thnx to mr.holmans. ur observation is really good. and i agree with u that bangladeshi bowling attack is not a world class one.i think the retirement of moh'd rafique has made a big difference.the only reliable test bowler for bangladesh is sakib.but he can not do much in such condition.

Bangladeshi cricketers can play good. They need to play more international cricket and more opportunity to test matches. Now they can beat any team and in future they will the best team in the world.

Great articles, with good points.

One thought, how about the ECB helping Bangladeshi emerging bowlers (pacers) with scholarships/ internships to help the country's bowling department a bit?

Bangladesh(BD) has improved gradually to a good standard over last few years. Though their bowling was poor during Lord's test its usually lot better, i.e if u look at NZ tour recently and SA tour last year. They have won most sessions at times, but eventually lost the game. few occasions it was due to very poor umpiring decisions which is very frustrating for an improving team. They must be kicking their a.. for not able to draw the Lord's test. This time one session of bad weather condition was enough to make the difference. Hope they will do better in Old Trafford.Bravo BD for such an encouraging performance. Enjoyed it a lot.

One Day Bangladesh Must be Come On Number One Ranking, No more Late that time, I Wishes For Bangladesh. thanx to Support Evry Body.

Bangladesh lost the game but played well. One last bad sesson made the difference. BD will do better next.Brave display from Tamim. Tamim growing like a heart breaker of all the bowlers arround the world. Fearless Tamim...Best of luck !

i love Bangladesh, my heart is Bangladesh.My country all time favor on.

welllllll wellllllllll welllllllllll another performance by TIGERS,ohhhhhhh,,,lemmmmmeee check,in the end they were defeated,,,and after playing cricket for more than a decade,they are not able to draw a test match let alone winning it,pathetic performance

Bangladesh certainly playing much beter cricket that the West Indies,even if they lose, they lose fighting, better bowling and better batting than the W.I.,the W.I. have no fighting skills for a former no.1 team . they seems to have lost the zeal for long innings to even save a match or prolong the game.. they just collapse in bundles and nothing is being done to improve their situstion....Hats off to the Bangladeshi Team ...one day they will become world champions, the present team is very talented. they need just COUPLE Of GOOD SPINNERS AND A COUPLE OF VERY GOOD FAST BOWLERS,and a a little stability in the middle order ....

Come on guys! Only couple of wins out of 50+ tests and even those wins were against 3rd rated WI and Zim sides and now you are talking about Ban will become number 1. Please wake up. This is the worst side in test history beginning their cricket with ridiculous number of defeats. Be realistic. Even if they win a test in England this time, they are still the worst cricket team that is allowed to play test cricket. They should win one of the test in this series as this their best chance with notable English players are missing.

[Mike: They didn't say *when* BD would get to number one. You could look fairly silly in 2027.]

i always enjoying bangladesh cricket it.s not metter they win or loose. there are some teams are struggling.take my words,near futur bangladesh will be more competive team then some other teams.go bangladesh go.

bowlers need to take 20 wickets to win a test that is the notion every successful captain would say.......bangladesh needs to builds its reputation slowly in the long form if the game which will help them in performing well in the shorter forms of the game

BD has talents and it has been agreed by Cricketing greats even. So before criticizing an emerging team like BD, we should check what we or our cricket boards have done for them. It is pathetic and shame to see people commentating against a cricketing nation who is looking for his position gradually through their brave performances. It is obviously neither a place to show disrespect to a team nor is it a place to prove someone's cricketing knowledge over the GURU's who were present in Lords during the last test between ENG and BD. If it is not constructive, it will ultimately prove to be childish. Cricinfo should address these matters with more concern.

Reminds me that B'Desh in their very first test innings have scored 400+. I remember the calls about B'desh being the best non-test playing team till then. Then what happened? Same story. A flash in the pan innings, does not make a "team". What we hear more is, whenever a player (like Tamim or Ash) does something brilliant (once in a blue moon), we get to hear the echos for years down the road (though their brilliance panned out right after that innings). Oh well. We will be there to see how they progress.

They are truly an ordinary team, that got the bump thanks to sub-continental politics. That's all.

I wonder what may have been if Mortaza was playing for Bangladesh in the Lords Test, with the visitors bowling first. Really like the spunk of the team, and wish well for Bangladesh cricket.

