West Indies vs Bangladesh in 2022

Test matches (2): West Indies 2 (24pts), Bangladesh 0 (0pts)
Twenty20 internationals (3): West Indies 2, Bangladesh 0
One-day internationals (3): West Indies 0, Bangladesh 3

It looked as if it would be one-way traffic: West Indies swept both Tests, and the two T20s that escaped the weather, but Bangladesh bounced back to win all three 50-over internationals. It was their second successive ODI series victory in the Caribbean, after a 2-1 win in July 2018. The leitmotifs of the tour were poor pitches and batting - but good bowling.

West Indies hardly put a foot wrong in the Tests, with Kraigg Brathwaite captaining shrewdly, and his fellow Barbadian Kyle Mayers continuing to improve. Mayers, who had inspired a famous win in Chittagong with a double-century on Test debut in February 2021, showed his liking for Bangladeshi bowling with his second Test hundred. He also took six cheap wickets, mostly at important moments.

The Tests gave West Indies momentum as the T20 series started. They were on top in the first match in Dominica when rain spoiled things, but nothing could stop them in the second. The teams flew to Guyana for the third, which was another straightforward victory, with five sixes each for Mayers and white-ball skipper Nicholas Pooran, who hit a scintillating 74 not out.

Bangladesh looked outclassed before the 50-over matches, especially when Shakib Al Hasan decided to take time off to be with his family, apparently after confirming the matches did not count for ICC Super League points. The visitors were already without the experienced wicketkeeper/batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, who missed the whole trip to make hajj in Saudi Arabia, and injured seamers Mohammad Saifuddin and Yasir Ali. However, helped by poor pitches and luck at the toss, Bangladesh's 50-over captain Tamim Iqbal rallied his side and turned their fortunes around: they won 3-0.

Tamim himself scored 117 runs, while off-spinner Mehedi Hasan took seven wickets in the first two games, and slow left-armer Taijul Islam five in the last. Put in each time on the slow, turning tracks in which Providence seems to specialise, West Indies could not pass 178. It meant the delighted Bangladeshis jetted off with some silverware, while West Indies' poor ODI run continued - hardly ideal preparation before the arrival of a strong Indian line-up.