Bangladesh seek rebirth of spirit

The Big Picture

This time last week, England's return to Chittagong was being viewed with the sort of FA Cup-style angst that accompanied Arsenal on their recent trip to Leyton Orient. On paper it was clearly a mismatch, with England having emerged victorious in all but one of their 22 previous fixtures, in all three formats of the game. However, in light of their calamitous three-wicket defeat against Ireland, the contest was being earmarked as a make-or-break moment in England's campaign. Another slip-up here, and the quarter-finals would surely be out of reach.

That, however, was before two extraordinary results redressed the shift towards Minnow Power in a remarkably unpredictable Group B. First came Bangladesh's capitulation to 58 all out at the hands of West Indies in Dhaka, as a game that could have hoisted them right into the reckoning for the knock-outs instead sent the team's morale spiralling, with the nation's mood following suit amid dark and reprehensible scenes outside the stadium.

Then, two days later, came England's incredible comeback against South Africa in Chennai, as the team somehow found the will to defend a limp total of 171, with all ten of South Africa's wickets tumbling for 102 in a thrilling six-run victory. The net effect of those two results has been to draw much of the sting from this Chittagong contest. It's certainly not out of the question for Bangladesh to progress to the next stage, especially with Netherlands among their remaining opponents. But right when it most matters, their bubble of optimism has been cruelly pricked, while at the same time, the fear of embarrassment that might have undermined England's approach has been significantly eased by their dispatching of one of the form teams of the tournament.

Nevertheless, these two teams know each other inside-out, with the first half of 2010 including four Tests and six ODIs, split home and away - and the shorter the format, the smaller the gulf between the teams. Bangladesh could and should have claimed the second ODI in Dhaka 12 months ago, only for a nerveless Eoin Morgan to seal a two-wicket victory with his maiden England century. Then at Bristol in July, the Tigers finally pounced, with Shafiul Islam's last-over dismissal securing an epic five-run victory.

The perverse logic of England's campaign also helps to fuel the prospect of an upset. At some stage, surely, they are going to have to break the cycle of underachievement whenever they've been burdened with the favourites' tag, but having been given extraordinarily close shaves by Canada in a warm-up match and then by Netherlands in their Nagpur opener, the Ireland defeat was an accident waiting to happen. Thrice bitten, four times shy? You'd assume they'd have to learn sometime.

Following that abominable effort against West Indies, Bangladesh will doubtless feel liberated with their expectations back at rock-bottom. The intervening days have been devoted to speculation about Shakib's position as captain, with a media furore accompanying a photo apparently showing him gesturing to the crowd during the post-match presentations at Mirpur. At times such as these, the safest place is often the middle of a cricket pitch. A decent start and a pumped-up crowd, and who knows what could be possible.