Bangladesh have nothing to lose
One does not wish to sound uncharitable on the eve of a special occasion like the country's inaugural Test but it must be said that on many counts, Bangladesh look ill equipped as they prepare to take on India in their inaugural Test at the
Partab Ramchand
08-Nov-2000
One does not wish to sound uncharitable on the eve of a special
occasion like the country's inaugural Test but it must be said that on
many counts, Bangladesh look ill equipped as they prepare to take on
India in their inaugural Test at the Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka from
Friday.
First is their overall record. Bangladesh has played ten first class
matches over the last three years in New Zealand, South Africa and at
home and have not registered even one victory. They have lost six
games and drawn four. They have just come back from a nightmarish trip
to South Africa where they lost all three one day matches - two by
really embarrassing margins - and a four day game to Griqualand West.
Even in the comparatively less complex field of one day cricket, their
record is nothing to boast about. And as everyone knows, Test cricket
separates the men from the boys.
When Bangladesh was awarded Test status in June, the BCB president
Saber Chowdhury cautioned that amidst all the celebrations and the
euphoria ``we are mindful of the fact that achieving Test status is
not an end in itself but the means to an end.'' Laudable sentiments
indeed.
Good intentions are one thing, professional preparation quite another.
Of course the Bangladeshis may argue that it took time for countries
like Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe to come of age in the longer game. But
there is no denying that keenness and enthusiasm - even if it is in
abundance as in Bangladesh's case - can carry a team some way, but not
all the way.
Is Bangladesh ready for Test cricket? Going by recent events, it must
be said that the worldwide criticism against the country being granted
Test status would seem to be justified. But to their credit, the BCB
and the players are not in the least affected by this attitude. The
organisers are leaving no stone unturned to make the occasion a grand
success and the programmes associated with this objective have already
started. And for their part, the cricketers are prepared to shrug off
the past and get along with the game in a positive manner.
Bangladesh captain Naimur Rahman for one is confident that the side
has fully recovered from last month's disastrous tour of South Africa.
``The disappointing results will not influence our performance in the
Test match. We have already sat together, completed a postmortem and
found our faults. Now we are trying our best to correct ourselves.''
Rahman has also been quoted as saying that the Griqualand bowlers
were better than the Indian pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath
and Venkatesh Prasad and thus the home team had a chance of doing well
in the historic Test. There may a touch of bravado in this, though
perhaps Rahman was also trying to boost the morale of his side. But it
also indicates two things - that Bangladesh have managed to put the
events of the recent past behind them and they are approaching the big
game with the full knowledge that there is no pressure on them at all.
That being the case, the clear message is that they will play with
absolute freedom.
One can't say to what extent Bangladesh will enjoy the home advantage
but they already have a factor in their favour. Bangladesh's strength,
however limited this might be, is their batting and the pitch at the
Bangabandhu stadium has usually favoured the batsmen. It is generally
slow, with the bounce being rather limited and the movement of the
ball is restricted in Dhaka. So Bangladesh do have a few things going
for them. Which is just as well, considering the odds stacked against
them.