Bangladesh tour of Ireland (2023)

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Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has issued a challenge to his players by declaring spots are still up for grabs in his side for this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India.

The Asian side have already qualified for this year's 50-over showcase and get the chance to hone their skills further during upcoming series against Ireland and Afghanistan.

Bangladesh's first assignment is three ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League matches against Ireland this week and the Tigers will be without a host of key players for the trio of games in Chelmsford.

Key pacer Taskin Ahmed is sidelined through injury and experienced batter Mahmud Ullah is being rested, with a host of fringe players being trialled ahead of the World Cup that is scheduled to take place in India later in the year.

Tamim knows competition for places is healthy among his squad and said there was still plenty to play out before Bangladesh chooses their squad for the World Cup.

"There are no particular spots that, I can guarantee, are already fixed," Tamim boldly declared.

"We will play this series and then the next one in different conditions and the best possible team will go (to the World Cup).

"For now, whoever has gotten the opportunity has done well, for instance, Towhid Hridoy.

"It's too early to comment but the one series he played in, he has done exceptionally well."

Bangladesh's form during the Super League has been superior to that of Ireland's, with Tamim's charges sitting fourth in the standings courtesy of 13 victories from the 21 ODI matches they have contested.

ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League – Standings
They can rise above England and India and finish as high as second on the standings with a clean sweep over Ireland, but Tamim knows the European side will be difficult to beat in conditions they will be more accustomed to.

"I don't want to use the word favourites a lot," Tamim noted.

"We came here to play good cricket and win games but in cricket, you can't say anything beforehand in terms of what will happen. They are a good team in these conditions and they are quite familiar with the conditions. We hope that it will be a good and competitive series."

Bangladesh squad to play Ireland: Tamim Iqbal (c), Litton Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury

Schedule:

9 May: 1st ODI, Chelmsford
12 May: 2nd ODI, Chelmsford
14 May: 3rd ODI, Chelmsford

 

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Andrew Balbirnie says Ireland's sole focus is on the opening ODI against Bangladesh as they aim for a 3-0 win to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

The skipper will lead out his side at Chelmsford on Tuesday knowing they need a whitewash to retain hope of reaching next month's World Cup Qualifier.

He said: "We're a confident team but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves.

"We'll just have to think about winning the first game and then work on the second match."

A 3-0 victory may not even be enough for the Irish as they aim to pip South Africa to the final qualifying spot to make the World Cup in India later this year.

A whitewash would take them level on points with the Proteas and they must better their run-rate to finish eighth in the World Cup Super League.

It is a tall order for Balbirnie's team after losing 2-0 to Bangladesh in their ODI series in Sylhet two months ago, while the Tigers beat the Irish by six wickets when they met in Dublin in 2019.

Ireland's bowling attack is bolstered by the return of paceman Josh Little following his successful maiden Indian Premier League campaign with Gujarat Titans.

Balbirnie, 32, added: "Bangladesh are a very experienced team and particularly with the bat. They know the game inside out and they've obviously been very successful in their own conditions playing ODI cricket.

"They wouldn't have played too much in England apart from the 2019 World Cup, and we played them in the same year. They're a well-run team and they'll want to come here and whitewash us. We've got to make sure we can stop that and play some pretty good cricket doing that.

"Josh's return is a huge boost - he has become a world-class operator and we're very grateful to have him back in the squad for these games.

"He's had a really good time of it in the IPL so I'm sure he will do when he goes back. It's a great boost for us as a group and also the bowlers, who will learn from him. He can have a good week performance-wise and have an impact for us.

"Over the years we've produced pretty good performances and standout performances, but stringing three in a row has been tough for us - we haven't done that. We know how hard it will be this week to do it."

Tuesday's opener at the Essex venue is followed by games on Friday and Sunday.

