Bangladesh national cricket team

The Bangladesh national cricket team, also known as "The Tigers", is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status. It played its first Test match in 2000 against India in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test cricket playing nation.

Bangladesh's first official foray into international cricket came in the 1979 ICC Trophy in England, leaving the tournament with 2 wins and 2 defeats. Seven years later, on 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played in its first One Day International match against Pakistan in the 1986 Asia Cup. Cricket has gradually become very popular in urban areas of the country. Although football was the most popular game for a long time, cricket gained momentum and soon surpassed football. Especially after Bangladesh won the ICC Trophy in Malaysia in 1997. By winning the ICC trophy, the Tigers had qualified for the 1999 Cricket World Cup for the first time, where they beat Pakistan creating one of the biggest upsets in their cricketing history. In 1997, Bangladesh became a regular ICC member with the right to play One Day Internationals. It attained the status of a Test playing country on 26 June 2000.

As of May 2010, Bangladesh have played in 68 Tests, winning only 3. Their first victory was against Zimbabwe and the other two against a West Indian team crippled by a players' strike. They have lost 57 of their matches, and 33 of these by an innings.Bangladesh's performance has led to repeated calls for them to lose their Test status. Recently however, under the guidance of coach Jamie Siddons Bangladesh has been improving their test match performances. In the one day form of the game Bangladesh has performed a lot better.They have managed to defeat all the Test playing nations at least once. The performance of the Tigers in 2010 has also shown a gradual improvement as a Test match and ODI side. This year in Bangladesh, they created history by beating New Zealand convincingly in the ODI series. The Kiwis were beaten with a clean sweep of 4-0 and this was the first major whitewash by the Tigers against a full strength test squad.

Bangladesh wins the Sixth ICC trophy in Malaysia gaining the opportunity to take part in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. It was considered as a great victory by the people of Bangladesh from all walks of life. Bangladesh also becomes a regular ICC member with the right to play One Day Internationals. Earlier, in February Dhaka hosted the 3rd & final SAARC cricket tournament.

Bangladesh posts its first ODI win against Kenya in India thanks to a fiery 77 run and 3 wickets contribution by Mohammad Rafique. In October, Bangladesh hosts (although did not participate in) the first ever ICC champions trophy, a knock-out ODI tournament featuring all the Test playing nations. The tournament was applauded by the whole world for great organizing and huge number of spectators. The performance of Bangladesh on and off the field this year helped to be recognized as the next big cricketing nation.

In 2000, Bangladesh made their debut Test appearance, hosting India in Dhaka. They lost by nine wickets.vetern batsman Aminul Islam Bulbul scored 145 in the first innings of the match.

Bangladesh played eight Tests in 2001. They toured Zimbabwe in April and lost both Tests. They lost two one-off Tests to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, both by an innings, before returning home for a two-Test series against Zimbabwe. In the first Test in Dhaka, they escaped with a draw after no play was possible on the final two days due to rain. They had been 213 runs behind in their second innings, with seven wickets in hand. After seven Tests, it was their first time the team had avoided defeat. Zimbabwe then won the second Test by 8 wickets. Bangladesh then made their first Test tour of New Zealand, losing both Tests by an innings.

2002

Bangladesh played four series of two Tests each in 2002 against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the West Indies. They lost all eight matches, six of these by an innings.

Early January, Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe in their 35th Test, their first ever Test match victory. In the first Test of the series, Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by 226 runs in Chittagong Stadium. Bangladesh scored a huge total of 488 in their first innings. In reply, Zimbabwe were all out for only 312 for their first innings. Bangladesh declared in their second innings after scoring 204/9. Powered by a spirited spell from Enamul Haque Jr., who took 6/45, Bangladesh wrapped up Zimbabwe's innings for 154.

Bangladesh would have needed to get the fourth-highest fourth innings total to win in Test cricket history in the second Test of the series. They opted to play out the last four sessions playing conservatively and consequently secured a draw. This gave the team its first Test series win and triggered scenes of wild jubilation across the country. National coach Dav Whatmore was later quoted as saying that playing overly-aggressive cricket to try to win the Test would not have been a good idea.

Bangladesh also secured their first One Day International series win in the same tour. Despite losing the first two matches of the five-match series, they recovered to win the series 3-2.

On 18 June, Bangladesh scored an upset victory over Australia in a One Day International match in the NatWest Series. Australia scored 249/5 in 50 overs. In reply, Bangladesh reached 250 runs with four balls to spare. Mohammad Ashraful scored 100 runs off 101 balls, his first one-day century, while Aftab Ahmed hit a six in the first ball of the final over, and hit a single from the next ball to win the game by five wickets.

The first home One-Day International series of 2006 began with some optimism for Bangladesh, who registered their first-ever win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the series. At the end of March, Bangladesh played four ODIs against Kenya, winning all four. Then in April, they came very close to beating Australia in a Test match, taking a first-innings lead of 158, and eventually losing by only three wickets after bowler Mashrafe Mortaza dropped what could possibly have been a catch to turn the match around. Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, said of the catch "If [Mortaza] had taken it we could have seen a different situation, but I must say he tried hard and you all know that he is a whole-hearted cricketer".

