By Zim Sport Live Writer
Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine expressed confidence in his team’s chances of winning their two-match Test series against Bangladesh which begins on Sunday, despite acknowledging their historical struggles in the subcontinent .
Speaking ahead of the matches, Ervine asserted that his side possesses the capability to challenge the home team, emphasizing their belief in their potential to perform well despite the unfamiliar conditions.
The African nation has won just two in 10 in their last five visits in Bangladesh but their last victory against Tigers came in 2018 in Sylhet which will host the first Test, starting on Sunday.
“There was always rivalry between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe,” Ervine said in Sylhet on Saturday.
“It is slightly tougher for Zimbabwe playing in Bangladesh but we always feel that we have a chance (against Bangladesh). This group of players can pose a decent threat.”
Bangladesh had already announced that they would move on from spin dependency to play in a proper Test wicket against Zimbabwe.
Ervine believes that seamer-friendly wicket could give them some advantage even though Bangladesh have recently got a pace attack to envy.
“We can probably expect the wicket to be seamer friendly. There’s grass on the wicket. We trained for couple of days. We are confident of our preparations so we are looking forward to it,” he said.
“We are working on our process, working on our strength. There might possibly be some assistance for seamers so want to take advantage of it, and gain some momentum.
Ervine talked about Bangladesh’s new pace sensation Nahid Rana, hogged the limelight of late with his raw pace.
“Footage always goes around, so we have had a look at (Nahid Rana). You don’t however know until you face him in the middle. We have to prepare our mindset for him,” he said about Nahid.
Zimbabwe have not won a Test anywhere since March 2021. They lost their last Test, a one-off against Ireland in February, by 63 runs in Bulawayo.
“I understand we haven’t had a great run in Test cricket. I think this is the first year in which we have a lot of Test cricket lined up for us,” he said.
“I think it’s really exciting with the amount of Test cricket that we will play. The type of opponents in the next few months is really exciting too. When you play more, you can get some sort of continuity.”
“We don’t have a lot of experience in Bangladesh but I think the young group needs to play in different conditions to mature as cricketers. It is good that they will get this type of exposure.”
Ervine vowed to play fearless cricket despite knowing that they are underdog in the series.
“We want to bring a no-fear attitude. The guys are not familiar with Bangladesh conditions but long preparations give you the confidence to go out and express yourself. We want to enjoy playing Test cricket in different conditions.”