Future of B'desh cricket is rosy: Whatmore

[reverse_swing]

DHAKA, Dec 9: World Cup winning coach Dav Whatmore on Thursday defended Bangladesh's standing as a Test-playing nation and said the country's cricket future looked "rosy".

Whatmore, who led Sri Lanka to World Cup triumph in 1996 before taking over as Bangladesh coach two years ago, said the hosts were on the "right track" and the failure to notch up one Test win since gaining Test status in 2000 did not mean that there was no progress.

"It is definitely disappointing, and at times frustrating. But as a new Test team, we have a slightly different set of goals, and the players are working harder to achieve that goal," Whatmore said on the eve of the first Test against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium from Friday.

He said the performance against New Zealand, when Bangladesh bounced back from a disastrous Test series to run the Kiwis close in the three oneday Internationals, promised a lot.

"Against New Zealand, there were definite positive signs and the performance was a lot more encouraging. There was a glimpse of what is to come in the future," Whatmore said.

Whatmore preferred to look at the larger picture instead of hoping for one breakthrough win.

"There is no short term fix. Our planning is right, the domestic cricket is rich in talent and youngsters are coming through. The right ingredients are there but it will take time" he said.

"The one win will help, because we can't ignore that now. But that will only be a short term fix, what we are looking for is a long term fix. The one win will come along the way," the coach added.

"Couple of dips are going to be there but we are on the right track."

The Australian felt it was harsh to strip Bangladesh of Test status as some have called for.

"Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but if one cares to dig deeper into the results we have got, you will find that there has always been some improvement," he said.

"What we need is a system and positive approach. The future of Bangladesh cricket is rosy," Whatmore said.



-Times of India

[Ameer]

He says the future is rosy but doesn't really give a reason why... we all know Bangladesh will eventually get a win, but there hasn't been any progress as of late.

[Tehsin]

I agree with him on one point - "if one cares to dig deeper into the results we have got, you will find that there has always been some improvement".

I bet you that the majority of people that scream their lungs out when they down BD, don't even follow BD matches carefully, they only see the bad results and the end score. We have fought some really good battle but I will admit that we have not lived upto expectations yet. It's hard to have a great attitude on the field when you constantly loosing and there's a price on your head (test status).

[AsifTheManRahman]

all this is []...i wonder when fans will stop buying all this crap.

Edited on, December 11, 2004, 5:33 PM GMT, by chinaman.

[PoorFan]

I wonder how long he can stick with us and his stats on BD.