Shakib Al Hasan: World Cricket's Bowler of the Month, November 2014

As Bangladesh emerged from their 2014 malaise to whitewash Zimbabwe in both Test and one-day international series, it was no surprise that Shakib Al Hasan was one of the driving forces. His performances with the ball across both formats made him the standout bowler in world cricket for November.

All-rounder Al Hasan is unquestionably Bangladesh's star man, and in November he continued his successful comeback from a ban enforced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for "serious misbehaviour," as detailed by Mohammad Isam of ESPN Cricinfo.

Shakib was involved in an altercation with a spectator during an ODI with India in June and fell out spectacularly with coach Chandika Hathurusingha, resulting in a six-month ban for what the BCB president  Nazmul Hassan called "a severe attitude problem, which is unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh cricket," per Isam.

His ban was ultimately cut short and, to borrow a phrase from the Kevin Pietersen saga, he was hastily reintegrated for the Zimbabwe series. Like Pietersen, who rejoined England after being dropped in 2012 to inspire a stunning victory in Mumbai, Shakib's impact was significant.

In a preview of the Test series, Devashish Fuloria of ESPN Cricinfo emphasised that Shakib was integral to Bangladesh's bowling attack:

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For Bangladesh, taking 20 wickets is a lot more likely when Shakib is part of their attack. The extent to which he has been missed can be measured by two simple numbers. In the two-Test series in the West Indies, Bangladesh, minus Shakib, picked up a grand total of 21 wickets. Shakib, who has only played two of Bangladesh's four Tests this year, remains their highest wicket-taker in 2014.

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Fuloria's judgement that Bangladesh's attack is more dangerous with Shakib was instantly vindicated when the series started in October.

He immediately made his presence felt with 6-of-59 to help skittle the tourists for 240, setting a fine example for young left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who then ran through Zimbabwe second time around with an extraordinary haul of 8-of-39.

Shakib was just warming up, and in November he really hit his stride with an all-round masterclass: His first innings century with 5-of-80 in the first innings and an even better 5-of-44 in the second innings. All bar two of the batsmen he dismissed batted in the top seven.

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Shakib Al Hasan becomes 3rd player after IBotham & Imran Khan with a century & 10-wkt match haul in same Test, 1st to do so v non-India Team

— Cricket Record (@cricinfo_record) November 7, 2014"

Only four players took more Test wickets than Shakib's 11 scalps in November as per ESPN Cricinfo, and all of those played three Tests in the Pakistan vs. New Zealand series as opposed to the two Tests the Bangladeshi all-rounder appeared in.

Pakistan spin duo Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar continued their fine form from the demolition of Australia, taking 15 and 13 wickets respectively against the Black Caps in the UAE.

New Zealand spinner Mark Craig also prospered, ending November with 13 victims thanks to November's outstanding single performance. His 7-of-94 in the third Test helped to turn the tide for New Zealand, as recounted in Bleacher Report's analysis of winners and losers from the series.

Shakib edges all of them for the title of World Cricket's Bowler of the Month for his sustained excellence in the ODI series that followed, the first four of which took place in the latter part of November.

Most notable was his 4-of-41 in the first ODI, coming as it did on top of another century, but in other games where he took wickets without being so incisive, he always played a vital role in restricting the opposition's scoring.

His eight wickets in the first four ODIs made him the leading wicket-taker in international cricket across all formats in November, above the aforementioned trio as well as Zimbabwean Tinashe Panyangara, who took seven wickets in both Tests and ODIs against Bangladesh.

Player	Mat	Overs	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	5-fors	10 Wkt Match
Shakib Al Hasan (Ban)	6	130.0	332	19	5/44	10/124	17.47	2.55	41.0	2	1
Yasir Shah (Pak)	3	141.1	503	15	5/79	7/171	33.53	3.56	56.4	1	0
T Panyangara (Zim)	5	103.4	366	14	3/66	4/101	26.14	3.53	44.4	0	0
MD Craig (NZ)	3	131.1	541	13	7/94	10/203	41.61	4.12	60.5	1	1
Zulfiqar Babar (Pak)	3	147.2	495	13	4/96	8/233	38.07	3.35	68.0	0	0

Taking all formats into account, Shakib's consistency and superiority across most areas makes him stand out.

His average of 17.47 is far superior to the other four bowlers, the next best being Panyangara with 26.14, and nobody has a better strike rate than Shakib's wicket every 41 deliveries.

Most remarkably, given that three of the other top four wicket-takers for the month exclusively played Tests rather than the free-scoring ODI format, Shakib's economy rate of 2.55 runs per over also outstrips his peers.

Impressively, of the 150 balls Shakib delivered in ODIs, only 10 went for boundaries, and none of these cleared the ropes, reflecting his great skill, control and guile with the white ball.

Crucially in determining World Cricket's leading bowler for the month, the two five-wicket hauls Shakib recorded represent an achievement that no other bowler matched in international cricket in November.

Shakib carried his form into December with 3-of-30 in the final ODI on the first day of the new month, and Bangladesh are clearly relishing having such an effective performer back in their ranks, helping them rediscover that winning feeling in the process.

Any hopes Bangladesh harbour of progressing from Pool A in the World Cup, which commences in February, likely at the cost of one of Australia, England, New Zealand or Sri Lanka, will rest firmly on Shakib showing his best form with both the bat and, as was the case throughout November, with the ball as well.