April 09, 2007	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428

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PROVIDENCE, April 8: Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore believes the shock World Cup victory over top-ranked South Africa has come at the right time for his team.

“That's another very significant win in the progress of Bangladesh cricket,” said Whatmore, whose side pulled off one of the major upsets in the tournament with a 67-run win over Graeme Smith's South Africans here on Saturday.

This was not the first time Bangladesh had turned the form-book upside down in the ongoing event, having whipped India in a group match in Trinidad last month.

“It was a very significant victory (against South Africa). We did well to make the Super Eights,” said Whatmore, whose team had lost to defending champions Australia and New Zealand in the first two matches.

“After the previous two matches where we were beaten pretty badly, it is great to turn it around and win against a team which is currently ranked number one in the world.

“They are a very good side, but I felt the conditions suited us a lot more than the conditions at the other venues we have had. Once we saw that, we really made merry and played extremely good cricket to win the game.”

Whatmore, who was the coach of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup-winning squad in the sub-continent, said the Bangladeshi team had changed since he took over four years ago.

Asked how important the win was to him as coach, Whatmore said: “I am not sure if we should be talking about me. It's the team that has to go out and do all the hard work.

“They have to take those very difficult catches and stop a hard-hit ball, get bruises, dive and all that sort of stuff.

“It gives me a tremendous satisfaction to see a group of players who have come a long way since I joined in 2003. The team has changed and it will continue to change. It will always evolve. That's how I look at it.”

Whatmore said his team had a chance to advance in the tournament if the conditions were similar to those they encountered at the Providence Stadium here.

“If we have conditions like these, I would be very happy. I don't know what the conditions are. I have a suspicion that the Barbados wicket will have a lot more grass than this,” he said.

“We have to wait and see, but we have given ourselves a very reasonable chance.”

Bangladesh, who picked up their first two points and moved off the foot of the Super Eights table with the win against South Africa, will now meet the West Indies, England and debutants Ireland in their remaining matches.

Whatmore said his spinners were instrumental in keeping the pressure on South Africa.

Left-arm spinners Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Rafique and Saqibul Hasan shared six wickets and never allowed the batsmen to take liberties during their tight spells.

“We played three left-arm spinners because that is our best combination. It's just like if you got your best three batsmen are all left-handers, you don't change that,” said Whatmore.

“You play what you think is your best combination. The conditions gave us the advantage because we had the spinners and we had the opportunity to bowl last on it.”

Whatmore was all praise for middle-order batsman Mohammad Ashraful, who cracked an 83-ball 87 to help his side set a challenging target.

“He has just shown what he is capable of. He hasn't always had the time to bat. He has been batting at number six. He has to learn a little about placing a value on his wicket,” said Whatmore.

“He played straight and he was very innovative at the end. But generally, we have seen the value of Ashraful when he plays straight.”—AFP