By Qaiser Mohammad Ali
IANS
Chittagong : India has played an important role in moulding several Bangladeshi cricketers and their pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza also learnt some vital lessons at the Chennai-based MRF Pace Foundation a few years ago.
Mortaza, whose 79, scored off 91 balls, averted the follow-on on the fourth day of the first Test against India here, had a flaw in his bowling action. But it was corrected by the legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, a visiting coach at the foundation, some three years ago.
Today, Bangladesh looks up to 23-year-old Mortaza to provide breakthrough and win matches. He was instrumental in his team's startling win over India in the recent World Cup in the West Indies. He has also bowled well in this series, but his ability with the bat Monday brought the spectators to their feet as he smashed seven boundaries and three sixes.
Anti-racism code
The Bangladesh Cricket Board is following the game's global anti-racism code during the series against India too. Posters with the full code written in bold letters are pasted at various places in the stadium and pamphlets are distributed.
The code is aimed at educating spectators about what rules should be followed while watching a cricket match from the stands, like refraining from capturing the play in their cameras.
"Spectators shall not engage in any conduct, act towards, or speak to any player, umpire, referee or other officials or other spectators in a manner which offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies that other person on the basis of that other person's race, religion, colour, national or ethnic origin," says the code.
Reminding the spectators of their responsibilities, it says: "Spectators are reminded that racially abusive comments and actions will result in ejection from the ground and possible further action such as criminal prosecution, identification by way of photographing and/or capturing by video camera of the images of such persons and life-bans being imposed on such persons."