Bangladesh show promise

As a cricket lover I was very pleased when I saw that Bangladesh had won their 2nd successive game against New Zealand to go 2-0 up in that series. Because of a washed-out fixture this means that Bangladesh cannot be beaten in this 5 match series and make no mistake about it, this is a major milestone for Bangladesh. If you don't count the 3-0 win over a severely depleted West Indies side this will be the first time Bangladesh have not lost a series against a top flight side. For years now the Bangladeshis have shown promise but have never been able to achieve the consistency which is needed in order to win a series.

In the last few years there have been calls for Bangladesh's Test status to be removed, what good would this do? It would reduce the number of Test playing countries to 8 and would dramatically decrease Bangladesh's development in the Test arena. Think back to how terrible New Zealand were when they first entered Test Cricket, Bangladesh have progressed much quicker than they did. I for one see real potential in Bangladesh, I believe that in a decade or so they could be challenging the top Test nations regularly. The basis for a successful team is in place as they have a very large (cricket mad) population which will continue to produce good cricketers. It is now up to the BCB to install a system whereby the talented cricketers are recognised and given the coaching they need to become high quality players.

Bangladesh have a deep pool of quality spinners and in Tamim Iqbal they have their first genuine World Class batsman (he averages 59.78 from 7 Tests this year) and is second only to Sehwag as the worlds most destructive opener in Tests.

It is essential that Bangladesh start producing fast bowlers that can cope on the World stage as otherwise they will struggle to ever make an impact in places like England, South Africa and Australia.

When I watched Bangladesh play England earlier this year I saw lots of good signs, there were times when the Bangladeshi batsmen were very resolute in tough conditions and made England work for their wickets. This is an essential part of Test Match cricket and is something the batsmen must start to do more regularly. Mohammed Ashraful is the prime example of the careless batting that has dogged Bangladesh's Test progress. Lessons have to be learned from the likes of Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique, their batsmen must learn how to build an innings and capitalise on a start. If this can be achieved along with a few good fast bowlers I have no doubt we will have a good Test Match side on our hands!