'Acclimatising is crucial'
For a team from the subcontinent raised on slow and low pitches, cricket tours do not come much tougher than a Test series on the seaming, bouncy wickets of South Africa. The prospect seemed even tougher for Bangladesh as there were serious question marks over three of their top-order batsmen, but after the three-day tour match there are small, auspicious signs for the tourists.
Makeshift number three batsman Imrul Kayes had a wretched series against Australia at home recently with just 21 runs in four innings, opener Soumya Sarkar averaged just 16 and deposed number three Mominul Haque has been in and out of the side. Therefore it must be a great fillip for the visiting camp that all three did well in their first taste of South African conditions. Soumya hit 43 in the first innings and did not play in the second because of a shoulder niggle picked up while fielding, Imrul scored 34 and 51 in the two innings while Mominul top-scored with 68 in the first dig and scored 33 in the second innings.
"Their batting looked very good. The way they have batted in the practice match as well as in practice, it seems like they have adjusted well. The ball comes on to the bat here and it is easier to get used to that. So I think that if they concentrate well, they will do well here," said Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin, who is on tour with the team in South Africa.
The wicket in Benoni for the tour match may not have been the most representative of South African conditions, but Minhajul thought that the preparation was valuable because it helped the team get used to the weather.
"It was a little slow, but we did what we needed to do in terms of spending time on the field and adjusting," the former Bangladesh captain said. "Obviously they will not give us the kind of wicket that they will use for the Test match. That is normal. But how well you can adjust to the weather is the main preparation."
The bowlers had conceded 313 for eight in South Africa Invitational XI's only innings, but according to Minhajul the adjustment to weather is as, if not more, important for the bowlers.
"For the bowlers, they were adjusting to bowling at a hundred per cent in these conditions. There are breathing problems here [because of the high altitude]. It was their first match in these conditions, so considering that I think that whatever they did, they bowled well enough."
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