da betsul： Mashrafe Mortaza has promised his side will look a different outfit when they don their pyjamas and take on Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series
Cricinfo staff18-Jul-2007
Mashrafe Mortaza can’t wait to put on his pyjamas © TigerCricket.com
Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh’s pace spearhead and vice-captain, has promised his side will look a different outfit altogether when they don their pyjamas and take on Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series due to start from July 20.Sri Lanka pummeled Bangladesh 3-0 through a depressingly predictable Test series, but the visitors’ progress has been in the shorter form of the game and Mortaza believes it will be different when the first ODI comes round.”As a team we are a thousand times better in one-day cricket than Test cricket. So you will see a different Bangladesh in the series although it will not be so easy because Sri Lanka is very strong opponents,” Mortaza told Dhaka-based .Mortaza admitted his own performances – only three wickets and 23 runs in the series – was below par but dismissed suggestions that he was disinterested in proceedings.”This kind of question arises only when you don’t perform well. But what I must agree with is that I have suffered from a lack of confidence in the series and what I felt is that I was a little bit tired because of too much cricket for the last two years.”I know my performance was not up to the mark. I am also frustrated with my performance because I had a lot of expectation after I missed the last series in Sri Lanka due to injury. But it was not so easy to bowl well against this kind of batting line-up and the conditions were also not in favour of bowlers in the first two games,” he said.Bangladesh were bowled out cheaply in the first innings of each Test – twice for double figures – and Mortaza said that also played a part in his performances. “It always puts pressure on the bowlers when their side is bowled out cheaply in the first innings. But what I realised after the series is that I have to develop the reverse swing in my bowling otherwise it will be impossible to get success with the old ball and I have already talked with Malinga (Lasith) about the matter.”