THE India team, back home after their inglorious World Cup exit, were given a parting shot from the ICC today, an expensive one for their captain Rahul Dravid, who was fined 10 per cent of his match fee for a slow over-rate in their final group match in Trinidad.

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India received a 69-run thrashing from Sri Lanka in Port-of-Spain last Friday, following their defeat by Bangladesh, and the ICC announced that match referee Jeff Crowe had ruled India to be one over short of the overs target when time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct, the players were fined five per cent of their match fees for every over short, with the captain fined double.
 
Sir Viv Richards described India’s premature exit as mind-boggling, and no doubt the broadcasters would have used stronger words for the loss of the biggest television draw card. Richards reckons India’s failure was not coach Greg Chappell’s fault -- more down to a lack of self-belief. In a syndicated Indian newspaper column he wrote: “Like many of their fans, I find India's ouster from the tournament as mind-boggling. I would not blame the team management for this debacle, but there has to be some reason why a team as supremely talented as India does not achieve more success.

“The reasons have less to do with talent and potential and more to do with mental strength. Each player, especially the experienced ones, is responsible for himself and capable of self-training and managing his mental preparation.”

Richards said that the defeat by Bangladesh was a blip, but he added: “We must also acknowledge that the Bangladeshis are a talented, fast-improving bunch. They remind me of the Sri Lankans in the late 1980s, and therefore cannot be considered pushovers.”

FINAL LAST BANGLADESH DIARY

March 12: So the bideshi, the foreigner, prepares to leave Bangladesh. My meeting with Shaun Williams, the Bangladesh Cricket Board development manager, is cancelled because poor Shaun gets stricken and can’t leave his hotel room for quite a while. The BCB are now aiming to place as many first class players as they can in UK clubs, and I have offered to do my best to help, starting with the excellent Home Counties and feeder pyramid, especially the Hertfordshire League. Any inquiries, hit ‘contact’ at the top.

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Arrive at Zia International Airport and notice that internet is available inside departures. The man behind the desk confirms as much. “It’s $11 for six hours,” man says. “That sounds good. I only want to check for messages, so how much for half an hour?” I ask. “No, it’s a minimum of six hours,” he replies, as though it is quite normal to have passengers waiting six hours for their flights.

Board for the Biman 001 flight to London via Dubai. Economy is full and very crowded, with a large number of tired one or two-year olds consigned to their parents’ laps for about 12 hours. I begin to wish I was in club class.

There was that creepy short story The Monkey’s Paw   by WW Jacobs, published in 1902. The paw comes into the possession of the elderly Mr and Mrs White with the alleged power of making three wishes come true. To update a synopsis -- disbelievingly the mother wishes for £10,000, more in jest. That evening the phones rings and the family are told their only son has been killed in an industrial accident, mangled in machinery. The standard compensation is £10,000.

The rest of the tale: Knowing that black forces have been unleashed, the grieving mother eventually wishes for the return of her son. That evening there is a persistent knock on the front door. They know who it is. But when the mother opens the door, no one is there because the father has quickly made a third wish, remembering the nature of their son’s death.   

Well, my wish for an upgrade came true on that Biman flight, at a price. Shortly after take-off I fell violently ill with the return of labrynthitis (overwhelming nausea caused by inner ear virus), spending three hours on the floor at the rear of the plane until Dubai, before being assisted to club class to recuperate in more space. The staff were simply incredible in their efforts to make me comfortable, and I thank them. I am also grateful for the forbearance of my fellow passengers, denied access to two of the four washrooms. The illness lasted only half a day longer. St Lucia beckons.

LAST BANGLADESH DIARY

Mirpur: England A 194 (49.4 overs; M Prior 51, W Jefferson 45, Mahamudullah Riad 3-27, Manjurul Islam 3-38) Bangladesh A 198-5 (44.5 overs; Nasimuddin 42, Tushar Imran 34). Bangladesh won by 5 wkts.

March 11: England put in a moderate farewell performance in Dhaka with the one-day series already won and went out for a final team meal in the evening before disappearing to the airport for their night flight back to Heathrow. As Peter Moores said, these players will never play together as a team again, as with every A tour, and the split-up is quite an occasion for such a close-knit group.

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Stuart Broad’s omission, by rota really, made a difference because England’s seam attack was deprived of some zip. His new-ball partner Graham Onions had had an excellent tour, though less effective in one-dayers. The Bangladeshis changed their tactics and reverted to a phalanx of spinners, with an ability to exert pressure when two early wickets were taken.

Will Jefferson continued his tactic of reaching forward a long way to launch booming drives to score 45 off 53 balls, including two sixes. Matt Prior’s 51 made him the tour’s leading run-maker, but when he holed out in the deep, England struggled. Adil Rashid looked like sparking a revival until he was run out in a stop-go call with Tim Bresnan, his Yorkshire team-mate. The total of 194 was not nearly enough, and Bangladesh built a steady momentum to victory, with Nasimuddin again the best.

