Tour of Sri Lanka 2007                  Captain : Mohammad Ashraful

Bangladesh’s twelfth Test tour.

   (June - July 2007)

Fourth Test-playing tour of Sri Lanka by Bangladesh

   (previous tour 2005-06)

After the 2007 World Cricket Cup Bashar stood down as one-day captain, and Mohammad Ashraful was appointed as Bangladesh's ODI captain. Now he was given the Test captaincy, too, at the age of 22.

Dav Whatmore did not extend his contract as coach following the home series against India, Shaun Williams, who had been in charge of the successful Under-19 side, taking over temporarily.

The South Africans had abandoned their tour of Sri Lanka in August 2006 after a bombing in Colombo blamed on the LTTE, so the Bangladesh team were given extra security throughout the tour. Sri Lanka Cricket expressed gratitude to Bangladesh for coming on tour at such a time.

The Test series was played for a trophy sponsored by the Laqshya group.

The tourists were optimistic after their strong showing in the 2007 World Cup. Yet, despite careful preparations, the Bangladeshis' performance was very disappointing, the tour turning out as unsuccessful as the previous visit to Sri Lanka nearly two years before.  All three Tests were lost by an innings after abject first innings displays. Bangladesh's totals scored in the first innings were 89, 62 and 131.  Sri Lanka also won the one-day series comfortably.

All Bangladesh tours

Previous tour

Sri Lanka 2005-06

Next tour

New Zealand 2007-08

Next tour of Sri Lanka

2012-13

Members of the Test tour party

(15 + 1) 

Opening batsmen:  Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees

Middle-order batsmen  Habibul Bashar, Mehrab Hossain, Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, plus Tushar Imran (reinforcement)

Wicket-keeper/batsman: Khaled Mashud, Mushfiqur Rahim

All-rounder:  Shakib Al Hasan

Slow bowlers:  Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Rafique

Fast bowlers:Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Sharif, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel.

Divisional representation

(National Cricket League)

B  -  Barisal (1)

C  -  Chittagong (0)

D –  Dhaka (6

Kh  -  Khulna (5)

Rj  -  Rajshahi (2

S  -  Sylhet (1)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(25 June 2007) :

 24 yrs  6 months

ODI T20 member of the   one-day/Twenty20 squads.

Test Appearances made before the tour

Tour Officials

Selectors   

Faruque Ahmed (Chief Selector),  Akram Khan,  Athar Ali Khan.

The Ad-hoc Committee extended the period of office for the selectors, which ended on 31 July 2007, for one month before appointing Rafiqul Amin as Chairman, so this was the last tour group that this panel selected.

Selection

On 2 June 2007 the Bangladesh Cricket Board named Mohammad Ashraful as skipper for the tour, with Mashrafe Mortaza as his deputy.

Unavailable:  Tapash Baisya (ankle injury).

Every member of the team was contracted to the Bangladesh Cricket Board except Mohammad Sharif who took Tapash Baisya's place.

Not selected : Enamul Haque, Nazmul Hossain, Junaid Siddique.

Selected for one-day side only :  Aftab Ahmed, Fahrad Reza, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, Tushar Imran.

Tour Party Announced : 4 June 2007.

Time between selection and departure from Bangladesh

   12 days

 (4 June - 16 June)

Travel   

Dhaka  Q Colombo

For a week, the Bangladeshis (except for new vice-captain Mashrafe and spinner Rafique who were taking part in the Afro-Asia Cup in India)made preparations at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium with indoor and outdoor net sessions.  The players went home from the Mirpur camp before reassembling at Zia International Airport on Saturday 16 June 2007. The 15-member team landed in Colombo early next day, 17 June.

Time spent in Sri Lanka

   40 days

(17 June  -  27 July)

On-tour selection panel

Mohammad Ashraful,   Shaun Williams,   Akram Khan.

Reinforcements

Tushar Imran joined the team on Saturday 7 July, in time to play in the third Test. The four other one-day players left Dhaka on 14 July. Shahriar Nafees was named to return home after the Test series but was retained in the ODI squad owing to his good form.

Fixtures/Results

¹  Colts Cricket Club Ground

²  Sinhalese Sports Club

³  P Saravannamuttu Stadium

⁴  Police Park Ground

⁵  R Premadasa Stadium

⊕ (T20)Twenty 20 international

§  one-day international

� not first-class

Time spent in Sri Lanka before First Test: 

  8 days

(17 June - 25 June )

Test appearances on tour

3  -  Habibul Bashar, Javed Omar, Mashrafee Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Rafique, Rajin Saleh, Shahadat Hossain, Shahriar Nafees.

2 -   Mushfiqur Rahim.

1 -   Abdur Razzak, Khaled Mashud, Mehrab Hossain, Mohammad Sharif, Shakib Al Hasan, Syed Rasel.

0  -  none

Match appearances

T  Test match

o  one-day international 

x other match 

⊕ T/20 international

∙  played for opposition

W won  L lost  D drawn

N no result   A abandoned 

u unknown result

Bangladesh’s six previous Test tour results:

in Sri Lanka 2005-06  (2 Tests)

- lost 0-2

 in England 2005  (2 Tests)

- lost 0-2

 in West Indies 2004  (2 Tests)

- lost 0-1

 in Zimbabwe 2003-04  (2 Tests)

- lost 0-1

 in Pakistan 2003 (3 Tests)

- lost 0-3

 in Australia 2003  (2 Tests)

- lost 0-2

Highlights

•  

•   Mohammad Ashraful scored 129 not out in the second Test and had a lengthy 6th wicket partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim (80).

•  

Tour Summary

Return to Bangladesh

Colombo Q  Doha Q Dhaka

Habibul Bashar, Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Sharif and Rajin Saleh were not required for the one-day series and left Colombo on the morning of 16 July.  Shahriar Nafees was expected to return home after the Test series but was retained owing to good form.

Mohammad Rafique returned home early for family reasons.

On 27 July at the end of the series, the team took a Qatar Airways flight via Doha and arrived at Zia International Airport, Dhaka, on the evening of 28 July 2007.

Total time away from Bangladesh

    42days  

(16 June  - 28 July)

Postscript