Bangladesh slid to yet another crushing defeat, this one against Pakistan, and the murmurs questioning their Test status are bound to grow louder in its wake. In the National, Osman Samiuddin suggests that instead of castigating Bangladesh and calling for their Test status to be revoked, it would be in cricket’s best interest to help Bangladesh to improve and become competitive.

But even if it could happen, why should it? International sport isn't only about the best teams competing among themselves. It makes space for all kinds of standards and it needs that. In any case, if cricket became any smaller, it would be a glorified hobby, not an international sport. The question should not be so much how Bangladesh can improve itself, but how much more cricket can help Bangladesh improve.

Abu Choudhury, writing for BanglaCricket.com, examines Shakib Al Hasan's fall from grace. There is not much you could fault the former Bangladesh captain with for his on-field performances, says Choudhury, but off it he was asking for trouble.

There will be those who condemn this as a grotesque overreaction by the BCB to a lacklustre tour. Such a conclusion, however, is misleading and ignores a pattern of poor behaviour by both the captain and his deputy. Shakib’s fall from grace is in fact the culmination of a series of acts by the Bangladesh skipper which could at best be described as naïve and at worst considered wilfully arrogant.

Mohammad Isam writes in the Daily Star about the different pressures that the two youngsters in the Bangladesh squad for the Zimbabwe tour face.

In the course of the next one month, Nasir Hossain and Shuvogata Hom Chowdhury should be prepared for two different battles in Zimbabwe. The former has to live up to his billing as an exciting talent but the latter should have his shields up for an avalanche of questions and innuendoes related to his selection.

Ross Turner, the head coach of Bangladesh's National Cricket Academy, talks to Bishwajit Roy and Mohammad Isam in the Daily Star, about his plans for the academy and nurturing young talent in Bangladesh.

Programmes such as the academy are primarily important so that they [players] don't have to be taught how to bowl, bat, field and behave when they are an international player ... It is highly necessary to have players who only need to adapt to life in international cricket and not the skills.

"There are a number of things that need to change among these players. Here the cricket is built around instinctive play -- aggressive batting. I want to teach them the different, productive ways of playing."

In the Bangladesh newspaper Daily Star, Mohammad Isam reviews how Barisal fared in the National Cricket League. They only finished fourth, and had no wins, but it was still a watershed season for them.

For years, the region has been regarded as the genuine backwaters of the game in the country but through the Bangladesh Cricket Board's decision to hand over selection decisions to the division and restrict the number of players from other regions, a new frontier for Barisal players has been opened.

In the Daily Star, Mohammad Isam explains how cricketers in Bangladesh have lost interest in the domestic four-day competition, and how the National Cricket League has come to be dominated by two sides.

After having surveyed through players in the competition, it has been gathered that there is a huge lack of interest. That is mainly due to the ridiculously low pay they receive during a match. And a lack of competition is another major reason. The points table of this year's competition says a lot about the quality and standard of cricket played. While Rajshahi and Dhaka have already qualified for the final (to be held from May 10 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium), the rest, particularly the bottom two, have provided nothing to first-class cricket in Bangladesh.

For too long Bangladesh had rewarded mediocrity, says Shakil Kasem, writing in the Daily Star. Every other team in the World Cup seemed to have sussed out Bangladesh, he says, while it did not appear much was done by way of homework by the co-hosts, and for this, the team management must take responsibility.

Scores of 58 and 78 do not happen by oversight. The opposition employed methods that were thought of and implemented clinically … Time now to put an end to this nonsense of wishy-washy, muddled thinking and slapdash coaching methods that now have been proved to be wholly inadequate for the purposes of international cricket ... We have travelled far too long down the road to be considered as Clown Princes of the game anymore. There is a World Cup in four years’ time. Today is the time we start thinking about it, yesterday was the time we should have started working towards it. Tomorrow will be just too late.

In the Indian Express, Devendra Pandey looks at the small-town revolution sweeping through the Bangladesh national team. He finds that the Bangladesh board's talent hunt programme and the Bangladesh Institute of Sports, with its five regional centres, have been instrumental in attracting talent from the hinterland.

Rubel Hossain says that had he not played cricket for Bangladesh, he would be working in some Dubai construction company, most likely repairing toilets. The 21-year-old pacer is the son of a fisherman from the coastal district of Bagerhat, which is anything but a cricketing hotspot.But the notion of cricketing hotspots in Bangladesh might be a thing of the past.

