Flashbacks are a recurring theme. Somewhere deep inside the caverns of the brain, a memory waits for an event to burst forth. When Mominul Haque hit the winning runs in the Darwin Test against Australia, it was the perfect time for the brain to travel back in time to Cardiff. After taking Bangladesh past the finishing line against Australia in an ODI, Aftab Ahmed and Mohammed Rafique had hugged each other.
Twenty-one summers, 21 rainy seasons and 20 winters have passed since that unforgettable day in Cardiff. Within the blink of an eye, many more seasons will come and go. But both moments will remain a part of Bangladesh’s sporting folklore forever.
Although the victory in Darwin would have to be considered the bigger accomplishment — arguably Bangladesh’s finest sporting moment — mere words aren’t enough to describe their red-letter day. Here was a team that crumbled to 54 all out in a practice game before the opening Test. Here was a team that hadn’t played a Test in Australia for 23 years. Their last Test series in Australia took place so long ago that the current chief selector, Habibul Bashar, was still their main batter. As it turned out, Bashar was in Darwin when Bangladesh had their epochal day.
Bangladesh also usurped a side that rarely loses to a weaker team on paper. New Zealand have won a single Test in that country in 40 years, the West Indies have emerged victorious only once in the last 28 years, Sri Lanka are yet to win a Test Down Under, Pakistan haven’t won any Test in that land in the last three decades, while England have registered a solitary victory in the last 15 years in Australia in the longest format.
It was indeed a perfect Test match for Bangladesh. It is true that Australia won the toss and opted to bat. In retrospect, it was the wrong call as it exposed a rather vulnerable batting unit to the moving ball. Bangladesh, however, deserve all the credit for executing their skills and taking full advantage of the conditions. Hasan Mahmud snapped his wrist, moved the ball this way and that, and finished with a rich haul of nine wickets. He bowled with unremitting control while maintaining his top speeds for long periods. The spellbinding performance was worthy of a Player of the Match award.
Lest we forget, Bangladesh took a healthy lead of over 200 runs, with Tanzid Hasan essaying a memorable Test hundred. In the second innings, with a little more assistance for the spinners, Mehidy Hasan imparted drift and employed square spin to great effect. In fact, Mehidy also composed a gritty 65 to give Bangladesh enough of a buffer to set attacking fields in the second innings. The cornerstone of their win was a collective effort.
Just peel away the outer coating, and you will also observe the essence of Bangladesh’s progress — their pace-bowling unit. It is a foregone conclusion that to emerge triumphant in countries such as South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia, a well-oiled pace attack is a must.
Despite losing Nahid Rana’s services due to injury, they were able to stitch together a fine pace attack. It is a testament to Bangladesh’s developmental programmes, along with the likes of Allan Donald, Ottis Gibson, Courtney Walsh, Andre Adams and Shaun Tait sharing their invaluable insights with the inexperienced pacers.
Last year, Najmul Hossain Shanto also said this in a press conference: “I think the important thing is the change in pitches and the ball in first-class cricket. We play with the Dukes ball, so the fast bowlers want to bowl a lot of overs. There are a lot of coaches and overseas coaches who have helped our pacers.”
In the last couple of years, Bangladesh have won Test series, home and away, against Pakistan. Just have a glance at the World Test Championship table and it says Bangladesh are the highest-ranked Asian side as well.
Far away from the limelight, they have been quietly making their way up the ladder. Now that Bangladesh have triumphed in Australia, it is their moment in the sun. Bangladesh also have the golden opportunity to script a jailbreak in Mackay — the venue for the second Test — by winning the series.
Dreams are there to be chased and fulfilled: be it in Cardiff, Darwin or, perhaps, Mackay.
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