The biggest fight for dignity and respect in the world of cricket is about to begin on 30th May 2019 with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. This is the 12th cricket world cup event. In the list of world champions, Australia sits unrivaled at the top with 5 titles. The closest competitors are the West Indies and India with 2 titles each. Pakistan and Sri Lanka both have also held the trophy one time each. That means England, who claims to be the founder of cricket, hasn’t won a single tournament yet. Even though England is considered a heavy favorite this Cricket World Cup 2019, the reality is, they have an empty basket when it comes to trophies. They have come in ‘second place’ the most times (England are 3-time runner ups in the world cup). Maybe if things had gone a bit differently here and there they would have a world cup under their belts.
When it comes to cricket, the English have a history that goes way back, and you cannot avoid talking about them when discussing cricket’s history. England is a close family member of cricket. They were one of the teams in both the first one-day match and the first test match. And aside from being the runner up in a world cup, they also have a ‘kind of’ a record. If you count 2019, they have hosted the world cup tournament 5 times, which is the most of any other country.
The Cricket World Cup 2019 is being organized by both England and Wales. But in reality, 10 of the 11 venues are located in England. And what those venues are! Some of the greatest venues like the Lords, Old Trafford, Edgbaston, and Oval will host 48 matches of the Cricket World Cup 2019. And today’s article is about 5 such famed venues where Bangladesh will play.
Kennington Oval – London
Not just cricket, many other sports are associated with Oval as well. The first international football match of Englang was also held here
Where did cricket start in England? The answer, this Oval. The first test match in England’s history was held in 1880 on English grounds, and that venue was, needless to say the Oval. This famous stadium in South London has witnessed countless histories being made throughout the ages. In 2017, it became only the 4th stadium to have the honor of hosting 100 test matches. In comparison, Bangladesh itself has only played 114 test matches in total over the last 20 years! This Oval has also been serving as the home ground for Surrey Cricket County Club since 1845. In terms of importance, the last match of England’s cricket season is held on this field. It can hold up to 23,500 spectators. Pakistan in 2006 was caught tampering with the ball by the umpires and was penalized 5 runs. However, the Pakistani team denied the accusation and refused to return to the field after the tea break. As a result, their opponents England was declared the winner of the match due to a walkover. After a while, Pakistan, maybe for the sake of their reputation, wanted to continue the match, however, the umpires clearly told them that the match had already been declared over and England was announced as the winner.
Even though it’s unfortunate, but Bangladesh doesn’t have pleasant memories about the field. In fact, Bangladesh is one of the only two test playing teams who have never played here. But Bangladesh has a chance now to make the future colorful. 5 matches of the Cricket World Cup 2019 will be held in Oval, and Bangladesh will play in two of those matches. They will face South Africa on 2nd June and New Zealand on 5th. Bangladesh will start their world cup mission against these two powerful opponents from this Oval.
Sofia Garden – Cardiff
Everyone says ‘Something happens to Bangladesh when they play in Cardiff’. But any fan who only witness the 2011 and 2015 world can change this quote and say, ‘Something happened to Bangladesh and Mahmudullah Riyad when they get this England in world cup’
The only stadium outside England we mentioned above is this Sofia Garden (Referred to as Cardiff from here on). This stadium in Wales is still a new-born in comparison to other hundred-year-old venues in England. The first one-day match was held on 199 and the first test match was held just the other day, in 2009. And with that test match in 2009 Cardiff became the 100th test venue. But that is not a concern for Bangladeshi cricket fans. Arguably, two of the greatest one-day victories for Bangladesh came on this field!
The all-victorious Australian team of 2005. Gilchrist, Hayden, McGrath, Kasprowicz, Hussey; what a team that was! That Australia team was so triumphant that even a team formed of their clones would have lost quite easily to them! It was even very difficult beating them in computer games. But on June 18th of that year saw the impossible happen. The bats of Ashraful, Bashar, Aftab, and Rafique seemed to become unsheathed swords! The balls seemed to race across the boundary with each stroke. The world was astonished to see that even Australia can lose! And the silent witness to these events was Cardiff’s Sofia Garden.
The next story is even more recent. The same Cardiff, the same June month, same Bangladesh. This time it is for the Champions Trophy and the opponent is Australia’s neighbor, New Zealand. The math was easy; Bangladesh was out if they lost the match. The Kiwi’s batted first and set a target of 266 runs. Trend Boult and Tim Southee started to strike like cobras thanks to their swing and pace balls. Bangladesh’s Mr. Dependable Mushfiqur Rahim failed to withstand their strikes and left the crease as Bangladesh was 33 for 4. Win? That was miles away. It started to feel as if fearless Bangladesh is about to play for a ‘respectable loss’. The men on each side of the crease didn’t even debut for Bangladesh when the Tigers won their historic match against Australia in Cardiff. Who knows, maybe the ghost of that 2005 win possessed these two on that day. Two Bangladeshi pillars named ‘Riyad’ and ‘Faysal’ scored centuries that day and created a historic partnership. They shocked New Zealand and the world by snatching away a 5-wicket win. Who’s this Riyad? You probably already recognized that it’s Mahmudullah Riyad. But Faysal? He is non-other than our Sakib! The world’s best all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
Everyone says ‘Something happens to Bangladesh when they play in Cardiff’. But any fan who only witness the 2011 and 2015 world can change this quote and say, ‘Something happened to Bangladesh and Mahmudullah Riyad when they get this England in world cup’. Another world cup is knocking on the door, the stage is set for a match against England, both Mahmudullah Riyad and Shakib Al Hasan are ready with their mates. And what a surprise! The match against England will be held in this Cardiff again! Are the cricket gods slyly smiling staring at England who is considered as the heavy favorite for this world cup? We need to keep an eye on our TV screen to find that out as Bangladesh and England face each other on 8th June in Cardiff. Wow! Again in June!
