Bowlers under scrutiny

Bangladesh’s upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup campaign in the United Kingdom unofficially began with the tri-nation ODI series in Ireland, which was a successful start to their preparations. This is not just because the Tigers won the series -- their first ever multinational trophy -- but also due to the few positive aspects to take note of.

Now, after arriving in England, the Bangladesh team are participating in a training camp in Leicester. The Tigers’ team management will look to work on a few key areas, especially the bowling department, whose wastefulness was to some extent the only drawback of their tri-nation series campaign.

Although there were a few individual performances from pacers like Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed, Mohammad Saifuddin and Rubel Hossain, the only exceptional performances came from Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. Mashrafe remained the sole consistent seamer for the side, bagging six wickets in four games.

It will be crucial for the inexperienced members of Bangladesh’s fast bowling line-up to perform their individual duties well according to the game plan while keeping in mind the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses if the Tigers are to continue their fine form.

Mustafizur did show a glimpse of his previous brilliance in the second match against West Indies, where he picked up four wickets from nine overs for 43 runs. More importantly, his lines and lengths along with his cutters were lethal. However, the left-arm seamer’s lack of consistency is still a concern for the team management ahead of the gruelling quadrennial mega event, where Mustafizur is expected to play a pivotal role.

Rubel and Saifuddin will also have to play according to their roles, whether it be taking early wickets with the new ball, containing runs in the middle or even restricting the batsmen from playing big shots in the latter stage of the innings.

On the other hand, despite picking up a maiden five-wicket haul in just his second ODI, Jayed is still considered as a back-up player while the experienced Mashrafe could provide variations in the fast bowling department at any stage of the game.

This will not be an easy task though, especially on the pitches in the United Kingdom, which are expected to offer a lot of runs this summer. In the spin department, it will be Shakib Al Hasan to lead the proceedings with his vast experience. The emergence of Mehedi Hasan Miraz as the second specialist spinner in the line-up will is certainly a huge relief for the team think-tank, however, Bangladesh certainly knows that the biggest test for the bowlers is yet to come.