The Three Bangladeshi Batsmen

Recently, I had the chance to read ‘Three				first international match abroad (May 1979). Batting
England batsmen’ by R.C. Robertson Glasgow.				first against Fiji, Bangladesh reached 103, thanks
Writing in 1945, as Europe was gradually coming out				mainly to a patient 28 by Rumy. On difficult batting
of the horrors of WWII, the Oxford educated				conditions, Rumy had to curb his natural stoke-play
Glasgow focused on the three giants of English				and had to wait for the loose deliveries. His effort
cricket between the wars: Sir Jack Hobbs of Surrey				was over shadowed by Ashraful’s magic of
(who in 2000 was selected as one of the best five				off-spin (7/23), which helped Bangladesh win the
cricketers of the century by Wisden), Hobbs’				match, but Rumy’s effort was extremely
legendary opening partner Herbert Sutcliffe from				important.
Yorkshire, & Frank Wolley, the elegant left hander
from Kent. Encouraged by this writing, I have decided				He had an injury in the 80-81 season, and although he
to write about three of our own batsmen. Obviously,				came back late in the season, it was evident that he
they are far less well known to the outside world.				was no longer the same player. He had a
Even the younger generation of Bangladesh possibly				disappointing time with the bat in England, in 1982.
doesn’t know too much about them. They				Nevertheless, I got a chance to see him again, in
never had the chance to shine at the highest level. I				March 83, against the WB side.
am not even sure that they had the ability to excel
in the big arena. I simply remember them as the men				Bangladesh cricket was again passing through a critical
who gave me so much joy during my early childhood.				stage. In the 3 day match, our batting collapsed badly
				against Doshi’s left arm spin. Lipu and Nehal, both
Raquibul Hasan (Sr.) : On 26th February, 1971, on a				destined for glory later in their career, didn’t look
sunny spring morning people gathered around the				ready for international cricket at that stage. In a
Dhaka stadium to watch the Pakistan national side				desperate bid, the selectors recalled Rumy for the 45
taking on the Commonwealth XI. It was not an				over game. Things started well for the local side as
official test match, but the enthusiasm of the crowd				they restricted the opposition to only 175. With
was enormous. The main reason was that, for the				Yousuf Babu unable to bat, after injuring himself while
first time a Bengali player was included in the full				bowling, the onus of opening the batting fell on the
Pakistani XI. Raquibul Hasan, barely out of his teens,				Abahani pair of Misha and Nazim. Despite the mutual
was considered along with Zaheer Abbas & Wasim				understanding between them, they both were run
Raja, the best young batting talent of the country.				out cheaply, and again the crowd saw Rumy and
(Ironically, Majid Khan and Asif Iqbal, two of the				Raquibul trying to repair the damages. Some of the
mainstays of Pak batting during the 70’s started				crowd recalled their heroics against Wadeker’s
their careers as medium pace bowlers) He was				men few years back. Here, they both stayed long
already the twelfth man in a test match against NZ				enough, but none could score freely against the WB
at Dhaka in 69-70. Yet, for young Raquibul, his first				spinners. Watching Rumy, one saw the shadow of a
match for Pakistan would also be his last.				great player. The feet were not moving properly, the
				timing was not there. Yet, once and only once did
That match was abandoned on the final day, (1st of				we see the old tigerish Rumy, as he majestically on
March), as the political situation of the city reached a				drove Doshi to the fence. The timing was so swift
critical stage. Within months, Raquibul had to flee for				that not a single fielder moved from his position until
his life. He lost a number of his friends and family				the ball reached the fence. But, mostly it was
members. Yet showing great courage, immediately				defense, and as the required run rate grew mistakes
after returning to independent Bangladesh, he started				started to occur. Rumy fell for 20, Raquibul for 27,
to play a big part in building the cricketing				and the rest of the batting collapsed.
infrastructure of the newly born country. And quite
appropriately, in 1976-77, he was given the honor of				Rumy played his last international match in 84.
