Spinners’ competition and pacers’ bouncer barrage

After spending a day off on Wednesday, the 20-member Bangladesh Test squad returned to action as head coach Russell Domingo along with other coaching staff conducted a fruitful outing at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram yesterday.

The cricketers were divided into two groups and took part in skills training with coaches emphasising on specific skill drills for each player, with focus also placed on having fun.

THE SPIN TRIO

In the absence of premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is recovering from a groin injury, the three remaining spinners -- Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan -- were competing with each other in the nets.

All three spinners were keen on bowling in a specific area and testing batsmen with the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Das looking to pierce the imaginary field set by the bowlers.

Left-arm spinner Taijul, who has been one of the most vital instrumental members in the Tigers spin attack, was seen bowling with his previous bowling action after opting to change the action during the BCB President's Cup last year.

Taijul had brought some changes in his run-up, which looked more like the carbon copy of Bangladesh's spin bowling coach and former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori's action during his playing days.

Taijul said previously that he spoke to Vettori and tried to make some changes to his bowling action but it seemed that the experienced left-arm spinner is more comfortable with his previous action.

"I have worked on my bowling during the long gap and I think in Test cricket, it's important to bowl in the right areas. Normally, I will try to maintain my spot and then look for variations," Taijul told the media after the training session yesterday.

MUSHFIQUR'S INTENSITY

Much like in the past, Mushfiqur Rahim's intensity during training that caught the eye. The wicketkeeper-batsman looked focused during the net session where he concentrated on his defence and made sure the ball does not fall near the close catchers on either side of the wicket while facing the spinners.

After completing his net session, Mushfiqur went straight to the other part of the ground where he asked a net bowler to spin the ball from a particular area and the right-handed batsman practised his favourite sweep shots to perfection.

TEST FOR TAILENDERS

Domingo, along with fielding coach Ryan Cook, had a competition for fast bowlers Mustafizur Rahman, Khaled Ahmed, and Ebadot Hossain when they came to bat in the nets. The challenge was to survive 20 throwdowns from Domingo and Cook and if they got out, they would not get a second chance to bat.

The pacers took up the challenge. Khaled faced a barrage of short deliveries and good-length balls from Domingo and Cook which he managed to negotiate well and was praised by the coaches. Mustafizur too was watchful and eventually won the challenge of surviving 20 fiery throwdowns as he walked past the coaches with a big smile on his face.