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Former Test umpire David Shepherd dies at 68

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:29:48 +0100

David Shepherd, the former England umpire, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 68.

Shepherd was a renowned international umpire and officiated in 172 ODIs, including three consecutive World Cup finals, and 92 Tests between 1983 and 2005. His good-humoured approach to officiating and quirky superstitions - most notably his 'jig' when scores reached 111 or a multiple thereof - made him a favourite with players and spectators the world over.

Shepherd was appointed a first-class umpire in 1981, and made his international debut at the 1983 World Cup. He would go onto become one of the game's most decorated and beloved officials. Only Steve Bucknor and Rudi Koertzen have stood in more Tests.

His last Test match was between West Indies and Pakistan in Kingston in June 2005 - after which Brian Lara presented him with a bat inscribed with a message thanking him for "the service, the memories and the professionalism" - and his final county appearance came at his former home ground of Bristol. Shepherd had represented Gloucestershire as a batsman over a 14-year career, which included 282 first-class matches and 12 centuries.

In confirming his passing on Wednesday, a statement on the Gloucestershire website spoke of Shepherd's "cheerful west country approach." "He was respected by all with whom he came in contact, especially the international players with whom he encountered in so many Test Matches," the statement continued. "He always brought a smile to all our faces. For him cricket was a lovely game, a simple game and a game to be enjoyed. He himself brought so much enjoyment to so many of us."

One of the first tributes to come in was from his long-time colleague, Dickie Bird. "I feel very saddened this has happened," Bird told Sky Sports. "He was a fine umpire, we spent many happy hours together. He was a great man and a tremendous man to umpire with. He was a good bloke, he'll be sadly missed."

Upon his retirement from umpiring, Shepherd returned to Devon and remained involved with his local club. He married Jenny, his long-time partner, in 2008.

His Career Profile.....

One of the most respected and liked umpires in international cricket, David Shepherd was born and bred in Devon, and although he has travelled the world plying his trade, he has always been true to his West Country roots. Instantly recognisable, the genial Shepherd is one of the most popular and highly-respected umpires. He is possibly best known for his aversion to the dreaded Nelson, but that disguises the fact that he is a fair and competent official, as shown by the fact the he stood in three successive World Cup finals (1996, 1999, 2003) and six tournaments overall.

As a player, he was immensely popular, his roly-poly figure again hidinmg his worth to Gloucestershire as a pugnacious middle-order batsman who contributed to the side both on and off the field. He made his county debut late - he was 25 - after dabbling in teaching, and smashed a hundred on debut. Despite his bulk, which made him something of a liability in the field, he excelled at the one-day game where his placing of shots compensated for his lack of speed between the wickets.

"It is not only his build, though that calls the deep rooted countryman to mind," wrote Geoffrey Moorhouse. "His bottom hand is clamped massively just above the shoulder of the bat,, as some ancestor probably held a scythe, or possibly a blacksmith's maul. He stands ... head scanning the field of play the way men do by gates when they are contemplating crops.

He was appointed as a first-class umpire in 1981 and the speed of his elevation to the international stage was evidence of his ability and the regard in which he was, and still is, held. In 2005 he umpires his last Test match and then umpired his final international game - England v Australia at The Oval - before fittingly ending his career at Bristol.

Umpiring Career

Commenced first-class umpiring 1981.
Commenced Test match umpiring in 1985.
Officiated in:
1983 World cup (England);
1987 World Cup (India/Pakistan);
1992 World Cup (Australia/New Zealand);
1996 World Cup (India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka) including the final;
1999 World Cup (England) including the final;
2003 World Cup (South Africa) including the final;
Two Tests South Africa v India in 1992/93 during the ICC/National Grid pilot scheme
Appointed to the National Grid Panel 1994.

Akram's wife dies at the age of 42

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:22:01 +0100

Huma, the wife of former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, has died on Sunday after developing heart and kidney complications. She was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai last Tuesday after her condition deteriorated on board an air ambulance flying from Lahore to Singapore, where she was due to be treated at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital. She breathed her last around 9:45am, hospital sources informed.

Huma, 42, is survived by two children, Taimur and Akbar, and arrangements are underway to fly her body back to Pakistan. A trained medical practitioner herself, she had stints with some of the leading hospitals in Pakistan as a psychologist and a hypnotherapist.

