Dav Whatmore, who confirmed last week that he will be staying as Bangladesh's coach after agreeing a contract extension, says his players face an enormous challenge as they prepare for their first full tour of England.

The 16-strong party arrives in England on May 7 for a tour which includes Tests at Lord's and Chester-le-Street, plus the NatWest one-day Series against England and Australia.

"It's going to be extremely tough, there is no question about it," said Whatmore, when asked about the challenge of playing in the early part of the English summer. "But having said that we are keen to make an impression, to really test and push the opposition.

"I'm not going to make predictions but we are looking forward to the tour very much. In the Test matches, we are playing the second-ranked team in the world so that's very difficult in itself. In home conditions, it's even more difficult."

But there are seeds of encouragement for Bangladesh. The country finally got its Test win tally off the mark last year with a series win against Zimbabwe, and ended 2004 with victory against India in a one-day international.

A four-day domestic competition was introduced recently, and the u19s upset the odds in beating Australia in last year's World Cup.

"There are continuing challenges along the way as the team has only begun their journey," added Whatmore. "They are pretty much a young group of players, not necessarily in years but in experience."

25 Apr, 2005