It was a bit like Bangladesh at the World Cup. One minute they were making a storming comeback against the Irish, the next they were folding pathetically against the West Indies. The boom and bust continued, with an amazing finish against England followed by a total humiliation in a must-win game against South Africa.
When the pressure came, there was nobody at home. The current thrashing against Australia is the result of a rather large hangover.
They could have all done with a break. Anyone in cricket ever heard of a break?
Bangladesh lost a few matches at the World Cup but their government, in its infinite wisdom, has launched an enquiry. "We are trying to find the causes behind these humiliating defeats. We shall take necessary measures to overcome these weaknesses," Bangladesh state minister for sports Ahad Ali Sarkar said.
It is a tough old business these days. A loss is no longer just a loss.
Not surprisingly, the country's cricket board took a less dramatic view on the team's performance: "There is no need for any inquiry. The board will discuss with the players and try to find out reasons for the shortcomings and we will address those issues," said chief executive Manzur Ahmed.
The issues to address? Well, perhaps they could start asking the captain why he suggested that reaching the quarter-finals wasn't going to be that difficult.
The most immediate concern is to look for a new coach after Jamie Siddons' contract was not renewed.
Siddons has been in charge of the national team since the autumn of 2007 - the year in which Bangladesh shocked India and South Africa in the World Cup. At that juncture, the BCB had already set up a 10-man review panel to look into the National Cricket League, of which there are still just six teams.
On his appointment as chief selector four years ago Rafiqul Alam declared: "I rather think that if domestic cricket is spruced with more money, competition will go up and there will be more close matches."
He was rather more vague about how a "three- or four-year short-term plan" was going to help, placing great emphasis on getting more draws in the five-day arena. Now that we are at the end of that, erm, three- or four-year plan, Bangladesh can only point to a couple of Test victories over a regressive Zimbabwe as progress in the five-day arena. Nevertheless, real talents like Tamim Iqbal, who received an accolade from this year's Wisden, has reached the magic 40 average.
In the one-day field there have been two memorable victories, home and away, over England within the last 10 months, and a comprehensive beating of New Zealand. The Tigers' ability to score decent victories in the limited-overs format has never been in question.
Their ability to compete at a high level consistently still eludes them. Falling like a pack of cards can happen to any team, but Bangladesh are under more scrutiny than most. Their last Test match in England lasted two and a bit days. Wall Street batting crashes are no fun to watch.
The departing Siddons declared a rather bullish faith in the squad that he is leaving: "If these boys are allowed to grow together for another four years to the next World Cup, you're going to have a lot of good fun and a lot of joy."
The talent pool is certainly there. The match toughness needs to grow in a more combative domestic environment to ensure that there is a second decade of Test cricket.
As Tamim said: "If you start a chocolate company, you can't compete with Cadbury in the first ten years."
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