da premier bet： Dav Whatmore, who coached Bangladesh to their maiden Test win in 2005, says the current team must beware complacency after going 1-0 up in the current series with Zimbabwe
da betsul： Devashish Fuloria01-Nov-2014Bangladesh won their first Test almost 10 years ago, beating Zimbabwe by 226 runs in Chittagong and ending a drought that had seen them lose 31 matches and draw three. If that win was thought to be harbinger of better times, it was not to be. Until the start of the current series, Bangladesh had played 27 Tests at home since their first win, before achieving their second home success in Dhaka last week.It has been a surprisingly bleak period for a team that has shown improvements in recent years, at least in familiar conditions. During the same period, they managed three wins overseas. At home to Zimbabwe, they were billed as favourites on account of their better bowling attack and batting suited to the local needs but their struggle in the first Test would have added new doubts. There are still two more Tests to play and there is one lesson they must revise: beware of complacency.Dav Whatmore was halfway through his coaching tenure when Bangladesh made history in 2005 and remembers it as a significant achievement for the team. What he remembers more clearly is the next Test, where Bangladesh almost paid the price of being complacent. In response to Zimbabwe’s first innings 298, Bangladesh were bowled out for 211 on a flat batting pitch.”We were 1-0 up in the series and we needed to play really well to win or draw,” Whatmore says. “The players didn’t really know the situation, as they found themselves in it for the first time. And really, they completely cocked it up. They did not bat well. Zimbabwe batted first, got a total. Bangladesh batted second and really should have been just as good as them but they were totally complacent.”The things we talk about as a coach – you have to expect them to come hard, you can’t be complacent, you do not give your wickets away. But we were really horrible. We gave up fairly decent lead to Zimbabwe. Then Zimbabwe went into bat and the wicket was still very flat. We couldn’t get them out.”Zimbabwe had a poor start to their second innings – they lost four wickets for 37 – but the then-captain Tatenda Taibu and Brendan Taylor fought on to revive Zimbabwe to 203 for 6 by the end of the third day. That meant a lead of 290 for the visiting team.”We had a team meeting, as we normally did during most evenings of the game, and on the third evening, we had a very important one,” Whatmore says. “Because it was time to make a decision. The scenario was put forward to the team: ‘You were complacent, you have given up the lead. Tomorrow, I doubt you are going to get them out on the fourth day. You will be batting whether you bowl them out of they declare. Question is: Do you go for the win or a draw?'”The first response was a bit surprising for Whatmore. A couple of players stated they wanted to go for a win. They were joined by a couple more. After allowing the discussion to go on for a while, Whatmore interjected and presented the scenario again.”After letting them go on for a bit, I told them that it was the fourth innings, pressure of chasing 400-odd, the wicket might play up a few tricks on the fifth day. ‘Are you serious about going for the win? If you draw the game, you win the series and it will be the first time ever for Bangladesh.'”There was a little bit of discussion after which it was agreed that we were going for a draw,” he says. “If that was the case, I said you cannot lose more than one wicket by stumps on the fourth day. By hook or crook, you must play straight, you must not repeat the mistakes you made in the first innings and you are only allowed one wicket. The wicket was still good if you played straight. They batted beautifully and it was very satisfying as a coach.”The Bangladesh openers set the template with an opening partnership of 133 which took them 83 overs and ate up a chunk of the last day. Although there was a wobble, the batsmen applied themselves and lasted 142 overs to pull off a draw and register their first series win. That success still hasn’t been repeated at home.There are similarities in the manner Bangladesh dropped their guard after their first win to how they played the first Test of the current series. After bowling Zimbabwe out, their batsmen let their advantage slip. The bowlers pulled them back again, but their batsmen found a way to make complicated a simple chase.”Throughout the three days, it looked like no team wanted to win the game,” Whatmore says. “The danger for Bangladesh would be to think it’s just going to happen. I hope it doesn’t because the complacency bit always comes in after you have won and with the expectations. The conditions will help the home team more.”The pitch will be abrasive, it will grip, but it won’t be as quick or have as much bounce as Dhaka. But if you play rash shots, if you don’t make the right decision, you can’t win a Test in a session, but you can go a long way in losing it. For a relatively inexperienced team, they got to be given targets. You have got to bat four sessions, minimum and you have got to last at least one session without losing a wicket.”Bangladesh have a positive example of how to close out a series. It is easy to find because it is the only one.
