Bangladesh bowlers lacked intent

“The effect of wasting enough time and energy in a Twenty20 League was evident among the bowlers on Day 2”

What a glorious day for New Zealand on Day 2! The batsmen enjoyed their time at the crease as because batting was as easy as an exhibition match! Jeet Raval and Tom Latham blasted the ordinary bowling of visitors to script centuries at a rapid pace.  Whereas Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls joined the party of making Bangladesh bowling attack a mockery. At stumps New Zealand were 451 for 4 from 118 overs and keeping in mind the fragile confidence of visitors even if New Zealand declare on second day too early, they would be able to finish things off quickly tomorrow.

Perhaps you are thinking, how easy Test cricket is! Indeed, it becomes easy if one of the oppositions perform without intent. If they consider each away tour as a mere formality, then sorry to say, not only Test cricket, but any formats of the game suffer.

I am not sure whether Bangladesh are considering this New Zealand series as a formality or anything else, but their lack of intent only conveying a wrong message among the fans.

Excuses can be given about a young pace attack and absence of key players like Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, but still, in my opinion bowling with a certain discipline is not a tough task for a team whose pace bowlers are coached by Courtney Walsh. Walsh is one hell of a dedicated coach, but it would be the failure of bowlers if they fail to deliver according to the advice of Walsh.   

Khaled Ahmed, Abu Jayed and debutante Ebadot Hossain failed to penetrate and create pressure as because throughout the second day they failed to realise the importance of accuracy.

If the track is not assisting enough, then it is always ideal to do the basics right way – pitch the ball on a fourth or sixth stump line, rather than eight and nine enough and the length should be pulled back and tad fuller. But the Bangladesh pacers did opposite as they pitched consistently on a half-volley and long hop length and the line swayed on the leg side more often. Such a line-and-length only offers misery and Bangladesh paid a heavy price today.

At the other end, Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz can be regarded as an experienced campaigner right now and should have displayed the discipline in bowling. But it seems, he made a mess while floating the deliveries as if he was bowling in a Twenty20 League. The effect of wasting enough time and energy in a Twenty20 League was evident among the bowlers on Day 2.     

Someone like Taijul Islam has a very ordinary record away from home. But when you think about adding a different dimension and a dose of experience to the bowling attack, Taijul could have been considered instead of an extra pacer. In Test cricket a legspinner and left-arm orthodox bowler always give the bowling a different dimension.     

It was Soumya Sarkar who gave Bangladesh some breakthroughs. He might have dropped the catch of Latham earlier, but took the revenge, even though too late, by dishing out a fuller delivery just in-and-around offstump and enticed Latham to drive, but was caught by Mohammad Mithun at wide-slip. Then Soumya hooked the big fish, Ross Taylor with an inducker, which zipped off the deck from back-of-a-length. Taylor failed to negotiate it and was trapped lbw.   

In the afternoon session, Soumya showed what accurate bowling can do and it is not difficult enough to bowl according to a certain line-and-length if your bowling attack is missing key players and hung over by Bangladesh Premier League.

 The matter is all about how focused you are!  

Note: This article has been published at Cricketsoccer on 01/03/2019 Bangladesh bowlers lacked intent

Thank You
Faisal Caesar