The feature of the tour for England was the contribution of their four World Cup fringe players – Stuart Broad, Graham Onions, Matt Prior and Mike Yardy, the captain and quite probably a future leader of Sussex. Onions, age 24, was an intriguing selection, having made only 12 first class matches for Durham before his first full season last year. Good athlete, 85mph pace, good prospect.

Moores, a possible future successor to Duncan Fletcher as England coach, could look back on a successful tour. “There’s been a fantastic team spirit, which has helped everybody,” he said. “That’s important because the players will have to fit into other teams. Hopefully some will play for England, and they need to know what a good team feels like, so that they can help create that in other places.”

And my own tour was closed by the interview with Moores, an approachable, thoughtful coach who enjoyed the respect of his players. In the morning, arriving at Mirpur and climbing up to the media centre from the outfield, reminded me of my first day of the first match at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium three weeks ago.

The media stand was a building site on all floors – and still is -- in preparation for India’s visit in May, and I was uncertain how to get to the press box, but I could see a closed gate leading up the terracing from the outfield. A ground official saved me a journey by saying: “No, the gate’s locked – that area is owned by the government.” It sounded as though it would need an act of parliament to get it unlocked. But no, the gate was open from the second day onwards.

Many people asked me what I thought of Bangladesh – country and players. Did I enjoy the trip? Life is probably as exciting as you want it to be, but, to save repetition, answers are due to be published on www.tigercricket.com .

BANGLADESH DIARY 25

March 10: The England players had their last training session in the morning at Mirpur, and it was announced Stuart Broad, the tour’s most successful bowler, would be rested for the final one-dayer tomorrow. A group went shopping at a Dhaka mall. Garments here offer tremendous value for high quality, and textiles is a major Bangladesh industry. But the economy desperately needs to grow.

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The CIA’s world factbook estimates the budget revenue to be $6.3 billion last year, compared with Gordon Brown’s revenue of about $973 billion. And the UK population is less than half Bangladesh’s. I ate what was probably my 50th orange on this tour – and it was orange. Often they seem to be eaten green here, perhaps because they lose tanginess with rapid maturity. Maybe just cheaper. Anyway, I have eaten about 43 greens and seven oranges.

BANGLADESH DIARY 24

Mirpur: Bangladesh A 177 (45.4 overs; Nasimuddin 58, Tushar Imran 43, Gidman 5-42, Broad 3-33), England A 180-4 (36 overs; Compton 64, Jefferson 40 Prior 34, Gidman 21*).

March 9: England A all-rounder Alex Gidman stunned the Bangladeshis by taking a career-best five wickets with his medium-pacers in the second one-day international in Dhaka today.

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Bangladesh A were bowled out for 177 at Mirpur with more than four overs unused after Gidman had destroyed a promising start with a wicket in five successive overs to finish with five for 42, figures unprecedented in any format in his Gloucestershire career. England took a winning 2-0 series lead.

“It was my day,” Gidman said, hardly able to believe his success. “I just banged away and was probably fortunate to end up with so many wickets. The pitch is a little bit similar to Bristol’s, I suppose, where I learnt my trade. You’ve got to use your skills -- change of pace and things like that – and you have to bowl straight.”

Stuart Broad dispatched two early victims, including a wicket in the first over for the fifth time in eight matches, but it was Gidman’s day. “I certainly didn’t expect a career-best out here,” he said. “It’s fantastic. All I wanted to do here was to contribute in the games as much as I could, and it’s nice to have succeeded.”

Gidman, 25, earned his call-up to the England A tour after Ravi Bopara’s selection for the World Cup, but the reason for his elevation would have been his work with the bat last summer rather than the ball. His start today was hardly promising, as he conceded 17 in his first three overs, but a wild shot accounted for Nasimuddin, a century-maker in the first one-dayer at Bogra, and Gidman’s accuracy and slight movement off the seam whipped out four more batsmen.

Bangladesh A had reached 105 for two off 22 overs when Nasimuddin holed out at long-on for 58 in 69 balls. The only other batsman to worry England was Tushar Imran until Gidman held a return catch on 43. Attempts to retrench faded with the loss of Sahagir Hossain and Farhad Reza, who had hit 41 in 26 balls at Bogra.

England themselves lost Michael Carberry lbw in the first over, and Nick Compton was dropped at third man, a difficult chance, but after that it was a cruise. Will Jefferson plonked his pad down miles down the pitch and drove the ball ruthlessly for 40 in 34 balls. Compton hit his 64 in 84 balls.

