Bangladesh let down by lack of Tests

Bangladesh let down by lack of Tests

The final scene of the fifth day of the engaging Chittagong Test epitomised Bangladesh's fate in Tests. Sabbir Rahman was down on his knees, head bowed down in disbelief as England players jumped in joy for having made a narrow escape. The Asian side has made giant strides in coloured kits in the last couple of years, winning as many as six out of seven home series against supposed stronger opponents like India, Pakistan and South Africa. The upward graph for Bangladesh however, isn't uniform.

Their fortunes in Tests don't match the peaks of their success in the shorter formats, the biggest grey area in an otherwise forward-moving side in the world of cricket.

Bangladesh's ills aren't out of ordinary. They are constantly derided for their inconsistency, but the root cause of this evil is down to the lack of regular Test cricket. Case in point: The two captains that competed fiercely over the course of the last five days. Mushfiqur Rahim made his Test debut as a teenager in 2005, nearly a year ahead of Alastair Cook's first game in whites. Yet, the Bangladesh captain featured in just his 49th Test while Cook became the most-capped English player with 134 Tests to his name.

Since earning Test status in 2000, Bangladesh have played 94 Tests and lost 72 of them. They have just seven victories to their name and fell slightly short of making it a memorable eighth. In context, it was a commendable performance, even if it didn't yield a favourable result considering all the factors in play.

Besides perseverance and endurance, consistency often forms the strong foundation for success in Tests. That when Bangladesh took the field in Chittagong five days ago, they had donned the white kits after 15 long months throws the call for consistency out of the window. When a captain of a Test side reckons that each of his Test appearance felt like a debut, it is fair to assume the problem runs quite deep.

"You can always improve if you play more Tests. I have felt that each of my Tests have been like a debut game, and I have played 49 Tests so far. I think we should play more Tests, which will give you more consistency in the other formats," Mushfiqur lamented after his team's defeat.

All he could offer to the querying media was the fact that his side quite clearly punched above its weight, even if the result conveyed otherwise. This wasn't a portrayal of lack of ambition, but merely conveyed the state of affairs that Bangladesh cricket is currently in.

Progress in the longest format, unlike the limited-overs, is seldom swift. As is the nature of the game, teams are required to showcase patience and build gradually for a promising future - such is the nature of the beast. There were positives aplenty for Bangladesh, as far as performances on the pitch was concerned, but they can ill-afford to get too far ahead of themselves. A teenage spinner broke into the highest stage and bagged seven wickets (including a five-wicket haul) and another debutant nearly guided the team to victory with a defiant fourth-innings half-century. The next step for them would be to carry forward their good start.

But what next? Come February, Bangladesh will play their first-ever Test on Indian soil. It's a one-off, but there is a chance for them to show one of the in-form sides in the Test arena that they too belong. As for Mushfiqur, he'd hope, for himself and the Mehedis and Sabbirs, that Test, too, doesn't feel like yet another debut.