Same old story, same old tune
It was yet another below par performance as Bangladesh suffered their 100th Test defeat in 134 Tests , losing by 10 wickets against West Indies in the second Test in Saint Lucia on Monday.
After ushering in 2022 with a historic win over New Zealand in Mount Maunganui, Bangladesh have now gone on to lose six Tests out of seven, managing only one draw so far this year. The defeat against the West Indies also culminated in their third straight series defeat this year, following the drawn series against New Zealand.
There were high hopes after the win in New Zealand. Many believed a win against the top-ranked Test side in their backyard could not be chalked up as a fluke and that Bangladesh would find more direction when it came to emphasising the longest format of the game.
Disappointingly, things remain at a standstill, even compared to Bangladesh's start in the Test format 22 years ago. There have barely been any improvements in terms of mentality or creating a proper cricketing culture that prioritises the elite form of cricket in the country.
Interestingly, even after the crushing defeat in the two-match Test series under newly-appointed captain Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon hummed same old tune of finding positives in defeat. But Hassan was honest enough to admit that losing a Test was nothing new for Bangladesh.
"We have been losing our entire life. I would rather say that if I look at the first Test and compare it to when we travelled to the Caribbean in 2018, we did well this time around. From that aspect, I would say this is definitely improvement. If you look at the history of the teams who are doing well now, even their performances were not good for the first 20-22 years of playing Test cricket. But still we have a long way to go in Test cricket and we are working on it," Hassan told the media on Sunday.
There has been a clamour to reform the domestic structure ever since Bangladesh were granted Test status, but unfortunately there has hardly been any change. Demands to foster a healthy cricketing culture have also been heard for many years, but even now very few realise what that means.
Despite 22 years in the Test arena, Hassan still feels that it will take more time to foster that cricketing culture and that there was no need to be disheartened.
Stakeholders have expressed a great deal of satisfaction over the few wins at home, such as victories over Australia and England in 2016 and 2017 on tailor-made pitches that suited the hosts. But there appears nobody willing to question the lack of consistency.
"It will take some time to build a Test culture. If I am not wrong, it took 26 years before India won their first Test. So don't get restless. New Zealand, despite being World Test Champions, managed to win only two out of eight Test series. They may have won Test matches, but couldn't win series. Even they are losing. Does that mean New Zealand are a bad side? Don't get so disappointed," an optimistic Hassan said.
With the white-ball series against the West Indies set to begin next week, a win or two in the shorter formats would certainly see all these concerns regarding Test cricket swept under the rug -- at least until the Tigers plays their next Tests later this year.
Comments