Siddons targets India

ICC World Twenty20
Siddons targets India
Bangladesh national cricket team have tar-getted beating India in their first match of the ICC World Twenty20s in England and are all set to depart amidst some modest but important concerns from coach Jamie Siddons.
Siddons’s biggest worry is the lack of international exposure that the Tigers have had ahead of the tournament and he believes that it is a worrying factor as the players have not faced quality bowling attacks in the recent past.
“Definitely it’s a cause for concern for us since we haven’t faced world-class opponents for some time now. The boys have played plenty of domestic cricket here and in Chittagong, but they haven’t faced good fast bowlers and the practice matches we have played are good but not really world-class,” said Siddons.
Bangladesh team will fly out for London on May 23. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have scheduled a seven-day training camp at Wormsley, which includes three unofficial practice matches against New Zealand on May 26, Netherlands on May 28 (Canterbury) and against Scotland on May 29.
Captain Mohammad Ashraful and vice-captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza will join the squad in Wormsley a day after the team arrives in England as they would first travel from South Africa to Dhaka and then catch a flight to London on May 24.
Bangladesh’s official practice matches are against Australia on June 1 and Sri Lanka on June 4 at Trent Bridge.
Bangladesh have been pitted in Group A along with defending champions India and ICC associate member Ireland in the second version of the ICC World Twenty20s which will begin on June 5. Ashraful’s men face India on June 6 and Ireland on June 8 at Trent Bridge.
Siddons is happy with his schedule of practice matches but felt that it would have been better if the side were pitted against more quality bowling line-ups.
“I hope the five practice matches will help us recover all that we have missed but again, we are facing the likes of Scotland who also don’t have fast bowlers to push us. So I hope we pick up the pace sooner so that we are ready for the challenge ahead,” added the coach.
Siddons did not just point out India as an early kill but also explained that reaching the second round and living up to the Tiger’s name of giant killers were equally important.
“Anyone can win in a Twenty20 game and anyone can get knocked over. But we are hoping to beat India in our first game and we are not too worried about our second game against Ireland. Realistically we want to get to the Super Eights and once we are there we want to be the giant killers that people think we are. But we don’t want any games to be a fluke; I’d rather want them to be genuine victories for us. It’s bit of a cliché but we are trying to beat India first, that’s our main target,” said Siddons.
On the issue of whether captain Ashraful and his deputy Mashrafe have missed out on some valuable preparation ahead of the competition, the coach kept his fingers crossed and considered the practice matches will be good enough for them to turn in some good performances.
“I pushed for Mash (Mashrafe Bin Mortaza) and Ash (Mohammad Ashraful) to join the squad early as it’s important to gel together as a team. It’s a big sacrifice on their part as they are going to come here and just a day later they will fly out to England.
“They are not getting the match practice they need at the moment so its important for them to join us for the practice games in England. If they have some success they will be ready. Ashraful holds the key for us to win games as he is the number three batter and it’s important for him to fire early on if we want to win games,” added the Australian.
The rookies in the team Shamsur Rahman and Mohammad Mithun look forward to making the playing eleven in their debut season but the shaven-headed coach thinks they need to work on a few things before they can sustain their careers at the international stage.
“I haven’t seen too much of the two new boys although we have been working with them. They have got issues as most of the guys who have gone through our system have had like backlift and stuff but I am not toying too much with them and just letting them play their instinctive game.
“But for them to be long term players a few changes need to be made and then there’s the added pressure of facing the media and meet the board members and cameras in their faces; its all so nerve wracking. We just need to give them some time and they will be okay,” said Siddons.

Courtesy of The Daily Star