True West Indies was a depleted side following revolt of all first team players on industrial dispute. Yet the team that was hurriedly put together were no mug. Ryan Hinds, Darren Sammy, Tino Best played tests before. Richards, Roach are knocking at the door. All West Indians play in fist class cricket and play with pride. Beating them so convincingly cannot be any mean achievement. Bangladesh played attractive brand of cricket and were always potential and worthy winners. Please do not try to take away any credit from them. This series victory is the essential stepping stone for Bangladesh in the corridor of success. We must try and consolidate it with sound planning and professional implementation. We must not get complacent, must not get carried away. Success breeds success.

Cricket crazy nation got thoroughly embarrassed at the dismal performance of the team in T20. Losing to minnows Ireland demoralised the Tiger fans .Even Bangladesh National Assembly discussed about the poor performance. Players commitment, team chemistry, team management came under through scrutiny. Underperforming captain got the axe. Committed Mashrafee got the nod and young enterprising twinkling little star Saquib was made the deputy. Many thought it a bit early. But true talent cannot be kept confined with barriers . It overflows.

Bangladesh travelled to West Indies on a long tour to Caribbean and Zimbabwe on a mission to salvage pride. West Indies in recent time was resurging. But players were fuming against administration for a while over payment dispute. It erupted and all first team players staged boycott .The fate of the test series was hanging in a balance. But WISCB put up a reasonably strong team comprising of some test players, some young upcoming players. New challenge got created for Bangladesh. They became favourite undoubtedly. But it is never an easy challenge to win a test series in West Indies by a touring team. Morale of Bangladesh was kept high by one fighter of a person Mashrafee.

In the first test at St Vincent Bangladesh started disastrously. Top and middle order batting collapsed to the speed of blistering pace of Roach who would have made debut even if main team played. One Mashrafee who never say die made the team turn around and with another tail ender Rajeeb he struggled to give respectability to Bangladesh Innings.

Mashraffee unfortunately got injured while trying to bowl at his fastest to defend moderate Bangladesh total and had to leave the field with supports of his mates. But Mashrafee remained the inspiration and rekindled fight in his charge. Saquib took over. Sqauib and Riad bowled brilliantly to restrict West Indies within sizeable first innings lead. In the second Innings a boy from Chittagong Tamim Iqubal possibly played the innings of his life time. A blinder of an innings – his first test century and a solid 70 odd by a Rajshahi player Junaid laid the foundation of victory for Bangladesh. Young Mahmuddulah Riad and Saquib spun web around makeshift West Indian batsmen to win the frst ever test on foreign soil. Bangladesh started dreaming for the first ever series victory. In his debut test Riad demonstrated his class
Scan indicated no major damage to Skipper Mashraffee . But he was ruled out for second test. Young Saquib at 22 became the youngest ever Bangladeshi to lead the national team. How brilliantly he responded. Left Arm spinner Enamul Haq Junior strengthened spinning team. Three spinners –Saquib, Riad and Enamul combined to restrict WI to 237 in the first innings at Grenada test. All three got 3 wickets each to torment West Indians. Young Richards (69) and Dowlin (95 ) played defiant knocks. Rest were consumed pretty easily by talented Bangladeshi spinners. Saquib marshalled his resources very well.

Responding to not too large total Bangladesh could not make spirited response. Tamim (37), Roquibul (44), Mushfique (48) and Riad (28) made the start but could not absorb the blistering pace and bounce of Roach (46/6). Roach bowled with sustained aggression aiming the body of Bangladeshi batsmen. His bouncers were very effective. Fallibility of Bangladeshi batsmen against genuine pace and sustained hostility got exposed. Bangladesh conceded a 5 run lead to WI being bundled out for 232.

Bangladesh looked very hungry for success and determined from the very start of the second innings with leader taking the driver’s seat. Saquib consumed Richards very early. Phillips and Darwin put together a 50 runs partnership. But when Saquib, Riad and Enamul started spinning prodigiously West Indian batting started crumbling like cookies. Saquib picked and excellent haul of 5/70 and Enamul 3/48 to restrict WI to 209. Only Bernard played a defiant innings of 69.
History beckoned Bangladesh when they set sail to reached a destination of 215 to win first ever tests series abroad, a white of wash of a major cricketing nation in their backyard. A big historic occasion. Fisrt Innings it was Roach, this time Daren Sammy stepped up the tempo. He started bowling fast and furious. Tamim, Kayes and Juanid left within 49. Ashraful once again failed miserably for 3. At 4/67 in the early hours at Melbourne our heart started beating first. We were constantly online with friend Chory in Norway and Yazdani at Sydney. We were hoping against hope. Roquibul was looking solid. Inspiring Sqauib started counter attacking. From a corridor of uncertainty this pair started unfolding the ream pages of history one by one. Solid in defence, brilliant in stroke play Roquib –Saquib wrote their names in the history of Bangladesh cricket. Sammy and Roach tried everything in their repertoire .But nothing could dislodge this determined pair. When Roquib eventually got out to Sammy at 69 the foundation was well laid at 173 .Sqauib played several delightful classy stokes and despite loosing Mushfique played some memorable strokes to win the match with a massive over boundary. Bangladesh cricket team with Saquib entered history. The number one all rounder of the world deservedly won the man of the match with his match haul of 8 wickets and unbeaten match winning 96. A leader born to world cricket. Captain courageous.

