A surprise in the jungle

A ferocious monster now lurks in the dense jungles of Bangladesh, as Pakistanis, Indians and now South Africans can attest to. For decades, the beast that prowled the small Asian country, was too small to catch substantial prey. Its teeth were blunt and its fangs too short. But sometime in the last three months, this creature underwent a metamorphosis, changing into something far scarier.

Photo from http://nancynwilson.com/work-at-home

This beast has developed a greater appetite, as well as the means with which to catch and kill larger prey. Soon this new appetite will force the creature to go hunting overseas.

I am talking, of course, of an awakening in the Bangladesh cricket team. ODI series victories against Pakistan, India and South Africa are demonstrative of an ascension in the Tigers. Not only has the arrival of wonder-kids Mustafizur Rahman (in bowling) and Soumya Sarkar (in batting) bolstered the team, but every other player seems to be playing twice as well as he did before. The result is impressive.

No longer will Bangladesh be seen as the underdogs, or the easy win. International teams will have to completely rethink how they plan to beat the Tigers.

I will conclude with three questions:

- How long will this show of form last?

- Couldn't the Tigers have improved before the World Cup in February and March?

- Will they pick themselves up after an inevitable setback in the future?

Fans of the Tigers have much to celebrate at the moment. Photo from http://bangladeshcricket.com

SA on course in the World Cup

The Proteas are on course to do well in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. We may have only played one match so far, but the way we performed bodes well. We beat Zimbabwe by 62 runs on 15 February. It was through brilliant centuries by David Miller (138 off 92 balls not out) and JP Duminy (115 off 100 not out), an excellent bowling performance by Imran Tahir (three wickets for 36 runs) and fielding by AB de Villiers (three catches and a run out).

David Miller scored 138 not out to help the Proteas to a win against Zimbabwe. Photo taken from www.2015-icccricketworldcup.com

We scored 339–4 in our 50 overs and Zimbabwe did well to reach 277 all out. It was a tough game, but a good one because we were tested in all departments and passed with flying colours. When batting, we lost wickets early, but recovered to set a great score. When bowling, we were made to work hard for our wickets and were disciplined (although we gave 22 extras). The Zimbabweans had to work for their runs. Then in the field, our only dropped catches went down because they were incredibly difficult ones to take. AB de Villiers took one of the best catches I have seen to dismiss Solomon Mire.

Our next match will be played against India on 22 February. India recently beat Pakistan by 76 runs and their morale will be very high. They are a great team and will be very difficult to beat. Then we will play the West Indies on 27 February. The Windies recently lost to Ireland by four wickets, and their morale will be low. However, they will be determined to progress through the group stage, and will play hard against us.

Great match up in store

The ODI and T20 series between SA and PAK should be very competitive. The games should be a great deal closer than the recent one-sided test series in which SA whitewashed Pakistan 3-0.

SA are 4th in the ICC ODI rankings and Pakistan are 6th. In T20s SA are 5th and Pakistan are 6th. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are ranked number 1 and 2 as batsmen in ODIs respectively by the ICC but Saeed Ajmal is the number one ODI and T20 bowler in the world.

2 T20s and 5 ODIs are to be played. The first T20 was supposed to be played today but was abandoned because of rain. That leaves one T20. They ought to be very good as Pakistan are notorious for their strength, although not always consistency, in the shorter versions of the game. South Africa are pretty much known for the same thing, though they are undoubtedly less consistent in the shorter formats than in test cricket.

Pakistan enjoy the inclusion of Shahid Afridi while South Africa may shake up their selection with one-day specialists David Miller, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Aaron Phangiso, Farhaan Behardien, Colin Ingram and Ryan McLaren. The Proteas also have new blood in Rory Kleinvedt and Kyle Abbott. Nasir Jamshed of Pakistan will also have a point to prove after failing in the test series. I predict that both series will yield fantastic cricket.

Mohammad Hafeez (32 years old) of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in 2012. Picture taken from http://www.supersport.com.

Hashim Amla (29) of South Africa is the number one batsman in tests and ODIs according to the ICC rankings. Picture taken from http://www.espncricinfo.com