Bangladesh make a meal of Australia to show they can sup with the best

It was a cruel joke, but after Bangladesh were dismissed for 54 in their warm-up game in Australia, a social media post suggested they were not good enough to play there; even that Australia could win the Darwin Test in a day. Others helpfully dug up similar posts from the past from the likes of Steve Waugh and David Hookes.

Australia’s cricket board too seemed to feel that way. It had cancelled tours by Bangladesh in 2015 (on bogus security grounds), and 2018 (saying, in effect, “We don’t want you here”) and so there was universal joy at their comeuppance when Bangladesh thrashed them casually in Darwin.

Less surprising

What was surprising about the win was that as the match progressed, it began to look less surprising, and progressed to the inevitable. The visitors won every session against a full-strength side whose four main bowlers each had over 300 Test wickets! The greatest upset in cricket? Well, at least since India beat England at the Oval 55 years ago.

David slaying Goliath, a condescending, contemptuous Goliath is the most thrilling of sporting results. When a ninth-ranked team, looked down upon by the top-ranked, shows who’s boss, we are reminded again why we love sport. Bangladesh, who last played there 23 years ago, were playing only their third Test in Australia. They are a cricket-mad country, full of passion and talent (and like their Asian counterparts, full of politics too) and deserve better. India had to wait till their 12th Test for a win.

The victory might not change things overnight — there is a Test in Mackay to come, and despite what happened in Darwin, Australia are no pushovers. Predictably, for countries which believe that only the Ashes mean anything, England are on the threshold of figuring out how they could have won in Australia with old-fashioned cricket unadulterated by Bazball, while Australia are contemplating taking an axe to their team.

Calm and control

Bangladesh had lost by an innings to Zimbabwe a couple of months ago, and were not at full strength in Darwin. Yet, in sport as in life, the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong. The expression ‘old fashioned’ is used in sport usually in a positive sense. Here, Bangladesh, led well by Nazmul Husain Shanto, played with a calm and control that extended to their celebrations too – nothing over the top, merely a suggestion they knew all along it was coming.

I am not sure the Bangladesh players are getting the credit they deserve. Skipper Shanto said after the match that the entire team deserved the player-of-the-match award, and he isn’t too far wrong. There was Hasan Mahmud’s controlled pace which saw him take six wickets in the first innings, restrict Australia and give birth to hope. Tanzid Hasan’s century and Shanto’s 84 ensured his work didn’t go in vain. And when Mehidy Hasan followed his 65 with a five-for bowling quality off spin, Bangladesh had written themselves into history in four days.

How much will things change? How much have Bangladesh overturned expectations for the foreseeable future? Have they moved from the edge closer to the centre as a team?

They weren’t given a Test in England for 17 years (they play one next year). Even India, who had strongly backed their entry into international cricket, took 16 years to send an invitation. There might be some satisfaction in Bangladesh knowing they have got this far without any serious support from the three top cricketing nations. But that lack of concern by the Big Three is a slap in the face of the governing body and officials who never tire of telling us how much they do to encourage the sport across countries.

The significance of the Darwin victory is that Bangladesh have shown they can sup at the same table with the best — something millions in their country suspected but didn’t know for sure.

The second (and final) Test now becomes crucial to how Bangladesh is perceived afresh. They cannot lose the series now, but they can win it. To play for a draw, however, would be to invite Australia into the tent. How will the ‘new’ Bangladesh handle this new situation?