New Zealand's one-day series defeat at the hands of minnows Bangladesh will no doubt be a major concern for Daniel Vettori and the Black Caps hierarchy.

In truth, though, the alarm bells should have been going off for quite some time, if you've been keeping an eye on the ICC Championship rankings for both Test and ODIs.

While everyone's attention is constantly at the top to see who of India, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England are on the up, many forget about those in the bottom half of the tables because Bangladesh and the West Indies often occupy the last two places.

It wasn't that long ago that the Black Caps were above the likes of England and Sri Lanka, but the ICC's October tables show they have dropped to eighth - behind Pakistan and the West Indies - in the Test rankings, with just Bangladesh below, while they have fallen to sixth in the ODI log.

It's hardly shocking to see New Zealand slip behind the 'Big Five', but it hasn't been a case of the bottom dwellers improving and catching up with the rest of the pack, New Zealand are moving further off the pace.

Former New Zealand player John Morrison told the New Zealand Herald that the series loss wasn't due to the Tigers having suddenly turned into a force. but rather because the Kiwis are going backward at a rapid rate.

"I don't think it's the coming of age of Bangladesh really. It's pretty disappointing how our side are playing," he said. "Sure Bangladesh slow the pitches down but that happens in most countries. That's the reality."

The batsmen have once again been the ones to let Vettori down against Bangladesh. It's an age old problem for the Kiwis.

Over the years New Zealand have never had a batting line-up that would make other Test-playing nations look at them enviously, but they've always had one or two players who could make big scores more often than not and a couple of decent players who could frustrate the opposition.

Stephen Fleming was the glue that held a brittle top order together for so long, but there's no-one in the current set-up, or even on the fringes, to take over that mantle.

In recent years Tim McIntosh, Aaron Redmond, BJ Watling, Peter Ingram, Craig Cumming, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, James Marshall, Mathew Sinclair and Martin Guptill have all been given a go in the Black Caps' top order, but they always lack conviction when confronted by half-decent bowlers.

It's a similar story with the bowling and nobody has stepped up to the plate since Shane Bond's retirement.

It's difficult to see things improving for the Kiwis rankings-wise over the next few months.

They'll face their biggest Test when they take on number one-ranked India on the sub-continent in three Tests and five one-dayers. That is followed by facing Pakistan at home in two Tests and five ODIs, after which they head back to the sub-continent for the World Cup.

Judging by their performances on Bangladesh tracks, it's hard to see them stopping the Indian steamroller and one is not quite sure which Pakistan team will turn up following their controversial tour of England.

New Zealand, though, need to start winning again if they want to mix it with the big boys in front of their home fans, warns Morrison.

"As we know television networks control a hell of a lot because they pay for most of the cricket, let's face it, and we're not a very attractive side and we're not performing then the danger is we start missing out on tours.

"Suddenly we don't see England here as much, Australia don't want to come here then we'll drop into the next zone we're we constantly playing Bangladesh, Pakistan and possibly Sri Lanka with the West Indies and Zimbabwe thrown in.

"I think that's the bigger picture danger at the moment and the way to fix that is not only to negotiate well, which people say is the requirement, but it's also to play well so you can negotiate well. Otherwise it's pretty tough to go to the negotiating table when you've just lost a series to Bangladesh."

The gap between the top nations and the West Indies and Bangladesh is already big, with very few people showing interest in games involving the latter two countries. Cricket can't afford to see one of the bigger nations getting dragged down and joining those in the basement.

The ICC has moved a step closer to introducing Test and ODI Championships, but if there are only really five teams battling it out for the top four spots than it won't be any fun.

Shahida Jacobs