Inconsistent selection, lack of role clarity mar Bangladesh start at World Cup

For close to two decades, Bangladesh have proffered the notion that they need a good start to get anywhere - in a session, a match, a bilateral series or a tournament. They have always said that a good start allows them to settle in quickly. It is a sporting cliché. It is true for many teams. Bangladesh keep saying it because they lived this for a very long time.

They have certainly found ways to win matches and series after getting bad starts on and off, but when they don't win, like in their World Cup game against England in Dharamshala, they do not necessarily look a comfortable lot.

While the fast bowlers have shown improvement in the last two years, they were ineffective in the first powerplay in both that game and the previous one against Afghanistan. With the bat, Bangladesh have used seven different opening pairs in 21 ODIs this year. They have lost four wickets for under 100 runs in eight out of their last ten ODIs.

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe acknowledged it was concerning for the team. He was disappointed that the fast bowlers were not able to take the advantage of the early start with the Dharamsala pitch having enough in it to trouble the England openers.

"If you don't get a start, if you lose more than three wickets in the first powerplay, then you are not winning many matches," Hathurusinghe said. "So, definitely it's a concern for batting. When we play seven batters, we want our top order to fire so that's a big concern. The fast bowlers were unusually off colour in the powerplay in the last two games. Normally in a day game, early on, there is something for the fast bowlers.

"Even this game, there was seam movement early on. [The pitch was] a little tacky and two-paced. The two openers were playing and missing, there were mis-hits, and they were a little bit lucky. After that, they batted really well. So, if we had some early wickets, the story would have been different."

The blame however cannot just go to the misfiring fast bowlers or the revolving door of the openers. The Bangladesh think-tank, which is at its most crowded in recent memory, takes these decisions.

Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam bowled just two overs each in the powerplay - just two balls apiece to England's centurion, Dawid Malan. Bangladesh's plan was to attack Malan with offspin, which completely backfired. Malan scored at a strike rate of 151.42 against the offspin duo of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahedi Hasan, who collectively bowled the most to him after the first powerplay.

For a team that relies on match-ups, this was a bitter blow. Five of England's top six are right-handers, so left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed could have been a wiser choice if they wanted to attack the batters with the away-going delivery. Plus, while Shakib Al Hasan finished his spell of ten overs in the 32nd over, Taskin, the team's premier fast bowler, bowled just six overs in the innings, which was baffling. It would not have been a bad call to bring Taskin on in the middle overs when the offspinners were getting hammered.

Hathurusinghe praised Shoriful for his three wickets in quick succession towards the end, which he felt stopped England from getting to 400. "We were little disappointed the way we started," he said. "We could have bowled a little bit more onto the stumps, especially in the first 10 overs. We came back well.

"Shoriful, I thought was very brave to bowl those variations when we were really under pressure. They would have got 400 at one stage I thought. There are some positives but we didn't bowl well."

Litton Das' sparkling 76 apart, Bangladesh were never in the chase and a part of the issue was how the batting line-up was shaped. Rookie Tanzid Hasan now has 40 runs in six innings. His inexperience isn't his fault as he was thrown into the deep end of tough Asia Cup and World Cup campaigns without being given a teething period.

"It is a concern if you are not scoring, but then Litton coming into form in this game was a good positive for us," Hathurusinghe said. "Tanzid scored runs in the two practice games, so he was in form. It is two failures. In the World Cup, it can happen for any team. I'm hoping those guys will fire, because most of the batters now got into form, and in the coming games, hopefully, we will perform as a group."

Bangladesh have also avoided carrying a back-up opener, believing Mehidy could do the job if needed. Against England, he was sent in at No. 5 replacing Towhid Hridoy. The move seemed unnecessary as Hridoy has scored heavily in that position since making his debut earlier this year. If they wanted to send Hridoy down the order and not stick to specific batting positions, then Mushfiqur Rahim could have been a better option at No. 5 against England.

Bangladesh need to settle into a rhythm with their line-up and selection. The batting reshuffling must end and the bowling should go beyond mere match-ups. It is now up to the team management to follow their players in making mental adjustments quickly.