With half the equation out of their control, Bangladesh are expected to do their bit against minnows Netherlands in their fifth Group B game of the ICC Cricket World Cup in a day game at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here today.
A win against the Netherlands would help the Tigers immensely in their quest for a quarterfinal place as it would put them ahead of England, who are on five points, but the Tigers (4 points) have to wait for the result of the England-West Indies game on March 17 in Chennai.
The think-tank of the national team is also well aware of the consequences but head coach Jamie Siddons stressed on the need of taking a step at a time as the only encounter between the two sides was disastrous for his charges.
“The last time we met, they [the Dutch] beat us, they are a dangerous side for us. Although it was a heavily reduced game, 30-35 overs, we made 200-odd. They won off the last over I think. They are a dangerous team, we have to respect them and play good cricket to beat them,” said Siddons yesterday.
The Tigers are mulling two changes with Naeem Islam and Rokibul Hasan set to make way for Sohrawardi Shuvo and Shahriar Nafees in the playing eleven.
Siddons was also pleased with the nerve his side has shown, both of Bangladesh’s wins against Ireland and England going right down to the wire.
“I am really happy with the way we are winning the close games. Against New Zealand and Zimbabwe as well we won a couple of really close games. It’s starting to become a feature of our cricket.
“We don’t give up easily. If we get within striking distance, we come out in front rather than lose those games now, which hasn’t been the case in our history. I am really confident that it will be a good game and we will come out on top,” he said, though he ruled out the possibility of a one-sided game.
“240-250 will win the game, no problem. If we bat first, it’s plenty of runs. We are not going to be chasing 320 out there. But scoring 300 and keeping them to 150 is not realistic, that won’t happen on our wickets,” said Siddons.
Peter Borren, the Netherlands’ New Zealand-born captain, remained realistic of his side’s chances, especially in conditions they are not too familiar with.
“We are positive about it but we are very, very realistic about what will happen tomorrow [Monday], and in these conditions Bangladesh is obviously a very tough team to beat,” said the 27-year-old all-rounder.
Borren also lamented the lack of popularity of cricket in his adopted country, calling it a ‘minor sport’.
“Cricket’s a pretty minor sport in Holland. Obviously football and hockey are the major sports and a number of other sports is in the list before we start talking about cricket.
“It is a minor sport which we are encouraging a lot of youngsters to try and play. Probably us playing in the World Cup and hopefully doing well here will encourage a lot of them. It is a difficult challenge for us to try and compete with those sports in Holland,” rued Borren.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
