In the early 70s, soccer was the heart and soul of every
Bangladeshi. Legendary soccer player Salahuddin was the poster boy of
Bangladesh sports fraternity and Salahuddin’s impact was so heavy that it
created a legacy of producing some of Bangladesh’s finest soccer players.
The domestic Football Leagues and various domestic football
tournaments gave people heart filled joy. There was no space for cricket in
Bangladesh.
As a matter of fact, Bangladesh tasted the beauty of Test
cricket during the East Pakistan era. Teams like England, Australia, New
Zealand and West Indies played Test matches in the Bangabandhu National
Stadium.
But after independence, cricket’s charm was devoured by the
sky-high popularity of soccer.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board was established in 1972. A
cricket League commenced in Dhaka and Chittagong, but it was not encouraging
enough to catch the pulse of the Bangladeshi public. Cricket in Bangladesh was
in need of a massive boost.
Robin Marlar’s nostalgic article
Robin Marlar, the ex-cricketer who played for England and
then became a renowned cricket journalist after retirement, wrote an article in
The Sunday Times about Bangladesh’s enriched cricketing history by recalling
the fond memories he had while watching Test matches at Dhaka during the
pre-liberation days.
He was not sure whether cricket existed in the new country
named Bangladesh. He was afraid that gradually, cricket might become a fossil
in a land which has the tradition of hosting legendary players like Sir
Garfield Sobers, Ted Dexter, Richie Benaud and co .
Syed Ashraful Haque’s initiatives
The ICC officials nurtured the idea that the condition of
cricket deteriorated immensely after the birth of Bangladesh and they had
doubts about the cricketing abilities of the players of this region as the last
Bengali that played any sort of decent cricket was Pankaj Roy from India.
The names of martyred Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel and Raquibul
Hassan were not in their minds and no wonder, the ICC had kept on ignoring
Bangladesh’s efforts to join the international cricket fraternity.
In the winter of 1975, the Pakistan Cricket Board organized
a series of one-day matches to be played between the Pakistan National Team and
World XI. Pakistan cricket’s hierarchy decided to invite a player from
Bangladesh to represent the World XI.
The invitation was orchestrated by Ashraful and Bangladesh
Cricket officials forwarded Raquibul Hassan’s name to Pakistan Cricket Board
and immediately he was en route to Karachi. Raquibul featured in the matches
and the world came to know that the passion for cricket in Bangladesh still was
not dead.
In June, the International Cricket Council discussed
Bangladesh's membership and they decided to wait for the MCC tour before
allowing Bangladesh membership.
The arrival of the MCC team in Dhaka
The MCC team, led by Ted Clarke, arrived in Dhaka on
December 27, 1976, for a short tour. Two days later they traveled to Rajshahi
and Chittagong to play two-day zonal matches.
The match in Rajshahi was a draw where North Zone’s Raquibul
scored a brilliant 73 runs in the second innings while the performance in
Chittagong was a dismal one – the English bowlers rattled the batting line-up
of East Zone team twice in just more than one day. Only Ashraful Haque stood
firm to score 60 runs.
But the three-day match in Dhaka against the Bangladesh
national team generated more attraction.
Historic January 7, 1977
January 7, 1977. Dhaka was, as usual, noisy and chaotic.
Dhaka’s winter was, as usual, festive. There was the scent of traditional
pithas (pancakes) of winter in the air, one could listen to the music of a
harmonious Bangladesh, one could witness the smiley faces despite the cold
weather and one could hear people talk about cricket amid the popularity of
soccer.
All roads led to the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The morning was cool and sunny. The visiting team relished
such a weather as they are accustomed to it. The Dhaka track was fairly hard
with even bounce and devoid of grass. Shamim Kabir, the captain of Bangladesh
won the toss and elected to bat first.
At 9:45 am, the two umpires, Altaf Hossain and Reza-i -Karim
walked out on the ground to officiate the match amid thunderous applauds. It
was not a soccer match, but a cricket match where the presence of the crowd was
inspiring.
Shamim Kabir and Roquibul Hassan, the two openers from
Bangladesh, walked out to bat and Bangladesh’s journey in world cricket
started.
Yousuf Babu – The hero
Mainul Huq and Omar Khaled Rumi played some brilliant
strokes but their presence was like an ice sclupture in the desert. At one
point Bangladesh were reeling at 145 for 6. The batsmen had starts , but their
stay at the crease was not brief.
The last-minute-inclusion Yousuf Babu, a hard-hitting lower
order batsman who could bowl as well took the charge of the innings and he not
only forged useful partnerships with Daulatzzaman and Farook, but also attacked
the English pacers as well.
It was a flawless innings where he executed shots on the
back foot with perfect balance and pristine timing. He was not out on 60 at
stumps and his fluent knock gave Bangladesh the much needed confidence to
fight.
Babu was dismissed for 78 the next day but he was not done
yet. He proved useful with the ball as
in the first innings his figures were 4 for 37. From an unknown fellow, Babu
became an overnight sensation.
The significance of January 7, 1977
The match ended in a draw. A team which lacked the proper
preparations and experience to battle against a formidable English unit, fared
very well to earn the respect of cricket connoisseurs.
On the back of Bangladesh’s performance against the touring
MCC side, the ICC made Bangladesh an
Associate member on July 26, 1977.
January 7 bears enough importance in the history of
Bangladesh cricket. The seeds of a bright future were sown on that day. It
instilled confidence among the Bangladeshi cricketers to work hard and strike
gold.
Surely, Bangladesh cricket has come a long way and one must
not deny the impact of that three-day match which commenced on Januray 7, 1977.
Note: This article was published in Sportskeeda on 08/01/2016 Bangladesh v MCC XI - A historic day in Bangladesh cricket
Note: This article was published in Sportskeeda on 08/01/2016 Bangladesh v MCC XI - A historic day in Bangladesh cricket
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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