Bangladesh's Mushfiqur disappointed after Test washout

Mirpur (Bangladesh), Aug 3 - Captain Mushfiqur Rahim feels the weather denied Bangladesh a chance to learn much in the Test cricket series against South Africa.

Six out of the 10 days in the two-match series were lost to rain after the second Test here was called off on Monday. Not even a ball was bowled in the last two days of the Chittagong Test and the last four days of the one here, reports bdnews24.com.

Bangladesh rarely get the chance to play Tests against top ranked South Africa. But such little action in the 0-0 drawn series left the hosts disappointed.

Mushfiqur said: "When the game is against the No.1 team, you could learn a lot. Perhaps we were denied that opportunity. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander consistently keep the batsmen under pressure while Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis rarely make mistakes."

Mushfiqur and his men wanted to study these aspects before their last series of the year in October. Bangladesh will square off against Australia, who are ranked second in Tests, in a two-Test series in their backyard.

A major concern for Bangladesh had been their batsmen's failure to stretch their innings after getting starts. No Bangladesh batsman could score a century in their last four Tests. Five batsmen with scores of 30 or above went back prematurely on the first day as Bangladesh slumped to 246/8.

"Getting out after scoring 30-35 is definitely a crime in Test cricket. Big scores help both the team and obviously oneself. Be it a hundred or more, it is crucial to win or draw a Test. But without, it becomes very difficult. It is our batsmen's next challenge. We have two more Tests this year. We will try to solve this problem," the 26-year old said.

Mushfiqur himself went through a poor spell with the bat. He recovered from it scoring 65 on the first day of the second Test. It was his first half-century after 11 innings. "The team played well. But as the captain you will always want runs from your bat so you can set an example for the team."

He scored his last century in West Indies in September and last fifty against Zimbabwe in October last year. "Feels good after making runs in the last innings. I had never lost my flow. I just could not prolong my (other) innings."

(IANS)