Dealing with the extra bounce against the tall Australia quicks will be a major area of focus for Bangladesh in the Darwin Test, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the day before the start of the game.
Bangladesh are playing their first Test on Australian soil since 2003, and while the team has come up in leaps and bounds in that time, their collapse to 54 all out in the practice match against a Cricket Australia XI has caused concerns.
Shanto, however, didn't want to spend too much time thinking about that performance, saying the team had spent enough time in Darwin to understand the conditions.
"[Tackling] the bounce is the key but we have been preparing on bouncy wickets at home in the last few months," Shanto said at the pre-match press interaction. "That gives us a little bit more of an idea. Here, there will be bounce, and we are well prepared having arrived ten or 12 days before the Test. It gives us more idea regarding the bounce. They have a world-class bowling attack, but as a team, it is a good opportunity to challenge them. We have had [poor outings] in practice matches before. This came in the preparation phase. We can have a bad day, but I think we have prepared ourselves pretty well.
"We are confident that we will play some good cricket. As a batting unit, there will be a lot of challenges, and we have been trying to do a lot of work. I think the challenge will be greater against the new ball. I think everyone will play their natural game, try to score runs. We are playing against a top bowling attack. It is important how much consistency and focus we can have. We have to try to bat for longer periods."
It's not all doom and gloom for Bangladesh. They have had a good few months at home since March this year, particularly the 2-1 ODI series win against Australia, where the matches were played on faster pitches than usual in Bangladesh.
Shanto also pointed to their recent rise in Test cricket - the 2-0 win over Pakistan at home in May has placed them at No. 4 on the World Test Championship table, only behind Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
"The win against Australia in the ODI series in June gives us a lot of confidence. It was the first time we beat them in a series. We played on good wickets, so that gives us a little bit more confidence," Shanto said. "Obviously, if you look at the last two or three years, we are going well in Test cricket. We have improved as a team. We finished seventh in the last cycle, but we are in fourth place [now]. We still have eight Test matches left in our schedule. I think gradually we have improved our game as a team. As a bowling unit, we have been doing a great job. If we just improve our batting a little bit more, it will be a great team going forward."
Litton Das has been passed fit for the Test, which gives Bangladesh much-needed cushion in the lower-middle order, especially with an opening pair that has not clicked for a while. "Litton gives us batting depth," Shanto said. "He is consistent. We are hopeful of our batting unit doing well in the Test match."
He hinted that Bangladesh were likely to field both frontline spinners - Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored a century in the tour game, and Taijul Islam - in the XI with three fast bowlers.
"It looks like a pretty good wicket. We haven't had a chance to play on a drop-in wicket, but as professional cricketers, we have to adapt to those challenges," Shanto said. "As I mentioned, the preparation is there, so I hope we can adjust to this condition. There's grass on the wicket, but it's a good wicket where both batters and bowlers will find help. Maybe the bowlers will [get us good results]."
Despite the confidence Shanto displayed, Australia appear far too strong on paper, with the first-choice bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all in the XI.
They are playing in Australia after a huge gap and don't have Nahid Rana, among others, to choose from. Not to forget the 54 all out. "We want to play till the fifth day, take it session by session," Shanto said. "There will always be discussion about whether we can take it to the fifth day. As players we want to take it to the fifth day."