Late highs fail to mask wretched year

For the first nine months of the year, the sight of Mushfiqur Rahim standing, head bowed, during the presentation ceremony, as the winning captain spoke in his post-match interview, became depressing for anyone who hung around till that point in Bangladesh's matches. Mushfiqur would speak to the commentator first and then do the post-match press conference, answering questions for Abdur Razzak, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain. It was uninspiring to see him do this with such regularity.

The roles reversed for six weeks as 2014 wound down for the team, but Mushfiqur had lost half his captaincy by then, and Bangladesh were still wondering what hit them in their biggest home season.

The interesting statistic to come out of Bangladesh's messy year was that their three Test wins were their most in a single year. But the 3-0 win over Zimbabwe still doesn't save their grades.

The 5-0 win in ODIs over Zimbabwe came after Bangladesh had lost 12 out of 13 ODIs. They have had worse years in the past but this year's performance begs greater scrutiny because of their sustained growth in the format over the last few years.

The year began like the last one ended. There was heavy speculation over Bangladesh's hosting of the Sri Lanka tour, the Asia Cup and the World T20. Within a week of the general election, the violence in the country abated and the three big tours stayed in Bangladesh. But as the players prepared for the year's first international game, the first Test against Sri Lanka, another bit of news threw them off their stride.

One of the early proposals under the Big Three takeover of world cricket was that the Nos. 9 and 10 ranked Test teams be sent to play in the Intercontinental Cup. By the time they lost by an innings and 248 runs, they were told that they needn't worry, but the players' reaction suggested the BCB hadn't informed them properly of what was happening.

Bangladesh salvaged the next game but another controversy followed the next day. Vice-captain Tamim Iqbal, who was criticised for his poor captaincy when Kumar Sangakkara was approaching his triple-hundred, lost his chance to captain the side for the two T20s in Mushfiqur's absence. Mashrafe Mortaza was named captain instead. Tamim quit the vice-captaincy a few days later and had to deal with his neck injury. Something seemed amiss within Bangladesh as a spate of losses, suspensions, sackings, resignations was upon the team in the coming months.

Then began the slide nobody expected. Bangladesh lost the T20 and ODI series to Sri Lanka, and were surprised by Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. They began the World T20 with two wins, but were beaten by Hong Kong, the nadir.

The head coach, Shane Jurgensen, quit after the BCB's directors aired their frustrations concerning him in the media. Corey Richards, the fielding coach, and trainer David Dwyer also quit, but Mushfiqur hung on somehow. Chandika Hathurusingha was named Jurgensen's successor, while Heath Streak became the new bowling coach.

India came in June, the start of the off season in Bangladesh, and beat the home side despite scoring just 105 in the second game. Stuart Binny's bowling, which produced a six-for on a spicy pitch, looked innocuous even from the press box. Shakib got into trouble for allegedly beating up a fan, and was eventually handed a six-month ban for that and for misbehaving with the new coach.

There was hardly anything positive for Bangladesh after that. They went to West Indies without their main man and lost the ODI and Test series. Mushfiqur finally lost his ODI captaincy, being replaced by Mashrafe, and Bangladesh prepared for a shot at redemption against Zimbabwe, their closest rivals in world cricket.

They won that battle quite easily in the end, beating Zimbabwe 3-0 and 5-0 in the Test and ODI series. The visitors were no pushovers until they lost the first Test. After that, it was as easy as driving in Dhaka early in the morning on weekends.

But the year was mostly miserable for Bangladesh, particularly at the start when they thought their Test careers might be over. They could have made a name for themselves during the first three events at home but their fans were left disappointed. The new year doesn't promise much, but Bangladesh fans are forgiving and good performances against bigger opposition will easily win them over.

High point
The Test series against Zimbabwe went only one way after Bangladesh won on the dramatic third day of the first Test in Dhaka. In Khulna and Chittagong, there was little resistance from Zimbabwe.

Taijul Islam became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings; Shakib Al Hasan became the third player to take ten wickets and score a century in a Test match; Tamim Iqbal scored his first Test hundred since 2010, and followed it up with another century in the next Test; Mominul Haque scored his second Test century of the year.

Low point
The close losses to Sri Lanka and Pakistan will be hard to forget, while the Hong Kong game will be forever embarrassing and chastening for Bangladesh. But the worst moment of the year was when Shakib pointed at his crotch when the camera panned towards the Bangladesh dressing room during the second ODI against Sri Lanka. It was humiliating for anyone watching the footage.

He was punished with a three-match ban and a hefty monetary fine. A few months later, Shakib was suspended for allegedly beating up a spectator during an ODI, and reportedly for giving the new coach a piece of his mind when he was told to change his travel plans at the last minute.

New kid on the block
The bowlers glowed brighter than the batsmen among Bangladesh's ten debutants this year. Al-Amin Hossain and Taskin Ahmed offered stability and verve respectively; Taijul became the first bowler in history to take a hat-trick on ODI debut, Arafat Sunny carried his domestic form into the international arena, while Jubair Hossain brought proper legspin to the Test team for the first time.

The man who stood out among all debutants was Taijul. His attacking brand of left-arm spin is a breath of fresh air in Bangladesh cricket's most overused bowling variety.

Fading star
There aren't many ageing Bangladeshi players on the verge of retirement or fading away, but Abdur Razzak comes close with his poor year. Aftab Ahmed announced his retirement, frustrated with the lack of international call-ups since 2010, and progressively smaller offers in domestic cricket. In his heyday, Aftab was a joy to watch.

What 2015 holds
Bangladesh have a lot of cricket against much stronger opposition in the year ahead, compared to the previous few years. Soon after they return from the World Cup, they play Pakistan at home in a full series in April. India are supposed to come to Bangladesh in June, followed by South Africa in July and August, and Australia in October.