Bangladesh are fully prepared as they head into the first Test match against New Zealand in Chittagong today, coach Shane Jurgensen and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim insisted on Tuesday.
The Tigers have been preparing for this series since June, when fitness trainer Stuart Karppinen held a fitness camp before coach Shane Jurgensen placed his attention towards skills-training.
The home side also got some competitive cricket action under their belts in the Dhaka Premier League, an intense competition unlike any other domestic competition in the country.
The only thing that prevented Mushfiq from saying that their preparation was ideal was the absence of enough match practice with the red ball, which is always deemed necessary for Test cricket.
Since returning from Zimbabwe in May, the Bangladeshi cricketers have played just one longer-version match with the red ball, but the four-day warm-up match in Khulna understandably failed to provide everyone with enough opportunities.
‘I think if we had played the longer version a bit more then it would have been good,’ said Mushfiq, who is now drawing confidence from the performances in the DPL.
‘At the same time, if you notice, we had a number of games in the DPL.’
‘If we had played at the centre wicket for two to three days it would have been good for us, as we would have been habituated.
‘Unfortunately, we could not do that because of the weather, but I feel that if it affects us, it will affect them three times more because they could not play the practice match either.
‘So I think preparation may not have been that ideal, but the way the players have played and also performed in the DPL, everyone is confident going into the Test match,’ said Mushfiq.
Unlike the skipper, coach Jurgensen had only reservations with the last five days of preparation, which were badly interrupted by weather, with incessant rain confining the team mostly to the hotel and to the indoor facility.
Asked if he felt any pressure of expectations, Jurgensen said that, barring the last five days, Bangladesh had a long preparation period for the series, which should be enough for meeting any home expectations.
‘Oh, I can let you know in five days’ time [about the pressure],’ said the Australian. ‘But we have had a long preparation. The last five days haven’t been ideal obviously, with the weather, but that’s been same for both the teams.
‘From our perspective, we have been preparing for this series since June and we have had our fitness camp, so we have done a lot of work before we came to Chittagong and the boys’ attitude has been fantastic in the last five days.
‘I am full of admiration for them and the way they approached the last five days,’ he said.
Mushfiq added that instead of being too concerned with New Zealand, Bangladesh were thinking about their own game-plan. The Tigers beat New Zealand 4-0 in the last One-Day series between the sides – a record that Mushfiq said brought some motivation as well as some challenges.
‘We are obviously motivated because of the win in 2010, but to be honest, Test cricket is a different ball game altogether,’ he said.
‘Our bigger challenge is with ourselves, rather than against them, because we are playing Test cricket after a long time.’
Bangladesh v
New Zealand
1st Test, Day 1 live on
GTV and BTV from 9:30am
-With New Age input