I think Ban is not upto the TEST standad, I remember that when Sri Lanka got the test status they improved very fast in 5-10 years of time. But giving the test status to Ban was a mistake. The English team is not highly rated and who cares about playing in Lords, that the OLD fashioned Lords ground is gone. The cricket of England was dead long time ago. This was a equally balanced team. I believe that Afganistan would beat Engalnd and Ban easily.

completely agree with shawn,if you are a close follower of Ban cricket,in every match there is a single partnership,nothng more than than

"Bangladesh proves to be worthy of Test cricket"A very effective and enchoraging assesment by Mr. Mike Holmans,thank you.Yes it's true that B'desh is is still strugling to co-op with its team performance balancing,and certain players needs to be discplined too,right now the bigest waste is Ashraful.Also the bating order needs an immediate attention.Nothing is set on the stone that can not be changed for the team benefits. Tamim needs to play more for the team.Simmons and Sakib are doing an excellent job and so is Imrul Sahadat and Junaid,please keep up the good work.For SHAWN my only words are watch out BANGLADESH is coming.

Mike,I still don't see much progress in Bangladesh cricket. After 10 years at the Test level - Bangladesh are only good enough to last 5days against a less-than-full-strength English side.
Sri Lanka who got Test status in the 80s were World One Day champions and had a pretty strong Home record in the same time (having played fewer tests)
In the ICC tournaments over the last 10 years other associate nations like Ireland and Kenya have showed far more promise than Bangladesh. And they have far lesser weaker infrastructure and support.
Finally, Bangladesh have 1 maybe 2 players who can deem themselves as Test cricketers but overall the team is still very ordinary

Hey Shawn, I do respect that you seems to be optimistic person. But I think you've lack of knowledge of cricketing history. I guess you don’t know about gap analysis statistical term, do you? If yes, let’s play with the data of 20 first years of test games of India, Sri Lanka, NZ teams.
On the same note, I am agreed that BD could have won/ draw last one, yes they could have at least. Probability was there. But look at their over all ages and deduct with UK players average ages… do some math dude.
None of us know about the future. But if BD is on the right track- off course some day they will challenge all top cricket teams. Having said that do you know how long UK is playing cricket for and they just won the T20 world cup- now do the calculation… it’s a long wait for a cup, isn’t it??

Finaly BD shows some class.They need to actively pickup few players like Tamin Iqbal and a captain like Arjuna Ranatunga to jump start their cricket.Huge change in attitude is needed.I think I am not unfair by saying people stayed away watching when they are playing.C'omn BD you can definitely do lot better.Show your colours in the next test match.Captain please be more attacking in the field.You have nothing to loose.In fact if you are lucky you might win.Thats' a good risk to take.

good to watch tamim's batting.hope he will be sanath jayasuriya for bangladesh.who will lead for winning the team.so far no win in this win.good article from mike holmans

Mohammad Asad from USA..........
Yeah !! Bangladesh team is getting confidence day by day.....We need some match winner bowlers...
I am not impressed by the bowling performance at Lords.
The main thing is mind set..play with confidence..play for win....You guys have talents and can do it...
Never think ' we guys are weak '.....
Every big team lost lot of matches in their early/initial days...
So Go Go Go..........Always Good Luck !!!!

Mohammad Asad from USA

Tamim is the braveheart of Bangladesh team. He should be credited as the lone fighter for Bangladesh on many many occasions. Every team need such players,who can take their team to unlimited heights. I remember one for SL, Asanka Guresinha,if I am right,coming at 1 down,took SL to such heights that they never looked back. They are the unsung heroes.They are the heroes performing under unfavourable conditions & against difficult oppositions. Their performances needs to be acknowledged.

BD cricket team needs more phsycological coaching than cricket coaching. Test Cricket is a game of mental resilience and application of mind, which are missing in all BD cricketers. They all know the technical aspects but don't seem to know how to apply themselves to go for a win or atleast draw in some cases. BD cricket board must spend money to hire a world class sports phsycologist to instill the winning mind within its players, or else it will be the same horror show over and over again. Few individual sparkling performances for a losing cause doesn't really count here, unfortunately.

Wake up and smell the coffee, dreamers! Bangladesh are not a test class side and will never be. For well over 50 tests now they have been producing flash in the pan performances. I don't expect them to win a single test against a decent cricketing team in my lifetime. (or my future offsprings' lifetime)

[Mike: I bet there were people like you in the 1930s who said New Zealand and India would never win a Test. They were wrong, too.]

