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Tigers touch down

TIGERCRJCKET.COM, Darwin
The Bangladesh cricket team literally slipped into the capital of Northern Territory yesterday after stopovers in Hong Kong and Sydney. The Tigers' arrival in Australia for the Top End tour has coincided with the Beijing Olympic Games nearing its peak excitement phase and quite understandably the team had only drawn a few curious glances from fellow passengers and words of encouragement from some elderly sports lovers before an eventful landing in Darwin.
The Qantas jet carrying the Tigers from Sydney in its first attempt to land at Darwin international Airport had its rear wheels almost brush the runway before hastily taking to the skies again at the last moment, and after
a minute of nervous laughs and uncomfortable chatters inside the cabin the pilot's voice finally reassured that a sudden gust of wind was responsible for the incident. The aircraft circled the Darwin sky for another 10 minutes before it finally touched down amid applause from relieved passengers.
There was a pleasant welcome awaiting the team with about a quarter of Darwin's 100-odd Bangladeshi community members present at the airport's arrival terminal with flowers, national flags and banners. The local media was there too with ABC and Channel Nine catching the arrival moments of Mohammad Ashraful’syoung team.
"We want to show improvement all the way. This is a very challenging tour for us as Australia are a top side but we want to be tough and competitive and will fight all the way We have the ability and hopefully we can bring our best cricket
to this series," said Ashraful when asked about expectations from the three-match ODI series starting here on August 30.
"We have come to Australia a little ahead of the series. We will play five practice matches before the GDIs and that would give us a good idea about the conditions here," added Ashraful who also thought the drop-in pitches would suit the Tigers fine.
"We had played on drop-in pitches in Auckland during the tour of New Zealand and they are nice wickets. Last time we were here (2003) the pitches did not have too much pace or bounce and the weather here (generally between 32-22 degrees Celsius) is almost similar to Bangladesh. I think we ll feel comfortable here."
Darwin, a city of roughly 87,000 is famous for its crocs and the Crocodile Farm here is home to some 15,000 saltwater giants and their offspring. The Bangladesh team is scheduled to pay a visit to farm here during the tour and Ashraful also had to respond to an adventure question.
Coach Jamie Siddons said the Bangladesh team was setting realistic goals.
"I am sure they (Australia) remember (he loss (o Bangladesh in 2005 and they will come hard at us everytime they face us. We are an Improving side and the objective remains the same here also. We have shown in the past that if we get to scores in the region of 250 then we can put pressure on the opposi tion. The drop-in pitches also might suit us and if there is spin then that'll be even better "
The squad will ease their way into the full practice routine because of the day and a half spent travelling from home. On Saturday a recovery session is scheduled followed by light training in the afternoon at the Gardens Oval, venue for the practice games, which is barely a five-minute walk from the team hotel.