Former Bangladesh batting coach Ashwell Prince says he expects the Proteas to face a lot of spin bowling when they take on the Tigers in a two-match Test series.
The first Test is set to be played from 21-25 October in Dhaka, with the second in Chattogram from 29 October to 2 November.
Prince, who earned 66 Test caps for the Proteas and had a seven-month coaching stint with Bangladesh in 2021-22, told the Sunday Times that underrated off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz and the left-arm orthodox bowler Taijul Islam would pose the biggest threat to South Africa.
“I don’t think their players get the recognition they deserve. The two of them will bowl a lot of overs.
“There is no mystery to Miraz, he’s more of a traditional off-spinner, he gives it a lot of loop, gets the ball outside off stump and tries to attack the gap between bat and pad. He’s very patient and consistent. There won’t be a lot of bad balls.”
Prince said the Proteas spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Dane Piedt, would also have a key role to play in the series as Bangladesh don’t bat well against spin.
“They are comfortable facing pace bowling. Bowling spin is their strength, but I was quite surprised by how they played spin, I expected them to play spin better.”
Regarding the Proteas’ batting, Prince emphasised the importance of building partnerships.
“You can lose wickets in clusters because it can be tough to start your innings there. So if two guys get stuck in, they’ve got to build that partnership as big as possible.”
Photo: @BCBtigers/X
