Darwin, Aug 12 (IANS) Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto believes his side is well prepared to deal with the extra bounce expected from Australia’s tall pace attack as the visitors prepare to return to Test cricket on Australian soil after more than two decades.
Bangladesh will play their first Test in Australia since 2003 when they take on the hosts in Darwin. While their preparations were dented by a 54-run all-out collapse against a Cricket Australia XI, Shanto insisted that the result would not define his team’s readiness for the Test.
The Bangladesh skipper said his side had deliberately worked on bouncy surfaces at home in recent months and had also benefited from spending nearly two weeks in Australia before the Test.
“Tackling the bounce is the key, but we have been preparing on bouncy wickets at home in the last few months. That gives us a little bit more of an idea. Here, there will be bounce, and we are well prepared having arrived 10 or 12 days before the Test. It gives us more of an idea regarding the bounce. They have a world-class bowling attack, but as a team, it is a good opportunity to challenge them,” Shanto said ahead of the match as quoted by Cricinfo.
Shanto also downplayed the significance of the poor practice match performance, noting that Bangladesh had experienced difficult outings during past preparation.
“We have had [poor outings] in practice matches before. This came in the preparation phase. We can have a bad day, but I think we have prepared ourselves pretty well,” he said.
The captain acknowledged that batting would be Bangladesh’s biggest challenge, particularly when facing the new ball against an attack featuring Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
“We are confident that we will play some good cricket. As a batting unit, there will be a lot of challenges, and we have been trying to do a lot of work,” Shanto said. “I think the challenge will be greater against the new ball. I think everyone will play their natural game, try to score runs. We are playing against a top bowling attack. It is important how much consistency and focus we can have. We have to try to bat for longer periods.”
Bangladesh have also received a boost with Litton Das declared fit for the Test. His return provides additional stability to a middle order that could come under considerable pressure against Australia’s four-pronged attack.
“Litton gives us batting depth. He is consistent. We are hopeful of our batting unit doing well in the Test match,” Shanto said.
The Bangladesh captain also indicated that the team could opt for two frontline spinners in Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam, alongside three fast bowlers.
Miraz strengthened his case with a century in the tour match, while the Darwin surface is expected to offer assistance to both pace and spin as the game progresses.
“It looks like a pretty good wicket. We haven’t had a chance to play on a drop-in wicket, but as professional cricketers, we have to adapt to those challenges. As I mentioned, the preparation is there, so I hope we can adjust to this condition. There’s grass on the wicket, but it’s a good wicket where both batters and bowlers will find help. Maybe the bowlers will get us good results,” Shanto said.
–IANS
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