Upbeat women return home

Bangladesh women's cricket team returned home safely yesterday after a short visit to Pakistan. Despite losing all four games on the tour, it was a happy return for the women's team as captain Salma Khatun and team officials expressed their satisfaction over the security and hospitality extended by the hosts, as well as the side's performances against their strong Pakistan counterparts.

"We were eager to play the series against Pakistan because we didn't play an international match for the past one and a half years. The World Cup qualifiers are coming up, so this tour will help us a lot. I must say it was a good tour for us though we lost all matches. It could have been a different story had we contributed more with the bat," Salma told reporters.

"The security was fantastic. I cannot describe the kind of security we got there. We actually didn't expect that much. We only concentrated on our games because there were no security fears for us. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials welcomed us at the airport where even the journalists were not allowed to speak with us," she said.

Salma was excited while she was talking about the hospitality during the tour. "The hospitality was brilliant. We had actually very little outings during the tour as there were back-to-back matches, but we attended a lot of parties."

Manager Shafiqul Haque Heera and BCB Women's Committee chairman MA Awal Chowdhury echoed the captain's sentiments.

The Bangladesh women's team was supposed to be busy with a home series against their South African counterparts, but Cricket South Africa postponed the series. When asked about the postponement, Salma said, "Two days ago, I received the news but I didn't know any of the details. The board will take a decision regarding this matter and only they can tell you why they will not come as planned," she said.