Bangladesh National Cricket Team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International (ODI) status. It played its first Test match in 2000 against India in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test cricket playing nation.
Bangladesh's first official foray into international cricket came in the 1979 ICC Trophy in England, leaving the tournament with 2 wins and 2 defeats. Seven years later, on 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played in its first ODI match against Pakistan in the 1986 Asia Cup. Cricket has gradually become very popular in urban areas of the country. Although football was the most popular game for a long time, cricket gained momentum and soon surpassed football, especially after Bangladesh won the 1997 ICC Trophy in Malaysia. By winning the tournament, Bangladesh qualified for the 1999 Cricket World Cup for the first time, where it defeated Pakistan creating one of the biggest upsets in their cricketing history. In 1997, Bangladesh became a regular ICC member with the right to play ODIs. It attained the status of a Test playing country on 26 June 2000.
As of June 2010, Bangladesh has played in 68 Tests, winning only 3. Its first victory was against Zimbabwe and the other two were against a West Indian team crippled by a players' strike. Of the 59 matches it has lost, 34 were by an innings. Bangladesh's performance has led to repeated calls for it to lose its Test status. Bangladesh has been more successful in ODIs, having won 65 of its 241 matches. The team has also played 16 Twenty20 Internationals.History of Bangladesh Cricket:
20th century:
In 1977, Bangladesh became an Associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Bangladesh was one of fifteen teams to take part in the inaugural ICC Trophy. Held in 1979, it gave non-Test playing countries the opportunity to qualify for that year's World Cup. Bangladesh, under the captaincy of Raqibul Hasan, Bangladesh won two matches and lost two, but failed to progress beyond the first round. Victory in the South-East Asian Cricket Conference Tournament in February 1984 ensured Bangladesh qualified for the 1986 Asia Cup.On 31 March 1986, Bangladesh played their first One Day International against a full member of the ICC; Captained by Gazi Ashraf, Bangladesh were dismissed for 94 and Pakistan reached their target for victory with seven wickets in hand.They lost their second ODI which was against Sri Lanka, finishing last in the three-team tournament. Bangladesh qualified for the 1988 Asia Cup, this time hosting the tournament; it was the first time ODIs had been staged in the country. Although they lost all their matches, Bangladesh's fixtures were retrospectively awarded ODI. Floods in the preceding months meant the tournament was in doubt, however it went ahead as planned. A charity match raised $70,000 for the flood victims.
Bangladesh took part in the 1990 Austral-Asia Cup, the Asia Cup in 1990–91, 1995, and 1997, but it was not until 1998 that they won their first ODI. Their 22-match losing streak since their first ODI was at the time a record. Bangladesh posted its first ODI win against Kenya in India thanks largely to Mohammad Rafique, who contributed a fiery 77 runs and took 3 wickets. In October 1998, Bangladesh hosted (but did not participate in) the first ever ICC KnockOut Trophy (which later became the ICC Champions Trophy), a knock-out ODI tournament featuring all the Test playing nations.
Bangladesh took part in each of the 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994 editions of the ICC Trophy, and won the trophy in 1997, in the process qualifying for the 1999 World Cup. Bangladesh also became a regular ICC member with the right to play ODIs. Earlier, in February Dhaka hosted the third and final SAARC cricket tournament. Bangladesh played in its first World Cup in England. The Tigers created an enormous upset by beating Pakistan by 62 runs in the group match at Northampton. Bangladesh made 9/223 from its full 50 overs, and in reply Pakistan could only manage 161 due to timely run-outs by wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud and some tight bowling by Khaled Mahmud, who took 3/31 from 10 overs. Mahmud was judged man of the match. Bangladesh did not qualify for the Super Six round due to defeats in three of its five matches. However, the win over Pakistan, who finished runners-up to Australia, helped Bangladesh to gain Test playing status the following year. The morning of the match, Bangladesh had sacked their coach Gordon Greenidge.

Former South Africa Test cricketer Eddie Barlow became Bangladesh's coach in 1999. The West Indies toured Bangladesh in October, winning both matches in the ODI series. After suffering a stroke in April 2000, Barlow vacated the position of coach. In May and June 2000, Bangladesh hosted the Asia Cup; Bangladesh lost all three of their matches and when playing Pakistan succumbed to what at the time was the heaviest defeat in ODIs, a margin of 233 runs. Bangladesh participated in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy in October; their only match ended in defeat to England.

