Number eight is a starting point

On May 1 news arrived that for the first time in their near 18-year Test history, Bangladesh moved up to number eight in the Test rankings. It is cause for celebration because for the first time the Tigers can look down from their position on the ladder and see someone other than the troubled cricketing nation of Zimbabwe. They can now see West Indies along with Zimbabwe and new Test entrants Afghanistan and Ireland.

It is an achievement because over the last three years -- the period on which the rankings are based -- Bangladesh have performed better in the longest format than the once-mighty West Indies. There is however a danger that a cricketing culture that has one foot perennially placed in the self-congratulation boat will lose sight of the fact that their long awaited improvement in Test cricket is one that coincided with West Indies' continued downward spiral, and that a lot of improvement is still needed.

This tendency was on display in the words of former captain Akram Khan yesterday. "The way we started in Tests many from different quarters said that ICC should withdraw Test status from Bangladesh. Our players gave their answer in the right way," said the chairman of BCB's cricket operations committee. In other words -- no real consideration of recent failures as he emotes about the achievement.

And the memorable away win over Sri Lanka in March 2017. Photo: Star File

The rankings are renewed every year in May, and the period in consideration for the 2018 placements was the one between May 2015 and April 2018. In that three-year period Bangladesh played 18 matches, winning three and losing 10. West Indies played 28 matches, winning five and losing 18.

Home series loss to Sri Lanka in February this year is a useful reminder that a lot of work needs to be done to maintain this high. Photo: Star File

The ranking points accrued during the first two of the three years -- in this case 2015-17 -- are weighted at 50 per cent while the latest period between May 2017 and April 2018 is given 100 per cent weightage. Over the last three years, Bangladesh have had their best results in Tests. In the first year, they had rain-affected drawn home series against South Africa and India in June-July 2015, and before that, a 1-0 loss against Pakistan at home in a two-Test series in April-May 2015. They then played out 1-1 draws against England at home in late 2016, away against Sri Lanka in March 2017 and back home against Australia in September 2017. Only the last of those series, against Australia, enjoyed 100 per cent weighting.

The warning signs here are that Bangladesh have lost 2-0 in South Africa (September-October 2017) and 1-0 at home against Sri Lanka (January-February 2018). While this downturn has not affected their rise, it is a downturn nonetheless. A loss in South Africa is par for the course -- even if the drubbings in the two Tests are not -- but the home loss against Sri Lanka reversed an auspicious trend of creating a fortress at home.

It is also notable that in those good results Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyad (to a lesser extent) had big parts to play, both in terms of performance and leadership. Along with Mashrafe Bin Mortaza in ODIs, these players are the five pillars of the country's cricket but it should not be taken for granted that they will carry the weight indefinitely. Mehedi Hasan Miraz was tremendous in the 2016 England series as a debutant off-spinner, but has since declined sharply, as have young hopefuls like Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman. Successors to the big five are thin on the ground and work needs to be done to ensure that this rise is not a blip to be enjoyed only in 2018.

Appropriately, Bangladesh's next Test series is away against West Indies in July-August before they host the Caribbean outfit at home in December. A home series against another lower-ranked opponent, Zimbabwe, will follow in January 2019. So there may not be any obvious immediate danger of losing their current position, but considering the way the rankings are structured Bangladesh can ill afford to rest on this lowly laurel. In the next cycle the results from 2015-16 will drop off and in the one after that their most profitable 2016-17 season will be a thing of the past.

In that light the promotion to number eight, while notionally a cause for celebration, is really the start of the battle to stay there and it will be tougher than ever because West Indies are more capable of rising than Zimbabwe.