Before Tamim Iqbal, a procession of wickets was guaranteed. But for the last two years, Bangladesh have been given a good start with the bat. This year in particular, Tamim has scored 837 runs at an average of nearly 60 in Tests. More than the runs, Tamim has added a much-needed stability. He spoke to Mohammad Isam for the Daily Star.

What was your favourite innings this year?
In terms of memory, it was Lord's. I heard about the place and its history from my father and the moment I went inside the dressing-room I looked at the honours board and the balcony. Pete (the Lord's dressing-room attendant) told me that I would get a hundred after I made 53 in the first innings. When I reached 97, I was as nervous as I was in my debut game. But I had planned the celebration when I was in the 80s (laughs). That hundred made me very happy.

But if you consider from a batting point of view, it has to be the one at Old Trafford as it is the fastest and most difficult wicket in England. Funnily, Kevin Pietersen commented during my 86 in Chittagong that, "Cricket is so easy for you, right? You go to Old Trafford, then you will see." And I went on to get a hundred there, so it was really fantastic.

Bangladesh's gold medal performance with a second-string cricket team in the Asian Games is a sign that the country is moving from being a cricket-loving nation to a cricketing one, according to the Daily Star

Though India did not enter a team, the competition nonetheless was rather broad based with nine teams participating. It may have been anything but world standard, still emerging at the top of the table took considerable grit and skill. We think, it is yet another step towards acquiring consistency of performance and falling into a winning groove which have so long deluded us.

Shakib Al Hasan's stellar leadership against New Zealand has given the Bangladesh selectors an interesting dilemma when Mashrafe Mortaza returns. Bishwajit Roy of the Daily Star writes it is important for the board to make the right decision ahead of the World Cup.

It is now very hard for Mashrafe to concentrate on the additional responsibility of captaincy when he is consistently tormented by injuries. It would be great to see Mashrafe bowling again with full rhythm and everyone in the country prays for his good fortune. But the growing belief is that he needs first to concentrate on prolonging his career before he is entrusted with the additional burden of captaincy.

Bangladesh have just pulled off an unprecedented 4-0 win in the ODI series against New Zealand and the Daily Star says that the board needs to restructure and improve domestic cricket in the country in order to ensure this success will not be a one off once again.

Beginning from the standard, pay structure and right down to the culture attached to the game, it is blemished. When the national cricketers miss Premier League matches or National Cricket League (NCL), the standard goes down a few notches. And it's not just the standard of cricket that is poor but grounds, pitches, dressing-rooms, etc leave a lot to be desired.

From the regional schools competition to the country's lone first-class tournament, domestic cricket has fewer things to be proud of. But just a glance at the squad that played against New Zealand would tell you that the flawed system has managed to churn some good talents.

A disheveled Mashrafe Mortaza was spot on when he raised "real concern" with the Bangladesh team's bowling after arriving home from the tour of the UK, writes Mohammad Isam in the Daily Star.

When bowling first in 2010, they have literally gone through the ceiling: conceding 309 runs per innings in six matches. In the dreadful Asia Cup campaign, the bowlers gave away 313 and 386 in consecutive games. And even when the batsmen have amassed 260, 250, 199 (in 30 overs) or even 296, scores that are far higher than Tigers' ODI average (226 runs), the bowlers failed to defend the total. Wickets, averages, runs per over and strike-rates have all taken a hammering this year.

	It is a known fact that Bangladeshi cricketers have a tough time interacting with the foreign media © BCB

The Bangladesh Cricket Board's decision to drop the media manager from the World Twenty20 in the West Indies and the two-Test series in England is stunningly inexplicable and that too at the expense of an observer, writes Mohammad Isam in the Daily Star. The BCB is part of world cricket's growth and as one of the Test-playing nations, they have tried to follow the bigger nations every step of the way. But they have the tendency to fall back on ancient times every now and then.

Most of the players, admittedly from humble backgrounds, do not feel comfortable speaking in English and while this could be a trivial matter to some, it turns out to be a national embarrassment every time they face the camera. But hardly these cricketers are to blame. They spent half their lives playing the game and when they end up at the top level, they seek the help of professionals to guide them through a press conference or an interview after they have done well. In these instances, the players feel comfortable in the company of a media manager who translates for them as well as make sure they get the best treatment in the newspapers.

