Rhodes criticizes point structure after match washed out
Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes criticized the point structure of the tri-nation series after the third ODI between Bangladesh and Ireland was abandoned at The Village ground, Dublin on Thursday without a ball being bowled due to heavy rain.
Though leading the table, Bangladesh had to be satisfied with only two points from the abandoned match.
According to the point structure, a team can earn four points from a win. There is a chance of an extra bonus point. If the game is abandoned each team will get two points from the game.
“The system is interesting because five points for a win with a bonus point and you are really losing three points,” Rhodes told reporters after the game was declared abandoned.
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‘’The system is best for some hot countries in international cricket. In Scotland, Ireland and England in May you get rained off games. Sides maybe lose out a little bit in rained off games. Maybe that needs looking at,’’ he added.
The double-round format will see teams face each other one more time before the top-two teams square off in the final on May 17.
Rhodes expressed his concern as the abandoned match squeezed the opportunity for some guys like Farhad Reza and Yasir Ali in the squad.
‘’If we had won this game it would have been easier to play some of these guys,’’ he said.
Though Bangladesh won convincingly against Windies the form of Mustafizur Rahman is the only spot of bother.
The left-arm pacer got some good beating as he gave away 84 runs in his 10 overs and it was alarming considering he gave away 93 runs in his previous game against New Zealand.
However, Rhodes remains confident about the cutter-master.
‘’It doesn’t worry me to see him concede a few runs in the last game that he played against Windies because he is a quality bowler and our best death bowler,’’ he said.
‘’I really think he is a wonderful one-day bowler. Not long ago he was ranked in the top-five. We haven’t got many of our Bangladesh bowlers ranked among the top-five in the world,’’ he said.
Rhodes said that the only concern now is to see how quickly Mahmudullah can recover from his shoulder injury and bowl, as he believes his bowling allows them to have more options.
Bangladesh received a serious injury scare ahead of the World Cup after an MRI report revealed that Mahmudullah had a grade-3 tear on his shoulder which often requires a surgery for complete healing.
Mahmudullah had initially injured himself a few months ago but worsened it during the first Test against New Zealand on the recent tour when he dived on the field twice.
Though he can bat, Bangladesh management opted not to risk him by giving him the ball.
“[Mahmudullah] Riyad is quite confident with his shoulder problem that he can get himself fit for the World Cup,’’ said Rhodes.
The head coach added that there is no serious injury concern unlike in the past when there were worries as quite a few of the players sustained injuries.
