Bangladesh suffered a heavy defeat against South Africa by a margin of 333 runs in the first Test match and captain Mushfiqur Rahim blamed the bowlers for a poor performance in the first innings at Senwes Park.
When asked to explain if his decision to field first after winning the toss was a right one, the Bangladesh skipper said he expected a lot more from his bowling department on day one.
The Tigers managed to take only one wicket on day one and it was a run-out caused by a mix- from the South Africa openers Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram.
Bangladesh had to wait until 117.3 overs to get a wicket (by the bowlers) when paceman Shafiul Islam dismissed No 3 batsman Hashim Amla.
Eventually, Bangladesh bowlers were only able to take eight wickets in the Potchefstroom Test, compared to the 20 the Proteas bagged.
Three of those eight South African wickets were picked up by part-time spinner Mominul Haque.
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“You can say we should have batted first on a flat wicket but I don’t believe our bowlers can’t bowl on a flat wicket. At least they could have bowled the right line and length, if not take wickets. This skill gets you to play for the national team. Even I could have bowled two balls out of six in the right place. The bowlers disappointed me a lot in the first innings. A team get benefitted if you can at least contain the runs when you can’t take wickets,” a dejected Mushfiq said during the post-Test press conference yesterday.
“How long will we keep giving this excuse? If they don’t play well, they would be playing five or 10 Tests in 10 years. We have to find an alternative if they are not doing well. One has to develop these skills individually. I don’t think anyone can teach you these things. Our bowling unit has improved, like our batting has over the last five years. They must have the hunger to do well. They can at least bowl in the right areas, forget about swinging the ball both ways. You don’t need a coach to help you if you want to do it yourself. You represent your country to bowl five out of six balls in the right place. We have a lot to learn as a bowling unit and for that, the bowlers need to show passion,” he explained.
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Mushfiq also admitted that their batsmen should have batted better in the second innings.
“When you are playing against 500-odd runs, it is a different mindset. I think rather than giving excuses, we have the chance to improve ourselves in these areas. We just fell behind in the first innings. It is not just the bowlers but the batsmen too who got out after getting set. If we could have had one or two 100-plus partnerships, there would have been a bigger total. Our batting and bowling wasn’t up to the mark,” the 30-year old concluded.