Simmons wary of a wounded Australia

For a brief moment, panic spread through the nets at the Great Barrier Reef Arena. During batting practice, Mushfiqur Rahim was struck by a ball and sat down on the ground. Physio Bayjedul Islam rushed over with a first-aid kit. Litton Das stopped his own batting practice in the adjacent net and stood watching.

The scare did not turn into anything serious, however. After receiving first aid, Mushfiqur returned to batting practice and completed the session without any further problems.

But what happened to Tanzid Hasan! He arrived at the ground in the afternoon and taken part in the team warm-up, but why was he nowhere to be seen in the nets? Instead of batting, he spent the entire session standing some distance away beside chief selector Habibul Bashar.

At one point, the physio also went over and spoke to him for a while. Soon afterwards, Tanzid disappeared from there as well. Could an injury have kept him from training?

No, it was nothing serious. Tanzid skipped batting practice because he was suffering from stiffness in his neck. The team management did not want to risk aggravating the problem by having him train. So the centurion from the first Test was rested from batting practice yesterday. If he feels better, he will train today and is expected to play from tomorrow, Saturday.

Bangladesh have been in Australia for three weeks. During this time, they have played one Test and one practice match. Plus, there were training sessions along with the fatigue of travelling. Taken together, many members of the squad have been facing minor niggles. Some, like Taskin Ahmed, also have to manage old problems while playing.

In such circumstances, the period before the second and final Test of the series is, unofficially at least, a particularly delicate time for the team.

Beyond this caution, Bangladesh face two main challenges in Mackay. The first is an ‘wounded tiger’ in the form of Australia. It is not just the prospect of losing the series 2–0 that has them concerned; for the world’s No. 1 Test side, it must be particularly difficult to accept the manner of their defeat in Darwin.

Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons has therefore repeatedly reminded his team that Australia will return stronger and with twice the ‘aggression’. Beware!

The Caribbean coach raised the issue again while speaking to the media after the training session on Thursday afternoon. “Australia will come back harder. We have to maintain our previous performance, or do even better. In some areas, even if we can improve by just one per cent, we have to make sure we do that. They will change the way they play and come at us even harder.”

Mackay’s conditions could provide Bangladesh with another test. Everyone expects the pitch here to offer more assistance to pace bowlers than the one in Darwin. If that proves to be the case, Bangladesh could face a real challenge against Australia’s fast bowlers.

The confidence from winning in Darwin will naturally give Bangladesh extra confidence, but the task could still become much tougher here for those two reasons.

Simmons, however, did not appear overly concerned about the Mackay pitch, despite his concerns about Australia. “Every wicket is good for batting. It’s really about how you bat on that wicket.”

The wind in Mackay could also cause Bangladesh problems, although it will affect both teams. In Darwin, the hot weather had similarly been a challenge for both sides.

Simmons did not seem particularly interested in questions about the conditions at all. Brushing aside a question about the wind in Mackay, he said, “Both teams have to play in the wind. So you have to adapt to the situation and make sure you adapt yourself to the conditions. That’s why it’s been good to come here a few days before the match.”

By winning the first Test of the series, Bangladesh have already rewritten several chapters of history. If they win in Mackay, it would be monumental.

Australia have never been whitewashed in a Test series at home in their 139-year history. Bangladesh therefore you can understand, have a huge opportunity in front of them.

But Simmons does not want the team to look too far ahead just yet. He wants them to take things one step at a time. His comments on the batting plan made that clear, “The plan is to bat well. Test cricket is a five-day game. If my team can bat for 11 hours during those five days, then they can put the opposition under pressure. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

In other words, Bangladesh want to bat for long periods, post a big first-innings total and use it to put themselves beyond Australia’s reach. If they can do that in Mackay, victory will be thoroughly deserved.