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Zimbabwe has posted their highest rating since September 2000 with 922 points. However, they are still 52 points behind Sri Lanka and eighth place.
This series was the first overseas Test tour for Bangladesh and only their second and third Test matches. They were comparatively lucky to face the otherwise weakest Test nation in Zimbabwe.
However, Zimbabwe dominated this series in a similar way to the Australians recent approach. The Zimbabwean batsmen played flamboyant shots and took the sort of risks that they would not have taken against any other team.
In both Tests the Zimbabweans were able to post match winning leads in their first innings. This alone was enough to ensure their victory by an innings in the first Test and by eight wickets in the second.
The Zimbabwean bowlers were also able to dominate the Bangladeshi batsmen. Again, the Zimbabweans domination was no less apparent. This would have pleased their coach, former Australian quick Carl Rackerman.
This series should lift the spirits of the Zimbabweans. For most of the last 18 months Zimbabwe has been on the other side of the sort of flogging they handed out in this series. Zimbabwe has just over a month to build on this before they face a two Test tour by India in June.
The fact that Bangladesh was so comprehensively outplayed is not their fault. They played gamely and set attacking fields that showed the sort of cricket they wanted to play. They should be encouraged to continue this approach and not withdraw into a defeatist mentality.
The second Test in Harare saw them play into the fifth day for the first time. However, similar to when they played India in November in their first Test, the batsmen had trouble with the unfamiliar deteriorating conditions on the fourth and fifth days.
Their handful of first class games played before entering Test cricket clearly have not prepared them enough for these conditions. The Bangladesh coach, another former Australian player, Trevor Chappell, clearly has a lot of work to do.
The fault for Bangladesh?s inability to compete falls directly at the door of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The ICC has done next to nothing to assist Bangladesh develop into a competitive Test team. They have poured millions into helping them develop as a one-day side, but should hang their heads for allowing Bangladesh into the Test fraternity at this time.
Clearly the ICC must develop an appropriate development program for aspiring Test nations. Cricket cannot afford more teams of this standard to follow the pattern of Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and now Bangladesh.
It is worth noting that the Bangladeshi rating of 806 is a provisional rating. It is based on the average rating of their opponents (and then adjusted based on their degree of success) until they have played ten Tests.
However, their provisional rating of 806 is the lowest rating by any nation in history. The next lowest rating was held by South Africa (888) in November 1902. Bangladesh's next chance to improve is a return two Test tour by Zimbabwe in October 2001.
The latest test cricket ratings are: 1 Australia (1185); 2 South Africa (1144); 3 England (1059); 4 Pakistan (1048); 5 West Indies (1030); 6 India (1029); 7 New Zealand (992); 8 Sri Lanka (973); 9 Zimbabwe (922); 10 Bangladesh (806 - provisional).
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