Bangladesh swim against the torrent

Once in every five to ten years, there comes a situation when the whole world takes an interest in Bangladesh - albeit for all the wrong reasons. It is sadly common for floods to ravage at least two-thirds of this low-lying delta, but in 2004 the weather gods decided to display their destructive talents to the max.

Villages, towns and cities started going under water from the beginning of July. Only the flood-embankments that encircle Dhaka - a lesson learnt from the 1988 deluge - prevented the waters from entering the capital as they gushed their way down towards the Bay of Bengal in the south.

Against such a backdrop, this was no time to overindulge oneself in cricket, as millions languished for food and shelter. Hundreds were washed away, never to be seen or found, and people were dying every day from water-borne diseases.

But in this era of professionalism, one thing you simply cannot compromise on is commitment. And that meant that, whatever the situation at home, Bangladesh's cricketers had an obligation to participate in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. Not that their preparation suffered in any way, however, as all the cricketers had joined their residential camp in Dhaka by the time road, rail and air communications with the rest of the country snapped. A difference of a few days could have left the Sylheti trio of Rajin Saleh, Alok Kapali and Tapash Baisya marooned in no-man's land.

In fact, Sylhet - the home district of over 90% of Britain's Bangladeshi population - had suffered from its worst flooding in years. Not too far away from the Saleh home, residents were reportedly getting rid of their boredom by standing waist-deep in their back yards, fishing with bamboo baskets.

But the glum scenario did little to dampen the spirits in Bangladesh's "boot camp", where the boys exchanged their batting gloves for boxing ones. The idea came from the new fitness trainer Justin Cordy, an ex-Aussie Rules fitness instructor who had been promoted to the main team from the Under-19s. Cordy thought a harmless little knockabout would improve the reflexes of the cricketers, but unfortunately the fast bowler, Tapash Baisya, took it all a little too seriously. He dislocated his left shoulder while swinging and missing with a vicious punch against Tareq Aziz. Thankfully, there was time available for him to recover.

The camp continued with a military beasting at the muddy Army Stadium, under the supervision of Cordy and a couple of no-nonsense Bangladesh Army corporals in pouring rain. And suddenly, with hardly any cricket practice behind them, the squad was off to Sri Lanka, a full 15 days before the tournament was scheduled to begin.

"We'll have plenty of time to for cricket training in Sri Lanka," said Dav Whatmore, the coach, but it didn't quite work out like that. The batting never clicked and, for the first time in his one year in charge, Whatmore seemed to have run out of inspiration in his constant experiments. Javed Omar's hamstring strain left the top order unbalanced, while Bangladesh's biggest enigma, Alok Kapali, was spectacularly unsuccessful.

At the end of the tournament, Bangladesh just had one win, against the amateurs of Hong Kong, to set against four defeats, and it was hard not to sympathise with Whatmore, as it was obvious to anyone who understands cricket that he could do little with the players available to him. "When the competition starts, the game is 90% in the head," he said. "Players who are not as gifted technically can still be good cricketers. Our situation is that we have not come out with the right answers in stressful situations."

The selectors were also coming under fire for the lack of performance, although they too were part of a no-win situation. "If we went on individual performances alone, we would have to change seven or eight players after every series," said one member of the panel. "That kind of wholesale change is not possible. Certain players come up to me with the notes of all the thirties and forties they have scored in one-day internationals, and seek explanation on why they have been dropped. I long to see the day when someone will show me a list of consistent seventies and eighties he has made and ask the same question."

Where does all that leave Bangladesh cricket? Whatmore can only call for more patience. "The Bangladesh cricket team is in the process of creating stars," he said. "Look at any other team, with the exception of Zimbabwe. Every other side has stars and matchwinners. We are in the process of making them."

To that end, the Bangladeshi squad for the Champions Trophy contains three members of the Under-19 side currently touring England. The most prominent of these is Nafis Iqbal, a classy right-hander who struck an effortless hundred against Michael Vaughan's tourists last October, and then had the temerity to dismiss England's spinners as "ordinary". His Chittagong team-mate Aftab Ahmed - a natural dasher who loves to hit sixes - is also called up, along with the teenaged swing bowler, Nazmul Hossain.

But out goes Kapali. He has frustrated enough. He can expect to be given the same treatment meted out to Mohammad Ashraful, Test cricket's youngest centurion, who found himself surplus to requirements after taking fame and a place in the side for granted. Ashraful has returned a better cricketer, and Kapali should take a leaf out of the same book.

In times of trouble, a game like cricket has the power to lift the sagging morale of a sports-mad nation such as Bangladesh. But if the squad needs any inspiration in England, they need only remember their countrymen who conquer the forces of nature year after year after year.