A nation's players in denial

If ever a nation’s fans deserved success it is undoubtedly Bangladesh. That’s because through thick and thin, good and bad, for betters or for worse, the fans show up hoping for a miracle. That miracle is a Test win at home or a series win against a Top 8 team fully stocked with its quota of players.

 Yet despite that miracle never appearing, the fans shout themselves into a stupor. They cheer every run. They shout for every wicket. They even scream when the team wins the toss. That kind of blind support should be reserved for a nation’s heroes. That elevation of status to ‘legend’ should be held back and only bestowed on those who really warrant it.

But to the Bangladeshi fans, wearing a national shirt does make you a hero. And this where much of the problem lies in the cricket.

 The issues with the national cricket team run deep and they run across multi levels. But they mostly stem from expectation of what constitutes a good player and what is accepted as world class by most other countries.  It seems perfectly normal to Australian, English or South African players, for example, to spend their time off in either the gym or at practice, honing skills. This may not be quite the match up with Bangladesh attitudes to training and practice.

 And here’s the heart of the problem in many ways. Those making it to the national team seem to lack the all round ‘best practice’ approach to the game that other teams take for granted now. It’s a deep-rooted misunderstanding that in some way, some how, the responsibility is someone else’s, and not those playing the game.

 I feel this is also why successive coaching staffs have met with such little success. It’s also why fans want to change the coaching staff when series get continually lost or poor matches become normal behavior for the team.

 If you are better than average in Bangladesh as a player you know you will be adored by the fans and the public. Winning games now and then can almost lead to a public holiday, gifts showered upon you or certainly, more income through sponsors queuing up to have you endorse their oil, mowers, soft drink or air conditioning systems. The trappings of success are high in Bangladesh, but the bar has been set so very low in the first place.

 It starts at domestic level. Everyone knows that the game at this level, often described by others, as ‘picnic cricket’, is no indicator of good skill. The standard, which is barely above most counties’ 2nd XI cricket, requires a complete and urgent overhaul.

 Having spent a year working with Ranji Trophy team Haryana, I can state that Bangladesh as a nation would be better served attempting to get into that system in the same way that Namibia has done with South Africa, and Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland have done with England.

 It is only by playing in competitive cricket, mixing with others who have the right approach to the game and listening to how things are done properly, can Bangladesh truly move forward.

I have a love affair with Bangladesh and it really pains me to see how the team continually makes the same mistakes over and over and over again. The excuse culture that exists “it wasn’t my fault”… “that’s how I play”… etc., has to be gotten rid of so coaches can build on the talent that is hidden away in the country.

Whatever a cricket board does or doesn’t do, a cricketer is in control of what he does. And it starts in the hearts and minds of those playing for the Bangladesh flag and for the millions of crazy, passionate, irresistible fans who support them without question.

Bangladesh cricket fans deserve a good team to cheer for. The players are fortunate to have that when they often don’t deserve it.  After 12 years of Test cricket the time is now for those playing to step up.

I think the world is getting bored with what’s happening to cricket in Bangladesh. It is now up to the players to do something about it.

Courtesy: Ian Pont