Curtis Can Be Proud of His Effort, Says Balbirnie After Mirpur Test Defeat

Ireland lost the Mirpur test against Bangladesh badly. They failed to understand the conditions that made batting tough for them throughout the test match. Now, the visitors will leave Bangladesh with a clean sweep in tests, however, one thing will stand out for them.  

The fightback shown by Curtis Campher in the second innings was remarkable. He stood firm at the crease when the wickets were regularly falling on the other end. The Bangladesh bowlers also failed to find his weak spot, as the defence of Curtis was quite strong. As a result, he remained not out till the end of the innings, scoring a gritty 71 runs off 259 balls.

Praising the effort of Curtis Campher after the match, the Irish skipper Andy Balbirnie said that he is a very tough batter in test cricket. When he gets in form, it becomes very difficult for oppositions to get him out, because he has a solid defence.

"Curtis Campher is someone that is hard to get out when he is in his bubble. He is very determined not to get out even when he is in the nets. He has such a strong defense, he showed that today." said Ireland test captain, Andy Balbirnie.

He said that Curtis is a strong-minded cricketer, meaning he can bat for longer once he is set at the crease. The Irish captain then regretted that none of the other batters supported Curtis in the middle, which is why Bangladesh bowled the whole team out cheaply.

"If he puts his mind to it, he can do it. It is a shame that no one from the top and middle order could hang around for long enough. I think the batters showed fight today, to bat till just before tea on the fifth day. We were behind the game a lot. Bangladesh deserved to win the series 2-0." said Andy Balbirnie.

Besides Campher, Balbirnie also praised the emerging all-rounder Gavin Hoey. He said the young Irishman is evolving quickly as a cricketer, and experiences like these will only make him better in international cricket.

"I play with Gavin in club cricket in Dublin. I have known him since he was a kid. His dad was an Irish international in the 1990s. He was a legspinner as well. I think Hoey has only been bowling legspin since Covid lockdown, so it's been five years. He was a seam bowler earlier.” said Andy Balbirnie.

"So to have that skillset in this short time is really impressive. He will get better and better from experiences like this. We have to make sure that he gets enough overs under his belt. We need to have our spinners develop consistency so that we do well in these conditions." added Andy Balbirnie.

When Ireland came to Bangladesh, they knew about the incoming spin challenge. Surprisingly, they played both Test matches on good wickets that didn’t crack up quickly in the early days. The Irish captain also mentioned this point, saying that the Test matches provided them with equal opportunities to be competitive.

“A lot of us had seen the West Indies ODI series. We were a bit nervous coming here. When we arrived, we thought [the pitch] would break up quickly, but it held together. There was turn, but it wasn't every ball. It was a good cricket wicket. I thought it was a pretty fair wicket. We had two good wickets over the two Tests." said Andy Balbirnie.

Need to Find More Consistency in Scoring Runs

Before coming to Bangladesh, Ireland won three test matches on the trot. This gave plenty of confidence to the group, however, the results later have forced them to look for more improvement.

"We had won three Tests in a row before coming here, so there was confidence in the group. We had to manage our expectations. You are coming to places that have experienced cricketers.” said Andy Balbirnie.

He further said that Ireland is trying to achieve consistency in Test cricket, which requires steady contributions from the batters. He then gave the example of Bangladesh batters, as how they scored big runs in both matches that ultimately helped them to win the series.

"We are trying to get that consistency. Our top-order didn't fire for the last two games. Bangladesh's top-order showed us how to do it - to bat for a long time and get big hundreds. Their batting was the big difference. We weren't competitive against Bangladesh for longer periods. They showed their class over the nine days," concluded Andy Balbirnie.