It all started so well for Bangladesh. They racked up an imposing 400 in their first Test innings, against India at Dhaka in November 2000. And Aminul Islam's 145 was the highest score in any country's first Test since Charles Bannerman's 165* for Australia in the first Test of all in 1876-77. But it's all been downhill since then. The Banglas' collapse for 91 in the second innings meant that India ended up winning that inaugural match. Two defeats in Zimbabwe followed. Then there was the massacre in Multan. And in Colombo, Sri Lanka have wasted no time in making it clear that Bangladesh were heading for a fifth consecutive defeat. It's the worst start at Test level since South Africa's eight straight defeats before the end of the 19th century – and it's stretching a point to refer to some of those matches, involving private English touring teams, as "Tests" at all.

Here's how the other countries fared on their introduction to Test cricket:

Australia
Played their first Test in 1876-77, against England at Melbourne – and won it.

England
First Test in 1876-77, against Australia at Melbourne. Lost that one, but won the second, also at Melbourne, a fortnight later.

South Africa
First Test in 1888-89, against England at Port Elizabeth. It was a private English touring side – three of the side played no first-class cricket outside this trip – and this match was the first of the tour to be played on equal (11-a-side) terms. More realistically it should have been considered the first first-class match in South Africa, but it has become recognised as their first Test.

South Africa struggled for a decade at Test level. They lost their first eight Test matches, all against England and most by huge margins, recording successive totals of 84, 129, 47, 43 (1888-89), 97, 83 (1891-92), 93, 30, 151, 134, 115, 117 (1895-96), 251, 99, 177 and 35 (1898-99). In their ninth match, in 1902-03, South Africa sensationally made Australia follow on at Johannesburg – but the Aussies escaped with a draw and won the remaining two matches comfortably.

South Africa's first Test win came at Jo'burg in 1905-06, when they defeated England by one wicket. It was their 12th Test, and came nearly 17 years after their first. By the end of that decade, however, a quartet of googly bowlers had made South Africa a force to be reckoned with, and they were never a pushover again.

West Indies
First Test at Lord's in 1928 – England won it by an innings, and did likewise in the remaining two matches of the series. In 1929-30 the first Test was drawn and England won the second – but West Indies won the third, at Georgetown, by 289 runs. It was their sixth Test match, 20 months after their first.

New Zealand
First Test at Christchurch in 1929-30 – England won it by eight wickets, but the remaining three Tests of the series were drawn. A plucky draw at Lord's in 1931 led to two further Tests being swiftly arranged on that trip (England won one of them), but New Zealand continued to struggle at the highest level. Their first victory didn't come until 1955-56, against West Indies at Auckland (WI were 3-0 up in the four-match series, though). It was New Zealand's 45th match, 26 years after their first.

India
First Test at Lord's, 1932 – England won by 158 runs. Not helped by internal cricket politics, India didn't record a Test victory for almost 20 years, but it eventually came when they downed a second-string England side at Madras in 1951-52. It was India's 25th Test, almost 20 years after their first.

Pakistan
First Test at Delhi, 1952-53. India won that one by an innings, but Pakistan turned the tables with an innings victory of their own in the second, at Lucknow a week later. Only Australia and England had previously won a match in their debut series. Pakistan also uniquely won a Test on their first tour of England, in 1954.

Sri Lanka
First Test at Colombo's Saravanamuttu Stadium, 1981-82. England won it by seven wickets. Sri Lanka lost their second match (against Pakistan) too, but drew their third. Their first win came in 1985-86, when they beat India by 149 runs at the Sara Stadium. It was Sri Lanka's 14th Test, four and a half years after their first.

Zimbabwe
First Test against India at Harare, 1992-93. It was drawn, after Zimbabwe made 456, the highest total by any country on debut.Their second game, against New Zealand, was also drawn, but NZ won the second Test of that series to lower Zimbabwe's colours in their third match. Their first win came against Pakistan at Harare in 1994-95, in a match which has since been tainted by whispers of match-fixing (Zimbabwe made 544 for 4 and bowled out Pakistan, captained by Salim Malik, for 322 and 158). It was Zimbabwe's 11th Test, less than three years after their first.

Steven Lynch is database director of Wisden.com.

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