There is no denying how far Scottish cricket has come in recent years.

That much was evident at the Saxton Oval. Against a Test-playing nation who enjoys eight times as much funding from the International Cricket Council, Scotland seriously threatened a victory until a rather ragtag defence of 318 extended their losing run in World Cup history to 12 consecutive games.

Not that any blame can be afforded to Kyle Coetzer. When he harrumphed a length ball from Rubel Hossain over long on for six, he became Scotland's first World Cup centurion. He gave a low-key celebration to such a landmark moment, undemonstratively lifting his helmet and acknowledging the crowd with the air of a man whose job was not yet complete.

So it proved. After an austere start - nine runs from his opening 20 balls as Scotland stuttered amid soft dismissals for Calum MacLeod and Hamish Gardiner - Coetzer gradually unfurled his range of shots. No pyrotechnics, just supreme orthodox srokeplay. His driving was particularly authoritative, as Bangladesh's seam bowlers were lashed through and over the covers with contemptuous ease; there was also a slog-swept six off Shakib Al Hasan to savour.

"We're very proud of his performance, and hopefully the people back home are also very proud of that," Preston Mommsen said. Mommsen was the man who replaced Coetzer as captain last year, reward for his excellence after Coetzer went home injured during the World Cup Qualifiers in January 2014.

His dethroning as national captain was not the only difficulty Coetzer endured in 2014. He also had a grim year in domestic cricket for Northamptonshire, averaging less than 20 in both one-day and first-class cricket.

So Coetzer might have considered himself a man with a point to prove this winter. If that was his am, it is one that he has succeeded magnificently in. He scored 333 runs at 55 apiece on the World Cup acclimatisation tour last autumn, more than any player from the four associates managed. Last month, Coetzer made a crisp 71 in the World Cup match against England at Christchurch, following up 96 against the West Indies in a warm-up game.

In a batting line-up brimming with brio - if not always astute shot selection - Coetzer can seem a relatively unobtrusive presence, less likely to enthrall than MacLeod or Matt Machan. No longer. By the time he was dismissed, Coetzer was Scotland's first World Cup centurion, had hit the highest ever score by an associate player in World Cup history and had even sailed past 150 to boot.

The puzzle for Scotland is how such a magisterial innings can come in defeat. One explanation is that, in response to their batting collapses in the first three games, Scotland began with excessive deference on one of the most batting-friendly pitches in the tournament, on which Ireland chased down 305 against the West Indies in just 45.5 overs. After 27 overs of their innings, Scotland had only reached 127-3; Bangladesh were 168-2 at the same point.

"You might think, yeah, maybe we should have gone a little bit harder, a little bit earlier," Mommsen reflected. "It's easy to say that in hindsight. I think 318 we were very happy with, and that gave us a chance to win the game."

Attention should therefore turn to why Scotland failed to defend their total. Bangladesh batted with a self-assuredness that has seldom been their trademark - captain Mashrafe Mortaza declared it "the best" run chase in their ODI history - but they were too rarely threatened. There is an undeniable sameyness to Scotland's attack, with its preponderance of right-arm seam bowlers who lack express pace.

If little can be done about that, the attack would be wise to refrain from bowling so short; too often this tournament, the sort ball has been a delivery of stock rather than shock. And while it seem harsh to criticise Josh Davey, who has moved the ball skillfully to snare 11 wickets this tournament, breaking John Blain's tournament record for a Scot, no bowler of his ilk should bowl 17 wides in 37 overs.

When Davey dismissed Soumya Sarkar, strangled down the legside, at the start of Bangladesh's innings, it was easy to envisage a Scottish victory. Anamul Haque's dislocated shoulder effectively meant Bangladesh were two wickets down.

The weaknesses in the bowling ensured that did not materialise, and means the side is on course to match the classes of 1999 and 2007 in departing a World Cup winless. But the more salient point is that the 2015 World Cup outfit have competed more impressively than previous outfits. If that is not as exciting as a totemic victory or two, it is progress.