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The Three Bangladeshi Batsmen

Recently, I had the chance to read ‘Three England batsmen’ by R.C. Robertson Glasgow. Writing in 1945, as Europe was gradually coming out of the horrors of WWII, the Oxford educated Glasgow focused on the three giants of English cricket between the wars: Sir Jack Hobbs of Surrey (who in 2000 was selected as one of the best five cricketers of the century by Wisden), Hobbs’ legendary opening partner Herbert Sutcliffe from Yorkshire, & Frank Wolley, the elegant left hander from Kent. Encouraged by this writing, I have decided to write about three of our own batsmen. Obviously, they are far less well known to the outside world. Even the younger generation of Bangladesh possibly doesn’t know too much about them. They never had the chance to shine at the highest level. I am not even sure that they had the ability to excel in the big arena. I simply remember them as the men who gave me so much joy during my early childhood.

 

Raquibul Hasan (Sr.) : On 26th February, 1971, on a sunny spring morning people gathered around the Dhaka stadium to watch the Pakistan national side taking on the Commonwealth XI. It was not an official test match, but the enthusiasm of the crowd was enormous. The main reason was that, for the first time a Bengali player was included in the full Pakistani XI. Raquibul Hasan, barely out of his teens, was considered along with Zaheer Abbas & Wasim Raja, the best young batting talent of the country. (Ironically, Majid Khan and Asif Iqbal, two of the mainstays of Pak batting during the 70’s started their careers as medium pace bowlers) He was already the twelfth man in a test match against NZ at Dhaka in 69-70. Yet, for young Raquibul, his first match for Pakistan would also be his last.

 

That match was abandoned on the final day, (1st of March), as the political situation of the city reached a critical stage. Within months, Raquibul had to flee for his life. He lost a number of his friends and family members. Yet showing great courage, immediately after returning to independent Bangladesh, he started to play a big part in building the cricketing infrastructure of the newly born country. And quite appropriately, in 1976-77, he was given the honor of leading the North Zone side at Rajshahi against Ted Clarke’s MCC side. This was the first international match in independent Bangladesh. He is very short and diminutive. But as he was going out for the toss with his counterpart Ted Clarke, he must have been feeling six feet tall. Raquibul, however, didn’t allow emotions to dominate him, and his 73 in the 2nd innings was the highest score of the match. Though he failed at Dhaka, he scored 74 at Jessore. 

 

1980/81 was Raquibul’s best season. Though an opening batsman, he was batting at No. 4 at that time. The idea was to help the middle order, which at that stage included some youngsters. He scored heavily against the MCC side. He was denied a hundred at Chittagong, not by the MCC players, but by the inclement weather. Bangladesh were 281/6 with Raquibul 78*, when the rain intervened and there was no further play. Then at Dhaka, Raquibul scored half centuries in both innings. He was eventually adjudged the Man-of-the-Series. The only time when I saw him really disappointed was during the 3 day match in March 1983 against Doshi’s West Bengal side. The sides would have been evenly matched, but for the guile of Doshi. Raqibul was the only player in our side who had the necessary technique and temperament to handle Doshi. Rafiq had the technique, but he lacked experience in international level. Yet, Raquibul got out on both occasions after being well set. Scores of 26 in each innings failed to do his team much good.

 

Raquibul played in Bangladesh’s first two ODI’s in March, 1986. But after a disappointing ICC Trophy in the following summer, he decided to retire from international cricket. He was only 32 at that time. But, he decided to give the chance to the youngsters. Also, following India’s triumph in the 1983 WC, One day cricket became more popular in the sub-continent. Raquibul’s technique and temperament were always more suited to the longer version of the game. This also hastened his retirement.

