The larger than life reputation of Brian Lara or the unrelenting hostility of young tearaways Tino Best and Fidel Edwards holds no fear in the mind of Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar.

Regarding Lara, the only batsman in the history of Test cricket to have scored 400, Bashar's confidence stems from the law of averages.

"No doubt Lara is a devastating batsman on his day but his world record has not caused my bowlers sleepless nights. Something as phenomenal as that is not going to happen everyday," said Bashar while talking to reporters after the Tigers' training session at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) yesterday.

A 15-member Bangladesh side will leave Dhaka for the West Indies tomorrow morning for the first ever tour to the Caribbean. The Tigers will play a three-match one-day international series which will be preceded by two Tests. The squad will have its final practice at the BNS today.

The West Indies, long regarded as a natural breeding ground for fearsome fast bowlers, have recently unearthed two genuinely

quick youngsters in Best and Edwards but Bashar feels that his batsmen are well equipped to handle the heat.

"The West Indies attack is not as deadly as it once was but Best and Edwards are really fast and they will come hard at us in their own backyard. They are on their way to reshaping their bowling but we are fully prepared to take up the challenge because we have already faced the world's best Australia in Australia," said the Bangladesh skipper.

Bashar said the mere thought of going to the 'paradise islands' has sent his pulse racing and the whole squad was bubbling with excitement.

"We have grown up dreaming of the West Indies and it will be a dream come true for all of us. Personally, this will be a massive occasion for me as I'm leading the team to the land of legends. This time I will enjoy the trip more as there was some nervousness during my first assignment in Zimbabwe."

Their recent struggles against sides they had once whipped without a care, has given credence to the belief that the West Indies are a side on the wane. However Bashar begs to differ.

"I don't agree with those who think that the present West Indies

team will be easy opponents. They are always a dangerous team because of their dashing attitude," cautioned Bashar.

Bangladesh's leading scorer in Tests also thought that the home team were a much bigger threat than their last opponents Zimbabwe.

"Zimbabwean captain Heath Streak was the lone man making the difference in games against us. But it's different with the West Indies. They have more match-winners and theirs is a fantastic batting line-up."

The 32-year old batsman vowed to continue from the improvement they showed against Zimbabwe.

"We had forgotten what it felt like to win a match. But the ODI victory against Zimbabwe in Harare changed all that. We are in a far, far stronger mental shape now and I can ensure you that we have every possibility of coming out victors from close encounters."

Bashar expressed his satisfaction with the preparation of the team and was particularly pleased that all the players had some matchpractice ahead of such a gruelling tour.

"There is no alternate for match practice and we really benefited from playing in the new Corporate Cricket League. Besides, the finer tips from specialist batting coach Owen Mottau has definitely helped

us correct our mistakes. We couldn't however, get the maximum out of fielding coach Mike Young because oftime constraint," said Bashar.

Bashar had no doubts that the inclusion of Faisal Hossain, a prolific run-getter in domestic cricket, has given the Tigers batting a new dimension.

"We were on the look-out for a left-handed batsman and finally we have one. I think the selection of Faisal will bring more variety to our batting. I am sure he will deliver the goods," said Bashar who added that he would prefer Faisal to bat in the middle-order.

Bangladesh have had problems in capitalising on one-day fielding restrictions and faced with the hardhitting talents of the West Indians, this was one area the Tigers are desperate to do better. Bashar believed that the highly talented Alok Kapali with his natural strokeplay could provide a solution despite his form slump.

"Alok is an asset and we should persevere with him in the opening slot in limited-overs matches because I honestly believe that ultimately it will pay dividend. We have a shortage of batsmen who can take the advantage of the first fifteen overs," Chief selector Faruque Ahmed, who will also accompany the team as an operations manager, defended taking three left-arm spinners in the squad.

"I have seen the one-day matches between the West Indies and England and Chris Gayle has got good help from the pitches. If Bangladesh play on similar wickets, our left-arm spinners could have a vital role," said the former Bangladesh captain.

Replying to another question, Faruque said that he will be part of the final team selection on the tour as it was his job as the chief selector but he was still in confusion whether he was the overall team leader.

Bangladesh Cricket Board's cricket committee chairman Mahbubul Anam however said that there was no need for debate on the issue.

"Coach Dav Whatmore will look after the cricketing aspects while Faruque will act as the manager. The only difference is that Faruque will also sit with the coach and captain when they select the playing eleven," said Mahbub.