‘Bangladesh can expose Australia’

Brad Hogg, a World Cup winner with Australia and now in Bangladesh as a broadcaster for the Aussies’ ongoing white-ball tour, believes the Tigers’ upcoming Test trip Down Under will be the true measure of their progress. After a long wait since the tour of 2003, Bangladesh will finally make their way to Australia for two Test matches. In an interview with Daily Sun, Hogg spoke about the Tigers’ pace rise, Australia challenge, and the importance of Test cricket. Below are the excerpts:

daily sun : How big will the Australia Test tour be for Bangladesh?

Hogg: I think it’s going to show where Bangladesh cricket is at the moment. When you look through their batting line-up, the big question is how they are going to adapt to those conditions. Playing Test cricket away from home, especially in Australia, is a very different challenge. Most of these players haven’t experienced that for a long period of time. I think the key for them is to give themselves extra time at the crease, maybe even an extra five overs, just to absorb the pressure.

daily sun : How do you rate Bangladesh’s pace attack?

Hogg: It’s a very exciting prospect for Bangladesh. When I look at the bowling attack, Shoriful (Islam) and Rana (Nahid) are really impressive. I think they are going to be the future of Bangladesh’s attack because of that extra pace.

daily sun : Can the senior pacers help Rana?

Hogg: Yeah, well you’ve got to play your role and you’ve got to know your job. If you look at Australia, they’ve had Cummins (Pat), Hazlewood (Josh) and Starc (Mitchell), but one of the most important bowlers in that attack has been Nathan Lyon. In Test cricket, Lyon does that holding job from one end, controlling the game and allowing the quicks to bowl short, sharp spells from the other end. That’s how Australia have managed their fast bowlers so well. Bangladesh need to find those options as well.

daily sun : Can Bangladesh challenge Australia’s attack?

Hogg: I think it’s going to be a big learning curve for Bangladesh, but it also depends on what Australian line-up turns up. I do think there are some holes in that Australian batting line-up that can be exposed. Bangladesh should go there not just for the experience, but with the belief that they can upset Australia.

daily sun : When did you see Bangladesh’s pace rise coming?

Hogg: I was always impressed with Taskin (Ahmed) and Mustafizur (Rahman). Then I saw Shoriful a couple of years ago, and later I saw Rana bowling in warm-ups against England. I remember Allan Donald working with him, and I thought straight away that they had something there.

daily sun : Do you agree with Najmul Hossain Shanto’s session-by-session mindset?

Hogg: Oh definitely. You play moment to moment, over by over, ball by ball. If you’re thinking too much about the win, you’re probably not going to get there. The teams I played for always focused on what our best cricket looked like — that was our benchmark. If we played to that level, the opposition had to play out of their skin to beat us. That’s the mentality. If you can narrow the gap between your worst and best performance, you become more consistent. That’s why I think Shanto is right.

daily sun : What is Bangladesh’s best format right now?

Hogg: That’s a tough question. At the end of the day, it’s about playing consistent cricket across formats. Each format helps the other because one gives you confidence and the other teaches you how to deal with pressure situations. But for me, the real test is Test cricket.