TheWatcher
April 20, 2006, 05:33 AM
One step forward, two back
The Verdict by Osman Samiuddin
April 20, 2006
Even before this Test began, inevitability had invaded it. Dav Whatmore knew it, predicting the Australians would come back very hard after a near-embarrassment. The prediction of others was more hard-nosed and in the end, another innings defeat will have, unfortunately, surprised few people. It had happened before this one, after all, 24 times in 43 Tests.
It's a damning statistic no doubt, but it masks a more frustrating trend within it: every time progress is made, it is forgotten almost immediately in the aftermath of a crushing defeat or five. In 2003, after a refreshing display in Pakistan one, they even pestered England in Dhaka for a while before losing by seven wickets. After that they were thumped, by England first and then Zimbabwe and though they drew in the Carribean, they proceeded to lose five Tests on the trot by an innings.
It's actually more the spanking nature of the losses that taints any progress, any win or draw with the feel of a one-off, a fluke. History will now give ever greater credence to Australia's fatigue rather than Bangladesh's spirit in what Don King would call the `thrilla in Fatullah', in light of their meek loss in Chittagong. It's a shame: fatigue or not, the world's worst Test team scared the bejabbers out of the world's best till the very last and that should be appreciated.
More... (http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/bdeshvaus/content/current/story/244924.html)
The Verdict by Osman Samiuddin
April 20, 2006
Even before this Test began, inevitability had invaded it. Dav Whatmore knew it, predicting the Australians would come back very hard after a near-embarrassment. The prediction of others was more hard-nosed and in the end, another innings defeat will have, unfortunately, surprised few people. It had happened before this one, after all, 24 times in 43 Tests.
It's a damning statistic no doubt, but it masks a more frustrating trend within it: every time progress is made, it is forgotten almost immediately in the aftermath of a crushing defeat or five. In 2003, after a refreshing display in Pakistan one, they even pestered England in Dhaka for a while before losing by seven wickets. After that they were thumped, by England first and then Zimbabwe and though they drew in the Carribean, they proceeded to lose five Tests on the trot by an innings.
It's actually more the spanking nature of the losses that taints any progress, any win or draw with the feel of a one-off, a fluke. History will now give ever greater credence to Australia's fatigue rather than Bangladesh's spirit in what Don King would call the `thrilla in Fatullah', in light of their meek loss in Chittagong. It's a shame: fatigue or not, the world's worst Test team scared the bejabbers out of the world's best till the very last and that should be appreciated.
More... (http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/bdeshvaus/content/current/story/244924.html)