Bangla have Oz Down 038; Under

Batting first, Bangladesh followed captain Ashikur Rahman8217;s instruction to score at least 250, with openers Nafees Iqbal 59 and Naeem Islam 66 putting on 124 for the first wicket. The others kept up the good work and, though Australia pulled things back in the final 10 overs, Bangladesh managed to put up a respectable 257 for 9.

Good enough by any standard, and almost a winning total by the standards set in this tournament, where teams batting last have often struggled to pass 200.

And as the 15,000-strong crowd pumped up the volume 8212; drum-beating, slogan-shouting, whistle-blowing 8212; left-arm spinner Enamol Haque single-handedly demolished the Australian batting, picking up five for 31. That included two in the final over of the match when only 12 runs were needed. Haque, expectedly, was given the man-of-the-match award.

It wrapped up a dismal tournament for the aussies, who were eliminated from the Super League after one off day against the Zimbabweans. Indeed, they just about made it to the final of the Plate, allowing the Irish to come within 20 runs of their 309 in the semis. Congratulating the host side, Australian coach Bennett King said: 8216;8216;It was a high pressure situation and either side could have won. Today, we couldn8217;t. The players are good, but they still have a lot to learn.8217;8217;

There was, understandably, euphoria in the Bangladesh camp. A Super League slot would have been more welcome, but this isn8217;t bad either. 8216;8216;Once we were out of the Super League, we wanted to make sure we won the Plate championship8217;8217;, coach Richard McInnes said. 8216;8216;We should have scored more, but I think the players found 180 for 2 a brand new situation. But we will learn a lot from this. I am very pleased that we bowled and fielded so well at the death.8217;8217;

Some opinions at the ground have, in fact, already started clamouring for the entire senior lot to be dumped and the youngsters being given a leg up.