Published: Feb 20, 2015, 02:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 09, 2015, 11:22 AM (IST)
Bangladesh started their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 campaign with an empathic win over Afghanistan and on the eve of their match against Australia at Brisbane, their skipper Mashrafe Mortaza spoke to the media. While there is a chance of an abandoned tie due to the persistent bad weather in Brisbane, Mortaza talks about his side’s preparation and says he prefers playing against Australia than looking for a point from an abandoned tie. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Full Coverage
Q: How frustrating is it to see them taking off the nets?
Mashrafe Mortaza (MM): It is frustrating because we couldn’t practice as well, and the match, we don’t know how it’s going to play, this match, and the rain, and also how many overs we’re going to play. So it is frustrating.
Q: The chances of rain continuing and the chances of only a curtailed match now in prospect, do you feel Bangladesh’s best chances of beating Australia is in a shortened contest, maybe a 20 or 25 over game?
(MM): It is difficult to say right now. Twenty overs match, Australia is even better, I think. You can’t say. But also, you don’t know how many overs you’re going to play. So it is also difficult to pick the right team, as well. So everything is going to be difficult.
Q: Going back to 2005 when you had that short victory at the time over Australia, I know so much has happened since then, but is that in any way an inspiration to show what you can achieve, that there can be a big upset on any given day?
(MM): Yeah, it was a good memory for us, but it was a long time ago. Yeah, you can – if on a particular day you play good cricket, you can beat anybody, so we’re looking forward to it, and before that we just want to make sure that we play our best cricket.
Q: And the return of Michael Clarke to the team, do you think that’s something that will lift Australia? Do you think it will be a big factor?
(MM): Yeah, definitely. He’s a great player, definitely Australia need him, so it is good that he’s come back into the side.
Q: Chances are there isn’t probably going to be a game. That’s probably in some ways not a bad result for you, is it? You would get a point for abandonment and then you’d only have to pull off one upset rather than two to make the quarters? I’m saying the rain is not bad for you perhaps if you get a point from it?
(MM): Yeah, but we are not looking for it. Definitely we want to play against Australia. I feel like in Gabba it is a different experience. We’ll have to see if the game is happening. If we can play good cricket in here, definitely it will help in the future against Sri Lanka, against New Zealand. So it is disappointing for us, and also, if you can get one point, whatever is happening is happening for good, so we don’t mind that either.
Courtesy: ICC
