the highest strike rate. Williamson and Shakib are slightly lower.

Bowling:

Most wickets (Minimum 10):

Vettori (51) is followed by the current trio of Wagner, Boult and Southee.

The most 5wi are 5 by Vettori and 3 by Wagner.

The only 10wm is by Vettori.

Best innings bowling (including all 6wi):

Shakib has BD’s best innings figure of 7-36 at Chattogram in 2008. In this series, Ebadot took 6-46 which is BD’s best innings figure in NZ. The previous best for BD in NZ was 5-166 by Rubel Hossain at Hamilton in 2010.

Best match bowling (7wm and above):

Vettori’s 12-170 at Chattogram is the best performance here.

Ebadot’s 7-121 is BD’s best match figure in NZ. The previous record was 5-88 by Mashraf Mortaza at Dunedin in 2008.

There is not enough data for meaningful bowling averages etc, as Vettori is the only one with over 2000 balls bowled.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (Minimum 8):

McCullum (28) and Watling (26) have the most dismissals.

Watling (26) and McCullum (24) have the most catches by a keeper.

Mc Cullum (4) has the most stumpings.

R Taylor (17) and Sinclair (12) have the most dismissals by a fielder.

Most innings dismissals (Minimum 4):

Imrul Kayes has the most catches by a keeper in an innings (5)

During this series Shadman Islam and TWM Latham both took 4 catches as fielders.

Most match dismissals (Minimum 5):

Watling (7) has the most dismissals by a keeper in an innings (all caught). Next is McCullum with 6.

The most catches by a fielder is 6 by Latham in this series. Next are Sinclair and Shadman with 5.

All-round performance:

50+ and 5wi in a match:

Vettori’s 55*, 76 and 9-133 at Chattogram in 2008 is clearly the best. If he had taken one more wicket, he would have become one of the only five players to score 100 runs and take 10 wickets in a test (The others are Davidson, Botham, Imran and Shakib).

Miracle at Mount Maungunui

By now, we should have learnt the spelling of this cricket venue in New Zealand.

Bangladeshi cricket fans would remember it as the venue of a pathbreaking Test match played on Jan 1-5, 2022.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/bangladesh-in-new-zealand-2021-22-1288977/new-zealand-vs-bangladesh-1st-test-1288979/full-scorecard

It was Bangladesh’s 6th Test win away from home:

And the first win in New Zealand (and in a SENA country, if it matters).

Bangladesh had done particularly badly in New Zealand, as they had lost all 9 previous Tests in that country. In Bangladesh, they had drawn three and lost three to New Zealand.

This was Bangladesh’s first win over New Zealand in 16 Tests. Here you can see a record of these results:

Bangladesh’s batsmen had helped in building the foundations of victory, notably MH Joy (78), NH Shanto (64), Mominul Haque (88) and Liton Das (86).

But the Man of the Match was Ebadot Hossain, with 1-75 and 6-46. (7-121 in the match).

His 6-46 is the best innings bowling for Bangladesh in New Zealand, surpassing the 5-166 by Rubel Hossain at Hamilton in 2010. It is also the best by a Bangladeshi bowler in any of the SENA countries.

And his 7-121 is the best match bowling for Bangladesh in New Zealand, surpassing the 5-88 by Mashraf Mortaza at Dunedin in 2008. And again the best by a Bangladeshi bowler in any of the SENA countries.

The second Test in this series is scheduled for Jan 9-13 at Christchurch. For the moment, Bangladeshi cricket’s supporters can savour a rare win and a 1-0 lead in the series.

Review of Bangladesh-Pakistan Tests (Dec 2021)

Tests between these sides have invariably been one-sided, as you can see in this list below:

Pakistan has won 12 of these 13 Tests with one draw.

In Bangladesh, Pakistan leads 7-0 with 1 draw.

In Pakistan, Pakistan leads 5-0.

The one exception to heavy defeats was at Multan in 2003 where Bangladesh came within one wicket of defeating Pakistan. Inzamam (in his home town) was able to scrape through a 1-wicket win here.

