Impish and impulsive, Habibul Bashar has the style and strokes of a genuine Test player. Most of his runs come from cultured drives through midwicket, and most of his dismissals from a Hilditch-style addiction to the hook. Before Bangladesh's inaugural Test, "Sumon" promised he would kick the habit, but although he made 71 and 30 he was still out hooking ... twice. He has since carried Bangladesh's flimsy middle-order hopes, and inherited the captaincy from Khaled Mahmud in January 2004. After a shaky start in Zimbabwe, he came into his own with a century in St Lucia, as Bangladesh took a first-innings lead in their first Test in the Caribbean. He missed the Champions Trophy in England with an injured thumb - overall he has underperformed in ODIs for such an attacking player - but returned to captain in England in 2005 when, lo and behold, the hook habit cut him down twice at Lord's. But he restored pride with a hard-hitting 61 to conclude a disappointing series. Habibul's greatest moment as captain came a few weeks later at Cardiff, with a convincing five-wicket win over Australia in the NatWest Series. However, normal service resumed in September in Sri Lanka, where Bangladesh were blanked in both Tests and one-dayers. That he topped the Test averages was little consolation for Habibul, who called the tour his "worst ever". But things were looking up: he made 76 (and was run out for 7) as Bangladesh ran Australia awfully close at Fatullah in April 2006. After a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign in 2006, Bashar led Bangladesh to convincing one-day series victories against Zimbabwe and Scotland. His best moment as captain came when Bangladesh entered the Super Eights in the 2007 World Cup, and their campaign included wins against India and South Africa. However, his batting form suffered and as a non-contributing senior, was dropped and replaced as captain by Mohammad Ashraful. With no signs of a recall, he decided to join the Bangladesh exodus to the ICL in 2008 and was named captain of the Dhaka Warriors. He was subsequently handed a 10-year ban by the BCB.

Simon Briggs (September 16, 2008)

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