Bangladesh and Zimbabwe hope for fresh start in Test cricket

While Bangladesh are gearing up for their first Test in 2025 and preparing for life without most of their stalwarts, Zimbabwe will be playing a rare series in the subcontinent. The first Test in Sylhet from Sunday will mark a fresh start for both teams.

Bangladesh ended their 2023-2025World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with four wins, including beating West Indies in a thrilling finish in Kingston in December 2024. Their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is hoping to build on that success.

"As a captain, I think that we need to play every match to win," Shanto said. "We don't have that intention to play selfish cricket. As I said, we would start something new and that would start from tomorrow. I also hope that the management will also help us in this regard too. I think our Test cricket has become stagnant for the last 20-22 years. So, we need to change something. We are thinking about that. I hope this will work in our favour."

It's a unique time to be a Zimbabwe cricketer. They are scheduled to play eleven Tests this year, the most since 2001. They haven't played as many in the last four years combined. Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine is looking forward to see how his team fares in different conditions. After the Test series in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe will face England at Trent Bridge in May before returning home to play South Africa and New Zealand later this year.

"We want to bring a no-fear attitude," Ervine said. "The guys are not familiar with Bangladesh conditions, but long preparations give you the confidence to go out and express yourself. 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.

"The type of opponents in the next few months is really exciting too. 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."

Among Zimbabwe's batters, only Ervine and Sean Williams have Test experience in the subcontinent. The likes of Ben Curran, Wessly Madhevere and Brian Bennett have shown promise, and have been picking the brains of the seniors.

"They are trying to find out the little key pointers to play in the subcontinent," Ervine said. "Sean Williams has done very well in Bangladesh. They are picking those brains. [They are asking] what have you done, what works for you - preparation wise and mental wise. So that they can put that into practice. Our process started with the week preparation back home. When we got here, it is a continuation of that, and slight adjustment to the conditions."

Bangladesh are hoping to become a more consistent team and there is considerable focus on their captain's shaky form and their cricketing culture. Shanto has scored just one fifty in his last ten Test innings and his last hundred was back in November 2023.

"It is disappointing to talk about our Test culture despite being in the arena for more than two decades," Shanto said. "We had a good 2024, winning four Tests against good oppositions.

"We have been talking about building a team culture, figuring out how we want to play. The new coach [Phil Simmons] has also shared his philosophy about how he wants to take the team forward. We are supposed to play five or six Tests this year so I am hopeful that we can show something new in 2025."

Shanto's domestic form is more encouraging. He scored back-to-back fifties for Abhani Ltd in the Dhaka Premier League earlier this month. His Test form is part of Bangladesh's wider top-order problem: their openers haven't scored a Test ton in two-and-a-half years.

"Obviously everyone needs to be consistent," Shanto said. "If I'm talking about myself, in the last year, in many innings I got out after getting set like scoring 30-40 runs. This is not acceptable in this format, because I was getting out after going through the tough periods. I have worked on that. I will try more.

"Of course, the top order isn't performing. But they are trying. And I think with the resources we have got, we have to give them enough chances to be ready. As you said, we don't face that challenge in domestic cricket. So, if we give them opportunities in international cricket, they will start to perform."

Shanto has another challenge to deal with. Bangladesh have lost their last five home Tests, including Sri Lanka trampling them in Sylhet last year.

"We didn't play well at home last year," Shanto said. "We couldn't execute the plans we had. I think it will be important to bring the results at home. Getting the results away is difficult. As we were able to do that, I would hope that we would do better at home too."