Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, has played down the advantage his team will have over Bangladesh in the upcoming Test series, despite having played more international matches, and in tough conditions, since the pandemic. He believes the hosts will still be the favourites in home conditions.
“I don’t think it will give us the edge,” Simmons said today. “I think Bangladesh will always have the edge no matter who they are playing at home, even though they haven’t played cricket for a year. They are a very strong side when they play at home.
“You can have a lack of international cricket but you will be training properly. It takes away the rust, which is only a mental thing. It will go away after the first couple of hours of the first day.”
However, with Bangladesh having not played any Tests since the pandemic outbreak, Simmons is hoping to exploit that as a possible opportunity for his team.
“I think the little bit of vulnerability could be early in the Test. They haven’t played Test cricket for a year now, and getting back might be a bit of vulnerability early on. I am sure that will soon be taken care of. They have a fairly experienced team with the likes of Tamim and Shakib. The vulnerability might not last too long but if it does happen, we have to seize the opportunity.”
Even as Bangladesh had fielded an all-spin attack the last time they had played in Chattogram, they have included five pacers in the squad for the upcoming series with a view of honing them for the future games abroad. However, given the nature of pitches that were offered to the hosts in the practice games, Simmons is confident that spinners will have a bigger role to play. However, he hasn’t ruled out the role of the pacers – who have remained the strength for the visitors in the longest format.
“All the bowlers bowled well (in the practice games). All the spinners bowled well. It is good to see that they have been able to adjust to the wicket, which are not like it is in the Caribbean. It was good to see them getting a chance to bowl some overs.
“There’s always a role for your fast bowlers and medium pacers. It is about them knowing and adjusting to what lengths and lines they have to bowl on these wickets.”
One of the key issues for West Indies in Test cricket in recent years, despite their success at home, has been the inability of the top order to post big scores and occupy the crease for long periods on a consistent basis. Simmons believes it is not a problem that ails only the senior national side but one that has its roots dug deep in the system.
“It does worry, but we are trying to put everything in place. We are trying to get the system to run as smoothly as we can. The more things we put in place, the more we will see these things being taken care of before they get to the international level. Although we are working hard to get them to change certain habits, we are also doing that at the lower levels to make sure we don’t have to do it with the next group after this one,” he said.
(Cricbuzz)
