Mani throws his weight behind Bangladesh

Bangladesh's woeful performances in the first two ODIs against England may have again raised questions about their right to be playing in international cricket's first division, but one person who believes that they are where they belong is Ehsan Mani, the ICC's president.

As he sat watching the second ODI at Dhaka, Mani was keen to look to the future. "We should rather not walk in the past," he said when asked about the decision to award Bangladesh Test status. "Bangladesh are now the full member of the ICC and we are working with them. The Tigers will place themselves in the world cricket in future. I have seen cricket everywhere, in the streets. Everybody is playing."

Those views are to be expected from the head of the ICC, but they represent a marked about-turn from Mani, who earlier this year criticised the decision to award Bangladesh Test status "prematurely". That was before he became president. "It was said in the past," he insisted when asked about his comments. "We should now talk about how Bangladesh are doing and to me they are doing pretty well."

Also in Dhaka is Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive, and he too was keen to emphasise that Bangladesh must receive all the assistance they need to help it improve. "Bangladesh needs help from the ICC in many ways to develop," he explained. "This is the reason we came here. We will discuss what is necessary."

Bangladesh's administrators are doing much to improve the cricketing infrastructure. Dhaka will soon have its own purpose-built cricket stadium, and four other stadiums across the country are undergoing million-dollar refurbishments. Six indoor practice facilities are also being built. It is hoped that all the work will be completed ahead of next year's junior World Cup.

Mani told officials he was happy with progress, adding that he hoped that Bangladesh would "be able to find new players when it hosts the tournament."