 

Omar Khaled Rumy: Impressed by the successes of the local side against MCC, ICC during the summer of 1977, accepted Bangladesh as an associate member. It was a joyous moment for the country. Yet, within months after that, the future of Bangladesh in international cricket looked very bleak. The month long tour by the Sri-Lankan side, led by Anura Tenikoon, in January 78, saw the local side badly beaten in all 3 unofficial test matches. Confidence of the side was very low. In February, the Deccan Blues side came to Dhaka to play a three day match. They were on their way home after a long tour of the Far East & Australia. The team was a mixture of different types of players. Former Indian captain Ajit Wadeker was the skipper; there was the Hyderabad all–rounder Narasimha Rao, on the verge of playing for India. On the other hand, the wicketkeeper of the side,  Tukaram Surve was 47 years old. The tourists were taking this game fairly lightly; for the local side though, it was a chance to regain some of their lost confidence.

                                                                                                            

 

Batting first, the tourists reached 410/7, Wadeker scoring an effortless 103*, Narasimha Rao contributing 83. In reply, the local side quickly lost its openers. The crowd was greatly concerned, the memory of the recent debacle against the Lankans was still rife in their memory. Fortunately, the two most accomplished batsmen of the side, Khaled Rumy and Raquibul, were at the wicket. And they approached the situation differently. Raquibul, composed as ever, decided to dig in. Rumy on the other hand, decided to counter attack. After playing one over cautiously, he struck three boundaries in the next. The crowd went mad with joy. Rumy only scored 32, before being bowled by the leg spinner Narasimha Rao, but it was the best knock of the match. Most importantly, it gave the other batsmen a moral boost. Raquibul patiently built his innings and went on to top score with 64. WK Hira made 51*, and with Ashraful and Yousuf Babu helping him, the total reached 320/9. It was the first time Bangladesh reached 300 in an international match. It was a fabulous team effort, but it was Rumy, who caught the attention of Wadeker. In an interview with a national weekly, he described Rumy as our best batsman. And there were very few at that time to argue against Wadeker’s judgment.

 

Yet, it remains a sad fact that Rumy never played a big innings for the country. Time and again, he would play himself in, only to get out between a score 20 to 40, almost freakishly at times. Still, one other innings of his deserves a mentioning here.

 

The Water Orton cricket ground in the English Midlands was the unlikely venue for Bangladesh’s first international match abroad (May 1979). Batting first against Fiji, Bangladesh reached 103, thanks mainly to a patient 28 by Rumy. On difficult batting conditions, Rumy had to curb his natural stoke-play and had to wait for the loose deliveries. His effort was over shadowed by Ashraful’s magic of off-spin (7/23), which helped Bangladesh win the match, but Rumy’s effort was extremely important.

 

He had an injury in the 80-81 season, and although he came back late in the season, it was evident that he was no longer the same player. He had a disappointing time with the bat in England, in 1982. Nevertheless, I got a chance to see him again, in March 83, against the WB side.

 

Bangladesh cricket was again passing through a critical stage. In the 3 day match, our batting collapsed badly against Doshi’s left arm spin. Lipu and Nehal, both destined for glory later in their career, didn’t look ready for international cricket at that stage. In a desperate bid, the selectors recalled Rumy for the 45 over game. Things started well for the local side as they restricted the opposition to only 175. With Yousuf Babu unable to bat, after injuring himself while bowling, the onus of opening the batting fell on the Abahani pair of Misha and Nazim. Despite the mutual understanding between them, they both were run out cheaply, and again the crowd saw Rumy and Raquibul trying to repair the damages. Some of the crowd recalled their heroics against Wadeker’s men few years back. Here, they both stayed long enough, but none could score freely against the WB spinners. Watching Rumy, one saw the shadow of a great player. The feet were not moving properly, the timing was not there. Yet, once and only once did we see the old tigerish Rumy, as he majestically on drove Doshi to the fence. The timing was so swift that not a single fielder moved from his position until the ball reached the fence. But, mostly it was defense, and as the required run rate grew mistakes started to occur. Rumy fell for 20, Raquibul for 27, and the rest of the batting collapsed.

 

Rumy played his last international match in 84. Though he failed with the bat, with his leg spinners, he helped Azhar destroying the Hyderabad Blues top order. Rumy, in fact, was a genuine all rounder. During the early part of his career, he enjoyed a highly successful spin bowling combination with Nazrul Kader Lintu, the left armer, and Ashraful, the off spinner. The trio was on their prime during the 78-79 season, against MCC. Only the former test players, Conrad Hunte of WI, and John Jameson, the Bombay born England opener, had the necessary technique to handle them.