Critics claim Bangladesh should not be a Test nation, but with the right infrastructure they will develop the bowlers to compete, writes Duncan Fletcher in the Guardian.

Developing that bowling talent is a tough task. Even India have faltered because they do not have a consistent squad of pace bowlers who can really intimidate the opposition. Bangladesh face similar difficulties. Between the flat wickets and the heat and humidity of the conditions, not many young players are going to want to run up and bowl at 140kph for any period of time. One way forward would be to develop wickets that offer more encouragement for seam bowlers.

But the bedrock for future development is what is happening underneath Test cricket. I would want to visit and inspect Bangladesh's domestic set-up before passing judgment, but wherever you are in the world strong first‑class cricket is absolutely crucial for Test success. You can't pluck players from a weak domestic league and expect them to make a quick transition to the top level. This also takes time. Bangladesh have had 10 years to work on their domestic structure. England have had more than 100, and still not got it right.

Paul Collingwood's not-so-kind remark that it would be difficult to find a decent golf course in Bangladesh is exactly the sort of prat-line, with that unmistakable whiff of the old colonial days, which gets right up subcontinental noses, writes David Leggat in the New Zealand Herald. Bangladesh should keep that remark in mind to spur them on to drive England up the wall during the home series.

When Bangladesh head home to prepare for the arrival of England, we should all wish them well and hope they give the Old Dart a serious touch up. Why? Well apart from wanting to see a likeable bunch do well in front of their own people as they look to advance in the international game, there's what might be called the Paul Collingwood factor.

	Shakib or Mashrafe? © Getty Images

After a successful year the Bangladesh cricket team looks like a settled one. With India and Sri Lanka visiting in January for a tri-series, followed by a Test series against India, the BCB have one crucial question to answer - who will be captain of the national team, Mashrafe Mortaza or Shakib Al Hasan? In the Daily Star, Sakeb Tahsin Subhan attempts to answer the question.

Both players are equally deserving of the position. Shakib has put his name in the hat through the successes that Bangladesh has enjoyed in the past year, as well as his own individual performances. Mashrafe has impressed all and sundry throughout his career as a committed player who commands the respect of his team. The momentum is with Shakib having led the team well in successes, but it is Mashrafe's team that he led in the fast bowler's absence.

Bangladesh's 2-0 series win over West Indies, their first overseas triumph, has been heralded by many, including the captain Shakib Al Hasan, as the team's biggest achievement in nine years. In the Dhaka-based Daily Star, Quazi Zulquarnain Islam says there is no hiding the fact that West Indies were a severely depleted side, but that the win was a stepping-stone towards Bangladesh's goal of competing regularly with top sides.

As any good lawyer will tell you: read the fine print. And the fine print is this that despite our wonderful victory, which we shall savour till time out of mind, it was achieved against a side missing all of its stars and most of its reserves. Stripped of jargon, this was a Test win against a rag-tag bunch of replacements full of washed-up pro's and rising upstarts. Not that it should take away anything from Shakib and Rokibul's wonderful rearguard, or from Tamim Iqbal's superb century in the first Test. In the end, the Tigers could only face what was put in front of them, right?

One can argue that Bangladesh should have whipped West Indies harder in St Vincent and not suffered a top-order wobble in the first innings, but nevertheless, the victory was satisfying, writes Bishwajit Roy in the Daily Star.

During his maiden Test hundred Tamim might have showed recklessness but his determination to achieve the magical three-figure mark eventually paid of. He smashed four fours of successive deliveries off Darren Sammy after completing his hundred. It was enterprising but it would have been wise of him to consider not trying to smash every ball for four. Had he been out there for another hour and attempted a couple of odd boundaries in an over, something the best batsman in the world could not have done after just coming into the crease, it would have greatly helped in accelerating the run rate.

	Mashrafe Mortaza: "Only we can play well, only we can win and only we can make the fans happy." © Getty Images

The best captain is the one who can manage his players well and ensures that they are happy with their captain. No player, big or small, must feel that the captain dislikes him - he must be friendly with the players so that they can open up to his captain. Mashrafe Mortaza, the new Bangladesh skipper, highlights these key skills that a leader must possess. Read Tarek Mahmud's translated interview on the Banglacricket.com forum.

