‘You will rarely find a team like this’

Mohammad Ashraful toured Australia as a player during Bangladesh’s last Test tour of the country in 2003. This time, however, he is in the Bangladesh dugout in a different role as the batting coach. Following Bangladesh’s dominant nine-wicket victory over Australia inside four days in the Darwin Test, Ashraful spoke to The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan about the team’s performance, how belief was instilled in the players after a difficult build-up, and other aspects of the historic victory. The excerpts are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): How much of this result was actually expected?

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Mohammad Asharaful (MA): The belief was there, but after the kind of result we had in the practice match, it was actually tough to measure how it would turn out. So, after losing the toss there, when we got to bowl, a different kind of belief sparked inside me, and our bowlers bowled extraordinarily well. Full credit actually goes to the players, the way they dominated.

After losing the toss there, when we got to bowl, a different kind of belief sparked inside me.

DS: You have been involved with Bangladesh cricket for so many years in different roles. Do you feel that Bangladesh have ever played Test cricket in a better way than this?

MA: This definitely has to be called our best performance because we have never really played this dominantly before. We won all 11 sessions. It was an extraordinary, extraordinary Test.

DS: Our build-up for the Test wasn't that great. We lost the series against Zimbabwe earlier, we lost a bowler like Nahid Rana before the Test, Shoriful wasn't playing the first Test either, and then 54 all out in the practice match. How did the belief of such performance being instilled within the team?

MA: We went to Zimbabwe and lost. But even before that, if you look, our Test record has been extraordinary. The first time Bangladesh had won four consecutive Test matches. So, coming here early and taking that preparation; we didn’t do well in the second innings of the practice match. But the preparation - even after that practice match went bad, the way the players kept their practice going. I would say our preparation was phenomenal. And every single player prepared excellently.

DS: You were part of the squad in 2003 as a player and played in that Darwin Test as well. Returning to Darwin after 23 years, how would you compare the two teams?

MA: If you look at our Test team, you will find very few teams in the world with this much experience. Most of the 11 players who played have 60, 80 or even 100 Test matches under their belts. You will rarely find a team like this. When we played, we had only two or three years of experience. This team, however, has players with 10, 12, 15 and even 21 years of experience.

Australia are obviously an extraordinary team, but we were no less than them, and I personally believed that. These conditions in Darwin are also very much like ours. The wicket is difficult for the first three or four hours, but after that it becomes better for batting. Even though we lost the toss, we got to bowl first and took advantage of that.

Australia are obviously an extraordinary team, but we were no less than them, and I personally believed that.

DS: Do you think Australia played poorly, or did Bangladesh simply outplay them? What do you think?

MA: No, this was a complete outplay. It’s not just me saying that, even Steve Smith said Bangladesh outplayed them. If you look at all 11 sessions, we didn’t lose a single session completely.

DS: As the batting coach, how satisfied are you seeing the performance of your batting unit? Everyone made a contribution, whoever got a chance contributed in their own way.

MA: Look, every day I talked with Mathew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist. They were very impressed with our batsmen and the way they faced every ball, leaving the ball and then playing side shots. Nobody just gave away easy wickets. That looked extraordinary. The fact that every player valued their wicket was very pleasing.

DS: What do you think about the second Test? Can we win it 2-0? Is that confidence still in the team?

After winning this match today [Sunday], the players will definitely have that confidence in us. We want to return home winning the series 2-0.

MA: Absolutely. After winning this match today [Sunday], the players will definitely have that confidence in us. We want to return home winning the series 2-0.