2-0 whitewash comments irk Steven Smith

Australian captain thinks it will be a challenging series

Australia might have possessed a poor record in the sub-continent but Bangladesh’s public announcement over the Test series prediction of 2-0 whitewash irked the captain Steven Smith so much so that he didn’t hold him to irritate the hosts with their poor record in Test cricket.

“It’s pretty confident. Isn’t it? I think Bangladesh have won only nine out of their 100 game. So it’s very confident prediction,” Smith said. “But obviously they are confident about their skill set at the moment. They are in home. Most team played pretty well in home. Bangladesh have been playing well in home. So it’s gonna be a good challenge for us.”

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan earlier publicly predicted a 2-0 whitewash over Australia what however didn’t go well with Smith.

“The comment surprised me a little bit. Yes,” Smith further said.

Australia just won two matches off 20 in sub-continent in the last one decade but still they are confident about their chance because of their recent performance in Indian sub-continent earlier this year. They were beaten by 2-1 in the series but put up huge fight in every Tests, indicating that they are gradually being comfortable with the turning track.

“It’s a great challenge for my group of players to see what we have learned from India. Looking at the wicket I think it’s gonna be somewhat similar what we got in India. Hopefully we can learn from what we did there. And no doubt it’s gonna be an exciting series,” Smith pointed out.  

 Australia’s preparation for this series has been far from perfect, with just an intra-squad match in Darwin as the lead-up. Their lone warm-up game was also cancelled after the ground was deemed unfit.

However from Australia’s point of view, this is a must-win series for them. Should Australia lose 2-0, they would fall to sixth on the ICC Test rankings, their lowest ever. Smith was unfazed by the fear of rankings.

“I am not really thinking about ranking. For me it’s just about ensuring that our process are right going in to each game taking ball by ball as such. It’s been eleven years since we last played here. I am very excited about the series,” he added.

Both Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal will touch the landmark of playing 50th Test when the first Test starts today and Smith rated them as dangerous for their bowlers. At the same time, he touted Shakib and fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman as the threat for their batsmen.

“They (Tamim and Shakib) are good players and very experienced and could be dangerous on their days. Obviously they have never played any Test against Australia before. I guess that’s gonna be an exciting challenge for these guys.  But we have few plans for them and hopefully we keep them quite throughout the series.”

 

2-0 whitewash comments irk Steven Smith

Australian captain thinks it will be a challenging series

Australia might have possessed a poor record in the sub-continent but Bangladeshs public announcement over the Test series prediction of 2-0 whitewash irked the captain Steven Smith so much so that he didnt hold him to irritate the hosts with their poor record in Test cricket. Its pretty confident. Isnt it? I think Bangladesh have won only nine out of their 100 game. So its very confident prediction, Smith said. But obviously they are confident about their skill set at the moment. They are in home. Most team played pretty well in home. Bangladesh have been playing well in home. So its gonna be a good challenge for us. Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan earlier publicly predicted a 2-0 whitewash over Australia what however didnt go well with Smith. The comment surprised me a little bit. Yes, Smith further said. Australia just won two matches off 20 in sub-continent in the last one decade but still they are confident about their chance because of their recent performance in Indian sub-continent earlier this year. They were beaten by 2-1 in the series but put up huge fight in every Tests, indicating that they are gradually being comfortable with the turning track. Its a great challenge for my group of players to see what we have learned from India. Looking at the wicket I think its gonna be somewhat similar what we got in India. Hopefully we can learn from what we did there. And no doubt its gonna be an exciting series, Smith pointed out. Australias preparation for this series has been far from perfect, with just an intra-squad match in Darwin as the lead-up. Their lone warm-up game was also cancelled after the ground was deemed unfit. However from Australias point of view, this is a must-win series for them. Should Australia lose 2-0, they would fall to sixth on the ICC Test rankings, their lowest ever. Smith was unfazed by the fear of rankings. I am not really thinking about ranking. For me its just about ensuring that our process are right going in to each game taking ball by ball as such. Its been eleven years since we last played here. I am very excited about the series, he added. Both Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal will touch the landmark of playing 50th Test when the first Test starts today and Smith rated them as dangerous for their bowlers. At the same time, he touted Shakib and fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman as the threat for their batsmen. They (Tamim and Shakib) are good players and very experienced and could be dangerous on their days. Obviously they have never played any Test against Australia before. I guess thats gonna be an exciting challenge for these guys. But we have few plans for them and hopefully we keep them quite throughout the series.