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  #1  
Old October 8, 2003, 08:24 AM
oracle oracle is offline
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Default Bangladesh Cricket Infrastructure

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cric...03/3174014.stm

Bangladesh's cricket dream

By Arjun Sandhu


It is three years since Bangladesh cricketers stepped into the Test arena.

And they are still searching for their first win after playing 24 Test matches, with only a rain-affected draw against Zimbabwe to their credit.

But while the national team is struggling to make it on the international scene, Bangladesh cricket itself is blossoming.

Funding has come from the International Cricket Council, the Asian Cricket Foundation, as well as television money from the World Cup.

All this has enabled Bangladesh to develop an infrastructure which aims to provide adequate facilities to raise the standard of the national squads.


Saleh and Hossain are put through their paces during training
The development scheme has been in place for five years now and Mahbubul Anam, chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Committee, believes the benefits are beginning to show.

He told the BBC Sport website: "We've been working on a strategic development plan that stretches until 2006.

"We're not losing focus and are sticking to the specific plan, which is showing results in the form of several youngsters making the national side recently.

"The resources are all in place for cricketers to improve their standards.

"Our priority is to provide the infrastructure in different regions to boost the game's growth."

Bangladesh travel guide
The Junior World Cup is being held in Bangladesh in February and March next year and that has fuelled a nationwide expansion plan.

"Playing hosts for the Junior World Cup will be a bonanza in terms of upgraded infrastructure," said Anam.

Currently the only two venues deemed suitable for Test use are Dhaka and Chittagong.

But top-quality facilities are being built in Shylet, Rajshahi, Khulna and Bogra.

The Mirpur Stadium, on the outskirts of Dhaka, is used at the moment for athletics and football but will soon be converted into an exclusive cricket venue.


Only Dhaka (pictured) and Chittagong are suitable for Test use
"The Board's taken charge of it and is in the process of developing it," Anam said.

There are also plans to increase the number of indoor nets from the current one on the capital's outskirts to six.

Money is certainly not a problem for Bangladesh but igniting a passion for cricket in a population of 130m people obsessed with football is less straightforward.

Attempts have been made to increase the amount of cricket played in schools.

There is a programme which involves more than 1,000 schools but the competition is played on a knock-out basis.

This means most schools only play one or two matches a year.

Only the top 16 get adequate opportunities and competitive cricket because they compete in a round-robin league.

There is still a distinct lack of quality of domestic cricket too, which is preventing international players from being able to test their ability before stepping into Test matches or one-day internationals.

Bangladesh certainly have a long way to go but it seems they are serious about their cricket aspirations.

Only time will tell if their ambitions will be realised.





Quote:
Our priority is to provide the infrastructure in different regions to boost the game's growth."
Maybe you folks can fill me in but is there really a "radical" change for the better in our cricket facilities, outside dhaka. I really hope in a few years we get cricket matches of international calibre outside Dhaka and Chittagong. How about Sylhet or for that matter Keraniganj as a tribute to some of our current stars.
Also when is Mirpur stadium turned on?

[Edited on 8-10-2003 by oracle]
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  #2  
Old October 8, 2003, 08:43 AM
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fwullah fwullah is offline
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To say it frankly, cricket outside Dhaka - wants to grow, but are not given enough opportunities.
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Old October 8, 2003, 08:47 AM
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fwullah fwullah is offline
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Things are really on the development stage. So far, we haven't seen any major improvement from the cricket inside to the outside of Dhaka.

We can be assured of the results of those developments when we will have 7 test match venues in all the 'divisions' instead of only 2.
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Old October 8, 2003, 08:54 AM
oracle oracle is offline
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I guess BCB decides on which places the other 7 are, huh. By logic it should be where the audience numbers are larger and is a known source of cricketeers. I would also add some venues near tourist spots so that cricket can really be anchored as a tourism offering.
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Old October 8, 2003, 11:20 AM
Sham Sham is offline
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Default Oracle,

Yes, there will be some radical improvements in the outer venues because they have to be made match ready for the youth world cup. But before we get too excited, let me qualify that by saying that some of these venues are pretty poor to begin with, so radical change doesn't bring them up to Test standard. Right now, the stadiums in Khulna and Rajshahi don't have modern dressing room facilities and more importantly good practice facilities, so these things will have to be put in place. However, we will not have 7 Test venues anytime soon.

I spoke to Ali Asghar Lobi and Mahbubul Anam (Chairman, Cricket Committee of the BCB, not Bangladesh Cricket Committee) when the Enquiry Committee Report was handed over and they said that the one good thing that will come out of hosting this tournament if not anything else is that we will be left with much-improved infrastructure outside Dhaka and Chittagong.

I think it is important to bring some of these grounds in the divisional capitals up to a certain standards. We don't need too many more Test grounds. We will not get more than 3 Tests in a series for atleast another 30 years. So, all we need is one more Test ground. But its important for our domestic teams to have better infrastructure, for the youngsters to have better practice facilities etc.

As for selecting venues, it is not a random process. There are two things to consider, one is, which are the centres of cricket, and secondly, where do we have existing facilities that can be improved rather than having to build from scratch. The first thing to do is bring all the divisional grounds up to standard, that is Sylhet, Khulna, Rajshahi and Barisal, so that when we have a home-and-away First Class league on, all matches are played on decent grounds with decent facilities. Basically, each of the First Class sides need a good home ground. I'm not sure whether putting cricket grounds near tourist spots is feasible.

[Edited on 8-10-2003 by Sham]
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Old October 8, 2003, 01:49 PM
rafiq rafiq is offline
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This was good news - on the front page - that they are goign to try out and select players for scholarships at the Indian MRF. They need to institutionalize these improvements and set a calendar for the talent hunt, so young cricketers can have more than a week or two to prepare and plan for attending.
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  #7  
Old October 8, 2003, 02:15 PM
Nascer Nascer is offline
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[Edited on 6-11-2004 by Nascer]
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