Ervine surprised by 'good wicket' at Mirpur

Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine starred for his side on the first day of their one-off Test against Bangladesh as he scored 107. It was his hundred which helped Zimbabwe reach 228-6 at the end of the day and are now looking forward to surpassing 300 on day two. 

The pitch at Mirpur seemed to be comfortable for the batsmen as the bowlers toiled for success. Nayeem Hasan was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers with four wickets but it made him bowl 36 overs. 

Ervine, who was bowled by Nayeem on the stroke of stumps, said that he was surprised by the wicket the match was being played on. 

"We were very surprised by the wicket. It was quite good. Generally in Dhaka as some people say, you do not know what you are going to get. I think it is a very good wicket and that's why Bangladesh is slightly ahead because of the wicket. We probably lost two or three wickets more (than ideal)," the Zimbabwean skipper said.

Ervine also heaved praise for the Bangladeshi bowlers as he said that they bowled in really good areas throughout the day.

"I think they (Bangladeshi bowlers) bowled very well upfront. They hit good areas. They bowled in tight lines consistently," he added. 

With his century, Ervine became the third Zimbabwean skipper to score a hundred on his captaincy debut after David Houghton and Brendan Taylor. Ervine said that any hundred away from home was special and he was pleased to score a hundred in Bangladesh.

"Obviously any hundred away from home is special . In the past I have struggled in Bangladesh. So, I am obviously chuffed to score like that, he said."

Ervine also said that his wicket handed Bangladesh the advantage after the day's play and added that he would have liked some more runs on the board at the end of day's play.

"We would have liked a few more runs today provided that we lost six wickets. Coming on tomorrow we have to build. As I said Bangladesh kept us quiet throughout the day and picked up a couple of wickets in the end. I will probably say it's a half day for us and Bangladesh are probably ahead," he said.

He further added, "Myself getting out in the end took the scale (in Bangladesh's favour) a little bit. It would have been nice for me to come in tomorrow with Regis Chakabva as two recognized batsmen. I think Donald Tiripano is very handy with the bat. It is up to him and Chakava to get through the first session," the Zimbabwean skipper added. 

Ervine also added that it was patience which helped him get his ton and he had a backup plan ready to tackle the Bangladeshi bowlers.