@shawn,i think u undoubtly lack of cricketing knowledge.b4 saying like that u must know the past.do u know about the of starting 20 years test records of Newzeland,India,Srilanka..? u have no right to criticize BD cricket.... England is playing cricket 4 over 100 years,but what is their achievement...? the answer is- only a t20 cup..!! BD oneday will obviously b the n.1,if they can improve in the same way that they r doing right now.... please give up this destractive approach..b positive and try to show respect 2 a improving nation.....

Good luck BD........go ahed.........

I believe, we should encourage teams like Bangladesh who play for us, not for a few cricket-goons. Cricket is for people, not for cricket experts. People who think Bangladesh is below standard of a test nation, we can also argue that, there are some people who are substandard to be human-being. Come on guyes, lets not be too rude to Bangladesh that might question of our own human status.

errr.. is it because England faced some resistance from them that they suddenly deserve to play Tests?
Did you see Azhar's innings to doubt if it could ever match Tamim's? The problem today is that journalistic memory is so short that every current innings/ performance is one of the best ever.. Good luck Mike.. you have already started learning the ropes of the 'cricinfo' way of reporting cricket views..

[Mike: You might do me the courtesy of reading what I actually wrote before jumping on your horse. Yes, I did see Azhar's innings, and it was not joyous and carefree. It was a clinically executed laying about with a sword. I've seen spectacular, I've seen violent, I've seen lucky slogging, I've seen all sorts of innings. Azhar's innings was not like Tamim's. I'm not saying one was "better" than the other: just different.]

Todays Bangladesh has real batting talent who has a good chance to show their talent in coming WC in BD.Likely tamim,sakib,junaid,imrul,mahmullah and mushfiq will prove it on time.

I think it's funny that people are saying England were "less than full strength". Apart from swapping Morgan with Collingwood, the other change would have been Broad instead of Finn, and yet Finn was the only bowler who had any sort of venom at all. Maybe not the first choice England team, but ironically probably a better one.

How could you criticize a 10 year old baby country against a 100 year old one? It is certainly the expression of poor mentality. Those who are criticizing and telling that "BD will never win a test in their lifetime", how can you be the well wishers of cricket? You should leave cricket and start watching golf!!!! Don't you think you are subconsciously afraid of what may happen to you by this toothless baby? Your crazy, mean and worthless criticism and vindictive shouting proves that!!!

Before we deliver ill comments against a brave emerging nation, we should check our past, our age and experience and also what we have done for this poor cricketing nation being a member a highly developed world. Have we shown great mentalities or whether we are in a competition to show our poor mentalities? Even India (who is also a developing country like BD) have such a rich cricket culture and the richest cricket boar has not shown the courtesy to give BD tour!!! Before being harsh, fellow mates, please check what attitude and behavior we have been showing towards them. It is a shame for us, the so called cricketing giants!!! Be sympathetic , helpful and show respect. Respects begot respect. Help the country. Don't be cruel. Bravo BANGLADESH. I salute your performance against a country playing cricket since you were not even in the map of the globe!!! You got your birth when they even started the ODIs, the latest innovation just before the T20s.

BAN has certainly shown some great performances in the past but they have been very inconsistent. However, NZ India and Zim's initial test records were nothing to brag about as well. Lets hope BAN will bounce back some day in the near future. BAN vs SL comparison is a bit unfair I think. SL always had a richer and more talented pool of cricketers and it showed in their initial years of both test and ODI (including a World cup within the first 15 years). Similarly PAK was another anomaly as they won a test match in their very first series in India and England in the 50's. I forsee BAN taking more time (like NZ, IND and ZIM) to establish themselves as major contenders.

At lease English people shouldn't criticize Bangladesh's performance. They have been playing cricket for 100 odd years and their achievement is anything but competitive. They lost Ashes so many times, and I bet anyone would bet on them in any championship. It's a shame that the only major cup they won is in T20 format, which is anything but proper cricket. They lost 6-0 to India in one-dayers, 5-0 to Australia in Ashes. They have started winning Tests against Aus only after major Aus players called it a day. BD has just started playing cricket. It's too early to talk about them. It took 26 years for NZ to win a test match.