BBC

 

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Ireland vs Bangladesh, 1st ODI

Ireland have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal(c), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain

Ireland (Playing XI): Paul Stirling, Stephen Doheny, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Graham Hume

 

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Ireland done well - know these conditions better than BD I feel

BAN 189/6 (39.2) CRR: 4.81

 

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Pretty doable target for Ireland this

BAN 246/9 (50)
IRE 7/0 (2.2) CRR: 3 REQ: 5.03
Ireland need 240 runs

 

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Rain puts an end to the game

BAN 246/9 (50)

IRE 65/3 (16.3)

No result (due to rain)

 

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One-day international: Ireland v Bangladesh
Bangladesh 246-9: Mushfiqur 61, Shanto 44, Hridoy 27, Mehidy 27; Little 3-61, Hume 2-32
Ireland 65-3 (16.3 overs): Tector 21 not out; Taijul 1-5
Match abandoned with no result

A washout in the opening one-day international between Ireland and Bangladesh saw South Africa pip Ireland to the final automatic World Cup spot.

Tuesday's match in Chelmsford was abandoned due to rain with Ireland on 63-3 after 16.3 overs in response to 246-9 from Bangladesh.

Ireland needed to win this ODI series 3-0 to retain hope of securing World Cup qualification through this route, but will still have one more chance.

Bangladesh have already qualified.

With two more spots for the World Cup in India later this year yet to be decided, Ireland can still make it through a 10-team qualifying tournament in June-July in Zimbabwe.

Other teams involved in the qualifier include two former champions, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

The first spots in the 10-team World Cup go to the top eight finishers of the WCSL, a competition that has run over the last three years.

Cricket Ireland relocated this week's ODI games from its own home venues to Essex in the hope of minimising the potential impact of the weather, but saw its worst fears realised by heavy showers.

Just 16.3 overs were possible in the second innings, with a minimum of 20 needed to achieve a result on Duckworth Lewis Stern.

Left-armer Josh Little, who jetted back from the Indian Premier League to take part in the series, took 3-61 on his return to Irish colours including opener Litton Das and top-scorer Mushfiqur Rahim.

Graham Hume excelled with figures of 2-32 from his 10 overs and Mark Adair also claimed 2-44.

Bangladesh looked vulnerable at the halfway stage but made a strong start with the new ball, the dangerous Paul Stirling falling to Shoriful Islam for 15 and captain Andy Balbirnie bowled by Hasan Mahmud with just five to his name.

Stephen Doheny and Harry Tector then added 36 for the third wicket before the former was caught and bowled by Taijul Islam just before the clouds opened.

Play never looked likely to resume and the result was confirmed shortly after 19:00. The second game takes place at the same ground on Friday.

BBC

 

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Looks like another rained off game...

Ireland vs Bangladesh, 2nd ODI

10:51 Local Time, 09:51 GMT: More covers being brought on. Definitely a delayed toss and delayed start for sure.

 

[sweep_shot]

Looks like another rained off game...

Ireland vs Bangladesh, 2nd ODI

10:51 Local Time, 09:51 GMT: More covers being brought on. Definitely a delayed toss and delayed start for sure.

Game is starting now.

 

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Ireland vs Bangladesh, 2nd ODI

Bangladesh have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal(c), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain

Ireland (Playing XI): Stephen Doheny, Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Graham Hume

Andy Balbirnie | Ireland captain: Bit overcast and the wicket was under covers. We created chances with the ball, we could've probably bowled even better and had them in a worse position. Same team.

Tamim Iqbal | Bangladesh captain: We'll bowl first. I thought we could have batted better in the previous game, it was a challenging wicket but we lost wickets at the wrong times. Very happy with the bowling performance, thought it could've been a very interesting game if we got a couple more overs. Got some good preparations in during the break, looking forward to today.

 

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IRE 30/2 (9.5) CRR: 3.05
Match reduced to 45 overs due to rain

Would be interesting if Ireland win this game!

 

[Adijazz1706]

320 to get in 45 overs, unlikely for Bangladesh I feel

 

[boomboomcheema]

Bangladesh looking favorites now.

 

[Saj]

Bangladesh claimed a thrilling three-wicket win over Ireland despite a record-breaking, career-best hundred for Harry Tector.

