'No excuses for Antigua thrashing' – Tamim Iqbal

The Bangladesh dressing room was “shocked” after their embarrassing defeat to West Indies in Antigua.

First, they were bowled out for 43, their lowest-ever total and the lowest Test score in 44 years. Then they followed that with a marginal improvement to make 144 in the second innings, eventually losing by an innings and 219 runs. This was the least overs a side had bowled to take 20 wickets in a Test in 66 years.

Tamim Iqbal, one of their senior-most players and batting mainstay who made 4 and 13 in that Test, doesn’t want to dwell on what has gone by. Instead, he insisted the team has drawn positives from Nurul Hasan’s counter-attacking 64 on the third morning, their only bright spot, looking ahead to the Jamaica Test starting July 12.

“Like all of you, we are also in a shock about our last Test match,” Tamim said. “Our performance is by no means acceptable. We are a better side than this. We are not looking for excuses. We made mistakes which caused this performance. We hope to do well in the next Test.

“We have to keep on believing as a team and as individual players that we can do well, we can win. The way Sohan (Nurul) and the lower-order batted, it proves that if you can stay in the wicket, you can score runs. I hope that Jamaica Test will be a much better performance.”

Steve Rhodes who sat through the entire ordeal on his debut as Bangladesh head coach, felt the team should have reacted better during their first-innings deterioration. In the first innings, Kemar Roach took five wickets in just five overs to leave Bangladesh tottering at 18 for 5 even before the first drinks interval. The last five didn’t do much either, even as Liton Das tried to slog his way out of trouble.

“We potentially did not adjust quick enough to the circumstances put in front of us in either innings. But you can take nothing away from the Windies bowlers and catchers. They bowled and fielded admirably on a pitch that suited their bowling,” he told ESPNcricinfo.

Rhodes also assessed the need to have more firepower in the bowling. “As far as our bowling is concerned, I thought Rahi (Abu Jayed) bowled admirably in his first Test match. It is very clear that we could do with some real pace to throw at the West Indies batsmen but that is not an overnight option for us. But we would definitely look to have some pace when we tour in the future.”

Source: ESPN Crickinfo