Mash & Co brighten mood

It is no secret that when it comes to Bangladesh, 50-over cricket is where it is at. The current tour of South Africa is structured in a way that reflects that. The three ODIs starting with the first one in Kimberley on October 15, have been placed as the meat of the tour with the T20Is to follow. There are also three ODIs, as opposed to two Tests and two T20Is.

The Tests done with, and with the cricketers trying hard to put the horrid results behind them, five of them -- the ODI influx of skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Safuddin and Mehedi Hasan Miraz, the last of whom was also here for the Tests -- turned up for practice at the scene of the massacre, the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

The rest of the Test players – Test-only players Shafiul Islam, Subhasish Roy and Taijul Islam will head back home on Wednesday -- were cooling their heels a day after the innings and 254-run defeat, but it was apparent that the inspirational Mashrafe's presence will not take long in lifting the spirits. The most beloved cricketer in Bangladesh was at first all business when bowling to Nasir in the nets and then having an extended session with the bat. His bat cracked while facing a full-pitched delivery from a net bowler, but true to form, he carried on batting while someone fetched a fresh bat, only stopping when it was apparent that the bat would soon split in two.

Shakib was in relaxed mood too, jovially signalling sixes when his captain pounded them as only he can. With the return of these two stalwarts, suddenly the picture seemed brighter. After Mashrafe was done batting and practice had ended, the man from Narail was overheard regaling those around him with stories about the flight from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein, which was undertaken amid a thunderstorm on Sunday afternoon. Not very fond of flying, the turbulence truly had Mashrafe scared when he saw the unflappable Shakib getting nervous.

"Of course, we have gone through the very difficult challenge of Test cricket," chief selector Minhajul Abedin, who is on tour with the team, said when asked about the morale of the team after back-to-back thrashings. "We have to overcome that. We have to start preparing anew [for the ODI series]. Our ODI captain is here, and four new players have joined us. I believe our player can stage a comeback in the shorter formats."

Comeback or not, the presence of Mashrafe is sure to lift spirits.