"There was a bit of bounce when they played against Shoaib Akhter in Pakistan and also the three quicks of Australia who are pretty quality bowlers and we handled them pretty well. But I just feel that it was the variable bounce on this wicket that was the enemy of the batsmen rather than the actual length of the ball. The way the ball was moving made it hard for the batsmen," said Whatmore after the Tigers slumped to their 25th defeat in 26 Tests.

The Sri Lanka-born Australian was however philosophical rather than critical about this latest setback.

"It was disappointing no question about it. But the fact of the matter is it becomes a mental game when you are so far back from your opponent on the fourth day. It takes a super-human effort just to dig in and dig in and that doesn't come around most often. We also had two run outs which made matters worse especially the one of Habibul Bashar who was playing the pull shot beautifully."

Whatmore believed blasting the team for their failure wasn't the way to go about things at this stage.

"It's easy to sit back on the fence and criticise and I'm not saying some of those aren't correct. But we need support at the moment and not people saying we were terrible.

'We have been doing really well. We have played nine days of Test match cricket against England. Perhaps two of those nine days England dominated. You can't say that about the other seven days. So I would like to step back and look at it globally and come out with a few other angles rather than being negative and hitting the team hard."

Whatmore said that he would be patient and not jump into conclusions regarding the state of Bangladesh's cricket.

"From my experience, I can tell you that for any team that is aiming for the top from low down, the improvement graph is never a straight one. There will be dips here and there but how they come out of it in the future will determine how good or bad this team was."

The coach said that not playing another specialist pace bowler in Tapas Baisya by dropping one of the two left-arm spinners on a wicket favouring seam movement wasn't a decisive factor as far as he was concerned.

"You can say a lot of things in hindsight. But I don't think it was the difference between the two teams."

Whatmore was asked about Alok Kapali's reckless attitude in the two Tests when he repeatedly got out trying to hook.

"That boy is a gifted cricketer and only 20 years of age. He's got a lot to learn. Still, I think he plays the hook shot pretty well and also the pull shot. So he should continue playing them," said Whatmore.

Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud said he had no regrets about bowling first in this Test.

"The wicket appeared to have something for the pace bowlers so we fielded. There is always the question of outcome but we are not discussing about it at the moment. What is important to me is that the players really want to play good cricket and that is a big plus."

Mahmud felt the batsmen didn't compliment the bowlers in Chittagong and that's where the match was decided.

"I thought the bowlers bowled extremely well. But the batsmen couldn't apply themselves in this Test."

The captain, who took a number of blows on his body from short-pitched deliveries, also suggested that the pitch played a part in the batting collapse.

"I believe they bowled short at me as I love to play the pull. But as the coach has pointed out, it was the inconsistency of the bounce that made it very difficult. If you tried to leave the ball it came at your body."

Mahmud, who has had a torrid time as a player but has proved himself as good motivator and an astute decision maker, said he would love to continue as captain.

"It's up to the selectors. But I would like to carry on."