I am sorry: Ashraful

Bangladesh paceman Mashrafe Bin Mortaza exults after capturing the prized scalp of New Zealand opener Brendon McCullum (behind) during the third and final ODI at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium on Tuesday.Photo: Anisur Rahman

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful apologised for playing an ill-timed scoop shot which he believed turned the tide away from the home side and ultimately cost them the three-match one-day series against New Zealand at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium yesterday.
Both the Tigers skipper and coach Jamie Siddons didn't mince their words when they pointed out 'poor batting' as the main reason behind the 79-run defeat in the series deciding match in the port city.
After a brilliant seven-wicket victory in the first game, Bangladesh batsmen's pathetic show squandered an opportunity to win a memorable series as New Zealand clinched it 2-1.
“Yes you can raise question about my responsibility because I played a bad shot at the wrong time. I love to play this shot (scoop) but I could have played it later in my innings. I am really sorry for playing a bad shot,” said Ashraful, who picked a good length Jacob Oram ball only to see his stumps dislodged and put his team in real trouble with the scoreboard reading 57 for four.
For another occasion the bowlers created a chance for the batters to make history of registering a series victory against a top Test-playing nation other than Zimbabwe as both captain and coach admitted that 250 runs, despite a brilliant century by Ross Taylor who made 103 off 119 balls that featured five fours and four sixes, was an achievable target for them considering the fact that the wicket was much better than Mirpur.
“It was a good toss to lose and once again our bowlers did a tremendous job to restrict New Zealand for 249 runs. I think we have had a great chance to win the match after yet another impressive bowling and fielding in this kind of pitch and outfield but our other department (batting) continued their poor showing to let themselves down,” said Ashraful, who made eight runs after hitting an unbeaten half-century and 40 in the first two games.
“I think the dismissals of Shakib (Al Hasan) and me were the turning point of the match because we couldn't capitalise on a good start,” said a disappointed Bangladesh skipper.
Siddons seemed to be more frustrated with the lost opportunities and it had hardly seen before the way Bangladesh coach expressed his disappointment during the post-match briefing.
“We lost two opportunities. It's really very disappointing the way we let down the chances. The batting was disciplined in the first 10 overs but consistency is still a far cry for us and we should have found the solution,” said the frustrated Australian.
It was a lucky start for the Tigers as local boy Tamim Iqbal survived in the very first ball of the innings when match hero Taylor spilled a catch at slip and the dashing left-hander looked to capitalise on his luck but spinner Jeetan Patel stopped him for 35 runs which came from 39 deliveries with the help of five boundaries.
After Tamim's dismissal, Bangladesh lost five wickets for 49 runs before Nayeem Islam, who made 46 runs in 106 balls, and Abdur Razzak added 46 runs for the eighth wicket to reduce the margin of the defeat.
“The wicket was fine though it's a little bit slow but it's unacceptable the way we batted in the match. Senior players should take the responsibility. Ash (Mohammad Ashraful) and Shakib failed to do their job. Shakib made the same mistake which is unacceptable,” said the shaven headed coach.
There was talking prior to the match that only batsmen can give Bangladesh a memorable series victory but the harsh reality is that things haven't changed that much.