Bangladesh has won only 3 of 69 tests it played in 9 years since attaining test status in 2000.It went pretty close to beating Pakistan in Faisalabad and Australia in Fatullah. But this back to back test victory means great. It will give fillip to Bangladesh efforts to attain consistency. Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina Wazed and Leader of Opposition Begum Khaleda Zia usually do not have many occasions to share joy .But Mashrafee – Saquib and their charge presented such occasion.
Let us not get carried away, let us not get complacent. Let us create more enabling cricket infrastructure at home .Let us improve and upgrade our domestic cricket format to a level to produce greater no of talented young cricketers to make our winning habit.

Thanks tigers to make Bangladesh proud again. Let this success create national unity; let this success give us fillip to fight other pressing national issues.
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Kh A Saleque (Saleque Sufi) is one of our guest writers, He is an Engineer by profession and lives in Australia.

When his other fellows, with an amazed view, since they knew his past records, asked him the reason of his unusual demand, he described to them simply like that, ”The villagers put the danger signboard over the well in which I dropped into just after my tragic death, however more than 50 were died in the same manner before me.”

“So, what do you think? Am I not be the soldier of fortune for them?” he threw the question to all and took a deep breathe. The rest couldn’t utter anything, remained ridiculously silent.

Just like us. We can not cheer for that disappointed man as well as we can not urge the villagers to reward him either.

Actually, this “awake up” call came when the most successful Bangladesh cricket-captain Habibul Bashar, the hattrick-man Alok Kapali and promising hard-hitter Aftab Ahmed and others created an awareness, through their early retirement announcement followed by ICL involvement in last September.

They unknowingly and obviously unwillingly made the other “warriors” very cautious regarding their future career; that is ultimately making Bashar & Co. fortunate, very fortunate indeed.

One may even put the “tragic hero” banner upon them as they have been carrying the Bangladeshi flag; they have already grabbed a victory against Delhi Giants by a good margin of 62 runs but still are far….far away from the heartiest gallery support and nation celebrating festive mode.

Again, at home, we are celebrating the first ODI victory over Kiwis, on the other hand, the whole nation has to be officially (!) absolutely calm and quite on Dhaka Warriors’ success.

Even Alok Kapali did not get the enough exposure from his countrymen after hammering that lighting and maiden century of Indian cricket league (ICL) against Hyderabad Heroes on Wednesday, Oct 15.

How long it will continue? Or, how far one can let it go like this way? The cold-war between two great personalities of India can not deprive others from showing affection to his or her country anymore.

May be it is not so big deal for Bashar and Tapash Baishya, as they have already past their golden time, may have nothing more to cherish for in life but other players like Farhad Reza and Dhiman Ghosh did not get much opportunity to show their talent on international level ; or highest level; more precisely can be said.

For them banned for ten long years in international level is like shutting the door before it was just opened fully.

Although keeping no hope left for future, the ICC Officials’ current role on ICL issue making this topic more clumsy and foggy day by day. The powerful and multi millionaire BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) won’t even grant the permission others to talk about this issue. They have been dominating the entire cricket world shamelessly.

The BCCI is also showing tremendous arrogances to the ZEE telefilms owned by Shubash Chandra, who’s highly accomplished business brain along with his marketing director Himanshu Modi’s one; has developed the idea of ICL and scratching players of other national team to make rich, make people bound to give an curious eye on it.

But now the time has come, the ICC governing body chaired by President David Morgan to show their activeness in cricket. They should take a firm action to stop the on going controversy.

Otherwise, like recently post-pawned Sri lanka-England tour; that was scheduled to be held in next year, will happen more often. Though this cancellation of series does not go with the legal version of ICL—IPL, as Lalit Modi, Indian Cricket League’s commissioner, said.

The inter link arises when Marvan Attapattu, Upol chandona, Mahela Jayabardhane are found to be content with the permission came from Sri lankan Cricket Board (SCB) for playing in ICL and IPL respectively.

We all know, fortunes favors the brave….but the question is whom shall we call the brave? What is the ultimate definition of bravery? The ones who breaks the existing rule and take the risk at even the cost of their own lives like Bashar and Aftab?

Or those who just stay inside the barrier and successfully do what they should do or ought to do like our new debutant tigers Junaid Siddique, Naeem Islam.

May be the debate will never see an end; though now as a cricket-lover Bangladeshi nation we all eagerly waiting for a clear cut guideline to decide it; specially after the present ICL storm over Bangladesh and New Zealand tour.

“Either banned it or raise the bar from it “so that the youngsters can make more and more money out of cricket.

If the globalization of cricket is been given the most priority and money is the only factor that matters in present days to bring best glory for the nation then why the players to be restricted from earning it?

As it said at first, like that man in heaven, Bashar, Aftab and Alok are showing the way others to earn more money , making path for new comers, creating occasion for the country to rejoice, may be in a little aggressive way, but not getting a single word of acknowledgment.

So, who else can be the soldier of fortune now?

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Humayra Ferdous is a budding journalist and sports writer.