Bashar, Islam praise Lillee on returning from MRF Pace Foundation

It was a dream come true for the fast bowling duo from Bangladesh. They had always dreamt of emulating him. But being from Bangladesh, their chances of realising their dream were limited. However, both Manjural Islam and Habibul Bashar now consider themselves very lucky to have interacted with the legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee. Islam and Bashar, incidentally are the first Bangladeshi cricketers to attend the MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai.

Bashar and Islam went back to Dhaka via Kolkata today. On their way, they said that even after playing Test matches, they had not realized that they had so much to learn. Islam boasts the best bowling performance by a Bangladeshi in a Test match. Today, he said that the captain of their team, Naimur Rahman had captured six wickets against India in the inaugural Test that their country played. "However, against Zimbabwe this year, I also took six wickets conceding a lesser number of runs. So at the moment, the record belongs to me," said Islam. He also added that both of them had created a record of sorts by being the first to attend the Pace Foundation from Bangladesh.

Sitting at a hotel close to the airport, both expressed their satisfaction at the way Lillee had helped them. Bashar said, "He was such a great bowler. But he was always down to earth. He mixed freely with us and paid us the same attention that others at the camp got." Of the two, the more Islam added, "We had certain problems in our follow through. Lillee was very patient with us and rectified our faults. I was not completing my follow through while Bashar was not bringing down his arm properly."

While Bashar had played the first Test match against India, Islam had not and still regrets missing out on being a part of history. Bashar incidentally had dismissed Sadagoppan Ramesh in the Indian first innings. Islam said, "He is lucky. However, I plan to make up when we play in the Asian Test Championship match against India. After that we have a full series against Zimbabwe consisting of three Test matches and five one-dayers. Our aim is to remain fit and play in all the three matches."

Both at present, however, want to concentrate on what they have learnt from Lillee. Islam informed that after returning home they would be under the wing of former West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts. "He is also a great bowler. So we plan to pick up useful tips from him also. We have learnt that to fight in the international arena one has to learn new things every now and then. Otherwise success becomes very difficult."