LONDON: Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza defended his wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim after he committed a run-out blunder in the match against New Zealand on Wednesday at the Oval.
The skipper was referring to an incident that took place in the 12th over of the New Zealand innings when the Ross Taylor - Williamson partnership was flourishing.
The two batsmen got involved in a mix-up and Tamim Iqbal threw the ball from mid-on, Williamson was well short of the crease and he had almost given up. But Mushfiqur took the ball in front of the stumps, with his feet behind, and tried to break the stumps. Straight away, Tamim and Shakib reacted in a way that suggested they knew what had happened. The replays clearly showed that the wicket-keeper's elbow had dislodged the bails without the ball in his grasp.
As a result, the duo of Williamson and Taylor went on to add 105 runs for the fourth wicket. Bangladesh was able to scalp wickets at later stages, but the Kiwis somehow managed a two-wicket victory.
"I don't think we need to go after Mushfiqur. He was also trying hard to get him out. That throw was straight, but as a keeper, it was hard to know if it was straight or not. Suddenly the stumps hit his elbow, but it happens. Mushfiqur is a professional player. He knows how to handle all of this. It is not as if this was the first mistake in Mushfiqur's life. Every player makes mistakes," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Mortaza, as saying.
"For example, in the last match Soumya dropped a catch, but he has caught many difficult ones before that. I think that it can happen with Mushfiqur, and that it may happen again is a normal thing. We are not here to blame anyone, we are here to give our best. Even after that, the catches that Mushfiqur took of Ross Taylor and Grandhomme, those could have been turning points," he added.
Bangladesh was bundled out by the Kiwis for just 244 runs, and Mortaza said that the team probably fell 30 runs short of the desired total.
"If you don't score big, you have to take all those chances. It happens in cricket. No one wants to make mistakes. I think the bigger mistakes was when we batted. If we managed to score 30 more runs, it could have been a different game," Mortaza said.
Bangladesh will next face England in the World Cup on June 8.