‘The bounce is definitely a little extra’ – Mohammad Ashraful on Bangladesh’s batting woes in Zimbabwe

Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Ashraful has admitted that his batters are finding it difficult to adjust to the extra bounce on offer in Zimbabwe. Despite arriving in the country on the back of four consecutive Test victories, Bangladesh suffered a crushing innings defeat in the one-off Test against the hosts.

The visitors had also entered the ODI series with confidence after winning four successive bilateral ODI series. Bangladesh now face a must-win second ODI in Harare on July 9 to keep the series alive. Ahead of the crucial encounter, Ashraful, who made his international debut against Zimbabwe in Harare, stressed the importance of adapting quickly to the local conditions.

“Our batsmen played very good cricket in our home country for the last seven months. We came to Zimbabwe on our last tour in 2022, and we had to struggle there too. We still haven’t been able to do well in the two innings of the Test match and this first ODI. Maybe we couldn’t make the adjustment in this place. The bounce is definitely a little extra. Although for the last seven months we have tried to play on good wickets in Bangladesh and were playing well, the conditions here have a little extra bounce,” said Ashraful as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Ashraful was full of praise for Zimbabwe’s pace attack, admitting that their height and ability to generate extra bounce have posed a major challenge for Bangladesh’s batters. Zimbabwe’s pace attack is spearheaded by the towering 6ft 7in Blessing Muzarabani and 6ft 6in Richard Ngarava, while Brad Evans, who stands at 6ft 1in, and Newman Nyamhuri, at 5ft 11in, add further variety to the seam department.

“Since I made my debut against Zimbabwe, I have played in these conditions. I think the pace bowling unit that Zimbabwe has now is a very good one. They are tall and they are getting extra bounce from these wickets. Our batsmen may be missing that area, but we are working on it,” said Ashraful.

Despite the disappointing start to the tour, Ashraful has backed Bangladesh’s batting unit to respond strongly in the remaining matches. Ashraful also highlighted the larger boundaries in Zimbabwe as another factor that has tested the visitors. According to him, a combination of challenging conditions and a lack of luck contributed to the team’s struggles.

“I am sure that in the next two matches our batsmen will get into their rhythm, God willing. The mistakes that they made, they will recover from in the next two matches. Of course, we did not expect the performances we have produced. I am sure that in the next two ODIs and three T20Is, our batsmen will perform the way they have been playing in Bangladesh over the last six months,” said Ashraful.

“I would say we were a little unlucky. Especially in the last ODI, if you notice, those who got out early were a little unlucky as all the shots they played went into the hands. One thing is that when we play in Bangladesh, the boundary size is around 60-65 metres, but here it is almost 73-75 metres,” he added.

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