SICS wicket the point of interest

The venue for the first Test starting tomorrow between Bangladesh and New Zealand, the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS), had hosted only a solitary Test previously.

Both teams have had a chance to make their mind up about the type of wicket that will dished out through several training sessions.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto kept his assessment of the surface a mystery, while Kiwi captain Tim Southee adopted an optimistic approach saying he expects a good surface.

"Maybe tomorrow you'll get a clear idea. As players, we tried to steal as many ideas as we could. When the game begins, we will have more precise information," Shanto told the reporters in the pre-match press conference yesterday.

"We took a little look at the wicket. There haven't been a lot of Test matches here. So, there's not a lot of information and statistics to go back on. We are expecting a pretty good surface," Southee said.

The match will be only the second-ever Test at the venue, with the previous being Zimbabwe's 151-run win over Bangladesh in 2018.

Spinners from both sides did the damage in that instance as they claimed a total of 32 wickets,