We now look at individual scores, starting with Batting:

Most runs (minimum 400):

Azhar Ali has the highest total among current players, followed by Shakib Al Hasan.

The most centuries are 3 by M Hafeez and Younis Khan. The most 50+ scores are 7 by Habibul Bashar (who had only one century). Next are Taufeeq Umar and Shakib with 5 each.

Highest innings (minimum 100):

Abid Ali and Liton Das scored centuries in the just-concluded series.

Yasir Hameed scored centuries in both innings on his Test debut, but never made another century.

There is not enough data (minimum 20 innings) for calculating batting averages.

But we can find batting strike rates (for those with a minimum of 1000 balls faced).

Younis Khan leads 4 Pakistani players here.

Now for Bowling.

Most wickets (minimum 10 wickets):

Current player Taijul Islam (22) has the most for Bangladesh, although Danish Kaneria has the most with 34. Umar Gul also has 22. Newcomers Sajid Khan and SS Afridi are also here.

Best innings bowling (all 6wi and above):

Sajid Khan’s 8-42 is now the best in this series, surpassing Danish’s 7-77.

Taijul Islam now has the best innings figures for Bangladesh (7-116) surpassing Shakib’s 6-82.

Best match bowling (including all 8wm):

Here Sajid Khan’s 12-128 is second to Danish’s 12-94.

In this series, Taijul Islam had the best figures for Bangladesh (8-205).

Best bowling averages-not enough data as no one has bowled 2000 balls.

Fielding records:

Most dismissals (Minimum 8):

Rashid Latif has by far the most dismissals (26). Next is Khaled Mashud with 9.

Among fielders, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan have 8 each. Mahmudullah has 7.

Innings dismissals (Minimum 4):

Match dismissals (Minimum 5):

Rashid Latif again leads with 7 dismissals, while Shadab Kabir had 5 as a fielder.

All-round match performance (Minimum 50+ and 5-for):

Here we have the best performance by a Bangladesh player, with Shakib scoring 144 and taking 6-82).

Bangladesh v Zimbabwe Test records

The only Test of July was played at Harare on the 7th to 11th.

Bangladesh won by 220 runs. This was their highest victory margin away from home, surpassing the 143-run victory also at Harare in 2013. Their highest victory margin was 226 runs against Zimbabwe in 2004-05.

A total of 18 Tests have been played between these countries. Bangladesh lead 8-7 with 3 draws.

In Zimbabwe, 8 Tests have been played. Zimbabwe lead 5-2 with 1 draw. However Bangladesh have won the last two Tests there.

The 9th-wicket partnership between Mahmudullah and Taskin was the 2nd highest in all Tests and the highest for Bangladesh. Mahmudullah was also involved in the previous record.

Until now no Bangladesh batter had scored a century in Zimbabwe. The previous best was 98 by M Ashraful in 2003-04. In this Test, Mahmudullah’s 150* was followed by two other centuries by Shadman and NH Shanto.

BRM Taylor continues to hold the record of 1239 runs in Tests between these countries. Next are H Masakadza (883) and Mushfiqur Rahim (857).

MH Miraz’s 9-148 is the best for Bangladesh in Zimbabwe and indeed their best away from home. These records were earlier held by Robiul Islam in 2013.

Also note: Bangladesh is the only Test team which has never played in at a neutral venue, after India played its first such Test in June.

Bangladesh cricket hits a new low

Only a few days ago we noticed that Bangladesh had finally got a Test ranking (8th) higher than that of the West Indies (9th). It was therefore hoped that Bangladesh would be competitive in the 2-Test series in the West Indies starting on July 4.

That did not happen, as Bangladesh was dismissed for 43 before lunch on the first day of the series at North Point. The main wrecker was Kemar Roach (5-1-8-5 with an injured knee).

In the following tables I have considered 9 or 10 wickets down, to cover cases where teams batted one man short.

This is the lowest score by Bangladesh in all Tests:

It also has the lowest number of balls in any Test innings by Bangladesh (112), the next lowest being 152 for their 62-run effort in 2007.

It is also the lowest Test score by any side since 2000 ( the list shows scores below 75)

However, they lasted for 112 balls which is higher than that for Australia (108 balls for 47 in 2011) and 111 balls for 60 in 2015).

