Tigresses start South Africa series today

Amidst the hue and cry of Bangladesh's tour of New Zealand, the women's team, in a comparatively quiet manner, will begin their five-match ODI series against South Africa today at the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium in Cox's Bazar.

The tour is finally taking place after being postponed twice due to security concerns. It was initially supposed to be held in October 2015, but was pushed back a month before being postponed again. More than a year later, the tour is taking place after Bangladesh managed to host England and the Bangladesh Premier League successfully.

While South Africa are a far stronger side than Bangladesh, skipper Rumana Ahmed believes that her side can give the visitors a good fight. The last time South Africa were in Bangladesh was in 2012 and the hosts had managed to win one of the three ODIs.

“Compared to T20s, we are a far better side in this format. We can take our time and play here. It's good that we are playing South Africa right before the World Cup Qualifying round. This series will help us prepare for that competition,” Rumana told reporters yesterday.

“We have done quite well in home series in the past. Even though South Africa are a good side, we won't be behind in this series. We will do our best,” she added.

Bangladesh lost their last two series, which took place away from home. They lost to Ireland 1-0 in 2016 and 2-0 to Pakistan in 2015. However, Bangladesh did beat Pakistan 2-0 in ODIs in March 2014 in Cox's Bazar.

Regardless of the results, the fact that the Bangladesh Women's cricket team is getting to play a series could itself be considered a sign of progress. In the last three years, they have just played three series.

The rest of the ODIs will take place in the same venue on January 14, 16, 18 and 20 respectively.