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Bangladesh have not improved
By Ranil Abeynaike
One stray victory in an ODI does not make an international cricket team. A lot of noise was made when Bangladesh beat Australia in England some months ago in an ODI. After their performance in Sri Lanka many who were defending them, particularly in the Asian region, have gone into hiding. Criticism must be harsh on the newest entry into International cricket (now 5 years), for their own benefit.

Should the media and of course the ICC put them on a pedestal whenever they score an isolated win then they will not progress fast enough to get anywhere near the rest of the pack. As a TV Commentator I watched every ball played during their last visit here in 2002 and did the same this time. My honest opinion is that there is no improvement in any department of the game. The proof of that in a nutshell, was in that they lost both test matches before lunch on day three. They lost the previous two test matches played against England in England inside three days and all four by an innings. Put it bluntly the Sri Lankan ‘A’ team will beat them convincingly!

Bangladesh wanted ‘test’ status and it was India’s backing them to the hilt, together with support from the Asian countries that helped their cause. Now after five years they are proving to be misfits. The one positive factor is that Bangladesh has a large population and a huge following in the game. This brings about the thought that they must play most of their international cricket at home. The conditions will be familiar, there will be crowd support to back them and that must help. Overseas tours should be kept to a minimum.

In a twelve month period they should engage in four series at home and one away. In addition participate in any one day series that they are invited to. Each series at home should comprise of two test matches and three ODI’s. Meanwhile the ‘A’ squad should be doing the opposite. They must make at least four tours overseas and host on or two home tours. To make all this a reality the ICC, ACC and all the other test playing nations must contribute. Bangladesh is in trouble and only with help from all quarters can they get out of this rut.

To inject more competition into their domestic cricket, there must be fifteen to twenty top class professionals from around the world playing, coaching and training with the locals. This will cost a lot of money. Funding must be done by the governing body at home and the ICC.

There must be an Academy of eighteen to nineteen year olds who must do a two year apprenticeship. They too must play against their counterpart age group players at home and away. Perhaps two series at home and three away.
Batting for long periods of time, building an innings, capitalizing on a good start made, are totally lacking in the Bangladeshi’s. A lot revolves around batting technique. There must be a separate top class batting coach to handle the National team, ‘A’ team and that Academy side. Hours and hours must be spent on honing batting skills. True, bowlers win matches, but should the batsmen not put the runs on the board, the team cannot stay alive in the game.

Mohamed Ashraful is the only player who even has a slim chance of getting into any of the top eight test playing teams. There must be at least half-a-dozen others who must get up to that level in the next twelve months while Ashraful should aim to get recognized as a good international batsman. The team should aim at going the distance of five days in a test match, whatever the result take the fight to the opposition. Bangladesh must be helped to progress. Only calculated perseverance will help them to succeed.

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