Many followed the live radio commentary of that match and later watched the televised version. We entered the 1999 Cricket World Cup as one of the least favourites to win any matches, but managed to cause two major upsets by defeating Pakistan and Scotland. Nearly two decades have passed and cricket is now probably the most popular sport, even rivalling football, in our country. Previously, the expectation of our cricketers and fans was largely confined to playing well enough, but now that scenario has changed. In recent years, we have constantly performed well in one-day internationals (ODI) and T20 cricket, but we needed to do a little better in Test cricket. Earlier, some ex-cricketers even questioned our qualification to join the elite club. But the recent Test win against England is perhaps the right answer to their doubts. We drew the Test series against England 1-1 by securing a spectacular 108-run victory in the last match, mostly thanks to teenage bowling sensation Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Today, we no longer only dream that Bangladesh will play in the World Cup, but rather, we believe we are good enough to grab the trophy. Of course, all these improvements did not happen in a single day. A lot of planning and hard work went into it. Age group cricket and school cricket are part of that long term planning of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to improve our game. Now, some may question the benefits of age group and school cricket. The fact is many of our national team players like Nasir Hossain, Taijul Islam and Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, played school and age group cricket. Legendary cricketers like Imran Khan and Sachin Tendulkar also played school cricket and from there, their talents were discovered. Age group cricket is played throughout the year and normally in January, Young Tigers National School Cricket Tournament takes place. This week, Y&I spoke with some young cricketers, coaches and BCB officials about youth cricket, facilities, preparations, expectations and future plans. Youth Cricket
Sheikh Iraj
Cricket has became immensely popular in Bangladesh since 1997 when we won the ICC Trophy against Kenya and qualified for the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Many followed the live radio commentary of that match and later watched the televised version. We entered the 1999 Cricket World Cup as one of the least favourites to win any matches, but managed to cause two major upsets by defeating Pakistan and Scotland. Nearly two decades have passed and cricket is now probably the most popular sport, even rivalling football, in our country. Previously, the expectation of our cricketers and fans was largely confined to playing well enough, but now that scenario has changed. In recent years, we have constantly performed well in one-day internationals (ODI) and T20 cricket, but we needed to do a little better in Test cricket. Earlier, some ex-cricketers even questioned our qualification to join the elite club. But the recent Test win against England is perhaps the right answer to their doubts. We drew the Test series against England 1-1 by securing a spectacular 108-run victory in the last match, mostly thanks to teenage bowling sensation Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Today, we no longer only dream that Bangladesh will play in the World Cup, but rather, we believe we are good enough to grab the trophy. Of course, all these improvements did not happen in a single day. A lot of planning and hard work went into it. Age group cricket and school cricket are part of that long term planning of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to improve our game. Now, some may question the benefits of age group and school cricket. The fact is many of our national team players like Nasir Hossain, Taijul Islam and Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, played school and age group cricket. Legendary cricketers like Imran Khan and Sachin Tendulkar also played school cricket and from there, their talents were discovered. Age group cricket is played throughout the year and normally in January, Young Tigers National School Cricket Tournament takes place. This week, YI spoke with some young cricketers, coaches and BCB officials about youth cricket, facilities, preparations, expectations and future plans.
Abrar Anwar, Cricketer
These days, it is not all about individual performances, team effort counts more. I am playing for National Bangla High School. Our school is a very old school and we have a regular school cricket team. Playing cricket is part of my life, and I think my parents and my teachers understand that. I want to play for our national team and I want to see Bangladesh playing in the finals in World Cup Cricket. I remember when we beat India in the World Cup, everyone I know was super thrilled, and we took the celebration to the streets, where many others joined us.
Tonmoy Hasan, Cricketer
I played cricket when I was in school. I performed well and later, I was picked to play in the under-16 age group. I now practice at Mirpur Bangla School College with their school team. I dont think I would have got the chance to play in age group cricket if I didnt participate in school cricket before. I hope I will play for Bangladesh one day.
Md Asaiqur Rahman, Cricketer
I am studying in class 10 at Mirpur Bangla School College now. I played for my school in the last Young Tiger National School Cricket Tournament, and I am hopeful of representing my school in the coming tournament. School cricket normally takes place in January, but already we have started practice in full swing. I am a left-arm spin blower, but nowadays teams need more all-rounders, that is why Shakib Al Hasan is my role model. I practice throughout the year and my parents encourage me to play. I dream that one day I will represent Bangladesh.
