da dobrowin： Bangladesh play two Tests in New Zealand but its in the limited-overs format that their captain feels they can win, provided they get runs on the board
Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2007
Stack ’em up: Ashraful feels Bangladesh’s batsmen are the key © Getty Images
Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh’s captain, believes his young side can give New Zealand a run for their money in a three one-day international contest later this month. Bangladesh also play two Tests in New Zealand but its in the limited-overs format that their captain feels they can win, provided they get runs on the board.”Our bowling attack is reasonably good. If we can post a good total, it will not be impossible to win one or two games in the one-day series,” Ashraful told the before the team’s departure. “We are not too concerned about the Test matches right at this moment. First of all we will try to put a good show in the one-day series.”Bangladesh, who have only played two Tests previously in New Zealand, are scheduled to begin their tour with a warm-up match against Northern Districts starting on December 19. The first one-dayer is on December 26 in Auckland, followed by fixtures Napier (December 28) and Queenstown (Dec 31).”If we can do well in the one-day internationals, the spirit in the Tests will be high automatically,” said Ashraful. “No doubt it is going to be a tough tour … but we have confidence in ourselves. We are not going to be easy prey for New Zealand.”Mashrafe Mortaza has been named Ashraful’s deputy; the tenures of both the captain and vice-captain have been extended until December 2008. “As a bowler I might get some advantage from this kind of condition but overall it’s a very tough tour for us” said Mortaza, Bangladesh’s pace spearhead.Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh’s coach, kept it simple. “I have already talked a lot about this tour. Nothing could have been better then if we can win some matches. But my main desire is to see my boys playing as per their potential.”