Speaking disapassionately, a reduced program is what is necessary for us. As I have mentioned time and time again, the ICC 10-year program was not conducive towards the development of Bangladesh cricket. We were playing too many games in too short a time - given the quality of our players, we did not have the luxury or opportunity to lick our wounds, identify short-comings and then resume the battle. Instead we have to get back into the fray without even being able to pick up the pieces. Losses after losses can only have a negative psychological impact on our players.
The frequency of matches and the frequency of defeats are strunting the natural growth of our players. Famous Russian psychologist/cognitive scientist wrote about what he termed the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD). This zone is "the gap between a learner's current or actual level of development determined by independent problem-solving and the learner's emerging or potential level of development. That is, it is the set of knowledge that the learner has the ability to learn currently but does not yet understand -- things that are "just out of reach". (
source of definition).
The ZPD between Bangladesh cricket players and the top Test countries were (and possibly still is) too large for our players to bridge. Way too many skills to learn, bad practices to unlearn, and shortcomings to work on then they had the time and opportunity for. The ZPD can be reduced but for this you need to give the players the time to work on it. This they never had. A much less hectic schedule will provide this opportunity.
Consider the old history of how long it took India or Sri Lanka or the Kiwis to become competitive at the highest level. Not in terms of years but in terms of games played. An interesting article on this appeard on the New Nation - "
Of Test matches and Bangladesh - by Shahid Alam".
The same ZPD effect can also be seen with our Under-19 players as they are getting fast-tracked into the seniors. I have spoken about the possible dangers of stunting the talent and growth
here. I recall under-19 coach McInnes also speaking about this in a BC post but I have not been able to find the exact article.
It is not that we do not have players who can compete with the best at their terms - it is that we are not giving them the opportunity to achieve what they can.
Edited on, September 7, 2004, 4:25 PM GMT, by Zunaid.
Reason: tpyoes