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Australia are looking to line up an all-pace attack to counter Bangladesh on a bouncy Kensington Oval wicket in their second league match of the ICC World Twenty20 on Wednesday.
Australia outclassed Pakistan in their first match and are keen to pick an extra pacer in Ryan Harris at the cost of a slow bowler on a track they feel will assist pace and bounce unlike the slow surfaces at St Lucia and Guyana.
Australian coach Tim Nielsen said Harris, who has replaced an injured Brett Lee in the squad, could join speedsters Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson.
"I don't think there's a risk in doing it (playing Harris)," Nielsen said. "The conditions in Barbados will suit our quicks, so I hope they (Bangaldesh) have been practising against fast bowling."
Nielsen said they would like to try out their bench strength before the important Super Eight matches. "We have played in St Lucia, we're in Barbados for a couple of games and then hopefully back in St Lucia for the semi-finals and then back in Barbados for the final. We had to think about those things initially. All the players are preparing well enough that even the four guys that didn't play in the first game could slot in quite easily and fulfil the role they were selected for," Nielsen was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons, however, feels Australia would commit a mistake if they play an extra pacer. "We've played practice matches here. There's nothing lightning quick about it. They can talk it up as much as they like. It will be quicker than most other wickets, definitely quicker than St Lucia. But it's also spinning and that will suit us," said Siddons.
If Harris is included, then their leg-spinning all-rounder Steven Smith may have to go out.
For Bangladesh to qualify to the Super Eight stage, they will have to beat Australia by a big margin. Bangladesh gave a good fight to Pakistan after being set to chase 171 runs but fell short by 21 runs.
As for Australia, it would be important for them to keep the momentum going after getting off to a good start with a 34-run win over defending champions Pakistan.
"We have got a good squad and the important thing would be to adapt to conditions. The players have done well in format in the last couple of months and we are motivated to perform better in Twenty20 cricket," Clarke said.
Nielsen said they are not taking Bangladesh lightly as they have the potential to wreck their ship. "We're aware that Bangladesh probably could have won their game against Pakistan. They got to a situation where they needed 50 runs off five overs and a lot of teams have done that before."
