Bangladesh are paying the price for not converting theirs starts, feels former batting coach David Hemp.
West Indies are on the brink of claiming a 1-0 series lead in Antigua as they are only three Bangladesh scalps away from a comfortable win after their batting unit failed miserably in the second innings of the opening Test. By stumps on the third day, Bangladesh are 109/7 and they still need 225 runs to win, reports Cricbuzz.
West Indies declared their first innings for 450 runs on the back of contributions from Mikyle Louis (97) and Alick Athanaze (90) along with Justin Greaves' maiden Test hundred. Bangladesh on the other hand declared at 269-9 to have a go at the batting unit of the opponents from the very beginning of the day but missed the opportunity to post a higher total on the board as neither Mominul Haque (50) nor Liton Kumar Das (40) or Jaker Ali (50) could make a big hundred.
Hemp, who was recently replaced by Mohammad Salahuddin as the batting coach of Bangladesh national team, feels this is an area of concern for them.
“That's a part of batting as well (converting the 50s into 100s),” Hemp told the media on Tuesday. “Getting a start, and once you get a start convert those starts. So that's another part of batting. As a batter you want to score runs and to do that you gotta get in and once you get yourself go on for as long as you possibly can.”
“I just think it's an ongoing process as I previously said, from my time going back six months ago. It's an ongoing process, there's no quick fix. I'm not there in the West Indies now so I don't know what's going on there. You ask what's the problem, it goes back to decision making and that doesn't change. It's a continuous thing,” he said.
“Australia has been going through the same, they have just been knocked over, now they looking at what happened and what they need to do. So we are just going to keep doing the same thing and keep preparing to play and perform,” he added.
Hemp said that he is impressed with the way Jaker Ali is trying to cement his place in the longer format. "That's a role he (Jaker Ali) certainly seems to be enjoying. He is contributing. That's all you can ask - putting performances in game. And certainly he seems to be adjusting well to the opportunities and taken the opportunities that's been given," Hemp said about Jaker, who scored two fifties in two Test matches.
Hemp added that youngsters should grab the opportunity in the absence of senior cricketers as the tourists are missing Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain in the ongoing Test series due to their respective injuries.
"The experience obviously helps, but at the end of the day, the experienced players are injured and you have to provide the opportunity to someone else and you have to play with what you got," said Hemp. "These players have been given the opportunity and responsibility because I'm sure the selectors think they can perform. But any team around the world when you lose experienced player goes through a similar thing. You just gotta make the most of the opportunity and it gives the selectors to see someone new."
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
