BartaBangla Report :: A struggling Bangladesh, coming off an ignominious whitewash taste at the ODI series, will kick off the Test series over hosts West Indies with a hope to draw the series at best.
The first of the two-match Test series starts today at Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent with the hosts extremely favoured to extend their dominance. The match will start at 8pm BST. The main concern for Bangladesh would be their limited bowling stock, which the coach Chandika Hathurusingha pointed out ahead of the first Test. The head coach has been watching the team to loss one after another game since he took over.
However the series would be the first Test series under his charge and he wants the batsmen to fire in order to shed the weakness.
“Our realistic goal would be to draw the game,” Hathurusingha told ESPNcricinfo. “If we play well, bat well, we will be in the game. Our bowling stock is limited. We must look to bat deep and bat long, score runs and be in the game.”
“We are working hard on the morale,” he said. “It is not an aspect that can be changed overnight. It has to come from our action, not only from the coach and players but from everyone involved in cricket. We are working on that. I have seen them in only six ODIs so far. I have a bit of idea how we can go forward, what we need to do to improve in one-day cricket. But Test cricket is still ahead of us.”
Bangladesh usually have been strong in spin bowling department but they would have to go into the series without their hero from the 2009 tour, left arm spinning all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who has been in suspension for disciplinary violations. To make the matters worse, off-spinner Sohag Gazi had also returned to the country after his bowling action was reported as suspected. Left arm spinner Elias Sunny flew to the Caribbean Island as his replacement but question arose if he will be match fit during the first Test. Apart from Sunny, Bangladesh got just one specialist spinner in uncapped Taijul Islam in the squad. It wouldn’t be wise to expect more from the 23-year old rookie spinner despite he is all but sure to make his debut.
The three pacers – Rubel Hossain, Robiul Islam and Shafiul Islam have just 17 Tests amongst them to make the pace attack inexperienced one.
If the bowling resources look vulnerable, batsmen on whom Hathurusingha was relying on have not been in form and consistency has been missing.
Mominul Haque, a diminutive batsman with an impressive Test average of 75, suddenly found him isolated. A cool and calm figure in the dressing room, Mominul was ignored in the ODI series though he was given a chance in the third match, a dead rubber one. The team management pointed out his weakness in short pitched deliveries but the history suggested no batsmen in this squad faced those sorts of bowling quite comfortably.
Mominul made only 10 runs in the first innings of the drawn practice match against St Kitts & Nevis. Mominul’s performance with Bangladesh A team during the West Indies tour was not impressive one also.
Hathurusingha informed that they are yet to finalise the squad as they would look the pitch first before deciding on the XI.
“We haven’t decided our final XI,” he said. “There are places for grabs for players to put their hand up. Until we have seen the wicket we don’t know what combination we will have. You know that we are handicapped, we have one spinner left. Our strength is spin so we are going into this game without that option. So it is a bit hard and we might have to discuss a different combination.”
Teams:
West Indies (probable) – Chris Gayle, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jermaine Blackwood, Denesh Ramdin (capt), Jason Holder, Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn.
Bangladesh (probable) – Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Mahmudullah, Shuvagata Hom, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain.