Bangladesh and Wisden

[WisdenVoice]

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this board. I read up the responses to what I had written in March, paying special attention to the scathing ones.
For the record, I was in Bangladesh in May 2000 for the Asia Cup and I talked to several ex players and senior fans who reckoned Test status had come too early. But leave that be.
The real question is, why has a team that showed such encouraging signs early on gone backwards so rapidly? There is undoubtedly talent there, which makes it all the more frustrating to watch when performances don't match up - and mistakes are repeated.
Wisden have been equally scathing at times with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and every other team that has been inconsistent. Did you read any of the headlines when England were being hammered in the Ashes? For the record, what is constructive criticism? Everyone has been talking about the first-class structure for years, but little seems to have been done about it.
The Wisden way is to write it as you see it, and in recent months, Bangladesh haven't deserved much leeway. Mind you, the last couple of games in the Dhaka triangular were a massive improvement and a step forward. Also, a couple of good sessions against South Africa.
I'd really like to know what many of you here think is the way forward for Bangladesh cricket. I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the fans in Dhaka, some of the finest I have seen, which makes it all the more sad that the team lets them down.
Actually, if one of you can send in your ideas on the road ahead in article form (I'll edit it), we'd be only to happy to have it published online, and also in Wisden Asia Cricket magazine.

Regards,
Dileep

PS. It's interesting that many prefer to see me as an arrogant, big-brother Indian with contempt for Bangladeshis. Trust me, no one will be happier if Bangladesh give someone a good working-over one of these days.

[shahid]

I can't understand why Bangladeshi cricket is only going backwards after getting test status, Bangladesh had a flying start to their test career, scoring over 230 regularly in ODIs since getting test status like-
249/6 v India - Asia Cup 2000, Dhaka, 2000
232/8 v England - ICC KnockOut, Nairobi, 2000/01
272/8 v Zimbabwe - 3rd ODI, Bulawayo, 2000/01
267/9 v Zimbabwe - 2nd ODI, Dhaka, 2001/02.

Also a great batting performance in tests scoring over 250 consistently
400 v India - Only Test, Dhaka, 2000/01
257 v Zimbabwe - 1st Test, Bulawayo, 2000/01
254 v Zimbabwe - 2nd Test, Harare, 2000/01
266 v Zimbabwe - 2nd Test, Harare, 2000/01
328 v Sri Lanka - Asian Test Series, Colombo, 2001/02.

We were a decent team till 2001, but after 2001, our cricket has only gone down and also the performance wasn't too good in the recent world cup as well,
Defeats to associates like Canada have only given us a lot of criticism. I can't understand why have we gone down since 2001.

I have also started to think that we have been given test status 5 years too early. Dileep, there is no shortage of fans, players and support in Bangladesh.

You should read some posts made by an Indian guy Amit here as well.

[Edited on 16-5-2003 by shahid]

[WisdenVoice]

Frankly, it's too late to argue about Test status now. What matters is that a set-up is in place so that the team stops embarrassing itself, and the fans who deserve better.
Appointing Dav Whatmore as coach is a very smart move. If he can't get them playing, no one will. Like he said recently, half your players seem to have a negative attitude about them. He's one man who can change that.
Ashraful, Kapali, Tapash and Mashrafe are all players who can make it big, while Habibul and Manjural also have the ability to test the better sides. What's needed is the discipline and determination. India are on the right track with John Wright, and hopefully, Whatmore can do it with B'desh.
I do feel however that Bangladesh cricket would be better served by playing more A sides first. It's so much easier to make the step up from that level, than it was from a first-class set-up which is still very raw.
A tour of Australia looms, and I fear that's the worst thing that could happen. On current form, they'll massacre any team and a poor result will do morale no good at all. On the other hand, it'll really toughen up some of the youngsters. Once you've played Aus in Aus, the rest is a cakewalk.
What's the general opinion at home about the appointment of Whatmore, and the moves taken by the BCB? I remember meeting Saber Hossain Chowdhury in Dhaka three years ago, and he seemed more bluster than substance.
It may be a long time before Bangladesh actually win a Test match but let's hope they become competitive soon. It doesn't matter if you lose...as long as you don't lose the lesson.

