'The newcomers are hungry to do well'

The Tigers turned up at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday to kick off their preparations for the second and final Test, starting from Thursday, against South Africa. The conditions however were not conducive to training as the rain continued to pose the question whether the Mirpur Test was in danger of facing the same fate as the first Test in Chittagong.

The last two days of the first Test were washed out only to bring a premature death to what was going to be an exciting affair. So, everybody will pray for the sun to shine from Thursday onwards so that the Tigers can get the opportunity to give a fitting finish to an already memorable series against the formidable Proteas. This spirited Bangladesh side wants to play more Tests and they are very much aware of the fact that good performances against a team like South Africa will help them a lot.

"Put aside the result, if we can play good cricket against them [South Africa] then it will help us a lot against the other teams," opening batsman Imrul Kayes told reporters after an indoor practice session.

The rain however could not dampen the spirit of the home side, which is desperate to carry on with the good work of Chittagong. The left-handed opener at the same time reminded everybody that the South Africa team would also be hungry for success after the Tigers had dented their reputation in the ODIs.

"We were positive in batting, bowling and fielding in the Chittagong Test. We played positive cricket but were unlucky as rain came to spoil our progress. If we can continue to play with that confidence and execute the plans, the same thing can also happen here in Dhaka," said a confident Imrul.

He said that the team had changed a lot. "The atmosphere within the team has totally changed. Whoever comes in to the team, he knows that he will have to perform which is a very positive sign. The newcomers are hungry to do well and that's evident in their performance," he observed.

Overall Bangladesh's batting approach and application were fantastic in the first Test and Imrul credited that to the batsmen's own realisation. He also recalled the support of their head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who gave everybody the freedom to express themselves in the middle.

"He is one person who always encourages us to play with freedom and never imposes any restriction on playing shots."