The Marylebone Cricket Club's second tour of Bangladesh started immediately after Christmas 1978 and ended in mid-January 1979. Ted Clark, the captain of the 1976-77 MCC team, was the captain again. The team included two former Test cricketers, John Jameson from England and Sir Conrad Hunte from the West Indies.
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Team performances (Bangladesh)
This tour was mainly organized for Bangladesh's preparation for the ICC Trophy to be held in the summer. However, the crushing defeats suffered by the local side in the 2 limited over fixtures suggested that the local boys were still pretty unfamiliar with the tactics of ODI cricket. The tourists also dominated the 3 day matches, but failed to force any results. The most disappointing aspect of the local team was their top order batting. Specially disappointing was performance of the local captain. Raquibul. At the end of the season, the national selectors decided that captaincy was becoming an extra burden for Raquibul. So, they picked WK batsman Hira as the captain for the ICC Trophy.
With our top order struggling, the lower order often contributed vital runs to save the team's cause. At Rajshahi, Masud (33) and Dipu Chowdhury (22*) shared a vital 9th wicket stand of 63. At Chittagong, Hira (73) led a recovery after the top order had slumped to 63/6. At Dacca, all rounder Jahangir Shah Badshah scored a patient 37 after coming to the wicket as a night watchman. The bowling was dominated by the spinners. Specially, Lintu, the left arm spinner, was superb. Sadly, a conflict between him and the cricket board, meant that this would be his last season in international cricket.
Team performances (MCC)
For MCC, the Test players Conrad Hunte and John Jameson scored regularly. Skipper Ted Clark came good at a critical stage in the Dacca match. But the lower order generally struggled against the local spinners. The MCC new ball attack, consisting of William Merry and Nick Stewart, remained a threat to the local boys throughout the tour. Stewart was specially impressive at Dacca picking up 8 wickets. The MCC spinners Peter Lewington and Alan Duff were also impressive, picking up wickets at vital stages.