At the end of July, Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe as the ODI series favourites but lost by three games to two. However, in August, the team defeated Kenya in all three matches of a series and subsequently went on to whitewash Zimbabwe in an ODI series staged in Bangladesh. That year, Shahriar Nafees became the first Bangladeshi to score over a thousand runs (which included three centuries) in a calendar year while Mashrafe Mortaza became the leading wicket-taker in the world in ODIs staged in 2006 with 49 wickets.

Bangladesh prepared for the World Cup with three series wins, defeating Zimbabwe 5–0 at home and 3–1 in Zimbabwe. They then played a series of matches against non-Test playing nations, defeating Scotland 2-0 at home and winning a tri-series undefeated against Canada and Bermuda.

On 17 March, in their first match of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh stunned India, a former world cup champion, with a five wicket victory in Port of Spain, Trinidad. This lead to the humiliating exit of India from the 2007 Cricket World Cup. On 21 March, though, they lost to Sri Lanka by 198 runs. However, on 25 March, Bangladesh recouped its loss by a 7 wicket win against Bermuda, advancing to the Super 8 round and cementing India's first-round elimination in the tournament. Bangladesh lost to Australia and New Zealand by big margins in the first two games of the Super 8 round. However, to prove that the win against India was no fluke, they pulled off an outstanding victory against South Africa by a convincing margin of 67 runs. Then they lost to England in a tense low-scoring game. The last two games were against Ireland and West Indies, both of which Bangladesh lost with the loss against Ireland causing a black spot in an otherwise remarkable tournament. 

On 2 June, Habibul Bashar, who had previously resigned as ODI captain, though he stated that he would like to retain the Test captaincy, was replaced as captain by Mohammad Ashraful in all forms of the game. Mashrafe Mortaza was appointed vice-captain.

End of 2007 Bangladesh toured New Zealand. Bangladesh was soundly beaten 3-0 in the one dayers. The third match at Queenstown was the largest defeat in the history of ODI cricket for a side batting first

Mohammad Ashraful

Bangladesh started their year of 2008 by when they were touring in New Zealand. The Test matches were one sided, with Bangladesh losing 2-0.

South Africa toured Bangladesh in early 2008 and won all their matches, winning the Tests 2–0 and the ODIs 3–0. Bangladesh then beat non-Test playing Ireland 3–0 in an ODI series.

On 9 October 2008, Bangladesh recorded its first ever victory over New Zealand in an ODI winning by seven wickets in Mirpur further reinstating their reputation of being so called "giant killers". New Zealand ultimately recovered to win the series 2-1. What followed was a closely contested two-match Test series won by New Zealand 1–0. In the first test New Zealand collapsed badly in their first innings, where despite Shakib Al Hasan took 7/36. Bangladesh were then able to set New Zealand a challenging target of 317 for victory, which New Zealand narrowly achieved for the loss of 7 wickets. The second match was drawn due to rain.

In November, Bangladesh had a tour away to South Africa. They lost all their matches, in the only T20 match, 2–0 in the ODI series (with the third one being washed out due to rain) and 2–0 in the Test series. They only could become competitive in the Twenty20 and the first of the ODIs. Otherwise, glimpses of good performances were shown in an otherwise total disappointing tour.

In December, however, Bangladesh bounced back from the previous lacklustre performances by threatening to win the first Test match against Sri Lanka by chasing down the highest 4th innings of total of 513. Though they fell 107 runs short, their performances were praised but in the second match of the home series in January, Bangladesh fell to an innings defeat.

The year started with the innings defeat in the 2nd Test match against Sri Lanka. Then Zimbabwe joined the hosts and the Lankan team for a tri-series tournament, which proved to be more evenly matched than was expected. In the first match, Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh by an excellent performance but then fell to defeat by a huge margin by Sri Lanka leaving Bangladesh needing to win against the Lankans in the last match in order to go through to the finals to join the Lankans, and that also with a bonus point. The hosts managed to do that thanks to a sparkling performance from the current No. 1 ODI all-rounder in the world Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and the newcomer Rubel Hossain.

The final was one which managed to go down as one of the most entertaining matches ever in ODI cricket history. Sri Lanka bundled out the hosts for a mere 151 and were preparing for a straightforward win, only to be stunned by some deadly bowling performances from Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Hossain which saw the Lankans to be reduced to a shocking 6/5, which was the lowest total for a team to lose five wickets at. Then Kumar Sangakkara appeared to take the game away from the hosts, but Shakib Al Hasan struck with two quick wickets reducing the Lankans to 114/8. And then just when the Bangladeshis were getting the sniff of their first major ODI series win, an unlikely and equally enthralling hitting display from the Sri Lankan legendary offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan snatched the victory away from the tearful hosts. Shakib Al Hasan was announced as the man of the tournament, which barely consolated the Bangladesh team which performed out of their skin only to let it slip at the end.

