Bangladesh pacers started the morning session on the second day of their three-day warm-up against Cricket Australia XI on the front foot, with Hasan Mahmud castling Josh Phillipe with just his second delivery of the day at the DXC Arena in Darwin yesterday.
However, by the end of the day, the Bangladesh team management must have been left wondering who would be their third seamer in the first Test in Darwin, starting on August 13, as CA XI posted 355.
With Shoriful Islam ruled out of the first Test and Nahid Rana set to miss the entire series due to injuries, the performance of Khaled Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain yesterday will hardly have made the decision easier.
Hasan found the best lengths for the surface early and reaped the rewards, finishing with a four-wicket haul. Taskin Ahmed at the other end also started promisingly, and the two premier quicks held their own for most of the day. In between, however, Khaled and Ebadot were left disappointed that they did not make more of their opportunities.
While Hasan was almost always on the money with his lengths, the others were not as consistent. Khaled and Ebadot were often guilty of failing to consistently hit a zone that tested the batters.
Khaled, though, started brightly, moving the ball away from left-handers and hitting the shoulder of the bat on several occasions while extracting steep bounce. Ebadot also tested the batters and got among the wickets, with left-hander Jack Clayton unable to control a pull shot and holing out at deep fine-leg.
Yet, while both bowlers produced edges, with a few flying past or through the slip cordon for boundaries, they also bowled boundary deliveries, erring in line as well. Their shorter lengths allowed the batters to get behind the ball and punish anything short on a wicket that was not typically Australian. As the wicket baked under the sun, the pace on the surface became more batting-friendly.
Bangladesh also had to deal with the injury Taijul Islam suffered while batting on the first day, which saw him rested from bowling in the CA XI first innings yesterday, with pacer Musfik Hasan taking his place. Despite the perseverance of Taskin and Hasan, pressure was released by the other three pacers, with Khaled going at an economy rate of 4.13, Ebadot 5.07 and Musfik 9.50.
Teague Wyllie (130) and Jake Doran (76) put together a 166-run sixth-wicket stand before lone spinner Mehidy Miraz removed the latter. Ebadot and Khaled managed one wicket each, and with Shoriful and Nahid unavailable for the first Test, it will come down to which of the two gets the nod.
However, their recent red-ball numbers will hardly make the decision easier. Since returning from an ACL injury, Ebadot has played four Tests, taking just one wicket at an average of 290 and an economy rate of 4.08. Khaled, meanwhile, has taken six wickets in his last four Tests at an average of 38.5 and an economy rate of 3.6.
Either will, however, have to replace Bangladesh’s fastest quick Nahid, who bagged 11 wickets in two Tests this year alone. With at least three pacers expected to feature in the first of the two-Test series, the Tigers’ team management faces a difficult decision over who to trust with the third spot.
