|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh batting in the just concluded series against Zimbabwe is the highlight of their achievement as the host cleanly swept away the visitors on the back of some good performance by their batting unit.

It was even more note worthy as they failed to avail the service of two of their best batsman- Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan. South African batting consultant Neil McKenzie deserves a lot of credit for the transformation. He spoke with reporters after the win in the third where emphasized different aspect of the game.

Here are the except:

Reason behind this success

I think the batters have done really well. There’s a lot of competition in the squad at the moment, which is good. We have Tamim and Shakib out so I am really happy for the guys who have come in and taken their chance. Imrul, Soumya and Liton have shown good form. At the domestic level too, Ariful got a double-hundred and Mominul also got a hundred. So I am also happy for them. They have just become really hungry. We talk about a lot of game plans among the coaching staff. Steve has put a lot of work into the mental side of things, and training up these guys. All the coaches have created an environment where we are asking questions, challenging the guys at practice. You don’t just go through the motions.They are all talented cricketers and work really hard. It is nice to see the rewards. Guy like Soumya has so much happening for him. He is a great striker of the ball, he is tall and imposing on the opposition. It is down to some confidence. He got a hundred against Zimbabwe in the warm-up game. He got some runs in the domestic games. It is all about confidence and trusting your game plans. I think they are allowed to be themselves in this environment. They have to bat like Soumya does. You can’t bat like anyone else. You have to trust your own style.

Transformation of Mohammad Mithun

Mithun has been good. He scored some vital 60s and 70s in the Asia Cup. He is showing some glimpses where he can be. He is playing Tests now. The coaching staff has good faith in him. I think he is a tremendous hitter of the ball. It is down to game plans: when to hit and when not to hit, and hit spaces. We talk a lot about the skillsets of a Bangladeshi batsman. There’s no use trying to bat like West Indians or South Africans. You have to bat like a Bangladeshi. Use your skills. Bangladeshi batsmen hit space. They should be agile between wickets. They are very skilled hitters. Hit space and run hard, and the big hits will follow. We have had some big sixes there. Guys were in good positions, and it comes from confidence.

Areas to work on

I would like to see similar consistency. Training hard and prepare for specific conditions and bowlers. When you have a lot of competition for places, you have to be consistent. It is no use getting a hundred and then nought, nought, five, seven. If you just look outside the squad and the guys who didn’t get to bat today, just look at how much batting you got. There’s a lot of batting coming through. There are options with the ball. It is all about competitions for places. It would make selection a little bit tricky. You have to select what’s best for the team, and you have to bind. The squad members who haven’t played, have been phenomenal off the field, in terms of their energy level.