ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2017

Bangladesh in 2016/17 The performance of the Bangladesh Test side in the 2016/17 and 2017 seasons could fairly be characterized as a triumph, at least if measured against former years. It is true that any other Test nation (except Zimbabwe) would regard the eventual tally of three wins and six defeats as disappointing; but what mattered for Bangladesh is that the three wins came not against Zimbabwe or a weakened West Indies side but against England, Sri Lanka and Australia. Indeed, even the mere fact that the team played as many as nine Tests was a notable achievement in itself, particularly after an entirely blank programme in the previous twelve months. At long last, Bangladesh had begun to arrange a schedule of games against highly credible opposition. England visited for two Tests early in the season before going on to India. Amid tight security, the tour took place without off-field incident and went a long way to allay the security concerns that had led to the cancellation of Australia’s planned visit a year previously. All the ‘incident’ occurred, happily, on the field of play and there was plenty of it: two hard-fought, utterly compelling games of cricket as Bangladesh, admittedly aided by home conditions, matched their more famous opponents from the first ball to the last. The first Test, which set a new record of 26 referrals (11 successful) of umpiring decisions, resulted in a narrow win for the visitors but it was followed by a more convincing home victory in the second game as England collapsed horribly at the end, losing all ten second-innings wickets in a single disastrous session. The off-spinning opening bowler Mehedi Hasan, still only eighteen when he made his debut in the first Test, showed astonishing maturity and command of the conditions to claim 19 wickets in the two Tests at only 15.63. But could Bangladesh build on this success by competing in alien conditions overseas – in New Zealand, for instance? The bare 2-0 scoreline suggests that the answer was no, but closer scrutiny reveals that Bangladesh gave an excellent account of themselves in the first Test, responding with an imposing 595-8d after being put in to bat. A disappointing second innings, however, led to defeat; and New Zealand always held the upper hand in the second Test, although it was far from the dispiriting surrender that was characteristic of Bangladesh a few years ago. The side next visited India for its first-ever Test in that country: the result an easy win for the home team, but the fact that the match was arranged at all said something of the increased standing of Bangladesh cricket. On the visit to Sri Lanka that followed, the first Test brought a similarly heavy defeat but huge amends were made in the second, a thoroughly well-merited four-wicket victory that showed, at last, that Bangladesh can compete and win away from home against high-quality opponents. Finally, in August and September 2017, the visit of Australia gave Bangladesh the chance to show that the performance against England the previous October had been no fluke. The opportunity was seized: the first Test, another magnificent game of cricket with the bowlers on top throughout, brought a home success by 20 runs and obliged Australia to dig very deep to save their face, and the rubber, with victory in the second Test. It would be rash to assert that these results mark Bangladesh’s arrival as a true power in the Test world. The six defeats weigh heavily; and serious questions remain about the ability of the side to perform on less sympathetic pitches overseas. Moreover, the team remains ninth out of ten in the Test rankings, ahead only of Zimbabwe although now only narrowly behind West Indies. But even after all these caveats, it is still true to say that Bangladesh can go forward in better heart, with greater hope, than at any time since its admission to Test status seventeen years ago. 51