0
CASTRIES, May 27: Bangladesh have a chance to stem the rising tide of criticism levelled at their entry into Test cricket when they face Brian Lara's unpredictable West Indies side in the first of two Tests, starting here on Friday.
Bangladesh's record in Test cricket is dreadful. They have lost all but two of the 28 matches they have contested - the two draws in rain-ruined Tests against Zimbabwe - and on the basis of this evidence many believe their ascension was premature.
"The Test matches represent an opportunity for our guys to get out there and show that we are making progress," Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore remarked. "I'm not interested too much if we are winning or losing in the longer game, but I want to know that we are heading in the right direction and can push the opposition.
If we do that often enough in the five days, we are going to come close to victory," said the former Australian international and World Cup winning coach with Sri Lanka.
Some of the hostility directed at Bangladesh may have eased during the One-day International series albeit that West Indies had a 3-0 clean sweep. The visitors lost the first match by one wicket and another in the last over to show their competitive spirit.
"We would have left an image of a team that is competitive, a team that is able and prepared to push the opposition without having the ultimate prize of a victory," Whatmore said. "A lot of positives have come out of it, but at the end of the day, it's three matches played and three matches lost. I was quite confident of winning at least one ODI."
That's why West Indies can ill afford to take the Bangladeshis lightly. They have absolutely nothing to lose in the brief series. For all their unpredictability, West Indies are overwhelming favourites to win the two Tests.
They are 17 points adrift from the rest of the established Test nations on the International Cricket Council Test Championship table and know full well the consequences will be particularly severe if they lose one of the matches.
Teams (from):
WEST INDIES: Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs, Tino Best, Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson, Dave Mohammed, Ravi Rampaul.
BANGLADESH (from): Javed Omar, Hannan Sarkar, Habibul Bashar (captain), Rajin Saleh, Faisal Hossain, Mohammad Ashraful, Alok Kapali, Mushfiqur Rahman, Manjural Islam Rana, Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique, Alamgir Kabir, Enamul Haque Jr, Tapash Baisya, Tareq Aziz.
UMPIRES: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Jeremy Lloyds (England).
TV UMPIRE: Eddie Nicholls (West Indies).
MATCH REFEREE: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka). -AFP
