In 2018, while Bangladesh’s first attempt at a pace revolution under captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was losing steam, another captain in the domestic scene was planting the seeds of the next revolution.
Mominul Haque, a mainstay of the Bangladesh Test team by then, was leading the Chattogram Division in the National Cricket League (NCL) – the country’s biggest four-day competition.
In the 2018, 2019 and 2021 seasons – with the 2020 season getting cancelled due to Covid-19 – he led the side whenever he wasn’t busy with national duty.
In all three seasons, Chattogram finished in the second tier, finishing at the bottom of the eight-team competition in 2019.
As captain, he carried half of the blame, statistically speaking. Out of the six matches in each season, Mominul led the team in three while he was unavailable for the remaining three.
The record books will register Mominul’s time as the Chattogram captain as entirely unremarkable, but looking back with the benefit of hindsight, this was the period when he successfully brought about a change in Bangladesh’s red-ball culture.
In all nine matches Mominul captained, Chattogram played three pacers.
It didn’t matter whether matches were happening in Fatullah, Chattogram, or BKSP; whether he had experienced pacers available or not, he always picked three quicks.
The credit for this idea belongs solely to Mominul, as in the nine matches when he didn’t lead the side, Chattogram fielded three seamers only once.
Mominul’s persistence with this strategy surprised many, which included former Bangladesh captain and current Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Tamim Iqbal.
“Many don’t know that Mominul deserves most of the credit for the fact that we have sufficient pacers for Tests and ODIs,” Tamim had said in an interview to Prothom Alo back in 2022.
“Earlier, in domestic first-class matches, two pacers would at most bowl five overs each before the spinners would be brought on. It would happen everywhere, whether it’s NCL or BCL (Bangladesh Cricket League).
“Mominul is the first captain I saw who let the pacers bowl longer spells. On occasions I have gone up to Mominul and said, “Bhai, let the spinners bowl now.” But he would reply, “If they don’t learn here, how would they bowl in Test matches?”” he added.
Mominul gave many young pacers the opportunity to bowl long spells, which included a certain Hasan Mahmud, the very bowler who ripped through Australia in Darwin on Thursday and scripted one of the greatest days ever in Bangladesh’s Test history.
Hasan put on an exhibition of red-ball bowling, maintaining immaculate discipline throughout the day with his lines and lengths, and reaped the rewards with career-best figures of 6-55.
He was aided by Ebadot Hossain and Taskin Ahmed, who picked two wickets each, to help bundle out the Aussies for a mere 198.
Hasan’s six-fer is the second-best figures for a Bangladeshi in away Tests, right behind Ebadot’s 6-46, who owes much of his Test career to Mominul.
Ebadot, who transitioned from volleyball to cricket in his mid-20s, had a terrible start to his Test career.
From 2019 to 2021, he played 10 Tests, took only 11 wickets – which amounted to a wicket in roughly every 23 overs he bowled.
In nine of those Tests, Mominul was the captain. He had every reason to discard the pacer, but he didn’t, trusting in his ability.
His faith was rewarded in the Mount Maunganui Test in 2022, when Ebadot’s six-wicket haul in the second innings set up Bangladesh’s maiden Test win against New Zealand in New Zealand.
Ebadot completed his haul on the fifth day, and Bangladesh completed the 40-run chase with skipper Mominul unbeaten on 13.
On Thursday, Mominul once again remained unbeaten at the end of play, this time batting on 35 as Bangladesh reached 96-1.
The 34-year-old completed a personal milestone on the day as well, taking over Tamim as Bangladesh’s second-highest run-getter in Tests (5166 runs) but his record went mostly unnoticed as the pacers grabbed all the spotlight.
But Mominul wouldn’t mind that; although he may have been overshadowed by the pacers, but his handprints are all over their success.