OUT OF ORDER
Sabbir Rahman's four innings in the just-concluded Test series against Australia read 0, 22, 66 and 24. In both innings of the second Test which Bangladesh lost on the fourth day on Wednesday, Sabbir played crucial knocks that ended in what may fairly be called injudicious shots. With judgement at a premium in Bangladesh's batting, those shot selections may have warranted criticism, but two factors taken together helped Sabbir avoid a backlash.
The first one is the kind of batsman Sabbir is. He oozes aggression and currently, with his temperament not quite up to scratch, the best use that can be gotten out of him lie in innings where he makes the most of his time in the middle by maximising the runs on offer. The second one is his batting position. Now, Sabbir has batted at four, six, seven and eight in his short career so far, but as he said following his 66 on the first day in Chittagong, seven is where he is comfortable and can best execute his role.
When a batsman walks out at number seven in a Test, he is mostly faced with one of two scenarios -- the team have suffered a collapse or they are in a situation ranging from the reasonable to the strong, and in both scenarios a Sabbir innings has good value.
Unfortunately for Bangladesh, that is the only batting order decision they got right in this series -- Shakib Al Hasan's spot at number five and Tamim Iqbal's as an opener are two others, but they were not subject to change in this series. All the other positions in the batting order are contentious, none more so than Tamim's opening partner and the number three position, occupied currently by Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes respectively. Technique and skill can be developed over time, but a stable batting order can be implemented now. More than other formats, every batting position in Tests becomes a specialist one as batsmen -- especially in the top six -- have to play a certain kind of innings not just for 10 or 15 overs, but for a whole day or more at times.
That is why before the series Imrul was not too happy about his designated role; as a career opener and one half of the country's most successful opening pair, he said he did not know what to do with himself when waiting for the first wicket to fall. That restlessness showed in his dismissals in the series during which he scored 21 runs in four innings with a highest score of 15. The reason he has been batting at number three is that Soumya Sarkar continues to play as the first-choice opener, a position he is yet to justify both in terms of technique and temperament.
That leaves the team with three openers, no number three, a musical chairs situation at number four with skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Imrul, previous number three Mominul Haque and most recently Nasir Hossain all occupying the spot since the England series last October. Mushfiqur is Bangladesh's best-equipped Test batsman and should bat higher up than at six where during three of his four innings this series, he walked in having to do damage control instead of setting the game up. That is as much a matter for Mushfiqur, who would presumably have to give up the keeping gloves to sustain performance up the order, as it is for the team management.
Meanwhile Mominul, returning to the team in the second Test against Australia, batted at four in the first dig and eight in the second just so that Nasir could break up the procession of left-handers against off-spinner Nathan Lyon. The ploy did not work, and two players who could have been more valuable in their accustomed positions were sacrificed at the most crucial time.
A batting order made up mostly of players unaccustomed to the situation they are walking into can hardly be expected to respond competently to crises such as the second innings in Chittagong. Being a home series, the two Tests were the perfect opportunity to settle the order and give the players confidence in their roles. Unfortunately, the team will shortly be heading to the hostile conditions of South Africa with all but two players in the top six unsure of their functions.
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