How confident are you of meeting the fans’ expectations?

People don’t ride rickshaw out there (outside Bangladesh). They ride taxis. They come home in the comfort of a taxi and listen to the commentary over food. Our rickshawallas and vanwallas will slog all day just to earn 10 takas. They spend this hard-earned money on cricket. The young kids too have hopes and desires. Their dream – they will be great cricketers one day. But in the end, when we lose, they all are all agonized. 160 million Bangladeshis feel the pain. The players feel the pain too. We lost because of us. Everyone experiences the anguish. But we can’t blame anyone else. We have to do what we have to do.

	Mohammad Ashraful: "I am a cricketer above all." © Getty Images

Mohammad Ashraful seems to have taken the loss of captaincy in his stride, possibly because having played under all Bangladeshi Test captains so far, he had seen them all leave as well. He had resigned to his fate and knew that the same would happen to him too. But Asharful is confident that he "will be a captain again" in the future. Read Utpal Shuvro's translated interview on the Banglacricket.com forum.

There has never been a lack of effort on my part. Unfortunately, I have not been able to show results. I will definitely be able to do so in the future...I did not give up the captaincy even when I wanted to. If I had quit, questions will surely be asked next time I am made captain.

Mohammad Ashraful is not the most popular man in Bangladesh at the moment. Harangued by irate fans when he landed home a couple days after Bangladesh's first-round exit from the ICC World Twenty20, Ashraful's captaincy and batting have been under severe criticism. Bishwajit Roy, of the Dhaka-based Daily Star, wonders how a batsman of Ashraful's calibre could express satisfaction with an average of 23.00 in 139 ODIs and little over 23.00 in 48 Tests in his eight-year long international stint.

Despite all the statistics, if someone expresses the kind of satisfaction Ashraful expressed recently, it's really alarming for our cricket. It could be dangerously infectious for the other players because he is now the most senior member in the team. It's always good to be confident but before that one should realise his position first.

Ameeruddin Zain pays a visit to the cricket museum at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, and is less-than-impressed with what he sees. He writes in the Daily Star:

Not only isn't there any space for the constitution or detail of the MCC visits, the very first bat used by a Bangladesh player to open the innings for the country, the first Bangladesh cricket cap, the sweater, the jacket or any other tangible cricketing particulars are also absent to the point of astonishment from Mirpur.

What is most alarming is the non-existence of a framed photograph of our first Test captain Naimur Rahman tossing the coin with his Indian counterpart Sourav Ganguly during the country's inaugural Test match.

	Shakib Al Hasan has been Bangladesh's best performer in the past year © AFP

Rabeed Imam catches with up Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, who is now the No. 1 allrounder in the ICC ODI rankings. A few excerpts from the interview on tigercricket.com:

Tell us a bit about how it all began for you

Well I never really wanted to become a cricketer. It was only when I started touring and getting success that I thought this wasn’t too bad! I am a late starter and didn’t hold a proper cricket ball until I was about 14-15. I come from a sporting family. My father had represented Khulna Division in football and one of my cousins is also a Bangladesh international and it was only natural for me to kick the ball around and I had participated in many tournaments for boys under the height of 4 feet 10 inches. I used to play taped-tennis ball cricket in Magura and sometimes I would go into the villages with local kids to play matches on hire. It was during one of those games that I was spotted by Saddam Hossain, an umpire from our district and he asked me to come to the trial of his club team Islampur Para which played in the Magura League. I went to their nets and bowled pace for a while and then switched to spin and found that it was more effective. I was picked for the club straightaway.

..............................................

You see I am a very competitive person. For example, when Rocky (Raqibul Hasan) got the man of the match award in the second ODI against Zimbabwe I kept telling myself ‘Shakib, you moron, you could have been up there today. You blew your chance’. Don’t get me wrong, I am so happy to see Raqibul, Mushfique, Mehrab (Hossain Jr), Tamim (Iqbal) and the others performing and I am so proud of them because we have grown up as cricketers together. For me the cricket ground is a place to show my worth. I go out to field as if I’m entering the boxing ring and there’s no place for the guy who comes second best there

In an editorial, the Daily Star congratulates Shakib on his achievement.

On sport24.co.za, Rob Houwing says he hopes Bangladesh's two-Test tour of South Africa will be their last series.

