Is this the start of ‘HathuruBall’?
Bangladesh won against Afghanistan by 546 runs in the one-off Test in Dhaka on Saturday.
Although this statement is factually correct, it doesn’t provide the full picture. In reality, the Tigers didn’t just defeat Afghanistan, they absolutely decimated the visitors.
Najmul Hossain Shanto hit a century in both innings, Mominul Haque also notched up his 12th Test ton while Zakir Hasan, Liton Das also scored fifties.
In the bowling department, the Bangladesh pacers tormented the Afghan batters, taking 14 wickets in total, the highest collective return for a Bangladeshi pace attack in a Test match.
All in all, the Afghanistan side was up against a completely different Bangladesh team then the one they had defeated by 224 runs in Chattogram back in 2019.
The Tigers were calculative with their approach and ruthless in execution. As if they didn’t just want to defeat Afghanistan, they wanted to make a statement.
This match was a continuation from the last Test the Tiger’s played, which was against Ireland in Dhaka. In both the Tests, the visiting team stood a chance inside the Tiger’s den.
Words like aggressive, calculative, positive can be used to describe this new approach in Tests from Bangladesh. But the word that captures it the best and goes in line with the current trend in Test cricket is ‘HathuruBall’.
From ‘BazBall’ to ‘HathuruBall’
‘BazBall’ was a term cricket website ESPNCricinfo’s UK editor Andrew Miller casually came up with during a podcast while discussing Brendan ‘Buzz’ McCullum becoming England’s new coach in Test cricket. In a short time, ‘BazBall’ has become a part of cricket’s vernacular.
The term ‘BazBall’ symbolizes the ultra-aggressive and overtly positive approach of the England cricket team in Tests since McCullum became their coach.
This playing style has been proven to be highly successful as since McCullum’s arrival and Ben Stokes appointment as the England captain, the Three Lions have won 10 Tests out of 12.
To put this into perspective, before the England team had the Kiwi duo as coach and captain, they had won just two out of 18 Tests and were going through one of the leanest patches in their storied cricket history.
But what exactly is ‘BazBall’?
It’s a style of play where every player in the team is backed to the tilt, players are encouraged to play the shots they would’ve otherwise reserved for shorter formats, all sorts of negative talks are strictly prohibited, every small contribution from the team members are celebrated and above all, every member has a winning at all costs mentality instilled in them.
But that’s ‘BazBall’. What about ‘HathuruBall’?
The beginnings of ‘HathuruBall’
The success of ‘BazBall’ has been a huge talking point in cricket for over a year. Many are viewing ‘BazBall’ as a playing style that will revolutionize Test cricket while the others are waiting for the bubble to burst.
The blueprint of ‘BazBall’ is out there in the open for everybody to see. So, the question is why isn’t every team adopting this playing approach?
The answer is that not every team has the talent pool that England possesses.
For a country like Bangladesh, emulating England’s style of play is impossible as they don’t have a long list of big hitters that the English have neither do the conditions in Bangladesh support that style of play.
So, the task for the current Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Test captain Shakib Al Hasan is to come up with an approach which both suits their style and also increases the probability of victory.
Since Hathurusingha returned as the head coach, Bangladesh have played just two Tests, one against Ireland and the other against Afghanistan.
Bangladesh were the favourites to win those matches and as expected, the Tigers came out victorious.
However, the style of cricket Bangladesh played in both those matches was different to what they usually do in Tests.
There were two big differences– Bangladesh pace battery and their scoring rate.
Bangladesh’s fast bowling revolution began under the supervision of former head coach Russel Domingo, former fast bowling coach Otis Gibson and ex-Test captain Mominul Haque.
Although, none of them are any longer in those positions, their efforts have helped Bangladesh develop a group of fast bowlers that can test any batting unit in red-ball cricket.
This trend continued under Hathurusingha as well as Bangladesh went with three pacers against Ireland and Afghanistan, which was a refreshing change from their tendency of packing the team with spinners in home Tests.
However, the biggest change under the Sri Lankan coach has been the significantly higher strike rate.
Against Ireland, Bangladesh’s run rate in the first innings was over 4.50 and in the second innings it was in excess of 5.00.
In the Afghanistan Test the batters continued with that approach, scoring at 4.44 and 5.31 runs per over in the first and second innings respectively.
Although two Tests are a very small sample size and Afghanistan and Ireland are not the most high calibre oppositions, the two matches indicate what Bangladesh’s approach will be in Tests moving forward.
Bangladesh will try and produce better pitches, score runs quickly, pick three pacers and give their potent fast bowlers a chance to be at their menacing best.
So, higher scoring rate and emphasis on pace, that’s going to be the key to ‘HathuruBall’.
Now, expecting ‘HathuruBall’ to deliver the same level of success for Bangladesh as ‘BazBall’ has done for England, is unrealistic.
But if Bangladesh can continue dominating weaker Test teams at home and give a better fight to stronger teams and prize out an occasional victory or two, ‘HathuruBall’ will be deemed as a success.