Can Bangladesh cricket harness the spark?

Bangladesh eclipsed the peak of their cricketing excellence, going against the grain of their past efforts in New Zealand to clinch their very first win against the hosts by an eight-wicket margin.

Bangladesh cricket, since their pivotal ICC trophy win more than 24 years ago which got them into international cricket and to their first cricket World Cup in 1999, no Bangladesh side has shown the meritocracy needed to win a match in the hardest format of the game quite like Mominul Haque's men.The win against Pakistan in that 1999 World Cup, the show of force in their defeat of a strong India outfit in 2007 World Cup, knocking England out in 2015 World Cup before beating England and Australia at home in Tests had been in contention for Bangladesh's most glorious moment in cricket. But the fight, and most importantly application, shown against the world Test champions over five days, is easily Bangladesh's greatest achievement in cricket.

The win was Bangladesh's first in New Zealand against the hosts in 33 attempts and that too with a few key players missing and relatively inexperienced faces in the grandest format. The times have not been easy in Bangladesh cricket. A World Cup debacle in Dubai compounded the problems with distrust among players and management. Through the quarantine issues in the new normal and inadequate preparation in New Zealand, the team gelled under the most intense of testing scenarios, accomplishing the most unexpected.

"It was a big help to not have expectations," Mominul declared at the post-match press conference, not showing the same excitement befalling the moment. However, he did not fail to understand the magnitude of it. "I don't know whether your expectations will rise, thinking we will win the next Test. It's better not to expect so much. What you said, that expectation wasn't there from you guys (the media), we are thankful for that. Also, don't expect now that in two or three years we will become one of the world's top five or six sides," Mominul issued a word of warning to everyone concerned.

His words revealed a certain caution tinged with hope for the future. Having climbed the unassailable peak in 20 years since their first tour of New Zealand, the maturity and Test application shown in their greatest ever performance in any format, the captain's remarks harken back to some of the tremendous achievements in the past and how preciously scarce they were. Even as some achievements inspired generations, they did not impact our cricket in a process-oriented way. Thus, even through this victory, where Mominul said he was only 'focused on the process', the lack of that very thing in the country's cricketing structure will likely not change, and thus the dream first Test at Mount Maunganui may just remain another achievement without continuation.

Ebadat Hossain talked about inspiring the next generation with this win. Mominul drew a clearer picture later. "We have been able to find belief that we can play well and fight in foreign soil and it was important to show that."