In 55 Test matches since their introduction to the arena in 2000, Bangladesh have won precisely one of them, a 2005 match against a Zimbabwe team already well on the slippery slope to turmoil and virtual ruin, in line with the nation itself.

Unlike Sri Lanka who, by the ninth year of their Test existence in 1991, lost just one of their six matches against New Zealand, England and Pakistan – a compelling here-to-stay signal – Bangladesh have made no such strides. They may well have lurched backwards.

.......................

I think Bangladesh have got to go, at least from a five-day point of view, as the most feasible ICC “itinerary uncluttering” solution.

It’s regrettable, but necessary in the new world order.

Perhaps the way ahead for them is to spiritedly put all their eggs in 20- and 50-overs baskets, aiming to become a more credible force in these formats?

Aftab Ahmed, Tapash Baisya and Habibul Bashar, members of ICL's newest team, the Dhaka Warriors, were part of Bangladesh's historic win over Australia in Cardiff. In his Guardian blog Dileep Premachandran looks back at that match three years ago and the situation now where the players have been handed a ten-year ban by the Bangladesh board.

If Bangladesh's cricket administrators have their way, these players — Aftab is 23 and Baisya 25 — will disappear into a Bermuda Triangle-like void. The administrators are enthusiastic followers of the Indian board's zero-tolerance policy towards the ICL, and there have been noises from Dhaka in recent days about how the 10-year ban handed down to 13 players is in the "best interests of Bangladeshi cricket"... Little has been heard on the subject since, and it's a matter of shame that the biggest names in the sport haven't moved a muscle to come to the aid of their fellow professionals. Like certain footballers who are "horrified" at being offered contracts worth only $110,000 a week, they appear more than content to don the commercial greasepaint and sit on their millions.

Six cricketers from Bangladesh have joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and I think there is a message in it for the cricketing world, says Sandeep Patil in his column on cricketnext.com.

At the ICL we have always maintained that the intention has been to help needy cricketers, those cricketers who have not been given a proper stage for them to showcase their talent. We have never tried to prove any point to the International Cricket Council or the Board of Control for Cricket in India but have only extended a helping hand to cricketers in need.

Patil, who coaches the Mumbai Champs in the ICL, said it's high time the ICC and the BCCI took notice of it.

We lauded the Indian Premier League when it did well in its inaugural edition. After all, the IPL was also cricket but we have never sought any reactions from the IPL or the BCCI or the ICC. History, however, will document the fact that the IPL was born out of the immensely successful ICL. The initiative of launching this form of entertainment in cricket will always be credited to the ICL.

Also, do read our new ICL blog: Alternate Reality - Hemang Badani's diary.

"A lot was expected when the present set up of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) took over eight months ago with a promise of a better future for the country's number one sport," writes Bishwajit Roy in the Daily Star. Unfortunately, nothing has transpired till today in translating that dream into reality.

	Collective hara-kiri was given a new meaning as each batsman to a man devised newer and more ingenious methods of gifting wickets to the South African bowlers © AFP

Although, the captain and the team management spared no pains in informing anybody and everybody within earshot or to those who cared to listen anyway, that even 230 runs on the board would just about suffice to put the fear of god into the side batting second. This assertion was somewhat tempered by the time the second and third ODI came around, to how comfortable we were likely to be in the driver's seat if we just batted all of the 50 overs we were entitled to. The fact that in the end we could achieve neither only reinforced the belief that we are still struggling to perfect the art of chewing gum and crossing the street at the same time. Collective hara-kiri was given a new meaning as each batsman to a man devised newer and more ingenious methods of gifting wickets to the South African bowlers. Here is a group of returning tourists who are now firmly convinced Christmas in this part of the world comes twice a year. Here was oriental hospitality gone haywire for sure.

In the same paper, Mohammad Isam remembers young Manjural Islam who died in a motor accident last year.

Just two days before his death, he wanted to take me and a few other teammates for a walk around the lake to calm us down after our fifth successive loss but later we decided to have tea outside the Dhanmondi ground.

"Never ever bow down" and "Cricket ends with the day. Tomorrow is a new beginning" were just some of the words I recall from that day. But most of us, CCS players, knew that he was one of those cricketers who hated to lose but he was also one who recovered from a loss very fast and moved on.