 First years as a Test team (2000–2003)

On 13 November 2000, Bangladesh played their inaugural Test match, hosting India in Dhaka. Captained by Naimur Rahman, Bangladesh lost by nine wickets, although Wisden noted that they "surpassed all expectations by matching their neighbours, and at times even enjoying the upper hand". Aminul Islam Bulbul scored 145 in the first innings, becoming the third person to have scored a century in their team's first Test; Rahman took six wickets for 132 runs, the second-best bowling figures in a country's maiden Test. In March 2001, former Australian Test cricketer Trevor Chappell was appointed coach. The following month Bangladesh embarked on a tour of Zimbabwe to play two Tests and three ODIs. Zimbabwe, who at the time were ranked ninth out of the ten Test teams, won all five matches. Bangladesh took part in the 2001–02 Asian Test Championship, the second and final time the championship was held and the first the team had been eligible to play in. They lost both their matches by an innings. Mohammad Ashraful made his debut in the series and became the youngest player to score a Test century in his first match. In November, Bangladesh hosted Zimbabwe for two Tests and three ODIs. The opening Test was curtailed by bad weather and ended in a draw; after losing their first five Tests, it was the first time Bangladesh had avoided defeat. Zimbabwe won all the remaining matches. After the Test series wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud replaced Rahman as captain. The following month Bangladesh journeyed to New Zealand for two Test matches. Bangladesh's batsmen struggled in unfamiliar conditions and the team slumped to two innings defeats.

In January 2002 Bangladesh lost two Tests and three ODIs against Sri Lanka. At this point, they had lost ten of their first eleven Tests; only South Africa had struggled as much in their introduction to Test cricket, also losing ten of their first eleven matches. Chappell blamed Bangladesh's batsmen for the loss, saying "they commit the same mistakes again and again, and need to learn to apply themselves, to bat in sessions". In April, former Pakistan Test cricketer Mohsin Kamal replaced Chappell as coach. When Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka in July and August they were on the receiving end of Sri Lanka's largest margin of victory in Test cricket: an innings and 196 runs. Bangladesh lost both Tests and all three ODIs on the tour, recording their 50th defeat in 53 ODIs. Repeated poor performances prompted people to question whether Bangladesh had been granted Test status too soon. Test and ODI whitewashes followed in South Africa in October. Wisden noted that "Time and again ... came the mantra that [Bangladesh] would learn from the experience, that they could only improve by playing against the best, that there was genuine talent in the squad. But it wore thin." The final defeat set a record for most consecutive losses in ODIs (23), beating the previous record which was also held by Bangladesh. When the West Indies toured in November and December, Bangladesh lost both Test and two out of the three ODIs, and one ended in no result. South Africa hosted the 2003 World Cup in February and March. Bangladesh lost five of their six matches (one ended in no result), including fixtures against Canada, who hadn't played international cricket since the 1979 World Cup, and Kenya.

 Under Dav Whatmore (2003–2007)

In the aftermath of Bangladesh's World Cup campaign, Khaled Mahmud replaced Khaled Mashud as captain, and Kamal was sacked as coach with Dav Whatmore taking over the role. Whatmore was not able to begin the job immediately, so Sarwar Imran acted as interim coach during Bangladesh's tour of South Africa in April and May. In 2003 Bangladesh played nine Test and 21 ODIs, losing every match apart from an ODI against West Indies which ended in no result. In September, Bangladesh came very close to its first Test victory, when it lost to Pakistan by only one wicket. It was just the tenth time in Test history that a team had lost by a single wicket. In series against Pakistan, Alok Kapali became the first Bangladesh player to take a hat-trick in Test cricket, dismissing Shabbir Ahmed, Danish Kaneria, and Umar Gul. When England toured Bangladesh October and November, Bangladesh's captain, Mahmud, was booed. Ahead of Bangladesh's tour of Zimbabwe in February and March the next year, he was dropped from the squad and batsman Habibul Bashar was granted the captaincy. At the time, Zimbabwe were without many of their senior players. Bangladesh lost the Test series 1–0, and the ODI series 2–1. The solitary ODI victory was Bangladesh's first international win since defeating Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup.
Bangladesh's next matches were against the West Indies in May and June. Bangladesh lost the ODI series 3–0 and the Test series 1–0; by drawing the first match, Bangladesh managed to avoid defeat for just the third time in 29 Tests. In December, Bangladesh defeated India in its hundredth ODI, this being only the third time that it had won against a Test playing nation.