Great job done by Bangladesh. It's wondering to display a great show by such a poor nation playing expensive game like Cricket. Good luck Bangladesh cricket.

how many years it took NZ to win a test match? how many tests have the WI lost in the last 10 years?
Bangladesh isn't playing test cricket to the standards of Australia, India or England. however they are an improving side that has to get the credit for the improvement. they were able to push NZ at home and away, India at home, England at home, and has had a good start to the present series away. in fact, had it not been for the favorable bowling conditions that England enjoyed on days 3 and 5, their bowling unit was made to look ordinary indeed by the Bangladesh batters.
as the author points out, Bangladesh is worthy of test cricket, they are not able to play like the top sides as yet, but they are picking their way up. the leading nations needs to give them more time and opportunity. India has not invited them for a series as yet, that is unfair. they have to play in all conditions regularly, we can see real quality from them.

Bangladesh played a very good match against England though it is very difficult to play in England condition and our players are not habituated like that pitch.Best wishes to TIGERS.

Almost everybody will say that the cricket of Bangladesh is improving gradually.I think the improvement would be more better if there was an elected Cricket Board, Sr.-jr. Players combination in the team, developped infrustacture like India etc.Teams like England & so on have nothing to hate Bangladesh's performance because they lose miserously to the Australian in the ashes.They should think for them.critising BD is none of their business where ICC is supporting BD.

As Tamim said a couple of days ago, you can't expect a chocolate company to open today and then take over Cadbury/nestle the next day. It takes time.
Bangladesh will probably never be as good as Aus/Eng/Saf. This doesn't mean they should not be allowed to play tests.
I agree Bangladesh got test status at least 5-6 years earlier than they deserved, but the current bunch deserves to be in the top flight. From an innings and 230 runs defeat in 2005 they went to a last session 8 wicket loss in 2010. What may happen in 2015? Some of you might eat your words and become a Bangladesh cricket fan :)

See you all in five years

Okay, so I have read the article and all the comments here and I see certain people bashing Mike for calling BD a Test class team. People, grow up, I say. You have to learn to read between the lines, mates! What Mike says here is that improvements come in waves. 10 years ago, our batting was club standard , now we are getting to a point where opposition bowlers actaully have to work for their wickets. Also, one thing that must be noted here, and something Mike missed out on, or perhaps just did not put in, is that 10 years ago, we had a bunch of 20-23 year olds playing,and now we have a completely different set of 20-23 year olds playing. What does that mean? It means that the players have hardly been given time toprove themselves over a period of time. But with this bunch, if they are given 5 years together, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Sri Lanka were good only because they had 10 years together. So for allyou Mike haters, chill out and admit that the guy is right. Ciao.

[Mike: I try not to ramble on at immense length, so there isn't room to put every possible point in. The age thing is a bit of a double-edged sword: as you say, it's no good if we keep seeing bunches of promising 22-y-os - I want to see most of the current top order still in the side the next time the Bangles come to England, and the BD selectors have yet to demonstrate that they can keep faith with players. But thanks for obviously understanding what I was driving at.]

Thanks Mr.holmans! But,if we have a little opportunity to play test cricket, how can we improve?? Stupid ICC!

[Mike: It's not stupid ICC, actually, at least not wholly. It's also stupid Bangladesh, since they don't have enough domestic four-day cricket. The most important thing for the BCB to address is how to get more of its players playing more first-class cricket.]

Mike, that's one good article with some wise observations. When Bangladesh was first given test status,what was the cricketing world expecting?50% test win within 5 years?!Well then surely they had no idea about the history of this game in Bangladesh. Unlike in Pakistan, India and Srilanka, cricket was never a popular game in Bangladesh, let alone being the most popular game that it is right now. The contributing factor was seasonal weather, natural landscape and the popularity of other sports such as soccer. Bangladesh is a low lying country with a prolonged 5-6 months of heavy monsoon season. Flooding occurs during that period in most part of the country. It's bit like Canada, which despite being a commonwealth country does not have cricket as a popular sports due to unfavorable outdoor weather during most of the year. So, cricket became a popular sports since only the 90s when televised cricket broadcast grew popular.The current team is basically U23 & it's only going to get better.

