Chris Cairns: Hot, dry and why, why, why?

COMMENT

Playing on the subcontinent can be the most physically challenging of all places to tour because you're playing in the opposition's comfort zone, you're dealing with the heat, humidity and ... strange bowel motions.

Unfortunately, in Bangladesh the heat and humidity (and in some cases bowel motions) are by far the toughest things the Black Caps have had to encounter.

I always look to try and find the positive from any situation, but I'm struggling with Bangladesh.

Sure, every now and then they may cause an upset but you can sense in their body language a nagging inevitability each time they take the field.

You can sense them wondering, how are we going to win?

It's all well and good pointing out what is blatantly obvious for everyone to see, but these guys need solutions otherwise the youth they have coming through are going to be exposed to the same cycle of defeat.

The ICC must have a role to play here as it was they who approved the test status of Bangladesh. These situations cannot be rectified overnight, so planning and funding are paramount.

Their domestic cricket is rather primitive and it is essential to have good wickets and good structure at first-class level to groom players for the future. But this is a long-term solution and Bangladesh needs something now.

A solution may be for host countries, in conjunction with the ICC, to allow Bangladesh to spend longer in the countries when they are touring. This would allow Bangladesh the chance to play more games at a level just below tests. The opposition will still be quality, but there will not be the pressure of a test.

Quality wickets might allow individuals to enjoy some success and this will breed team success. Turning up and learning new ways to lose every day is not going to help them.

I'm sure they're trying to help themselves too, but really they are crying out for outside help.

On a personal note, it was great to be back playing and contribute to our victory at Chittagong. Losing a few wickets early gave me the opportunity to play myself in and get a decent bat.

It is good to see Kyle Mills enjoying some success too, after working hard on this tour without the opportunity to play a test.

On a lighter note there has been some banter regarding the rugby fraternity's exploration into cosmetics. With such a china-white complexion, Scotty Stryis was keen for me to emphasise that, despite appearances, he doesn't wear foundation.