Jubair's five-for a sign of growing confidence

For someone who made his debut during the current Test series, and whose only exposure to international and representative cricket at the senior level has been against the Zimbabweans, Jubair Hossain had an idea of what to bowl at the Zimbabwe captain. So to use flight while bowling at Brendan Taylor was the expected ploy and it yielded immediate result.

Jubair made his first-class debut in September this year against Zimbabwe A, picking up 11 wickets in the two-match series. His elevation has been one of the most dramatic among Bangladesh players in a very long time. As an Under-19 legspinner, he was asked to bowl in the Bangladesh nets several months ago as the senior cricketers prepared to play against India. Soon he was in the preliminary squad ahead of the West Indies tour, after which he made it to the 14-man squad to play the first Test against Zimbabwe in October.

As the first specialist legspinner to play Test cricket for Bangladesh, the debut would seem quite hurried. But despite the lack of playing experience at any level, Jubair has held his own against Zimbabwe in Dhaka, Khulna and Chittagong. His five-wicket haul was the evidence of his confidence.

So when his captain asked him to keep tossing the ball at the Zimbabwe captain, he did just that. Taylor miscued a drive and was caught at mid-off by Taijul Islam, running back and latching on to the ball. Taylor was also his first Test wicket, when he had half-heartedly pushed a flighted delivery to, coincidentally, Taijul at mid-off.

A ball later and just like his second Test wicket when he got Raza to push the ball to cover feebly, Jubair pounced on Raza. This time he got the ball to turn at him a bit more. Jubair said this was his best wicket, mainly because of how well the Zimbabwe opener was going at the time. Raza was close to a hundred when he edged to Mahmudullah on 82, his highest score in Tests. It was the second wicket in as many overs for Jubair, and he was on a roll.

"I had dismissed Brendan Taylor before so I was trying to do the same thing here," Jubair said. "He was trying to drive the ball when there's a bit of flight. I thought that maybe if I toss the ball up, he might play a shot. I have seen that if someone is trying to hit the ball in Test cricket, a chance is always created.

"Chigumbura too drives a lot. In his case too, I was trying to catch him on the drive," he said. "I was trying to beat him a couple of times, so that he keeps driving. But I would say the wicket of Sikandar Raza was the best one. He is a good batsman. On any wicket, a legspinner tries to turn the ball more than other bowlers. I bowled it side arm, which made it turn a bit more."

Jubair said that it was captain Mushfiqur Rahim who guided him throughout this spell, especially what lengths to bowl at Zimbabwe's main batsmen. After he had taken the fourth wicket, he was getting a bit jittery for the five-for. There too, Mushfiqur gave him the confidence and calmed him down.

"Since Mushfiqur bhai stands behind the wicket, he has a better idea of what fields to set for me," he said. "I have told him a few times but generally he sets my fields and tells me where to bowl. I try to do as he tells me and today I was successful. When I was bowling to Chigumbura, he told me to make him drive and against Taylor, he asked me to flight the ball.

"The captain and seniors like Shakib bhai and Tamim bhai give me advice," he said. "They always tell me to be patient, not to think about taking wickets and bowl in the right areas. I lost my focus after taking four wickets today, but Mushfiqur bhai told me that if I bowl well, I will pick up the wicket."

Bangladesh had to be patient after Jubair's initial burst. He came back after lunch to beat Craig Ervine's attempted sweep with a full-toss. He returned again to remove the dangerous Elton Chigumbura and followed it up with his fifth. He had a big smile but he kept looking at his captain, and they walked towards Mahmudullah who had taken a good catch at cover.

Jubair is arguably the most inexperienced cricketer who has played for Bangladesh thus far, so he would need a lot of guidance on and off the field. He will also guide his teammates and the rest of the country in their orientation of legspin. As much as Jubair needs to learn about international cricket, the people around him also needs to quickly understand legspin.