Mortaza will captain Bangladesh in World Cup - Siddons

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons has said that the fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza will captain the team in the World Cup next year. Mortaza's persistent injury problems had led to Shakib al Hasan's elevation to the captaincy during the West Indies tour in 2009. A fit-again Mortaza then returned as captain for the ODI tour of England and Ireland earlier this year. At the time, Siddons said Bangladesh would assess the captaincy situation after the tour.

"Mash did a really good job in England so I guess he has it until the World Cup - without a doubt, injury-free, he will be the one to lead us in the World Cup," Siddons said in an interview with cricket365.com. "Shakib did a great job but he didn't want it to continue, he wanted to focus on his cricket more and Mashrafe was quite happy to take over the reins."

On the subject of the mercurial Mohammad Ashraful, Siddons said he lacked the determination to play a big innings and did not trust himself to get through difficult periods, despite his obvious talent. "We are just making him more aware of what the game situation is and that he does have to keep it going, keep the scoreboard ticking over and be aggressive, but that he also has to make sure he doesn't just throw his wicket away all the time," Siddons said. "He's definitely a big part of our plans if he can get those things right."

Ashraful has been inconsistent throughout his career, and has struggled to score runs in 2010, averaging 15.70 in five Tests and 19.45 in 11 ODIs. He was dropped from the team for the home series against England, and originally omitted from the one-day squad for England and Ireland. However, a spate of injuries to key players led to a recall and he played two ODIs against England, making 14 and 13. He has been included in the provisional squad for the upcoming New Zealand series.

"He does have to start to show he can score big scores and be consistent," Siddons said. "He's found his way out of the team for that reason. I'm not the first person who has had trouble with Ash, I guess every coach has struggled with getting consistency out of him."

Looking ahead to the World Cup, Siddons said Bangladesh had a definite advantage playing in familiar conditions and that fielding coach Julien Fountain has added a new dimension to the team. "[He is] helping out some of the fast bowlers with their slower balls and doing a great job with the fielding. The focus will certainly be on fielding and hopefully by the World Cup we will have a very systematic and talented fielding group."

Bangladesh play New Zealand and Zimbabwe ahead of the World Cup, and Siddons was confident of his side's prospects in both. "My philosophy as a coach is to improve day by day. But first things first, New Zealand in October, put up a good showing, I really believe we can win that series and should win the Zimbabwe series and that will be a really good confidence boost towards the World Cup."