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SYLHET, Bangladesh – Ireland Men’s Test squad has arrived in Sylhet ahead of the start of the two-Test series starting Tuesday, and Harry Tector was one player who was keen to build on the last time he played a Test in the country.

Tector was touring Bangladesh with Ireland in April 2023 when he was picked for his Test debut. He scored 50 and 56 in the two innings (see scorecard).

Speaking from the team hotel in Sylhet, Tector said:

We’re all certainly looking forward to Test cricket. It’s obviously a very rewarding format. I think that’s what I enjoy most about it. And I think the feeling you get after winning a Test match is different from any other format because that as a team you’ve had to play well for a number of days and put in consistent performances back-to-back in tough conditions.

I’ve fond memories of the last Test in Bangladesh, for sure. I think making my Test debut with so many of the other guys was very exciting. And yeah, I guess scoring runs in that game was nice, but I probably would have liked to have converted one of those 50s into 100 – a big 100 – so we could have got more runs on the board.

I’ve certainly fond memories of playing in Bangladesh, not just in Test cricket, but in all the other formats as well. I’ve enjoyed success batting here, so hopefully I can hit the ground running and put in some match-winning contributions this time around.

About the pitches:

Everyone seems to have a take on what the pitches will be like in Bangladesh, but I think you can get caught up in that too much. I think it’s important as players – and particularly as batters – to just assess conditions on the morning of the game, what it looks like, what it’s like overhead. Once you’re out there reacting to what you think the pitch is doing you that the practice you’ve put in is going to hold you in good stead for whatever the conditions and the bowlers dictate to you. I think you have to be prepared for everything. I’m not too concerned with what they produce. I back us to perform on it and, hopefully, out-perform them on those wickets.

On these spinning wickets, will he expect to contribute with the ball?

Spin is a big factor always in Bangladesh, but I don’t see myself contributing much with the ball. I think we’ve got three quality frontline spinners in Humphreys, McBrine and Hoey- and all three of them provide something different, which is brilliant for us to have that variety in our attack. So, I’m certainly looking forward to watching them bow and hoping that I don’t have to bowl.

It’s only our second time to play a multi-Test series, so we’re all looking forward to that. And I think there’s a very big amount of pride and motivation in the group. Coming off, three Test wins in a row, we just need to keep putting markers down to know that we’re competing and performing at the highest level of cricket.

I think everyone is under no illusions of how hard this series is going to be against Bangladesh in their own conditions. I think if you look at it, any team that wins away in Bangladesh has played really, really well. And so we know it’s going to be difficult, but I think everyone’s really excited to go out there and we have the confidence in the group to know that if we do the right things – with the bat and the ball and take our catches in the field – that we can produce results in Test cricket.