Regards,
Dileep

[Mahmood]

Actually, the downfall of BD cricket started when political reasons caused the board to overthrough the elected body and current President Lobby just selected 10 Advisors to run it.

Since then it is a monerchy. Unqualified coach (ie, Mohsin Kamal), arrogant and ignorent selectors and their immature decisions ripped the team apart.

It is good that BD is under pressure. Now they are trying to make it right. Whatmore is a great move. Soon, a CEO coming from the ACB to run BD cricket and help us get professional.

The talent is there, the fans are there, now all we need is politics free BCB, or at lease a sensable BCB.

[fwullah]

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

My point is that nothing is rapid. There were indications of Bangladesh's performance to go up and there were also indications of Bangladesh's performances going down.

[fwullah]

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

My point is that nothing is rapid. There were indications of Bangladesh's performance to go up and there were also indications of Bangladesh's performances going down.

[fwullah]

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

My point is that nothing is rapid. There were indications of Bangladesh's performance to go up and there were also indications of Bangladesh's performances going down.

[fwullah]

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

[fwullah]

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

[fwullah]

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

[fwullah]

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

[WisdenVoice]

I wrote something in the Khaleej Times Weekend magazine this week (under the pen name Bhaskar Menon) about Bangladesh cricket, and the appointment of Whatmore.
There are a few references to Trevor Chappell there, also a few quotes from Dav himself.

Regards,
Dileep

The link is ... www.khaleejtimes.co.ae. Just click on Weekend. It's on the second page. I'll be writing about Bangladesh once every ten weeks, so any ideas for the future are more than welcome.

[WisdenVoice]

I wrote something in the Khaleej Times Weekend magazine this week (under the pen name Bhaskar Menon) about Bangladesh cricket, and the appointment of Whatmore.
There are a few references to Trevor Chappell there, also a few quotes from Dav himself.

Regards,
Dileep

The link is ... www.khaleejtimes.co.ae. Just click on Weekend. It's on the second page. I'll be writing about Bangladesh once every ten weeks, so any ideas for the future are more than welcome.

[WisdenVoice]

I wrote something in the Khaleej Times Weekend magazine this week (under the pen name Bhaskar Menon) about Bangladesh cricket, and the appointment of Whatmore.
There are a few references to Trevor Chappell there, also a few quotes from Dav himself.

Regards,
Dileep

The link is ... www.khaleejtimes.co.ae. Just click on Weekend. It's on the second page. I'll be writing about Bangladesh once every ten weeks, so any ideas for the future are more than welcome.

[WisdenVoice]

I wrote something in the Khaleej Times Weekend magazine this week (under the pen name Bhaskar Menon) about Bangladesh cricket, and the appointment of Whatmore.
There are a few references to Trevor Chappell there, also a few quotes from Dav himself.

Regards,
Dileep

The link is ... www.khaleejtimes.co.ae. Just click on Weekend. It's on the second page. I'll be writing about Bangladesh once every ten weeks, so any ideas for the future are more than welcome.

[WisdenVoice]

I wrote something in the Khaleej Times Weekend magazine this week (under the pen name Bhaskar Menon) about Bangladesh cricket, and the appointment of Whatmore.
There are a few references to Trevor Chappell there, also a few quotes from Dav himself.

Regards,
Dileep

The link is ... www.khaleejtimes.co.ae. Just click on Weekend. It's on the second page. I'll be writing about Bangladesh once every ten weeks, so any ideas for the future are more than welcome.

[Sham]

Since I have been one of your harshest critics, especially on the point of constructive criticism (I still stand by what I have said in the past), I suppose it's only fair that I send you something on what needs to be done. I had written a piece about a couple of months ago. I'll have to find it and do some editing myself before I send it to you. What email address do you want it to be sent to? Let me know. Thanks.

