Tait confident Mustafizur Rahman will do better against Sri Lanka

Shaun Tait stood at the top of the run-ups, flanked by Bangladesh's quicks. His focus, though, was on the one building a head of steam as he galloped into delivery stride. Tanzim Hasan Sakib said something to him, but Tait appeared not to respond, waiting to see how Mustafizur Rahman's delivery would turn out. From the side-on view at the ICC Academy nets in Dubai, it appeared he was too straight, and comfortably flicked to what would have been midwicket.

As Mustafizur ambled back, he spoke briefly to Tait, who appeared to motion with his wrist. Next ball, Mustafizur bowled one of those offcutters that both appear to take an age to arrive and still look like rushing the batter for time. It beat the bat.

That cause of effect is rarely as linear as that, and reading such patterns into bits of training is often more narrative than chronological. That the sequence worked so neatly is probably not even the point, but appeared to confirm what the Bangladesh fast bowling coach had said half an hour earlier.

"I'm satisfied with the way he's bowling," Tait had said about Mustafizur on the eve of Bangladesh's first Super Four match at the Asia Cup, against Sri Lanka in Dubai. "I hope [he'll be a threat for the other teams]. He has all the experience; he doesn't need me to talk to him too much about the way he's bowling. If he's in an environment where he's happy, I think he'll perform well. My job with him is just to make sure he's happy and confident. The rest he takes care of himself."

Until a couple of days earlier, Tait would have had quite the job trying to keep Mustafizur happy. Bangladesh had one foot out of the tournament, and the 30-year-old quick had struggled for impact. In the game against Hong Kong, he was economical but not much more. In the clash that counted against Sri Lanka, he was thumped for 35 and only bowled three overs in Bangladesh's heavy defeat.

But in the defence of 154 against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, Mustafizur rediscovered his form. They saved three of his overs for the second half of the chase, with Afghanistan needing 80 off eight overs with six wickets in hand. In the 13th over, Mustafizur displayed his thought process as well as his wrist skills, going through his gamut of variations, conceding just two and removing Mohammad Nabi.

Bangladesh's captain Litton Das squirreled away Mustafizur's remaining two overs, but by the 17th, he was needed again. Rashid Khan was at the crease and Afghanistan's requirement of 45 off 24 was still within range. The over cost 14, but Mustafizur returned in the 19th to dismiss Rashid and AM Ghazanfar in succession to confirm Bangladesh's win.

"Mustafizur is a good asset," Tait said. "He's played here before. He's a good leader for us who's been around a long time."

When Tait was bowling coach of Pakistan, he told ESPNcricinfo he felt Pakistan's fast bowlers required "a bit more mongrel". Bangladesh's quicks have not been associated with that kind of ferocity, but Tait finds it less of an issue here than he did in Pakistan.

"[It is] a little bit [true of Bangladesh too]. We've talked about just being a bit more confident in what we're doing. A couple of the Bangladesh fast bowlers naturally do that anyway as you've seen. It's about being confident in what you're doing."

Tait doesn't obsess over analytics or fuss over technical aspects of a bowler's action, leaving that to sports science specialists. With Bangladesh, he emphasised once more the value of the intangibles he thinks they can still add to their game. "The way I like to do things is definitely talk about having that presence and confidence especially when you're playing against good teams like we're playing this week. We've definitely got to be up for the contest."

Against Sri Lanka on Saturday, they are aware of the need to perform better than they did in the group stage. Bangladesh owe their presence in the Super Four to Sri Lanka's victory against Afghanistan on Thursday.

"It's a new day," Tait said. "The beauty of these tournaments is the games come thick and fast. When the games keep coming, it's a good chance to forget about the past as much as you can and move on to the next game."