He drove Ireland past 300, but a century in response from Najmul Hossain Shanto allowed the Tigers to complete victory in a nervy finish.

Rain in the morning delayed the toss until 12.30pm, with the game reduced to 45 overs a side, and Ireland bounced back from an early wobble to post an imposing total.

Coming in at 16-2 after both openers fell early, Tector stitched a recovery stand with Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie, and while wickets fell regularly through the middle overs, he found a willing ally in George Dockrell to provide a turbo-charged finish.

The cold, cloudy conditions through the day made batting early on no straightforward task, and Hasan Mahmud made in-roads with the new ball. Paul Stirling inside-edged behind, given out on review, while Stephen Doheny sliced a thick edge to point.

Ireland regrouped, with Balbirnie content to play the supporting role as Tector took charge. Each began quietly, inching the score carefully to 31-2 after 11 overs. A four and six in the same Shoriful Islam over from Tector wrestled the initiative back somewhat, but it was three sixes in four balls off Taijul Islam that truly put Ireland back in charge. The third and biggest of those, walloped over deep mid-wicket, brought up Tector’s half-century off 54 balls.

Balbirnie fell soon after, edging Shoriful behind, but Lorcan Tucker immediately looked to up the ante. He stroked his third ball through the off-side, found the fence again two balls later, and crashed another boundary in the next over. One ball after that he fell, another attacking stroke bringing his downfall as he picked out deep square, and while Tector continued to make merry, smashing Shoriful out of the ground, the departure of Curtis Campher for eight, pinned lbw by Taijul, suggested another rebuild might be needed.

Instead, Tector and Dockrell put on a rollicking century stand, matching each other stroke for stroke and pushing the Ireland total skyward. Tector brought up his fourth ODI century with a single before smashing consecutive sixes off Taijul. Dockrell then struck consecutive sixes in the next over, adding another maximum a few deliveries later for good measure.

Tector fell a ball after crunching his tenth six - a record for Ireland in an ODI innings - and departed to an ovation with a career-best 140 to his name. Dockrell matched his own top score for Ireland, also bringing up 1,000 ODI runs during his innings, while Mark Adair got in on the act with two late sixes as Ireland ended on 319-6.

It looked a significant score, though the small playing area and slick conditions presented a challenge to the bowlers. Ireland started their effort in the field strongly, with Adair carrying his form with the bat into his opening spell, Tamim Iqbal chipping to square leg in the fourth over.

Having kept Bangladesh to nine runs in the first four overs, a counter-attack followed, with wickets not deterring the tourists. Litton Das crunched Josh Little for four and six before being nicked off by Graham Hume, and Shakib Al Hasan stroked five boundaries in his 26 before spooning a catch off Campher to cover.

That brought Towhid Hridoy to the crease, and he and Shanto put together the partnership that took the game away from Ireland. Their stand of 131 in 17 overs kept the required rate in check, with each hitting three sixes. When Hridoy pumped Hume for 10 runs in two balls and Shanto brought up a maiden ODI hundred soon after, it seemed as if Bangladesh might canter home. But Ireland battled back, to their credit, ensuring the sizeable crowd were treated to a tense finish.

In the same over as Shanto’s century moment, Dockrell brought up a milestone of his own, Hridoy holing out to bring up his 300th wicket for Ireland across formats. Shanto deposited Campher over the sightscreen, but then pulled him to Tector in the deep, holding on despite almost slipping as the ball flew towards him.

With two new batters in, Ireland had hope. A sparky cameo from Mehidy Hasan Miraz was ended by Dockrell, a back-foot lbw shown to be just clipping on review, and from there, the game tightened significantly as boundaries dried up.