In the mid-1990s, during her husband's second stint as captain, Huma also worked with the Pakistan team for a while as a psychological counsellor, helping players such as Saqlain Mushtaq. Wasim also regularly credited her for helping him mentally, especially in the aftermath of the players revolt against his captaincy in 1993-94.

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, also expressed his grief over the demise. "We are with Wasim and his family at this hour of need and pray to God to give them strength to bear this great and irreparable loss," he said. "All the management of PCB and fellow cricketers have also extended their condolences and prayed eternal peace for the departed soul."

Wasim, 43, played 104 Tests and 356 ODIs during his 17-year career, before retiring in 2002 with 414 and 502 wickets in the respective formats.

From Magura to No.1

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:00:17 +0100

Shakib picks up yet another match award © AFP

It's one of cricket's ironies that one of its best allrounders of the moment might have been lost to football instead, but for several turns of fate. Like every other boy in the provincial town of Magura, 170 miles from Dhaka, Shakib al Hasan was a regular on the playing field whenever he got a chance but the big draw was always football. His father had played the game for Khulna Division and a cousin had gone on to represent Bangladesh, so football more or less ran in the family.

Cricket was on the sporting curriculum though, and the fashion among the youth was "tape-tennis" cricket. Shakib was fairly proficient and was often "hired" to play for different villages. One such game changed his life.

A local umpire called Saddam Hossain was impressed by the kid's prowess and called him to practise with the Islampur Para Club, one of the teams in the Magura Cricket League. Shakib turned up and, as was his wont, batted aggressively and bowled fast. That was what he knew best. Then, suddenly, inexplicably, he began bowling spin - and had the batsmen totally flummoxed.

He made the cut for the Islampur team and picked up a wicket with the first ball on his Magura Cricket League debut - his first-ever delivery with a proper cricket ball.

It could sound a bit too pat but Shakib's journey from Magura to the top of the ICC rankings for allrounders - the first Bangladesh player ever to top any ICC ranking - hasn't happened overnight, nor has it been the result of any one dramatic or magical moment. It's been a long journey, with its share of ups and downs, happiness and sorrow, laughter and tears, since he first held a bat eight-odd years ago.

Shakib's eyes drift away as he narrates his story, building up a tapestry of images and defining moments. Throughout, there is surprise that a boy who didn't play a proper game of cricket till he was in his teens could be the world's top allrounder.

The talent-scouting camp at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) comes first to his mind. His ability had been noticed at a one-month camp in Narail before he was chosen for the six-month training course at BKSP. He remembers his father warning him about neglecting his studies, as well as the persuasive tactics of the BKSP coach, "Bappi sir" (Ashraful Islam Bappi). "Uncle, let him go. He has a future in cricket," Bappi pleaded with Shakib's father.

Life at the BKSP camp was good, with Shakib managing to enroll himself in class eight under special consideration. His skills with bat and ball helped him overcome the adversities of a new environment.

His next break came when he was called up in the absence of one of the regulars in a domestic Under-15 fixture. His century off 52 balls was enough to earn him a place in the national U-15 team, followed by, with metronomic frequency, steps up to the U-17, U-19 and Bangladesh A levels, and then to the national team.

And then one day last month he got a phone call from a journalist. "You are the world's No. 1 allrounder, according to the one-day rankings published today. Can I have your reactions?"

What could he possibly say? Such emotions cannot be put in words. From the day he seriously took up cricket, this had been his dream: of reaching the top - not just himself as a player but his team as well. His job was only half done, but it was a great leap forward.

You can imagine Shakib talking to the journalist - "I'm just so happy. My dream's come true, etc etc," he would have warbled in a quivering voice. But if you thought that, you really don't know Shakib very well.

Of course he was delighted, and said as much, before adding: "What reactions do I have? Well, it hasn't quite sunk in. Can I think on it through the night and let you know tomorrow?"

It's this quality, of not getting carried away, of being in control of his emotions, that made him stand out among the other boys at BKSP, a trait noticed by the coach Nazmul Abedin Fahim as well. "A lot of people say that Shakib has little emotion, but he is quite an emotional lad. He just possesses this remarkable ability to control his emotions."

Fahim remembers the day he first recognised Shakib's immense talent as a cricketer. Fahim was in charge of the Bangladesh U-15 team touring India. The first match, against the Bengal U-15s, in the industrial town of at Kalyani, was played on a brand new pitch. The tourists lost early wickets but Shakib stuck around to score a match-winning 69. It became a habit on the tour - early dismissals followed by a rescue act by Shakib.



