Disappointed Zimbabwean coach Stephen Mangongo credited the Bangladeshis for their strong display and hoped his charges will bounce back from the dismal Test series. Mangongo, who has been in charge of the national side since early 2013, reasoned their poor batting behind the unsuccessful run of form and urged his players to come up top in all the three departments.
“Well I am very disappointed by our failure in the three Tests, it’s never good to lose whitewash but we must give credit to Bangladesh. They really played very good cricket in their home conditions, but now its water under the bridge,” said Mangongo after their practice session at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.
“It’s a new chapter, going to the one-day series, we are looking forward. I think it will be a close-fought competition, most of the one-day games are always bitter and tough between these two nations and I expect the same,” said the 44-year-old before adding, “The Tigers (Bangladesh cricket team) in their own jungle are dangerous, we still have to be worried because they hunt very well in their territory.”
“We need to make sure the batsmen come to party because that’s the reason why we lost, when we bowled well in the first Test we didn’t bat well, when we batted well in Khulna we didn’t bowl well, so yes the jigsaw puzzle is that we need to make sure all our three departments come to the party so that we can get a good result.”
The young spinners did not perform to their potential in the Test series, but Mangongo sounded confident with the rookies ahead of the five-match one-day series. Four players have recently joined the ODI squad as Mangongo said, “We hope that the young guys will bring freshness into the team, we hope that they will start their international career on a bright note. We have got Peter Moore, Solomon Mire, who played in Australia, these boys are starting their international career and we wish them well.”