Ireland thought they had Mushfiqur Rahim soon after, only for the tightest of run-out calls to save him. Had Zing bails been in operation, he may have been dismissed after being sent back by Taijul, but the TV umpire couldn’t confirm if either bail was removed by the time he regained his ground. With a run a ball needed, Josh Little pinned Taijul lbw before Shoriful found four straight down the ground. The final over arrived with five runs needed, and two dot balls ratcheted up the tension further. Adair then erred, but it looked as if Mushfiqur had too. A high full toss was pulled straight to the fielder in the deep, and the ground held its breath.

However, after an umpire review, the ball was deemed too high, with a no ball and a free hit the result instead. Mushfiqur retained the strike, the batters having not crossed before the ball was caught, and he audaciously scooped the extra delivery to the rope to spark raucous scenes.

The third and final ODI of the series, and the last game of Ireland’s Cricket World Cup Super League campaign, takes place on Sunday, 14 May at the same venue.

MATCH SUMMARY

Ireland v Bangladesh, 2nd ODI, County Ground, Chelmsford, 12 May 2023

Ireland 319-6 (45 overs; Harry Tector 140, George Dockrell 74*; Hasun Mahmud 2-48)

Bangladesh 320-7 (44.3 overs; Najmul Hossain Shanto 117, Towhid Hridoy 68; Curtis Campher 2-37)

Bangladesh won by three wickets with three balls remaining

 

[Saj]

What a win for Bangladesh.

To score 320 in under 45 overs was a magnificent effort.

 

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Ireland vs Bangladesh, 3rd ODI

Ireland have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

Ireland (Playing XI): Stephen Doheny, Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Craig Young, Joshua Little

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal(c), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Rony Talukdar, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain

 

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BAN 186/5 (33.4) CRR: 5.52

Scoring rate is good but too many wickets lost - 250 looks like a stretch.

 

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Bangladesh slipped from 261 for 5 to 274 all-out and left 7 balls unused.

Tamim Iqbal was dropped second ball and he prospered to make 69, but the visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Litton Das made 35, so did Najmul Shanto, Miraz made 37 and Rahim made 45, but none of them converted their starts into bigger knocks and then the tail faded away rather easily, especially after Rahim's dismissal in the 46th over.

Four wickets for the impressive Adair and two each for both spinners. Ireland made 319 off 45 overs in the last game, can they chase down 275 and level the series at 1-1?

Well so far by the looks of it - could well be the case! Just need to have the wickets in hand as well

BAN 274 (48.5)
IRE 165/3 (34.4) CRR: 4.76 REQ: 7.17
Ireland need 110 runs in 92 balls

 

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Despite half-centuries from Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker, along with a four-wicket haul from Mark Adair, Ireland Men fell agonisingly four runs short as Bangladesh prevailed in a topsy-turvy series finale at Chelmsford. A Mustafizur Rahman death bowling masterclass stopped Ireland in their tracks just as they looked to have a chase of 275 under their control.

On a gloomy morning at Chelmsford, Balbirnie won the toss and chose to bowl first. Ireland’s new ball pair of Josh Little and Adair were threatening from the outset. Adair had a close lbw shout off Rony Tadulkar turned down off his sixth ball shortly before Little, who took a little longer than Adair to find his radar, extracted an edge from the bat of Tamim Iqbal only to see Balbirnie shell the chance at slip.

Adair deservedly made an early breakthrough in his second over after Tadulkar nicked an attempted expansive heave through to Tucker behind the stumps. Little created chances at the other end but with little reward, with Bangladesh number three Najmul Hossain Shanto twice edging Little to the boundary in his first seven balls at the crease.

The diminutive left-hander soon found his rhythm, strumming elegant boundaries off both of Ireland’s opening bowlers. Shanto raced to 35 off 31 deliveries before he was dismissed by Craig Young – returning to the Ireland side in place of Graham Hume – courtesy of a smart catch by Balbirnie at second slip.

Tamim and Litton Das continued to score briskly despite the Bangladesh captain being unusually starved of the strike, facing just 28 balls in the first 16 overs of the match. At that point, Bangladesh were 98-2 and on course for a score in excess of 300.