	Nazimuddin is making a mark at the international level © TigerCricket.com

“One day we were taken for an ice-bath at 7 in the morning. It was winter and I had never experienced anything like standing inside a drum with ice up to the neck. I thought why don’t they kill me instead."

However, Nazimuddin's mother had a part to play in ensuring he didn't give up.

“After the ice-bath there was another 40-minute ordeal at the swimming pool. When I got back to the dorm I called my mother on the phone and just asked her ‘You want to see your son alive or you want a cricket player?’ and she could hear me weeping. She paused for a few seconds and then said in a steely voice, ‘a son who is a cricket player’. I was so pissed that I did not call home for the next four weeks. Looking back I guess if she had played the typical mom and told me to come back home then I would never have gone on to play international cricket.”

Just how much does cricket affect one's life? In Bangladesh, with its crippled economy and flood-ravaged countryside, cricket is a distraction from people's troubled lives. But the team's recent performance - losing the Test and one-day series in Sri Lanka - has added to the country's gloom. Mohammad Isam writes in the Daily Star that cricket more often than not played the role of a healer of real life sufferings of Bangladeshis and a good performance in Sri Lanka would have fitted in nice amidst all this because it is a feel-good factor for them.

Cricket and the people of Bangladesh have had a brilliant relationship since the days of the ICC Trophy triumph in 1997. It hit the roof when they beat Pakistan in 1999 and it hit an all-time high this World Cup. Over the last 10 years, the country hasn't had much reason, except cricket, to cheer about.

Richard McInnes is the favourite to land the job of a coach of Bangladesh. G.M Bashar, of Banglacricket,com, caught up with him.

I think the Bangladesh batsmen still need to master the art of building an innings, of getting to the other end when they are under pressure rather than swinging wildly, of batting as a pair better rather than two individuals, of staying positive even when defending or batting in tough conditions. This does not mean still scoring at a SR of 80+ but maintaining positive intent. I have watched several times when the Bangladeshi batsmen get in trouble they try and sit in the crease and hold the opposition out. It is really only a matter of time before they get out. You need to keep taking the game to the opposition but with calculated risks, not impetuous rushes of blood.

	Habibul Bashar in happier times. © AFP

"No doubt it takes some time to normalise with the change in situation, especially when I had the expectation of continuing as the Test skipper. But what shocked me most was the way I was treated by the authorities. I expected a call from a board official about the decision. Do you think the expectation was too high for me?"

Bashar though did have words of praise for newly-appointed skipper Mohammad Ashraful.

“Ash (Ashraful) is a very good thinker. He is not only a natural talent but also thinks about the game. He follows the game minutely, which is not so common in his generation. Definitely I will give my best support to him but I hope everybody will have patience on him. He should be given enough time to establish himself as a skipper."

Dav Whatmore has been Bangladesh's most successful coach and the The Daily Star terms his departure from the post as a peaceful one, unlike the "sorry and painful departures of Indian Mohinder Amarnath, West Indies great Gordon Greenidge, South African Eddie Barlow, Australian Trevor Chappell and Pakistani Mohsin Kamal." The Dhaka daily's Bishwajit Roy interviews Whatmore on plans, hopes and frustrations while coaching the Bangladesh side.

DSS: We have seen some talented cricketers fade away from the spotlight during your tenure like Alok Kapali, Al Shahriar, Tushar Imran. It's true that they have failed sometime but don't you think that you have not motivated them enough to comeback. It seemed that you just let them go.

DW: (laughs) I am not happy with anybody who has talent and doesn't make it. But I do take some responsibility. But you're being harsh as you're saying that it's my fault. I never take credit when players do well. Therefore if a player doesn't do well, I don't think its fair to say that the coach is at fault. I take responsibility but at the end of the day, the player should take some of the responsibilities. Alok is still rated highly and potentially extremely good. If you see him bat in the nets, you'd pick him first but unfortunately that didn't translate into runs. Even though he has so much ability, he must understand what batting is all about.

DSS: Do you think not finding a permanent opening combination is a big failure?

DW: Yeah, it is the same now. We have another boy (Shahriar Nafees) out of form as well. Opening hasn't been the best part of our batting line-up. It would have been nice to have a good opening pair as it is important to have a good start if you're batting first or second.

Akram Khan was the the first Bangladesh captain to taste victory in ODIs. He is set to take on the role of a national selector soon. In this interview with BanglaCricket editor Khondaker Mirazur Rahman, he talks about his vision about Bangladesh Cricket, selection policy and domestic cricket.

