Bangladesh in test cricket: Will the Tigers ever roar?

Bangladesh, in an ODI triangular series in 2000 involving Kenya and India alongside, achieved the feat of posting above 250 runs against their neighbours in one of the league matches. Having already defeated Pakistan in a World Cup(1999) match, the ICC thought of the fast rising Bangladesh being a bright prospect for a test playing nation. Finally, with India’s support, in 2000, Bangladesh was given the test status by the International Cricket Council.

Will the Tigers ever rise in test cricket?

With the friendly series against India being their first test match ever, Bangladesh wasn’t a complete disaster. Despite being handed a 9-wicket loss by India, Bangladesh did perform well in the first innings, being able to post 400 runs on their first innings ever of a test match. However, from the second innings onwards, they faltered badly and have not been able to found a firm foothold in the test cricket yet.

Bangladesh played like they have nothing to lose in the initial years of their test cricket history and to be fair to them, they really had nothing to lose in those times. In their pursuit of liberation to test cricket, they came mighty close to winning a test match in Pakistan only to encounter Inzamam-ul-Haq as a roadblock as he single-handedly won the game for his team(by 1 wicket). People showering rose petals on his return to the pavilion said a lot about the significance of the innings. Bangladesh lost the match, but started to provide some interesting test match moments every now and then.

Just when the world thought they were going in the right direction, Bangladesh cricket began to be content with just putting up a fight against teams and not cultivating that winning edge over its oppositions. They fought 34 battles on the field, losing most of them before finally beating the depleted Zimbabwean team in their 35th test match. On the other hand, Zimbabwe achieved their first win on their 11th attempt. They had to wait for 8 years to taste their first overseas victory against West Indies team in December 2007. Till August 2011, Bangladesh managed to win just 3 test matches out of 70 matches competed, defeated in as many as 60 matches. Hence, it is clear that something is wrong with the Bangladesh Test Cricket. Lets analyze.

First and foremost of their problems is their temperament. They don’t possess the much required patience and perseverance for a test playing environment. Bangladesh have transformed into an half-decent one day side and a good side at home, but they still remain a pathetic test playing nation. It is high time that they understand what is expected of them on the world space and deliver. What is infuriating is that they have the talent to achieve much more that they have actually achieved.

Mohammad Ashraful shows some class with his flamboyant batting at times but is not consistent enough. He could be to Bangladesh what Sachin was to India in 1990′s. But the problem is that he knew himself to be that key batsman for his but never fulfilled the promise he showed nor displayed the responsibility required for the job.

Another problem for Bangladesh is their approach to test cricket: they play test matches like playing two one day innings in 5 days. Of the 60 defeats mentioned, 34 have been innings defeats, which is a staggering number. It shows that they play too fast for a test match and in the bargain lose out more often than not. They seldom last a day when they bat and rarely get 10 wickets in a day.

And it is not a problem of their skill. Bangladesh boast of some really fine and skillful players in their armoury. Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib-al-Hasan(who is considered as one of the world’s best all rounder at the moment) are all great players. They also boast of really good spin bowling attack which has played a pivotal role in almost all their victories.

What the ICC’s action of granting test status to Bangladesh has done is made them more cautious of awarding test status to other nations after having witnessed the Bangladesh debacle. The governing body pondered over giving the test status to Kenya after the latter reached the semi finals in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, but the Bangladesh story made them opt otherwise. The ICC has indeed learnt a lesson the hard way.

It is high time Bangladesh takes its test cricket seriously and perform better rather behaving like a starlet even after 11 years of playing test cricket. Else they should be stripped off the test status like what happened to Zimbabwe. A message should be sent across very clearly. The quality of Test Cricket cannot be compromised. And Bangladesh needs to understand that!