- Title: Bangladesh prepare to welcome England
- Date: 6th October 2016
- Summary: DHAKA, BANGLADESH (OCTOBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) BANGLADESH CRICKET CAPTAIN MASHRAFE MORTAZA ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE ASSEMBLED MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) BANGLADESH CRICKET CAPTAIN, MASHRAFE MORTAZA, SAYING: "We are welcoming them and the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) to come here and visit us and obviously the boys are very excited to play against England. I am expecting the series to be really good." CAMERAMEN WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) BANGLADESH CRICKET CAPTAIN, MASHRAFE MORTAZA, SAYING: "First of all, I would like to say that without these two players (one-day captain Eoin Morgan and batsman Alex Hales) England are going to be a weaker side. Obviously, they have some very exciting players as well that can change the game one-handed so I feel like this England is a very good side. As I said before that, it is really exciting to play against England and against this side." ASSEMBLED MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) BANGLADESH CRICKET CAPTAIN, MASHRAFE MORTAZA, SAYING: "We beat England in Australia in the world cup, about one-and-a-half years back and after that England has changed. They have played like a champion team and if you look at their performances over the last one-and-a-half years, most of their series have been wins. Obviously, I think England played really good cricket and most of them play in the IPL (Indian Premier League) in India so they know the conditions as well. So, I don't think there will be so many problems for them to play in that sort of conditions. But, also, I would like to say that our boys have been playing really good cricket the last two years so we are thinking with our cricket, how can we improve our game? I hope that this series will be very good." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY
- Embargoed: 21st October 2016 09:24
- Keywords: Mashrafe Mortaza Bangladesh cricket England tour security
- Location: DHAKA, BANGLADESH
- City: DHAKA, BANGLADESH
- Country: Bangladesh
- Topics: Cricket,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA00152VAVCV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Bangladesh welcome England to Dhaka for the first match of the tourist's month-long tour on Friday (October 7) and the host's captain Mashrafe Mortaza believes the sporting action will take centre stage following months of hype regarding the security situation in the country.
The tour had been in doubt over security concerns following a July 1 attack by Islamic militants on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people were killed, most of them foreigners.
But a risk assessment by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) security team concluded the situation in the country was stable enough for the tour to go ahead.
England have named a strong squad for the tour, that begins with a set of one day internationals before a test series later in the month, but one-day captain Eoin Morgan and batsman Alex Hales withdrew due to security concerns.
Mortaza believes Morgan and Hales will be missed but that England still possess the talent to cause troubles for the Bangladeshis on home soil.
"I would like to say that without these two players (one-day captain Eoin Morgan and batsman Alex Hales) England are going to be a weaker side. Obviously, they have some very exciting players as well that can change the game one-handed so I feel like this England is a very good side. As I said before that, it is really exciting to play against England and against this side," said Mortaza at a news conference on Thursday (October 6).
The last time Bangladesh faced England in a one-day match they emerged victorious, with a 15-run win at the 2015 World Cup in Adelaide. In fact, Bangladesh have won three of the last four ODIs between the two teams.
"We beat England in Australia in the world cup, about one-and-a-half years back and after that England has changed. They have played like a champion team and if you look at their performances over the last one-and-a-half years, most of their series have been wins. Obviously, I think England played really good cricket and most of them play in the IPL (Indian Premier League) in India so they know the conditions as well," warned Mortaza.
Last year, Australia pulled out of their tour to Bangladesh over security concerns and did not compete in the under-19 World Cup hosted in the country for the same reasons.
Cricket is no stranger to dealing with security concerns in South Asia. Pakistan have hosted most of their international matches in the United Arab Emirates since a bus containing the Sri Lanka team was attacked by 12 gunmen in Lahore in 2009. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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