After the World T20 championships in England, the selectors appointed Mashrafe Mortaza as the new captain of the team for the tour to the West Indies so that Ashraful could focus on his batting.[6] The two Test series was played amidst controversy when a pay dispute between the West Indian players and the West Indies Cricket Board led a number of West Indian players boycotting the series, which forced the West Indies to select a number of inexperienced players as replacements.Bangladesh went on to win both of the Tests, wining the first Test by 95 runs and the second by four wickets.In the process they achieved their first ever overseas Test series victory.In the One Day International series which followed Bangladesh secured their first ever One Day International win against the West Indies at the 14th attempt.They finished the ODI series 3-0 against the weakened West Indies side, but lost the only Twenty20 match.

In January, Bangladesh hosted a tri-series ODI tournament with India and Sri Lanka. They failed to win a match and went out of the tournament. Missing Mashrafe Mortaza, the team's bowling was very poor, though the batting was good, amassing over 200 runs in every match. They lost the two match Test series against India by 2-0.

In March 2010, England visited Bangladesh to play three ODIs and two Test matches. Bangladesh lost all their ODIs and Tests in the series.

In April, Bangladesh took part in the 2010 World Twenty20. Although they came close to beating Australia, after bowling them out for 141, they lost all their matches and failed to progress to the Super Eights stage. In May and June, Bangladesh played two Test matches against England, this time in England, losing both, although Tamim Iqbal scored two centuries in the series. Between the Tests and ODIs against England, Bangladesh took part in the 2010 Asia Cup during June, but lost all their matches.

In the ODI series, England comfortably won the first match. However, in the second match at Bristol, Bangladesh beat England for the first time in international cricket (England were the only Test playing nation yet to be beaten by Bangladesh), bowling England out in the final over to win by five runs.

In October Bangladesh managed to defeat the New Zealand cricket team for the second time in a rain affected game at Mirpur, Dhaka. Bangladesh scored 228 runs and then bowled out New Zealand for 200 securing a 9 runs victory by D\L method. In the 3rd match of the home series against New Zealand Bangladesh continued their tremendous form and thrashed the Kiwis by 7 wickets. As the 2nd match was washed out due to rain Bangladesh took a 2-0 lead in the series. Victory in this match ensured that the Tigers will at least end the series with a draw. But the tigers were in no mood for a draw when they took the field for the fourth ODI in Dhaka. Thanks to a valiant century by the skipper Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh gathered 241 runs before being all out. In reply New Zealand started to loose wickets in regular intervals. An amazing show of determined bowling and fielding by the Bangladeshis forced the Kiwis to give in despite a brave century by Ken Williamson. This was the first instance of Bangladesh winning a series against a full powered top test side. In the final game, Bangladesh continued their winning race beating New Zealand by 3 runs and winning the series by 4- 0. This remarkable achievement by the Tigers reinforced the idea that they are now in a transitional period to become a superpower of the cricket world. In December, Bangladesh played a 5- match ODI series against Zimbabwe and win it by 3-1. The fourth ODI was declared abandoned due to heavy rain overnight and wet outfield.

The future

Bangladesh team is returning to the dressing room at the
Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka.

Bangladeshi former captain Habibul Bashar and former coach Dav Whatmore have said that they hope Bangladesh will become a serious cricketing contender by 2010. Despite cricket's enormous popularity with the Bangladeshi people this ambition has yet to be achieved, although the side has recently shown sides of more consistently competitive performances in ODI cricket. Bangladesh's U19 team, the stepping stone before the International Test scene, regularly performs well against established Test nation's U19 teams. In the recent 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh were one of the favourites to win beforehand, but fell in the quarter finals to England U19.

Many have criticized Bangladesh's elevation to Test Status. The country's supporters defend Bangladesh's elevation to top flight cricket by pointing out that it took New Zealand, now a strong international side in both forms of the game, 20 years to win its first Test match. Bangladesh's detractors however cite the team's long track record of heavy defeat as a sign they are not yet ready for Test cricket. Possibly due to these doubts about Bangladesh's ability to compete at the highest level, Bangladesh will only get the opportunity to play 41 Tests through 2006–2012 (the least among full ICC members with the sole exception of Zimbabwe), according to the recently publicised ICC Future Tours Programme.

India, which strongly supported Bangladesh’s bid for Test status in 2001, is the only full member nation not to invite Bangladesh to play on its own soil, even though India is due to tour Bangladesh three times between 2006 and 2012. Bangladesh has yet to play a Test on Indian soil. Some have suggested that India, which will be one of the busiest cricketing nations during this period, did not schedule to play Bangladesh because of time conflicts and fear of player fatigue. However, this still strengthens the notion that Bangladesh is not on an even footing with other Test playing nations when it comes to securing regular international fixtures. For example, Bangladesh usually plays only two Tests in a Test series, while most other countries play three or more matches.