In January 2005, Zimbabwe toured Bangladesh for two Tests and five ODIs. The touring Zimbabwe side had suffered due to player disputes which in 2004 had led to the country's temporary suspension from Test cricket. Of Zimbabwe's 16-man squad, only their captain had played more than nine Tests; Bangladesh were the more experienced team. In the first match, Bangladesh secured their maiden victory in Test cricket.Bangaldesh's batsmen secured a draw in the second Test by batting out the final five session after coach Dav Whatmore had opined that "Zimbabwe will win, unless our batsmen do something special".In the match – which helped secure a historic first series victory for Bangladesh – Enamul Haque Jr broke his own bowling record for best figures in an innings for Bangladesh by taking 7 wickets for 95 runs, and secured the best figures in a match for Bangladesh: 12 wickets for 200 runs. In the ODI series that followed, Zimbabwe won the opening two contests, and Bangladesh won the final three to take the series.
After their maiden Test victory, Bangladesh embarked on its first tour of England in May and June 2005. The team faced unfamiliar conditions and the batsmen struggled against seam bowling. Bangladesh lost both matches in the Test series by an innings; the second Test was the 22nd time it had happened in 38 Tests. Pundits Mike Atherton and Richie Benaud criticised the team's performances and suggested the team was not yet suited to Test cricket.A triangular series with England and Australia followed. Bangladesh won just one match out of six, but their solitary victory was against an Australian side that at the time were world champions in what Wisden described as "the biggest upset in one-day international history". Bangladesh's next fixture was in Sri Lanka in September for two Tests and three ODIs. After the one-off victory against Australia in England, Bangladesh were a more confident team however Sri Lanka won all five matches by large margins. Captain Habibul Bashar lamented his side's defeat, describing it as "the worst tour since I took over the captaincy".
The first home One-Day International series of 2006 began with some optimism for Bangladesh, which registered its first-ever win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the series. At the end of March, Bangladesh played four ODIs against Kenya, winning all four. Then in April, the Tigers came very close to beating Australia in a Test match, taking a first-innings lead of 158, and eventually losing by only three wickets. At the end of July, Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe as the ODI series favourites but lost 3–2. In August, the team defeated Kenya in all three matches of a series and subsequently went on to whitewash Zimbabwe in an ODI series staged in Bangladesh. That year, Shahriar Nafees became the first Bangladeshi to score over a thousand runs (which included three centuries) in a calendar year while Mashrafe Mortaza became the leading wicket-taker in the world in ODIs staged in 2006 with 49 wickets.
India hosted the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in October and November. Bangladesh failed to progress beyond the group stages, losing two of their three matches. Their only victory came against Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh prepared for the World Cup with three series wins, defeating Zimbabwe 5–0 at home and 3–1 in Zimbabwe. The Tigers then played a series of matches against non-Test playing nations, defeating Scotland 2-0 at home and winning a tri-series undefeated against Canada and Bermuda.
On 17 March, in its first match of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh stunned India with a 5-wicket victory in Port of Spain, Trinidad. On 21 March, Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka by 198 runs. Four days later the Tigers recouped their loss with a 7-wicket win against Bermuda, advancing to the Super 8 round and cementing India's humiliating first-round elimination. Bangladesh lost to Australia and New Zealand by big margins in the first two games of the Super 8 round. However, to prove that the win against India was no fluke, Bangladesh pulled off an outstanding victory against South Africa by a convincing margin of 67 runs. Then it lost to England in a tense low-scoring game. The last two games were against Ireland and West Indies, both of which Bangladesh lost with the loss against Ireland causing a black spot in an otherwise remarkable tournament.

Banglaesh's next fixture after the World Cup was a home series against India in May, with two Tests and three ODIs. After Bangladesh had helped knock India out of the tournament, the series was seen as an opportunity for Inida to exact revenge. Bangladesh had not played Test cricket since April 2006. The first Test was shortened due to rain and drawn, but India won the second by their largest ever margin. India won the ODI series 3–0. In the aftermath Habibul Bashar, who had previously resigned as ODI captain, was replaced as captain by 22-year-old Mohammad Ashraful in all forms of the game. Mashrafe Mortaza was appointed vice-captain. After four years as coach Whatmore chose not to extend his contract, and Shaun Williams temporarily filled the position. Ashraful's first series in charge was a tour of Sri Lanka in June and July. Bangladesh suffered defeat in each of the three Tests, losing by an innings on every occasion, and three ODIs. In the second Test, Bangladesh were bundled out for their lowest total (62).

