ZCO editorial, 17 November 2000

I had a great deal of interest in Bangladesh's inaugural Test, recently concluded against India, most of all because of memories of Zimbabwe's inaugural Test against the same country eight years ago.

Along with, it appears, most cricket-followers worldwide, I didn't think Bangladesh were yet strong enough to play Test cricket, although of course I wished them all the best. Zimbabwe had a much longer and harder apprenticeship, and our players had been playing first-class for all their careers. For every season since 1970/71, our last season in B Section Currie Cup cricket, Zimbabwean cricketers had played first-class matches against either powerful South African provinces or strong international opponents.

Now here were Bangladesh, plunged into Test cricket after just three seasons and about a dozen first-class matches, none of which were won. I felt they needed at least another two seasons during which the ICC should have ensured a regular supply of A teams from other countries to play them and give them the necessary experience. But it does not seem to be the done thing nowadays for the ICC to reject applications for Test status, and there are fears that they may fast-track other countries into Test status before they are ready for it during the next few years. The fortunes of Bangladesh during the next year or two will probably have an effect on how quickly this is done.

We were all amazed to see Bangladesh score 400 in their first innings, even though it was against an Indian team without their world-class spinner Anil Kumble and in turmoil amid the betting scandal and selection controversies. After this, many seemed surprised that Bangladesh should collapse so completely in their second innings and in the end lose the match so easily. I was not so surprised. The adrenaline had been flowing for three days, enabling the gallant Bangladeshis to play well above themselves, but supplies of adrenaline cannot last forever. Inexperience then took its toll, and Zimbabwe maintain their record as the only country not to lose its inaugural Test - excluding the very first Test of all between England and Australia, where somebody had to avoid defeat.

But otherwise the Bangladeshis emulated some good records; a century and a five-wicket haul by two of their players emulated Dave Houghton and John Traicos, who did so for Zimbabwe in their inaugural Test. But there may be some awesome hidings over the next few years for Bangladesh as they struggle to overcome their sheer lack of experience. Their player base is far larger than Zimbabwe's, though, as they have more than ten times the population, so the potential is outstanding. But there is no substitute for experience at the top level, so there could be some appalling hidings around the corner for them in the near future. Still, all the very best of luck to them. We hope to see them in Zimbabwe next April, Zimbabwe may tour there next October, and while we hope to see some rare Zimbabwean Test victories, we cannot take it for granted and we hope that Bangladesh do prove to be worthy opponents.

Again we have not received several reports promised us for this issue, so we are rather thin on the ground, but we do included a detailed interview with former national captain, former national coach and former record-breaking Zimbabwean batsman Dave Houghton, who is now coaching at the CFX Academy. He gives his views on his career as national coach and on the future direction he envisages for cricket in this country. Next week we hope to get his assessments of both national and Academy players, as he is in a unique position to judge both.

We also include an index of all our magazine articles last season, for the benefit of those who want to look back and read about a certain player or event. Next week we plan to include an index of this season's articles, to be regularly updated, so as to make reference easier.

Zimbabwe are on the verge of their first Test match in India for almost eight years, a rather disappointing gap for the country that was good enough to take part in our inaugural Test. India are the only country we are on even terms with as far as results are concerned at present; in only three Tests between our two countries, we have one victory to each side, and the most recent match resulted in a thrilling victory for Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club two years ago.

It is perhaps too much to hope for that we might win a Test in India - but that's what we thought when we visited Pakistan two years ago, and won our first series. But Zimbabwe have lost quite a lot of ground in those two years, for no reason that can be adequately analyzed, and as usual confidence is the key. The team have a lot of faith in their new coach Carl Rackemann, while India are suffering from the problems noted above. Perhaps the perennial hope of long-suffering Zimbabwe cricket followers in simply that we will be competitive. On the odd occasions where we received more than we hoped for, that adds to the pleasure.

In preparation for the Indian series, we add a statistical piece on `Current Form', revealing exactly how our players have performed so far this year. For many, it makes disappointing reading and shows how far we have fallen short of our potential, especially in batting. Most players fall into the category of `could and should do better'. They have the ability to do better, as they have clearly shown in the past. What better time than now to start improving on those mediocre recent records?

Other regular features compiled or updated this past week are the detailed Test records of Heath Streak and Paul Strang, and biographies of Paul and Bryan Strang. [Players] | [Biographies]