[Sham]

Since I have been one of your harshest critics, especially on the point of constructive criticism (I still stand by what I have said in the past), I suppose it's only fair that I send you something on what needs to be done. I had written a piece about a couple of months ago. I'll have to find it and do some editing myself before I send it to you. What email address do you want it to be sent to? Let me know. Thanks.

[Sham]

Since I have been one of your harshest critics, especially on the point of constructive criticism (I still stand by what I have said in the past), I suppose it's only fair that I send you something on what needs to be done. I had written a piece about a couple of months ago. I'll have to find it and do some editing myself before I send it to you. What email address do you want it to be sent to? Let me know. Thanks.

[fwullah]

Re: The real question is, why has a team that showed such encouraging signs early on gone backwards so rapidly?

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

Re: do feel however that Bangladesh cricket would be better served by playing more A sides first.

Bangladesh had been playing against the A sides for a long time now. Bangladesh has been playing against India A, Pakistan A and Sri Lanka A in SAARC trophy hosted by Bangladesh. But the problem with that is that those were 50 over games and no one else seem to be too interested in hosting the SAARC tournaments except for Bangladesh. Now with the busy schedule of home and away tours, Bangladesh is also not getting the time to host the SAARC tournaments anymore. Now its time to step forward for other teams like Nepal, or UAE to host such 50 over tournaments involving the A teams of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. But there is also the requirement for Bangladesh to stage such tournaments involving the A teams of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan in 3-day or 4-day series.

Re: About coach Dave Whatmore

Whatmore is a good inclusion in BCB's plan, but it came later rather than sooner for Bangladesh. Remember that Bangladesh had hired a specialist fielding coach Trevor Chappell as the specialist national coach of a test playing country. Also remember that Mohsin Kamal, a specialist fast bowling coach was hired by BCB as the national coach of a test playing country. Both Chappell and Kamal has worked well for Bangladesh, but only to their abilities. That is, from the maiden Zimbabwe tour when Chappell started his coaching, Bangladesh have improved significantly in the fielding department under him. Also, among the players who have been in the national team under Mohsin Kamal for a long period of time, have done well to be precise, Tapash Baisya.

Habibul Bashar has now only caught the eyes of everybody for his consistent performance at the test level. But he took a long time to come this far. He was getting out in the forms of run outs and in other irresponsible ways before the year 2000. Like Habibul Bashar, the names of the players that you have mentioned, i.e., Ashraful, Kapali - they will also take time to find their feet at the national level.

Re: About being competitive

Bangladesh have never been consistently competitive to manage a win on all of a sudden. It takes time and we the fans know it. We all just hope that the time come sooner rather than later.

[fwullah]

Re: The real question is, why has a team that showed such encouraging signs early on gone backwards so rapidly?

First of all, you have to see exactly when did the team started showing encouraging signs? It was only starting from the World Cup 1999 until the year 2000 or the year 2001 against Zimbabwe that Bangladesh showed signs of encouragement. But to come to that position, Bangladesh had to face through 1997, 1998 - when Bangladesh lost to Kenya most times. In 1998, Bangladesh lost to Northern Ireland in Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. In 1997, Bangladesh performed pretty poorly against New Zealand in New Zealand.

Now about the second part - Bangladesh did not go backwards as rapidly as you are saying. There were signs in the year 2001 of this going backwards. Bangladesh performed poorly in the Asian Test Championship 2001. Bangladesh was all out for 51 and 57 against different South African Invitational sides in South Africa in 2001. These were invisible signs that Bangladesh's performance was on its way down. But the good thing of the year 2001 was that when Bangladesh scored more than 200 runs (actually more than 250) against Zimbabwe consistently. And the 2 tours beside the Asian Test Championship were the tours of Zimbabwe. I think you will agree with me that Zimbabwe is a much weaker bowling side than batting. Also, the little difference between the 9th and the 10th test playing nations between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had shown on the 2 tours. It was Bangladesh's good luck (or is it bad?) that the 2 tours against Zimbabwe were in the same year. It was also Bangladesh's good luck (again, was it good or bad luck for Bangladesh - now as we see things?) that Bangladesh's tour of Kenya in 2001 was postponed due to Kenyan players' conflict with their board.

