Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson is expecting a greener, more sporting wicket in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh at the Mirpur Sher-e Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Hesson had previously made headlines during Pakistan’s T20I tour of Bangladesh in July last year by strongly criticizing the Mirpur wickets, calling them “unacceptable” for international cricket and saying the conditions were not ideal for any team.
Speaking on Monday ahead of the ODI series, Hesson offered a cautiously optimistic view of the pitch. “Without doubt, yeah. I mean, it certainly looks like a far better pitch with better coverage than it has been. Unfortunately, the pitch here hasn’t been great for a while. But even in the BPL, the pitches were much improved,” he said.
“It looks like there’s a lot more grass cover, which should create a genuine contest between bat and ball. Both sides will benefit from that. You know, both teams want to play on good cricket wickets and be challenged, and it certainly looks that way at this stage,” he added.
Hesson also indicated that the conditions might favour pace bowling during the middle overs, rather than spin. “Well, I think that’ll depend on the conditions. There’s a lot more grass on that square than I’ve seen in the past here. How it plays will determine whether seamers dominate the middle overs more than spinners,” he said.
“We certainly have some good spinners who can operate in the middle overs. If the pitch offers anything, we can look to create wicket-taking opportunities. But that will be very much pitch-dependent,” he added.
