‘Bangladesh pose real threat to lot of teams’

Australia skipper Alyssa Healy believed that the recent experience in India would help her side adapt better for the upcoming multi-format tour of Bangladesh. 

Speaking ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh, Australia women's team captain Healy believed that the lessons learned in the recently concluded Women's Premier League (WPL) in India would benefit her side in Bangladesh.

As many as 10 Australia players from the ODI squad for the Bangladesh series, featured in the WPL. Healy stated that playing on the slow tracks in India could prove advantageous to Australia.

"Having that knowledge and experience, in particular coming from the WPL, the Delhi wicket, in particular, was a little bit low and a little bit slow which doesn't traditionally suit an Australian batting line-up," Healy said.

"I think there is enough experience within our group and enough communication in particular, to make sure that we're adapting to those conditions and still being able to score runs when they don't quite suit us.

"The nature of modern-day cricket is that you're constantly jumping from tournament to international cricket, and vice versa. So, I'd say to an extent, it's somewhat of an advantage coming from playing cricket."

Bangladesh have met Australia only thrice in international cricket, and all these meetings have come in ICC tournaments. Healy looked at the upcoming tour as a rare opportunity for her group.

"For the majority (of our squad), it is for the very first time to get the opportunity to play against the Bangladesh team, which outside of World Cups is a very rare thing for us. So it's an exciting opportunity for our group."

Bangladesh have impressed with their performance in recent times, having secured ODI wins over South Africa and New Zealand, while also winning and levelling the ODI series against Pakistan (2-1) and India (1-1) respectively.

Healy stated that her side wasn't taking Bangladesh lightly, and believed that they could pose a real threat in such conditions,

"I think if you look at their squad as a whole, they possess a lot of skill within their bowling attack. I think a lot of spin which is quite noticeable, a real challenge for teams not from the subcontinent," Healy said.

"Watching a little bit of the series they played recently against India in these conditions, they made it really challenging for that Indian batting line-up.

"I think Bangladesh pose a real threat to a lot of teams within the ODI Women's Championship in particular. They have fought their way into it and they've got the opportunity now to play against the top nations in the world, which I think is a great thing for our sport."

Beginning tomorrow Thursday (21 March), Australia will take part in a three-game ODI series against Bangladesh. This will be a part of the ICC Women's Championship. Then the side will stay on to feature in a three-match T20I series.

Schedule:

ODI series:

21 March, 1st ODI, Mirpur
24 March, 2nd ODI, Mirpur
27 March, 3rd ODI, Mirpur

T20I series:

31 March, 1st T20I, Mirpur
2 April, 2nd T20I, Mirpur
4 April, 3rd T20I, Mirpur