Another crushing innings victory by South Africa in the second Test at Kimberley again raised questions about Bangladesh's right to Test status. It was Bangladesh's 14th defeat in 15 matches since they were granted Test status in 2000 – and in the one match they drew they were reprieved by rain. South Africa's captain Shaun Pollock and coach Eric Simons were diplomatic about Bangladesh's performance, while their Bangladesh counterparts, Khaled Mashud and Mohsin Kamal, repeated their tour mantra that their side was learning and improving.

"They've shown a vast improvement since the start of the one-day series," said Simons. "They might look back in a few years and say it was a good thing that they toured South Africa but they're struggling at the moment. It was obviously part of a bigger plan and whoever made the decision at the ICC knew what they were doing."

"They've got to start somewhere," said Pollock, "but perhaps they should play a few years of Test cricket at home. It's difficult for them to come to these conditions and perform. They have shown improvement and they have some exciting young players."

Pollock said he was not in favour of a two-tier Test system, which has been one suggestion to prevent mismatches like this series, but said aspirant Test nations such as Bangladesh should play for several years against other emerging cricket countries such as Kenya and Holland to see which countries deserved to be promoted. It was as close to saying that they didn't belong on the same stage as international cricket's big boys as he could manage while retaining the appropriate diplomacy.

Mashud was again left to come out with remarks that even he must be tiring of. "Obviously we're disappointed with the way we batted today but we've had a great experience in these two matches," he said. "There have been positive signs in both batting and bowling."

Kamal said he was aware of the expectations of Bangladeshi supporters. "It was not a good end to the series but the boys have improved. It cannot be changed overnight." He defended the decision to pack the side with young players, insisting it was an investment in the future.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd