Karthik007’s Blog

Bangladesh’s abysmal record in the longer version of cricket may lead to their losing the Test status as top officials of the game, including International Cricket Council chief David Morgan, feel the ‘Tigers’ do not deserve the status.

Bangladesh’s overall record now stands at one win (against Zimbabwe) from 58 Test matches and the financial logic has also led the leading cricket powers to turn against them.

With a growing number of Twenty20 tournaments competing for space in the calendar, teams like England and Australia are no longer prepared to play loss-making series against a team that has failed to improve since their inaugural Test in November 2000.

“There is no reason why a team should have to play Test matches just because it is a full member of the International Cricket Council,” said ICC president David Morgan.

“If a team is not gaining anything from the experience, then perhaps it might be better to settle for one-day international status,” Morgan said.

An ICC executive board meeting in Perth later this month will discuss ways of making Test cricket more attractive. But, Bangladesh are unlikely to get support from Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland who believes in the quality of international cricket more than quantity.

“With growth in T20 market, it is important to take the clutter out of the game. We need to make sure we are playing for quality’s sake, not for quantity,” said Sutherland.

“Bangladesh team that came in Australia in 2008 performed far worse than previous team in 2003. You want to help them develop, but we lost a lot of money hosting them and I don’t think their presence is doing anything for the game.”