Bangladesh looked drained of fight in this match, perhaps a legacy of their three-week struggle against these determined English professionals. The weaker players simply sank without trace. Tusher Imran’s run-making consistency against a classy England attack must surely have pushed him closer to a return to Test cricket. Perhaps with the series lost, the home side will feel less pressure in the final match here on Sunday.

I received an invitation by the St Lucia World Cup director to join him as his guest for the island’s matches, England’s group. It would be rude to turn his offer down, wouldn’t it. I feel a World Cup Diary coming on. As you might guess, the reason for the trip is business-related. I am trying to set up an annual under-15 schools Easter festival on the island, using my UK contacts. It’s all goodwill, and there is no turning back now.

If any readers think the festival sounds interesting, let me know. It is a tremendous opportunity for a school, or several schools combined, to play in the Caribbean on a World Cup ground. The boys have an exciting time, while families and supporters benefit from a cut-price holiday on a lovely island. Why should Barbados have all the schools cricket action?

BANGLADESH DIARY 23

March 8: Tim Bresnan has been recalled to the England A side to replace Graham Onions for the second one-dayer against Bangladesh A at Mirpur stadium in Dhaka on Friday. Onions has been rested, though there is still no game for the two youngest tour members, Tom Smith and Adil Rashid.
 

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Apologies for the delay in Diary 22. There were unexpected internet hitches in the Sheraton and I had to change rooms. The diary was late, mainly because I hadn’t written it. Watched quite a lot of television, though most of the 40 or so channels seem to show women in saris singing and dancing in the middle of a field with a bloke pulling stupid faces next to her, or fuzzy domestic dramas featuring actors with eyes wide open as though in permanent shock. Found a couple of good east-meets-west pop music channels.

There is one well-crafted, amusing Nike advert from India depicting an impromptu cricket match, with youths using bus and lorry roofs in a traffic jam as the pitch. Doesn’t seem to carry any message except that the players are all hooligans who should be locked up, especially the one wearing Nike trainers.

BANGLADESH DIARY 22

Bogra: Bangladesh A 261-8 (50 overs; Nasimuddin 108, Farhad Reza 41*), England 263-5 (47 overs; Prior 84*, Jefferson 68, Compton 31, Mehrab Hossain 3-57)

March 7: Superb World Cup question thought up by the ECB staff coach David Parsons. Name the 11 past or present Warwickshire players scattered among the tournament squads in the Caribbean. No tricks, just difficult, especially as Ian Bell is the only England representative.

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Answer: Bell, Lara, Hogg, Pollock, Ntini, Bond and Vettori, followed by the more obscure Dougie Brown, Navi Poonia (both Scotland), David Hemp (Bermuda) and Collins Obuya (Kenya). I actually saw leg-spinner Obuya make a fifty at Edgbaston on his debut. The question has not a lot to do with England A’s magnificent five-wicket win over Bangladesh A in the one-dayer at Bogra, though it helped pass the time on the five-hour coach ride back to Dhaka that evening.

One of the players to miss out on the World Cup, Matt Prior, played an exceptional innings for England. The match, watched by a crowd of 8,000 enticed by free admission, was enjoyable. Nasimuddin, at No 3, cracked a 114-ball century and deserved his luck. He was dropped at slip on 15, an awkward chance to Alex Loudon, and was shelled at deep midwicket on 39 by Prior, patrolling the outfield to allow Steven Davies to take the gloves. This allowed Nasimuddin (thank you to 'Hossain' for pointing out that I confused him with the four-day No 3 Nasiruddin, a left-hander) to unleash some wonderful shots, and Farhad Reza pile on 41 off 26 balls. The last eight overs went for 74 runs, with James Kirtley one of the sufferers, none for 61 off nine overs. Quite a contrast, then, to the start, when Stuart Broad took a wicket in the first over for the fourth time in seven innings. This time the left-hander Junaid Siddique (38 off 22 balls against Broad and Graham Onions at Savar) was his victim, carving his first ball to third man.

In reply Will Jefferson timed his driving so well that he collected a 25-ball fifty almost without anyone noticing. Matt Prior was dropped at long-on on 26, and he too delivered some sweet shots for 84 off 72 balls in a zippy stand with Steven Davies of 80 in 10 overs, winning the match with a six. Davies made 27 in 29 balls – he showed a wide range of shots and a wristy gift for placement. The Bangladesh seam attack was weak, and they did not have the usual depth of spinners. That was the main reservation.

As for myself, knowing the team coach was leaving almost straight after the game, I had prepared the newspaper reports angled on Jefferson’s assault well in advance. So when Prior cracked the winning six, the whole story had to be scrapped and rewritten. Late for the bus. There were mutterings by Prior I might have to wear the floral dress for the idiot of the day, but the threat was never followed through. It was all his fault anyway.

