Following the World Cup catastrophe, Bangladesh won a Test match against New Zealand in Sylhet, where home advantage was there but there was something for everyone, even batters. The proclivity to hide behind outcomes is all too often in Bangladesh cricket, and given the quality of the Mirpur wicket for the second Test, a Test series triumph – the first against a big Test nation – may be the antidote to the World Cup’s calamity.
A World Cup assessment committee was constituted, but only to examine players and selectors, leaving decision-makers unaffected by performance concerns caused by such wickets.
In a video interview with a cricket website yesterday, one disgruntled fan stated of the Mirpur surface, “Sylhet’s was not like a paddy field-like wicket.” It was fantastic.”
The fan’s dissatisfaction is natural, and it is likely felt by all Bangladesh cricket fans and supporters.
So far, the batters have struggled to settle in Mirpur. The ball frequently does not come onto the bat, and the new ball produces sharp turn, so much so that Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson, the two Kiwi pacers, bowled just 9.2 overs between them during the 66.2 overs of Bangladesh’s innings, which was dismissed for 172. Shoriful Islam, the lone Bangladesh bowler, bowled just one of the 12.4 overs bowled by Bangladesh in New Zealand’s first innings.
On the one hand, the host team’s batters’ performance does not exactly scream home-field advantage. The pace unit, on the other hand, does not receive appropriate acclimatisation for bowling lengthy spells on more batting-friendly wickets at home, leaving them with skill and fitness deficits while playing away. When spinners like Mehedi Miraz and Taijul Islam can rely on consistency, it doesn’t motivate them to go the extra mile skill-wise and struggle in settings where accuracy isn’t enough.
This pattern for this particular wicket was observed in home Test victories over England and Australia in 2016 and 2017.
A 172-run first-inning total does not imply home field advantage. The approach required is also debatable.
While New Zealand would return to wickets with proper bounce, nip, and seam for seamers, Bangladesh batsmen would need to prevail on such surfaces if this pattern is followed. Mehedi Hasan Miraz stated on Wednesday that they were exploiting home advantage, despite his counter-argument that they required better white-ball wickets.
Even on a better surface in the Sylhet Test, Bangladesh batters frequently looked to ‘hit out’ to relieve pressure. This strategy will not allow for long-term growth.
Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha felt that winning at home was critical in this Test Championship cycle. He also noted that the players now had a variety of skill sets to pick from, but it appears from the first day’s play that only one was emphasised, as 15 wickets dropped on Day One.
The injuries to Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain may have pushed Hathurusingha and the team management even further towards another spin-friendly surface, but for the rest of the pacers, it is not exactly a confidence boost as the soul-searching for the best manner to play Tests continues. Bangladesh constructed a surface with pacer assistance against Afghanistan, but it was not part of the World Test Championship, and the management may have felt at comfortable given Afghanistan’s questionable ability to persevere against pace.
Mirpur curator Gamini Silva previously told this reporter, ‘I have been thrilled for 13 years’ about producing a particularly bouncy surface in an NCL game, implying that wickets are prepared according to requirements. The standards appear to be different for internationals than for NCL. Only time will tell whether such a blueprint will be beneficial in the long run, considering that it has yet to pay benefits.