Bangladesh aiming for World Cup quarterfinals: Fielding coach

Dhaka, Feb 19 : Bangladesh fielding coach Julien Fountain has said that his World Cup players can rise to the occasion, and cope with the expectations and hopes of the nation. 

“There is pressure on the boys no doubt about it, but I see this as a double-edged sword. The Bangladeshi crowds are amazing, they are so vocal and passionate and it’s a phenomenal experience to be involved in Bangladeshi cricket,” PakPassion.net quoted Fountain, as saying.

“I think being on the opposition when they are playing against Bangladesh must be scary. Sometimes the levels of noise make us nervous, and that’s even with us being the home side.”

“The crowds are fantastic and they are fantastic people. Yes there’s pressure and the expectations are huge especially with the World Cup being on home soil,” he added.

Fountain, who has previously worked with the West Indian and Pakistan teams, further stressed that the whole Bangladesh squad, management and coaching staff have geared themselves to at least reach the quarterfinals.

“We are preparing and expecting to go right the way through the tournament to the final. You don’t enter a race thinking you are going to finish third or fourth. The rankings are forgotten when you are playing in a tournament like the World Cup. Bangladesh is in the bottom half of the rankings, however you don’t base results purely on those standings,” Fountain said.

“There are so many factors in a competition like the World Cup that come into play. Weather, decisions, injuries, luck, umpiring decisions are all factors on how far you can go. We are planning to definitely go through to the quarter finals and then we’ll see after that,” he added.

Bangladesh is in Group B alongside India, South Africa, Ireland, England, Netherlands and the West Indies.