3/17/2015 Mahmudullah emerges as big performer | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/851175.html?wrappertype=print 1/2

© Getty Images

World Cup 2015: Bangladesh March 16, 2015

Mahmudullah emerges as big performer

Mohammad Isam18 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter CommentAfter spending half of his career at No. 7, Mahmudullah has found success up the order and heading into the WorldCup quarter-final is a cornerstone of the Bangladesh line up shares 18

Mahmudullah made back-to-back centuries at the end of the World Cup group stage

Mahmudullah never wanted to be a hero. But having finished the World Cup's group stage among the top fivescorers, he has become one. He will play Bangladesh's first knockout game of a major tournament as one of theteam's big performers, taking on new responsibility and ensuring stability.

Before the match against England on March 9, all talk regarding Bangladesh was around the captain Mashrafe Mortaza,Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal. Mahmudullah's unbeaten 21 in the win against England in theprevious World Cup was only a passing reference. He remained one of the bit-part performers. Until of course hestruck two consecutive hundreds against England and New Zealand in the space of four days, dramatically changingperceptions.

Runs weren't all Mahmudullah got out of the two centuries. The big performances saw him regarded as one of thebig players in the team. Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur and Mashrafe all have enough performances to prove themselves asmatch-winners. These four can recall matches against India, Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand if they need areminder of their value ahead of any big match. Mahmudullah only had that unbeaten 21 and some important runs inthe ODI series win over West Indies in 2012. He also briefly became the highest scorer at No. 7 in the world betweenthe time of his ODI debut and the end of 2012.

But thereafter, he didn't add much to his catalogue and after he had somehow managed to overcome a two-yearslump at the end of 2014, he badly needed a big day in international cricket. His two innings in Adelaide and Hamiltonwere the much-needed meat to his modest numbers, which were based on him batting at No. 7 for more than halfhis ODI career.

When he walked out to bat in third over against England, it was a relatively new experience. He quickly found outthat he had enough time to build an innings after a nervy start. The free-flowing nature and form of batsmen likeSoumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim also meant that Mahmudullah could play a background role

3/17/2015 Mahmudullah emerges as big performer | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/851175.html?wrappertype=print 2/2

before bringing out the shots in the batting Powerplay and thereafter. Though he missed out on the late hitting inAdelaide, he showed in Hamilton that he has quickly adopted to the vagaries of a well-set batsman.

He showed that he had a better understanding of differing ground sizes, bowling attacks and match situations. Hereached 50 off 69 and 63 balls in Adelaide and Hamilton respectively, but the second fifty was quicker in the latterinnings. While he took another 62 balls to reach his hundred in Adelaide, he raced to the same score off another 48balls in Hamilton. The most notable change was what he had done after reaching the hundred. In Adelaide hestruggled as he scored just three more runs off the next seven balls before getting run out. In Hamilton, he blastedMitchell McClenaghan for three fours immediately after reaching the hundred, and scored the 28 runs after thehundred off just 12 balls.

But for the first seven and a half years of his international career, batting never came so fluently for Mahmudullah. Hewas a No. 7 batsman who remained not out one-third of the time. Before 2015, he had scored just four fift ies in 44Bangladesh wins. He wasn't a big hitter by any stretch of the imagination (he has a 75.32 strike-rate at No. 7) andwould often struggle to push the run-rate. He was thrust into the role due to the team combination. The selectioncommittees since the 2007 World Cup decided that Bangladesh needed insurance down the order so Mahmudullahand Naeem Islam were told to be on guard to stage fightbacks or simply stop a batting collapse.

When he finally found success at No. 7, he quickly gave it away. Exactly what caused the prolonged slump remainsunknown as he was well shielded from the media during this time. When he did recover, he said he was helped by atougher fitness regimen after the 2014 West Indies tour.

Mushfiqur Rahim was the last batsman to have an extended and successful stint at the No. 4 position betweenDecember 2012 to June 2014 so Mahmudullah can now expect a bit of stability at the same spot. He has so far donemore than what was asked of him, and he has enjoyed the role. With Soumya Sarkar looking comfortable at No. 3and Sabbir Rahman batting well as an aggressive No. 7, Mahmudullah could be in this for the long haul.

If the opening position headache gives the selectors and team management another chance to tinker, Mahmudullahshould find a position slightly higher, at No. 3. Not lower, not for a long time.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

More from the Web

Recommended by