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ZIMBABWE captain Craig Ervine said his batsmen should have taken advantage of the drizzle to stay in the one-off Test against Bangladesh for longer.
The visitors were bowled out for 189, eventually losing by an innings and 106 runs. They lasted just 52.3 overs on a cloudy fourth day with occasional drizzle.
Ervine said that the batsmen shouldn’t have played shots in the air, but rather let the ball get soaked more in the rainwater.
“Batting first, we should have got at least 400,” Ervine said.
“The wicket was good enough to post a score like that. Getting bowled out for 265 put us on the back foot and allowed Bangladesh to go past us.
“We could have also batted better in the second innings. The wicket wasn’t really that bad. I thought our bowlers worked hard to get those six wickets. Obviously (we) didn’t hit the right areas enough, but I just thought that our batting let us down.
“It was a combination of application and execution. The guys obviously tried to go over the top and didn’t execute the plans properly. In the past, it has been difficult to bat last in Dhaka. Possibly, guys played a few too many shots because of the turn. But the ball was wet because of the drizzle.”
Zimbabwe still had some conviction left in their batting when Ervine, who made a century in the first innings, got set with Sikandar Raza. They added 60 for the fifth wicket before Mominul Haque ran out his opposite number with an excellent direct hit from the covers.
“It was very disappointing,” said Ervine. “At the time it seemed like myself and Raza were going well.
“We got some momentum on our side, and then we basically gave it back to Bangladesh. I have always wanted to get back-to-back hundreds in a game, and I thought today was the perfect opportunity.”
He said that Zimbabwe missed Sean Williams the most, but also suffered due to an inexperienced bowling attack.
“Sean is a big part of our team. He contributes with the bat, ball and field. We missed him hugely.
“We have an inexperienced bowling line-up. Charlton Tshuma was playing his first game. Victor was playing his third Test match. Ainsley played a handful of games. Donald Tiripano is the experienced one.
“We just didn’t hit the right areas for long enough. Without doing that, you can’t build any pressure,” Ervine said. — ESPNcricinfo
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