And now there are ten

So the deed has finally been done. Bangladesh has formally entered the portals of the exclusive club of Test nations, no doubt to outpourings of joy from a goodly figure of the 130 million people that dot this state. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as fanatic a follower of the game as any of her fellow citizens, has announced a mass celebration tomorrow and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, never one to pull their punches, is reported by the local press to be pumping in several lakhs of Takas into the festivities.

Sure, a host of party poopers have expressed reservations about the ICC's decision. Bangladesh's application for Test status is on the lines of the classical chicken and egg conundrum. Some say Bangladesh should become better before getting Test status while others insist Bangladesh will become better after getting Test status. There are certainly elements of merit in both sets of arguments.

When considering Bangladesh's candidacy for Test honours, their oneday record, including that famous win over Pakistan, is largely irrelevant. In first class cricket, Bangladesh have lost six of their nine matches over the last three seasons (drawing the others). This included four crushing defeats by district teams on a tour of New Zealand in 1997-98. Like most other Asian nations, they are distinctly more imposing on the shirt-front wickets at home. It is this lack of success at first class level, the logical preamble to Test cricket, that has made Bangladesh's credentials slightly suspect. To buttress their claims, BCB officials have not been chary to point out that New Zealand's first Test victory, for instance, came in their 45th Test.

However Bangladesh has lots of things going for it, the most conspicuous being the unbridled following the game commands, which has ICC officials salivating at the mouth. All technical requirements have been fulfilled, with a six team domestic first class competition being instituted last season, won by Chittagong over Sylhet. That itself is a heartening sign for it shows that the enthusiasm for the game is not merely confined to the capital city, Dhaka, but cuts across to the interior districts. Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi have all been identified as potential Test venues and with the ICC pouring in US$ 100,000 into an ambitious five year plan for the development of Bangladesh cricket, it would appear that the foundations are being laid nice and strong.

John Reid, former New Zealand captain and current ICC Match Referee, agreed during the Asia Cup in Dhaka that playing Test cricket would raise Bangladesh's standard but added the caveat that they've got to actually start winning some games to be accepted. To develop the habit, I'd think that Bangladesh's best course now is not to celebrate prematurely by rushing headlong into the perils of a Test match. The national side is still woefully short of match practice and if a series of warm-up games can be arranged against domestic sides in say, India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, it would serve to gradually up the ante for the bigger occasion.

The BCB chief has introduced a cautionary note in his press release after the decision was rubber stamped. "We are deep down very mindful of the fact that achieving Test status is not an end in itself but means to an end", said Saber Hosain Chowdhury. TS Eliot, I think it was, who noted that every end is a new beginning and Bangladesh deserves all the support it can possibly get to tide over this intricate and challenging course it has set off on.