Brought down to earth

How does one wriggle out of this one? No, I wasn't suggesting denial by us or the players. What does one write about this match? Was there a match? Even the much maligned Kenyans didn't fare this badly. Whistle my way past deadline? The less said about this match the better? No, Sonia K, my opinion editor wasn't going to stand for that.

This is the long and short of our participation in the World Cup so far. We had a big high with the opening ceremony then an expected low against the Indians then a very high against Ireland (who picked themselves up and went on to create history of their own and how) and now this, the pits. Many West Indies players would deny, wide grin in place, that this was about revenge (not sweet but bloody). A few with a twinkle in their eyes may even ask, "Well what do you think?!"

Again, just like against India, a defeat against West Indies was not unexpected. What was unexpected however was the way it was brought about. If Kenya was the butt of jokes and pokes, this result has left Bangladeshis aghast. Some thought it was too sickening to be funny. Our boat sank as the gun went off. Some West Indies players could be forgiven for feeling a bit guilty. After all, they were breathing our air when they stamped us to an unrecognisable heap.

Among the unkindest cuts of all was the crack that our team wanted to get into the record books and gave their hardest to attain it (Stuart Broad could do it so why can't we?). A humour magazine that comes out with a daily each Friday recreated the Lagaan' poster with our players and urged them with the legend 'Aagaan" (or, Advance). Now they are said to be planning one with "Bhagaan".

We were done in by pace they said. Other players said the difference in height among the West Indies players also confused them. "You are talking to Sarwan who saunters off and you find yourself talking to Sammy's belt. When Benn comes along your head is the level of his fly!"

Not everyone was as crestfallen as our innings unravelled. My eleven-year old nephew who was in the stadium with his father was laughing his head off! "It was like a video game, chachu, where you knock off guys in a real hurry!" he said later.

And then there are others who are more pragmatic. When I asked this niece of mine, who is also the cleverest 12-year-old that I know of, if she was praying for the success of the team and so on, she replied with some heat, "Be realistic, how can you support a team that has absolutely no chance of winning the Cup?"

What? Whatever happened to patriotism?

"Well, I love Bangladesh and feel proud when I think about our War of Liberation but I also want to support a team that can and probably will win. My team is Australia!"

''Have you told anyone about this?''

"Are you insane? They'll kill me — and you don't talk about this either!!"

The thing is the players are as stunned as we are. But then this is not the first time this has happened in a cricket match. Sri Lanka once scored over 300 plus runs in the final of a tournament against India who they then bundled out for 56 runs or thereabouts (this was when Jayasuriya almost go to 200). We could appeal to our fans: please guys, this can happen and will happen again (hopefully with others). Brush it off as you would a nightmare. And think of the bright side. At least no one got killed and everyone lives to fight another day!

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Ishrat Firdousi is a journalist, writer and a cricket enthusiast.