‘Pitches at home don’t help us learn these trades’

It's all about the length here, of us getting them on the front foot and encouraging them to drive down the ground ... pitching the ball up and hopefully we can get 10 (wickets) pretty quickly again.

— Trent Boult

The pitch at the Hagley Oval threw specific challenges at Bangladesh which the Tigers are not yet close to unraveling after day two of the Christchurch Test.

The pitch looked green as a viper but that perhaps deceived the Bangladesh bowlers, who did not bowl optimum length to get that minimum movement. Bangladesh pacers struggled to use the favourable conditions but following a process can help them learn the trade of bowling on such surfaces. More importantly, it is the country's cricket structure that has to focus on pitches back home where bowlers can learn the trade.

The last time Bangladesh produced exciting wickets, which had everything for bowlers and batters, was during the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy, also known as the mini World Cup. The curator for those pitches was none other than Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a mentor to national team stars and also involved as national game development manager. If anyone can talk about surfaces, it is him.

What is a half volley on other surfaces becomes the most potent delivery at the Hagley Oval.

"It's the half volley length that troubles batters, provided you swing the ball. Our bowlers expected the swing from looking at the pitch, but it came as a shock when it didn't," Fahim dictated.

New Zealand’s elder statesman Ross Taylor, playing his 112th and final Test, received a guard of honour on his way to the middle from the Bangladesh players. PHOTO: AFP/TWITTER

"Their bowlers managed to get the swing. You don't have to be a Kiwi to swing the ball. Only the seam control gets you that swing, a wobbly seam is not going to do it. The seam has to be vertical so it swings in the air before pitching and the ball itself has to stay in air long enough for the swing to occur. Our bowlers didn't have that seam position which is the primary condition for swing and thus pitching further up may not have produced the movement needed," he added.

However, a pace unit lacking in experience cannot be expected to get it right on first opportunity.

"Particular pitches have different challenges and bowlers also have their natural lengths which are not easy to adjust. You need the experience and the knowledge to create artificial circumstances [at home] that bowlers can work with.

"Right now our home pitches don't have such conditions to learn those trades because here the batsmen can't provide the same challenge," Fahim dictated, pointing to the true bounce at the Hagley Oval which makes stroke playing easier than surfaces at home.

"At home we don't have people who think about pitches. There should be people with know-how regarding where the good grass, good fertilisers and the best soil are present. They can seek help from the agriculture department," Fahim said, but till date such a body with expertise on the matter has not been sought.

Bangladesh batting crumbled too on day two, slumping to 126 all out. Yasir Ali, who stayed the most still and played late, was able to show the most application. Tushar Imran, a veteran in the domestic circuit, believed lack of experience of such surfaces was showing.

"I think our batters are not accustomed to bat in such pitches and it will be harsh to blame them. The more our batters play on similar pitches at domestic competitions, it will help them to adjust whenever they go abroad," Tushar opined while he remained hopeful of gaining something for the future.

"It's not the end of the world and if we can display a better performance in the second innings, it will help us to gain confidence for the coming days."