Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie won’t be happy with his side’s efforts on day two of their Test match against Bangladesh. Photo: Sportsfile
If Andy Balbirnie went to bed in Sylhet on Tuesday night wondering if his side’s 270-8 represented a decent opening day’s effort in the first Test against Bangladesh, the Ireland skipper got his answer today: an emphatic no.
After the last two Ireland wickets had mustered just another 16 runs, it was back to the bad old days of Sri Lanka in 2023 as the Boys in Green chased leather in sweltering conditions with precious little to show for their efforts.
Thoughts of a fourth successive Test win had faded by lunch and had gone altogether by tea, long before the home side closed on 338-1 — a lead of 52 which will surely stretch towards, and maybe past, 300 on the most docile of surfaces.
As expected, there was no encouragement in the pitch for the quicker men and spinners Andy McBrine and Matthew Humphreys shouldered most of the workload, bowling 47 overs of the 85 Ireland sent down.
Off spinner McBrine found the occasional turn, albeit slow and from areas that were not too troublesome, while Humphreys carried the greater threat and claimed the one wicket to fall via a nick to the wicketkeeper.
The one thing Ireland could take away from their dismal day, was further evidence that in 23-year-old Humphreys they have a very special talent who, given the exposure, has the potential to become one of the world’s best left-armers by the end of the decade.
Only a crumb of comfort, maybe, but better than nothing.
If there was next-to-no joy for Ireland, there was a whole three session’s worth of it for Bangladesh and their fans as opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy carried his bat for 169 not out, a 283-ball innings that contained four sixes and 14 fours.
Joy offered a chance late in the day, a difficult one low to slip on 156 off the ever-willing Curtis Campher but he walked off five overs later with the look of a man who knows that Mushfiqur Rahim’s highest Test score for Bangladesh of 219 is well within his sights.
