Bangladesh coach says wins show maturity

Cricketing minnows Bangladesh have taken a major step forward with recent wins over Zimbabwe and the West Indies, the team's coach said Wednesday, adding they should no longer be taken lightly.

Australian-born Jamie Siddons said Bangladesh's 4-1 One Day International series victory over Zimbabwe and a historic Test and one-day series clean-sweep in the Caribbean showed the team was on track "for big things in the future".

"We all know that we have a long way to go to be classed as a real threat to the top four teams but they will no longer take us lightly," Siddons said.

"I hope that all of those who saw fit to criticise this team of young cricketers can now admit that there is definite signs of us improving."

Questions have been raised about Bangladesh's Test status since it joined the circuit in 2000 because of the weakness of the side. In June this year, the team failed to get past the first round at the World Twenty20 Championships after losing a crucial match against Ireland - prompting Siddons to brand the batting "ridiculous". In September last year, more than a dozen players quit the national team to play for the rebel Twenty20 Indian Cricket League but Siddons said recent success showed the side had moved on.

"I believe that the players, though still very young and on the whole very inexperienced, have just shown the wisdom and improvement that comes with time," he said.

DHAKA, AFP