On Saturday (September 21), Bangladesh’s batting coach, David Hemp, expressed his concerns about the team’s inability to convert promising starts into significant scores. This issue surfaced once again during the second innings of their latest match, where openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam failed to carry forward their momentum despite initiating a promising half-century opening stand. Chasing a formidable target of 515 runs, Zakir and Shadman scored 33 and 35 runs respectively, only to be dismissed after playing rash shots.
Addressing the media at the post-match press conference, Hemp shed light on this pattern of getting decent starts only to falter before creating a significant impact. “It is something that we talk about. It goes without saying that you need to start well and once you have faced 20-30 balls, you get a bit of idea of what’s happening. You want to go on from that, especially when you have got 30-40 runs. You are generally in (at that stage),” Hemp stated.
Hemp’s comments underline the importance of leveraging the hard work put in at the start of an innings. “You have done the hard work, so make sure you cash in. We did it in patches in Pakistan. We will keep talking about it, and keep working on it in practice. We have to get ourselves in first, as that’s something we haven’t done well enough. If you go back to March (against Sri Lanka), we were not doing well enough. So we are doing that better. But once you get to 40-60 balls, ideally you bat 120 balls. When you do that, you will walk away with a reasonable reward,” Hemp explained.
Another aspect that Hemp discussed was the composition of the batting lineup, which features four left-handed batters in the top order. While having similar batting stances might appear advantageous from a bowler’s perspective, Hemp suggested that each batter is unique in technique and style. “I think yes, from a bowling lines’ point of view they are quite similar, but they are all different. They score off different lengths and have different strengths. Bit of yes and no. You mix and match the batting order in one-day cricket, but I don’t think that’s an issue for us,” clarified Hemp.
Regretfully, Hemp pointed out that the failure to capitalize on favorable batting conditions was indeed a missed opportunity.
. As the wicket eased out, a chance to bat long innings presented itself; however, the Bangladeshi batsmen fell short. Despite this, Hemp stressed that the team remains hopeful and aims to maintain a positive mindset moving forward. “I think India have won 17 Test series at home. Everyone knows how formidable they are anywhere in the world, particularly at home. We talked about the opportunities that present themselves. It has to be in the front of our mind otherwise there’s no point coming to compete,” he said.
Balancing awareness of potential threats and opportunities is crucial for the team, according to Hemp. He advocates for a proactive approach, emphasizing the importance of scoring whenever possible while being mindful of field placements and bowling strategies. “We understand that there are threats, but also look at opportunities. How can we impact the game from our strengths. As an example, nullify bowlers at certain times but be wary of where the fields are so that they can’t get into a pattern of bowling at one particular person. Look to score so that when they miss, we can cash in. Indian bowlers are also human. They won’t execute all the time. But if you are not looking to score, you will miss out on scoring opportunities,” Hemp elaborated.
He further underscored the necessity of adopting a competitive mindset, particularly against top-tier teams like India, England, and Australia. “If we are to challenge the top ranked teams like India, England, and Australia, that’s the mindset. In terms of days to bat, it’s still a good wicket. Yes, today we saw Ashwin got a couple of balls to bounce quite significantly. But it’s still a wicket where you can score runs. So for us, tomorrow is still a reasonable surface. 360 to win I think? Let’s see what happens tomorrow,” Hemp concluded with cautious optimism.
With this call to action, David Hemp hopes to inspire the Bangladeshi batters to not just get off to a good start but to convert those starts into meaningful scores, ensuring a stronger performance in future matches.