Sarwar Imran, ex-national coach and current head coach of Rajshahi Kings (BPL)
Those who played cricket for their school teams before the year 2000 may be more familiar with the name Nirman Cricket. Over the years, school cricket has evolved, and today it is called Young Tigers National School Cricket Tournament. Age group and school cricket are very important. One should understand that these two programmes have a lot to do with crickets present popularity. They also help us to find talented players. Some of our well-known players have played age group and school cricket.
Jahangir Hossain, Sports Teacher, Motijheel Government High School
When it comes to nurturing young cricketers and motivating them to play on the bigger stage, school cricket and age group cricket are the best options. Its not that a school team only plays in the Young Tigers Tournament, there are other tournaments that they can participate in as well. The Bangladesh National School and Madrasa Sports Committee organises an inter-school tournament every year. From there, we get good players as well. But playing on a big stage like the Young Tigers Tournament certainly increases a players chance to get noticed. The popularity of cricket cannot be explained in words, we are a cricket crazy nation. I used to be a football coach, but now due to demand, I teach cricket to our boys. We are practising hard and we want to play well in the upcoming tournament.
Abdullah Al Mamun, Sports Teacher, St Joseph Higher Secondary School
For the upcoming Young Tigers National School Cricket Tournament, we are trying to assemble our best possible team. Our students get two days off and they practise in our own ground then. Some of our players who have played for the school team have gone on to play in levels like national second division. Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, the left-handed opener who played for our national team, was a student of our school and played in our cricket team. At St Joseph, we encourage different types of sports and basketball seems more popular in our school. That been said, cricket is not that far behind.
Md Mahmudur Rahman, Cricket Coach, Mirpur Bangla School College
We qualified to play the finals of Young Tiger National School Cricket Tournament twice. In the next tournament, we not only want to play good cricket, but we want to win. To find talented players, we arrange a cricket tournament in our school. From there, we choose a squad of 15 to play in the big tournaments. I personally feel participating in sports doesnt hamper a students studies. We start our tournament just after the exams and today its all about multitasking. Sports can help you to cope with stress. I would like to urge BCB to look into the age verification in school cricket more carefully. All our students are crazy about cricket. They dont even show interest in watching any other sport.
Md Jashim Uddin, Cricket Coach, Maple Leaf International School
Besides working as a cricket coach at Maple Leaf International School, I am also associated with BCB and disability cricket. In our school, students have huge interest towards cricket, but not all of them can continue playing for us. Thats because most of them go abroad after completing their O levels. And its not so easy to find new good players every year. Also, students have too much course work, so sometimes their parents ask them not to play. This year we want to do well in the Young Tigers Tournament. Normally, most of the school cricket teams start preparing a couple of weeks before the tournament starts, but we practise throughout the year.
Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, National Manager, Game Development, BCB
Age group cricket and school cricket are two separate segments of youth cricket programme of Bangladesh Cricket Board. Both of these segments are supervised by BCBs Game Development Department. Age group cricket has a larger impact in the sense that it assures maximum participation of young cricketers. Over 10,000 boys get a proper structured platform. It presents you with a pathway to play on bigger stages. Age group cricket is divided into three different age categories_14, 16 and 18. All of the different age categories go through a similar selection process. Players gradually play in district, division and national competitions. During these competitions, talented players are spotted by our junior selectors to eventually form national age group teams. Womens cricket is not that popular yet, but we have plans to start pilot projects for girls in school and age group cricket. Our coaches in every district organise orientation courses for local coaches of their particular district. There, we give them ideas on how to make a team, select players and how to train young cricketers.
Bulbul Bashar, Assistant Manager-Game Development, BCB
Today Bangladesh cricket has reached this height of success because of years of planning and teamwork. School cricket falls under the age group cricket programme, but nearly 40 per cent of age group cricketers have played school cricket. School cricket should be given the same importance as age group cricket because when a school team plays, all the other students get inspired. Last year in the Young Tigers National School Cricket Tournament, 540 school teams participated. In school cricket, the age limitation is 16 years. There are some complaints about authenticating the age of the players, but we believe things are much more disciplined now than before. School teams play district, division, knockout and national rounds. After the tournament, we organise a special training camp for the winning team, and from there we get talented players. In 64 districts, we have 64 BCB coaches. They go to schools that have sports teachers and share new teaching techniques, rules and regulations. The school teams are selected by the local sports association. Teams who end up at the bottom are replaced by new teams every year. And schools that have their own playing grounds and cricket coaches are given priority in term of school selection. Cricket is now the most popular sport in our country and we are getting great response from students and their parents than ever before.
Noirit Mustapha contributed to this article.
Photos: Courtesy, Internet
