Tamim Iqbal was delighted to prove England great Geoffrey Boycott wrong by scoring a blistering century in the first Test at Lord's yesterday.
Tamim Iqbal was delighted to prove England great Geoffrey Boycott wrong by scoring a blistering century in the first Test at Lord's yesterday.
Tamim, whose dashing approach is far removed from that of Boycott, one of the best defensive batsmen of his generation, marked his first appearance at Lord's with 103 in just a hundred balls as Bangladesh fought back in the opening fixture of their two-Test series with England.
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Bangladesh had won just three of their Tests coming into this match ufffd and lost all six of their previous encounters with England.
Boycott, now a television commentator, had questioned their right to Test status and that annoyed Tamim, who starred with the bat during England's 2-0 series win in Bangladesh in March.
"I was watching television last (Saturday) night and I heard him say Bangladesh should not play Tests," Tamim told reporters after stumps. "It made me determined to do something."
However, Tamim insisted he had no ill feeling towards Boycott and would love to pick the former Yorkshire opener's brains.
"I would love to speak to Geoff Boycott. I would like to learn lots of things from him. He was a good player. I want to learn because I love cricket."
Asked what exactly Boycott could teach him, Tamim replied: "Maybe defence. There are lots of guys who are attacking and they can teach me that.
"Geoff was a good defender, I think."
Tamim had made four fifties in five previous innings against England, including one in this match, but there was no disguising his joy when he completed a century that meant his would be alongside some of cricket's greatest names on the Lord's honours boards.
"It feels great, because it's at Lord's, and I was just speaking to Pete who looks after the honours board and the players, and I asked if he can make a fifty board for me, but he said 'no, you'll get there'.
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"So I promised him I wouldn't leave Lord's without a hundred and now I've done it, I'm really proud," Tamim said.
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