Hasan, Khaled write a new chapter in county cricket

County cricket is under way at Derby Cricket Ground. By the lunch interval against Kent, Derbyshire had lost four wickets for 89 runs on the first day's play on Tuesday. The scoreboard showed that the two bowlers who had taken two wickets each were both from Bangladesh—Hasan Mahmud and Khaled Ahmed.

Bangladesh had no representation in county cricket’s pace-bowling ranks even three months ago. Hasan Mahmud started the journey last June, playing two matches for Kent that month. He attracted considerable attention at the time.

Hasan later travelled to Australia and was named Player of the Match in the Darwin Test, when his county experience once again became a talking point. Hasan himself said that his experience in county cricket had helped him in Darwin.

After Hasan Mahmud, another Bangladesh pace bowler, Khaled Ahmed, made his county debut for Kent yesterday, Tuesday. Even in the era of thriving franchise cricket, county cricket retains a distinct prestige because of its history and tradition.

At one point, the English county for which a star cricketer played was also an integral part of his identity as a player.

At such a prestigious level, both of Kent’s overseas players are Bangladeshi—and both are pace bowlers. Hasan and Khaled appear to be writing a new chapter for Bangladesh’s pace bowling in county cricket.

Hasan and Khaled shared seven of Derbyshire’s wickets yesterday, Tuesday. Hasan took four wickets for 30 runs, while Khaled claimed three for 73.

Derbyshire were eventually bowled out for exactly 300. It was almost a new advertisement for Bangladesh’s pace bowling on Derby’s home ground.

Bangladesh’s pace-bowling coach Talha Zubair also expressed his excitement while discussing Hasan and Khaled.

He said, “No country has a richer culture of long-form cricket than England. If they can learn from this culture, it will help our cricket in many ways.”

Shakib Al Hasan was the first Bangladeshi cricketer to experience the “rich culture” of English cricket. However, that was almost a decade and a half ago. A long gap followed, until Hasan Mahmud ended it by taking the field for Kent last June.

Hasan has not merely registered his name in county cricket with Kent; he has also demonstrated his ability. He has been troubling batsmen by pitching the ball outside off stump and generating movement back into them, while also beating the stumps.

At times, his movement into the batsman has resulted in leg-before-wicket dismissals. Before yesterday, Tuesday’s match, Hasan had already taken 19 wickets in just three matches.

Talha could already tell that Hasan knew the formula for succeeding in county cricket. He said, “Considering Hasan’s wrist position, head position and the way he has developed his skills, England offers ideal conditions for his bowling. You get seam movement, and because they play with the Dukes ball, it swings throughout the day.”

English conditions and bowling with the Dukes ball make county cricket seem like heaven for Hasan, according to former Bangladesh pace bowler Talha. He said, “It is almost like heaven for bowlers like Hasan.”

And Kent could hardly be less excited to have Hasan. Alongside Khaled, he has become the club’s Facebook page cover star, while Kent has also featured his image in the thumbnail for the live match stream on YouTube.

Kent’s admiration for Hasan Mahmud also helped open the door to county cricket for Bangladesh’s left-arm pace bowler Shoriful Islam.

However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) did not issue him a no-objection certificate (NOC) because he had only recently returned from injury. The opportunity then came to Khaled, who began his county journey yesterday, Tuesday.

Khaled did not make the playing XI for either of Bangladesh’s two Tests during the tour of Australia. That did not stop him from preparing himself for county cricket in the national team’s nets in Darwin and Mackay.

Watching him from the bowling end, Talha believes that Khaled, who is currently in his “best rhythm”, should do “very well” wherever he plays.

If the expectations are met, Bangladesh cricket will have even more reason to take pride in its pace bowling, led by two names—Hasan Mahmud and Khaled Ahmed.