Rain, No Play

Bangladesh disappointed at the last World Cup in 2003. Their performance left many questioning why they had been granted Test status. In the four years since that time however, Bangladeshi cricket has come a long way. They have notched ODI wins over India, Sri Lanka and Australia in recent years and this cricket-mad nation will come to the World Cup with a very young and talented side. Also, with recent multiple victories against Zimbabwe in both ODIs and Tests, they can no longer be considered to be the least of the Test playing nations. In fact, 2006 saw Bangladesh posting the third best winning percentage in the world in ODIs. The caveat: only one win came against a team outside of Zimbabwe and associate nations.
 
Batting
 
22 year old batting prodigy Mohammad Ashraful had a down year. The batsman who became the youngest ever to score a Test century in 2001, and that on debut, was dropped from the side for a couple of matches. He regained his place almost immediately after making 263 in a first class match. 22 year old opener and vice captain Shariar Nafees became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score 1,000 ODI runs in calendar year in 2006. He also scored a Test century (his first) against the Australians, and will enter the World Cup as Bangladesh's form batsman. 21 year old Aftab Ahmed is a hard hitting right hander with much potential. He is coming off his highest ODI score of 92 this month against Zimbabwe. Teenage allrounder Saqibul Hasan is another hard hitting batsman, who if he gets a start could put up a big score. Captain Habibul Bashar is one of the few seasoned players in the side and will help to stabilise the middle order. Bashar scored a Test century against the Windies in 2004, as Bangladesh took a first innings lead in the St Lucia test. He is famously susceptible to the hook shot. Young 18 year old keeper Mushfiqur Rahim replaces ex captain Khaled Mashud in the side.
 
 Bowling
 
Up and coming 23 year old pacer Mashrafe Mortaza will lead the Tigers' bowling at the World Cup. He led the world with 49 ODI wickets in 2006 and will be ably supported by 20 year old pacer Shahadat Hossain  and 22 year old left arm seamer Syed Rasel. Shahadat is highly regarded and took a hat trick in an ODI against Zimbabwe last year. Left arm spinner Abdur Razzak (no relation to the Pakistani) is stingy with his bowling and was third in the world with 45 ODI wickets last year. Veteran allrounder Mohammad Rafique is still capable of taking wickets with his left arm spin. He is also a useful lower order batsman, and joined his captain as century makers against the Windies in that 2004 Test in St. Lucia. Rafique has also completed the double of 100 ODI wickets and 1,000 ODI runs.
 
Squad
 
Habibul Bashar (capt), Shariar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baisya, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.
 
Coach: Bangladesh is coached by former Sri Lanka World Cup winning coach and Australian player Dav Whatmore.
 
Previous World Cups: 1999, 2003
 
World Cup Record: 2 Wins 8 Losses 1 No Result
 
Best World Cup Finish: 1999 First Round
 
Outlook:
 
Bangladeshi cricket is looking up after a largely successful year in 2006. This World Cup will be important for erasing the memories of Bangladesh's horrible performance in 2003. An impressive performance on the World Cup stage will silence once and for all the critics who say that Bangladesh is out of their league. They have a talented side, no doubt, but one that is also largely untested and unproven as they lack consistent competition against the top teams. They should beat Bermuda easily and an upset could be in the works against Sri Lanka or India.
 
Group Matches (Group B)
 
Sat March 17 - India
Wed March 21 - Sri Lanka
Sun March 25 - Bermuda

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