Exclusive: Dane Piedt Expects Bangladesh to be alot More Dangerous in their Own Backyard

Since being called up earlier this year, Dane Piedt has enjoyed his comeback to the Proteas Test team. He has expressed gratitude to coach Shukri Conrad for his belief in him, and he is looking forward to a challenging assignment away from home against Bangladesh.

The impact of the New Zealand tour

Proteas coach Conrad was thrown a curveball earlier this year, with CSA opting to give priority to their flagship T20 competition, the SA20, over a two-match Test tour down under.

Reliance was placed on players that missed out on the auction, and Conrad had to work his way through a team that had a few promising young players.

The squad lacked the necessary depth and just didn’t have what it took to maintain their unbeaten record against New Zealand as they suffered their first series loss (2-0) in the end.

On the other hand, having spent over three years in the United States of America looking to start a clean chapter away from South Africa, Piedt was lured back into the side, and at the time, his experience was gold, and his class also showed as he finds himself still within the plans.

“The tour to New Zealand was very important to me. Coming back after being away for four years and just trying to get a perspective of what I need to do within the Test team, I have been trying to put in good performances,” Piedt told SportsBoom.com.

“Shukri has had a lot of faith in me and in not just the New Zealand tour, but he saw a lot of potential in what I can do for the rest of the Test summer.”

The Tigers’ Challenge and key players to look out for

The tour to Bangladesh hung in the balance for a good period of time due to political unrest in the country. Uncertainty was cleared when Cricket South Africa announced earlier this week that the tour would go ahead following a thorough security assessment.

Fresh off their 2-0 series defeat against a strong Indian side, the Tigers had their moments in the series; however, Piedt expects them to pose a different challenge in their backyard.

The 34-year-old right-arm off-break bowler praised the quality and growth of the Tigers spinners, as well as their overall balance in the batting and bowling departments. He also believes the momentum South Africa carries from the series win in the West Indies will come in handy.

“They are a completely different team when they are home; they are a dangerous team, and they have a dangerous spin bowling attack.”

“Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz have really bowled well the last couple of years; they are a good team, and they have also unearthed a couple of fast bowlers.”

“They also have a good batting lineup, so at home it's always going to be a difficult task for us to beat them, but we are coming off a high after having won in the West Indies.”

“We are looking forward to the challenge, and if we play to the best of our abilities, everything will be good.”