"After his retirement from International cricket, Khaled Mahmud briefly worked as the Manager of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team. Currently, he is working as the Team Operations Manager of the Bangladesh National Cricket Academy in a bid to groom young players for future Bangladesh teams. In his interview with BanglaCricket editor Khondaker Mirazur Rahman, he expressed his vision about the Bangladesh National Cricket Academy, Bangladesh cricket and India’s tour of Bangladesh."

Dav Whatmore announced that he would end his tenure as coach of Bangladesh after the series against India. In an interview to the Times of India, Whatmore reflects on his legacy with Bangladesh over the last four years and what the future holds.

The family is behind me. At present, we need to balance a little bit with some personal contact with them all. But they understand that cricket is my life. They have been more than generous in allowing me to achieve so many things in my life.

Nabila Ahmed, writing in The Age, Melbourne, profiles Shahriar Nafees, the son of a freedom fighter who defended Bangladesh in its bloody war of independence against in 1971.

Under the tutelage of softly spoken captain Bashar, Nafees is now being groomed to one day take over the leadership of his country. Bangladesh's cricketer of the year in 2006, the left-hander says marriage to law student Eshita has brought him luck. "After the wedding, I scored about 400 runs in seven or eight one-dayers."

Bangladesh's Daily Star carries a report of a remarkable match in which players were chased by spectators and beaten up, the stumps were stolen and the riot police were summoned to restore order. Even then the umpires had to search to find the hiding fielders, one eventually being hauled out from under the covers.

Perhaps the most worrying thing was the casual note by the paper:-

In the last decade, such happenings are not rare as it is quite 'honourable' for clubs to threaten or physically beat up their opponents, own players or the umpires if the match did not go according to their wish.

The Bangladesh board has launched an investigation.

	© AFP

Rabeed Imam takes a trip down to the home town of Mashrafee Bin Mortaza for the post-wedding reception of Bangladesh's most animated cricketer . Click here to read.

Riding the Honda CDI in his usual carefree fashion with Razzak in the back, Mortaza suddenly let go the steering and spread his hands on reaching the Chitra Bridge but still managed to balance the bike with ease. “He has fantastic control of a motorbike so I wasn’t worried,” Razzak tried to put up a brave face. One of Mortaza’s childhood pals inform that they used to jump from the bridge on to goods carrying barges as they passed.

It was 12pm and the last part of the Mortaza experience unfolded. Showing a narrow path that leads to the river from his house Mortaza said confidently, “I can do what ever I feel like here. This area belongs to me and my friends. We have been taking this path to the river since I was a kid. We used to race each other to see who hits the water first and sometimes we ran stark naked through this passage screaming and shouting before plunging into the river. Even now at times we turn back the clock to those days and a friend’s mother, who to her misfortune saw us one day, asked in exasperation if we would ever grow up,” grins Mortaza.

In the wake clashes between the media and police at Chittagong, the Daily Star in Dhaka decided to boycott coverage of the event.

It was not possible for us to file reports while fellow journalists languished in hospital, victims of brutal police assault. To protest this unjust police torture the journalists immediately held a meeting and decided to boycott the Bangladesh-Australia series until the incident was fairly investigated and the guilty police officials were punished.

"It's simply a great victory. With the superb win against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh hold a lot of things as far as Test matches are concerned. I don't understand why some people unnecessarily criticise the Tigers," writes Wasim Akram in The Daily Star.

Ponting, you just keep your mouth shut and look back to what they did against you people in Cardiff last year and take a note of the latest one against Sri Lanka. And I would suggest everybody: Don't think you are going to play a warm-up game when you take on Bangladesh.

Eddie Barlow's death has deeply affected a number of Bangladesh's players, notably Habibul Bashar and Khaled Mahmud with whom Barlow forged close relations:

"Whatever I have achieved so far was because of that man. He gave me the mental support when my place in the national team was not even confirmed. I will always remember his words to the selectors that I have learnt afterwards 'Is Sumi in the list for the inaugural Test," said an emotion-chalked Bashar.

"Can you imagine a man seriously ill rushed to the ground only to see Bangladesh's practice match against Derbyshire. Honestly speaking, Bangladesh's cricket was in his heart," he said.