It surprises me that everyone brings statistics like how many years NZ or India took to win a test match or how many times Sri Lanka drew before winning a test match. Com’n guys those statistics are irrelevant because the game of cricket has changed. Now what we see is power cricket. How many test matches end in draws now? BD has been scoring between 600 – 700 runs in each and every test since 2009. I am sure if BD played tests before the 90s and scored 600-700 runs in a test match they would have earned draws if not wins.

Bangladesh will never improve cos there is no solid motivation except for instant recognition or
apathetic applauses. A game like cricket is suitable for those who have the character of either upper middleclass or upperclass with such resilience and sense of honour as would force either leave the game or make oneself worthy of the game. The sense of honour needs to be taught by a father the 1st role model for a sons. But alas in Bangladesh such father is not easy to be found.

[Mike: Since they have clearly improved over the last five years, I'm a bit puzzled as to what you're driving at here.]

Well written Mr. Mike Holmans. Bangladesh is a young side and they just need time consistency. They are showing definite improvement.

Really bangladeshi tigers at last prove their worthy performance against the English and which was seriously required for a dashing reply of an insensible commentator like Boycot.......

Well, observing India getting mauled by Zim, the prediction of Ban beating India, may come sooner than one thinks (or hopes for). If the current Indian team is the future, God help Cricket, as India is by far the feeder of this game, globally. It hurts to watch this Indian team play. One can only pray that Sachin/Dravid/Laxman do not retire soon (or ever). Ban can definitely beat this Indian team in any form of the game, if that is a consolation.

Thanx Mr. Mike for this article. Now i want to say that, are some bd players worthy for playing county cricket? Mr Mike am i right?

ALL THE CRICKETRS OF BAHGLADESH IS VERY YOUNG. BUT THAY HAVE MUCH TALENT. WY SHOULD SAPOUART THE TEM EVERY TIME.

Really Bangladesh has proved about their improving in Test Cricket although they lost the first Test.I think they will cover their problems & will become a regular winning team in cricket.We are just waiting for this moment.

only 1 bad session full of rain..thats what saved eng..otherwise things could have been different..also couldn't make sense of what billy and asoka did with the "light" drama..sending out..calling in..why do billy / asoka always umpires when tigers play ??

it wasn't so long ago sri lanka were being treated as total jokes. but then they won the world cup in 96, thrashing the aussies, and began a world class cricketing nation. this was 14 years after test admission. so i reckon its not out of the question that bangladesh could, in the next 10 years, become a real force. particularly when u consider tamim is still 21, he'll be only 31 then! good future for bangladesh, i feel.

No doubt bangladesh is improving but some individual especially player like Tamim is improving more. Thanks to Mr. Mike Holmans for expressing his comment.

well,I don't mind if some englishmen or aussies utters bad words against us that we are the worst,we are the blah blah.Remember, being last in the class or being average does not matter unless you are at the top. The england team never was a true team like the indies or aus or now even india.

When you fear of someone,you got scared,you tends to say and do bad with them. What about your bowler.If junayeed and even imrul who I don't regard as a good batsman can score in a sunny day, think what will happen if other better team than england gets at least 2 sunny days.

Without swing they are worthless and horrible bowlers. They did not become like wasim,waqar,marshall who does not bother about the wicket.

And here comes swann,the sub continent people has this kind of spinners in streets. Play against srilanka and india couple of more tests and he will be vanished. huhhhh, he was player of the year.

How funny!

banglaesh is a really good team and very talented also!! we've got brilliant players like razzak,shakib,tamim etc infact i feel every player has their own talent or they wouldnt have made the team!yes these players should practice more and improve but for now they make pretty good players!no can can underestimate TIGERS now!they work hard and play well..other teams now have to struggle to win against them..so yes they lose but they put up a great fight! c'mon ppl bd is a young team and plz give them a time to understand what they r doin and playing against and 4 their age they r doin fairly well..even other experienced players would agree to that!
and shawn u better mind what u say! dude do u even watch cricket? do u even know the history and all??? i just wanna tell u one thing-WATCH OUT CUZ THE TIGERS WILL SOON SHOW WHAT THEY R REALLY MADE OF!
and for our cricket team..ALL THE BEST TIGERS!!! :D

no no,I think Bangladesh was play good because if u compare that match to older matches of Bangladesh they play like man and play with responsibility.later Bangladesh will win test match against top 5.

nice article !!

thankx to mr. Mike Holmans for great observation about bangladesh criket.

bangladesh will be the super power in cricket world...just give them time and support...

thanks,mr. Mike for your article.in a few years,ban will improve more and be able to win test regularly

I wonder how could english people say such ludicrous words, look @ you guys....You lost bunch of ashes series against the aussies...when you play ODIs in subcontinent you look like clowns...and yet you guys have the audacity to say such rubbish stuffs!
Huh...having hiring player from south africa, ireland, australia you guys just have won a T20 trophy in your 100+ years of cricketing history...
Well we dont have any players from other countries...we dont need 'em...watch out for the future...

