Greenidge factor crucial

CHELMSFORD, MAY 16: Bangladesh, inspired by coach Gordon Greenidge, make their World Cup debut here on Monday promising New Zealand a fright at least 8212; and a real shock at best. Aminul Islam8217;s men have never played New Zealand before at any level, giving them one advantage at least 8212; that of surprise. Bangladesh, who qualified for the tournament by winning the ICC Trophy for non Test-playing nations in 1997, warmed up by beating English counties Essex and Middlesex.

But defeat to Northamptonshire showed they will need a bit of luck to win the 1,000-US reward per player promised by the Bangladesh government for a win. quot;New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies are way ahead of us,quot; skipper Aminul conceded. quot;They have more experience and better skills than us. But if Kenya could beat the West Indies in the last World Cup, anything can happen, especially in England. The weather could prove to be a great help to the smaller teams.quot;

The squad came to England in mid-April, ahead of their rivals,in an attempt to acclimatise. Their inspiration comes from Greenidge, the former West Indian great, who played in three World Cups and scored 5,134 runs in 128 one-dayers.

Islam said: quot;A lot is down to Gordon. He has been an inspiration to myself and the team. He is the one who has given us a lot of that confidence because he is a great motivator. So in the two-and-a-half years he has been with us, he has taught us a lot a nd we have learnt a lot.quot;

Teams

New Zealand likely: Nathan Astle, Matt Horne, Craig McMillan, Stephen Fleming capt, Roger Twose, Adam Parore, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Dion Nash, Simon DouL, Gavin Larsen.

Bangladesh likely: Shahriyar Hossain, Mehrab Hossain, Akram Khan, Khaled MashuD, Aminul Islam, Khaled Mahmud, Naimur Rehman, Hasibul Hossain, Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haque, Shafiuddin Ahmed.