Bangladesh learning to cope away from home

Bangladesh`s third test tour of New Zealand started badly in Whangarei this week, beaten by a New Zealand XI in a one-dayer by players on the fringe of their province`s Super Smash teams.

In case you missed it, they made 245 for eight and lost by three wickets with eight balls to spare in a rain-reduced contest.

Pluses? Several batsmen got a start and sometime in the middle; key bowlers rolled their arms and, well, that`s about it. Bangladesh in New Zealand isn`t a happy tale.

They have played 13 games on visits since December 2001 and lost the lot.

Pitch conditions and climate seem to count against them plus, in those earlier years they were well off genuine test class. The likes of Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori had a picnic.

If the pitch even hinted at green, they didn`t have an answer and the bowling was modest.

Things are changing, however. At home, Bangladesh have been an awkward proposition for a number of years.

They have developed a group of distinctly handy international cricketers, such as lefthand batsmen Tamim Iqbal (test average 40.34 in 44 matches with eight centuries), and Mominul Haque (51.66 in 19 tests, with two of his four tons against New Zealand); quality allrounder Shakib al Hasan, Bangladesh`s best player since graduating to test cricket and ranked the world`s top ODI allrounder, and No2 in tests; seamer Mustafizur Rahman, named this week by the International Cricket Council as the game`s best emerging player; resourceful and experienced wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, and a 19-year-old offspinner Mehedi Hasan, who ripped out 19 English wickets in his first two tests a couple of months ago.

He was Bangladesh`s under 19 captain when they made the final of the World Cup this year, and was player of the tournament.

"He`s got a very good head on his shoulders," Shakib said of the prodigy.

Source: NZ Herald