|| CF Correspondent ||

A full 20 years on from their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup debut, Bangladesh return to English shores having beaten all nine other nations contending for cricket’s greatest prize.

 Soumya Sarkar bats during the 2019 Cricket World Cup warm up match between Bangladesh v India at Sophia Gardens stadium in Cardiff, south Wales, on May 28, 2019.

Bangladesh made World Cup bow in 1999 in England.Steve Rhodes’ side boast the second most caps in the competition

A full 20 years on from their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup debut, Bangladesh return to English shores having beaten all nine other nations contending for cricket’s greatest prize. Gazi Ashraf took Bangladesh to their first Asia Cup in 1985 without shoulder guards – they had to buy them from a shop in Colombo, and even then didn’t know how to use them.

Pakistan swept to World Cup glory in 1992, and so lowly were ambitions it did not even occur to batsman Habibul Bashar that his country might join them on the big stage one day.

“Back in 1992, I still remember watching the final of that World Cup at a friend’s place with some fellow cricketers,” recalls Bashar, who captained Bangladesh at the 2007 World Cup.

“Even at that time, we never thought we would feature. We never even discussed Bangladesh’s chances of playing in a World Cup.”Their foot in the door was the 1997 ICC Trophy, beating Kenya in the final to earn the unlikeliest of spots at the 1999 World Cup in Britain.

Aminul Islam took his side to Chelmsford, shaking hands with New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming as equals, beginning their World Cup journey with a six-wicket loss in Essex.

Around the British Isles, from Dublin to Edinburgh, were scattered the seeds of success; meaning for Bangladesh, the World Cup will always mean more.

“The first dream for any player is to represent their country while the second is to play in a World Cup,” says Shahriar Nafees, part of the second generation to play in 2007 and 2011.

“When it comes to Bangladeshi players, we basically got inspiration from watching the World Cup during our childhood.”

Bangladesh have always been capable of beating the best; they upstaged Pakistan in 1999, knocked out India in 2007 and have defeated England at the last two tournaments.What is striking, as we enter the 2019 World Cup, is that no-one is surprised any more.

Since the 2015 World Cup, Bangladesh have beaten England, Pakistan, India, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand.They reached the quarter-finals in Australia and New Zealand four years ago, were semi-finalists at the 2017 Champions Trophy and came close to a first Asia Cup title in 2018.

They come to England as the second most experienced team in the competition after India, with 1,343 ODI caps stuffed into their squad, and a seasoned core is the thread that links all one-day dynasties.

In Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, they have a quintet who have played well over 100 internationals together.

1996 World Cup winners Sri Lanka were buttressed for 196 matches by Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Mahela Jayawardene.

Allan Border, David Boon, Dean Jones, Geoff Marsh and Steve Waugh played in the same side 114 times between 1986 and 1992, lifting the World Cup in 1987.