 Under Jamie Siddons (2007–2011)

South Africa hosted the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 in September. In a match against Bangladesh, Australian fast bowler Brett Lee took the first ever Twenty20 International (T20I) hat-trick. Bangladesh defeated the West Indies to progress to the second stage of the tournament, however it was the only match they won in the tournament. Jamie Siddons was appointed coach in October.At the end of 2007 Bangladesh toured New Zealand. Bangladesh was soundly beaten 3–0 in the one dayers. The third match was the largest defeat in the history of ODI cricket for a side batting first.
Bangladesh started its year with a tour of New Zealand. The Test matches were one sided, with Bangladesh losing 2-0. South Africa toured Bangladesh and won all matches, including both Tests and all three ODIs. Bangladesh then beat non-Test-playing Ireland 3–0 in an ODI series.
In October, New Zealand toured Bangladesh for three ODIs and two Tests. Shortly before the tour, fourteen Bangladesh players left to play in the Indian Cricket League and were subsequently banned for ten years. Six of the players were centrally contracted, including former captain Habibul Bashar. With a less experienced team than usual and a poor record against New Zealand, Bangladesh were expected to lose heavily. After wining the opening ODI, Bangladesh went on to lose series 2–1. New Zealand won the first Test by three wickets in what their coach, John Bracewell, described as "one of the great character wins".New Zealand also won the second Test, taking the series 2–0, but in the process Shakib Al Hasan emerged as an all-rounder. Having previously been selected primarily as a batsmen, he went on to take the best bowling figures in an innings for a Bangladesh player, 7 wickets for 36 runs, beating the record set by Enamul Haque Jr three years earlier.

In November, Bangladesh toured South Africa. The Tigers lost all their matches, including the only T20 match, two of the three ODIs (the third being washed out due to rain) and both Tests. In December, however, Bangladesh bounced back from the previous lacklustre performances by threatening to win the first Test match against Sri Lanka by chasing down the highest 4th innings of total of 513. Though they fell 107 runs short, their performances were praised but in the second match of the home series in January, Bangladesh fell to an innings defeat.
The year started with the innings defeat in the 2nd Test match against Sri Lanka. Then Zimbabwe joined the hosts and the Lankan team for a tri-series tournament, which proved to be more evenly matched than was expected. In the first match, Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh by an excellent performance but then fell to defeat by a huge margin by Sri Lanka leaving Bangladesh needing to win against the Lankans in the last match in order to go through to the finals to join the Lankans, and that also with a bonus point.
After the World T20 championships in England, the selectors appointed Mashrafe Mortaza as the new captain of the team for the tour to the West Indies so that Ashraful could focus on his batting. The two Test series was played amidst controversy when a pay dispute between the West Indian players and the West Indies Cricket Board led a number of West Indian players boycotting the series, which forced the West Indies to select a number of inexperienced players as replacements. Bangladesh went on to win both of the Tests, wining the first Test by 95 runs and the second by four wickets.In the process they achieved their first ever overseas Test series victory. In the ODI series which followed Bangladesh secured their first ever ODI win against the West Indies at the 14th attempt. Bangladesh won the series 3–0, but lost the only Twenty20 match. In November, Shakib was named The Wisden Cricketer's "Test Player of the Year".
In January, Bangladesh hosted a tri-series ODI tournament with India and Sri Lanka. They failed to win a match and went out of the tournament. They lost the two match Test series against India by 2-0. In March 2010, England visited Bangladesh to play three ODIs and two Test matches. Bangladesh lost all their ODIs and Tests in the series. In April, Bangladesh took part in the 2010 World Twenty20. They lost all their matches and failed to progress to the Super Eights stage. In May and June, Bangladesh played two Test matches against England, this time in England, losing both, although Tamim Iqbal scored two centuries in the series. Between the Tests and ODIs against England, Bangladesh took part in the 2010 Asia Cup during June, but lost all their matches. In the ODI series, England comfortably won the first match. However, in the second match at Bristol, Bangladesh beat England for the first time in international cricket (England were the only Test playing nation yet to be beaten by Bangladesh), bowling England out in the final over to win by five runs.
In October New Zealand went to Bangladesh for five ODIs. Mortaza suffered an injury in the first match and Shakib took over as captain. Under his leadership Bangladesh won the series 4–0, securing their first series victory against a full strength ICC Full Member nation.

 Although unable to play against New Zealand due to injury, while the series was in progress Tamim Iqbal was named The Wisden Cricketer's "Test Player of the Year".In December Bangladesh hosted Zimbabwe for five ODIs. After losing the opening match,Bangladesh went on to win the next three complete matches, with one called off due to rain, to beat Zimbabwe 3–1.
In February and March 2011, Bangladesh co-hosted the World Cup with India and Sri Lanka. West Indies dismissed Bangladesh for 58 runs, the team's lowest score in ODIs and a record low for a Full Member at the World Cup. The West Indies and Bangladesh team buses were stoned as they left the ground, and so was Shakib's house. Bangladesh beat England, Ireland, and the Netherlands, making their final match of the first round a must-win contest. Against South Africa, Bangladesh succumbed to a their second-largest defeat in ODIs and became the first Full Member team to be bowled out for under 100 twice in World Cups, thereby failing to progress to the second stage of the tournament.