Still no country for pace bowlers
While not very auspicious, the picture was also not ominous for Bangladesh at the end of Day One of the first Test against the West Indies at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram yesterday.
A few unfortunate incidents and lapses of concentration cost the Tigers five wickets but with premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and the elegant Liton Das at the crease, the team management could somewhat relax as their plan for this game seemed to be working just fine.
If the form book holds, Bangladesh should get their first points in the World Test Championship (WTC) against a depleted West Indies missing many of their regular starters. It will only be a shock if Mominul Haque's troops fail in achieving that.
Another 2-0 series win over the Caribbean outfit, a significant leap in the Tigers' position in the WTC table, spinners bagging fifers or returning even better figures and batsmen reaching landmarks -- Bangladesh will probably be able to put tick marks beside all those boxes after the series and be hailed for a deserving Test series win that saw all of the team management's ploys come to fruition.
Amid all these success stories, the one aspect that may get swept under the rug is how the pacers were once again denied an opportunity in Tests. Bangladesh's 18-member squad for the Test series included the spin quartet of Shakib Al Hasan, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan and Taijul Islam alongside five pacers -- Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed.
However, the team management stuck with the spinners as all four of them started in the Chattogram Test and the only paceman who got the nod was Mustafizur with the four other fast men left sulking on the sidelines. And the think tank's approach for the match will probably be proven right when the likes of Mehedi and Shakib start reaping the rewards from a slow and dry Chattogram pitch and have the Windies batsmen caught in their spin web.
But what happens on the periphery of the on-field spin-dominance? What is going on in the minds of young Hasan, Taskin, Jayed, Ebadot who were overlooked as the team management decided to heed to the need of the pitch's condition in order to fulfil the mission of winning? What is young pacer Shoriful Islam, an exciting prospect who was not in the Test squad but is probably watching the game on TV, thinking of his future in the Bangladesh team?
Are they wondering what difference a fourth spinner could possibly make that would outweigh the benefit of giving a pacer the much-needed experience of Test-match bowling?
It would not be irrational for the likes of young Shoriful and Hasan to wonder where they would have been had they chosen a different role in cricket. Even the one pacer that Bangladesh picked could just be doing his bit for the spinners. Ahead of the Test series, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo had talked about Mustafizur's ability to create rough patches on the pitch that he said would help bring the spinners into play.
Bangladesh's first-choice Test pacer has been Jayed for a while now. And even though Mustafizur has shown improvements recently as he learned and successfully implemented the skill of bringing the ball back into the right-handers, it would not be a surprise if he was considered ahead of the regular choice Jayed only for his ability to aid spinners.
If that is the case and pacers are either left on the sidelines or used just to make life easier for a spin quartet, Bangladesh may gain points and credit for winning matches at home against certain opponents but their long-term vision of developing a robust Test culture will remain just that -- a vision and something that sounds good during press conferences.
Maybe it is time to actually realise that the most crucial part of developing a Test culture is to find the right blend of spin and pace so that the team can overcome hurdles both home and overseas.
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