Heroes returning home after successful world cup mission

Tigers are returning home after a successful world cup campaign, they will reach Bangladesh tomorrow (26th April) in the early morning. BanglaCricket is welcoming the Tigers to their den and expressing gratitude for raising the image of the country.

Bangladesh team have already left London via flight number BA 145 which is expected to land at Zia International Airport at 06:10 AM. Tigers who brought immense pride for the country are expected to be received by BCB officials, former captains, journalists, and thousand of fans.

Heroes returning home © Cricinfo

In the world cup Bangladesh managed to achieve their target to reach the super eights by toppling India at the group stage. Tigers continued their giant-killing act by defeating top ranked South Africa in the super eights encounter and eventually revived the world cup. Bangladesh also managed to defeat New Zealand in the warm-up match and registered win over Bermuda in their last group match.

Despite some poor performances, this is the biggest achievement by Bangladesh team in their cricket history. Bangladesh finished 7th in the 14 nation tournament.

After a gruelling three months long Caribbean tour in which they won the ICC tri-series and reached the top stage of the world cup, Tigers will be back on the field within a very short time. The home series against India will be starting from 10th May.

Review of Bangladesh World Cup 2007 mission in numbers

Here's a mini review of Bangladesh world cup mission in numbers.


5 : The winning margin in wickets against India at group stage match in Trinidad

216 : Runs scored by Mohammad Ashraful and the new record for most runs made by a Bangladeshi batsman in world cup.

28 : Number of wickets taken by the spin trio of Bangladesh

5.16 : Average of Shahriar Nafees in world cup. He managed to score 29 runs in 6 innings.

3.85 : Bowling economy of Syed Rasel. He took 8 wickets at an average of 29.85

67 : The winning margin in runs against South Africa at super eights match in Guayana

318 : Highest run scored against Bangladeshi bowling line up. Sri Lanka piled 318-4 in the group stage match.

13 : Number of wickets taken by Abdur Razzak and is the new record for most wickets by a Bangladeshi bowler in world cup.

84.76 : Strike rate of Aftab Ahmed. He scored 128 runs with an average of 14.22

25 : Number of boundaries hit by Tamim Iqbal, only Ashraful hit more boundaries (27) than him.

39.00 : Strike rate of Javed Omar Belim in this world cup. He scored 55 runs in his 3 innings.

112 : Lowest total by Bangladesh in world cup 2007 (against Sri Lanka)

3 : Number of 6's hit by 3 Bangladeshi batsman (Sakib, Aftab, Mashrafee)

87 : Highest individual score by any Bangladeshi batsman in world cup. Ashraful scored match winning 87 against South Africa

4-38 : Best bowling by any Bangladeshi bowler in world cup. Mashrafe Mortaza took 4-38 against crucial group match against India.

56* : Highest score in world cup debut by any Bangladeshi batsman. Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten on 56 to guide Bangladesh home against India.

9 : Number of matches Bangladesh played in world cup 2007

156.25 : Strike rate of Mashrafe Mortaza in his little cameo (25 off 16 balls) against South Africa

46 : Number of opposition wickets taken by Bangladeshi bowlers.

251 : Highest total made by Bangladesh in any world cup matches (against South Africa)

84 : Highest partnership made by Bangladeshi batsmen in this world cup. Sakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful shared a 4th wicket 84 run stand against South Africa

6 : Number of catches taken by Aftab Ahmed and Tamim Iqbal

86 : Most runs conceded by a Bangladeshi bowler in his 10 over spell in this world cup. Abdur Razzak bagged 1 wickets for 86 runs against Sri Lanka

2.20 : Ecoonomy rate of Mohammad Rafique against South Africa. It is a new record of best economy rate in a 10 over spell by any Bangladeshi bowler in a world cup match.

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"Self-belief is the main difference" - Whatmore

Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore who is set to resign after the forthcoming India series said Bangladesh has made giant strides in international cricket over the last few years and the confident and talented young players will continue to progress.

According to Dav, "self-belief" is the main difference between the current team and the previous Bangladesh.

"The Bangladeshi side of three years ago wouldn't have been able to overhaul the target of 192 (against India) or could not defend 251 (against South Africa). They have learnt to win and approach the game with a positive frame of mind" he said referring to the historic wins against India and South Africa.

Self-belief is the main difference - Whatmore © Getty Images

Whatmore in his first interview after taking the charge of Bangladesh said "We have to try and change that defeatist attitude. Individual improvement and collective improvement are the areas in which I am going to work on".

And he did exactly what he said and during his 4 years tenure has effectively turned a losing side into a winning outfit. He effectively instilled a new optimism and discipline to a team that had not won a single match for four years. The comprehensive transformation from the 'defeatist attitude' towards 'victorious approach' is the most significant achievement for Bangladesh cricket in years.

"It gives me a tremendous satisfaction to see a group of players who have come a long way since I joined in 2003. The team has changed and it will continue to change. It will always evolve. That's how I look at it" said Whatmore in his reaction to AFP.

"A lot of these boys are willing to work a lot harder out in the middle during difficult periods. I believe these young players will take Bangladesh to a long way".

Dav Whatmore took the helm of Bangladesh Cricket in June 2003 and will stay in charge until the end of May 2007. Upcoming home series against India will be his last series with Bangladesh.

