Bangladesh find little comfort in statistics

That Bangladesh will be drubbed 0-2 by Australia is an almost foregone conclusion - barring serious intervention from the weather gods, any other result seems improbable. Bangladesh will need more modest yardsticks to measure their progress. Extending the Tests to the fourth day would be a start. In their 19 previous matches, they have only managed that 11 times, and the weather had a huge hand to play on a couple of those occasions. Among the teams who have inflicted three-day defeats on Bangladesh are Pakistan (three times), Sri Lanka (twice), West Indies (twice) and South Africa (once). Significantly, Bangladesh haven't yet lost a Test inside two days.

David Hookes's suggestion of a one-day Test is far-fetched, but Australia will surely fancy their chances of bowling Bangladesh out twice in a day. Already, Bangladesh's two innings have lasted less than a combined total of 90 overs on two occasions. Against Pakistan at Multan in 2001, Bangladesh were bowled out in 41.1 overs in each innings, while West Indies bowled them out twice in 86 overs in Dhaka in 2002-03. On an average, Bangladesh have survived 132 overs per Test - that's almost four-and-a-half sessions - while a Test featuring Bangladesh has lasted 263 overs, nearly three complete days.

Worryingly for Bangladesh, though, their form has slumped considerably of late. In their last 11 Tests, Bangladesh average just 160 in their first innings and 173 in their second, compared to their overall averages of 182 (first innings) and 184 (second innings).

Bangladesh have also notched up the dubious distinction of the maximum number of consecutive Test defeats. It currently stands at 13, and is likely to go up by two by the end of this series. It's easily the longest losing streak; Zimbabwe are next in line with nine. New Zealand may have needed 45 matches to record their first win, but their worst run only consisted of six consecutive losses. After 19 Tests, they had lost just six, while India had 11 defeats and eight draws at the same stage of their Test career.

Most consecutive losses in Test history
Bangladesh - 13 (Nov 2001 to May 2003) Zimbabwe (1), New Zealand (2), Pakistan (2), Sri Lanka (2), South Africa (4) and West Indies (2)
Zimbabwe - 9 (Nov 2001 to June 2003) lost to England (2), Pakistan (2), India (2) and Sri Lanka (3)
England - 8 (Nov 1920 to July 1921) lost to Australia
South Africa - 8 (March 1889 to April 1899) - lost to England
Australia - 7 (March 1885 to February 1888) - lost to England
India - 7 (July 1967 to January 1968) - lost to England (3) and Australia (4)
West Indies - 7 (November 2000 to January 2001) - lost to England (2) and Australia (5)
New Zealand - 6 (January 1954 to November 1955) - lost to South Africa (2), England (2) and Pakistan (2)
Pakistan - 5 (November 1999 to March 2000) - lost to Australia (3) and Sri Lanka (2)
Sri Lanka - 5 (January 1994 to August 1994) - lost to India (3) and Pakistan (2)

Another dubious distinction for Bangladesh: Only seven times has a team won all Tests in a series by an innings, and Bangladesh have been at the receiving end four times. Five out of those seven occurences have happened since 2000, the latest one being Zimbabwe's capitulation in the two-Test series in England.

The seven instances of a team winning every Test of a series by an innings:

Through all the stats about Bangladesh's dismal display, here's a crumb of comfort: Bangladesh, relatively speaking, haven't succumbed to the pressures of playing overseas. Their second-innings average abroad is 188 - marginally better than the corresponding figure of 180 at home - while their first-innings average is only slightly worse (178 compared to 186).