	Shakib has repeatedly been asked one particular question at press conferences: "Are you a batting allrounder or a bowling allrounder?" The reply is part laconic, part genuine uncertainty: "I am a cricketer

Fahim was also in charge of the Bangladesh team - of which Shakib was a member - at the U-17 Asia Cup in India in 2004. Those around at the time recall vividly the occasion when, asked by a journalist to name the team's best bowler, batsman and fielder, Fahim replied "Shakib" to all three.

Theirs was a long-standing relationship. Fahim, a veteran coach at BKSP, had mentored several generations of Bangladeshi cricketers but he always believed Shakib was in a different class. "He may not be the most technically gifted of the many students I taught. But he's the best when one considers the total package. At cricket's topmost level the game is played more in the mind, and from the mental perspective he is way above everyone," says Fahim.

Habibul Bashar, who was the Bangladesh captain when Shakib made his international debut on the 2006 tour of Zimbabwe, seconds Fahim. "He [Shakib] is mentally very tough and he can deal with success very simply as well. This is why he is so consistent," says Bashar.

It's not just about dealing with success and failure on the field; Shakib has a very simplistic view on matters away from the game as well. "I don't brood over issues. The more you think about it, the more complex it becomes. I want to keep everything simple. And I don't mean just the game. Matters off the field may not be within my control as well, so why lose sleep over things you can't control? What I can do is to give my best every time."

Backing up his clear understanding of what he can do is a firm belief in the ability to do so. Together they set him apart from the other players in the team. "His biggest strength as a cricketer lies in backing his own ability. Criticism and analyses have never stopped him from playing his own game," says Fahim.

Maybe it's "a high degree of self-belief" as the current Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful says. "Though he [Shakib] doesn't bowl too much at practice, he always delivers during a match. Now that's only possible if you have tremendous belief in yourself."

More than the self-belief, perhaps, is Shakib's resolve to be the best. "Whenever anyone outperforms me, whether in academics or sport, I tell myself that if he could do it, so can I. Whenever someone from the team is adjudged Man of the Match, I feel the honour could have been mine as well, It's not jealousy - my team-mates' success obviously gives me a lot of joy - but one basic question: 'If he could, why couldn't I?'"

So he's got the self-confidence and the determination. What more do you need for success? Hard work? Shakib will definitely work as hard as he can. But Mohammad Salauddin, his bowling and mental-strength guru - another teacher from his BKSP days, and the current Bangladesh assistant coach - doesn't consider hard work a key element in Shakib's success. "I wouldn't call Shakib a hard worker. His biggest talent is that he picks up things very easily. He has a very logical brain."

Salauddin remembers an incident from Bangladesh's tour of South Africa last November. "On the first day of the first Test, at Bloemfontein, Shakib didn't get a single wicket. I told him to flight the ball but he was apprehensive, thinking he'd get hit all over the park.

"But I know him. So the next day, in the bus on the way to the stadium, I started reading a chapter on flight in spin bowling. He asked me what I was reading. I told him it was just some points on the usefulness of flight in spin bowling.

"Shakib immediately picked up what I was trying to say. That morning he gave the ball air and flight and got his wickets." After ending the first day with no wickets from 25 overs, his day two figures read: 13 overs, 35 runs and five wickets."

That spell sums up Shakib's bowling over the past four months - the best of his career, the most successful and, at times, magical. It was also a bit of a surprise. He began his one-day career as a No. 4 batsman, and in his 60 innings till date, he has batted lower than five on only a handful of occasions. In Tests he has batted mostly at No. 7, but all along, he was always known as a batting allrounder. That was till the home series against New Zealand in October last year.

Start as you mean to go on: Shakib gets the first of his seven wickets in the first innings against New Zealand in Chittagong last year © AFP

Just before that two-Test series, Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons suddenly announced that Shakib would be playing as a specialist spinner - and that's the role he has been fulfilling since then. In the first innings of the first Test, in Chittagong, he picked up 7 for 37, the best bowling figures by any Bangladeshi player in Tests. That was the appetiser; the main course came on the tour of South Africa.

His five- and six-wicket hauls in the two Tests against South Africa were a significant milestone, considering greats like Shane Warne and Anil Kumble had failed to do as much against those opponents, and even Muttiah Muralitharan achieved it just the once. Shakib's performance drew the praise of former Australian legspinner Kerry O'Keefe, who said he was the "world's best finger spinner at the moment".

