Ireland’s hopes of sneaking a draw vanished late on day five in Dhaka, leaving Bangladesh 217-run winners and comfortable 2-0 victors in the Test series. The tourists batted 59.3 overs on the last afternoon, and for most of that time Curtis Campher looked immovable.
Key facts
• Bangladesh win by 217 runs, complete clean sweep.
• Campher 71* from 259 balls – the longest fourth-innings stay by an Ireland batter.
• Gavin Hoey (36 from 104 balls) and debutant Jordan Neill offered support.
• Left-arm spinner Hasan Murad ended the resistance with wickets in successive balls just before tea.
“[Curtis Campher] is someone that is hard to get out when he is in his bubble,” captain Andy Balbirnie said afterwards. “He is very determined not to get out even when he is in the nets. He has such a strong defense, he showed that today.”
Campher’s vigil forced Bangladesh to send down 100 overs in a fourth innings at the Shere Bangla for the first time. The 26-year-old all-rounder rarely played against the turn, trusted a compact forward press and, crucially, left well. With the rest of the recognised batting gone by lunch, his goal became simple: stay in.
Hoey’s emerging all-round package
Balbirnie has long known Hoey from Dublin club cricket. “I play with Gavin in club cricket in Dublin. I have known him since he was a kid. His dad was an Irish international in the 1990s. He was a legspinner as well. I think [Hoey] has only been bowling legspin since [Covid] lockdown, so it’s been five years. He was a seam bowler [earlier],” the skipper said.
The 22-year-old lasted more than 100 deliveries and turned a few sharply, hinting at a second-innings role that may grow with experience. Balbirnie wants overs into Hoey’s legs – and into Ireland’s wider spin stocks – if they are to compete consistently in Asia.
Snuffed-out hope
There was a flicker of belief while Campher and Hoey dug in. “[There were expectations] probably just before Murad took the two wickets,” Balbirnie admitted. “There was a small bit of excitement in the dressing room at that drinks break… The two wickets in two balls put an end to that pretty quickly. It was an enthralling day’s play. I think Curtis can be proud of his work today.”
Murad’s double strike – Hoey caught at slip, Matthew Humphreys pinned first ball – ensured Ireland’s tail could not hang around long enough. The remaining wickets fell swiftly, Campher running out of partners on 71 not out.
A fair surface, but lessons to learn
The match going deep into a fifth day owed plenty to a well-paced pitch. “A lot of us had seen the West Indies ODI series. We were a bit nervous coming here,” Balbirnie said, recalling the spin-heavy surfaces of recent months. “When we arrived, we thought [the pitch] would break up quickly, but it held together… It was a good cricket wicket.”
Even so, Ireland managed only one substantial partnership in each innings throughout the series. Top-order batters fell pushing at balls that might have been left, middle-order players were worked over by tight spin lines – small but costly lapses that add up across five days.
Campher’s forward stride, Hoey’s emerging leg-spin and Jordan Neill’s tidy seam work mean the visitors do take positives home. Yet Balbirnie did not hide from reality. “It is a shame that no one from the top and middle order could hang around for long enough… We were behind the game a lot. Bangladesh deserved to win the series 2-0.”
Bangladesh, with three spinners locking into length and Shoriful Islam providing reverse swing after lunch, rarely lost control. Even on a surface Balbirnie described as “pretty fair”, the hosts’ ability to sustain pressure – particularly through Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam – highlighted the gap Ireland must bridge.
Where next?
Ireland head home for a brief red-ball break before turning to white-ball commitments. Indoor training will be swapped for early-summer county pitches, yet the coaching staff have already pencilled in extra spin sessions. The task is obvious: replicate Campher’s stubbornness throughout the order and grow bowling depth so that, next time they come east, day five might be about forcing victory rather than delaying defeat.