Re: do feel however that Bangladesh cricket would be better served by playing more A sides first.

Bangladesh had been playing against the A sides for a long time now. Bangladesh has been playing against India A, Pakistan A and Sri Lanka A in SAARC trophy hosted by Bangladesh. But the problem with that is that those were 50 over games and no one else seem to be too interested in hosting the SAARC tournaments except for Bangladesh. Now with the busy schedule of home and away tours, Bangladesh is also not getting the time to host the SAARC tournaments anymore. Now its time to step forward for other teams like Nepal, or UAE to host such 50 over tournaments involving the A teams of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. But there is also the requirement for Bangladesh to stage such tournaments involving the A teams of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan in 3-day or 4-day series.

Re: About coach Dave Whatmore

Whatmore is a good inclusion in BCB's plan, but it came later rather than sooner for Bangladesh. Remember that Bangladesh had hired a specialist fielding coach Trevor Chappell as the specialist national coach of a test playing country. Also remember that Mohsin Kamal, a specialist fast bowling coach was hired by BCB as the national coach of a test playing country. Both Chappell and Kamal has worked well for Bangladesh, but only to their abilities. That is, from the maiden Zimbabwe tour when Chappell started his coaching, Bangladesh have improved significantly in the fielding department under him. Also, among the players who have been in the national team under Mohsin Kamal for a long period of time, have done well to be precise, Tapash Baisya.

Habibul Bashar has now only caught the eyes of everybody for his consistent performance at the test level. But he took a long time to come this far. He was getting out in the forms of run outs and in other irresponsible ways before the year 2000. Like Habibul Bashar, the names of the players that you have mentioned, i.e., Ashraful, Kapali - they will also take time to find their feet at the national level.

Re: About being competitive

Bangladesh have never been consistently competitive to manage a win on all of a sudden. It takes time and we the fans know it. We all just hope that the time come sooner rather than later.

[WisdenVoice]

I write for the Khaleej Times Weekend magazine, under the pen name Bhaskar Menon. This week, I wrote something on Bangladesh, focussing on the views of Trevor Chappell and Dav Whatmore, among others. In future, every ten weeks, I'll be doing something on Bangladesh cricket. ANy ideas are more than welcome.

Regards,
Dileep

[WisdenVoice]

Sham,

You can send what you wrote to dileep.premachandran@wisdenindia.com. As for being a harsh critic, no worries. That comes with the territory. The clearest sign of a civilized society is the peaceful coexistence of divergent views. You can still work towards the same goal - in this case, an upturn in Bangladesh's cricket fortunes - in many ways.

Regards,
Dileep

[fwullah]

WisdenVoice, isn't KhaleejTimes a paper based in UAE? You can do some research on Asia's perspective/potential in the future. For example - UAE is a current ACC team, Bangladesh was an ACC team just a few years back - may be you can dig up info on Bangladesh's performances in ACC trophy tournaments.

I am sure that it will be of interest to many as UAE and Hong Kong/Nepal are going to play their first ODIs just next year - in April in the Asia Cup.

There's another idea - you can also dig up on what Bangladesh did in the past Asia cups, what other teams accomplished for holding Asia Cup tournaments - like for example, Sri Lanka first major victory was one Asia Cup (I am not sure of that)?

You can also do a research on what's the difference between ICC level and the One Day International Level.

You can read the papers of this week/last week and write about Akram Khan - nobody really has written much about Akram Khan in foreign papers/sites. In fact, I think that Akram Khan's retirement is going to be the most effective at this time.

These are the past issues. If you want to write something about the future, then I think you will have to wait for a few days to get some ideas.

[Ehsan]

Why the messages in this topic are so screwed up? One same message is being displayed 4-2 times.