THROUGH THE COVERS: A moral victory for Bangladesh
By Zaheer Abbas
THE first Test in the ongoing series between West Indies and Bangladesh, I am sure, did not have many followers. I was not one either in the initial phase, for I thought I had a few better things to do than to follow a game that was likely to follow the almost routine pattern of matches that involve Bangladesh. I was wrong, and had to follow the latter half of the game after Bangladesh clinched a rare first innings lead.
But before proceeding any further, let me share the bottom line first: it turned out to be the first Test ever that featured an innings declaration by Bangladesh. Also, it was the first Test in which Bangladesh avoided defeat without the help of inclement weather. This naturally was a huge improvement for the Bangladeshis, who have been the whipping boys of world cricket ever since their country gained, or was awarded, the Test status.
The second innings in the Test, however, started off as disastrously as has generally been the case with Bangladesh, with six wickets falling in a heap and without much on the scoreboard. The rearguard action taken by Khalid Mashud and the tail that lasted over two sessions of play — from late evening on the fourth day till Tea on the fifth — was something of a surprise, a pleasant surprise indeed. I am not too sure of the statistics, but I am unable to recall when was the last time that Bangladesh lasted more than one hundred overs in two innings of a Test.
The induction of Australian coach Dav Whatmore into the Bangladesh setup seems to have done them a world of good. While he must have worked hard on improving the level of skills in the Bangladeshi camp, his basic work has been on the players’ approach to the game. The body language is different, and the players now seem to enjoy their day out in the sun, which was earlier not the case. It goes to show his influence on the players that even when he had to leave the team to take care of some family commitments, the players still fought hard and, in fact, touched unprecedented level. I mean there is at least and at last one soul in Bangladesh now who has personally experienced the decision-making process behind a Test declaration!
But while things appeared cheerful to the Bangladeshi eyes during the first Test, they must have been pretty grim in the West Indian dressing room. Last week I had quoted their example in comparison with England’s rise on the world stage. Today, I am forced to do the comparison between West Indies and, of all the entities, Bangladesh. If the mere act of making comparisons and drawing parallells is so painful for me, what it would be like for a West Indian — better still, a West Indian great like Vivian Richards — to face the writing on the wall?
The West Indians can still thrash the minnows, provided they play on a sporting surface that may assist their fast bowlers, but it will not come as any big surprise to anyone. The moral victory has already been scored by the Bangladeshis.
While the stocks of various nations will continue to rise and fall over any period of time, for that is but natural and very much in the spirit of competition, the lesson to be learnt from the West Indian example, as I have pointed put more than once before, is that nations who fail to invest in the grassroots when the going at the top is smooth, ultimately end up paying a huge price for their failure to take action when it was due. When nurseries dry up, it is only a matter of time before the whole system comes tumbling down. Is there anyone taking cue from this?
THE first Test in the ongoing series between West Indies and Bangladesh, I am sure, did not have many followers. I was not one either in the initial phase, for I thought I had a few better things to do than to follow a game that was likely to follow the almost routine pattern of matches that involve Bangladesh. I was wrong, and had to follow the latter half of the game after Bangladesh clinched a rare first innings lead.
