Tables turned as Donald believes Tigers can win Test in South Africa

Allan Donald, who had once said that the Bangladesh batsmen have their foot in the toilet before facing the Proteas in South Africa, said on Tuesday that Bangladesh can beat them in their backyard.

Bangladesh will face South Africa in the first Test of the two-match series on Thursday after winning the One-Day International series 2-1.

Donald, in 2008, had written in a column that Bangladesh batsmen will run to the toilet from the fear of facing the South African quicks. Later, he had reinstated his opinion saying that it was the reality.

But the tables have turned, and Donald, appointed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, said that Bangladesh have the chance to win a Test in South Africa.

“Bangladesh have won a Test in New Zealand and now the ODI series in South Africa. So, it shows that they can do it, and most importantly, it shows that it can be done here in South Africa,” he said.

14 years after stating that Bangladesh batsmen would be afraid of the Protea quicks, Donald is now ‘pleasantly surprised’ with the quality the Bangladesh pace attack has.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised, seeing the bowlers up close for the first time. The likes of Taskin (Ahmed), Shoriful (Islam), and Khaled (Ahmed) have shown great attitude. They want to give their best. They are good listeners, and I think they’ve exploited the conditions in South Africa wonderfully well. They were aggressive and executed their plans well in the ODI series,” Donald said on Bangladesh seamers.

The former Protea pacer, nicknamed ‘White Lightning’, has already helped Bangladesh claim a historic ODI series win in South Africa. Bangladesh will be hoping for more of the same in the Test series.

The first Test will be played at the Kingsmead stadium in Durban from March 31 to April 4. The second Test will start on April 8 at Port Elizabeth.