CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh — Captain Mushfiqur Rahim insisted Wednesday that Bangladesh would not use its long break from Test cricket as an excuse as it seeks a first victory over England in the game’s longest format.
While Bangladesh has inflicted embarrassing defeats on England in ODI and Twenty20 cricket, it has lost all eight of its Test matches and is desperate to break that sequence in the next fortnight.
Given that Bangladesh has not played a Test match for 15 months, it could be forgiven for being somewhat ring-rusty when the first contest in a two-match series begins Thursday in Chittagong.
But Rahim said the host would not dwell on its lack of five-day cricket and instead seek inspiration from its vastly-improved form in the shorter formats.
“If we start thinking about these things, then we are going on the back foot,” he told a press conference.
“Now is the time to play and we are focusing on that. Being a professional cricketer you cannot say that we have not played for the last 15 months.
“The important thing is how you can do well in the coming five days. We are not concentrating on not having played for a long time.”
Once the whipping boys of international cricket, Bangladesh’s performances in limited overs have earned it respect and it is no longer regarded as pushovers — especially on home turf.
It won six consecutive ODI series at home in a sequence dating back to November 2014, before England’s narrow 2-1 victory earlier this month.
“The last two years we played ODIs very consistently. We did not win all the matches but the graph has been on an upward path,” said Rahim. “So we want that we can become a team like that in Tests too, that we can play better and better with each Test.”
The second Test against England will start in Dhaka on October 28 before the tourists head to India.
NZ struggles for answers
New Zealand’s batsmen are struggling for answers against India’s bowling attack, Black Caps pace spearhead Trent Boult conceded Wednesday, before the second One-Day International in New Delhi.
The Kane Williamson-led side mustered just 190 runs in the opening match in Dharamsala earlier this week, a total which India chased down in just 33.1 overs.
“We are looking to get more runs, as basic as it sounds. If we could put more runs on (the) board we could offer more scoreboard pressure on a good Indian side,” Boult told reporters on the eve of Thursday’s game.
“They are a quality side and they are putting a lot of pressure on us at the moment and at the moment we don’t have the answers for their questions,” said Boult, whose teammates were whitewashed by their hosts in the Test series.
