Marylebone Cricket Club cricket team in Bangladesh in 1976–77

Last updated February 03, 2024

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) tour of Bangladesh during the winter of 1976/77 marked the entrance of Bangladesh into international cricket. Though the tour was very short, it gave the Bangladeshi players their first taste of international cricket.

The MCC team

Apart from Popplewell, whose first-class career was yet to begin, and Lofting, who never played first-class cricket,^[1] all the team had had first-class careers, of varying lengths, but only Barclay and Vernon were still playing.

The tour

The MCC team arrived at Dhaka on December 27, 1976. On December 29, they left for Rajshahi for the first 2-day match against the North Zone. However, the main attraction of the tour was the three-day unofficial Test match at Dhaka against the Bangladesh national side, which drew a total attendance of some 90,000.^[2]

Scores in brief

Date	Match	Venue			Result
Dec 31-Jan 1	2-Day Match	Rajshahi	North Zone: 119 (Omar Khaled Rumy 27, Faruk 23, Raquibul 15, Duff 4/19, Vernon 3/22) & 185/7 (Declared) (Raquibul 73, Faruk 40*, Piachaud 3/24, Barclay 3/26)	MCC: 123/1 (Declared) (Barclay 60, Norman 55*) & 39/4 (Daulat 2/17)	Match Drawn
3-4 Jan	2-Day Match	Chittagong	East Zone: 162 (Ashraful Haque 68, Shafiq-ul-Haq 26, Shakil Kashem 24, Piachaud 4/36) & 74 (Shamim Kabir 29, Piachaud 6/24)	MCC: 267/6 (Declared) (Hooper 68*, Barclay 60)	MCC wins by an innings & 60 runs
7 - 9 Jan	3-Day Match	Dhaka	Bangladesh: 266/9 (Declared) (Yousuf Rahman Babu 78, Faruk 35, Shamim Kabir 30, Omar Khaled Rumy 28, Piachaud 3/38) & 152/6 (Rumy 32, Shamim Kabir 25)	MCC: 347 (Mence 75*, Norman 74, Barclay 65, Lintu 4/54, Daulat 3/67)	Match drawn
11-12 Jan	2-Day Match	Jessore	MCC: 204/5 (Declared) (Kinkead-Weekes 68*, Ted Clark 60, Yousuf Rahman Babu 4/37) & 117/4	South Zone: 203/9 (Declared) (Raquibul Hasan 74, Piachaud 4/67) & 72/2 (Raquibul 33*)	Match Drawn

Notes

Raquibul Hasan, one of the most respected cricketers in the country earned the distinction of leading the North Zone side.

Shamim Kabir led Bangladesh in the historic match at Dhaka. The other players were, Raquibul Hasan, Mainul Haque Mainu, Syed Ashraful Haque, Omar Khaled Rumy, SM Faruk, Shafiq-ul-Haq Hira (WK), Yousuf Babu, Daulatuzzaman, Dipu Roy Chowdhury & Nazrul Kader Lintu.

The positive report of the MCC about the condition of Bangladesh cricket helped Bangladesh get associate membership of the International Cricket Council in July 1977.^[3] The interest created by the tour played a big part in the rise in popularity of cricket in Bangladesh through the 1980s.^[4]

Related Research Articles

The Bangladesh men's national cricket team, popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. It played its first Test match in November 2000 against India with a 9 wicket win in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test-playing nation. It became an associate member of the ICC in 1977, and competed in six ICC Trophies but performed inconsistently until 1997, which marked the year of their first major victory, winning the 1997 ICC Trophy held in Malaysia. This set Bangladesh on its way of becoming a Test-playing nation, a journey which ended with success in the year 2000.

Enamul Haque Moni, also known as Enamul Haq Moni, is a Bangladeshi former cricketer who played in 10 Tests and 29 ODIs from 1990 to 2003. After retiring from competitive cricket, he became an umpire, and made his first appearance in an ODI between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on 3 December 2006. He is the first Bangladeshi Test-match cricketer to umpire in international cricket.

ASM Raqibul Hasan is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in two ODIs in 1986. He is widely regarded as one of the best Bangladeshi batsman of his era. After retiring from international cricket, he has become a match referee. He won the Independence Award in 2023 for his contribution to the field of sports.