Dear Mike, as a Bangladeshi, I salute you for your truly motivational article. I have last commented on any article 7 years ago but I could not resist myself this time. Thanks to you once again.
Some points I want to mention:
-BD received test status for few reasons & one unique point was the popularity of this game in my mother-land was enormous & today we have many warriors being ready to be in the cricket war & in next 300 years we will have no lack of players (like; Zim/NZ/AUS) & only the better ones to come.
-BD players are not big-built or strong physically like mostly all other cricket playing nation, they do not have rich parents to provide them healthy meals, neither they can go to gym at 14 nor they have any proper cricket academy. I have seen some excellent players (i must say, even better than Sakib or Ashraful or Mashrafi) who left their game to earn for their family...so before the game even start, we are a bit behind (but not an issue)
...Continued in my next post

after 1st post
-Our policies r da greatest factor 2 pull us behind...we had league games commentary on Radio, finals on TV but now we don't. Rather than popular teams, we now have commercial banners. Rather than Abahani or Mohamedan (all BD ppl know, who I am talking about)..we now have Gazi Tanks or Shah Cement. The domestic cricket is traumatized. We must take effective steps to revive it.
-Our cricketers should have complete grooming scope, not only their game, their communication, education & compensation should be taken care of.
..I might be slightly emotional but this emotion is the history of my motherland...our forefathers faced the shelling on their chest with a smile on their face to liberate their mother, to give us right to speak in Bangla (on 21 Feb,'52-Int'l Mother Language Day). We will now tolerate the shelling of Shawn/Procynic/Namya/SNK/Some Annony/Cyrus(indian VJ-during T20 WC)but We will Win 1 day as we always did.
Mike, thanks again-15 ml Bangladeshi loves you!

[Mike: Thank you for the detailed comments as well as the compliment. I'm very happy to be the cause of you breaking your silence after seven years!]

well Bangladesh has no doubt got immense talent, they have got the talent to match the level of world champions, they have the power of providing magical innings, but they even in the future might not be able to get into top 5 because they lack a strong leader, and by nature self confidence of bengali people varies frequently, also as they are not from a rich background, sniff of healthy money might turn their head around, they have got tendulker, lara with in them, but not the mentality and self belief of greats, as long as they lack those they can never be great, and that is what makes all the difference.

Well said! All they need are penetrating fast bowlers and they'll be getting right up there with the better nations.

i am sick and tired of some great commenters like sunny,procynik and so on.someone said that england is missing out some key players.you call us ordinary and you say you cant perform in a match to your full potential without paul and broad.grow up.you guys want to win in australia
and you cant bowl out bangladesh when the sun is out.australia will have much more sunshine.how are you gonna bowl out australia twice.bangladesh has probably played sixty matches but they have only done it in ten years.it took india 3 decades to play same number of match.check your own coat and then comment

Feeling very sad for those mentalities who are not agreed to give the correct appraisal to a emerging cricket nation. some are saying BD team is not in a standard of playing test matches, some are saying other nations have better test initial records, one put fingers on Mike for comparing tamim’s inns with azhar’s one, How funny those people are!!! After so many events in the history I am hopeful BD team will give every possible correct answer to these fellows from the cricket field.
The bottom line is that we have to admit BD team is improving, please check their last two years performance graph. It’s really upward. Batsmen are playing good innings regularly, bowlers are taking five wickets at regular interval. What BD team needs - more consistence performance like those.

tamim and sakib great player for upcoming world cricket

Ok buddies, I know that it may hurt many people a lot, but what I think is that our players are underestimated. How many BD players played this years IPL? How many times have BD visited India? Does even a single team from BD domestics play in ACLT20?
Ans-No

India should help BD out, by at least hosting them. They start to think only about profit but forget that this is cricket, its a funny game
BD is improving, but what we need is something big. This could be like a whitewash against a strong team :D

I guess Boycott was right after all, these BD cricketers are no test materials...what a dismal show in Old Trafford. What can we expect from a team who took NZ as their standard ( 25 years till first win ).

