‘Good players on good wickets will lead to good cricket’

Harry Tector is amongst the few Irish cricketers who have been roped in by teams in the ongoing 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The Sylhet Strikers' batter, who recently hit a match-winning half-century against Khulna Tigers, spoke to The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin about how he is enjoying his debut season at the BPL and what he hopes to achieve in his career. The excerpts of the interview are given below:

The Daily Star (DS): This is your first BPL. Tell us about your experience so far.

Harry Tector (HT): My experience so far has been great. From a cricketing point of view, it's competitive and tough which is awesome for me. So yes, I am enjoying it here so far.

DS: You have been to Bangladesh a few times before with the Ireland team. Any fond memories here from your previous visits?

HT: This is my fourth time here. The first time I came here to Bangladesh was with the Ireland Under-19 team for the World Cup in 2016 and also travelled here with the A team in 2022 and eventually toured with the senior team in 2023. All three visits were different experiences. I think when I first came here during the Under-19 World Cup I was about 15 or 16 years of age. The first game that I played was against India in Mirpur and actually it was the first time I played in a proper stadium which was televised on TV and I don't think I would ever forget that. It was an amazing memory.

DS: You have already made a mark playing franchise cricket in West Indies and now in Bangladesh. Where do you want to see yourself in the coming years?

HT: I definitely feel I have a long way to go in all formats really. It's great to play franchise cricket all across the world where you meet new players and learn things and that's the thing that motivates me. I just want to be the best cricketer that I can be. Coming here and playing in different sorts of wickets and trying to adjust and take the challenge and hopefully play a lot of franchise cricket in future.

DS: Do you think the surfaces used in BPL are ideal for T20s?

HT: It's different and there's definitely been some challenging wickets. I think the wicket that we played on yesterday (Friday) was the best so far and the scores reflect that. When you put good players on good wickets you will get to see some good T20 cricket.

DS: What adjustments did you have to make while playing in the BPL?

HT: You are always going to get troubled by the spinners when you are playing on spinning wickets. I had the experience of playing here in the past where I sort of faced quite a few of the local bowlers. I think this is the biggest adjustment when you play here compared to Ireland where it has more pace than spin.

DS: Is there are any Bangladeshi player you look up to?

HT: Growing up I used to look up to Tamim Iqbal and I just loved the way he took the game on. I remember his hundred at Lords against England and when Ireland played against Bangladesh back in the 2011 World Cup where he scored a boundary off the first ball and I loved the way he played. Had the opportunity to play against him when he was the captain. Looking up to him growing up and being able to play against him is amazing.

DS: Can you describe the domestic structure of Ireland? As a new Test nation, how exciting it is to be a part of the elite format?

HT: There are four provincial teams that in the past have only played 50-over and T20 cricket and we haven't played first-class longer cricket since Covid-19, which is disappointing. I guess the schedule poses challenges as there probably aren't enough quality players to play domestic cricket without the national team players. But I think this summer there are some plans for red-ball cricket and you know you have to do that if you want to play Test cricket and I believe it's the ultimate test for any cricketer. I think you need to play more Test matches to improve and I think we have played just eight matches so far. Hopefully this year we can get our first win.

DS: You were born into a cricketing family. Your brothers Jack and Tim Tector have also led the Ireland U19 team. But you are the first one in the family to make it to the senior side. Tell us more about the cricketing culture in your family.

HT: I guess we are all cricket-mad in the family playing cricket in the backyard garden. It's out of pure love towards cricket. It's not that we were pushed into cricket. My dad loved the game but he never forced us to take cricket as a profession. I also have a younger sister who is 15 and probably it won't take long for her to represent the national team as well which would be amazing. Cricket has a massive part in our lives and this sport has given us a lot and we are grateful for that.