A tribute to Dermott Monteith as Ireland secure Test status

Dermott Monteith, the Irish Left arm spinner, was almost 40 when he toured Bangladesh with the MCC team in 1980-81.

By that time he was already a legend in Irish cricket having served the national team with great distinction since the mid 1960s. And despite his age, he produced a string of consistent performances during the tour to Bangladesh.

As the Ireland cricket is enjoying a memorable week, with the long awaited Test status finally coming; I would like to make a small tribute to the memories of Dermott Monteith, by recalling his efforts during the 1980-81 tour.

The MCC team, led by Michael Mence, arrived in Dhaka (or Dacca, as it was called then) immediately after Christmas. Their first fixture, a two-day warm up match against the Central Zone team at Mymensingh ended in draw, although the local side was lucky to get away with a draw, as Hugh Wilson, the young Surrey fast bowler, created panic in the local camp. As for Monteith, he had figures of 2/6 and 2/44 in the match.

The batting of the Central zone side made us concerned. Yet in the very next warm up match, (between a BCCB XI and MCC), the local side impressed in both batting and bowling. First a superb spell of medium pace bowling by Obaidul Haque Azam (7/18), saw MCC bundled out for a paltry 79 in the first innings. BCCB replied with 187/4 (Declared).

MCC recovered with a strong batting display in the second day; but the local side got a big confidence boost with this performance. Monteith had a forgettable match at Faridpur; on the first day, he was out for a duck; one of the seven victims of Azam. And then he went wicket less in the BCCB innings.

After the practice matches, the main series started with a three day match at Chittagong against the Bangladesh national team. Sadly, the weather intervened badly to end the game very early on the second morning.

The local side batted first. Traditionally, Chittagong produces the best batting conditions in the country. Not surprisingly, over the years Chittagong has produced a number of free flowing attacking batsmen. The Abedin brothers (Nurul and Minhajul) plus Zahid Razzak Masum were prolific scorers in domestic cricket throughout the 1980s and the 1990s. Akram Khan played a heroic innings against Holland in 1997 to help Bangladesh qualify for the 1999 WC; Akram’s nephew, Tamim, is now the best batsman of the country. And the local side took good advantage to reach 281/6. Raquibul Hasan looked especially impressive; and he looked set for a hundred. But the weather intervention saw him stranded at 78*.

Up until this point, Monteith had a quite tour, bowling accurately, but not taking too many wickets. But, then he took the spotlight on the opening day of the three day match at Rajshahi. Again the local side batted first; but the guile of Monteith’s spin bowling saw them slump to 45 for 5; all the wickets going to the Irish spinner.

The pitch offered him turn; and with his variations of flight and pace; Monteith appeared almost unplayable to the Bangladesh top order. Raquibul and Syed Ashraful, both fine players of spin bowling; fell to Montieth cheaply.

Bangladesh eventually recovered to reach 216/8 (Declared) at the end of the day’s play, thanks mainly to skipper Shafiq-Ul-Haq Hira, and the ever reliable all rounder Jahangir Shah Badshah; Monteith finished with 7/64.

MCC scored 255 in reply, and although the local side managed only 132 on the final day; the tail managed to waste vital overs, to enforce a draw. Interestingly, Monteith bowled only seven overs on the final day, taking1 for 14.

Michael Mence, the MCC captain felt that this being a friendly tour; giving exposure to the young players was more important than winning matches. So, Andrew Needham, the young Surrey off-spinner, enjoyed a lengthy spell; he took 4/26, but couldn’t enforce a victory.

The tour ended with two matches at Dacca; a three day match, followed by a 40 over per side one day match. For the third consecutive time, the local side batted first. Somewhat unexpectedly, the Dacca pitch offered extra pace and bounce, and the MCC seamers enjoyed the condition.

Richard Hutton (son of Sir Len Hutton) made the early breakthroughs; and MCC never loosened their grip, as the local side was bowled out for only 143. Monteith was his usual miserly self, taking 2/30 from 25 overs.

Again, there was a fascinating battle between him and the Bangladesh middle order. Raquibul, with the best batting technique among the local players, top scored with 51. But even he couldn’t dominate Monteith during his long stay at the wicket.

I was at the stadium the next day; and I saw MCC bat for the whole day, taking control of the match. The day belonged to Mark Nicholas, the young Hampshire batsman. On a bright sunny January day (the spring comes early in the tropics), he batted elegantly to post a classy hundred; he was 148* as MCC declared overnight on 290/6.

Rquibul and Yousuf Babu scored half centuries on the final day to save the match for Bangladesh. Monteith took 1/48.

In the 40 over fixture, MCC took advantage of the inexperience of Bangladesh in limited over cricket at the time to post an easy six wicket win. And as expected, Monteith, the most experienced bowler in the MCC team, played his part.

The Bangladesh openers, Yousuf Babu and Iqbal Ahmed Bacchu, gave their side a flying start. But the introduction of Monteith changed everything; with his nagging accuracy and variation in flight, he completely mesmerised the local batsmen. He took 1 for 19 from 8 overs; with three maidens.

During the summer of 1981; Monteith had a brief spell in county cricket with Middlesex; who used him as a cover for their main spinners, John Emburey and Phil Edmonds, both of whom were expected to feature prominently in the Ashes series. Overall, Monteith’s first class record is highly impressive, 94 wickets at 20.64. But sadly, he never had a chance to play in the highest level of the game.

Given that he never played at the highest level, it is very difficult to compare his efforts with those of the greats of the game. But his contribution to Ireland cricket is undeniable. And just like Haleem Chowdhury (better known as Shahid Jewel), Shamim Kabir, Raquibul Hasan, Shafiq-Ul-Haq and others, here in Bangladesh; he would enjoy folk hero status in the annals of Irish cricket history.

Dermott Monteith died in December 2009. Before his death, he saw Ireland make their mark in international cricket with some impressive victories over ICC full members like Pakistan and Bangladesh.