Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, both teams, are quietly confident going into the two-match series in Sylhet.  Zimbabwe's experienced player Sean Williams thinks his team is ready for the task because the conditions are familiar, the lineups have been changed, and the players are motivated.

Both teams are getting ready for the first Test, which starts on April 20 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.  Williams told the press before the series that he was happy with how his team had trained both at home and since they got to Bangladesh. "I think the preparation for us has been good, in particular back at home in Zimbabwe. I think the guys have had a lot of game time. Our seamers has been bowling pretty well back there. The makeup of the team and the mental side of the team, the aura or the atmosphere amongst the group is really bubbly. So it's been awesome," said the 37-year-old left-hander.

Having toured Bangladesh on multiple occasions, Williams knows what to expect. Still, he emphasized the importance of adapting quickly to local conditions. "I’ve toured here so many times. It’s very simple thing to us. Obviously the sleep, the hydration and the eating are the most important things coming back again flying across the side but according to the wicket, the preparation exploring the little bit in the game and obviously identifying things moving that distraction and getting mentally focused is the key."

While the monsoon season is just beginning in Bangladesh, the weather might play a role during the Test, especially in Sylhet where rain has already interrupted training sessions. But Williams doesn’t mind. " I personally, at my age, I'm happy about that. But I really enjoyed the rain yesterday. I thought it was a fantastic thing to have during our training session, because if you look at the forecast, the forecast is due rain, so there's a possibility of interrupted play. So we had that opportunity to train through that and prepare for that."

Despite not playing a tour match ahead of the Test, Williams remains confident. He believes the Zimbabwean players are match-fit, having played enough back home. " No, I think it's fine. I think our boys have had more than enough games back at home."

Williams also hinted that the Sylhet pitch might play a little differently than expected. " I think it's a little bit of a different pitch this time. I think back then it was a lot slower and lower and a little bit of spin. This time there's a little bit more grass and seam friendly. Obviously, if you look at the statistics of this pitch now, majority of the wickets, if not 80 % of the wickets, are seam. So it's a seam-friendly surface, which in my opinion, with our bowlers, we've got some skilled bowlers, we've got some world-renowned bowlers in our side, within Richard Ngarava and Richard Ngarava. And then we've got great skill in Victor Nyauchi, and then we've got Trevor Gwandu coming through as well. So it's going to be an interesting contest.”

Bangladesh will be without several of their experienced stars — including Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, and Litton Das, who is sidelined due to injury. But Williams doesn’t see this as an automatic advantage for his team. " I think we're in the same situation. If you look at us, I think there are only four of us who have played in the subcontinent in a test match experience. So you know how I think, again, like I said, it's pretty much a level playing field there. And preparation-wise for our guys, we've had great preparation as well, so has the Bangladesh side. I think it's going to go down to the mental side of the preparation and how the boys are going to be able to cope and remove distraction and get through those freeze moments."