NELSON, New Zealand — Fired up Bangladesh senses a World Cup quarterfinal berth will be one match away by close of play in Nelson Thursday as it prepares to play a disconsolate Scotland. Both sides are coming off a seven-day break following losses but their attitudes are polar opposites heading into the Pool A encounter. While Bangladesh is talking up the future despite being thrashed by Sri Lanka, Scotland is weighed down by the past where its loss to Afghanistan a week ago made it the worst performing side in World Cup history. It was devastated to lose to the tournament newcomers after having Afghanistan on the ropes at 97-7 chasing 211 and letting it steal victory with three balls to spare. “It's going to be a huge challenge for us to respond to this,” said skipper Preston Mommsen as he considered the erratic performances from his side. “We know Bangladesh is a side we're capable of beating. We've played good cricket in parts in the first three games, but not for long enough.” Losing to Afghanistan left the Scots with the unwelcome record of having been beaten in all 11 matches they have played in three World Cups, overtaking the Netherlands which suffered 10 consecutive defeats. The future does not look too bright for Scotland either for if it fails to beat Bangladesh then it has Sri Lanka and Australia to come and the record could balloon out to 0-14. Bangladesh, meanwhile, is upbeat despite losing to Sri Lanka by 92 runs. Having been eliminated in pool play in three of the previous World Cups it has contested, it now believes it can emulate its 2007 achievement of making the last eight when it finished the group stage ahead of India. “I think they are desperate to play a very big game for Bangladesh,” fielding coach Richard Halsall said. “The great thing is we win two out of the next three games, we are through to the quarterfinals. So they are genuinely excited.” The margin of Bangladesh's loss to Sri Lanka was exaggerated by a sub-standard fielding performance which included five spilled catches as the Sri Lankans raced to 332-1. But there was some solidity with the bat where Sabbir Rahman scored 53, Shakib Al Hasan 46 and Mushfiqur Rahim 36. In its 105-run win over Afghanistan to start its World Cup, Rahim scored 71 and Hasan 63 while their other match against Australia was washed out. Scotland has suffered from inconsistency in its losses to New Zealand, England and Afghanistan which have left them languishing at the bottom of its pool. Kyle Coetzer's lone hand 71 against England is by far the Scots' top score in the tournament with Matt Machan (56) and Richie Berrington (50), both against New Zealand, the only other players to post half-centuries. Neither side has impressed with the ball apart from Scotland's Josh Davey who has an impressive nine wickets from three outings. Against Afghanistan, Berrington took four for 40 for Scotland while Bangladesh's Mashrafe Morgaza took three for 20, while Scotland's Iain Wardlaw claimed three for 57 against New Zealand in the only other performances of note. “It's the first World Cup for many of the players so we've been exposed to things we've never been exposed to. We're all in a much better place.” Mommsen admitted Scotland's confidence took a blow in the loss to Afghanistan and said it now has to pick itself up to play Bangladesh in a match it has also marked as winnable. Mommsen said Scotland would take heart from the fact that Ireland beat the West Indies at Saxton Oval to strike an early blow at the World Cup for associate nations. “We love what Ireland cricket do on the world stage at World Cups. The way they're able to beat full members on a consistent basis,” he said. “We do take inspiration from the way they performed here against the West Indies. — Agencies
