Learning at the deep end

Bangladesh have been forced to learn the ropes at the very highest level. It's little wonder they are struggling © Getty Images Enlarge

There's an old saying that applies to Bangladesh cricket above all else at this point in time: patience is a virtue. Their batsmen need more of it and the cricket world must accept the team needs time to start delivering results.

The speculation over Bangladesh's Test future and the air of disappointment after yet another loss was unavoidable. However the criticism of their performance and abilities that has come out of New Zealand is far from justified. New Zealand too was once a minnow, its first Test victory came after 26 years and 45 attempts.

Despite their Test status, cricket in Bangladesh is very much in its infancy when compared to the top-ranked nations. Whereas the Pura Cup in Australia runs for five months, first-class cricket in Bangladesh runs for just two. What's more, the domestic competition has only recently achieved first-class status.

More significant, however, is the fact that when the matches are over, cricket grinds to a halt. For nine months of the year, cricketers in Bangladesh - the Test side included - have nowhere to practice as cricket grounds are left alone and the monsoon season rolls in. Even the national sports academy, the BKSB facility near Dhaka, has had its problems. The Bangladesh side were unable to train there prior to this series due to stagnant water in the indoor school.

Bangladesh's international programme has meant the top players have not played in the local competitions for the last three years. So they are left to find their feet in the longer form of the game at the highest possible level. Is it any surprise then that Daniel Vettori was able to run through Bangladesh today on a turning wicket?

As an underachiever with the bat for part of his career, New Zealand's captain Stephen Fleming must have some sympathy for the likes of Hannan Sarkar and Javed Omar. The great Mark Waugh was another man notorious for throwing his wicket away early in his career. And there have been plenty of others.

The problem for Bangladesh is they have an entire team of such players. Add to that the average age of the side in this match of just 22 years. As one local journalist put it: "We need to make sure the young players are ready". Clearly this has not been the case to date and, unfortunately for Bangladesh's cricket-mad fans, now it's too late or, as New Zealand Cricket's CEO Martin Snedden put it the other day: "the horse has bolted".

With so many factors in his favour, there was an air of inevitability about Vettori's sixwicket haul. Without a bag of five for three long years and with just 16 wickets in his previous ten Tests, today's effort must be kept in context.

Andrew McLean is a presenter of The Cricket Club, New Zealand's only national radio cricket show.