/ 19 July 2006

Bangladesh confident of overseas glory in Africa

Bangladesh are confident of picking up a first overseas victory when they embark on a back-to-back one-day international series in Zimbabwe and Kenya later this month.

”We have displayed a lot of improvement in recent times, so it is fair to say we are favourites for both series,” Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar told a news conference on Wednesday.

Last year, Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe 3-2 in a one-day series before going on to rout Kenya 4-0 in March to register their two home series victories to date.

”We know it won’t be as easy as when we played at home. But we still believe we have enough fire power to beat them under their conditions,” Bashar added.

”We are very confident that we can win the series, but we do need to adjust [to the conditions] as quickly as possible,” coach Dav Whatmore said.

Bangladesh named a 16-man squad for the Africa tour on Monday and after finishing their preparations, the team will leave Dhaka for Zimbabwe on Monday.

The first of five one-dayers against Zimbabwe is on July 29 before the tourists head to Kenya for a three-match series starting on August 12. – Reuters