Pakistan coach Hesson expects more pace, better wicket for Bangladesh ODIs in Mirpur

Bangla Press Desk:   Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson is expecting a greener, more sporting wicket in the upcoming three-match One Day International series against Bangladesh at the Mirpur Sher-e Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Hesson had previously made headlines during Pakistan’s T20 International tour of Bangladesh in July last year by strongly criticising the Mirpur wickets, calling them “unacceptable” for international cricket and saying that the conditions were not ideal for any team.

Fast forward to Monday, Hesson offered a cautiously optimistic view of the Mirpur pitch ahead of the ODI series.

“Without doubt, yeah. I mean, it certainly looks like a far better pitch with better coverage than it has been. Unfortunately, the pitch here hasn’t been great for a while. But even in the Bangladesh Premier League, the pitches were much improved,” he noted.

“It looks like there’s a lot more grass cover, which should create a genuine contest between bat and ball. Both sides will benefit from that. You know, both teams want to play on good cricket wickets and be challenged, and it certainly looks that way at this stage,” he added.

Hesson also believes the wicket conditions will likely favour pace bowling during the middle overs of the ODI innings, rather than spin.

“Well, I think that’ll depend on the conditions. There’s a lot more grass on that square than I’ve seen in the past here. How it plays will determine whether seamers dominate the middle overs more than spinners,” he stated.

“We certainly have some good spinners who can operate in the middle overs. If the pitch offers anything, we can look to create wicket-taking opportunities. But that will be very much pitch-dependent,” he concluded. Source: daily Sun

BP/TD