Bangladesh board to get US$500,000 from ACC

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has come forward to help the cash-strapped Bangladesh board, doling out US$500,000, most of which will be used to install world-class facilities at the Mirpur Stadium. According to a report in The Independent, a Bangladesh daily, Ali Asghar Lobi, president of the ACC and the Bangladesh board (BCB), announced the decision after the ACC annual general meeting in London on June 14.

"The decision to help Bangladesh cricket team will be a milestone," Lobi said. "I asked ICC's help to enhance Bangladesh's performance and it requested the ACC to do it. The BCB will spend a chunk of the money to renovate the Mirpur Stadium where we can set up our cricket home. We need practice facilities for national teams at all levels round the year."

Apart from sprucing up the outfield, pitch, gymnasium and indoor practice facilities at the Mirpur Stadium, the fund will also be used to appoint a coach for the Bangladesh under-19 team, and for training curators and coaches.

Inevitably, Lobi was asked about Bangladesh's woeful performances in the international arena. Agreeing with the comments from Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, that the number of international tours for Bangladesh might be reduced, Lobi stressed that the critical need was for Bangladesh to improve their standard by playing more at home.

Meanwhile, Syed Ashraful Haq, the ACC chief executive, informed that Rumesh Ratnayake (Sri Lanka), Roger Binny (India) and Iqbal Sikander (Pakistan) had been appointed as ACC's full-time development officers, while Afghanistan, Iran, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had been granted associate membership to the ACC. The ACC also announced that the Australian board (ACB) would help in setting up cricket academies in Nepal, Malaysia and the UAE, while the New Zealand board would assist in pitch-preparation programmes.