Ever since ex British minister Norman Tebbitt MP stated that immigrants in the UK who support their native countries rather than England in sport failed to be integrated enough into the United Kingdom test, England vs Bangladesh has posed for me a serious problem: I am a British citizen by birth and have proud, culturally passionate Bangladeshi parents.
And yet, every single time I have been posed this challenge down the years, I have sided with Bangladesh and this game was no different.
One could claim that victory against the coloniser is the sweetest of sporting experiences, and yet Bangladesh has beaten England in cricket three out of the last four matches. It’s a feeling I’ve gotten used to. But to beat England in a knock-out contest, to ensure qualification to the quarter-final whilst crashing England out of the tournament has to be Bangladesh’s greatest achievement in its short international cricket history.
This victory was equally important because it would challenge the perceptions of so many around the world. Because no matter what the previous perception was, right now, everybody in England must recognise they were inferior to Bangladesh at cricket. The knock on effect being, that as a nation, we are better than we were before.
As a British-Bangladeshi citizen, for once, I can pronounce the Bangladeshi part of that identity with both superiority as well as pride.
This victory was special for several reasons. Bangladesh has been recognised by international cricket as a talented team, hence the test status, but all too often the team is reckless, lacks concentration, and easily cracks under the faintest of pressures. It’s a caricature that is indicative of all Bangladeshis, and something I have noticed consistently in the 18 months I have lived and worked in my motherland.
Having lived all over the world, I genuinely believe that young Bangladeshis are as talented as young people in any other country. I’ve noticed that in business, advertising, music, art, and many other professions including cricket: In terms of raw talent, the potential is there.
However, for a complex set of reasons, young people do not fulfil that potential inside Bangladesh and many have to leave for Western nations to perform at their full capacity. But this time, a team of Bangladeshis trained and produced in Bangladesh convincingly beat England.
They were thoroughly tested – technically, tactically, and psychologically – and succeeded the thorough investigation. Most pleasing was that despite Tamim and Shakib failing with the bat, the middle order took responsibility and retained its concentration to rebuild the innings and post a significant score.
Normally, Bangladesh would have panicked in these situations and been all out for less than 200, and yet on this occasion, they had the mental strength to post 275. During England’s innings, the bowlers were put under significant pressure and with less than 20 overs left, England were in the driving seat. And yet captain Mashrafe ensured his bowlers stayed focused and retained confidence.
In the last phase of the game when England required 24 from 16 balls, Bangladeshi bowlers would normally have cracked. But under such intense pressure, Rubel won the match for Bangladesh by retaining his nerve with some amazing stump-to-stump bowling.
Make no mistake – this victory is a seminal moment in Bangladesh’s cricket history. It demonstrates that in a huge match, without any freak circumstances, they have the ability and mental fortitude to beat teams
far better than them.
This victory bore evidence of the enormous progress Bangladesh has made as a nation since its bloody birth in 1971. Once upon a time, the arrogant Henry Kissinger referred to Bangladesh as “a basket case” and yet here we are, knocking out England in the cricket World Cup, beating tough humanitarian development targets set by the United Nations, its citizens winning awards like Nobel prizes, being the second largest exporter of garments in the world; a society being transformed by digital technology and urbanisation and consistently delivering GDP growth ahead of all its neighbour and competitor countries.
I’m really going to enjoy the Bangladeshi part of my identity for the next few days. Bask in the reflected glory our cricketers provided every one of us. Because I believe their achievement is indicative of so many success stories within Bangladeshi society today.
Most of all, I hope that the citizens of this country inspire themselves with this victory. That we identify the traits of discipline, consistency, and concentration and add
that to the natural talents that so many possess.
If we can beat England at cricket, surely we can beat them at many other things too – education, business, human rights included. Let's make this victory inspire the nation onto the next stage.
