They have played each other nine times in ODIs over a span of less than a year and in four Tests over that period. Bangladesh have had the wood on West Indies in ODIs, winning seven of those matches, including a series in the West Indies. West Indies players form one of the largest foreign contingents in the Bangladesh Premier League, so there is very little either team can do to surprise the other when they face off in a World Cup match at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton today.
They are also in an identical situation in the World Cup. Each side has three points from four games, with one match being washed out. Theoretically each can still afford to lose the game, but both -- West Indies having been rejuvenated by the return of players like Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis and Andre Russell -- will be targeting a win against a foe they know pretty much inside out. When Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and his West Indian counterpart Jason Holder were speaking in their respective pre-match press conferences, their knowledge of the enemy came through.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The talking point surrounding the game has been the small boundaries in Taunton helping West Indies’ big hitters and whether Bangladesh would continue to hound the West Indies with their spin strength.
“Most opponents plan about West Indies’ batting, because of how they have adopted the T20 style of play in ODIs,” said Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, before revealing a bit of their plans to keep the West Indians quiet. “The top five West Indies batsmen are left handers, and Mehedi [Hasan Miraz] bowled against them really well. That’s a positive sign. It’s a small ground too, so we have to think about that -- from one side the wind will be stronger. West Indies have so much power to do it. Whatever the ground, whatever the wicket, we have to back our own strength.
“I think our bowling has been fantastic against them in the last two, three series we played. There’s no alternative to taking wickets against West Indies because they can cause serious damage.”
Mashrafe also added that off-spin will be very important when attacking West Indies, with Mehedi taking 12 wickets against them in the last nine matches at a miserly economy rate of 3.86. Holder was expecting Bangladesh to continue in the same vein.
“Yeah, probably. I don’t want to try to perceive what they are going to come with -- we are open to anything. Traditionally, they rely heavily on their spinners and we don’t expect them to move too far away from that,” Holder said. “It’s a smallish ground and I saw the wicket today as well; there’s quite a bit of grass on it. We’ll see how it plays tomorrow. We know what to expect in a sense from Bangladesh; I can’t see them being much different from that.”
Unlike their batting department, Bangladesh have faced most of West Indies’ current pacers over the last year -- including during the tri-series in Ireland where the Tigers beat them in all three matches.
“We have faced their main bowling attack, but we can’t relax because of that,” Mashrafe said. “In tournaments like this, you have to plan differently for each team. You can’t just stick to one type of mindset. We can’t expect it to be an easy win because of winning seven out of nine matches.”
“I guess if you win seven out of the last nine, probably yes,” Holder answered with a smile when asked if Bangladesh were favourites. “It’s a game of cricket, we have seen how this World Cup has panned out. Quite a few close games, one or two upsets. Cricket is played on the day and we are looking to play some good cricket tomorrow.”
Playing better on the day has become a sporting cliché, but today when these familiar foes face off with spin taking on big hits and small boundaries, that is what it may come down to.
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