BCB XI shake off nervy start
It's not about red-ball or white-ball cricket, but about the wickets. When I bowled in away conditions, on wickets where Test cricket is also played, every ball was enjoyable.
Shoriful Islam
BCB XI pacer
The touring Zimbabwe side reached 291 for seven on the first day of their two-day warm-up match against BCB XI at the BKSP in Savar, with the young guns of the BCB XI pulling things back after a dominant start from the tourists.
Prince Masvaure and Kevin Kasuza handed the tourists a bright start against a BCB XI side that comprised of six members of the U-19 squad that recently won the ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa. With little rest, the warm-up match against an international side was always going to be a tough ask for them and the bowlers toiled early.
The Zimbabwe opening duo starred in a 105-run partnership after the visitors elected to bat before Masvaure was stumped off the off-spin of Al Amin Jr. A batting collapse ensued and a flurry of wickets fell to non-specialist spinners, reducing the tourists to 226 for seven with opener Kevin Kasuza run out after a 70-run knock.
Shahadat Hossain did the bulk of the damage, picking up three wickets for just 16 runs while Al Amin bagged two. Zimbabwe recovered after the slump with a 65-run eighth-wicket stand between Carl Mumba, unbeaten on 54, and Ainsley Ndlovu, who was not out on 25 at stumps.
The absence of pace-friendly wickets has been a major deficiency in terms of developing a pace battery for Bangladesh. That was clear to see when Shoriful Islam, who had bowled with plenty of fire in the U-19 World Cup final against India, picked up one wicket in his 15 overs.
Shoriful found the surface to be uninspiring for pacers and, when asked about the difference in the surfaces provided at home to those they played in at South Africa, said: "The first difference is the wicket. There was a lot of bounce there and here there is no bounce at all. The wicket here is not what we had hoped for. Pacers cannot bowl as they would like to."
His desolation, especially playing in the longer format back in home conditions, was pronounced when he said: "It's not about red-ball or white-ball cricket, but about the wickets. When I bowled in away conditions, on wickets where Test cricket is also played, every ball was enjoyable."
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