Habibul Bashar

Bridgetown: Skipper Habibul Bashar says Bangladesh have goals to achieve despite their slim World Cup semi-final hopes being snuffed out by Wednesday’s four-wicket loss to England.

Bashar said Bangladesh had set a sixth-place finish in the Super Eight as their next target, while England stayed in the hunt for their first semi-final entry since 1992.

“We would’ve been in the running for a semi-final place had we won today, but that chance has now gone,” Bashar said.

“But we still have a lot to play for. I’m hopeful of finishing at least sixth in the Super Eight table. I’m happy with my team’s performance in the World Cup. We lost a couple of close games and won a couple of big matches.

“We’ve still two more games to go, and we’ll push hard to win some more,” he said. “I’m pleased with the progress of Bangladesh cricket in this tournament. But we’ve got to be consistent.”

Conceding his own poor batting form did not help the team’s cause, Bashar said his team suffered again from the batsmen trying to hit out without getting their eye in.

“The newly-laid track did a bit in the first 15 overs with the ball bouncing and flying. We were not able to adapt to the conditions,” said Bashar, complimenting 18-year-old Saqibul Hasan for producing an outstanding performance.

Hasan remained unbeaten on 57, but did not get much support as wickets tumbled at the other end. “One more big knock in his support and it might have been a different story,” said Bashar.

Bashar said it was bad toss to lose as it made Bangladesh bat first on a fresh wicket, where he felt 220 would have been a tough target to chase.

“My own poor batting form has been frustrating and it hasn’t helped the team,” said the captain, who was run out when caught in the middle of the pitch after England skipper Vaughan spilled an easy catch from opener Shahriar Nafees.

Bashar was not surprised with England’s cautious run chase close to victory.

“We didn’t put many runs on the board, but the track was tricky. England’s tail would’ve been exposed had we got another wicket,” said Bashar. “I was hoping they'd try and finish early, which could have given us a chance.”