And you can see that 43 all out is fairly low down in the all-time Test lows (below 50). India was dismissed for 42 (one man absent) in 1974.

We also look at the all-time Test lows by balls faced (less than 120 balls):

The all-time low is 75 balls by SA for 30 all out in 1924. The NZ team which made 26 all out did survive for 162 balls and thus does not appear here. India’s record low of 102 balls for 42 can be seen here.

The Bangladesh team’s 112 balls is one more than Australia’s 111 balls for 60 in 2015 and 108 balls in 2011, which are the lowest in recent years.

Finally we look at the lowest scores in the first innings of the match (below 60);

Bangladesh’s 43 today is the 3rd lowest here, and the lowest since 1946.

Also note that England won after being dismissed for 45 in 1887.

And the lowest number of balls faced in the first innings of the match (below 120):

Here Bangladesh has survived for one ball more than Australia’s famous 60 in 2015, which is the record.

And the 43 is the lowest Test score in the West Indies:

Review of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Tests in Feb 2018-2

Continuing our review of all Tests between these teams until now.

Fielding:

8 or more dismissals:

The lesser-known P Jayawardene has the most dismissals, most catches by a keeper and most stumpings. The better-known M Jayawardene has the most catches by a fielder. Mushfiqur is catching up.

Innings fielding (4 or more dismissals):

Dickwella equalled the record of 5 during this series. Sangakkara and Soumya have 4 catches as fielders.

Match fielding (5 or more dismissals):

P Jayawardene has the record of 7, while M Jayawardene and Soumya have 5 catches as  fielders. Dickwella has the best figures from the current series.

Dismissal rate (minimum 20 innings fielded, all cases):

Sangakkara has the highest here, as P Jayawardene did not play enough matches here. Mushfiqur has done almost as well as Sangakkara. Among non-keepers the highest rate is inevitably by M Jayawardene.

All-round performances

Overall-see criteria in table:

Shakib is the only all-rounder with respectable figures. Vaas did not play enough in these matches.

Match performances (50 and 5wi):

The one-man army Shakib Al Hasan again. His absence in this series must have hurt Bangladesh a lot.

Review of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Tests in Feb 2018-1

With the premature conclusion of the 2nd Test at Mirpur (Dhaka), Sri Lanka won the 2-Test series 1-0. The last series between these teams was less than a year ago when Bangladesh drew 1-1 in Sri Lanka.

20 Tests have been played between these teams. Sri Lanka leads 16-1 with 3 draws.

In Bangladesh, Sri Lanka has played 8 Tests and lead 6-0 with 2 draws.

In Sri Lanka, the 12 Tests have resulted in the hosts leading 10-1 with 1 draw.

Batting records:

Most runs (500 and above):

Sangakkara has the most centuries (7) followed by M Jayawardene and Ashraful with 5 each. For scores of 50+, Sangakkara again leads with 14, followed by Dilshan (8) and M Jayawardene, Mushfiqur and Samaraweera with 7 each.

Highest individual scores (125 and above):

Sangakkara scored 319 and 105 in the same Test, becoming only the second (after Gooch) to score a triple century and century in the same Test. In this series we also saw Mominul Haque scoring 176 and 105, becoming the first from Bangladesh to score centuries in both innings of a Test. His 176 was the highest by Bangladesh against Sri Lanka at home, surpassing the 136 by Ashraful in 2006. However Mushfiqur’s 200 at Galle in 2013 remains the highest for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka.

Batting averages (Minimum 20 innings):

Sangakkara has an average more than double that of runner-up Ashraful.

Batting strike rate (Minimum 1000 balls faced):

However, Dilshan and M Jayawardene have the highest strike rates, with Dilshan having a much higher figure than the runner-up.

Bowling figures:

Most wickets (15 and above):

Muralitharan leads followed by Herath and then Shakib, with the first two far ahead of the rest. MDK (Dilruwan) Perera and a few other current players also figure on this list.

As you may expect, Muralitharan has the most 10-fors (4) and 5-fors (11). Herath is the only other one with a 10-for.

