The Mushfiqur Show

By Dave Sihra (Dave Meets Ball - Substack)

On Day One, Bangladesh asserted their dominance while Andy McBrine fought to keep Ireland in this Mirpur test match but very soon for local fans it was about one player: MR15.

Meet Ireland’s two newest Test cricketers: Stephen Doheny and Gavin Hoey. The former was an interesting one as the visitors looked to shore up the batting by bringing in Doheny for one of the bowlers.

So with today’s attack we had two seamers in Curtis Campher and Jordan Neill, plus the spin of McBrine, Humphreys, Hoey and a little bit of Tector.

How would this Irish attack go? It was certainly innovative. The unexpected new ball pairing of Neill and Campher gave the Bangladesh openers a chance to get on top.
Hoey then impressed during a long opening spell in which he got into groove and very much looked a test match wrist spinner.

Monimul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim, playing his 100th test, however very much slowed things down in an attritional second session at Mirpur. Then in the final session Rahim along with Liton Das picked things up to really push home their side’s advantage.

However it was Andy McBrine who kept Ireland in the hunt with 4-82 from 26 overs. Three dropped chances could have changed things for the visitors. Then there was also a late review for a caught behind off Hoey which looked promising but ultimately missed the edge to deny the Pembroke man his first test wicket.

Late in the day we had Matthew Humphreys with the new ball. Big swinging arm ball, anyone? Andy Brine came in from the other end but there were no more further wickets. Then it all really became the Mushfiqur Show.

Smelling the moment

Rewind to the first ball after Tea.

It’s a fuller ball outside off from Humphreys and Mushfiqur sends it the boundary to go to fifty while also bringing up the century partnership between himself and Monimul.

At that moment it was still great to see skipper Andrew Balbirnie with the helmet close in at second slip perhaps thinking back to how they got him out at Sylhet. But ten runs came off that over to kick things off in the session for the home side.

A few words on Mr Mushfiqur Rahim. He made his debut in 2005 at the age of 17 at Lords. He’s played in that 2007 World Cup where Ireland turned over Pakistan and then Bangladesh later in the tournament - so he’s seen all of Ireland’s rise in world cricket.

Rahim is one of those pub quiz questions. Name a player who has played in three decades of international cricket. Just don’t forget Paul Stirling.

It was hard to miss the man of the moment on the gigantic poster up in the stands as students swarmed into the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium to catch something extra special: the Mushfiqur Show. Could MR15 join the elite list of those who’ve scored a hundred in their hundredth test?

He did not, on Day One anyway - instead finishing at stumps on 99*. But perhaps that was the magic of the man. Mushfiqur more or less quietly goes about his business as he has done in 100 tests, 274 ODIs, 102 T20Is.

Today Ireland played their part in the Mushfiqur Show keeping things quiet at the end of the day, building tension as the crowd seemed to be willing the umpires on for one more over. Just one more please. One more tune.

Rahim smelled the moment after Tea for Bangladesh to really assert advantage for his team late on Day One. But when his own milestone could come up in front of a crowd of very excitable students, he said: Nah mate, let’s go again tomorrow.

The lead character knew his part to a tee. This may be about him but it’s also about Bangladesh winning a test.

Apologies to the man, he’s only 38, but Mushfiqur Rahim is a relic of another time in world cricket. We are where we are now. Maybe there will be an expanded 2027 edition of the World Test Championship, maybe not.

Ireland may not have enjoyed being part of the supporting cast, but sometimes that’s just it with the theatre of test cricket. There’s fighting to be the main character, there’s heroes. Maybe tomorrow one of Ireland’s bowlers can prize out the senior Bangladeshi batter on 99 and play the villain.

Final note

Andy McBrine certainly looked more comfortable in his craft today; finding that lovely off-spinner’s drift and getting his lengths just right. It was perhaps the extra rhythm he has built up last week that now has everything looking smoother. It’s all that bit easier - the lovely curve he gets on the ball, the little changes of pace.
Moving away from Mushfiqur - it’s easy to forget that McBrine is only 32. He’s in decent shape too. In May at Oak Hill I saw him sprint two after middling it straight to long off.

He’s Ireland’s highest run-scorer in tests and now also our highest wicket-taker in the format. With the way spinners usually mature in their 30s, the Donemana man can probably continue as long as he still has the will and is certainly proving himself to be one our greatest competitors.
This article was originally published on Dave Sihra’s Substack: Dave Meets Ball