Bangladesh’s junior cricket team is planning to present the country their biggest Eid gift when they take on hosts Australia in the first quarter-final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Townsville on Sunday.
The game coincided with the Eid-ul-Fitr, which will be celebrated in Australia on the matchday and the junior Tigers are in no mood to spoil the party.
They reached Townsville, a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia in the state of Queensland, on Friday and after having a break from their usual practice enjoyed their time thoroughly on the famous tropical beach and garden strip The Strand.
‘The players have been given a break from the usual practice session and they are enjoying the scenic beauty of the beach,’ coach Sarwar Imran told New Age over phone from Townsville
‘The break has been given so that the players can regain their drive and energy as they had a very tight schedule in the first week of the tournament.
‘If we can beat Australia it will be the biggest Eid gift for Bangladesh and they are really looking forward to that,’ said Imran.
Imran, who took the helm after the failure in the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup, believes his charges are fully capable of beating Australia, who are on a high after winning their all three matches.
Bangladesh stood second behind South Africa in their group with two wins out of three matches with their only defeat coming against group leaders South Africa.
‘I think they are highly motivated to put up a good show against the Australians. The way they are performing I don’t think it is impossible for this side to beat them,’ said Imran.
History is giving Bangladesh some encouragement as they had had some success against the Australians at the junior level. Bangladesh defeated Australia by eight runs in the plate final at home in 2004, a result that is still one of their high points at this level.
The Junior Tigers, however, did better than winning plate in the Under-19 World Cup when they reached the quarter-finals twice in 2006 and 2008 but fell to England and South Africa respectively.
Coach Imran is not too worried about the condition that may favour the home side.
‘They are doing well for their home advantage but we are also well accustomed to the condition as we are here now for quite sometime,’ he said.
Bangladesh reached Australia on July 27 and also played two additional practice matches which the coach believed helped them adapt well to the condition.
-With New Age input
