In addition, two of those Test wins were against the West Indian side decimated by a contract dispute. Still, Floyd Reifer's side included Darren Sammy, Tino Best and Kemar Roach, so it wasn't all bad. The other two victories came against Zimbabwe - one shortly before their hiatus, and one earlier this year. When you compare that to the Zimbabwean record since their return, in which they have won three of their ten Tests, one of which was over Pakistan, even with their back-issues, things still look pretty dire.
No Bangladeshi seamer has played ten Tests and maintained a bowling average under 40.
Tamim Iqbal, who burst onto the scene as a bristlingly aggressive teenager has matured into Bangladesh's best ever opening batsman. When he's on form, he would make any side in the world. He averages over 35 in both Tests and ODIs, and has far surpassed the achievements of both his brother Nafees and his uncle Akram Khan.
Shakib Al Hasan can also make a viable claim to be the best young all-rounder in the world. The 26-year-old left-hander seems to have been around forever, and for a long time carried the mantle of being his country's leading batsman, bowler, and captain. With nine five-wicket bags, his bowling wins matches; the same could be said of his batting, particularly against the red ball.
Another youthful batting prospect is Nasir Hossain. At 21, he has spent the last two years making the number seven spot very much his own, while batting slightly higher in the one-dayers. Averages of over 45 in both formats, as well as an ability to bowl both spin and seam, show just how good a utility player he is.
Long gone are the days when Habibul Bashar was solely responsible for Bangladeshi batting fortunes.
Mominul Haque, in just his fourth Test, showed precisely why he has been attracting rave reviews by belting 181 against the Kiwis. The class and calmness on show were highly impressive, and he has a bright future ahead of him in red-ball cricket. It remains to be seen if he can convert that into a one-day career of repute.
Sohag Gazi enjoyed one of the best Tests of anyone, ever. He became the first man to pick up a century and a hat-trick in the same Test, and the hat-trick was part of his second career six-for. He has dealt composedly with his elevation to the national side, and his early numbers are among the best of any Bangladeshi.
Robiul Islam is the first seamer to find any real success in Test cricket. He is the first seamer to average under 40 for any length of time, and his nagging accuracy has yielded two five-fors. For some reason, he still finds himself behind Rubel Hossain in the queue, despite the latter's continuing floundering at Test level.
There are also some short-format specialists in the set-up; experienced Abdur Razzak, has over 200 ODI wickets at well under 30 apiece, while Ziaur Rahman has turned himself from a nagging bowler to a punishing hitter after a knee injury. Indeed, both of them have won matches with their six-hitting in Bangladeshi colours, despite only Zia having a reputation for it. In short, the talent pool is there, and it's still young. It can only be a matter of time before the results start to follow.
The Bangladeshi talent pool compares favourably with other nations; it's time the results reflected that.
Now, their opponents are slightly weaker. New Zealand's spin attack of Ish Sodhi and Bruce Martin wasn't exactly the most taxing, and other nations have similar deficiencies. Pakistan's batting, Zimbabwe's internal turmoil, Australia's transitional phase, Sri Lanka's seamers. If Bangladesh can group together and adopt a positive attitude (as opposed to rewarding players for drawing Test matches) then there are Test matches out there to be won.
There are also two major tournaments coming up. In the 2015 World Cup, and before that, the home World Twenty20, top-eight finishes should be a minimum requirement for the Bangladeshis. They need to silence the critics, and the only way to do that is by playing good cricket. Winning cricket.
Tomorrow will see the promised article on American cricket, slightly later than planned.