Mushfiqur Rahim inviting West Indies to bat on a decent batting track was designed to protect his eight batsmen rather than his limited bowling attack
Bangladesh traded in their usual olive green baggy caps for a lighter shade, the kind they used in limited-overs matches, at Arnos Vale. Proceedings on the first day left one wondering if Mushfiqur Rahim was thrown off by the wardrobe change. For long passages of play, he led Bangladesh as he would in a one-day match.
He resorted to Mahmudullah, a semi-regular bowler, in the sixth over after putting the opposition in to bat. At the toss, he said his decision was based on the promise of a few hours of movement for the quicks. It is debatable if there was such help but Mushfiqur barely allowed his seamers enough time with the new ball.
Bangladesh have been in a slump in 2014 and Mushfiqur's tactics on the first day mirrored another down-on-his-luck captain. Nasser Hussain had invited Australia to bat at the Gabba in 2003 and watched his bowlers get methodically dismantled. While the fate of this Test has yet to be determined, Mushfiqur's decision may come to shape the outcome.
Mushfiqur wanted to give Bangladesh the opportunity to bat when the pitch would be at its best. But judging by how the West Indies batsmen fared, the first day wasn't a bad batting day either. His decision seemed to protect his eight batsmen rather than his three specialist bowlers, one of whom is a debutant, one who is playing only his fourth Test and another with an 80-plus bowling average. In the end, Bangladesh were left nursing a long day on the field.
Rubel Hossain's first spell was cut short at two overs and Mahmudullah replaced him, with a long-off in place. This wasn't the inspired Mushfiqur who challenged Gayle by keeping Sohag Gazi on in 2012. This was a captain looking for the most defensive ways to get through a problem.
Mahmudullah's purpose was to stymie the batsmen, but his first ball slid down leg and Gayle's sweep thundered into the boundary boards. By the end of his two overs, he had conceded more runs than Rubel. Shuvagata Hom, the debutant offspinner, then replaced Mahmudullah and was struck for two fours in two overs prompting Rubel's return. If Mushfiqur was hoping to surprise the opposition by springing his spinners, it backfired.
Bangladesh have now put in the opposition 16 times in Tests, and have conceded more than 400 runs on seven occasions. It suggests that they have opted for self-preservation even in conditions ideal for batting.
This was the fifth time Mushfiqur had won a toss in Tests, and the second time he had sent the opposition in. The first occasion was last year in Harare when Zimbabwe made 389 and went on to bowl out Bangladesh for 134 and 147 to win by a huge margin. On that occasion, there was help for the seamers, but Bangladesh didn't exploit the conditions well. Bowling first, moreover, did no favours to their three spinners.
On the three occasions that Mushfiqur decided to bat first, Bangladesh made more than 350 twice and were bowled out for 282 the other time.
Thankfully for Mushfiqur, his two debutants brought Bangladesh back into the contest after lunch. Mushfiqur didn't go on the defensive after they had dismissed Chris Gayle and Kirk Edwards, but his bowlers couldn't separate Brathwaite and Darren Bravo till they had added 128 and put West Indies back in command.
At 264 for 3, West Indies haven't run away with the game yet, but it seems a difficult ask for three specialist bowlers to restrict them to anything below 400. Mushfiqur had the chance to give them a score to bowl at, and by the end of the day may have rued his decision not to.
Mushfiqur's Nasser Hussain moment
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Mushfiqur's Nasser Hussain moment
