[Shubho]

I am the first to admit that the atmosphere at any stadium in Bangladesh is brilliant. It's loud. It's exciting. It's a party. The spectators really get behind their team. At home, Bangladesh play with a 12th man.

That said, I have also been disturbed by the utter lack of civility (particularly towards the visiting team) at every match I have witnessed from the stands at stadiums around Bangladesh.

An opponent gets a 50. No applause.
An opponent scores a century. Crickets. Tumbleweed.
An opponent takes five wickets. Deathly silence. Are we at Banani Graveyard or Mirpur?
A home batsman gets out after a good score. Silence.
A home batsman gets out after a poor score. Jeering. Bhua! Bhua!

The only exception to the above that I can think of is Sachin's 100th 100 at Mirpur. He was sent off with standing O, and deservedly so. It would have been a real embarrassment had we not done so.

I still remember going to see the three ODIs against Australia at Mirpur immediately after the 2011 World Cup, particularly that one game where Shane Watson scored 185*. The bowlers were jeered. The batsmen (particularly Tamim and Shakib) were jeered. The most vivid memory of that encounter was seeing several parents actively encouraging their kids (who could not have been more than six or seven years old) to shout "Bhua! Bhua!". WTF?

It appears not much has changed in the interim. New Zealand didn't have any decent individual performances in the first two ODIs, so the crowd did not have the opportunity to applaud the opposition. In the third ODI, however, Munro's 50 was greeted with silence, as was Taylor's 50, which was followed by yet more deafening silence when he brought up his 100 in style. What the heck is wrong with us?

I wonder why it is we lack a basic sense of decorum? How is it that we have the education required for a job that pays for several 1,000-taka tickets, yet not have learned any manners?

We aspire to have a world-class cricket team, but can we please also aspire to be world-class fans?