Tournament review: Bangladesh

Continuing our tournament reviews, here is an assessment of how Bangladesh did.

Hosting World Cup games for the first time, Bangladesh recorded a memorable win over England – but were bowled out for 58 and 78 either side of that game. As that stat makes apparent, their batting retains a penchant for spectacular implosion. Their array of spinners were hard to get away, but they too seldom possessed wicket-taking venom. Many expected Bangladesh to reach the quarter-finals, and they were a disappointment, even if the England win was amongst the most memorable in their history.

Star man
Shafiul Islam was unheralded before the tournament, but proved Bangladesh’s biggest match-winner. A brilliant spell of 4/21 secured a tight win over Ireland before he belied any batting degree to loot 24* against England. But his performances were woeful in Bangladesh’s three defeats.

Disappointment
Tamim Iqbal has been called the ‘Bangladeshi Sehwag’. He sparkled intermittently, but an average of 26 was extremely disappointing. His first-over dismissal against the West Indies precipitated the lowest score of the entire tournament.

Prospects
Should continue to improve, albeit not at the rate the ICC would hope after all they have invested there. Their batting needs more to learn more discipline, but that has been said for the last decade.