Zimbabwe has been in the line of fire since their humiliation ODI series defeat against an ever-improving Afghanistan side last month. Hosts Zimbabwe lost the five-ODI series 2-3 and were whitewashed 2-0 in the Twenty20 internationals against the Afghans.
The Zimbabweans are now in Bangladesh with the aim of forgetting their bitter memories against ICC Associates Afghanistan.
And according to the visitors’ head coach Dav Whatmore, an improvement in performance will feature at the very top of their agenda when they play the Tigers in three ODIs and two T20Is.
“We have had some good individual performances. It is not that we have lost every game either. We lost an ODI series to a much-improved Afghanistan 2-3, it wasn’t a whitewash by any stretch of the imagination. It was a very tight T20 series, despite us losing twice. We are very keen to carry on and improve in this particular series,” Whatmore informed the media in the sidelines of their practice session at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.
The 61-year old Australian, who previously coached Bangladesh, has been a key follower of the Tigers ever since leaving his post following the 2007 ICC World Cup. And from what he has seen so far, Whatmore has been impressed with his former charges’ transformation from minnows to formidable opposition.
“They have done very well. They won all home games. They were probably a bit fortunate to have a game washed out in Brisbane against a team that won the World Cup. Often it is in the script up there. Bangladesh had a good World Cup, making it to the quarter-final. They have followed it up with some memorable wins here. We know who we are up against. They are a good side,” said the former Australia cricketer.