Mominul finds strength in ‘limitations’

Mominul Haque brought up his ton by unleashing a ramp shot with ease. Bat raised, Mominul Haque twirled around. 786 days had passed since his bat had been raised to recognise a century. 26 months and 26 innings had passed between the ton in Pallekele against Sri Lanka and the ton he struck against Afghanistan in Mirpur yesterday.

The ramp shot is only let loose by players brimming with confidence. Mominul had taken some time to get to that mental state. If an uppercut is a show of versatility, Mominul was deriving inner strength from his limitations as a batter.

Square of the wicket on the off-side and flicks and drives through mid-on and mid-wicket were his most productive shots during the innings. The shots that he knew he could play with comfort came out strongly. The one thing that stayed with him was letting the ball come into his body or just close enough to play the deliveries.

Curbing instincts was about maintaining his processes.

"I played the way I always play Test cricket. There was not much change technically since you can't change something in a week or two and apply it in a Test. I stayed within my strengths," Mominul said at the press conference later yesterday.

When Tests come as sporadically as they do for Bangladesh and when you are a one-format player passionate about Tests, getting into a groove can be difficult.

Mominul was finding advantages from disadvantageous scenarios because the A team match against their West Indies counterparts was the only competitive action he got before this Test.

"The advantage for those who play Tests regularly is that they have limitations. You won't see them playing all around the wicket. They play two to three shots and that's what they focus on for a whole year. If that player knows his strengths or weaknesses, where to attack, and where the easy options are, then it becomes easier to practice those things. It doesn't mean you will be successful playing Tests after five months. But the chance of you being successful can increase.

"I feel that when I get a long time, I get time to prepare. Then you can prepare with visualisation and meditation. It works for me but may not for someone else," he added.

Mominul cited that the time when he struggled for form was 'terrible. "I think the last one (gap of 26 innings without century) was more painful," he felt.

But the shots flowed once he got his groove. When this reporter asked the left-hander if he reckoned that limitations in shot-making was turning out to be a strength, he replied: "Yes, because I tried to integrate my limitations to find my strengths. That's how I learned to succeed."