Bangladeshi cricket team in New Zealand in 1997–98

The Bangladesh national cricket team toured New Zealand in November and December 1997 and played four first-class and four List A matches against teams representing the northern, central and southern regions of New Zealand. Bangladesh were captained by Akram Khan. Bangladesh had just won the 1997 ICC Trophy and was a candidate for Test status, which was granted on 26 June 2000.^[1]

Bangladesh had been playing List A matches since 1986, but the four first-class matches on this tour were the first first-class matches played by any Bangladeshi team.

Team[]

Several leading players were unavailable, including Mohammad Rafique and Khaled Mahmud.^[2]

The tour[]

First-class matches[]

Shell Conference:

Northern Conference v Bangladesh, WestpacTrust Park, Hamilton, 17, 18, 19 November 1997. Northern Conference 408; Bangladesh 125 and 132. Northern Conference won by an innings and 151 runs.

All the Bangladesh players made their first-class debuts. In the Northern Conference innings Mark Bailey scored 148, while Hasibul Hossain had figures of 6 for 143 for Bangladesh. In the Bangladesh second innings Kerry Walmsley took 5 for 23 and Mark Haslam took 5 for 25; Akram Khan scored 52. The match, scheduled for four days, finished on the third afternoon.^[3]

Central Conference v Bangladesh, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 24, 25 November 1997. Bangladesh 120 and 174; Central Conference 311. Central Conference won by an innings and 17 runs.

Mark Jefferson had figures of 3 for 5 and 5 for 42. No Bangladesh batsman reached 50. The highest scorer for Central Conference was Mathew Sinclair with 91. The match was over by the end of the second day.^[4]

Southern Conference v Bangladesh, Carisbrook, Dunedin, 1, 2, 3, 4 December 1997. Bangladesh 286 for 9 declared and 244; Southern Conference 366 for 6 declared and 165 for 3. Southern Conference won by 7 wickets.

In Bangladesh's first innings Al Sahariar hit Bangladesh's first first-class century, 102 off 184 balls. Craig Cumming scored 102 for Southern Conference.^[5]

Other first-class match:

New Zealand Academy v Bangladesh, Lincoln Green, Christchurch, 9, 10, 11 December 1997. Bangladesh 130 and 203; New Zealand Academy 448 for 7 declared. New Zealand Academy won by an innings and 115 runs.

Chris Gaffaney and Michael Parlane scored centuries for the Academy and put on 213 for the first wicket. David Sewell took 5 for 34 and 4 for 47.^[6]

Other matches[]

Bangladesh also played three List A matches. They lost two by large margins, one was unfinished, and a fourth was abandoned without play.

Assessment[]

The convenor of New Zealand's selection panel, Ross Dykes, thought Bangladesh played at a level below first-class standard – more like Hawke Cup district association standard. Wisden's report said the batsmen "played suicidal one-day shots early in first-class innings", and noted that the bowlers took only 36 wickets in the four first-class matches at a collective average of 47.16.^[7]

Aftermath[]

Seven of the team – Akram Khan, Al Sahariar, Aminul Islam, Habibul Bashar, Hasibul Hossain, Khaled Mashud and Mehrab Hossain – all played in Bangladesh's inaugural Test match three years later. Javed Omar, Manjural Islam and Sanwar Hossain also played Test cricket. For Athar Ali Khan, Jewel Hossain and Mafizur Rahman, in contrast, the matches on this tour comprised their entire first-class careers.

New Zealand had intended to invite Kenya to play in the 1998-99 Shell Conference, but after Bangladesh's lack of competitiveness they changed their minds and invited the stronger Pakistan A instead.^[7]

References[]

^ "Bangladesh in New Zealand 1997". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
^ Mace, Devon. "Bangladesh & Conference Cricket". NZ Cricket Museum. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
^ "Northern v Bangladesh 1997-98". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
^ "Central v Bangladesh 1997-98". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
^ "Southern v Bangladesh 1997-98". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
^ "New Zealand Academy v Bangladesh 1997-98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
^ ^a ^b Wisden 1999, p. 1322.

External links[]

"Bangladesh & Conference Cricket" by Devon Mace
Bangladesh in New Zealand 1997-98 at CricketArchive

[CATI-1] "Bangladesh in New Zealand 1997". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 May 2014.

[2] Mace, Devon. "Bangladesh & Conference Cricket". NZ Cricket Museum. Retrieved 30 April 2018.

[3] "Northern v Bangladesh 1997-98". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

[4] "Central v Bangladesh 1997-98". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

[5] "Southern v Bangladesh 1997-98". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

[6] "New Zealand Academy v Bangladesh 1997-98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 May 2018.

[WCA-7] Wisden 1999, p. 1322.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t International cricket tours of New Zealand
Test and LOI tours
Australia	1945–46 1973–74 1976–77 1981–82 1985–86 1989–90 1992–93 1997–98 1999–2000 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2009–10 2015–16 2016–17 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Bangladesh	2001–02 2007–08 2009–10 2016–17 2018–19 2020–21 2021–22
England	1929–30 1932–33 1946–47 1950–51 1954–55 1958–59 1962–63 1965–66 1970–71 1974–75 1977–78 1983–84 1987–88 1990–91 1991–92 1996–97 2001–02 2007–08 2012–13 2017–18 2019–20
India	1967–68 1975–76 1980–81 1989–90 1993–94 1998–99 2002–03 2008–09 2013–14 2018–19 2019–20
Pakistan	1964–65 1972–73 1978–79 1984–85 1988–89 1992–93 1993–94 1995–96 2000–01 2003–04 2009–10 2010–11 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2020–21
South Africa	1931–32 1952–53 1963–64 1994–95 1998–99 2003–04 2011–12 2014–15 2016–17 2021–22
Sri Lanka	1982–83 1990–91 1994–95 1996–97 2000–01 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2014–15 2015–16 2018–19
West Indies	1930–31 1951–52 1955–56 1968–69 1979–80 1986–87 1994–95 1999–2000 2005–06 2008–09 2013–14 2017–18 2020–21
Zimbabwe	1995–96 1997–98 2000–01 2011–12
Tournaments hosted
Multiple teams	1989–90 1991–92 1994–95 2014–15 2017–18
Other tours
Australian	1877–78 1880–81 1886–87 1896–97 1904–05 1909–10 1913–14 1920–21 1927–28 1949–50 1956–57 1959–60 1966–67 1969–70
Bangladeshi	1997–98
Dutch	2021–22
English	1863–64 1876–77 1878–79 1881–82 1887–88 1902–03 1906–07 1922–23 1935–36 1936–37 1938–39 1960–61 1979–80
Fijian
Multi-national	1961–62 1978–79