‘We are playing for the country, we try our level best’

After yet another Test debacle, with the side suffering defeat in under two-and-a-half days, questions will be asked about the commitment from the national team players. Bangladesh middle-order batsman Mohammad Mithun asserted that everyone was trying their best but the difference in performance between the Kiwis and the Bangladesh side was also due to the difference in experience between the two teams.

'This is what Test cricket is," Mithun began. "This is the difference between Tests and the other formats. It is about how much mental strength you have and how determined you are," he said after Tigers failed to come up with a plan against Neil Wagner's short-ball barrage yesterday.

For Mithun, the team knows that they are representing the country at the highest level and they do not bring such embarrassments willfully.

"I'm sure everyone tries their all to give hundred percent. We are not playing for a club or street cricket, we are playing for the country. The intention is always there [to play well]. If you ask me personally, I'm trying my hundred percent," said Mithun who has shown both good application and perseverance with the bat during the ongoing New Zealand tour.

The difference is class between the Kiwis stem from different factors according to Mithun. "If you look at the wickets, these types of wickets are difficult to produce in our country. It's also not just about the wickets; these kinds of bowlers [Trent Boult, Neil Wagner etc] are also needed. In Test cricket, experience is so important and their bowlers are very experienced and been playing for a long time," he opined.

"We don' have bowlers with that kind of experience. They [Kiwis] got better with more games under the belt."

Bangladesh's lack of Test matches is not an unknown factor and Mithun cited that bowling will only get better with more experience in the Test circuit.

"When we get the opportunity to play more matches at the international level, then one day our bowling will be very good too."