Reverse swing and bouncers have been the major source of trouble for Bangladesh batsmen in the three-match T20I series against Pakistan in Lahore.
In order to counter the threat in the forthcoming two-game Test series, Bangladesh Test batsmen, who are currently in Dhaka, are preparing under the supervision of Tigers batting consultant Neil McKenzie.
After losing the first two matches, Bangladesh have already conceded a series defeat and will take on Pakistan in the last T20I Monday with the aim of avoiding a humiliating whitewash.
Bangladesh will return home tomorrow and will travel to Rawalpindi in Pakistan next month for the first Test, starting on February 7.
McKenzie is one of the five Bangladesh coaching staff members to have refused to travel to Pakistan.
@BCBtigers head coach Russell Domingo has termed the wickets in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium as average following his side’s nine-wicket defeat against host @TheRealPCB in the second and penultimate Twenty20 international Saturday.https://t.co/kmYjtUh47b#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #PCB
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 25, 2020
The former South Africa cricketer opted to stay in Dhaka and work with probable members of the Test squad at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
“I am spending time with the Test players and it has been really good by getting to know some of the new players well enough and just try to upskill them. Obviously they did not have good results in the last few months but it does not make anybody a bad player. It is more about upskilling the player and builds cricket awareness. I think with the Test side, it’s about the bouncing ball and even though we will play in the sub-continent and in Pakistan, we know it's going to be a good wicket and it will be quick,” said McKenzie to the media Sunday.
Explaining the work being done to resist the Pakistan pacers, McKenzie said, “We will be doing some preparation on facing reverse swing and just game preparation as they have got a few good left-arm seamers and luckily we have got some left-arm seamers and just talking about angles and try to make an impact on where you can bat and make the game a little easier.”
Bangladesh’s batting unit has been struggling in Pakistan, registering below-par totals batting first in both the first and second T20I.
This has come amid major experiments with the batting line-up that consists of five full-time openers.
Following defeat in the first T20I against @TheRealPCB, @BCBtigers skipper @Mahmudullah30 defended the Tigers opening pair and admitted Bangladesh were probably 10-15 runs short on a pitch where playing big shots immediately was tough for batsmenhttps://t.co/zF0yyLSomJ#BCB #PCB
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) January 24, 2020
McKenzie believes it is not ideal given that Bangladesh have a relatively young batting unit and that it is not easy for top-order batsmen to bat in the middle-order as it is completely a different ball game altogether.
He is also of the opinion that his compatriot Russell Domingo, the head coach of Bangladesh, is trying to settle down with the side.
“I think obviously it’s not ideal but I think you have got to look at the combination about who is playing. Obviously Russell being a new coach is trying different combinations but I think at the moment we have got too many batsman batting at 1, 2, and 3 and if you look at the squad they are all quality players, and they all bat in the top order,” McKenzie explained.
“It’s a different skill batting at 4, 5 and 6 because you are facing a quality spinner and it’s totally a different mindset because you have to know your game and try and rotate the strike and go for boundary options. There is lot of inexperience in that squad and we knew that when we selected the squad, but it's still disappointing,” the Bangladesh batting consultant added.