Bangladesh havent been a test nation for ten years until the 2010-11 season also theyve won tests quicker than new zealand did they clearly deserve test status the test arena will be weaker without tamim, mushfiqur, mahmudullah and shakib al hasan who are test class players the comment on Mortaza though if he is so good why doesnt he have a 5for

Shouldnt India be forced to host bangladesh seeing as test cricket is now an official league Championship every team ahould play eachother home and away over a 5 year period

i can not explain how much i love bangladeshi cricket team....but they need more patience when they play...they can defet any team.
one day Ishallah we will win World Cup

the world cup isnt the most important competition in cricket so who ares who wins the world cup test cricket is the most important

I absolutely love the Bangladesh cricket team. They are great to watch. BD has alot of talent ...not sure why the potential hasn't been put to use the right way (if you know what I mean). Maybe all Bangladesh needs is a more disciplined system and board for further development.

I heard there are no coaches for the any team other than the National Team, which is not a good sign. When the basics are weak it's hard to move on to higher levels.

I will always support this team no matter what. It has a great future !

Good Luck Bangladesh ! =)

what test status, 68 matches 50 losses 3 wins..... need i say more

sorry its 59 losses and not 50. but what difference does it make.... right...

SOHAIL they still have better record after 68 matches than NEW ZEALAND did new zealand didnt win until the 70s there first test was in 1929-30

My advice to Bangladesh, get three guys at 6'2 to bowl seam/pace, get a left arm spinner and a right arm spinner and make sure one of them is an all rounder who can bat. Get a lefty/right opening partnership, and get a rock solid number 3. Good luck.

I think that the Bangaldesh crickerters have more talents. But the cricketing body has always changed the side without giving players to concentrate thire good work. Further Cricketers has to put more attention on thire batting and bowling then definietely they can beat any team at anytime.

Find a good leader to the side and brushup the players talent and give them more time and more matches try to make 2 more cricketers lie TAMIM amd IMRUL,SADDIUE.

ALL THE BEST AND GOOD LUCK

I wish Bangladesh well, but it must be dispiritng to have such an awful record. I think some of the problem must lie with ICC requiring all countries to play every one else home and away over a short period. This leads to an awful lot of 2 match "series". Dividing the Test countries into two sets of five and playing over the same period would avoid the surfeit of matches we have now and give the opportunity for more five match contests. There would still be the opportunity for traditional battles to take place, e.g. if England and Australia were to be in different tiers. Other first class cricket in the space provided could be used to help Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and (these days) West Indies to build or recover their stqandards.

Bangladesh is one of the highest victim of poor umpiring. Many of the Test and ODI,they have lost because of wrong decisions from Asoka de Silva, Aleem Dar, David Ochard and Tucker.

Bangladesh is one of the highest victim of poor umpiring. Many of the Test and ODI,they have lost because of wrong decisions from Asoka de Silva, Aleem Dar, David Ochard and Tucker.

actually ,bangladesh cricket team trying their best nd producing some great stars like tamim, sakib,mashrafee,mahmudullah ,mushfiqe,razzak who are able to change the match situation any time..i think main prblm is combination to use them properly in right time.jst need some more years ,wait and c.

Bangladesh cricket officials should resign enmasse after today's defeat by Netherlands. Players like Alok should be immediatley recalled for coming world cup. Bangladesh also needs a wicketkeeper who is a bit taller and fast and can convert half chances into full. Team's dress should be smart and appropriate in line with color phychology. Outfit matters.

Always easy to criticize. What else do you expect from a country who does not have a strong domestic set up? Still we are improving. What i want the players to do is to do the basics right , show some commitments and dont miss catches for God's sake!!!

The team Bangladesh is improving but sometimes their performance make me think that are they worthy of test cricket? Of course as a Bangladeshi I don't want they should be out of test arena.But to stop the criticism they have to play consistently otherwise there is a chance to lose the test status!

bangladesh test status shuld be revoked.........india, srilanka and pakistan are decades ahead....what is bangladesh cricket compared to those nations.....nothing but bangla....

@Anonymous i think bangladesh team given your own countries team a sweet taste of loose isnt it ,you really looked like whacked by Bd team,lol.

