Date:19/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/19/stories/2007061960241800.htm

Sport - Cricket

Bangladesh vows to be tough

Colombo: Bangladesh has vowed to be tough and competitive in the cricket series against Sri Lanka starting next week.

The Bangladesh team visits Sri Lanka after a heavy defeat of an innings and 239 runs in its second home Test match and a 0-1 series loss to India.

But the team’s stand-in Australian coach, Shaun Williams, said it hopes to put on a good performance in Sri Lanka. “We will be tough and we will be competitive,” he told reporters in Colombo on Monday.

Mohammad Ashraful, who has taken over the captaincy, said the team’s main focus would be to improve.

“We must improve a lot in Test cricket. We have been practising hard and I hope that we play the matches well,” he said. “It’s not about the result, we have to keep improving every day,” he said.

Sri Lankan captain, Mahela Jayawardene, said his team will not take Bangladesh for granted in view of its recent successes in limited-overs cricket. — AP