Bangladesh toured New Zealand in 2021/22 for two Test matches and drew the series 1-1. Andrew Alderson’s report appeared in the 2023 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

Bangladesh overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve their maiden Test victory against New Zealand, at the 16th attempt. Whether by complacency or a lack of skill, the world champions yielded to the inexperienced but resourceful tourists. Ebadat Hossain’s venomous pace in the First Test at Mount Maunganui ended the New Zealanders’ home run of eight series victories – as well as 17 games without defeat – and breathed life into the second edition of the World Test Championship.

The outcome was all the more extraordinary given Bangladesh’s disjointed build-up. They had recently lost two Tests at home to Pakistan, and travelled to New Zealand without Mahmudullah (who retired from Tests in November), Tamim Iqbal (who had injured a thumb) and Shakib Al Hasan (who requested leave). They were supposed to undergo a week’s quarantine in their hotel, but this was extended by three days when eight members of their party were deemed close contacts of a Covid case on the inbound flight and spin-bowling coach Rangana Herath tested positive.

New Zealand were missing their captain, Kane Williamson, with an elbow injury, and omitted Ajaz Patel, despite his taking all ten in an innings against India in Mumbai the previous month. Their pace quartet included the returning Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, while Rachin Ravindra, who bowls part-time slow left-armers, was selected for the First Test as a hedging strategy, but went wicketless as Bangladesh pulled off their surprise.

It was perplexing that the Second Test was held in Christchurch, where a number of Bangladesh’s players narrowly avoided the anti-Muslim terror attack of March 2019. New Zealand’s comeback was led by stand-in captain Tom Latham, who scored his second Test double-century; he was supported by Devon Conway, named Player of the Series after a hundred in each game. Ross Taylor retired from Tests, aged 37, at the end of the series, with 7,683 runs – the most by a New Zealander. He was given a final cameo with the ball, and he took the series-levelling wicket with a gentle off-break.

Bangladesh touring party: Mominul Haque (c), Abu Jayed, Ebadat Hossain, Fazle Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed, Liton Das, Mahmudul
Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nazmul Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Shadman Islam, Shahidul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Yasir Ali. Coach: RC Domingo.
Shakib Al Hasan was originally chosen, but asked for leave and was replaced by Fazle Mahmud.

First Test at Mount Maunganui, January 1-5, 2022: Bangladesh won by eight wickets

Bangladesh 12pts. Toss: Bangladesh.

Few were present to see Bangladesh reach the target of 40 which secured their first Test win against New Zealand, but the sparse attendance mattered little to their players as they whooped around the outfield. They had pulled off arguably the greatest upset by a visiting team in New Zealand since Sri Lanka registered their first away Test win, at Napier in 1994/95 – and perhaps the greatest victory in Bangladesh’s history. Their sixth win in 60 overseas Tests was no fluke: the world champions were outwitted and outplayed.

The catalyst was Ebadat Hossain, who went into his 11th Test with 11 wickets at 81. His second-innings 6-46, which included Young, Nicholls and Blundell in seven balls, were his best figures in any format. Originally a volleyball player, Ebadat was scouted from the Bangladesh Air Force in 2016, and dreamed of being as quick as Brett Lee. He might not have bowled as fast as that, but he was as penetrative, and offered a military salute every time he took a wicket. His captain, Mominul Haque, said: “It was something we’ve expected for a long time.”

Until Ebadat’s heroics, New Zealand had been in the game. Near the close of the first day, they were 227-3, thanks to Young’s circumspect accumulation – before he was run out, having failed to regain his ground after considering a single to mid-wicket – and Conway’s second Test century. Conway continued to demonstrate the round-the-clock stroke-play that characterised his debut double-hundred in England; his array of pulls, pivoting on the back foot, proved a valuable antidote to the pace and carry of a fresh, green pitch. There was no reason to anticipate a reversal in New Zealand’s fortunes, even when they signed off an under-par 328 next day after the lower order subsided around Nicholls.

The surprise was how patiently Bangladesh batted. The top eight made double figures, and enjoyed the best of the conditions as the Bay Oval strip baked in the sun on days two and three. They won a battle of attrition, with Mahmudul Hasan, Nazmul Hossain, Mominul Haque and Liton Das all making painstaking half-centuries. Mahmudul and Nazmul displayed sureness in a stand of 104, Bangladesh’s highest for the second wicket against New Zealand; Mominul and Mushfiqur Rahim further blunted the attack by adding 19 at one an over, before Mominul and Liton put on 158. The tourists finished with 458.