In my observation, Bangladesh is improving day by day. If u compare this team with England (as u called the father of cricket),England is playing cricket a lot of years, but does this team win any elite categorized trophy?????????????? this team should win all types of trophy as a father of cricket (except: ICC T20 this time for the first). But look at BD, recently they finished their 1st duty to defeat all the cricket playing nation. They have no 1 all rounder SHAKIB AL HASAN, tornado hitter TAMIM IQBAL. Most of the time this team faces the big problem of umpires wrong decisions. This team can rapidly improved but still mow it is suffering the pain of ICL.

Shawn- We are, after all a new nation in tests. Come on, the country itself is only 39 years old.I agree with Heat that New Zealand took 25 years to win. So you really can't say anything.

i thought if we go later 10 years ahead we r the most breleant team of the world.coz bd s peaple like cricket and also lot telent player s coming.same like tamim,shakib,mashrafi..........so we r the best team after 10 years.now bd s fiting vs all those best team.i hope bd has to do it.good like for the bd cricket team.

Mohammad Asad from USA.....

Focus on upcoming WC....
Ban is one of the host country....
Take advantage of home ground / utilize your talent & capability....

By the way,Eng team are always good in England.../ in Eng condition....they can utilize seam / swing as per wicket condition...

Asia got another sehwag i.e Mr.Tamim Iqbal.Bangladesh are improving their standard in every game.I m big follower of the bangladeshies.icc should let the bangladesh play further

Well the bangladesh will play in semifinal in upcoming worldcup. just wait and see the beauty of tiger cricket

day bay day bd progress..

wait for tiger magic to world cup in 2011

Comparing to other nations Bangladesh improvement is very good. In ODI now they are magical team. So, inspire them.

Thanks Mike for your analysis. BD team is definitely improving. The recent BD-NZ ODI series is a testimony. But, there is no room for complacency. Never should be! Go ahead with hard work and smart thinking, BD Cricket!

well....Bangladesh Team is improving for sure but they should had some more international ODI before the world cup....keep it up BD...

well it is well known that Bangladesh is mismatch for the TEST cricket and all the other things you guys says. But if it is; i would say so is true for England and New Zeland for thir parformance in the Test cricket considaring all the year they have been playing cricket what improvement they have shown. it is not now a nation play it is how you see. Don't see the cricket in the eyes of business see it in the eyes of FUN. you will see what it really means.

Who says BD has not quality players?
Claim again when you can see Shakib is the Number one in allrounder list, top five in bowling list. While Tamim is developing to be one of the Pinch Opener. U will or u have Seen Mortoza, Imrul, Siddiq, Mushfiq, Razzak, shahadat, wont you?

Lets see wht will happen in next 5 years. Lets see.

i don't want to say anything. our performances gonna talk soon for himself. i just wanna thanks MIKE. Bcoz, after writing his article, he managed to find out some times to reply for some of the replies which is so rare in cricinfo. thanks to you again.

Its an honor, having such insightful article by an Englishman.
I hope such post would continue and be more frequent.

It would be really nice and I am sure it won't be too far to find Bangladesh playing as a worthy opponent in the classical form of cricket, if ofcourse they are being regularly promoted and helped out by the giants, like allowing them to play more number of test matches, tournaments, internships or at least by offering bright players to be inducted in the overseas country teams, last but not the least, providing a bit more of Media Coverage.

For Tamim, and those who had Timim like inningses but not been spotted so much, CHEERS!!

@ Faiz Hussain
and when was the last time you won a test match exactly?

bangladesh

"Geoff" ur dream indeed came true BD whitewashed NZ team :) in u r life time ..smile please u don't have to go to the next generation.. show respect and peace out ...in time things happened

Just wait and see, in this world cup wat bangladesh do! They will not be champion but few countries like india, SA, WI will face problem for Bangladesh. I am sure Bangladesh will easily go Semifinal.

Yes it goes both ways bangladesh are playing good and also entertaining cricket but the end result being losing, however i think the key to this is basic knowledge of test cricket, for example bangladesh players seem to go for the bowls they shouldn't go for and also don't seem to like to play them selfs in apart from Imrul kayes, even he sometimes has very poor shot selection, but now going going towards the world cup there is going to be a positive outcome as it is in the form of one day cricket !!!!!!