Bangladesh: The unpreparedness continues

Bangladesh are set to become the most unprepared entrants to the Test arena since South Africa in 1889.

They will enter their historic inaugural Test match against India at Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka, on November 10 having played just ten first-class matches in their history as an independent nation. They have not won any of their nine games played to date.

Since the announcement in June of Bangladesh's promotion to become the tenth Test nation, they have been able to secure one overseas tour to play full international opposition. Next month, they will compete in the two-yearly ICC Knockout Tournament in Kenya, after which they will travel to South Africa, having accepted an invitation from the United Cricket Board to gain valuable experience before entering the Test fray for the first time.

According to UCB managing director Ali Bacher, the Board invited Bangladesh in order to assist Test cricket's their progress in international cricket. This is part of the UCB's commitment to helping the Bangladesh Cricket Board with the development of the game in their country.

This is the extent of South Africa's committment: Bangladesh will play one four-day first class match against provincial side Griqualand West from October 12 to 15. Plus - you guessed it - three limited-over day-nighters, all against South Africa 'A' on October 18, 21 and 23.

It hasn't been explained why one-day matches are going to be more beneficial in the lead up to an important Test match than playing a four or five-day game against South Africa 'A' over the same period. Nor has it been explained what will happen if Bangladesh do the unexpected and advance to the semifinal of the ICC Knockout in Nairobi on October 13 and the final on the 15th. Will the match against the Griquas be called off, or maybe reduced to a onedayer itself?

Griqualand West played seven first-class matches in the Supersport Series, South Africa's domestic provincial championships, in the 1999-2000 season. Of those seven games, they drew three, lost four, and won none.

Bangladesh have been allocated the worst-performed team of the eleven provincial sides in South Africa for their Test match buildup.

It should be stressed that South Africa's UCB are offering developmental assistance to Bangladesh in other ways as well. They are sending their Director of Umpires to Bangladesh to conduct a week of training courses for local umpires, and they are sending two of their development officers to give instruction of the SA development programs in order that they may be adapted to Bangladesh conditions. And of course the global responsibility for nurturing the newest Test nation does not rest solely on the shoulders of South Africa, or any other single country. (A quick glance down the list of matches at the end of this article shows that no other subcontinental Test nation has supplied a first-class opponent for the Bangladesh team to date.)

But why did the Bangladesh Cricket Board agree to a tour itinerary of this nature as a preparation for the first major outing on the five-day stage?

It won't provide a lot of help to the future of the sport in Bangladesh if a team, whose only experience of cricket matches three days or longer is clubstandard premier league games or an ad hoc sequence of first-class games against sub-international sides, gets thumped by an innings and 300-odd first up. Indian fans may like it, and the appetite of Tendulkar fans will be whetted at the thought of a world record 376-plus by their hero, but what will it achieve in terms of the reputation of Bangladesh cricket and the reputation of Test cricket worldwide?

There would be few who could reasonably dispute that Bangladesh deserve to occupy a place as a full member of the ICC alongside the other nine Test nations. They have the player base, the supporter base, sufficient infrastructure and potential for long-term growth and development. I have no doubt that they will do eventually what Sri Lanka have been able to achieve on the world stage in the past five years. But have they prepared themselves well enough for the big day of their five-day Test debut on November 10, 2000?

One wonders how concerned the Bangladesh Cricket Board are, having just completed their controversial weekend-long Annual General Meeting at the beachside resort town of Cox's Bazar, where over a hundred delegates were invited to bring their families and were reportedly all bestowed with lavish gifts. Perhaps there was money that could have been well spent on sending the national team away, say, to play against the English counties for a month or so?

As East Pakistan, Bangladesh fielded a first-class team in Pakistani domestic competition until its independence in 1971. It was another 26 years before Bangladesh began playing first-class cricket as an independent nation, after they had qualified for the 1999 World Cup and been admitted as a full-time One-Day International entity.

The following is a list of the nine threeand four-day matches played by Bangladesh since 1997 against first-class opposition: