Cricket: Dazed and confused Bangladesh's horror start

Bangladesh face a monumental task in restoring their World Cup credibility after a humiliating loss to tournament minnows Canada.

The Bangladeshis, the 10th and most recent addition to the test-playing nations, had expected to beat Canada convincingly, but crashed to a 60-run defeat in pool B on Wednesday.

Now they face a difficult task against Sri Lanka, who kicked off with a strong display in beating New Zealand, at Pietermaritzburg tonight.

Asked whether the Canadian loss was the greatest cricketing embarrassment experienced by Bangladesh, captain Khaled Mashud dodged the question.

"Cricket is a funny game and anything can happen," he said without conviction.

"We batted very badly, even though we were confident going into the match.

"But, then again, we knew they would be a useful side. After all, they had to qualify for the World Cup."

Even more embarrassing for Bangladesh was that Canada's assortment of amateurs had not played together as a unit since August. They have just five players with first-class experience.

Furthermore, Canada had lost all three games in their only previous appearance at the cup, in 1979.

Their score of 45 against England at Old Trafford remains a tournament low. It is also the third-lowest in one-day international history.

But Bangladesh have their own record to worry about.

Canada's first cup victory meant they have not won a one-dayer for 27 matches, a wretched run including a world record 23 defeats in a row and dating back to the 1999 cup in England.

The one match that they did not lose was rained off.

Four years ago, the Asian side produced one of the biggest upsets in cup history with their 62-run victory over Pakistan, but questions were raised over the commitment of Pakistan's effort, the side having already qualified for the next phase.

"We certainly feel under pressure to prove ourselves at this World Cup," Bangladesh manager Abu Sharif Mahmood Faruque said.

"Our aims at the start of this tournament were simple really, we had to beat Canada and Kenya, and whatever good happened after that would be a bonus.

"We needed to get off to a positive start in this tournament, but we didn't.

"All we can now do is regroup and try to do a lot better."

REUTERS


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