'The boys saw how tough it can get at the next level'

Although Mahmudul Hasan Joy's unbeaten hundred eventually rescued the third and final four-dayer for Bangladesh A and secured a draw, their visiting West Indies counterparts clinched the series 1-0 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Joy's showed great patience during an unbeaten 114, which came off 268 balls and featured 14 fours. The right-handed opener batted for four sessions and was probably the only positive for the hosts in a series where their batters failed to make any sort of impression.

Bangladesh resumed the final day on 47 without loss with Joy at the crease on 28 with a mission to play out the day and save the game after the West Indies had posted a huge 461-run target.

Joy and Yasir Ali added 117 runs during a fourth-wicket stand before the latter was dismissed after scoring 67. But the partnership went a long way to ensuring the hosts would avoid yet another defeat against a confident Windies side and eventually saw the hosts end up on 306 for 4.

However, it was not a satisfying series for the hosts when it came to performances and displaying their longer-version mentality with both bat and ball as the visitors dominated the majority of the three games, winning the second four-dayer.

According to selector Habibul Bashar, it was a tough series where the visitors tested the hosts and posed a good challenge. "I think it was a good practice for the boys. The series showed the boys how tough things can get at the next level. I think the wicket was very good and the West Indies A team tested us and posed a good challenge," Bashar told The Daily Star yesterday.

Interestingly, Joy's century in the third and final four-dayer was the only hundred scored by a Bangladesh A batter in the series although Shahadat Hossain Dipu also impressed with a few knocks.

Mominul Haque was included for the third and final game as part of preparations for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan later this month but the left-hander was unable to make an impact. Although Bashar backed the proven campaigner, the former Bangladesh captain was disappointed by the performances of the top order in the series.

"It was a one-off game for Mominul and he missed out. It would have been good if he could have spent some time at the crease. But I am not worried about Mominul since he is a proven cricketer. But we did expect some better performances from the others. I am not happy with the batting, especially the top order, and I felt we could have done better. I think our bowlers could also have bowled better than they did," he said.

Despite the fact that Bangladesh lost the series, Bashar believed such tough outings against quality opponents helped selector gauge players better.

"As selectors, we follow a lot of things. Despite the fact that we count the performances in the domestic leagues, playing against an international opponent allows us to see whether they can replicate their performances in the domestic circuit onto the international stage. So from that aspect, such series give us ideas about who is prepared to play at the next level in future," Bashar added.