Hasan’s domination continues with immaculate length management
He now knows from what lengths to move the ball to get wickets. Length management, knowing what length to bowl on what wickets, has vastly improved. The length with the new ball varies from wicket to wicket. For instance, on some wickets the ideal length is 5.5m, while on another it is 6m, and it can be very challenging. He really focused on these lengths and is now very confident.
Hasan Mahmud’s Test career has hit a purple patch over the last few months, and a maiden Test hattrick is the icing on the cake as his skill set in the red-ball format continues to grow.
A Test hattrick showcases a bowler’s tenacity in the game’s hardest format, and Hasan became the first Bangladesh pacer to achieve the feat, running through the Afghanistan batting line-up on the third day of the one-off Test on a good batting surface on Sunday.
The second new ball did the trick for Hasan. In Abu Dhabi, where there is little moisture and searing heat adds to a pacer’s burden, Hasan showed the same nous that he had displayed in Rawalpindi, Chennai, Darwin and county cricket with Kent.
Things are falling into place for the 26-year-old, much like the lengths he hit on Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi.
Hasan is showing an ability to do more damage in less time. Over the last two years, he has been Bangladesh’s most prominent pacer, taking 30 Test wickets at a strike rate of 53.86. Over the last 12 months, his strike rate has improved to 43.25, with 16 wickets in five Tests. Even in Bangladesh’s impressive pace battery, Hasan stands out.
“In the last one-and-a-half years, he has improved immensely. From the Pakistan series to India and then elsewhere, his confidence has soared,” Tarek Aziz, one of the pace-bowling coaches who has been working with Hasan, told The Daily Star.
“The main aspect was how he upgraded his length, which has increased his wicket-taking ability with the new ball,” Tarek noted.
“Given his confidence, he now knows anything is possible, especially after performing against India and Australia and his exploits in county cricket. He now knows from what lengths to move the ball to get wickets. Length management, knowing what length to bowl on what wickets, has vastly improved. The length with the new ball varies from wicket to wicket. For instance, on some wickets the ideal length is 5.5m, while on another it is 6m, and it can be very challenging. He really focused on these lengths and is now very confident,” Tarek said.
Not an express fast bowler, Hasan often does not attract the same limelight as some of his peers. But his consistency has made him an all-condition seamer, capable of making things happen on docile tracks. Even in the absence of Nahid Rana, his rise is helping Bangladesh deliver with the ball. His improved wrist action and high-arm action have been key to his development.
“Hasan is a flicker,” Tarek said, referring to the wrist snap that gives the pacer extra zip. “Most importantly, his wrist position is higher than before, which automatically helps him swing the ball more. Now, if he can work more with the old ball, he would be even better,” Tarek added.
All three deliveries that completed Hasan’s hattrick forced the Afghanistan batters to play, but movement and extra zip proved their undoing. Hasan finished with figures of five for 55, his fourth five-wicket haul, drawing him level with Shahadat Hossain.
His exploits on Sunday also made him the fastest Bangladesh pacer to reach 50 Test wickets, achieving the milestone in 17 Tests and surpassing Taskin Ahmed, who took 18 matches. For now, the sky is the limit for Hasan and his snappy action.
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