'Australia under massive pressure'

Bangladesh cricketer Imrul Kayes practises a fielding drill at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday, ahead of the ODI series against Australia starting on April 9.Photo: Anisur Rahman

It has been a tumultuous time for the Australians. The Ashes defeat at home, the end of their World Cup winning streak, early exit from the tournament and the change of guard at the top with the ex-captain continuing to play under the new one.
A new era in Australian cricket starts here in Bangladesh where, according to Shahriar Nafees, they will be under a lot of pressure to prove themselves.
"I think Australia will be under massive pressure. They didn't do well in the World Cup and they'll have a lot to prove. We have to utilise this," said the left-handed batsman after training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
Nafees, who made that wonderful 138 against the same opponents five years ago, believes that it won't be surprising to see the once all-conquering Australia struggle in these conditions.
"If we can make the best use of our conditions, I think that we can make them struggle. As a team, Australia is stronger than New Zealand but if you have a look at their current squad, they don't have too many experienced players other than Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey.
"Players like Tim Paine, Brad Haddin and Callum Ferguson haven't played much in these conditions. Even if you take a look at their bowling attack, they don't have many world-class spinners whereas we have some very good ones," he explained.
But Nafees warned that the only thing in their favour would be their desire to accomplish something. "Their biggest advantage is that they are very hungry for success. We have to be wary of that," he said.
Bangladesh will go into the three-match one-day series on the back of a mixed bag of a World Cup campaign. They won three games but those are somewhat clouded by the two batting debacles. Nafees believes that it would be wise to detach 58 all out (against West Indies) and 78 all out (against South Africa).
"We have been playing good cricket for the last six months so we should see those two matches as separate incidents.
"It happened to me personally where I played well all year but one bad series and everything changed. If we play well now, we can make people forget about those two games," he said, adding that the team would be under less strain in this series.
"There is always pressure in international cricket, but it won't be like the World Cup.
There is slightly less pressure during bilateral series but if we can play well now, we can take ourselves a step higher," said Nafees.
Over the last twelve months, Bangladesh have averaged 190 runs in 11 games at this venue, surely not good enough at any level. But Nafees believes that it is the nature of the wicket that plays a huge role in this scoring pattern.
"It would be difficult if we expect 280-300 from the batsmen on these slow and low tracks.
"For us, winning is most important. If we can chase down the opponents total or score enough to win, that's good enough. I think on these wickets, it is slightly difficult to score big ones," he explained.