Bangladesh keen to replicate home success abroad

Dhaka, Dec 10 (IANS) Bangladesh limited-overs captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza wants to carry their home success over to series abroad as the team gears up to face New Zealand in a bilateral cricket tour.

Bangladesh are set to play a bilateral series abroad after more than two years, reports bdnews24.com. The team management had set a target of 80 percent success rate going into the string of series following the 2015 World Cup.

Bangladesh then embarked on an One-Day International (ODI) series-winning run and sealed six straight series before losing to England this October. They also earned a historic Test win over the English side.

The New Zealand series will begin later this month. Bangladesh will then play a one-off Test against India before taking on Sri Lanka in a complete series. Bangladesh will then travel to Ireland for a tri-nation series in May next year. The Champions Trophy is scheduled for June in England before the team head for South Africa in October.

The packed schedule begins with a training camp in Australia and Bangladesh will fly there in two contingents. One group has already left the country on Thursday night and the other is set to fly out on Saturday with Mortaza.

"Two years ago we targeted winning 80 percent matches at home. Thankfully we have been successful at that. Now the challenge is different, playing abroad," Mortaza said at a press briefing on Friday.

"You know, it is a challenge even for well-established teams, more so for us. But if we can carry over the momentum (to New Zealand), the confidence we havewill definitely bring good results, regardless of the different conditions.”

"We have to adopt fast. I thing I can confirm, no matter where we play now, we will play to win.”

The 33-year-old Mashrafe is looking forward to the conditioning camp in Sydney. "Working there will benefit us. The whole team will stay there like a family and practice together. Should anyone go through problems, we will share them and discuss it overIt will help us prepare.”

After the camp, the team will travel to New Zealand on Dec 18 and play a warm-up match there on December 22. The ODI series will begin on December 26.