leading the North Zone side at Rajshahi against Ted				Though he failed with the bat, with his leg spinners,
Clarke’s MCC side. This was the first international				he helped Azhar destroying the Hyderabad Blues top
match in independent Bangladesh. He is very short				order. Rumy, in fact, was a genuine all rounder. During
and diminutive. But as he was going out for the toss				the early part of his career, he enjoyed a highly
with his counterpart Ted Clarke, he must have been				successful spin bowling combination with Nazrul Kader
feeling six feet tall. Raquibul, however, didn’t				Lintu, the left armer, and Ashraful, the off spinner.
allow emotions to dominate him, and his 73 in the 2nd				The trio was on their prime during the 78-79 season,
innings was the highest score of the match. Though				against MCC. Only the former test players, Conrad
he failed at Dhaka, he scored 74 at Jessore.				Hunte of WI, and John Jameson, the Bombay born
				England opener, had the necessary technique to
1980/81 was Raquibul’s best season. Though an				handle them.
opening batsman, he was batting at No. 4 at that
time. The idea was to help the middle order, which at				Yousuf Babu: It was the middle of winter, but the
that stage included some youngsters. He scored				30,000 strong crowd gathered at the Dhaka stadium
heavily against the MCC side. He was denied a				would have given the impression that spring has
hundred at Chittagong, not by the MCC players, but				come early that year to the city of Dhaka. Of
by the inclement weather. Bangladesh were 281/6				course, it was no ordinary occasion. The 3 day match
with Raquibul 78*, when the rain intervened and				beginning on 7th January, 1977 between the touring
there was no further play. Then at Dhaka, Raquibul				MCC side and the Bangladesh national side marked
scored half centuries in both innings. He was				the entrance of Bangladesh in the big arena.
eventually adjudged the Man-of-the-Series. The only
time when I saw him really disappointed was during				The Bangladesh captain Shamim Kabir won the toss
the 3 day match in March 1983 against Doshi’s				and decided to bat first. It looked a good decision, as
West Bengal side. The sides would have been evenly				the pitch was known to be batting friendly. Amidst
matched, but for the guile of Doshi. Raqibul was the				great cheer from the crowd, Shamim kabir and
only player in our side who had the necessary				Raquibul Hasan opened the bating. The crowd was in
technique and temperament to handle Doshi. Rafiq				a joyous mood. They were clapping, cheering every
had the technique, but he lacked experience in				stroke by the local players. Yet midway through the
international level. Yet, Raquibul got out on both				day, the crowd had gone quiet. The top order had
occasions after being well set. Scores of 26 in each				failed miserably and Bangladesh was struggling at 145
innings failed to do his team much good.				6. Only the skipper with 30 and ever reliable Rumy
				with 28 had shown any resistance among the top
Raquibul played in Bangladesh’s first two				batsmen. The MCC men, on the other hand, were
ODI’s in March, 1986. But after a disappointing				tightening their holds on the game. Fresh from an
ICC Trophy in the following summer, he decided to				innings victory, at Chittagong against the East Zone
retire from international cricket. He was only 32 at				outfit, they sensed the opportunity to restrict
that time. But, he decided to give the chance to the				Bangladesh to a score of less than 200. Yet,
youngsters. Also, following India’s triumph in the				Bangladesh eventually reached 266/9, thanks mainly
1983 WC, One day cricket became more popular in				to a brave 78 by Yousuf Rahman, known more
the sub-continent. Raquibul’s technique and				commonly as Yousuf Babu. First he got support from
temperament were always more suited to the longer				SM Faruk (35), and then the tail fought with him.
version of the game. This also hastened his				Babu’s 78 was the highest individual score during
retirement.				the series (for players of both sides). It cemented his
				place in the national side, and until his retirement in
Omar Khaled Rumy: Impressed by the successes of				84, he was a regular feature of the national team.
the local side against MCC, ICC during the summer of
1977, accepted Bangladesh as an associate member.				Yousuf Babu seemed to have a special liking for the
It was a joyous moment for the country. Yet, within				Dhaka stadium, as he almost never failed there in
months after that, the future of Bangladesh in				international matches. A year after the MCC affair, he
international cricket looked very bleak. The month				scored 37 and 41* against much stronger Sri-Lankan
long tour by the Sri-Lankan side, led by Anura				bowling line up. With a bit more effort form the tail in
Tenikoon, in January 78, saw the local side badly				the 2nd innings, he might have saved the match. In
beaten in all 3 unofficial test matches. Confidence of				80-81 he scored a half century against MCC. Quite
the side was very low. In February, the Deccan Blues				appropriately, he bade farewell to international cricket
side came to Dhaka to play a three day match. They				at Dhaka stadium, against Hyderabad Blues, in 1984.
were on their way home after a long tour of the Far				And he left with a bang scoring 35 & 44.
