Ebadot's focus on consistency and rhythm

They have played together in domestic cricket and know each other better than most as the three seamers Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed and Abu Jayed are all Sylhet natives. It would therefore be a unique experience for them if all three feature in a Test 11 when the first Test of three Tests between Bangladesh and New Zealand kicks off on the green-top of Seddon Park in Hamilton from Thursday.

It is however unlikely that the Sylhet trio will get the opportunity; it may instead be a toss-up between Ebadot and Jayed to complete a three-pronged pace attack where Mustafizur Rahman is an automatic choice.

There is reason to think that the 25-year-old Ebadot has the edge after the way the right-arm pacer continuously impressed the team think-tank while bowling in the nets in New Zealand. "It would be a proud moment for us if we can play together as after a long break cricketers from Sylhet are representing the national team," the uncapped Ebadot told reporters in Hamilton yesterday.

The most important thing for Ebadot, however, was the message their bowling coach Courtney Walsh gave them during a special session with the bowling group ahead of the first Test. The West Indies legend emphasised upon the need to take 20 wickets to win the Test.

"The coach called all four pacers and discussed everything, including the need to take 20 wickets to win the Test. We are very much confident," informed Ebadot.

Ebadot also said that they got some tips from the relatively more experienced Mustafizur regarding new-ball operation. "Among the four pace bowlers, Mustafizur has good experience in international cricket and he advised us to maintain consistency for the first four deliveries and then go for wickets in the next two balls," said Ebadot.

Along with the top-order batsmen, Bangladesh fast bowlers need to step up if the Tigers want to move past the misery of the whitewash in the preceding three-match ODI series against the Kiwis. Ebadot believed that it would bring more agony if the pacers became over-excited with the favourable conditions and instead stressed upon the importance of accuracy.

Ebadot said that he has improved a lot this time from the first visit to New Zealand and thanked High Performance coach Champaka Ramanayake for his progress. "I learnt in the last one-and-a-half years about the importance of accuracy and consistency in line and length in order to become a good red-ball bowler. I want to be a good Test bowler."

There was a question from Walsh about why he was there [in New Zealand] and in 2016 Ebadot said he was a novice and it was difficult for him to assess the weather and conditions, but this time he was looking forward to proving his worth. Ebadot also added they had undergone very good training in New Zealand which has helped them to adjust to conditions.

"Line and length and consistency -- I want to apply what I learned in practice," he said.

Ebadot is a big fan of former Australian speedster Brett Lee, but pace is not a big concern for him. It;s more about rhythm he prefers most.