Pan Pacific Sonargaon Test Series 2004 Bangladesh vs. New Zealand
Hostile welcome for Tigers in Ctg
CU Correspondent
There were no smiles on the faces of Ban-gladesh captain Khaled Ma-shud, Mush-fiqur Rahman, Mohammad Ashraful and even coach Dav Whatmore when they turned up at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium for training yesterday afternoon. All the players looked as if they had just come from attending a funeral before flexing their muscles ahead of the second Test against New Zealand starting at the MA Aziz Stadium on October 26. No one dared to smile during the team's one-and-a-half hour practice session. Probably they seemed rattled from the hostile reception they received on arrival at the Shah Amanat International Airport earlier in the morning. Some curious cricket fans gathered at the airport used abusive language at the cricketers following their poor performance in the first Test in Dhaka, which they lost by an innings and 99 runs with one and a half-day's remaining. After arriving at the airport at 11.30am by a GMG flight, the team went to the Agrabad Hotel, which will be the home of both the Tigers and the Black Caps for the next 12 days. Some frustrated fans also greeted them at the Divisional Stadium. However, neither coach Whatmore nor any player was willing to talk to reporters about their plans for the second Test. Meanwhile, the Kiwis led by Stephen Fleming are expected to fly here today.
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