Bangladesh cricket's poor summer a big learning curve

Off the field, the picture of Bangladesh cricket is very lugubrious while on the field there is hardly any cricket. Sports journalists in Bangladesh are irked because of continuous reporting about the off-field sagas. They wish to write reports about the on-field actions.

There was an opportunity for the Tigers to brush away this dull situation of Bangladesh cricket with a spirit-lifting performance. The Bangladesh Under-19, Under-23 and A teams were touring England and Singapore respectively and it was expected that each would dole out a fair show, but sadly it was not to be. The pens of our sports journalists couldn't break the monotony of essaying dull reports.

The summer in England and Singapore had turned out to be an absolute disaster as the Bangladeshis hardly could relish any triumphs. Much was expected from the A team of whom 13 from the 15-man squad had international experience. Rather than demonstrating any sort of fight, let alone victories, they lost seven of the eight matches they played. The county teams mesmerised them at will and the Tigers were as helpless as timid kittens. In the last one-dayer against the England Lions, they dished out a consolation win but it wasn't enough to hide the miseries of such a pathetic summer.

Like the A team, the U-19 and U-23 teams too were impecunious. In the U-19 tri-nation tournament in England, our young guns found it tough against England and Pakistan while in the U-23 Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams tournament in Singapore, a less professional like UAE side thrashed the team.

But is such a shoddy performance surprising? Before such tours, our players did undergo some conditioning camp but how effective such conditioning camps can be if you don't play active cricket? Our cricketers have hardly played any form of active cricket since the last Zimbabwe tour. You remain focused and in a rhythm by playing domestic cricket at home and it always keeps you well prepared. Now, if there is no first-class cricket at home then how can you expect the boys to fare well in England after undergoing some conditioning camp? No matter how many national cricketers you include in the A team they will never bring the best of results if these players are not in the perfect rhythm.

From many sections of the press and cricket experts there is a hue and cry regarding this dismal summer. But in my opinion, the world has not ended for Bangladesh but it has brought some crude facts into light - rather than the poor show of our boys, it's the less professional approach of our cricket officials which has led to such a bemused outcome. Our officials should've never left our domestic cricket jet-logged.

Its better to think about the bright side of the scenario. There have been some good performances by some of the U-19 boys. Musaddek Hossain and Sadman Islam are two youngsters who have been highly impressive during the tri-nation U-19 tournament in England. They coped well under adverse situations and certainly are bright prospects for the future if nurtured carefully. At the other end, from the U-23 team, Soumaya Sarker looked very impressive while from the A team Anamul Haque junior and Elias Sunny were consistent amid an absolute rut.

Moreover, these tours, especially the England tour, should be a big learning curve for our boys. Such away tours are always helpful in discovering self-deficiencies and developing a rock solid temperament. Even if this summer was a disaster for the Tigers but it had been a good education for the young boys and it might prove productive if the young boys learn from these tours.