Their momentum was halted somewhat by the off-spin of Andy McBrine. Despite Das hitting him for six over long-on early in his spell, McBrine was able to offer control conceding just 16 runs from his opening four overs. He was rewarded with the wicket of the dangerous Das who was caught by Adair at mid-off.

Tamim passed 50 but Bangladesh’s scoring rate had started to slow down. Towhid Hridoy came and went, falling to the final delivery of George Dockrell’s first over to bring the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim into the game. Ireland continued to make inroads at regular intervals; Tamim was Dockrell’s second victim, falling for 69, and while Rahim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz put on a fifty-run partnership for the sixth wicket, it wasn’t at a hurtling pace.

At 255-5 after 45 overs, Bangladesh once more briefly threatened to post a total in the region of 300 but McBrine, and in particular Adair put paid to that idea, ensuring that Bangladesh were bowled out for 274 with seven balls of the innings remaining. Adair finished with figures of 4-40; it was the third time that he’d taken a four-wicket haul for Ireland in ODI cricket.

The Ireland chase started slowly. There was no boundary in the opening four overs as Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman both started well with the ball. Stephen Doheny fell to Rahman for five, edging one through to Litton Das at second slip off a ball that just angled away from him. Balbirnie and Stirling quietly picked up the scoring, always keeping the required run rate within reach.

Stirling unleashed a succession of brutal hits that raced away to the fence while Balbirnie ticked the score along at a more than decent rate. Both batters passed fifty as they shared their seventh century partnership in ODI cricket, breaking the Irish record for the most 100-run stands in the format previously held by Stirling and William Porterfield.

Unfortunately for Ireland, like with Tamim earlier in the contest, both Stirling and Balbirnie fell shortly after reaching their landmarks leaving Harry Tector, fresh from scoring a career-best 140 on Friday, and Lorcan Tucker to take over the mantle.

Tector’s intent was on display for all to see earlier in his innings, taking the attack to Mehidy by hitting him for six over extra cover after the Bangladesh off-spinner had conceded his runs at less than three per over up until that point.

With 14 overs to go, Ireland still had seven wickets remaining, but the asking rate had climbed to above seven runs per over. Tector and Tucker then went up another gear, taking 21 runs off Mrittunjoy Chowdhury’s seventh over and then after seeing through another quiet over from Mehidy, another 11 runs from Ebadot Hossain’s first over back into the attack.

62 runs were needed from the final 10 with the set pair of Tucker and Tector at the crease. Tector’s second six, a mighty blow off a slower delivery from Ebadot, took the asking rate below a run a ball with nine overs remaining – Ireland were in control of the contest.

The game’s momentum then swung once more after Tamim made the inspired decision to introduce Shanto, a man who had previously never taken a wicket in international cricket, into the attack at the business end of the run chase. Shanto removed Tector for 45 with his fifth delivery thanks to an excellent catch from Das in the deep.

The loss of Tector was then compounded by Rahman’s dismissal of Curtis Campher the following over, this time Tamim taking a composed high catch. Rahman continued to demonstrate his death bowling prowess removing Dockrell and then Tucker for exactly fifty to suck all the momentum out of the Ireland run chase. He finished with figures of 10-1-44-4 as Ireland ultimately fell four runs short, with runs hard to come by towards the end of their innings, in a not dissimilar manner to Bangladesh’s earlier in the day, despite some lusty blows from Adair that took the contest to its final over. Defeat for Ireland means that Bangladesh take the series 2-0, but despite losing the series, the performance by Ireland in this series was much improved from when in Bangladesh earlier in the year.

Next up for Ireland is a three-day game back in Essex at the end of the month before a trip to Lord’s to face England in June.

Ireland v Bangladesh, 3rd ODI, County Ground, Chelmsford, 14 May 2023

Bangladesh 274 (48.5 overs; Tamim Iqbal 69; Mark Adair 4-40)
Ireland 270-9 (50 overs; Paul Stirling 60, Andy Balbirnie 53, Lorcan Tucker 50; Mustafizur Rahman 4-44)

Bangladesh won by four runs