It's very tough: Mash

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has said that it will be a 'very tough' task for the Tigers to go through to the second round of the World Cup.

"To be honest, everyone expects us to play in the second round. But it's going to be very tough. You have to beat at least two bigger sides, besides Afghanistan and Scotland. It is tough because of the conditions… we are not quite used to it.

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"I think our young players are very good. They haven't played a lot of international cricket, but they have some experience, and hopefully they will turn out very well," Mashrafe told reporters in Sydney yesterday during the pre-World Cup press conference.

The two unofficial practice matches in Brisbane saw the Tigers experiment with their side. They changed the batting order, used eight bowlers and even called back a batsman in order to give others a chance.

The official practice matches against Pakistan and Ireland, due to take place today and on Thursday, would be played in a different vein.

"The World Cup starts now, and we will take it very seriously… we will play those matches as a normal match," said Mashrafe.

"We have some experienced players like Mushfiqur [Rahim], Tamim [Iqbal] and Shakib [Al Hasan]. I think if the big guns step up and the young players can help them, I think we have a great chance," he added.