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Our team ready to play full game, says Mashrafe

Saturday, 21 February 2015



Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said his team were preparing for a full game against Australia Saturday, although the chances of a 50-over game are minimal after Cyclone Marcia made landfall on the Queensland coast in the early hours of Friday. Both teams had indoor practice sessions on the eve of the match.
.Mashrafe said that the mindset of focusing only on the shared point was a negative one but admitted he would not "mind" taking away one point as Bangladesh could struggle in the match due to their lack of experience of playing at the Gabba.
"I think it is negative to think of only the one point," Mashrafe said. "We are preparing to play a full match. We don't want to play a curtailed game as forming a team combination becomes harder. We are disappointed with the rain but preparation difficulties have been there for both sides. But they are used to playing in these conditions and missing a few days wouldn't matter to them. We needed at least some time to bat and bowl in the nets here. We definitely want to play. It would be some experience playing against this Australian side.
Mashrafe welcomed back Michael Clarke - who is slated to make his return to international cricket on Saturday - but stressed that his side would do well not to think about Clarke or the composition of Australia's batting line-up.