#Title

The irony in Tigers’
GREATEST WIN
ABDULLAH AL MEHDI
For the first time, Bangladesh put a real meaning to the nickname ‘Tigers’ in red-ball cricket away from home and it was all thanks to a sudden uprising from the pace unit in favourable conditions.
Ebadot Hossain scalped one, two and then three, all in the third session of the fourth day at Mount Mauganui, playing the pivotal hand in Bangladesh’s first win in Kiwi soil against the hosts.
The fight, determination and application while honing in on the right modus operandi session after session to edge forward has never been shown by a Bangladesh side in Tests. And the fuel that ignited the fire came from the pacers, who all bowled to a theme like never before.
Ironically, the very same pacers -- who provided the spark and played crucial roles in Bangladesh cricket’s greatest-ever moment -- are shunned year after year when home Tests come around.
A lot has been said about Bangladesh’s dependency on spin. And while spin can be the favoured weapon in the subcontinent, looking at the likes of Pakistan and India -- two of major forces in the continent -- reveals that their threat in the longest format is reliant on pacers. Bangladesh, despite adequate evidence of a lack of proper world-class spinners, still bank on an archaic strategy of leaving pacers out of the squad in home Tests.
So, while there is a real menacing air of a Tiger on the prowl about the Bangladesh team’s attack, what will happen to the very same attack when the next home Test comes around? The idea that a pace attack is relevant has not been apparent in Bangladesh conditions.
Bangladesh have had a number of tours to New Zealand over the years. So, what worked this time?
They took a big step in banking on their pace attack to bowl first on day one of the first Test. The three pacers in Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot and Shoriful hit the good length at an average of 54.84 percent.
Shoriful was so accurate in fact that he accrued 66.3 percent good-length deliveries to both left and right-handers. Ebadot sprayed it around and went for runs but overall the line and length of the two other pacers kept the Kiwis on a tight leash.
However, hitting such a line or length would not have worked at home. At best, they would be able to contain. The philosophy of containment is one that Bangladesh have almost always favoured. Thus, spin and not pace is the rainmaker at home.
However, Mount Maunganui still provided Mehedi Hasan Miraz with plenty in a surface where pace dictated.
The question remains how Taskin will hone his swinging deliveries if the surfaces here are docile for pacers? Again, what happens when the next home Test comes around?
Even for batters, playing on such pitches will not develop the technique needed in South Africa or Australia for instance. The field settings, patience and strategies on display at Mount Maunganui may well be a one-off. And if Bangladesh truly want to excel, they need better nurturing of wickets and their pace battery. Mominul Haque acknowledged the media for their role in crying out for pacers in home Tests. Now, it’s up to the cricket structure to get in the game.

Tigers

land in Christchurch for 2nd Test
SPORTS REPORTER
A day after securing a historic away Test win over New Zealand at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, the Mominul Haque-led Bangladesh arrived in Christchurch on Thursday for the second Test, scheduled to begin on January 9.
“Next two days is now the process of getting the guys ready for the next Test,” Bangladesh’s Strength and Conditioning Coach Nicholas Lee said in a video message to the media yesterday after arriving in Christchurch.
“This morning [Thursday] some of the fast bowlers did some work in the gym just before we took the flight [to Christchurch]. Tomorrow [Friday], we will start looking at the rest of the players and decide how we can get them ready for the next match,” Lee added.
After an eight-wicket victory in the first Test, Bangladesh now lead the two-match series 1-0.