Bangladesh will be delighted to say “goodbye” to the Test series leg of their tour to South Africa and “hello” to the one-day international segment. Not least because they can wave a cheery welcome to their best player, Shakib-al-Hasan.
Shakib did not feature in the Test matches, not that his appearance would have made much difference in two heavy defeats. Test matches away from home are just not Bangladesh’s thing. At home it’s a different story where raging turning pitches and arid conditions reduce the gulf between bigger, more powerful nations.
But on the road they are pretty feeble, thanks to conditions that are the complete opposite. They lose their edge, they know it and are comfortably beaten. In ODI cricket, however, they have the tools and skill set to bridge the gap.
That’s because in 50-over cricket pitch conditions are not as important. There simply isn’t the time for flaws and temperaments to be exposed as they are over five long days of Test cricket. All manner of sins can be hidden.
And Bangladesh can have a good go at giving South Africa a fright, particularly with Shakib back. He is one of their few players who can perform anywhere in the world. He is officially the best all-rounder in the world according to the ICC, trumping the likes of England’s Ben Stokes.
Is his availability enough to tempt us into betting Bangladesh at 6.0000 at BMR’s green-listed bookmakers to win the first ODI from Kimberley on Sunday? Probably not. This is not T20 after all where one man can make a difference.
Thankfully he will be assisted by three other gun Bangladeshis who can stand toe-to-toe with more illustrious opponents in ODI. Tamim Iqbal, who has admittedly been struggling with a hip injury, is a master blaster at the top of the order and comes in at a very solid No. 16 in the world’s best batsmen.
Then there’s the pace duo of Mashrafe Mortaza, the skipper, and Mustafizur Rahman. Mashrafe is wily and has seen it all before. But The Fizz, as he is known, is a young buck, who, once he gets a run of games under his belt, will be asserting himself at the top of the bowler lists.
Unfortunately, South Africa are not feeling very generous and they have named a pretty much full-strength squad for the contest. Faf Du Plessis, Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers, Quintin de Kock and Imran Tahir are all top-ten rankers.
That makes things very difficult for Bangladesh. So if you want to look elsewhere for value, The Fizz at 4.0000 with Bet365 is a stonker of a bet to finish as Bangladesh’s top bowler. Statistically he is actually a 2.5600 chance because of the number of times he cops. That’s value.
And, of course, we mustn’t forget Shakib. He stands out at 5.5000 with Skybet to top score for Bangladesh and show his class.
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