Bristol County Ground – Bristol
4 matches of the Cricket World Cup 2019 will be held at the venue. But most of our eyes will, no doubt, be focusing on the June 11th match, the day when Bangladesh is facing Sri Lanka in Bristol
It seems as if Shafiul Islam wants to spread his wings like an eagle and fly. Rubel Hossain is already in space. And you can vaguely make out some people running around near the wicket, you have to take a souvenir, don’t you? You can also faintly see someone’s back, that’s Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. Maybe he has taken Bangladesh to unimaginable heights today as the team captain, but we are talking about 2010; the seventh surgery on his leg hasn’t happened yet. Although, it was this Mashrafe who was both the man of the match and the captain when Bangladesh beat England for the first time. Where did the match take place? On this very Bristol County Ground!
Like many other English stadiums, this one is also more than a hundred years old. The stadium, which was established in 1889, is now the home ground for the English county club Gloucestershire after many ups and downs. It can hold almost 15 thousand people and is renowned as one of the greatest grounds. Many famous matches were held here. Mainly, the field was mostly used for test matches. Maybe that is why the boundary of this field is much larger than other country fields.
4 matches of the Cricket World Cup 2019 will be held at the venue. But most of our eyes will, no doubt, be focusing on the June 11th match, the day when Bangladesh is facing Sri Lanka in Bristol.
Edgbaston – Birmingham
Various reasons have deterred the Edgbaston from giving Bangladesh some happy memories as a gift
Birmingham is the largest English city after London. The Edgbaston is located in this Birmingham. Built in 1882, this stadium can support nearly 25 thousand spectators. It is the home ground of English country team Warwickshire. The first ODI was played in 1972 in this field and the first test match around 120 years ago in 1902.
This Edgbaston is really a wonderful and important stadium. Cricket’s bible Wisden’s ‘Guide to Cricket’ named it the most influential stadium after Lords in 1992. This venue is lucky for the English cricket team and receives the most support from their fans when playing. According to the former captain of England cricket team Alec Stewart, the audience becomes the twelfth man on the field!
Various reasons have deterred the Edgbaston from giving Bangladesh some happy memories as a gift. No matter the format, defeat was the only friend. The last match was even more terrible experience. During the semis of the 2017 Champions Trophy, India brought Bangladesh down to earth who were flying high after defeating New Zealand. Will this time be different? Or will the same situation of the last match repeat? On July 2, 2019, Bangladesh will take on West Indies in the 40th match of Cricket World Cup 2019.
Lord’s – London
Tamim Iqbal’s name is on Lord’s Honours Board where you can’t find the name of such legends as Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Lara or Ponting
It’s almost impossible to find someone who follows cricket but doesn’t know the name of Lord’s. It is the world’s ‘Home of Cricket’! Established in 1814, Lord’s is without a doubt the oldest cricket ground. The world’s oldest sports museum is also at Lord’s. Then there’s the dream of every cricketer, the Honours Board.
I don’t know what comes to your mind when you hear the name of Lord’s, but I always remember Tamim Iqbal’s century and that ageless celebration – ‘Write down my name!’ he yelled out as he completed the century He just scored a fifty on the last innings and asked the individual responsible why there wasn’t an Honours Board for scoring 50. He was told he needs to score a 100 if he wants to be on the Honours Board! The recent 20-year-old took on the challenge and scored 100 in 103 balls in an impeccable inning. His name was put on Lord’s Honours Board where you can’t find the name of such legends as Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Lara or Ponting! Tamim hasn’t been the same Tamim for a while now, he has become steadier with age. But to remember how explosive he can be when needed, just watch the last BPL final. Bangladesh will fight against Pakistan on July 5th at Lord’s. What do you think? Will Bangladesh be able to beat Pakistan? Will the Tigers be able to celebrate at the end?
Do I sound like a pessimist? Are you thinking about how the match on the 5th might be the last match? Is Bangladesh so trivial that they are out of the equation, and consider the 5th July match as the ‘last match’ for Bangladesh? Did the writer forget that there is still the semi-final and final matches after that?
No, haven’t forgotten at all. In fact, I know very well that the final match of the Cricket World Cup 2019 will be held at Lord’s. The Tiger’s must play in the finals if they wish to color the end. And as everyone knows, the ‘Final’ match means the last match!! Lots and lots of good wishes to the Tigers for the Cricket World Cup 2019!
Before the end
This was the story on the 5 venues of the Cricket World Cup 2019 where Bangladesh will play. Did you like it? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments sections. You can also download the photo below that details the Bangladesh matches.
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