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'We have still got a long way to go'
Whatmore not satisfied by success
AFP
April 11, 2007
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Dav Whatmore: 'The reality is that Bangladesh are still the No. 9 side in the world'
© AFP
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Dav Whatmore, who has guided the World Cup wins over India and South Africa, is adamant there is still plenty of work to do to fine-tune the Bangladesh squad. Bangladesh will have another chance to challenge a Test-playing side when they face England in Barbados on Wednesday.
"We can't just sit back and say: 'That's it, we have answered our critics and that's the end of the story'," Whatmore said. "Far from it. We have still got a long way to go yet and the reality is that Bangladesh are still the No. 9 side in the world and, as sometimes happens, we put in a shocking performance and we get beaten heavily.
"When that happens, it leads to more comments [from the critics]. We know that within ourselves we have improved and that we are capable of causing upset wins and we would like that to continue."
Bangladesh's win over India in the first round helped dump Rahul Dravid's side out of the tournament while Saturday's 67-run victory over South Africa threw the race for the semi-finals wide open. If Bangladesh were to beat England they would become outside contenders for a last four place.
"The win against South Africa gave us a lift but we are not getting carried away," Whatmore said. "Everyone who saw the game in Guyana knows that conditions there were very different to the ones we encountered in Antigua."
The England batsman Ian Bell, whose team needs to win its three remaining matches to stay in contention, said Bangladesh would not be under-estimated. "Bangladesh are a fantastic side and we are not treating them as minnows," Bell said. "We know they have talented young cricketers and they have proved that they can play against some of the best sides in the world."
© Cricinfo
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