The Bangladesh team arrived in Johannesburg on Monday night to begin their tour of South Africa after their appearance in the ICC KnockOut 2000 tournament in Kenya.

Coach Eddie Barlow said the team were all excited about the tour and the experience it would give them.

"We have just come off a very good game against England in Nairobi, and I was thrilled with the way the guys batted in that game," said Barlow. "For us this tour is really important. The World Cup in 2003 is our first really big chance and this tour forms the start of our campaign towards that goal. The main thing for our players is to play as much cricket as possible - to practice in the middle, so we need this tour tremendously. We appreciate the opportunity the UCB have given us against some good opposition.

"I believe the sub-continent is going to produce some real stars of the future in cricket. We've got some quality players and had some really good performances in Nairobi - notably from wicketkeeper/batsman Khaled "Pilot" Masud and captain Naimur Rahman. The main thing for us right now is to play cricket that is going to be exciting and entertaining to watch. I believe we did that in Nairobi and we intend doing it here," said Barlow.

UCB Managing Director Ali Bacher welcomed the Bangladesh team to South Africa. "We are committed to helping the development of cricket in Bangladesh and are glad we can offer them the opportunity to play here - and to experience the conditions ahead of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. I am confident that we'll see some exciting cricket over the next two weeks."

© UCBSA