It's taken them nearly nine years and 61 Tests, but Bangladesh finally have a series victory to savor against a major Test-playing entity. Unfortunately, the circumstances – Chris Gayle and friends on the picket line, and unfavorable TV times – were such that few outside of Dhaka and Chittagong noticed. There though, they'll be talking of Shakib Al Hasan's unbeaten 96 for years to come.
The number 96 has always had a special resonance in the history of cricket in Bangladesh. Exactly 50 years ago, on one of those matting pitches where batting could be such an ordeal, Neil Harvey played perhaps the greatest innings seen in what was formerly East Bengal. Mohammad Quamruzzaman, a veteran journalist, described it on the Banglacricket website.
"Harvey's innings is the best I have ever seen," he wrote. "When he was at 96, Fazal [Mahmood] took the new ball and displayed it to be the crowd in his raised right arm. As he started his run up, a low roar from the galleries began taking form. At the moment of his delivery broke Harvey's wicket [sic], the roar became all pervading. A moment of pure inspiration."
Shakib wasn't facing anyone of Fazal's caliber, but he did have the weight of history to contend with. Bangladesh had previous when it came to snatching defeat from victory's open mouth. Ricky Ponting's bloodyminded century thwarted them at Fatullah in 2006, and three years earlier, it was an epic knock from Inzamam-ul-Haq that spared Pakistani blushes in Multan. After 52 defeats and just one victory against Zimbabwe in 59 Tests, their fans could have been forgiven for some pessimism at the start of the series in the Caribbean.
West Indies cricket, though, is a shambles. There was a time when their Test discards – Colin Croft, Wayne Daniel, Franklyn Stephenson and Collis King – would have routed most sides on Earth with plenty to spare. The depth of talent on the islands and in Guyana was the envy of the world. Now watching them is like watching a car careering off course. Even with the best players in the XI, and not on strike as they were during the Bangladesh series, they've been wretched in the Test arena, with only a victory against England to celebrate in recent times. The record over the past five years speaks of four wins in 48 Tests, only one of them overseas [from 26 games].
When India last toured the Caribbean, Greg Chappell spoke witheringly about how the West Indies had forgotten how to win. When they subsequently won four one-day games on the trot, his words were rammed back down his throat. Those that watched the West Indies in their prime though, and I count myself blessed to be one of them, could understand where his contempt came from though. Most of the present-day players are a disgrace to a glorious legacy, mediocrities pumped full of attitude and arrogance who have absolutely nothing to strut around about. When Viv Richards swaggered to the crease, you stood back and watched in awe. When Marlon Samuels did it, you just wanted to slap him.
Bangladesh's victory has to be viewed in that context. The West Indies were fielding a patchwork-quilt side, but Bangladesh too were without one of their most influential performers for the second Test. Mashrafe Mortaza was appointed captain for the series after Mohammad Ashraful's recent brain-fades with the bat, but he pulled up lame after bowling just 6.3 overs in the first Test. It was left to Mahmudullah, one of the debutants, to take eight for 110 as West Indies were spun to a standstill like a fly in the spider's lair.
Building on that 95-run triumph was always going to be the big test. When they slumped to 67 for four in pursuit of 215, the ghosts of Multan and other disasters would have been tapping on the shoulders of those in the dressing room. But in Shakib, Bangladesh have a truly special player. At 22, he's still prone to the odd impetuous mistake, but when he's fully switched on, he's a quality left-arm spinner and a batsman of real talent.
Unlike Ashraful, who hasn't given up that cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof temperament despite playing for nearly a decade, Shakib radiates poise. Asked to lead the side in Mortaza's absence, Shakib contributed eight wickets before sealing it with a six over long-on. And while he provided the stardust, the equally mature Raqibul Hasan glued the innings together, and a 106-run stand finally saw off West Indies' frayed second string.
This result will be viewed in two drastically different ways. Some will renew the call for Test cricket to be a two-tier game, with West Indies now in serious danger of joining Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the basement. Others will see it as vindication of the faith shown by the game's administrators in Bangladesh cricket. Reality, as always, is somewhere in the murky grey between the two extremes. Bangladesh haven't progressed as they would have liked – Jamie Siddons isn't the only coach who's been tearing his hair out at times – but it's also undeniable that players like Shakib need more exposure against the very best.
In that regard, India's attitude is especially disappointing. Having long been treated as the game's unwanted stepchild by the established powers, India are now guilty of the same arrogance and neglect. Though they have toured Bangladesh thrice since 2000, there has been no sign of an invite the other way. The refrain in private is: "Who'd be interested?", eerily similar to Australian administrators' views back in the day when an Indian tour wasn't the cash cow that it is now.
Shakib's Jack Sparrow-heist in the Caribbean won't shift the boundaries as far as India and others are concerned, but it will be an enormous fillip for those back home that watched every ball into the wee hours. The roar of delight that would have accompanied the winning hit might even have drowned out the clouds that thundered overhead. Having taken a big baby-step, it's now up to Test cricket's toddlers to mature, and with talent pools shrinking in the Caribbean and New Zealand, we need to give them that time.
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