A mad scoop & a crazy swipe

Amid the euphoria of Bangladesh's ascension to the Asia Cup T20 final there was the less auspicious development of star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan being fined half his match fee and receiving an official reprimand for breaching Level 1 of the International Cricket Council's (ICC's) code of conduct during the five-wicket victory over Pakistan on Wednesday.

In the 18th over of Bangladesh's chase Shakib was bowled by Mohammad Amir when he missed a scoop shot and his frustration boiled over as he spun around and took a wild swing at the stumps. Shakib apologised to the square leg umpire immediately. He was found guilty of breaching article 2.1.8 of relating to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match", and he accepted the sanctions imposed by the match referee.

Apart from the impulsive swipe, the action that preceded it may cause Bangladesh fans more concern. Presumably he was the source of his own frustration, and in that respect it was justified. His wicket at that stage in the match could well have robbed Bangladesh of a landmark win if skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mahmudullah Riyad had not come to the rescue. More importantly, the manner of his dismissal -- trying to play a scoop against a fast bowler adept at bowling lethal yorkers -- was a poor one, especially coming from the side's most experienced T20 player.

Mashrafe said after the match that it was a shot Shakib played and practised well, but the feeling remains that if the Tigers went on to lose the game the finger of blame would be pointed at Shakib. The oft-repeated sporting cliché states that it is important to focus on processes rather than results. In that regard one would hope that Shakib, who is working his way back into form, sees his shot selection in that light -- separate from the joyous outcome of the match.

The shot seems even more ill-advised considering what happened in the previous over. He tried the scoop against Mohammad Irfan and the ball thudded into the pad which was fortunately outside the line of the stumps, but bat was nowhere near the ball. A calmer mind, which has come to be expected of Shakib, would have shelved the shot then and not repeated it against a bowler who not long ago pegged back the middle stump of an in-form Soumya Sarkar.