Another five-for followed in the next Test, at home against Sri Lanka, which gave him five or more wickets in an innings in three successive Tests, an accomplishment Bangladesh's old spin spearhead Mohammad Rafique would have been proud of.

Those recent successes - and, no doubt, his ascent to the top of ICC rankings - have led to his being repeatedly asked one particular question at press conferences: "Are you a batting allrounder or a bowling allrounder?" The reply is part laconic, part genuine uncertainty: "I am a cricketer."

Asked where he sees himself at the end of his career, he replies: "I never go by records, statistics and rankings. I believe one must take into account all aspects of the game. I want the world to remember me as proficient in all three categories - batting, bowling and fielding. Bowlers will think twice when I bat, similarly batsmen will be wary of my skills with the ball, and they will hesitate to take runs when the ball comes my way on the field."

The realisation of his dream will no doubt require Shakib to keep his feet firmly on the ground despite all the adulation and acclaim. Will he be able to? He breaks into a wry smile. "Cricket is not just my profession, it's the only way I can realise my other dreams. If I shine, everything will fall into place - the ranking will be good, the rewards will flow in."

Self-satisfaction does not feature in Shakib's dictionary, though he is proud to be officially acknowledged as among the world's best. It is not just the personal achievement that is important to him but proving that someone from Bangladesh can become the world's top performer. The sky's the limit, Shakib al Hasan says, and he's started his journey.

A pace odyssey.......

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:26:11 +0100

Every cricketer's dream is to lead his country, and even if you didn't seek Mashrafe Mortaza's reaction you could almost predict it - it is a dream come true. But what sets Mortaza apart is, he never had ambitions of being captain, he says. This may just be a carefully constructed persona to ensure he stands out. Or it may just be the truth - because the notion of him as captain is so unbelievable. In any case, Mortaza repeats his stand: "Believe me, I never ever harboured ambitions of being captain. I like playing under someone else."

There are two ways of seeing this. One, that the honour bestowed on Mortaza by the Bangladesh Cricket Board after removing Mohammad Ashraful has proved to be a crown of thorns. The more positive explanation goes thus: Mortaza doesn't see the captaincy as a do-or-die situation and isn't weighed down by pressure, but instead cherishes the respect and recognition attached to the job. When the responsibility has been entrusted to me, why don't I try and make an impact seems to be his attitude.

It is this attitude - a stubbornness, if you will - that helps one understand Mortaza better. Hailing from the small district town of Narail, he exploded like a meteor on to the Bangladesh cricket scene when he caught the attention of a coach, resulting in his induction at the Under-17 level. A few days later, he was steaming in during a Test match, and he looked every bit Bangladesh's best fast bowler - a spot that had practically not existed in the previous eight years.

However, the bigger challenge lay elsewhere. There have been times in his career when the meteor looked to be a falling star. The past four years have been largely injury-free but the earlier part of his career has coexisted with fitness issues, beginning with a dodgy back and problems with his knees. In fact, both his knees have been operated on four times, with the landing foot going under the knife thrice. It's a wonder, then, how Mortaza continues to be bowling fast. Perhaps it's his inherent stubbornness that helped him fight the battle against injury. If so, it's a quality that will help him when he captains the team.

Will that be enough, though? Cricket and captaincy at the international level is a whole new ball game and Mortaza's stubbornness, his refusal to quit when others have done so, may not be enough. Where will Bangladesh's players get the strength from? Theirs is a weak domestic set-up; opportunities and facilities are scarce. When they are thrust into the trying conditions of international cricket, you have to feel for them.

Ultimately, the captain is only as good as the team. The coach, Jamie Siddons, points out that captaining Bangladesh is the toughest task in international cricket. Mortaza will have no go-to bowler who will guarantee a wicket when handed the ball, nor a batsman on whom he can depend to bat out a session.



	Cricket and captaincy at the international level is a whole new ball game and Mortaza's stubbornness, his refusal to quit when others have done so, may not be enough

The assignment has become even tougher in recent times. The hopes and expectations of achieving the impossible have also gone up. The joke went that there was no easier task than captaining Australia and Bangladesh, for albeit polar opposite reasons: While the Australian captain knew that his team would always win, his Bangladeshi counterpart had no expectations to fulfill.

The expectations first surfaced in December 2004, when Bangladesh defeated India; the tag of "giant-killers" in ODIs has stayed on ever since. Even as Bangladesh lost 47 matches on the trot, their fans revelled in the sheer joy of international cricket. Repeated failure, though, has now resulted in impatience.