 

Yousuf Babu: It was the middle of winter, but the 30,000 strong crowd gathered at the Dhaka stadium would have given the impression that spring has come early that year to the city of Dhaka. Of course, it was no ordinary occasion. The 3 day match beginning on 7th January, 1977 between the touring MCC side and the Bangladesh national side marked the entrance of Bangladesh in the big arena.

 

The Bangladesh captain Shamim Kabir won the toss and decided to bat first. It looked a good decision, as the pitch was known to be batting friendly. Amidst great cheer from the crowd, Shamim kabir and Raquibul Hasan opened the bating. The crowd was in a joyous mood. They were clapping, cheering every stroke by the local players. Yet midway through the day, the crowd had gone quiet. The top order had failed miserably and Bangladesh was struggling at 145/6. Only the skipper with 30 and ever reliable Rumy with 28 had shown any resistance among the top batsmen. The MCC men, on the other hand, were tightening their holds on the game. Fresh from an innings victory, at Chittagong against the East Zone outfit, they sensed the opportunity to restrict Bangladesh to a score of less than 200. Yet, Bangladesh eventually reached 266/9, thanks mainly to a brave 78 by Yousuf Rahman, known more commonly as Yousuf Babu. First he got support from SM Faruk (35), and then the tail fought with him. Babu’s 78 was the highest individual score during the series (for players of both sides). It cemented his place in the national side, and until his retirement in 84, he was a regular feature of the national team.

 

Yousuf Babu seemed to have a special liking for the Dhaka stadium, as he almost never failed there in international matches. A year after the MCC affair, he scored 37 and 41* against much stronger Sri-Lankan bowling line up. With a bit more effort form the tail in the 2nd innings, he might have saved the match. In 80-81 he scored a half century against MCC. Quite appropriately, he bade farewell to international cricket at Dhaka stadium, against Hyderabad Blues, in 1984. And he left with a bang scoring 35 & 44.

 

‘Uncomplicated’ is the best word to use his bating technique. He didn’t have the elegance of Rumy, or the composure of Raquibul. Yet, he made up for these deficiencies with determination and hard work. Initially, a middle order batsman, he was promoted to the opening slot in the early 80’s as Raquibul moved to the middle order to give it more stability. Yousuf Babu immediately justified his promotion, scoring half centuries against MCC at Chittagong & Dhaka. But his most memorable innings came in the summer of 1982, in the 2nd ICC Trophy, in England.

 

He had a disappointing ICC trophy three years earlier, in 79, scoring just 30 runs in 3 innings. Things looked hardly better for him in 82, until the final game of the tournament for Bangladesh, the 3rd place play off against PNG.  Yousuf Babu (115) and Nazim Shiraji (52) gave Bangladesh a fabulous start by putting on 170 for the 1st wicket. Specially, Babu was in terrific form, as boundaries flowed from his bat, one after the other. The ground at Bourneville didn’t seem big enough for him. Yet, this memorable innings also gives him great pain. His departure just before lunch (it was a 60 over game), saw a spectacular collapse by Bangladesh. They were all-out for 224 and lost the match by 3 wickets. Yousuf still feels that he should have batted with more caution prior to lunch.

 

Yousuf Babu started his career as a medium pacer who could bat a bit. As he became a more established batsman, his role as a bowler became less important. Nevertheless, whenever his side needed him, he provided his best with the ball as well. Just days after his 78 at Dhaka, he showed the MCC men that he could bowl as well as bat by taking 4/37 at Jessore, playing for the South Zone. His bowling was especially useful in One Day cricket. His 3/18 against Dilip Doshi’s side went in vain, as our batting collapsed. (He himself was unable to bat after injuring himself in a collision with an opposition batsman looking for a quick single).But his 3/16 against East Africa, in 1982, helped Bangladesh win a low scoring game.

 

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