Every country has sports but few countries need it as desperately as Bangladesh does. In a world where most days are spent feeling down and in the dumps, cricket provides us hope, flickering as they are. Even though most of the time Bangladesh loses, we still keep on hoping that one day we will. It keeps us going.
The Zimbabwe series was great but we can’t deny that Zim is not the best team in town. Still fear haunted us as we remember how we couldn’t make it against a second string West Indies on tour of Bangladesh. So we carried our nervousness and anxiety till the end was finalized.
Australia is a different ball game because it’s a team that has refused to play in Bangladesh citing one reason or another. Bangladesh is a lesser cricket country there is no doubt but to treat it with such contempt is very Australia like. Bangladesh has very little to do with Australia in any space but that has made the crowd more hostile towards Australia than most others.
Thus the visit by the Aus team was not just about cricket but national honours. To be honest, this is a depleted Aus team with some of its stars missing but Bangladesh too doesn’t have Tamim, Mushie and Liton. Nevertheless, an Aus team is an Aus team. Never mind, they got a pasting from the West Indies where they got clobbered 4-1 in the T 20 series.
So when Bangladesh won the first match it was so big, With the second match, it was even bigger. When the third match arrived, there was expectation and anxiety both, but in the end Bangladesh did win which was by any measure historic. It was the first series victory against the Aus but then how many have we played against them anyway?
The fourth was played in a very relaxed atmosphere and Bangladesh paid the price. By the time Shakib was finished bowling that over which yielded 30 runs, the match was also over. Mahmudullah was right, Bangladesh was 20 runs short and paid for it. All through it is him who has taken the bat seriously and come forward to be counted but others haven’t followed. The result was a loss and has hurt everyone.
The point is simple, never let your guard down. Just because we have won three and the series means nothing. It’s winning every one that should matter. And one needs to chase it till the end. Bangladesh hasn’t, doesn’t and that is one of the reasons why we don’t come out as winners in the end. It’s not the series that matters anymore; it’s the winning that matters.
As we trudge through sleaze and filth in our everyday life, cricket is more than a game, it’s a relief and a reminder that the flag has not been stained. Yet. And that is why it’s so important to win the 5th match.
