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Bangladesh's main test in England is to bolster their dismal status

A decade after first playing a five-day match, the team is running out of time to justify its international standing
The Bangladesh bowler Shafiul Islam walks across the Lord's pitch
The Bangladesh bowler Shafiul Islam at Lord's ahead of his side's first Test match against England there tomorrow. Photograph: Tom Hevezi/AP

When Bangladeshi cricket fans think of the tour of England in 2005 it's perhaps natural that the mind goes first to Sophia Gardens and a one-day game where mighty Australia were humbled. You only have to look at the scorecard of that match to realise why so many are disappointed by Bangladesh's lack of progress. Mohammad Ashraful made a sensational hundred and Aftab Ahmed finished it off with an audacious six off Jason Gillespie. Aftab, who had earlier scored a run-a-ball 82 at the Riverside in a match that was lost by an innings, is no longer part of the Test team, while Ashraful is a frequent target for criticism from Jamie Siddons, the coach, after carrying on with his infuriatingly inconsistent ways.

Come November, it will be 10 years since Bangladesh were granted Test status, without even a proper first-class structure in place. The snipers will look at a record of 57 defeats in 66 Tests and say that their place at the top table is undeserved. Nor has there been any improvement in recent times. Of their last 20 Tests, they have lost 17. Rain prevented a result against New Zealand in October 2008, and their two victories came last year against a bric-a-brac West Indies side led by the 37-year-old Floyd Reifer. The big fish were all on strike.

When it comes to a nation of 160 million, one that has often seen the worst that Mother Nature has to offer, sometimes you need to look beyond cold numbers. The cricket team struggles at Test level but, Cardiff apart, there have been a few moments to savour in the limited-overs arena. At the 2007 World Cup, they knocked India out, and then thumped South Africa in the Super Eights. A subsequent defeat to Ireland was just in keeping with the mercurial nature of the playing staff, who veer from brilliant to abysmal in the space of a few overs.

What, then, has Test status done for Bangladesh, and do they deserve to keep it? "For cricket it has brought hope to thousands of cricketers and now it's a chosen career path," says Mohammad Isam, a cricket correspondent for Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper. "Previously, it was an amateur sport with little money. Now, boys from the small towns are eager to play because their life can change with the money. For the country's image, too, it's very important because it allows us to be part of a bigger picture."

What will the cricket picture be like on Thursday morning? England, who wrapped up both Tests inside seven sessions back in 2005, are so worried by the Bangladeshi threat that they have rested Paul Collingwood and Stuart Broad. Bangladesh's Twiggy-thin hopes are almost entirely dependent on how well Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, the captain, fare after next to no match practice. Shakib was in quarantine with chickenpox, while Tamim has a wrist injury that will require surgery at some point this season.

It was Tamim that was the pick of the batsmen when England toured Bangladesh earlier this year, and with question marks over him and the captain the onus will be on the diminutive Mushfiqur Rahim to score the bulk of the runs. Mushfiqur is the most compact and composed of the Bangladeshi batsmen and in a parallel universe where they possessed a stronger squad, he might have played as a specialist batsman higher up the order.

"Fans realise that ODI cricket is where we can win games," says Isam. "They know by now that drawing a Test is far more important... they sometimes hope for a fifth-day finish. Most would be happy with good, fighting cricket and not flashy batting. That would be disappointing after they pushed England so much at home."

Even if the batsmen score it's hard to see where Bangladesh will find 10 wickets from, let alone 20. On slow and low surfaces back home the spinners, led by Shakib, pose a significant threat. In the early part of the English summer, with fingers too numb to even grip the ball properly, the burden shifts to the pace bowlers.

Mashrafe Mortaza has had more sicknotes than Darren Anderton, and has the fragile knees to show for it. Now that he's no longer part of the Test picture, Shahadat Hossain, who thudded a bouncer into Rahul Dravid's helmet earlier this year, will be expected to lead the line. Shahadat has a grunt that would put Maria Sharapova off her game, but his bowling radar is often awry. Robiul Islam is the steady performer, but there's little in the pace department to give Kevin Pietersen or Eoin Morgan, the debutant, cold chills at night.

The man to watch for is Mahmudullah, who has a century, four 50s and 20 wickets from his seven Tests. Like many of his team-mates he loves to have a go at the bowling, but so far in his brief career he's played the percentages slightly more cleverly.

England should also be wary of the Ashraful threat. And no, that's not a joke. Rumour has it that Ashraful is disillusioned with the Siddons way. Having copped several earfuls from the coach, he's apparently ready to follow his own counsel and trust in the Hollywood-or-bust style that has helped him make five centuries from 53 Tests. If he goes down like Icarus, it may be a while before he plays again.

Aftab is there in the background as a cautionary tale. After his heroics of 2005 he lost his way, went to the "rebel" Indian Cricket League and was banned before finding his way back to the fold this year. He once told a journalist that players from his part of the world [Chittagong] didn't especially enjoy practice, and the way his career has stagnated is sad evidence for that.

For Bangladesh cricket, the silver lining comes in the shape of Shakib, whose composure and no-fear approach are in some ways reminiscent of the portly Sri Lankan who revolutionised that country's cricket. "Shakib is the most useful cricketer in Bangladesh and here, leadership is not rated as highly," says Isam, when you ask about the Ranatunga parallels. "So if he focuses on completing 15 years of international cricket rather than, say, five years of captaincy, it would suit him and the team. Arjuna took on everyone, which Shakib won't, and is not built for either. It'd be much better if he stays a beacon as a performer."

With Twenty20 competitions mushrooming, and so many questioning the relevance of the Future Tours Programme, Shakib will certainly need to shine if Bangladesh are to avoid another three-day wrap and the inquisitions that are bound to follow.

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