Bangladesh’s pace bowling coach Heath Streak expects his charges to trouble the West Indian batsmen in the upcoming tour after a raise of confidence in the last series against India. Bangladesh included four pace bowlers in their 15-member one-day squad for the tour that also featured two Tests and a Twenty20 International. Experienced Mashrafee bin Murtaza and Rubel Hossain will be backed by young Al-Amin Hossain and Taskin Ahmed, who made an impressive debut in the home series against India.
Taskin picked up five wickets on his debut and followed that with two more wickets in the washed out third ODI to remain the only highlight of the series for the Tigers, who were humbled by a second string Indian side 2-0.
‘Our seam bowlers will play an important role considering the way they fared in the last series.’ Streak told New Age on Thursday.
‘If they can start well in the upfront it is going to be a lot easier for the spinners to take control of the middle and late overs,’ said Streak.
Streak, who was appointed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the next two years on a day-to-day basis, returned to Dhaka on Wednesday to prepare the bowlers for the series.
Taskin and Al Amin left the former Zimbabwean skipper highly impressed as he feels that the duo has the potential to make their mark in the Caribbean.
‘Both Taskin and Al-Amin bowled well against India and certainly it raised their confidence,’ said Streak.
‘Taskin got a strong fast bowling physique. He is tall, has got good pace and if he can achieve some good control and can land the ball in right areas he is going to trouble even the best batsman in the world.
‘It is just a case of how he develops himself to bowl at the highest level.’
The return of Rubel, who was overlooked for the India series, also made Streak happy.
‘I’ve got lot of admiration for Rubel and looking forward to his return because he has got the raw pace,’ said Streak. ‘He runs in and bowls hard and straight. Having him will certainly bolster our strength.
‘He missed out on the last series so he will have some points to prove and will be looking to reestablish himself in the team.
‘Mashrafee is a proven performer and young players expect him to do what he had done in the past. It’s good to see the senior players like him leading from the front,’ said Streak.
Though he is only in charge of pace bowlers, Streak said that the absence of suspended all-rounder Sakib al Hasan will hurt the cause of the team.
He urged Abdur Razzak and Sohag Gazi to raise the performance to make up for the absence of Sakib.
‘In the India series there was not a lot of spin and still Sakib bowled really well,’ he said.
‘Razzak didn’t bowl as well as he would have liked. But he has lot of experience and he is also a match-winner. Sohag has got some good potential and he is working hard to regain his form back.’ said Streak.
Streak also backed Mahmudllah to play his part in the absence of their premium spinner.
‘There are part-timers like Mahmudullah, who has got a lot of experience. He can step up against West Indies who will be packing their line up with several left-handed batsmen,’ he added.
-With New Age input
