Sakeb Subhan

Rain has been a constant companion of the Bangladesh team since their fourth World Cup match against Sri Lanka was washed out in Bristol on June 11, and it was a presence in Taunton yesterday during their first practice session since that game.

On Wednesday, Mohammad Amir recorded the best bowling figures of the 2019 World Cup so far when he picked up five wickets for 30 runs against Australia in Taunton. He picked up four of his wickets in the last 10 overs, mixing in slower deliveries, cross-seam

Although the Bangladesh team in Taunton were not involved in a World Cup match yesterday, the result in another match in Taunton would have dampened spirits a bit in the Tigers camp. The match between India and New Zealand in Nottingham was washed out due to persistent rainfall

A precariously placed Bangladesh team reached Taunton yesterday, where they will attempt to get their World Cup campaign back on track by winning their next match against the West Indies on June 17.

When we asked the taxi driver which way the city centre was, he pointed in three different directions -- all to our rear -- as we drove through a roundabout. Our hotel, Days Inn, was quite a way away, or so we thought then, till we called a fellow travelling journalist upon reaching

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the results that hurt the Bangladesh team most are not the comprehensive defeat against England or the narrow one to New Zealand.

As rain lashed the County Ground in Bristol yesterday, which it had for the last week and will for the foreseeable future, it became

Crunch time has come for Bangladesh sooner than they would have liked, and it has as much to do with their opposition in today’s World Cup match as it does with the weather in Bristol.

Bangladesh will be confronted with pressure of a different kind when they take on Sri Lanka today in the World Cup game at the Bristol County Ground. In the five World Cups they have played so far, Bangladesh were not expected to beat Test playing nations other than Zimbabwe

Mahmudullah Riyad was hitting some of the biggest sixes not just straight down the ground against spinners but also square on the leg side against pacers. At one stage he unveiled the switch hit against a spinner. The right-hander did make a connection

Lucky or not, seven is a number that should be tattooed on every Bangladesh supporter’s minds over the next month or so. Because seven is reality and rankings matter. It is the very number that Bangladeshis had rejoiced in less than two years ago at the cut-off stage for the top eight

Bangladesh are the seventh-ranked team and England are ranked number one, so it would have been overly optimistic to expect the Tigers to beat the form team in world cricket.

There was bound to be a time when expectations would meet reality, and for Bangladesh that time was yesterday at the Cardiff Wales Stadium, specifically while England ran up a monstrous 386 for six in their World Cup game. Bangladesh had been riding high, coming into the World Cup

A recurring theme of Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign has been that Shakib Al Hasan has been head and shoulders above his teammates.

On the eve of their first World Cup match against South Africa on June 2, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza talked about the importance of sticking to their own game plan rather than setting a standard set mainly by hosts England of scoring more than 350. They played their own game of building partnerships and accelerating from a solid platform, scored 330 for six and won by 21 runs against South Africa.

Bangladesh are back at the scene of prior conquests, the stadium nestled in the middle of Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Now known as the Cardiff Wales Stadium, it is doubtful whether the former Sophia Gardens -- where they shocked Australia in 2005 and defeated New Zealand

Not far from The Oval, the scene of a stirring win in their World Cup opener against South Africa on Sunday, the Bangladesh team were enjoying a well-deserved rest day at their hotel yesterday.

Certain boxes have to be ticked to know that the Bangladesh team are in good fettle.

As Mustafizur Rahman ran up to bowl to South Africa number 10 Imran Tahir, with the Proteas needing an unlikely 44 runs from the last 16 balls, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s smile from his position at backward point told the story.

There was a subplot heading into yesterday’s World Cup match between Bangladesh and South Africa at The Oval. Two contrasting cricketing cultures were going to clash on neutral territory, with each winning series against the other in their own backyards over the last four-year cycle.