Whatmore has led Bangladesh to 33 wins in 86 one-day internationals and also coached the side to a first ever test victory, against three draws and 21 defeats.

Dav Whatmore resigns as Bangladesh coach

After coaching Bangladesh for 4 years and leading them to World Cup Super Eights, Dav Whatmore has stepped down as Bangladesh's coach citing personal reasons.

He has decided not to renew his contract with BCB which expires at the end of April. However, he has agreed to remain in charge of Tigers until the end of May to cover the India series. This will allow Bangladesh Cricket Board to find his successor before the away series to Sri Lanka which starts in July.

Dav Whatmore quits as Bangladesh coach © Cricinfo

Whatmore took the charge of Bangladesh after Tigers infamous debacle in World Cup 2003 and in his 4 years (he extended his initial 2 years contract in June 2005 for another 2 years) he has transformed them into one of the most exciting side of world cricket.

Whatmore has led Bangladesh to 33 wins in 86 one-day internationals and also coached the side to a first ever test victory, against three draws and 21 defeats.

Bangladesh Cricket Board in a media release expressed gratitude to Dav Whatmore for raising the standard of performance of the National Team in International cricket.

BCB also formed a six-member committee to find the successor of Dav Whatmore

Bangladesh have a point to prove against West Indies

Bangladesh is facing host West Indies in their final super eights match of the world cup at Kensington Oval in Barbados today. After losing to Ireland on last Sunday at the same venue, Bangladesh is desperately looking for a win to bow out of the world cup on a high.

Bangladesh managed a roller coaster ride in the tournament and enjoyed some glorious moments after defeating India in group stages and South Africa in the super eights. The unpredictability of the Tigers were evident in rest of the matches and loss to Ireland raised question marks about their consistency in the top fights.

Bangladesh have a point to prove against West Indies © Cricinfo

Bangladesh is now fighting to avoid the bottom place in the super 8's table and skipper Habibul Bashar showed his frustration over the situation but vowed to finish the world cup with a better performance.

"We created our chances to reach semi-final by beating South Africa but here we are now fighting to avoid finishing in the last two". "We must give it our best shot to end on a high note, we must realize that we deserve a better place than last" said Bashar.

Host West Indies will try to lift the morale of the Caribbean supporters in their last two world cup matches. West Indies is already out of the semi-final race and the team management including Lara is facing harsh criticisms for the poor show from former West Indian greats.

Skipper Brian Lara who is retiring from one-day cricket at the end of the tournament, urged his team-mates to perform for the fans in their last two matches but he is not taking Bangladesh for granted. Team manager Clive Lloyd shared similar vision with Lara.

"They are a formidable side and have done well in this World Cup and they have beaten quite a few good sides in Tests so they are on their way up," said Lloyd.

"We don't take any team lightly, it's just that we haven't played quite as well as we could, our results have shown that," Lloyd added in an interview with AFP.

.Bangladesh has left out vice captain Shahriar Nafees out of the playing XI and left-arm seamer Syed Rasel, who missed the Ireland match due to last minute injury is retiring to the side.

Bangladesh is yet to win any match against West Indies in their last 12 encounters.

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Denesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Daren Powell, Kieron Pollard.

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqib Al Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.

Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZ) and Rudi Koertzen (SA).

Bangladesh face their first upset of world cup

Ireland dashed Bangladesh's slim World Cup semifinal hopes after an excellent all-round display handed the debutants a 74-run victory in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday.

With this upset win Ireland earned the 12th place in the ICC ODI ranking. The result also gave Ireland their first Super Eights win, leaving both teams on two points each and fighting to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table with one match to play.

Having earmarked the contest against Bangladesh as the one Super Eights match they could win, Ireland ensured their surprise progress to the second round at the expense of Pakistan had not been in vain.

Opening batsman William Porterfield top-scored with a chancy 85 to guide Ireland to their highest Cup total of 243 for seven after choosing to bat.

Bangladesh slumped to the bottom of the standings after they were bowled out for 169, with their top order batsmen falling to reckless shots.

Ireland's amateur players took a lap of honour and their fans danced in the stands after claiming the battle of the two giant-killers.

Bangladesh can take almost nothing from the match as they were sloppy in all departments of the game. Bangladesh must regroup before facing host West Indies on next Thursday at the same venue.

England labour to defeat gritty Bangladesh

England overcame another nervy batting display to defeat Bangladesh by four wickets in their World Cup Super Eights match in Bridgetown, Barbados on Wednesday to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

England pacemen led by man-of-the-match Sajid Mahmood skittled out Bangladesh for 143 in the 38th over on a bouncy Kensington Oval pitch.

However, Bangladesh bowlers piled on the pressure as the new pitch slowed down before England reached 147 for six in the 45th over.

Bangladesh left-arm seamer Syed Rasel and left-arm spinners Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafique grabbed two wickets each to rattle England. Rasel had makeshift opener Ian Bell (0) caught at point and trapped Andrew Strauss leg before for 23.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak then removed skipper Michael Vaughan for a chancy 30 before taking the prize scalp of Kevin Pietersen for 10 runs. Vaughan, dropped on five by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim after nicking Rasel, top-edged a sweep to Habibul Bashar at short fine leg.

Veteran Mohmmad Rafiq brought Bangladesh back into the match after removing dangerman Flintoff and Ravi Boapara in the same over but at the end the total proved too low to restrict England