Sakib in as Tigers look to cap tour on a high

Dhaka, Jan 11 (bdprem.com) – Bangladesh have drafted in Sakib Al Hasan in the 11-man squad as they look to cap their New Zealand tour on a high when the second and final Test starts Saturday at the Basin Reserve, Wellington. The left-arm spinner who bats in the middle order is the only change in the team from the first Test which the Tigers lost by nine wickets. Your Ad Here Sakib comes in replace of spinner Enamul Haq Jr, who remained wicketless in the first Test giving away 57 runs in 22 overs. The tourists were also drubbed in the one-day series, losing it 3-0. After the abysmal batting display in the one-day series, the batsmen, especially the middle order, were expected to learn from their mistakes. But they were skittled out for 137 in the first innings in the Dunedin Test, but the top order, especially two debutant openers, restored some pride in the second innings before Bangladesh's brittle batting collapsed to 254 all out from 161 for one. The inclusion of Sakib is meant to strengthen the middle order, with the team management wanting the boys to show maturity in approaching the innings, leaving their terrible batting display behind. The team will look up to opening pair Tamim Iqbal and Junaed Siddique to give them another blazing start for middle order to consolidate. "In recent times our problem has been the first innings. We lost the match with our first innings batting in Dunedin. That is something we have to be careful of," Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful was quoted by tigercricket.com, the official website of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, as saying. "We have simple team rules for the matches. The batsmen should try to stay in as long as possible and should take minimum risks," said Ashraful. There is doubt, though, about how long they can stay on the grassy wicket amid chilly wind at the Basin. The Tigers took a bit of time to get their eyes in on the grassy practice pitches. "Although there is grass it still felt very hard and almost made a 'tonking' noise. That tells me that this pitch will have good consistence bounce, maybe a bit more than in Dunedin and other venues and will have more pace in it," said Ashraful. The captain believed the wicket could be a very fine track for the strokemakers if they get in. The Basin Reserve has traditionally been a free-scoring venue since its inception as a Test ground in 1930. In 1990-91 Martin Crowe hit 299 and Andrew Jones made 186 in a partnership of 467 for the third-wicket against Sri Lanka, which was back then a world-record stand for all wickets. In the last 18 Test innings here teams have crossed 500 runs twice, made scores in access of 300 thrice and on nine occasions have gone past 200. Those were contrasting statistics for Bangladesh, who put on 132 and 135 against New Zealand in their last visit here after the Black Caps declared their first innings at 341 for six. Seam bowlers have also had their moments, none more than the great Sir Richard Hadlee who took his 300th Test wicket here and claimed 53 of his 431 Test victims at the Basin. Ashraful also expects good bowling from his comrades on the grassy wicket. "The bowlers must concentrate on pitching the ball in the areas they are expected to bowl and build up pressure." New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori said his players wanted to win by an even bigger margin this time. "There's no letting off within the team. It's almost the opposite," Vettori was quoted by the New Zealand Press Association as saying. "The guys are pushing harder to get the result we need in even a better fashion than Dunedin," said Vettori. Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Junaed Siddique, Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Shahriar Nafees, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicketkeeper), Saqib Al Hasan, Mashrafee Bin Mortaza, Sajedul Islam and Shahadat Hossain. New Zealand (likely): Craig Cumming, Matthew Bell, Peter Fulton, Stephen Fleming, Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (Wicketkeeper), Daniel Vettori (Captain), Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien, Chris Martin.