Thursday 21 February 2008

South Africa Ready to Face Bangla Tigers

The Mirpur pitch takes many forms' is the statement that came from none other than ace Bangladesh left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique.

There has been a debate on whether there is any point to talk too much about the pitch conditions when the batting of the Tigers is the main concern, but many still believe that the character of the surface can delude the South Africans.

Many even believe that it would be an interesting Test if the Bangladesh batsmen could manage to put some runs on the board.

But Rafique, who will bid bye to international cricket after the series, believes that the unpredictable nature of Mirpur pitch can boomerang against the home batsmen despite the fact that they have played a number of practice matches here.

"You can't say when it will start to produce bounce or start keeping low," said the experienced spinner, who along with his two fellow left-arm spinners is set to play a vital role in the Test.

South African skipper Graeme Smith was so curious about the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium that he even pulled off the covers during the practice session yesterday. He however was very much aware of the character of pitches on the subcontinent and remained optimistic about continuing their recent success.

"I think that few of the bowlers have put me under pressure already. From what we know, the wickets here don't really look good. We will have a lot of hard work to do in five days," the left-hander admitted at a press conference at the stadium yesterday.

"We have had a good chat this morning. We have learnt quite a lot from the warm-up game [at Fatullah]. Obviously we have got good confidence having won in Pakistan and It's also not so long ago," he added.

Despite Bangladesh's poor performance in the longer-version game, the well-built South African skipper said that it would be a challenge for them to take on the Tigers in their own den.

"But again, it's going to be a unique challenge here. And I think respecting the Bangladesh team is key. We have got to give them what they deserve. I think the subcontinent poses a great challenge because you really have to earn every win here," he said.

Smith was also a little bothered with his team's performance in the three-day match, but he hardly had any doubt about his team's success like he did in 2003 in his first tour as a captain.

"We used that match (practice) to get as much knowledge about the conditions as we could. We are just gathering as much information as possible. You know Bangladesh is not a team that we play often. We don't know many of the players as well, so for us it is about gaining as much information as possible," he observed.

He also spoke about his captaincy.

"I never dreamt of becoming South Africa's leading Test captain. Certainly it is a great honour and a wonderful achievement, I am proud of it," said the left-hander who took over the reins in 2003 at the age of 22 to become South Africa's youngest-ever captain following a disastrous World Cup campaign under Shaun Pollock

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