New Zealand had not bowled as many as 176 overs in an innings since Pakistan faced 193.2 on a Napier shirtfront in 2009/10. All four seamers endured at least 35 overs – Southee and Jamieson had never sent down more in a Test innings – and Ravindra, chosen ahead of Ajaz Patel, fresh from his ten-for in Mumbai, rolled through 28 unthreatening overs of left-arm spin. One could not imagine England omitting Jim Laker, or India dropping Anil Kumble. Patel’s omission was inexplicable, especially on a pitch conducive to turn in the past, and on which New Zealand had lost five first-innings wickets to spin.

Having conceded a deficit of 130, New Zealand were six ahead with two men out when the collapse began. Young had offered the chief resistance, but he was the first of eight to fall for 33, as Ebadat ran riot; of the last seven batsmen, five failed to score, while Bangladesh seamers had never taken as many as 13 wickets in a Test. A total of 169 was New Zealand’s lowest against these opponents, undercutting 171 at Chittagong in 2008/09. “I don’t think it was a lack of effort,” said Latham. “We just weren’t where we expect to be, or where we’ve been.”

New Zealand were left with frustration and fatigue, whereas pluck and determination had brought Bangladesh to a new frontier. Each of their previous 32 away matches against New Zealand, across the formats, had ended in defeat – a record streak for one team over another. Now, they were trying to take it all in. “We didn’t think about the result,” said Mominul. “I mean, people would call me pagol [mad] if they heard me talk about winning here.”

Player of the Match: Ebadat Hossain.

Second Test at Christchurch, January 9-11, 2022: New Zealand won by an innings and 117 runs

New Zealand 12pts. Toss: Bangladesh. Debut: Mohammad Naim.

The unexpected final act in Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote Taylor’s 112-Test career, which equalled the New Zealand record, was to float up three innocuous off-breaks. The third sealed a series-levelling win. The batter – No.11 Ebadat Hossain, who had failed to score in his previous ten Test innings – was held by Latham who, as stand-in captain, had bowed to crowd pressure and given Taylor his first bowl in Tests since 2013/14. It was Latham’s sixth catch in the match, complementing his 252, a ground record, on a pitch so green it was easily confused with the outfield.

As well as his determination at the crease, Latham could thank his judgment. He was twice given out lbw to Ebadat in the ninth over, but successfully reviewed both Wayne Knights’ decisions. He went on to reach 50 for the first time as captain, in his sixth Test in charge, harvesting the bulk of his runs past backward point or through midwicket, and put on 148 with fellow opener Young, who scored both a seven (a dropped slip catch yielded three, followed by four overthrows) and, soon after, a five (when an attempted run-out throw rocketed to the long-off fence). After Young departed for 54, Latham added 215 with Conway, who effortlessly compiled his second century of the series before being run out on the second morning – the only way he looked fallible.

At 363-2, Taylor arrived to a guard of honour; his 28 showcased his trademark off-side play, with a cover-drive, square cut and off-drive reaching the rope. Latham’s 252 was his 12th Test century, and occupied 373 balls in over nine hours of mastery. A brisk unbeaten 57 from Blundell enabled a declaration at 521-6, scored at four an over.

Heavy rain was forecast for the fourth and fifth days, giving Bangladesh hope of a draw, but their optimism was misplaced. Almost scientific in their probing, Southee and Boult wove a double-helix around the top order: in no time, it was 27-5. Mohammad Naim – a curious selection, since he had a first-class average of 16, and was without a red-ball game for nearly two years – made a five-ball duck on debut. The only respite in Bangladesh’s calamitous first innings of 126 was the batting of Yasir Ali and Nurul Hasan, who added 60 for the sixth wicket. Boult became the fourth New Zealander, after Richard Hadlee, Daniel Vettori and Southee, to reach 300 Test wickets when he bowled Mehedi Hasan. Jamieson’s foul language on dismissing Yasir for a doughty 55 earned him a third demerit point in 13 months (any further breach in the next 11 would mean a ban). After a nightmarish day, Bangladesh were asked to follow on next morning.

Though they had bowled only 41 overs on day two, and were fresh after a night’s sleep, New Zealand’s seamers found their work much tougher in the morning. All Bangladesh’s top four made a start, but it was Liton Das, with an uninhibited 102 from 114 balls, who saved them from humiliation. Even so, they failed by ten overs to push the match into a fourth day. With the last pair at the crease, Taylor – two Test wickets to his name – was thrown the ball. Ebadat, emboldened by the first boundary of his three-year Test career (an edge through the slips), heaved high to mid-wicket. Taylor soaked up the moment and, after the formalities, was joined in the middle by his three children, who grabbed a bat and ball, and joyfully re-enacted their father’s match-winning contribution.

Player of the Match: TWM Latham.
Player of the Series: DP Conway.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.