Test batting is a concern: Rhodes
Photo - Cricfrenzy
||CF Correspondent||
Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes insisted that their batting approach in Test cricket need to be addressed and they are looking forward to eradicating their shortcomings.
The Tigers failed to score over 200 runs in last seven innings and it clearly indicates the batting approach remained a major concern for them for quite some time.
Bangladesh posted 143 runs in their first innings against Zimbabwe and left everyone guessing considering it was a flat wicket and they could have easily scored more than that. But it certainly did not happen because of the way they batted.
“I think the form of our Test team’s batting is something we need to improve desperately. The two matches in the West Indies was very difficult for Bangladesh. But in this first innings, it is on our home wicket, it was disappointing.
“Both Australia and England struggled in difficult conditions here. We can’t be too aggressive and nasty towards our batsmen. They are trying hard to do well,” Rhodes told reporters.
“I believe they are good players. They need confidence. If you look at the way they played tonight, they showed different sort of application. If we can carry it on tomorrow, we are in for a cracking game of cricket,” he said.
Rhodes thinks that the team need to change their mentality in order to excel in the longer format cricket but denied they were complacent about their opponent.
“I don’t think they took the Zimbabwe bowlers lightly or were complacent. Chatara said that we were in one-day mode. We worked all week to eradicate the white-ball shots. But in the first innings, we sadly wafted at a few. We are on a learning curve. Some have played a lot of cricket, so they don’t need to be told all the time. I tried to remind them that in these sorts of wickets, you get your Test statistics high,” said Rhodes.
“They know that they should have cashed in and made some big runs, but it wasn’t to be. It was a very sad performance, but they have a great chance to put it right. Through some wonderful bowling from Taijul, the other spinners and Rahi, we are in a position that it is ‘game on’,” he added.