Ask Mohammad Ashraful, whose two-year stint at the top was tumultuous. Under his captaincy not only did Bangladesh defeat New Zealand and Sri Lanka in one-dayers, they played two closely fought Test series against those opponents. It seems a trifle unforgiving, then, that Ashraful was shown the door after one Twenty20 defeat to Ireland.

The BCB's stated reasoning was that it wanted Ashraful to concentrate on his batting without the pressures of leading the side. The youngest Test centurion on debut, Ashraful is perhaps associated with inconsistency, and it's easy to apply that to the captaincy as well.

Mortaza remains a huge fan of Ashraful's batting. "He is the biggest match-winner for Bangladesh. When Ashraful is on song, Bangladesh are a different team," he says. Whether cricket watchers will warm up to a changed Ashraful under Mortaza remains to be seen.

Mortaza, though he has matured, has retained his simplicity and a childish streak - neither hidden too far deep. Star power and fame don't interest him; instead, like a hyperactive teenager, he usually seems hellbent on spending his vast reserves of energy.

His impishness came through a few days before the West Indies tour, when he was visiting Narail. Covered in debdaru [a tall, bushy tree] leaves, his face dirty, he and his group of friends were wild with excitement as they went around the town one afternoon.

Will captaincy change the carefree spirit? Mortaza doesn't think so. He wants his colleagues to enjoy the game with the teenage spirit and exuberance he embodies. He has just the one wish, which he clarified at his first team meeting as captain: that everyone, whether they have the ability or not, give 100% on the field. He has promised that he will never let down a player who ensures his best performance always.

Mortaza may not have dreamt of being captain, but the significance is not alien to him. He understands that the fans, with little success to boast of, have also made them their carrier of dreams. They celebrate every success, though they mostly have cause to shed tears at defeat. As in the rest of the subcontinent, cricket in Bangladesh is not just a sport but something bigger, a way of life perhaps.

It's a point Mortaza acknowledges. "It's actually the national flag we are holding in our hands," he says. He may not feel it yet but his load is the heaviest of the lot.

Bangladesh's best......

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:56:57 +0100

The quality of opposition for Bangladesh in the West Indies at the moment has meant that much of the gloss has been taken off their Test and one-day series triumphs, but none can question the class of the player who led them in most of those wins. For years Bangladesh have yearned for a batsman who can score as many runs as his talent suggests he should, and can mix it with the best. Shakib Al Hasan has shown he can do that, and keep his head when things get tight. Add that to his excellent control as a left-arm spinner and a temperament that craves responsibility instead of shunning it, and Bangladesh have an absolute asset on their hands.

When Mashrafe Mortaza, the original captain on their tour to the West Indies, injured himself early in the first Test, Bangladesh's campaign could have gone wrong, even against a weakened opposition. However, Shakib stepped up to the challenge superbly, scoring an undefeated 96 in a difficult run-chase after the team had lost early wickets. Shakib finished the Test series with a batting average of 53 and a bowling average of 18 for his 13 wickets, and was easily the most influential player from either team. The good thing for Bangladesh is, it doesn't appear as if this effort was a flash in the pan.

A Test hundred is still missing from his resumé, but in his last seven innings Shakib has two scores of 96, one of which was an unbeaten knock. His bowling stats are very respectable too, with a mean of almost three-and-a-half wickets per Test, and an average that is less than his batting one.

His ODI numbers are equally impressive, with a batting average of 34 and a bowling average of 30. And it isn't as if he has feasted on the weaker teams either - he averages more than 35 with the bat against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.

Shakib in Tests and ODIs
	Matches	Runs	Average	Wickets	Average
Tests	14	715	29.79	48	28.27
ODIs	64	1718	34.36	70	30.17

Shakib has only played 14 Tests, but his numbers are already among Bangladesh's best with both bat and ball. Among Bangladesh batsmen with at least 500 Test runs, only Habibul Bashar has a higher average, and even there the difference is marginal. For all his undoubted batting talent, Mohammad Ashraful doesn't even figure in the top five, with an average of 23.10.

A feature of Shakib's career has been his consistency: in 26 Test innings, 13 times he has scored 25 or more (50% of his innings). The corresponding percentage for Bashar is 41, and for Ashraful a poor 28%.

