The stage is set in Sylhet for an intriguing three-match T20 international series between Bangladesh and the Netherlands, with both sides entering the contest confident in their preparation and mindful of the challenge ahead.

For the hosts, head coach Phil Simmons was upbeat about the team’s build-up, despite the interruptions caused by weather.

“The camp has been good. Other than the rain, it’s been good. It’s been extremely hot during the day. It’s been nice,” Simmons said, adding that Sylhet’s facilities are comparable to the best around.

“Sylhet is comparable to most places in the world because of the quality of the wicket, the quality of the practice wicket. I’ve been very good the few times that I’ve been here.”

Team selection, however, remains undecided on the eve of the match.

“Tomorrow (today), when we sit down, or this evening when we sit down and decide who’s the 11 for the first game, then we’re going to know how to adjust the next two games and who’s going to have a game and everything like that. But we haven’t got to that stage yet,” Simmons explained.

But Simmons had some updates regarding Shamim Hossain and Parvez Hossain Emon.

“Shamim, for the last five or six days has been very good. He has done a lot. He has done everything we did today (Friday). So, he’s back up to fitness. Emon hurt his shoulder, yes, but he is fine. He did everything today. He’s passed fit. So, they’re both fit to play, but I think that Patwari is going to need a few more days.”

The Bangladesh coach was also quick to warn against any complacency. “Of course, it’s going to be challenging. The Netherlands have done well everywhere they have played. They have done well in the World Cups. So, it is going to be challenging. And as I said before, there is no weak team as such in international cricket. So, we have to play proper cricket in order to beat them.”

Across the divide, Netherlands head coach Ryan Cook—who is no stranger to Bangladesh after his tenure as the Tigers’ fielding coach between 2018 and 2021—struck a similarly confident note.

“The guys will do their best that they can to try and prepare. We’ve been preparing on some pretty good wickets in the Netherlands. So hopefully we’ll be able to customise ourselves quite quickly. I think hopefully we’ll be able to use that experience to put in a good performance tomorrow.”

Cook believes his side has grown accustomed to competing with higher-ranked nations through their recent World Cup experiences.

“We’re here with what we have. And we believe that if we play a good game of cricket, we can beat any team on any day and we have shown that we are capable of doing that. So yeah, of course we are confident that we can do it. We’ll need some players to stand up and put their hands up. They have been training for this for a long period of time and, not just sort of this moment, but obviously for the last three years and we are a team that’s been on the rise in terms of the associate nations and things like that and obviously qualifying for World Cups on several occasions. This is our fourth one in a row now. So we are sort of getting a bit more familiar with playing against these types of teams and what it takes to win.”

With both camps clear in their focus, the opening clash at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium promises a competitive start to the series. The match starts at 6 pm BST.

Forecasts show little chance of rain, but Sylhet’s skies remain unpredictable.

The writer can be reached at:[email protected]