The coach passed a queue of tuk-tuks waiting to refuel on the outskirts of Bogra. There must have been well over 100 of these vehicles stretching down the side of the road. The tanker was probably late.

BANGLADESH DIARY 21

March 6: England A had morning practice and did little else in the heat on the eve of the first one-dayer against Bangladesh A at Bogra. James Kirtley and Alex Gidman get their first game of the tour tomorrow in the one-dayer against Bangladesh A at Bogra.

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I went sight-seeing with the only other journalist from Dhaka , Noman Mohammad, of tigercricket.com. He hired a people carrier and driver for the morning for about £9 and we visited the museum at Mahashtangarh, the ruined Behula bridal chamber and the remains of the Govinda villa. There was not much to see, but the sunshine was glorious.

At Govinda, there was a row between the gateman and a group of people through the closed gate. For some reason someone threw a half-eaten orange ice lolly accurately at me as we approached the scrum from the inside. I presume frustrations had boiled over, but it was a hell of a waste of a lolly.

BANGLADESH DIARY 20

March 5: A group of England A players travelled for an hour from Bogra across a flood plain to the Gaibandah district in the north of Bangladesh to see how the £2,500 they had raised at Loughborough for the United Nations World Food Programme was to be spent.

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A village school was to be stocked with nutrition supplements for about a year. Before leaving England, coach Peter Moores, Mike Yardy and Alex Loudon discussed doing charity work for Bangladesh, and they hit on the idea of offering on the ECB website a day’s coaching at the National Academy for 10 club cricketers at £250 a head. The places were snapped up within hours.

The England players arrived by coach at Durgapur Kalitola primary and middle school to be greeted by immaculately dressed boy scouts in blue tunics and well over a thousand children and parents. All the visitors were handed flowers and greeted by a sea of smiles. A tennis ball cricket hit-about was played against a team of boys on a crude pitch. As usual the tall Will Jefferson was the most popular and most photographed player not just for his height but for his patient, genial manner.

Loudon, caught first ball, said: “The reception we had was staggering, with so many people genuinely welcoming. Our lads saw that quite a small gesture made a big impact.”

With a third of the country flooded at monsoon, the issue of ‘food security’ is a serious one in an over-populated country of 148 million. The World Food Programme has invested in fortified biscuits, a very cost-effective diet supplement – one packet free to each child at school per day. Research has indicated significant improvement in school attendance and learning ability in an area where malnutrition is commonplace. The sum of £10 provides a child with biscuits six days a week for a whole year.

Douglas Broderick, the World Food Programme director in Bangladesh, thanked the tour party for their efforts and urged England cricket to become more involved in hunger projects. Sterling goes a long, long way.  

For me the visit was a fascinating experience, and it was painful to imagine so many beautiful lively children existing under the shadow of starvation. The afternoon compensated for a grim morning. Having bought some more batteries and had a hair cut, my seemingly secure pocket was picked in quite a violent stage-managed pavement collision on Bogra high street.

I lost about £45, not much. But many decent hard-working labourers might work months to earn that, and a criminal has done it in a few seconds, thanks to my lack of alertness. And I think how many under-nourished children that sum could have helped. The loss of all my cards was only inconvenient collateral damage. Guy Jackson, the England A manager, kindly helped me out.

BANGLADESH DIARY 19

Bogra: Bangladesh A 152 & 218-7 (Tushar Imran 128 not out), England A 251-8 (N Compton 92). Match drawn.

March 4: England A nearly made up for the loss of 1½ days to rain with a good dart at victory. If Tushar Imran had not survived two slip catches in three balls from Graham Onions early in the morning, Bangladesh would have struggled to save the game.

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Onions found the edge twice with superb outswingers that were shelled by Tim Bresnan and Will Jefferson, and Tushar batted defiantly through the day, undefeated for his 128. He might have made the Bangladesh selectors wonder why they left him out of the World Cup squad.

Onions will be Steve Harmison’s new seam partner at Durham this summer – they have rarely played together before – and he was in excellent form at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium, whipping out both openers for ducks in his first over. Tushar‘s scalp eluded him, and England were made to pay. The Bangladeshi edged Adil Rashid twice to slip and survived a deep midwicket chance to Rashid, off Onions, but the damage had been done.

After the midwicket chance was spurned, Onions’ his next ball was probably his quickest of the day, crashing into the helmet grille of a surprised Sahagir Hossain. Apart from Tushar, none of the Bangladesh batsmen looked convincing. On the other hand Onions bowled extremely well, outshining an under-the-weather Stuart Broad.

My journey to the ground was rather too leisurely. The rickshaw rider had to stop every 200 yards to put the chain back on, and I actually missed Onions’ sensational double wicket over.