Can 21 years of limbo lay a better blueprint for women?
Major headlines were made on Thursday when the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided that the Bangladesh women's team were to be awarded Test status.
The members of the women's team, who are preparing for their first series since the Covid-19 outbreak last year against South Africa Emerging team, were obviously overjoyed by the news. But it is a matter of fact that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will have to start from scratch when it comes to forming a cricketing structure for women, especially as female cricketers are yet to experience longer versions of the game, even in the domestic circuit.
According to the chairman of the BCB Women's Wing and board director Shafiul Alam Nadel, the first task is to form a good cricketing structure.
"We were planning to start longer-version cricket for female cricketers through two-day competitions. But due to Covid-19 and our plans to host the ICC Under-19 World Cup, we were focusing more on T20 cricket. Although we are still waiting for an official email from the ICC about Test status, we obviously have to focus on our structure as a Test-playing nation," Nadel told The Daily Star yesterday.
The Bangladesh men's team is still struggling to form a settled domestic structure that emphasises the longest format and are yet to become a good Test unit despite entering the elite club 21 years ago.
However, according to veteran coach and former BCB women's wing development manager Nazmul Abedin Fahim, the Bangladesh women's team getting Test status has actually come as a blessing in disguise that will allow women's cricket to start from scratch.
"It's a good thing to start from scratch as there are very few women's teams, apart from England and Australia, who emphasise Test cricket. There are even a few teams who didn't play more than one Test. So, if we can target the number six spot in the rankings and work accordingly, I think it is possible to get there," said Fahim.
Apart from developing the structure, Fahim believes it is important to strengthen the women's wing and make it an independent body separate from the men's team.
"Even the men's have a shortage of grounds and other facilities but if the women's cricketers can have exclusive grounds, facilities and selection policy, the board could give them the financial security by getting them under a salary structure. It will certainly boost the morale of the players. Even the guardians of the girls will be encouraged to allow them to play cricket. The women's team can have their own sponsors if they start to play well," he said.
"If we can also form four zonal teams and emphasise on age-level cricket, I am sure there will be many players coming into the system. Then we can think of having an A team and strengthening our pipeline. We could gradually increase from two-day cricket to three-day cricket because players have hardly batted for more than three hours while bowlers have not bowled more than ten overs in a game in the past."
According to the prominent cricketing brain, who has mentored the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, if women's cricket gets emphasis from the board, it will also have a good effect socially on Bangladesh overall.