Bangladesh eye more sporting wickets at home after Ireland win

The pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium hogged the headlines leading up to the second Test against Ireland. It had all the reason too considering the black-soil wicket prepared for the home series against West Indies ahead of the Ireland series received criticism from all corners and as a result it did look like the home side would prepare a similar wicket for the Irishmen.

Since May 2022 when the hosts locked horns with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh played five Test matches at this venue prior to the Ireland series and none of them reached the fifth day's play. That only validates the fact that the hosts always backed their tried and tested formula against visiting teams at this venue.

However, it was not the case during the second Test against Ireland as the surface had something for everyone. Batters were able to pile on the runs, the spinners were effective as the game went on and most importantly, the match did enter Day 5. Former national skipper Khaled Mashud, BCB's grounds committee chairman, told reporters following the game that they are bound to produce sporting wickets.

"We will obviously try to produce this type of wicket going forward," said Masud. Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto welcomed it with both hands and insisted that Bangladesh needs these surfaces more frequently to grow as a Test nation.

"Of course we always want good wickets," Shanto said after the match. "Firstly, Mirpur's wicket behaved much better than how it is usually seen. Especially the bounce - there was true bounce even today," he said. "The wicket should be prepared based on the opponent's strengths - and we should take that advantage - that's what I personally believe," he said.

Shanto added that their skillset would improve if they prepare similar wickets. "I will also say that if all the wickets in Bangladesh, including practice facilities, are good - whether they are batting-friendly or offer support for bowlers - then our overall skill level will improve a lot. So as a cricketer, I hope the practice wickets we train on are more sporting," he said.

Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie also praised the Mirpur surface, admitting that his players carried preconceived ideas before arriving. "I think a lot of us had seen the West Indies one-day series and were a bit nervous coming here," he said. "But when we arrived, we thought it looked like a decent wicket, although we believed it would break up quite quickly. It didn't - it held together pretty well," said Balbirnie.

"It spun throughout, maybe except the first session on the first day where there wasn't too much turn. But there was turn, just not every ball turning square. I think it was simply a really good cricket wicket," Balbirnie added.