Bangladesh eye 400 runs, be it in 80 overs or 120
Three wins in six away matches, yet only one victory in the same number of matches at home! That was Bangladesh’s performance in the latest cycle of the World Test Championship, and by no means was it very encouraging.
What shortcomings led to such results, and where does the team need improvement? Ahead of Bangladesh beginning another World Test Championship cycle at home for the first time, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was asked exactly those questions at a press conference today, Thursday.
At the press conference in Mirpur, Najmul replied, “As captain, I would want us to win most of our home matches in this cycle. Personally, as a batter, what I want from the team is for us to play good cricket consistently in the first innings. If we can take that challenge properly, I think this cycle will be much better.”
Statistics also show that the captain has identified the problem correctly. In six home Tests during the previous cycle, Bangladesh crossed 300 only once. Excluding the 310-run innings against New Zealand, they failed to score even 200 in any other match.
This time, therefore, Najmul is focusing on improvement in that area. “If we can score more than 400 in the first innings, that will be very good for the team. One thing to understand is that every player has a different style of play. I do not want anyone to change that. Everyone should play the way they are comfortable playing. Scoring runs is what matters. If we can score 400 in 80 overs, there is no problem. Even if someone takes 120 overs, I have no issue with that either.”
Bangladesh’s batters are no longer inexperienced in Test cricket. Apart from the two new faces— Tanzid Hasan and Amit Hasan — everyone else has played at least 20 Tests, most of those matches came in challenging conditions.
The Mirpur Test against Pakistan will be played on a sporting wicket, expected to offer equal assistance to batters and bowlers. Bangladesh captain Najmul expressed hope that the batters would perform well there.
In Najmul’s words, “Whatever the conditions may be, what matters for a batter is how well he can bat according to those conditions. But if you look at the Mirpur wicket recently, especially in white-ball cricket, we have played a few series on much better wickets than before. So naturally, there is hope that gradually the batters will be able to perform a bit better in these conditions.”
Bangladesh will play a two-match Test series against Pakistan. The first Test begins tomorrow at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. The second and final Test will begin on 16 May in Sylhet.