Best Test batsmen for Bangladesh (Qual: 500 runs)
Batsman	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Habibul Bashar	50	3026	30.87	3/ 24
Shakib Al Hasan	14	715	29.79	0/ 3
Tamim Iqbal	12	608	27.63	1/ 2
Shahriar Nafees	15	810	27.00	1/ 4
Rajin Saleh	24	1141	25.93	0/ 7

The story is similar in ODIs: Shakib's record is the best among Bangladesh batsmen who've scored 1000 or more runs - an average of 34.36 at a strike-rate of 71.76. In 62 innings, 28 times he has scored 25 or more. Neither Bashar nor Ashraful figure in the top five here - Ashraful averages 23.81 in 139 games, while Bashar is even worse - he averages 21.68, with only 14 half-centuries and no hundreds in 105 innings.

Best ODI batsmen for Bangladesh (Qual: 1000 runs)
Batsman	ODIs	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s
Shakib Al Hasan	64	1718	34.36	71.76	2/ 12
Shahriar Nafees	60	1857	33.76	69.68	4/ 10
Tamim Iqbal	55	1399	25.43	68.91	1/ 8
Aftab Ahmed	80	1874	25.32	83.54	0/ 14
Rajin Saleh	43	1005	23.92	54.82	1/ 6

When Shakib began his Test career, his left-arm spin wasn't much of a threat - in his first six Tests he only took three wickets, each costing him 104.67 runs and requiring 218 deliveries. Since then, though, his numbers are almost unrecognisable: in his last eight games, he has taken an incredible 45 wickets at 23.17 apiece. During this period he has taken five wickets in an innings on five occasions. That's pulled his overall average down to an excellent 28.27, easily the best among Bangladesh bowlers who've taken at least 20 Test wickets.

Best Test bowlers for Bangladesh (Qual: 20 wickets)
Bowler	Tests	Wickets	Average	Strike rate	5WI/ 10WM
Shakib Al Hasan	14	48	28.27	62.3	5/ 0
Enamul Haque jr	14	41	39.24	77.7	3/ 1
Mohammad Rafique	33	100	40.76	87.4	7/ 0
Mashrafe Mortaza	36	78	41.52	76.7	0/ 0
Shahadat Hossain	23	53	43.69	63.0	2/ 0

His ODI bowling stats are pretty good too, though three other Bangladesh bowlers have slightly better averages (among those who've taken 50 ODI wickets). Shakib, however, has a better economy-rate than those three.

Best ODI bowlers for Bangladesh (Qual: 50 wickets)
Bowler	ODIs	Wickets	Average	Econ rate	4WI/ 5WI
Abdur Razzak	83	116	27.54	4.40	3/ 1
Mashrafe Mortaza	101	134	29.23	4.53	5/ 1
Syed Rasel	41	52	29.59	4.35	1/ 0
Shakib Al Hasan	64	70	30.17	4.01	0/ 0
Mohammad Rafique	123	119	38.75	4.39	2/ 1

Let's check how Shakib's numbers compare with the rest of the team's stats. His batting record is obviously much better than that of the rest of the side, with the difference in average being more than 10 in both Tests and in ODIs.

Comparing Shakib the batsman with the others in the Bangladesh team
	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s
Shakib - Tests	14	715	29.79	53.47	0/ 3
Others - Tests	14	4340	18.87	45.65	2/ 16
Shakib - ODIs	64	1718	34.36	71.76	2/ 12
Others - ODIs	64	9163	21.02	64.85	5/ 40

The difference in ODI bowling numbers isn't much at all, but in Tests Shakib has been far more incisive than the rest of the attack. Without him, Bangladesh have leaked almost 48 runs per wicket, while Shakib has got his wickets at almost 20 runs cheaper.

Comparing Shakib the bowler with the others in the Bangladesh team
	Matches	Wickets	Average	Strike rate	Econ rate
Shakib - Tests	14	48	28.27	62.3	2.72
Others - Tests	14	117	47.79	81.22	3.53
Shakib - ODIs	64	70	30.17	45.0	4.01
Others - ODIs	64	327	31.94	41.87	4.58

Admittedly these are still early days in Shakib's career, but the promise is unmistakeable, especially since he has so far handled the extra responsibility of captaincy with aplomb, raising his game with both bat and ball. (Click here to see the performances of Bangladesh's captains in Tests, and here for their performances in ODIs.) At 22, he has plenty of time to go on and become Bangladesh's first world-class allrounder. The signs so far are extremely encouraging.