Sports Reporter:
Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons said his side
needs to rediscover the batting form in a bid to bounce back in the second
and final Test against West Indies, beginning today (Thursday) at Sylhet
International Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh suffered an eight-wicket defeat in the opening Test in Dhaka,
extending their poor batting run since their historic Test victory over
Australia in Darwin.
Simmons admitted that Bangladesh had failed to maintain their batting
standards in the four matches following the Darwin triumph but insisted that
the players had continued to work with the same intensity and determination.
“Since Darwin, we haven’t batted particularly well. We showed what we’re
capable of there if the determination and the batting are there, but since
then, we have not batted well in the four matches we’ve played,” Simmons said
at the pre-match press conference in Sylhet today.
“The guys have been working hard with the same intensity and in the same way
we worked before Darwin and Pakistan. But it just hasn’t been put in place
during matches. We have to make sure that we get to that level again, where
we put it in place in matches and not just work hard outside.”
Simmons, however, was optimistic about the Sylhet surface, describing it as a
good cricket wicket similar to the one Bangladesh encountered during their
previous home series against Pakistan.
“The wicket looks good. I remember the Pakistan wicket earlier this year, and
it seems to be similar to that. So, it’s a good cricket wicket,” he said.
Regarding the possibility of including domestic cricket’s prolific batter
Amite Hasan, who recently struck another double century, Simmons said the
team management would finalise the combination after practice in consultation
with the chief selector.
Amite has joined the squad as a replacement, but Simmons suggested that his
inclusion in the playing XI was unlikely.
“He’s come in as a replacement, so it’s not that likely,” he said.
Simmons also backed Bangladesh’s spin attack despite their disappointing
performance in recent matches. He admitted that the spinners had not bowled
well but maintained that they remained one of the team’s major strengths.
“I don’t think many teams have really out-bowled our spinners. We didn’t bowl
well, and we understand that. But it’s not something that happens all the
time. The spinners are part of our strength,” he said.
“The last game here, the two of them won the game for us on the last day. So
we still have a lot of trust in our spinners.”
Bangladesh also need to improve their fielding after dropping several catches
in the opening Test. Simmons admitted that the missed opportunities had hurt
the team but expressed confidence that such a performance would not be
repeated.
“We didn’t do ourselves justice in that game because we dropped too many
catches at this level. But I don’t think that will happen like that again,”
he said.
Meanwhile, Liton Das, who had some concerns during training, did not take
part in the full practice session on the eve of the match. Simmons clarified
that the wicketkeeper-batter followed his usual pre-match routine, completing
fielding drills before taking rest.
Despite several injury concerns during the series, Simmons insisted that
Bangladesh had no injury problems within the current squad and were confident
heading into the must-win encounter.
Asked whether he had a special plan to surprise West Indies, Simmons offered
a brief but intriguing response.
“Always have to have something up the sleeve. So we’ll keep it up the sleeve
until tomorrow,” he said.
