Bangladesh conditions testing – McLaren
After beating Bangladesh 2-nil in their T20 Series this week, the Proteas are preparing for a three match ODI series against the Tigers which gets underway tomorrow.
South African all-rounder Ryan McLaren is back in the fold for the first time since last year. Having missed out on the World Cup earlier this year, the 32-year-old is keen to prove his worth.
“Look it’s a fresh start. I’ve had a few months off to work on a couple of things in my game. It's new conditions, the first series in Bangladesh so it’s going to be tough, they’ve played a lot of good cricket against India so there is no doubt it will tough. But on a personal note I’m just looking forward to representing South Africa again,” McLaren said earlier this week.
The ODI series will feature new rules, which sees the removal of the close catches rule in the first 10 overs and the opening powerplay while allowing teams to have five fielders outside the 30-yard mark in the final 10 overs of an innings. In addition, all no balls are now punished with a free-hit.
McLaren believes the new rules give bowlers some reprieve, pointing to the trend of batsmen targeting bowlers toward the end of the innings.
“If you look at the statistics in the World Cup I think it’s easy to see that over the last 10 overs, on a number of occasions there was 100 runs scored during that period of the game. So surely it shows you that the batsmen were dominating bowlers in that facet of the game. So there is no doubt from a bowling point of view it helps you strategize those last 10 overs but I don’t think it will change the mind-set of the batsmen though,” McLaren said.
However he said the no ball rule was a bit trickier as pitch conditions can have a big say.
“A no ball is a no ball. Obviously in one day cricket you can’t afford those mistakes. But the other side of the no ball is the ones being over waist-high are slightly more challenging. It’s not something you practice or aim but in these conditions, with it being slippery and wet, it’s something we need to be aware of because it can happen.”
That very fact is something McLaren and the South African bowlers are taking seriously. Although many of the players have spent time in the sub-continent, McLaren believes the wickets in Bangladesh serve up an interesting challenge.
“To be honest the IPL conditions are slightly different to what it is here in Bangladesh. India has really good wickets and sometimes you don’t get as much grip on the wickets as you do over here in Bangladesh,” McLaren said.
“So you’ve got to adapt your skill to these conditions and it’s going to be a good challenge to see how we cope with having to bowl at different stages of the game. Obviously the new rules means guys have to adapt to not bowling in the power plays and having that extra fifth fielder out in the last 10 overs - it’s a different mind-set for the bowlers. Something I think bowlers are welcoming quite honestly.”
South Africa face Bangladesh in the first ODI in Mirpur, Dhaka tomorrow. Play gets underway at 11h00 South African time.
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