Golden future for Whatmore's tigers?
AFP
Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore is dreaming of a golden future for his
young side who edged out India for a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup
Super Eights.
Bangladesh
have made the second round for the first time and will face Australia,
Whatmore's own country, in their next match here on Saturday.
"It's terrific," said Whatmore of his team whose average age is just 22.
"We've
got a couple of more experienced players, but the vast majority of them
are under 25, which is absolutely perfect for an emerging team like us.
"They now have an absolutely wonderful opportunity to play
against seven of the world's best sides and they will grow enormously
because of that experience.
"I understand that we are still
ranked number nine in the world and have a long way to go before we are
consistently challenging the big boys. But we've got the resources and
talent to really progress and we will be going to the Super Eights to
really enjoy ourselves.
"And from a personal point of view
it's great to be in a position where your team is playing well and your
methods are being validated."
Whatmore is no stranger to ICC Cricket World Cup sensations having been at the helm when Sri Lanka won the title in 1996.
Bangladesh
made the second round with a win over India and a nervy seven-wicket
victory over Bermuda achieved in the semi-gloom of the Queen's Park
Oval on Sunday.
"I thought the game (against Bermuda) was an
extremely difficult one and the boys did brilliantly to keep their
focus," said Whatmore.
"I know we were only chasing a small
total (96), but the ball was doing all sorts of things out there in the
first ten overs, and it took a very brave batting performance from the
middle order to get us through.
"They've never really been in that situation before, with so much on the line and with so much to lose.
"This
is very significant for us. It's something we always believed we could
do if we played to the best of our ability and had a little bit of
luck," Whatmore told reporters.
"We were the first team to
arrive in the Caribbean and had a couple of extra matches in the
conditions against Canada and Bermuda. We've only had one training
session called off because of bad weather and in general our
preparation has been as thorough and as focused as it possibly could
be.
"People might think we've caused upsets but we knew deep down that we were capable of beating the best teams on our day."
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