The history of cricket in Bangladesh predates the foundation of the Bangladeshi state in 1971 by nearly two centuries. Cricket was introduced to Bengal by the British in the eighteenth century but its growth in East Bengal was slow. Following Partition and the creation of East Pakistan, both first-class and Test cricket were played there during the 1950s and 1960s. Although cricket continued to be popular after independence, especially in Dhaka, the country lost first-class status and had to establish itself in international competition as an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The tour started immediately after Christmas and ended in mid-January. Michael Mence, a member of the 1976-77 MCC team, was the captain of the side, which included three former Test players, John Jameson, John Hampshire, and Richard Hutton.

Syed Ashraful Haque is a former Bangladeshi cricketer. He was the architect of Bangladesh's first ever ICC Trophy victory, over Fiji in May 1979. His 7/23 from 9.1 overs completely destroyed the Fiji middle order, leading Bangladesh to a 22 run win. He was also a member of the Bangladesh side that played in the historic match at Dhaka against the MCC in January 1977. A right hand batsman and an off break bowler, Ashraf remained an integral part of the national side until his retirement in 1981–82 season.

Yousuf Rahman was a Bangladeshi cricketer, who played regularly for the national side from 1976-77 until his retirement in 1983–84. He top scored with 78 against the MCC at Dhaka in January 1977. He was the first Bangladeshi to score an international hundred, with 115 against PNG in 1982. In the early part of his career, he used to bat in the middle order, but from 1979–80 season onwards he was a regular opener. He was also a useful medium pacer.

Anwarul Kabir Shamim was a Bangladeshi cricketer. He led Bangladesh in its first international match, against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), in Dhaka, in January 1977. The tall and lanky opener had a successful match, scoring 30 and 25. Kabir also captained the East Zone side at Chittagong and scored 29 in the second innings.

Omar Khaled Rumi is a Bangladeshi cricketer. A middle order batsman and a leg spin googley bowler, he played regularly for the national side between 1976–77 and 1983–84.

Mominul Haque, also known as Muminul Showrav, is a Bangladeshi cricketer who is a former captain of the Bangladesh national team in Test matches. He is a left-handed batter.

Nigel Francis Mark Popplewell is an English solicitor and former first-class cricketer who made more than 200 appearances for Somerset between 1979 and 1985. A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, Popplewell also occasionally played as wicket-keeper.

Ariful Haque is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his first-class cricket debut in the 2006/07 season and made his international debut for the Bangladesh cricket team in February 2018.

Liton Kumar Das is a Bangladeshi cricketer and the current vice-captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team in all formats. He is a right-handed batter and a wicket-keeper. He made his international debut for Bangladesh in June 2015. He has scored the highest individual score for Bangladesh in ODI cricket (176).

Edward Austen Clark is a former English cricketer. He played for Middlesex between 1959 and 1966, with occasional games thereafter until 1976.

Shohidul Islam is a Bangladeshi cricketer who plays for Dhaka Metropolis. He made his international debut for the Bangladesh cricket team in November 2021. In July 2022, he was suspended from playing in any form of cricket for ten months, backdated to 28 May 2022, due to a doping violation.

Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, better known as simply Ebadot Hossain, nicknamed 'Sylhet Rocket' due to his speed and skill, is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his international debut for the Bangladesh cricket team in February 2019. He is also an active soldier of Bangladesh Air Force.

Syed Khaled Ahmed, known as Khaled Ahmed, is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his Test cricket debut for the Bangladesh cricket team in November 2018.

Mohammad Nayeem Hasan is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his first-class debut for Chittagong Division in the 2016–17 National Cricket League on 10 October 2015. He made his Test match debut for the Bangladesh cricket team in November 2018, taking five wickets in the first innings. In the process, he became the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul on debut in Tests, at the age of 17 years and 356 days.

The West Indies cricket team toured Bangladesh in January and February 2021 to play two Tests and three One Day International (ODI) matches. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship and the ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

The Bangladesh cricket team toured the West Indies in June and July 2022 to play two Test, three One Day International (ODI), and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Test matches formed part of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship. A draft tour itinerary was announced in May 2022. The full details of the tour were confirmed on 1 June 2022.

References

↑ John Lofting at CricketArchive
↑ J.G. Lofting, "Bangladesh back on the map", The Cricketer , April 1977, p. 29.
↑ Hasan Babli. "Antorjartik Crickete Bangladesh". Khelar Bhuban Prakashani, November, 1994.
↑ Isam, Mohammad. "The original premier league". Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 March 2022.