Ceremony in the offing to celebrate Bangladesh's 100th Test

Since achieving Test status back in the year 2000, Bangladesh have so far played 98 Tests and will reach the century mark when they take on host Sri Lanka in the second game of the two-match Test series next month in Colombo. On such occasions, some initiatives are usually taken by the board. BCB so far has not planned anything big regarding the 100th Test, given the limitations of playing the game in an away venue. There were discussions of gifting a token – a blazer with a limited edition coat of arm or a baggy green Test cap – to the players of the Bangladesh Test squad playing the game and the management, but a concrete decision is yet to be made. BCB media committee chairman Jalal Younus informed that they have already communicated with Sri Lanka Cricket on the subject. “We cannot do much to be honest, given we are playing the game away from home. We shared our plan to have some special crests made for the occasion and exchange those with the home board (SLC) through a simple ceremony,” Jalal told Dhaka Tribune on Saturday. Due to time constraint, arranging a limited edition blazer or the baggy greens will be a tough job, thinks the BCB director. Poor interest in playing Bangladesh in the format by other Test playing nations is the chief reason behind the side reaching the milestone in such a slow manner. Bangladesh will be the last of the Full Members to complete the century, having taken little over 16 years to reach the mark. And it is not without reason as the Tigers showed noteworthy performances in five-day cricket only recently. Bangladesh, ranked number nine in the ICC Test rankings, won only eight matches out of 98. The side lost 75 games and drew 15 matches. Off the eight wins, Bangladesh won the most – five – against 10th ranked Zimbabwe. And among the total of 50 Test series', the Tigers have won thrice – twice against Zimbabwe, both at home, and against the West Indies back in 2009. Recently, the Tigers exhibited marked improvement, winning the Dhaka Test against touring England to level the series. They also showed fighting spirit when they toured New Zealand and India recently.