We’ve come here to win: Ervine

Bangladesh's recent failings in the Test format will bolster visiting Zimbabwe with new hope ahead of their lone Test against hosts Bangladesh and Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine stated that they have come here to win but reiterated that he would like his side to be focused on their own strengths instead of focusing on Bangladesh's form.

The 15-member Zimbabwe squad trained at the BCB Academy ground in Mirpur yesterday and Ervine relished getting back into the mix of things after their two-match series against Sri Lanka at home.

"We obviously have come here to win. We had a good series against Sri Lanka so it has given us some momentum after having a long break prior to that series. We're familiar with the conditions here as we've travelled here quite often.

"Putting their [Bangladesh's] results aside, we just have to concentrate on what we need to do. We have got a few new guys on the team. Just need to make sure they get comfortable and we need to get into our training, get our processes going and make sure we are not caught on the backfoot come the first day of the Test match," Ervine told reporters at Mirpur yesterday.

Bangladesh are going through a poor run of form, having lost their last six Tests on the trot with five of them ending in innings defeat. Zimbabwe returned to playing Tests with the series against Sri Lanka, following a gap of over a year. They pushed the Lankans on home turf and drew the second Test at Harare after losing the first Test by 10 wickets. The last time they played in Bangladesh, they drew the Test series 1-1 against the hosts.

Ervine said that spin will play a big part in the upcoming Test and wanted to prepare for the Tigers' spin threat. "Our mission is to win. We haven't got too many Test matches for the rest of the year. Every Test match for us is vitally important.  

While the tourists will be missing Kyle Jarvis and Sean Williams, Ervine said that the 'opportunity is for the other guys to step up. It's another challenge to accept and take it on," he concluded.