Bangladesh v Ireland: Malan urges Ireland to 'go through the gears' in second Test
Harry Tector made his Test debut in Dhaka in 2023, scoring twin half-centuries, but didn't enjoy the same success with the bat in last week's Test.However, the 25-year-old feels "there were a lot of positives" from Ireland's all-round performance they can take into the second Test."The way 'Stirlo' [Paul Stirling] batted up top was brilliant, and the two guys who made their debuts looked very comfortable at this level," he said."Cade [Carmichael] played beautifully with the bat - he made his debut in ODIs (One Day Internationals) during the summer against the West Indies and I thought he looked very at ease there against a high-quality pace attack at home. And then to come out here in totally different conditions to back home and look as comfortable as he did, scoring 50 in the first innings was brilliant."Jordan [Neill], he's still so young and he's still learning, but he's got lots of brilliant attributes as the all-rounder – he's a seriously talented batter, and we saw that with the runs he scored quite naturally."The Ireland team was not oblivious to events in Budapest on Sunday where the Republic of Ireland's footballers scored a stunning 3-2 win over Hungary courtesy of Troy Parrott's last-gasp winner to complete his hat-trick.That result kept their hopes of a place in next year's World Cup alive and the feel-good factor carried into the cricket squad as they watched in team captain Andy Balbirnie's room."When the second goal (equaliser) went in, we were excited, but when the third went in it was just pandemonium," Tector reported."Football in the Republic of Ireland is probably the only sport that can galvanise the entire country and it brings a real sense of national pride."I was only two years old the last time the country was at a World Cup (2002) so we have been waiting a long time. The fact they still have a chance to do it is an incredible achievement, so I was really proud."