Best innings bowling ( 5wi and above):

Note Muralitharan’s dominance here. From the current series we only have Dananjaya who was making his debut.

Best match figures (7wm and above):

Muralitharan dominates this list as well, while Dananjaya has the best match figures by a debutant for Sri Lanka. Taijul’s 8-159 is the best for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka, surpassing the 6-154 by Shakib at Colombo in March 2017. The best for Bangladesh in Bangladesh was 6-204 by Shakib at Chittagong in Dec 2008. His absence in this series seems to have made a lot of difference.

Bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls):

Muralitharan has the best bowling average, economy rate and strike rate. Herath and Shakib follow at a distance.

To be continued.

 

A landmark win for Bangladesh

Bangladesh has now completed 100 Tests. They marked the 100th Test with their 9th Test victory. Here are the 9 Test victories in chronological order:

This can be summarized as:

Won 1-0 at home vs Zimbabwe in 2004-05

Won 2-0 away vs West Indies in 2009

Drew 1-1 away vs Zimbabwe in 2013

Won 3-0 at home vs Zimbabwe in 2014-15

Drew 1-1 at home vs England in 2016-17

Drew 1-1 away vs Sri Lanka in 2016-17

Today’s win was their first Test victory against Sri Lanka (and in Sri Lanka).

At this point we can review the performances of Bangladeshi players in these 9 Test victories.

Runs: 100 and above:

Tamim, Shakib and Mushfiqur played in 8 of the 9 wins. They only missed the one in 2004-05. Tamim scored 4 centuries and 2 fifties in these matches, as you can see in the table below.

Highest innings (90 and above):

Bowling (5 or more wickets):

Shakib far ahead of the others with Taijul as a surprise second, with newcomer Miraz rapidly moving up.

Best innings bowling (5wi and above):

The one-Test heroes Taijul and Enamul head the list. Otherwise there is mainly Shakib, but do not forget Mahmudullah’s fiver on debut as well as the emergence of MH Miraz.

Best match bowling (7 or more wickets):

Headed by Miraj and Shakib. Shakib scored a century in the same match.

Most fielding dismissals (5 and above):

Headed by Mushfiqur who kept in all but the 2005 match. Khaled Mashud was the keeper then. Mahmudullah and Mominul have the most catches as non-keepers.

Innings fielding dismissals (3 or more):

Mainly Mushfiqur, though Soumya Sarkar has the most (4) catches by a non-keeper.

Match fielding dismissals (4 or more):

As above, headed by Mushfiqur for keepers and Soumya for non-keepers.

All-round performance (minimum 250 runs and 5 wickets):

Shakib followed by Mahmudullah (who was dropped for the current match).

All-round performance in match (fifty and five-for):

Includes M. Rafique, the only all-rounder in the early Tests and two efforts by Shakib. This includes the century and ten wickets at Khulna, which puts him on the same level as Botham and Imran.

You can also see this piece written at the time of the victory over England a few months ago:

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/bangladeshs-greatest-test-win/

Bangladesh’s greatest Test win

While Bangladesh has made good progress in limited-over cricket in recent years, the just-concluded Test at Mirpur is historic. To understand this clearly, we look at the the team’s 8 Test victories:

This is their first victory against a full-strength “regular” team, not a fellow minnow such as Zimbabwe-even if it was a 3-0 sweep as in 2014.

And we don’t count the two wins against a West Indies third XI which included many debutants who (apart from Kemar Roach) vanished without a trace. The stand-in captain Floyd Reifer witnessed clean-sweep losses in the Test as well as the ODI series. In the course of the series he talked about his team improving. A journalist asked him, “Have you been smoking something that sounds like your name?”

(Those familiar with American crime novels would know that “reefer” is one of the numerous synonyms for marijuana).

It should be remembered that Bangladesh came very close to winning their first Test back in 2003, but were thwarted by the last-wicket pair of Inzamam (138*) and debutant Yasir Ali (1*): http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64045.html

Yasir Ali never played a Test again, but much was heard of another debutant Salman Butt in years to come.