East & Australia. The team was a mixture of
different types of players. Former Indian captain Ajit				‘Uncomplicated’ is the best word to use his
Wadeker was the skipper; there was the Hyderabad				bating technique. He didn’t have the elegance of
all–rounder Narasimha Rao, on the verge of				Rumy, or the composure of Raquibul. Yet, he made
playing for India. On the other hand, the				up for these deficiencies with determination and hard
wicketkeeper of the side, Tukaram Surve was 47				work. Initially, a middle order batsman, he was
years old. The tourists were taking this game fairly				promoted to the opening slot in the early 80’s as
lightly; for the local side though, it was a chance to				Raquibul moved to the middle order to give it more
regain some of their lost confidence.				stability. Yousuf Babu immediately justified his
�				promotion, scoring half centuries against MCC at
				Chittagong & Dhaka. But his most memorable innings
Batting first, the tourists reached 410/7, Wadeker				came in the summer of 1982, in the 2nd ICC Trophy,
scoring an effortless 103*, Narasimha Rao contributing				in England.
83. In reply, the local side quickly lost its openers. The
crowd was greatly concerned, the memory of the				He had a disappointing ICC trophy three years earlier,
recent debacle against the Lankans was still rife in				in 79, scoring just 30 runs in 3 innings. Things looked
their memory. Fortunately, the two most				hardly better for him in 82, until the final game of the
accomplished batsmen of the side, Khaled Rumy and				tournament for Bangladesh, the 3rd place play off
Raquibul, were at the wicket. And they approached				against PNG. Yousuf Babu (115) and Nazim Shiraji
the situation differently. Raquibul, composed as ever,				(52) gave Bangladesh a fabulous start by putting on
decided to dig in. Rumy on the other hand, decided				170 for the 1st wicket. Specially, Babu was in terrific
to counter attack. After playing one over cautiously,				form, as boundaries flowed from his bat, one after
he struck three boundaries in the next. The crowd				the other. The ground at Bourneville didn’t seem
went mad with joy. Rumy only scored 32, before				big enough for him. Yet, this memorable innings also
being bowled by the leg spinner Narasimha Rao, but it				gives him great pain. His departure just before lunch
was the best knock of the match. Most importantly,				(it was a 60 over game), saw a spectacular collapse
it gave the other batsmen a moral boost. Raquibul				by Bangladesh. They were all-out for 224 and lost
patiently built his innings and went on to top score				the match by 3 wickets. Yousuf still feels that he
with 64. WK Hira made 51*, and with Ashraful and				should have batted with more caution prior to lunch.
Yousuf Babu helping him, the total reached 320/9. It
was the first time Bangladesh reached 300 in an				Yousuf Babu started his career as a medium pacer
international match. It was a fabulous team effort,				who could bat a bit. As he became a more
but it was Rumy, who caught the attention of				established batsman, his role as a bowler became less
Wadeker. In an interview with a national weekly, he				important. Nevertheless, whenever his side needed
described Rumy as our best batsman. And there				him, he provided his best with the ball as well. Just
were very few at that time to argue against				days after his 78 at Dhaka, he showed the MCC men
Wadeker’s judgment.				that he could bowl as well as bat by taking 4/37 at
				Jessore, playing for the South Zone. His bowling was
Yet, it remains a sad fact that Rumy never played a				especially useful in One Day cricket. His 3/18 against
big innings for the country. Time and again, he would				Dilip Doshi’s side went in vain, as our batting
play himself in, only to get out between a score 20				collapsed. (He himself was unable to bat after injuring
to 40, almost freakishly at times. Still, one other				himself in a collision with an opposition batsman
innings of his deserves a mentioning here.				looking for a quick single).But his 3/16 against East
				Africa, in 1982, helped Bangladesh win a low scoring
The Water Orton cricket ground in the English				game.
Midlands was the unlikely venue for Bangladesh’s

Dr Sport

The Three Bangladeshi Batsmen